Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Proverbs chapter 19. Proverbs 19.21. Proverbs 19.21. I'd like to look
at one verse this morning. Verse 21. There are many devices
in a man's heart. Nevertheless, the counsel of
the Lord, that shall stand." The most serious, sobering, truthful thoughts in a man's heart His devices. That's what devices mean. It
means purposes, imaginations, inventions, and thoughts. Everything that can be said about
a person when they begin to reason, consider, give their advice, Everything that can be said,
though there are many, is nothing more than emptiness. It just has no sustenance to
it unless it's based on this Word. Anything contrary to God's Word
is nothing more than folly. Foolishness. Just foolish rambling. Because man at his best state
is vanity. Man at his best state. Take the
smartest, most educated person that you can know. All kinds
of degrees. Got that many words and initials
and abbreviations and all that kind of stuff behind his name.
And when he starts to talk, when it comes, to God's Word. God's Word says, that's just
foolish talk. You're just rambling. All of his plans, they're just
dictated by his environment, by his mood, by his selfish need. They're all just geared to gratify
his own sensual appetite. And they're ever formed to bring
glory to himself. I mean, listen to an unbeliever. Just listen to an unbeliever
talk. And I'm going to tell you something, just give him a few
minutes and he's going to just tell you how great he really
is. How wonderful. How marvelous. How generous. How on and on and on. Now to get a good understanding
of what is said in that first part of verse 21, there are many
devices in a man's heart. To understand exactly what that's
talking about, we read the last part of that verse and it will
tell you what the first part is. Here's what the last part
says, nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord, and that word counsel,
what it means is advice, the advice of the Lord. That shall stand. So in light of that latter part
of that verse, I'm going to just make a few comments on the first
part. There are many devices, many thoughts, many imaginations,
many bits of advice. There's many devices in a man's
heart. Well, what about them? Well,
first of all, let me tell you this. They're all evil. Every
one of them is evil. Genesis 6-5, God saw that the
wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination,
every purpose, every desire, every device, everything of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil every day, continually. That's the way it is. It doesn't
matter. Listen to the best of men and
what they have to say is selfish, self-centered, it's evil. Now I understand that there are
appearances. of generosity or kindness or
sensitivity, but when it comes to the motive, if you and I could
see the motive of why they said what they said. The Lord says concerning their
motives, what they say, it doesn't matter how it sounds. Everything
that an unbeliever, that carnal man, That old man is still right
here. Everything that I have to say,
all the advice that I've got to give, well, I tell you what,
I've got a lot of experience. Well, okay, here we go. Now,
what's going to be the motive of this next thought? Now, just
look at how wise I am. Now, whatever you're getting
ready to say, Psalm 94 11 says, The Lord knoweth the thoughts
of man. They are vanity. Have you ever said this? Now
listen to this vanity. Now this ain't my first rodeo. Okay? You're getting ready to
lay on some real heavy wisdom on me because this ain't your
first rodeo. Secondly, concerning the devices,
the thoughts, the purposes of a man's heart, They're presumptuous. That's what they are. Listen
to this, James 4, 1315. Go to now, ye that say, today or tomorrow,
we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and
buy and sell and get gain, whereas ye know not what shall be on
the morrow. For what is your life? It is
even a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth
away. For that you ought to say, if
the Lord will, we shall live, and do this or that." Now that's
so, you know that's so. I'm going to buy some of this
stock, I'm going to make this investment, we're going to build
this, I'm going to go down here, we're going to build us some
buildings down in here, and there's going to be some storage buildings,
and there's not one down here in this area right here, and
this area needs it, and I'm going to make a mint on that. I'm only
in my sixties. I've got a nice long life ahead.
That advertisement just... I mean, just think about that.
I've got a nice long life. Don't you know that this life
is but a vapor? Right here, I can be on the last,
coming down to the last breath that I will ever take. We know
that. reminded of that this week. Just
the Lord withhold a beat of the heart and don't allow it to start
again, and you're gone. You're gone. I understand there's
nothing wrong with the lawful practice of being in business.
