Nevertheless, God. When providence seems to frown
with darkness all around and progress can't be found, nevertheless,
God. When dreams have fallen through
and hopes you can't renew and there's nothing left to do, Nevertheless,
God. When direction you can't find, to every solution you're blind, and folks are so unkind, nevertheless,
God. When right seems to fail and
wrong to prevail, No end to travail, nevertheless, God. When failure
seems your lot and shame your destined spot, and to control you cannot, nevertheless,
God. When strength is almost gone,
you struggle to go on, in a dungeon all alone, nevertheless, God. When his purpose comes to light and you're crushed in the fight and can't see where it's right, nevertheless, God. When for mercy we plead, for
what we feel we need. Then for his namesake, we read. Nevertheless, God. The word nevertheless occurs
97 times in scripture. Reading the Bible through, you
have read this word 99, 97 times, nevertheless. It's 64 times in the Old Testament
and 33 times in the New Testament. Obviously, we'll not read all
these this morning, but I do want to read seven of them if
you'll follow with me in your Bibles. But first, let's bow
for a word of prayer. Our Father, we are truly thankful
this morning for who you are and for your great love. We're
with you. You've loved us. for your mercy and your grace and your plenteous redemption
that you have wrought for your children in sending your son
into the world to die on a cross to pay our sin debt. And we're
so thankful, Lord, that when you said from that cross, it
is finished, that it was finished. And in spite of our humanistic
religious efforts to add to what you've done, you said it is finished. And it is. We bless you, holy
name for that this morning. And we ask you, dear Lord, as
we look into that precious word that you would speak to each
heart present today. Lord, only you know where each
one is, what we face, what the situation is, What we need, Lord,
you can supply it. And we ask you, we ask you for Christ's sake
to do it. Have your way with us, guard our lips. May your
name be magnified in your grace, glorified in everything while
we're in this place today. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen. Nevertheless means notwithstanding,
however, or with that having been said, yet there's this. Nevertheless, it means nonetheless,
in spite of what's just been said, there is yet this to consider. Nevertheless, it means however
conclusive the previous statement was. Moreover, on top of that,
and equally so, there is this. Nevertheless, it is a very comforting
thought that when man has done his best
and done his worst, And when I say man, I'm talking about
man and woman. I'm talking about all of us. Best and worst. And Satan has done all the damage
the Lord permits him to do. And by the way, that's all he
can do. But when he's done all the damage
the Lord permits him to do, our God is never left helpless by
any and all of it. there is always a nevertheless. Nevertheless, God. When it seems obvious that you'll
never survive, you'll never be able to lift your head and go
on. Nevertheless, God. As Brother Jim said in the lesson,
People who were born with a silver spoon in their mouth and never
had any trouble or heartache of any kind in life probably
will not appreciate the things I have to say today at all. But
this is for hurting people. This is for beating up people. This is for crippled people,
not physically. The first occurrence we'll refer
to is here in Proverbs 19 and verse 21. And I'll call this one the nevertheless
of Providence. Proverbs 19 verse 21. There are many devices in a man's
heart. Nevertheless, the counsel of
the Lord that shall stand. We can't even imagine the many
devices of our own heart, let alone perceive it and process
it in our mind. So many are the foolish and foreign
devices which pass through the human heart and mind. of which most constitute dishonor
to our God, disobedience to our God, rebellion against our God. Many, many devices coming and
making their impression and sometimes an audible expression. And yet
in God's providence of all the millions of things, devices that
pass through your mind and heart, the counsel of the Lord that
shall stand. I'm glad if it originated with
you, it'll die with you. But if it originated in heaven,
it'll live and do its work and return to heaven. How refreshing, how restful is
this verse of scripture to the hearts of God's children. There
are many devices in a man's heart. A lot of folks say, oh, I don't
have any many devices. I just go around all day and
all night praising the Lord. I just never think about anything
but Him. There are many devices in a man's heart. Nevertheless,
there's our word, the counsel of the Lord, that which he has
decreed that shall stand. How refreshing it is. While we
say with our lips, I don't know how such and such situation is
going to turn out. At the same time, we're saying
in our heart, God knows how to turn out. He's the one that's
going to turn it out. It looks bad. Nevertheless, nevertheless,
what? Nevertheless, God, God will have
the last word. Nevertheless, the counsel of
the Lord that shall stand. I am so thankful this morning
for a firm conviction of that in my own heart. I think I'd
go crazy without it. Of all the experiences in my
life and all the sorrow and the shame and the hurt and the trauma I have never been able, even
once, to question whether there be a God. I have never been able to question,
even once, whether He be in control. You better believe I'm glad about
that. Whatever in his providence occurs
in this world, in my life, in your life, how blessed to know
there is always a yet, however, moreover, nevertheless, God. God. Number two, in Psalm 106. Turn back a few pages with me
to Psalm 106. And I call this the nevertheless
of God's purpose. Nothing happens for nothing. God has a purpose for all things.
