Nevertheless at Thy Word I Will

Luke 5:1–11 KJV 1900

1 And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, 2 And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 3 And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. 4 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7 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 the ships, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: 10 And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 11 And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

Introduction

Have you ever had to do something that you just didn’t want to do? Maybe it was something at home, like a chore or some other unpleasant duty. Maybe it was something at work. Maybe it was some dirty little job that nobody wanted, but which was placed in your lap. Even though you may not have wanted to do the job, you did it anyway. Why? Why did you do a job that you did not want to do?

Perhaps it was out of a sense of obligation or of duty. Maybe you did the job out of respect for the person who asked you. Whatever the reason or the job, we have all had to do things that we thought were unpleasant. Jesus even spoke about this Matt. 21:28-30. “But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. 29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. 30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.”

This is just the scene that presents itself in these verses. Simon Peter is called upon to do something that he just doesn't want to do. However, because it was Jesus Who asked this thing of Him, Peter complied. This morning, I want to look into this passage for a while. While we are here, I want us to look at the way we are living our lives today. I would like for us to learn to develop the same mind set that Peter displayed. It is a mind set that does what the Lord asks, regardless of how we feel about it on a personal level.

I am asking the Lord to work in the hearts of every person present this morning to bring us all to the place where we are able to echo the words of Peter in verse 5 of our text. Please do not close your heart and mind against the word of God this morning, but allow Him to have His way in your life today. Let's look into this passage as we think about this thought: Nevertheless, At Thy Word I Will.

I. A Night of Struggle (v. 5)

A. These verses tell us that Jesus was by the sea shore and was going to speak to the people who were gathering there to hear Him. As they pressed in upon the Lord, He got into Simon Peter's boat and asked him to move away from the shore just a little. When Peter had done this, Jesus sat down and spoke to the crowds.

After He had finished His preaching, Jesus then commanded Peter to go out deeper so that he could let down his nets and catch a great load of fish. Peter immediately objected that he and his partners had labored all night and has taken nothing! In short, they had failed!

B. Why did they fail? Surely it wasn't that they did not know how or where to fish. These men were experts. They were professional fishermen and knew how to fish and where to find the fish, and yet they fished all night long and caught nothing. (⇒The word “nothing” means “not even one”) Their failure had nothing to do with how they were fishing or where they were fishing. Their failure came about because the Lord wanted to teach them a much needed lesson. That lesson is that without Him, we can accomplish nothing!

C. Friends, this lesson is still needed by the Lord's people this morning! Many times, our struggles and failures in the church are the result of our failure to do God's business God's way! He is the One Who should direct us in the steps we take.

The modern church has all the machinery in place to do church, and yet we are still losing ground to the devil and the world. We are guilty of trying to duplicate the activities of others instead of relying on the Lord for ourselves.

Instead of merely implementing what has worked for others, we need to allow the Lord to chart a course for us that is as individual as our church!

D. Here is what we need to remember when we face opportunities to serve the Lord: Our success or our failure rests entirely on where Jesus stands in the picture! Here is what we are told by the Lord: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”, John 15:5.

We often fail because we do not trust Him! However, there is another promise in the Word of God that needs to be inserted right here. When we leave Jesus out of the picture, we will fail, but when He is followed, there will always be success, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”, Phil. 4:13.

II. A Morning of Surrender (v. 4-5)

A. I can imagine Simon Peter and his partners were ready to call it a day. They had fished all night long and had caught not so much as a single little fish. They are tired, frustrated, discouraged, and defeated. The last thing any of them wants to do is go back out and fish some more. Yet, when Jesus tells Peter to do just that, he surrenders to the will of the Lord and goes out to fish.

When they let down their nets this time, they caught so many fish that their net broke and they had to call their partners to help them get the catch loaded into the boats.

What made the difference? Obedience to Jesus, even when Peter did not want to do what the Lord asked him to do!

B. Friends, there are times when the Lord asks us to do certain things that we may not want to do, however, we must come to the same place Peter came. We need to decide that regardless of how we feel about a certain matter, if the Lord has commanded it, then we will do it!

Some people say, “If your heart isn't in it, then you might as well not do it!” That is wrong thinking! You cannot trust your heart, Jer. 17:9 !The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? God will reward our obedience if we will go ahead and do what He has told us to do. When we obey in spite of our own objections, the heart will eventually follow our lead.

Ideally, we should serve the Lord from the heart, Eph. 6:6. “Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart”; However, when the heart will not cooperate, we should mind God anyway! Imagine what would have happened had Saul simply minded the Lord instead of listening to his heart, 1 Sam. 15; 2 Sam. 1! Imagine what would have happened had David minded God instead of listening to his heart, 2 Sam. 11.)

C. There are many areas of our lives where the Lord requires obedience from His children. Often, we do not want to surrender in these areas, but if we are going to be right with the Lord, then we have to do what Peter did and let down our nets. If we want the blessing of God, then we must do the will of God! Allow me to share some areas where this attitude of surrender can and should be seen by every person in this room.

1. Toward God - James 4:7, (Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ); Eph. 6:6.

2. Toward Jesus - Acts 16:31; Acts 4:12.”Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved”.

3. Toward The Church - Heb. 10:25; “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching”. 1 Cor. 6:2.

4. Toward The Bible - James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves”.

5. Toward One Another - Gal. 6:2; Matt. 22:37-39; “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”. Phil. 2:3.

6. Toward One's Wife - Eph. 5:24-33

7. Toward One's Husband - Eph. 5:22-23, 33 “Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband”.

(Reverence - To be in awe, to venerate, to treat with deference.) You may not be able to reverence the man, but you had better reverence the position the man had been given!

8. Toward One's Children - Eph. 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

9. Toward One's Parents - Eph. 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

10. Toward Leadership - Heb. 13:7, 17 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

11. Toward Satan - Eph. 4:27. Neither give place to the devil.

D. At the mere word of the Lord, Peter let down his nets. Is the Word of God enough for you? Or will you rebel against what God says in His Word?

III. A Tomorrow of Satisfaction (v. 6-11)

A. Because obedience ruled the day, they witnessed the immediate reward of a vast catch of fish, Beyond that, this miracle brought these fishermen to their knees in worship of the Person and Power of Christ. When they submitted to Him, He revealed to them that all of their tomorrows would be different because of their obedience of today. When they heard this, they immediately left everything behind and followed the Lord Jesus. Surely, we can see that their lives were forever altered.

B. This is a lesson that we all need to learn today. The secret to perpetual and deep satisfaction as a child of God is found in absolute surrender to the will of the Lord in every area of life, John 14: 15, If ye love me, keep my commandments. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. As long as we hold anything back from His Lordship we can never expect Him to bless us like He wants to.

C. If you would like to see all of your tomorrows altered and your life filled with the best that God can give, then the secret lies in total surrender of everything in your life to His will!

Conclusion

When the Lord told Peter to let down his net, he didn't want to. However, he did what the Lord said to do in spite of his own wants and wishes. The results were far better than he could have ever imagined!

Friend, the same blessings wait for you if you will do what Peter did. Jesus has spoken in His Word! Now, I ask you, will you let down your nets at the Word of the Lord?

He is calling someone to be saved. Will you let down you net?

He is calling His children to faithfulness and surrender. Will you let down your net?

He is calling husbands and wives to a renewed commitment to one another. Will you let down your net?

He is calling His people back to the Bible and to the church. Will you let down your net?

You may not like what the Lord is calling you to do today, but will you join Pater and say, “Master, we have toiled all the night and taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.”?

No one can let down your net but you! Will you obey Him this morning?