I'm not saying that. But for a man to assume on God,
assume on himself, As if he's got the ability to make something
happen. There are many devices in a man's
heart and they're all evil and they're all presumptuous. And
let me tell you thirdly, they're all going to fail. Every one
of them is going to fail. Psalm 33.10, The Lord bringeth
the counsel of the heathen to naught. He maketh the devices
of the people of none effect. Man is not going to get any honor,
any glory to himself. Not before God. He might do it
before himself and before his peers and they'll all praise
him and honor him and stuff like this, but not before God. They're going to fail. Everything
that he purposes, Almighty God is going to order it For God's
honor, God's glory, and God's praise. Now listen to this. You
remember when Joseph's brothers sold him? They were mad because
his daddy gave him a coat of many colors and they were jealous
and they took him and said, let's kill him. And he said, no, no,
let's don't kill him. I'll just sell him. I'll sell
him to that traveling group, that caravan right there. And
then we'll be done with him. We'll take his coat and tell
daddy, Adam will kill him. That'll be the end of it. We
won't have to worry about it anymore. Well, in time, the Lord providentially,
remember that, brought all Joseph's brothers back before him. They didn't recognize him. He
did them. What did Joseph say? Genesis
50, 20. He says, but as for you, you
thought evil against me. But God meant it unto good, to
bring to pass as it is this day, to save much people alive. There's
many devices, many thoughts, many plans in a man's heart. Fourthly, these many devices,
when it comes to salvation, these many devices, many thoughts,
when it comes to salvation, they are self-deceiving. With every device or thought
in man being evil, presumptuous, destined to fail, what conclusion
can you come to except that these thoughts, these devices, are
going to leave him with no hope. There's many devices, many thoughts,
all of these different ways. Not everyone that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Now listen
to me. Not every person who's got any
kind of religious affiliation Not in all of these, it's got
all of these different thoughts, religiously, concerning salvation. Not everyone that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he
that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. What is the
will of God? It's to believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. And not to look at yourself with
any type of hope in what you've done. Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. And I don't believe to believe
that there is a Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, the devils believe
that. Demons believe that there's a God. Demons believe in the
sovereignty of God. Remember the demoniac of the
Gadarenes? Legion, who was in that man,
spoke to the Lord. The demon spoke to the Lord and
told Him, We know who you are. You're the Son of the Most High
God. Have you come to torment us before our time? We know that
there's going to be a judgment. We know that we're going to be
cast in the lake of fire. Are you here before that to torment
us? Demons believe in God's sovereignty. They know that God has an elect.
That shows you the blindness of a man's heart. Men don't believe
that by nature. They don't believe that. Demons
do. Everybody in hell knows that
God's sovereign. It's too late. Not every one
that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom
of heaven. He that doeth the will of my Father which is heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
your name? In thy name cast out devils.
In thy name done many wonderful works. Then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work
iniquity. When it comes to salvation, Man
thinks that a mere profession outwardly of his mouth, that
that's enough to satisfy God's justice. Now you think about
this. This mere act of saying, Lord,
I accept you. I accept you, I ask you to come
into my heart and save me. And to think that that in itself... Now I'm not taking anything away
from the faithful heart confession of a believer that cast themselves
upon the mercy of God and knowing that in themselves they cannot
do anything. And just crying out for mercy.
I'm not talking... God's people do that. But I'm
talking about trusting and walking down an aisle or walk down the
aisle. So what? So what? I came and I knelt down at a
mourner's bench. I was at, a few years ago, Glenda
and myself and a couple of other people, I'd gone down to preach at a
place and they had an altar call. They had an altar call. And everybody
except three people went down to this altar and they were everywhere. They were sitting all over the
place. And everybody was praying out loud. Everybody was praying
all at one time. It was just a roar of things. And afterward, a man came up
and asked me, he said, you don't believe in going down to the
altar? Listen, we have an altar. And it's the Lord Jesus Christ.
And His altar was His cross. He laid down His life and He
is the one in whom we trust. Yes, we have an altar. We do
go to the altar. Christ Jesus the Lord. But to
trust that I can come down here and kneel down on that piece
of carpet right there and put my head on this thing right here,
and to trust in that, It's false. It's an illusion. It's no hope. There's no peace. Man thinks that he can absolutely
do something. Galatians 6.3, if a man thinks
himself to be something when he's nothing, he deceiveth himself. There's many devices in a man's
heart. Oh, but nevertheless, there's
many devices in a man's heart, but nevertheless, the counsel,
the advice, the purpose, the plan of the Lord, that shall
stand, that shall abide, that shall accomplish, that shall
continue. Psalm 33 11 says, the counsel
of the Lord standeth forever. Well, I've got just a few questions
right here and I'm closing. What is the counsel of the Lord? What is the advice of the Lord? That's what it's saying. There's
many devices, many thoughts, plans, imaginations. Nevertheless,
the advice of the Lord. The advice of the Lord. You know,
if we're going to take some advice, I think it would be wise to let
the Lord give us some advice. I'm going to give you some advice.
That's what he's saying. The advice of the Lord, that's
going to abide. What is the counsel or the advice
of the Lord concerning Himself? Well, here's what we know. What
does God say in His Word? What did the Holy Spirit inspire
these men to write concerning God's character, concerning His
name, concerning His glory? What did He tell Moses to tell
the people when Moses went down into Egypt? Now listen to what
God had to say. Exodus 3, 13-14, Moses said unto
God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel and say
unto them, The God of your fathers has sent me unto you, and they
shall say to me, What is his name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I am
that I am. And he said, Thus shalt thou
say unto the children of Israel, I am, has sent me unto you. Not, I hope I can be to you if
you'll let me, I'd like to be, if you'll give me your heart.