And the psalmist here in Psalm 106 and verse six is confessing. He says, we have sinned with
our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We
have done wickedly. He then speaks of the Israelites
being delivered from Egypt and what their attitude was about
it. Our fathers. understood not thy wonders in
Egypt. They remembered not the multitude
of thy mercies, but provoked him at the sea, even the Red
Sea. Verse eight, nevertheless, based on their conduct, God should
have left them right there to perish. And based on our conduct, He
should have left us a million times where we were to perish. Nevertheless, it's a nevertheless with a purpose.
Nevertheless, He saved them for His namesake. that he might make
his mighty power to be known. For his name's sake, that phrase
occurs often in scripture. Psalm 23, 3, he leadeth me in
paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Matthew 24, 9, you shall be hated
of all nations, for my namesake. Acts 9 16 I will show him how
great things he must suffer for my namesake. First John 2 12 I write unto
you little children because your sins are forgiven for his namesake. He saved them for His namesake. That's God's purpose in all things. For His namesake. That's God's
purpose in our lives. And that's why we're sometimes
so unhappy. We forget that our lives are
not about us. But all that we do and all that
we seek after and all the experiences to be for his namesake, he chose
us for it. That's his purpose. Modern religion says, God wants
you to be happy and just obtain whatever you want in life. No, he wants you to be happy
with whatever he wants in your life. Be content, Paul said, whatsoever
state. Submission to His will, the nevertheless
of God's purpose. Nevertheless, for His name's
sake. And yet we plead so foolishly,
O Lord, for my sake, for goodness sake, for so-and-so's sake, for
heaven's sake, And it's just a saying, but hey, this gets
down to the nitty gritty. Nevertheless, for His sake, He
saved us. You see, I thought God loved
us so and Christ died for us just so we wouldn't go to hell.
Well, you ought to go to hell and me too. No, He did it for His name's
sake. God chose from Adam's fallen
race before there was a fallen race. If you can get that. He chose a people for his namesake. Christ came into the world and
died for him. Satisfied the justice of the
Almighty on our behalf. And the blessed Holy Spirit is
faithful. to convict and call out and convert and change and
conform those whom God chose in Christ before the foundation
of the world. God wanted this family and he
wanted every one of his children to be just alike, but not like you and not like
me, like his only begotten son. The one with whom he is well
pleased. He's well pleased with you and
I in him, never outside of him. You talk about an idiotic, foolish,
religious thinking that a holy God could be pleased with the
likes of you outside of his son. That's ridiculous. No way. He'd have to quit being God To
think much of me, if he were only looking at me, but we're
in his son in Christ. All right. Number three, flip
to the new Testament. Second Timothy chapter two, second
Timothy chapter two. And I'll call this the nevertheless
of preservation. the nevertheless of preservation. In a world of perishing things
and perishing people, the Holy Spirit records something
here not perishing, but permanent. In 2 Timothy 2, verses 16 through
18, Paul speaks to the ungodly, even
some who had professed to be followers of the truth. He writes
to Timothy, but shun vain, but shun profane and vain babblings,
for they will increase under more ungodliness. And their word
will eat as doth a canker of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus,
who concerning the truth have erred. saying that the resurrection
is past already and overthrow the faith of some. Business seems
to be downhill. There's opposition, there's false
teaching. There seems to be no hunger,
no desire for the truth among the masses of religion. A lot of what's left in our day
and time is flesh-pleasing and not Christ-honoring at all. Little churches that try to stand
for the truth, closing their doors. It's God that keeps the church
doors open. Did you know that? Big ones and little ones. But Paul says in the face of
this, nevertheless, Verse 19. Nevertheless, in spite of what
you see, in spite of what you hear, in spite of how things
look, in spite of what you feel and suspect and think, nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth
sure. Having this seal, the Lord knoweth
them that are his. And let everyone that nameth
the name of Christ depart from iniquity. The Lord knoweth them that are
his. Not one of his will perish. Now that don't mean we're not
going to die and leave this world somehow. Either in either in
death or at the Lord's coming. Some will get their heads chopped
off, and they were in this time. Falls die. And even now, some die with cancer.
