Words have a very appealing intrigue to me. Words are very important, as they are the means of conveying our thoughts and sentiments; they are our most invaluable communicative tool. As a preacher words are essential in the skill and craft of preaching, so to speak. We need to examine the word "Nevertheless" this morning. Relevant to its application in this message, my definition will be "following through or obeying instructions or commands, contrary to one's belief or conviction or inclination. "

Luke 5:3-10 'And He entered into on of the ships, which was Simon' sand prayed that he would thrust out a little from land, and He sat down and taught the people out of the ship. Now when He had left speaking, He said unto Simon, launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto Him, Master we have toiled all night and have caught nothing, NEVERTHELESS at Thy word I will let down the net. And when they had done this, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their nets brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came and filled both ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it he fell down at Jesus' knees saying "depart from me: for I am a sinful man, 0 Lord." For he was astonished, and all that were with him at the draught of fishes which they had taken. '

Now Peter was a seasoned, hardened, experienced, career fisherman, he knew something about fishery; that is what he had done all his life. He knew about the ocean and the currents, and when and where the schools of fish are likely to be caught. Despite all that he knew, Peter and his fellow fishermen caught nothing that night, I mean risen, nada, zilch, zero. How disappointed and disillusioned he and his men must have been. I am sure that we all can identify with Peter. We put our all into something, we checked it out, reviewed it, examined and re-examined it, yet when executed, it does not work)., you come up empty. That leaves a foul and bitter taste in your mouth, and sickens you to your stomach, to every inch of your being. It was at that time of Peter's experience that Jesus said to him, to launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a draught. Knowing the type of person Peter was, he must have exercised great restraint, not to have said 'Master with all due respect, you stick to teaching and preaching, I am the fisherman here, and I know that there's no fish anywhere around here.' Brothers and Sisters, it is in circumstances like these, that it tells clearly whether you trust in the Lord and His Word or not. Were it not for that 'nevertheless' Peter would have remained in his lack, his emptiness, and his failure. The question is, will you trust God above and beyond your personal intellect and wisdom? Will you surrender and obey His will as He seeks to order and guide your life.

The second, of which there are many, references of "nevertheless" is found in John 11 : 15. "And I am glad for your sakes that I was not here, to the intent that you may believe, nevertheless let us go unto him. Jesus had spent much time in the home of His friends, Mary, Martha and Lazarus. We all would have loved to be there, to be taught by the Master Himself. Despite Jesus' teaching there were some profound truths of His teachings that just did not get through to His hearers, and so Jesus seized the opportunity that Lazarus' death provided to consolidate their faith and understanding of Himself. Jesus taught that he had come to die, but the disciples just never understood this. Even up to Palm Sunday when they heralded Him saying Hosanna in the Highest, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, they were expecting as a tyrant that He would seize authority, and put an end to Roman rule, and domination. At this time Martha confessed her belief in the resurrection, in the statement that she knows that she will see her brother, Lazarus again. John 11:23 Jesus said unto her, thy brother shall rise again. Martha said unto Him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Indeed Martha was right, but she was not fully correct. The truth was that resurrection was not merely an event to take place in the distant future, but rather, that resurrection was a person, personified in Jesus who was present speaking with her. We hear His words in John 11:25, I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in me, though he were dead yet shall he live. Whosoever that liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

We now turn to Matt. 26:39 when Jesus 'went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed saying 0 My Father If it be possible let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.' We see Jesus in His Humanity as he prayed in profound sorrow and anguish. He was alone, he chided His disciples in saying could you not watch me one hour? Then' cometh Jesus with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said unto His disciples, sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. And He cometh to His disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith to Peter, What, could you not watch with me one hour. Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak. We have to take note of the juxtaposition of that word, nevertheless and its relevance and importance with regard to our redemption and salvation. I am so glad that Jesus quoted that word, 'nevertheless,' because had he not done so, we all would still have been condemned in our sin. You see there was no other way for us to be saved, there was no contingency plan, The Almighty God does not need any contingency plan, nor a v plan "B" so to speak. I remember the text in John 13:1 "Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour was come, that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end."

Because of the finished work of Christ on the cross of Calvary, we can now declare as Paul declared in Gal 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ, Nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the Faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Our lives are now not our own, for we have been bought with a price, the precious Blood of Jesus.

I am wondering whether we may want to include some "neverthelesses" ourselves. Let me prompt you just a bit; think of Daniel and his companions, faced with the lion's den and the fiery furnace, they said the den or the fiery furnace may mean certain death, nevertheless they will honour their God. What about Queen Esther, if the king did not reach for the Royal Sceptre, in acceptance of her person, it would have resulted in sure death for her, but she had long concluded, nevertheless, I shall go and see the king. Her words were "If I perish, I perish, but I'm going to see the King. What are you faced with in your life? Is your love for the Lord and your dedication to Him as such that despite difficulty and hardship, anguish and agony, ridicule or embarrassment, your response is nevertheless I will love and serve Him. Does your love for Christ transcend and supersede every obstacle the adversary may place in your life's pathway? I do hope it is your conviction that despite all the negatives, NEVERTHELESS you will serve the Lord. Our last text is Rom.8:37-39 "Yea in all these things we are more than conquerors, through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death of life, nor angels or principalities, nor powers, or things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, or any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus Our Lord. "