Say, nevertheless, nevertheless, I want to talk to you about the word, nevertheless, this morning we're going to get there in just a moment. Has anyone ever given you their word and then not followed through with what they spoke to you? Has anyone ever given you a word or made a promise to you or said something to you that they were going to do for you or on your behalf and then they didn't follow through with it? Let me see your hands today.
My goodness, just about every single person in here. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 23 says this in the King James. Hebrews 10 verse 23, let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering. Let us hold on to what we say about our faith without teetering, without wavering, sticking to what we believe.
For the Bible says, for he God, for he is faithful, that has promised God is faithful to everything he has said. Numbers chapter 23 verse 19 declares to us in numbers 23 verse 19, it says that God is not a man that he should lie. Neither the son of man that he should repent. Have he said and shall he not do it?
Or have he spoken and shall he not make it good? In other words, whatever God says is, yes and amen. If God breathed it out, it will come to pass. He separates himself through what we see here in Numbers 23, 19, that God is not a man.
Indicating the implication there is that men lie. Now let's get it clear today. How many of you in this building, everybody real quick, close your eyes, because I don't want anybody looking at anyone else this morning when I ask you this question, close your eyes. How many of you here have ever told a lie?
Now let me see your hand. And those who didn't raise your hand, you're lying. All right, put them back down. At one point or another, we've all said something or you say, well, I've never lied.
But if you've ever said you were going to do something and you didn't do it, what is that? It's a lie. The Bible says to know to do good and not do it is sin. So to say we know to do good and not do it, we're lying.
We're lying, right? So God is not like us though. God is faithful to his word. And I don't know about you, but that gives me tremendous hope.
That gives me tremendous joy in knowing that even though men may disappoint us, even though we may disappoint each other at times, God is faithful. God will never, never go back on his word. Amen? All right, let's go to the main part of the text today in Luke chapter 5.
Luke chapter 5, a very, very familiar portion of Scripture. I'm sure to most all of you that are here today contains 11 verses 1 through verse 11 in Luke chapter 5 verse 1 through 11. It says, and it came to pass. It came to pass.
That, that as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, Jesus is teaching a crowd is coming. The crowd is getting larger. People are pressing in. He stood by the lake of Ganesra.
And he saw two ships. This is the Sea of Galilee. It's the same name for the same place. The Sea of the Isle.
He saw two ships standing by the lake. In other words, they were sitting idle there by the lake, but the fishermen were gone out of them. Those who had gone out and fished came back in. Their boats were sitting there.
They were still and they were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, meaning Jesus. He entered into one of the ships because the crowd was becoming so large and it was pressing in on him. Wouldn't that be amazing if the crowds were becoming so large today that they were pressing in to hear the word, to hear the word, not to see the personality, but to hear the word.
Amen? So the men who were in the boats, there were men in the boats. There were men fishing prior to this moment. They were washing and cleaning their nets.
And the boats were sitting still. They were idle. And Jesus enters into one of the boats which was Simon's, which we know to be Peter. And prayed him, in other words, he asked him that he would thrust out a little from the land.
So Jesus gets in a boat and he says to Simon, will you push the boat out into the water a little out from the land? And he meaning Jesus sat down and he taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, after he's done sharing the word, giving hope, he looks back at Simon who was one of the fishermen that had fished all night and was now tending to his nets, cleaning his nets for the next opportunity to go out fishing. Jesus looks at Simon and he says to him, launch out into the deep and let your nets down for a catch or a drop.
And Simon answered and said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night and have taken nothing. Jesus already knew that. This was not a surprise. Jesus was not caught off guard at the response of Peter that they had been at all night.
Jesus knew that. He understood that. He was about to show Peter what was possible when he was in the boat, when he was in the situation. He said, we've done this all night long, the fishermen saying to the carpenter, the carpenter saying to the fishermen.
Watch back out deep into the carpenter telling the fishermen who fished all night long. Most people today in the church would say something like get in your lane. Go back and build your table. Go back and build your chair.
Go back into the wood shop. Who are you to tell me? I am a professional. I am trained.
I know what I'm doing when it comes deficient and they fished all night long, trained, skilled, fishermen raised in the trade and they caught nothing. And the master of the teacher, the rabbi, the woodworker comes and says to them, I know you did what you know to do, but I'm asking you to launch back out into the deep. It wasn't the right time of the day to launch out into the deep. They had already been at the proper time where they should have been to catch fish.
And when he was asking them to go back out to the deep, it was not the right time to catch fish in their trained professional opinions. There have been many times in my life that God has asked me to do something that did not make sense in the natural. It did not make sense to my understanding. But I've learned to trust him at his word.