Some die with heart attacks, auto accidents. Many, many ways
people die. But none of God's children, not
one, will perish. A sure foundation, the Lord knoweth
His sheep and they're His forever. The nevertheless of preservation. It's going to be all right. It
might not be all right here, but it's going to be all right
for God's children. Number four in Psalm 73. If you're
turning with me, Psalm 73. I like those youngins to make
a little racket. That don't offend me at all.
It don't bother me at all. It don't distract me at all.
It lets me know not everybody here is dead. So don't worry
about it, Harmony or any of the rest of you mamas. In Psalm 73,
the nevertheless of God's presence. The psalmist here has been cast
down in spirit. He has been watching the physical
and material prosperity of the wicked and the suffering of the Lord's
people. Now that's tough on us. to see people with no belief
in God, no reverence for God. Everything they touch turns to
gold and their young ones never get sick. And yet the Lord's people have
all kind of trouble. And the psalmist is seeing this.
And he said, I envied them. I envied them. Verse 17, until I went into the sanctuary of God,
then I understood their end. Surely thou didst set them in
slippery places. thou castest them down into destruction. Verse 21, thus my heart was grieved
and I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I and ignorant. I was as a beast before thee. I was acting as if there were no
God when I was envious at the prosperity of the wicked. I thought you'd left me. You were nowhere to be found. It had slipped my mind that the
only heaven the wicked know is this world. Verse 23, nevertheless, nevertheless, I am continually
with thee. Thou hast holden me by my right
hand. I've never been out of your presence
continually. I've felt many times that you
were out of my presence, but I've never been out of your presence. And you'll be with me. Receive
me to glory. I have nothing to fear. I have
you. Thou shalt guide me with thy
counsel and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven
but thee? And there is none upon earth
that I desire beside thee. Thou art with me. Thy rod and
thy staff, they comfort me. The nevertheless of God's presence. You can believe all these scriptures.
Nevertheless, God. Number five, in the book of Nehemiah,
Backing up from the Psalms, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job. Nehemiah chapter four. I'll give
you just a moment to get there because this is not a book most
people read from every day. Nehemiah chapter four. In this
book, we find a nevertheless a prayer. The book of Nehemiah is about
a man moved of God to rally a few thousand of Judah at the end
of the Babylonian captivity to come home to Jerusalem and rebuild
the city walls that had been destroyed. They met with strong
opposition. And Nehemiah says in chapter
four and verse six, so built we the wall. And all
the wall was joined together unto the half thereof, for the
people had a mind to work." That's a missing link today,
isn't it? For the people had a mind to work. But it came to pass that when
Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and
the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made
up and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were
very wroth and conspired all of them together to come and
to fight against Jerusalem and to hinder it. You talk about the world getting
together, they'll get together to fight against God. They conspired
all of them together to come into fight against Jerusalem
and to hinder it. Nehemiah says we were doing our
best and we were working hard, yet they hindered us. They were determined that we
were not going to succeed. Verse nine, nevertheless. However, in spite of them, we made our
prayer unto our God. and set a watch against them
day and night because of them. Nevertheless, a prayer. They never prayed and did nothing.
They prayed and did something. And that's how we're to live.
Work, I mean, pray and work. Pray and work. Understanding
that our work is worthless unless God blesses it. Pray and work. So we pray for His blessing,
then work toward it. Some weeks I pray especially
for those I'll invite to church that week. Most of the time, not a single
one of them comes. Should I quit praying? No. Should I quit inviting people
to come? No. God knows who and when. Does it all seem in vain sometimes? Yes. Nevertheless, God Nevertheless,
God. He's not defeated because we
decide he is. He's not through working because
we decide he is. We get it in our head. that everything's over, it's
not over. No, no. After they prayed, the opposition
never ceased, but neither did they. They didn't pray one day and
the enemy say, oh well, they prayed, I guess we'll give up
and go home. Uh-uh, uh-uh. Their prayer wasn't answered
overnight, but it was answered. Nevertheless, God, the Lord Jesus
himself taught us in Luke 18, men ought always to pray and not to faint. Don't stop
praying. But I don't see anything happening.
Don't stop praying. Nehemiah says they were coming
down hard on us. What did you do, Nehemiah? We
prayed and we fought. We prayed and we fought. The
nevertheless of prayer. Number six. I must hurry. In
Luke chapter five. Let's turn to that one quickly.