Who shall I say sent me?" He said, you tell them that I am
sent you. The self-existent, absolute,
sovereign, eternal, unchanging God. He who exists. He who says and it is. He who speaks and it's done,
the one who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, you tell
them that God Almighty sent you, that God sent you. See, here's
the problem. These many devices in a man's
heart, you listen to somebody talk, and they'll tell you who
they believe God is. I believe God wants to, you know,
I said, well, let me tell you who God is. He said, I am. The Lord Jesus came and He says,
verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. I am. I am. His counsel. is going to stand that He's God. His counsel is going to stand
that He is God. He's God. What did He say He did? He said
before the foundation of the world, I chose a people that
I was pleased to show mercy. I adopted you. in my Son. I gave you to my Son, who in
covenant grace came into this world and laid down His life
for the sheep. And I'm going to save you. I'm
going to save you. The Lord said that. All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish." They're going to be with Me in
glory. You tell them that I am sent
you. That's who you need to tell them. Well, what is the counsel of
God? What is the advice of God concerning
man? Now, I'm going to tell you something.
This is what God says concerning man. Psalm 39, 5, Behold, thou
hast made my days as an hand-breath, mine age is as nothing before
thee. Verily, every man at his best
state is altogether vanity. What's going to happen? What
is man? He's a failing creature. And every thought of his imagination
is evil. It's vanity. And without the
Lord, you can do nothing, not by works of righteousness that
we've done. Many devices of a man says, well,
I'll tell you what, water will save you. Water will save you. Get a man
in water, get him under the water, he's saved. I had somebody tell me one time,
they were talking about baptism. And they said, when you get baptized,
you want to be very, very, very, very, very careful who is baptizing
you. So help me, this is the truth.
They said because if they say, I baptize you in the name of
the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, you're not saved.
They said you have to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
for the remission of sins. And if the man baptizing you
says anything other than that, then you're going to come up
lost. Are you telling me that that's not an evil device? So in other words, salvation
is not of the Lord. Salvation is in that man that
was baptizing me. If he happens to say the wrong
words, I'm going to spend eternity in hell. What did God say concerning man? The pilgrimage on this earth
is short. Man's age in light of eternity
is just less than a twinkling of an eye. And you take man in
his best state, he's just a man, he's just a maggot, he's just
a failing maggot. Nobody. Nobody. Vanity, unsubstantial as the
wind. He is constant only in being
unconstant. He's just floundering, he's just
no spine to him, unprofitable, unthankful. A rebel against God,
totally depraved and fit in himself only for the flames of fire.
That's man. That's man. The best of men. The best of them. That's what
God says. Thirdly, what's the counsel of
God concerning salvation? Now Jonah said it. Here's what
Jonah, under the inspiration of God's Spirit, I will sacrifice
unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving. I will pay that I vow salvation
is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. What did the Lord say about salvation? What did He tell Moses? I'll
have mercy on whom I'll have mercy. I'll have compassion on
whom I'll have compassion, so that it's not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. God
chose. Christ procured. And the Spirit
of God applies it. Salvation is of the Lord. not
by our works, not by our works, not by our works which we've
done, but according to His mercy. He saved us. What is the counsel
of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ? Matthew 3.17, a low a voice from
heaven saying, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. The Lord in another verse said,
you hear Him. You hear Him. The Lord is the one brought up
with the Father. That's what He said. Proverbs
8. One brought up with Him, daily His delight, rejoicing always
before Him. He's the one to whom the Father
has given all power. God took to Himself flesh, never
changed His being God, Totally God. And took to Himself. He was made flesh. God was made
flesh. Came to this earth. And all power
as the God-Man, as the Son of Man, as being God Almighty, all
power is His. He's God. He has all power. But He said, The Father has given
me all power. Why? That I should give eternal
life to as many as He's given me. The Lord Jesus Christ who
orders, He orders everything. All power is given unto Him.
Moving, directing, ordering, putting His people where they're
going to be. That He should give power, give
salvation, eternal life to all that the Father chose in Him.
And I'll tell you this, He is the one that the Father is going
to grant His will. The Son's will. Father, John
17, 24, I will that they also whom thou hast given me. Now
just listen to the words. Listen to the words of the Lord.
Father, I will that all that thou hast given
me. Does it not make perfect sense
that God has an elect? All that you've given me. Be
with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which Thou
hast given me. For Thou lovest me before the
foundation of the world." He's always been. He wasn't always
flesh. He was made flesh. But He's always
been. I know that's so. I can't see
the depth of it. I can't see the fullness of it.
But I know it's so. There are many devices in a man's
heart. Nevertheless, the counsel, the advice, the
purpose, the plan of the Lord, that, that is going to stand. Lord bless the Word, our understanding
and our heart for Christ's sake.