I've learned, nevertheless, say nevertheless. Simon says, we've done this all night long. We have labored and we have toiled and we have fished and we have done and we have used everything that we know how to use and we have taken nothing. And he responds, nevertheless, nevertheless, as I word, all he had was a word.
He didn't tell him, he didn't tell him the direct location where he wanted him to go. He didn't tell him how many nets to take. He didn't specifically tell him what boat to use. He didn't tell him what bait to use.
He just simply said to him, go back out into the deep, launch out into the deep. And Peter says, nevertheless, because you have said it, I will let down the net. Well, that's faith, isn't it? I know what we've done.
I know where we've been. I know what I'm doing, but nevertheless, nevertheless, I hope you remember that word all week long, nevertheless. And when they had this done, when they did this, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes. So they laid down the, threw out the nets and when they begin to pull the net, there was resistance from the net because the net now, which had brought no fruit all night long, was now bursting at the seams with a multitude.
No matter what, a great, matter of what I can say, a great multitude, a great multitude of fishes and their nets begin to break because the nets could not contain the great multitude of fish because they listened to what he said and did what they, what Jesus asked them to do, which were in other ships that they should come and help them. And so they beckoned under their partners who were in other ships and said to them, can you come out here and help us because we've caught so many fish, we don't have enough nets and we don't have enough room in the boat for all of these fish. And they came and they filled both the ships, they filled both the ships. Say that with me.
They filled both the ships so that they began to sink. The weight of the catch was so great that the boats themselves began to sink from the multitude was so great of the fish that they caught. And Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' feet kneeling and saying, depart from me for I am a sinful man, O Lord. He began to acknowledge the majesty and the power of Christ, for he was astonished.
He was astonished and all that were with him at the drop of the fishes which they had taken. And so was also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon in the fishing business. And Jesus said unto Simon, fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they left all.
King James says they first took all, they walked away from all and they followed him. The key verse I'm going to zero in with you today is verse five, but Simon answered and said unto him, Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing. How many of you have ever done everything that you knew to do but yet still? No change.
You've labored, you've worked, you've stood, you've thought, you've prayed, you've sought, you've done everything that you've known to do but yet still nothing worked. Have you ever been there? Did you ever feel like you would never see the light of day? Why does it always work out for everybody but?
Why does it always happen for everybody else but me? I've worked hard, I've toiled, I've labored, I've thought, I've prayed, I've done everything that I've known to do. But Peter says, nevertheless, at your word, there came a lot of people who were here. There came a moment and there are moments in this life when faith and facts collide.
How many of you have ever had a fact and faith moment? Your facts were telling you one thing but your faith was leading you in another direction. Peter had plenty of facts. He said, we've tried already.
How many of you have said that? I've already tried and when you go to the pastor and he says, pray, you want to slap him because you've, I've already prayed. Pray again because your Bible says to pray without, boy, somebody even listening. Peter said, we've already tried.
How many have been in that camp? You already tried camp. How many are you going to admit anything I say? All right.
Peter then said, here's facts. We tried. Fact. Fact.
Fact number two, they're tired. They were out all night long. They're tired. They're weary.
They've brought the boats in. They've cleaned the nets. He said in so many words, this doesn't make sense. We've already been out there all night long.
It's morning, the sun is already putting heat down on the lake. The fish aren't going to be coming. This is not the right time, the proper time. You know, if you're a fisherman, you know when it makes sense and when it doesn't make sense.
But I'm here today to tell you, church, faith speaks a different language. Faith is language of heaven. Faith speaks a different language. Faith says, faith says, ready, nevertheless.
Well, when I've done everything I know to do, what do I do? Well, then you stand. Where do I stand? I stand on my faith.
I stand on my faith. Then what do I do? Then I keep doing good. Why?
Because we were created unto good works. And so when it isn't working the way you want it and you don't know what else to do and you're confused and you're struggling and you're afraid and you've done and you then you stand on your faith, you pray and you see God and then you go out and you do something good because we are created unto good works. You put your hand to the plow and you keep doing good things because that's what he's created us to do. We don't just stand still because we're disappointed.
We don't just quit because we're idle and things didn't go the way we wanted them to go. And so we become stagnant. No, we stand on what we believe and we let our faith rise to the top and we continue to do good works because that's what he's called us to do. Faith says, nevertheless, it doesn't matter even though I've done everything I know to do.
Nevertheless, what does your word say? Nevertheless means this, right? Nevertheless means in spite of that. So Peter could have said in spite of fishing all night, in spite of toiling all night, in spite of laboring all night, in spite of all that, I'm going to do what you say.