Got two to go. Luke chapter five. It's a familiar
story. Some of you are not getting a
lick of this, but some of you are. The Lord's helping someone. Luke 5, we have this familiar
story, and I would call this the nevertheless of perception. The Lord had used Simon Peter's
boat to preach from to the multitude on the shore. And this probably went on all
morning long. Then probably in early afternoon,
the heat of the day, the worst time of the day to go fishing, the Lord says to Peter, let's
thrust out from the land a little and catch some fish. I can imagine Peter saying to
himself, he sure don't know much about
fishing. He did argue a little bit audibly. We've fished all night and caught nothing. It's just not a good time. Verse 5, Simon answering said
unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night and have taken
nothing. He wasn't as slick as some of
us to say we hadn't caught much. No, he didn't say that. We didn't
have much luck. He didn't say that. He said zero. We struck out. We caught nothing. Now here's the word, nevertheless, at thy word, I will let down the net because
of who you are. Now, let me show you something
here. This is just one of the many little things. that people
who replace the King James Version with something else miss out
on. Look at verse four. The Lord said, launch out into
the deep and let down your nets, plural, N-E-T-S. Not some of them, not one of
them, but all of them. let down your nets. Now in verse
five, Simon Peter is saying, I don't see it. I don't get it. I feel like it's worthless, but
at thy word, I will let down one. I will let down the net just enough to satisfy you. And you can tell people you went
fishing, but sure not a good day for it. Peter did not realize the value
of the tiny perception in his heart that he ought to do what
the Lord said. Only he did it partially. He
just let down one net, even though he thought it to be in vain.
He did it. Verse six, and when they had
done this, when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude
of fishes and their net break. It was a lot of work to stretch
and unroll and let down the net. But by this perception, divinely
given, Peter said, nevertheless, I will and had great success. Number seven in second Peter
chapter two, this is the last place we'll turn second Peter
chapter two. And verse, I mean, excuse me, second Peter chapter
three. Second Peter chapter three. We
have in this chapter described the Lord's return and his judgment
on this world. Second Peter chapter three. The saints will have been caught
up to meet the Lord is Paul taught in first Thessalonians four. And Paul don't teach it like dispensationalists teach it today. We'll be caught up to meet the
Lord, Paul said. And that word meet means to join
another in his journey. It's not that we're We're caught
up for the Lord to meet us on our way up. We're caught up to meet the Lord
on His way down. That's what Paul says. We join
Him on His journey. He's not joining us. We're not
going to turn Him around. He's going to turn us around. To descend with Him to this earth,
cleansed, purified by fire, and made new. But here in 2 Peter
3, Peter describes judgment. 2 Peter 3, verse 10. But the
day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, into which
the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also and the works
that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things
shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in
all holy conversation and godliness? Looking for and hasting unto
the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on
fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent
heat. It's a sad ending for this world
in rebellion against God. The world as you and I know it
today. And in that day that I've just
read about, Democrat or Republican won't
matter. Black or white won't matter.
Rich or poor won't matter. All that will matter is being
in Christ. And here it's the nevertheless
of promise to God's children. Verse 13. Nevertheless, we, not they, but we, those Peter said in chapter one,
verse one, have obtained like precious faith. We, according to his promise, look
for new heavens and a new earth. wherein dwelleth righteousness,
nevertheless a promise to God's children. Wherefore, beloved,
seeing that you look for such things, be diligent that you
may be found in him in peace without spot and blameless. In spite of all things, all that
happens, all men do, all men say, in spite of it all, there
is a nevertheless. and the nevertheless is of God.
It's God-given faith to go on. Daniel said, you can throw me
to the lions, nevertheless. The three Hebrew boys said, you
can throw us in the fire, nevertheless. Paul said, you can cut my head
off, nevertheless. John Bunyan said, you can let
me rot in prison. Nevertheless, you and I can say this morning,
even though people don't do me right, nevertheless, even though
bad things happen to me, nevertheless, God, even though people boast in their
success and their security. and the rest of us have fears
about numerous things. Nevertheless, God, even though
the doctor says it don't look good, nevertheless, it would do you good this morning,
no matter what you're going through, no matter what you're facing,
to get ahold of this word in scripture. Nevertheless, There
is a God above. Nothing has slipped up on him.
He's not missed anything. Nothing's taken him by surprise.
In spite of it all, on top of it all, nevertheless, God. Whatever happens or don't happen,
nevertheless, God. So next time you calculate your
troubles, which may be a hundred times a day, when your mind is occupied with
the hopelessness of it all. Don't forget to conclude your
little session with this, nevertheless, God. Nevertheless, God.