However, or yet acting as a conjunctive adverb, now I'm reading this to you because I checked it out. I'm not this smart. It's a conjunctive adverb to show contrast, right? It's defiance.
It's a concession to a previous statement, a concession to a previous statement. I have fished all that I'm going to, but I'm going to step back away from that statement because you've said this, I've stayed in my fact. I've shared what I know, but in spite of that, in spite of what I know, in spite of the fact, nevertheless, I'm going to do what you've told me to do regardless, notwithstanding what's already happened. That one single word that we see here in Scripture is the bridge that we find between human limitations and divine intervention, nevertheless, they were limited.
He was unlimited. That one word changed the entire story and stirred faith for generations. That one word, nevertheless, it separates empty nets from nets that are overflowing. That one word, you said, well, how's it?
Because he did it, because he went back out, because he trusted in what Jesus told him to do. That one word changed it. Nevertheless, I'll do it. That one word turns ordinary obedience.
That one word takes an ordinary act of obedience. Okay. The boat's already sure, and that's already cleaned. The whole night's been a waste.
I'm tired. I'm agitated. I'm weary. And those three guys, they stink.
You know, a fisherman who've been out all night long, they're sweating, they're gross. We got to get back in the boat with those guys. Haven't had breakfast yet. Come on.
Those are all facts, but nevertheless, it took an ordinary act of obedience to create an extraordinary miracle. Some may have called it what happened to the nets. They break. The Bible says they broke an extraordinary breakthrough through a simple act of obedience.
So am I speaking to anyone who's tired? Am I speaking to anyone who's discouraged? Am I talking to anyone who's frustrated? Is there anybody here today that's been tempted to quit?
What are you willing to say in spite of all of those things? Lord, even though I don't understand, but that's your word. I'm going to keep going. That's your word.
I'm not going to give up. That's your word. I'm not going to give in. Peter's reality.
We have toiled. We have worked. We have strained. We have done everything that we knew all night long.
Listen, Peter wasn't lazy. He wasn't inexperienced. He wasn't careless. He was a professional at what he was doing.
Luke says all night, which was the best time for them. And they still caught nothing. Have you ever had a time, a place, a week, a month, a year where you were doing the right things and still nothing worked out? Come on, church.
You prayed. You served. You gave. You showed up.
And nothing changed. Welcome to the life of being a pastor. When you say, God, I've preached and I've preached and I've shared and I've shared. But come on, let's make this about you, not about me.
But we've all been there, haven't we? When we've done and we prayed and we served and we've shown up and we've done everything that we could do, but you just, it's still the same. When is this thing going to change? When is it going to be different?
I'm sick of time of everybody else getting their breakthrough. I want my breakthrough. You follow the rules, but you didn't get the results. And if we want to be honest, nothing discourages obedience more than effort with our reward.
You really want to discourage obedience. Look at someone who gives effort but sees no reward. Just because we don't see reward doesn't mean there isn't reward. Because he who has called you is what?
Faithful. And what will he do? Complete what he has begun. Hold on.
Hold on. The day to cast the net will come. Peter could have been upset with what Jesus said. He could have railed against it.
As I said earlier, could have said to me, don't you need to go buy some more sandpaper? You're a carpenter for a reason. He might have been able to say, I've seen you fish. Of course, you know, it wouldn't be fair if you want fish with Jesus.
Because he probably wouldn't even need to use a rod and a line and a hook. And he probably just walk out on the water and go, come on. He'll be jumping into his hands. I always think kind of weird things like when Jesus was little, what were some of the things maybe we don't have recorded in scripture.
Some of you heard me say things like this. Mary said, can you go get me some flour? And she says, well, I'm playing with my friends but I need you to go to the store and get me some flour. And he says, mom, it's in the cupboard.
She says, Jesus, it's not in the cupboard. Mom, it's in the cupboard. Come on, stop playing with your friends. Go down the store and get me some flour.
I need some flour. Mom, it's in the cupboard. Intergo to the cupboard and there'll be all this flour. Jesus running in one dancing.
Mom, mom, can I go swimming with the boys? Can I go swimming with the boys? And Joseph says, Jesus, whatever you do, in the water today, not on the water. In the water.
Okay, son, go in the water today. Peter could have said, Jesus, you just don't get it. Because to ask him to go fishing when Jesus is asking Peter to go fishing didn't make sense. It would be like someone who has no idea what they're talking about would tell you to do something like that.
But because he is who he is, and because he's able to do all things, he said, go out now. Why? Because he controls. Peter brought his exhaustion.
He brought his weariness. Instead of allowing those things to harden him, he trusted. And he said, nevertheless, the very thing Jesus asked him to do, it doesn't make sense. Launch out into the deep.
Let your nets down for a catch. We could say that when it even been irrational to do that at that particular point of the day. Now we're going to have to clean the nets again. But church, you got to hear this.
God often asks us to obey without explaining himself. He just wants us to trust him. I shared the other day I saw this somewhere. I can't remember if I saw it or something.
He sent it to me or whatever it was. But it's a great illustration of Noah in the ark. I think I shared it with, I might have shared it with you guys. I can't remember now.
But when God gave Noah everything that he needed to build the ark, two things he didn't give him, a steering wheel and a rudder. Because it wasn't for Noah to control where the boat was going. That was for God. And Jesus was saying to Peter, you try to control all night and you come up with nothing.
But if you would trust me, isn't that good? Were we going to trust our logic or our lordship? Were we going to trust our experience or his voice? Our past failures or his word?
Peter could have stood on the failure of the facts of what happened the night before. That one word changed everything. Nevertheless. When Peter says it when we toiled all night, we caught nothing.
That was true. That was a fact. That was honesty, right? That was honesty.
But then comes the change. Then comes the transformation. Then there comes the moment where everything that was becomes different. Nevertheless, I'll do what you say to do.
Church, it's not blind. We say it's blind faith. It's not blind faith when our trust is in God. It's surrendered faith.
This is surrendered faith. Peter, Peter, for the most part was saying, I don't deny the facts. He shared them with Jesus. He didn't dismiss his weariness.
But what he was saying was, but your word carries more weight than my weariness. Nevertheless, at your, nevertheless, at your, nevertheless, at your church, we need to learn that nevertheless, at your word, God, we don't get it but at your word. God, we don't understand this but at your word. God, we don't know what's happening but at your word.
God, I've tried and I've prayed and I've worked and I've toiled and I've tithed and I've given and I've, but nevertheless, I'm weary and disappointed and frustrated. I'm hurt. Am I talking to anybody today? But I'll trust you.
Why? At your word. I'm frustrated. I'm weary.
I'm anxious but you know what? I'm going to obey you. I'm tired and lonely but I'll try again. I'll try again because you said so.
Every breakthrough in scripture proceeds is preceded by a nevertheless moment where somebody becomes obedient. Abraham is too old to have a child but nevertheless, nevertheless. This is impossible. Sarah laughed.
It's impossible. But Abraham come to the tent. Nevertheless, Sarah Abraham, come on Abraham. Are you kidding me?
No, Sarah. One more time. Nevertheless, come on. Stay with me here.
Nevertheless, it's impossible but nevertheless. I know this shouldn't happen but nevertheless, stretch your rod out over the water. Nevertheless, this doesn't make sense. We've got to get to the other side.
There's an army coming behind us. Stretch your rod over Moses. Nevertheless, God. I'll do it.
Oh, Jesus. Break through. Obedience releases the power of God. When Peter said the nets filled, the boat began to sink.
Others had to help carry the blessing. Others were affected by...oh, church, if I could get under the omption of the Holy Ghost for you to understand this. That your blessing could be what changes other people's lives too. Others had to come alongside in the blessing because it was so great.
One act of obedience reversed an entire night of weariness and failure. One act of obedience. Just one sheer act of obedience. Jesus didn't give Peter new nets.
He didn't give him a fancier boat with GPS in it. He didn't give him a new lake. He didn't give him a new place to fish. But what he gave him was more powerful than all of those things.
Do you remember what he gave him? Do you remember what he gave him? The Word. He gave Peter a Word.
Who is faithful to his Word? Who will bring the past what he says? God will. He simply gave Peter a Word.
You know what most people rebel at today is a Word. But I want this. It's like where we want God. But I want the golden gifts.
We want what we want. But I want it now. Right? How many of you have ever been I wanted now?
Nevertheless Peter acted on a Word. I've labored, I've toiled, I've given, I've served. I've even been in the nursery. I've worked with little kids.
I've almost lost my mind and I still haven't got the answer. But if we're doing all of those things just to get what we want, God knows our hearts. He wants our sacrifice. He wants our service.
He wants our obedience because we love him and we want to serve him not because we want the reward. And if we're only doing what we were doing to get the reward. Okay, well, I'll try given if it'll give me the answer. Well, that's the wrong reason to give.
Are you with me? But it's one act of obedience. A word. When Peter received the word and that's important, we got to receive the word first.
Somebody's got to be willing to speak the word and then somebody's got to be willing to receive the word and we're timid today to speak the word because we don't want anyone to be mad at us. We've got to be bold enough to speak the word and people have to be bold enough to receive the word. And when Peter acted on that word, the same place of frustration became a place of abundance. You've been calling a season of death or things not coming to pass.
That season may just be waiting on an act of obedience to God's word. Maybe that thing you're struggling with, maybe that thing you're going through right now that just doesn't seem to turn. Maybe God's just waiting for one simple act of obedience from your heart, not out of duty but out of love. Obedience was word fisherman to follower.
When Peter saw the miracle, it stirred a reaction. He fell on his knees in front of Jesus and he said, depart from me for I am a sinful man, O Lord. He recognized the authority and the power that was in Christ. And he said, I'm not worthy of you.
Who else is worthy? Who else is worth? There is no one, only you, Jesus. Amen?
Whoo! Miracles reveal more than God's power. Miracles reveal our position. Miracles reveal more than just God's power.
They reveal our position. Jesus said, do not be afraid. From now on, you will catch men. Peter's obedience didn't just produce fish.
It was the beginning of a calling. It was the beginning of a calling when you obey God. He doesn't just bless your hands. He transforms your life.
He changes your thoughts and your heart. He, he refines and he defines your future. Those fishermen left everything the Bible says. He redefined their future.
They left everything. They left everything. They left all the Bible says. And they followed him.
They may just be your nevertheless moment. Come on, we're shifting. We come back to the platform. Some of you are here today just as Peter was there at that moment.
You've tried, you've frayed, you've waited. He may not be asking you to understand today, but what he is asking you to obey. Your miracle is on the other side of one word. Nevertheless.
Nevertheless when it's hard, nevertheless when it hurts, nevertheless when you don't see how it will work out. Say it today. Say it boldly. Compess it strongly.
Lord, nevertheless, at your word. May just maybe you're nevertheless moment. I want you to think about that for a moment as we get ready to close out our time together this morning. Do you believe there's no one like him?
How am I ready for nevertheless moment? I don't like where I am right now, but nevertheless. This job drives me crazy, but nevertheless. This relationship, but nevertheless.
Our finances, but nevertheless. My frustration, but nevertheless. Nevertheless. Nevertheless.
That's your word. And again, you may say, well, I don't even understand what that. He's not told me to do anything yet. Well, he, he asked, he asked, hold you.
I shared it with you a few moments ago. Ephesians says we are create, we are his workmanship created under good works. And so when you don't know what else to do, then do something good. Do something good.
Look for someone that needs an answer to something and you might be able to be the answer to that thing. Do something good. Don't just get stuck. Don't just stop because you don't understand.
Keep doing well and don't become weary in doing well, the Bible says. And in your act of obedience to his word, pray, worship, be obedient, serve, love. Your breakthrough just may be on the other side of your nevertheless. Come on.
What do you stand with me today? I pray, and I'm going to ask you to repeat this prayer with me this morning by fate. If you're here today and you desire nevertheless moment in your life, I'm going to ask you to pray this prayer with me out loud. As I say it, you can repeat it after me.
Say Heavenly Father, I thank you for this day. I thank you for bringing me here. I thank you for your word. I'm asking you, Father, to speak richly to my heart.
Change my thoughts. Change my desires. Father today, I'm giving you the right to change everything. I'm asking you to change everything.
Give me today a nevertheless moment. Nevertheless Lord, at your word, I will trust you in Jesus' name. Father, I thank you so much today for each one who prayed that. Lord, I thank you for moments like this that we can have a nevertheless moment.
And despite all, regardless of whatever it is that's happening in our life, whatever hasn't come to pass that we're holding on, God that we will trust and believe. And in that meantime, we will go about doing good. We will serve you. We will worship you.
We will love you. Cong Miropodians to the plough. We will do acts of kindness, acts of good deeds because you've created us unto good works. And we will do it all with a heart of joy and love, serving you, knowing Lord that we have things that need to change and things that we desire to see change, but Lord what we do is because we love you and we want to serve you and we want to be obedient to you.
So today help us give us the strength and courage to stand, to move forward to put our hands to the plough, not be lazy. But to trust you in all things believing that you work things in together for our good. So today as we prepare to leave this place and courage, just strengthen us. God as we place ourselves into your hands today, we give you glory, we give you honor, and we give you praise.
I pray Father over this household blessing. I pray in our rising and in our sitting, in our coming and in our going. Wherever our feet may trot and whatever our hands may touch Father, I pray today, we'll be blessed of you. We give you glory, strengthen.
Let your joy and your peace and your comfort rest upon this house today. In Jesus name.