(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.) on the first rock of ages clap for me let me hide myself in thee let the water hand the blood from thy wound decide which flowed be a sin the double cure stay from breath and make me pure all right on the second verse 129 rock of ages could my tears forever flow could my zoo no linger no these person could not atone thou must save and thou alone in my hand no price I bring simply to thy cross I cling while I draw this bleeding breath when my face shall close in death when I rise to worlds unknown and behold thee on thy throne rock of ages clap for me let me hide myself in thee all right let us pray dear heavenly father I just pray that you help us glorify you as we worship your name this work thank you for this church take for steadfast and I pray that you be with the preacher as he preaches this morning filled with the Holy Spirit so we're gonna have ears to hear and hear what he has to say so it could be edified and I pray I'll be done for your glory Jesus name amen all right next song so number 119 saw number 119 till the storm passes by song number 119 till the storm passes by in the dark of the midnight have I hop in my face while the storm comes above me and there's no hiding place mid the crash of the thunder precious Lord hear my cry keep me safe till the storm passes by till the storm passes over till the thunder sounds no more till the clouds roll forever from the sky hold me fast let me stand in the hollow of the hand keep me safe till the storm passes by many times Satan whispered there is no need to try for there's no when the sorrow there's no hope I am back but I know that work with me and tomorrow arise where the storms never dark in the sky till the storm passes over till the thunder sounds no more till the clouds roll forever from the sky let me stand in the hollow of the hand keep me safe till the storm passes by when the long night has ended and the storms come no more let me stand in thy presence on that bright peaceful shore in that land where the tempest never comes Lord may I dwell with thee when the storm passes by till the storm passes over till the thunder sounds no more till the clouds roll forever from the sky keep me safe till the storm passes by how's it going everyone welcome to steadfast baptist church if you don't have a bulletin one of the ushers would be happy to get one to you just raise your hand it's october 2nd 2022 we've got our bible memory passage there on the front where this for this weekend verse 46 john chapter 1 verse 46 and i just want to encourage everyone to continue working on that if you are and if you aren't i know it's late in the game but hey i think there's still some time so give it your best shot pastor shelley's out of town today he is visiting some family and so you'll have to bear with me in the morning i'm filling in and then in the afternoon at our 5 30 p.m service brother jimmy stewart will be preaching and so i would really hope that you show up and support really hope that you show up and support him you know he's been a faithful member of this church for a while now and so it'd be it'd be nice to see the church filled in the afternoon for him and you know that you come ready to listen to what the lord has laid on his heart i'm sure he's going to do a great job so um just wanted to put that out there on the inside of your bulletin you'll notice our our service and soul winning times you made it to our morning service at 4 30 we have a spanish service some of the spanish speakers of the church get up and rip face at 4 30 so make sure you come check that out if you can speak the language and even if you can't hey maybe that's a good way to learn to immerse yourself at 5 30 we have our evening service i just mentioned wednesday nights we're going through the book of second samuel at seven o'clock and our soul winning times the latest one upcoming one is today at 2 p.m i'm filling in for pastor shelley on that one we have a lady's time at 10 30 on tuesdays that's morning and wednesday at 5 15 p.m prior to uh obviously it's the morning uh wednesday we have our 5 15 p.m soul winning time preceding our bible study with pastor shelley we got regional times there as well and i wanted to point out the leaders for this if they're here brother jeff goodwin runs our monday regional soul winning time at 5 30 could you raise your hand so everybody knows who he is what he looks like so you can get with him if you want to go soul winning there tuesday at 5 30 we've got brother steve malton is he in the room there he is he's raising his hand right there so you've got brother steve malton at 5 30 brother sue hale runs a thursday at 6 p.m time he's raising his hand in the back row if you want to get with him brother jason west he's hard to miss folks brother jason west at uh saturday at 10 a.m that's the one i go to so i'm partial to that soul anytime uh brother matt illy runs a soul winning time at the same time saturday at 10 a.m and where is that one brother matt an azle i should have probably given you guys the actual locations but azle texas matt illy is running that one and then the last saturday of the month brother west and brother lugo team up for a west and lugo soul winning blitz and this is always a lot of fun so just wanted to bring that to your attention we have our stats there and you'll notice year to date 1201 salvations 33 baptisms and keep our expecting ladies in your prayers as they go through their pregnancies we go over the prayer list in detail on wednesday nights on the back you'll see our upcoming events it's here the heritage of the lord conference for the children we've got pastor bruce mejia from first works baptist church in anahim california coming to town we've got pastor roger jimenez from verity baptist church in sacramento california coming to town they're going to preach i'm sure epic sermons and our pastor will be preaching he'll be back by the way on wednesday night but he'll also be preaching for us next sunday as part of this conference pastor jonathan chelly and i'm sure he'll do a great job as usual this will be very edifying for families i think it'll be edifying for everyone honestly and so i would highly encourage you to invite your friends and your family to this let's fill this building up i'm sure we won't have any problems doing that for the heritage of the lord conference we have a spelling bee occurring on that saturday and the eighth and so that will be you know a great opportunity for the kids and so you know i'm i'm praying for it i think it's going to be great i think a lot of the kids regardless of how well they do are going to get a lot out of it just from practicing and learning these words and things like that so children uh just be encouraged with this that maybe even if you don't finish where you wanted to you put in the effort and and you know that's what matters and so we're all real proud of you for stepping up and participating in the spelling bee brother suhail will be giving you guys the words october 16th i just wanted to bring this to your attention we have a business meeting for the jacob stop laughing at me we have the we have the business meeting coming up october the 16th and that's after the evening service and pastor shelley wants all members to show up all active members of our church to show up for this and it'll be similar to the one we did last year there may also be other items that are covered at this meeting this business meeting october the 16th not next sunday but the sunday after the evening service october the 22nd our fall swap that's occurring at 9 a.m from 9 a.m to 3 october the 29th we have the arlington soul winning blitz october 31st our texas chili cook-off and that starts at 5 30 p.m quick story my wife came home one day i wanted chili for dinner and she informed me that she forgot the beans and i said all right i usually always eat it with beans but this time i'll let it go no problem just make it without beans i've wanted it without beans ever since so i kind of stumbled into this doctrine but it was the best chili i've ever had and so i'm on board november 5th we have a music recital from 2 to 4 p.m for the kids and on november the 10th it's our mata morris soul winning trip in mexico this will be a tremendous chance for us to give the gospel in a very receptive area if you're a spanish speaker you know it's a great opportunity and even if you're not i mean you can go and be a silent partner and just experience this on the 23rd of thanksgiving dessert fellowship that'll be lots of fun on december the 2nd there's going to be a ladies christmas party from 6 to 9 p.m and so more information real quick on the music recital you'll see it says there that it's happening again from 2 to 4 parents if your child desires to participate please fill out the sign-up sheet on the front cabinet and apparently there are going to be some tryouts for the recital which will be held at church on the 22nd time slots will be assigned later all instruments are welcome it says and we will only supply a piano so make sure you bring your own instruments but that's all i had for announcements and so with that we will go to song number 137 song number 137 in times like these song number 137 in times like these 137 in times like these you need a savior in times like these in times like these you need an anchor be very sure be very sure your anchor holds and grips the solid rock this rock is jesus yes he's the one this rock is jesus the only one be very sure be very sure your anchor holds and grips the solid rock in times like these you need the bible in times like these oh be not idle be very sure be very sure your anchor holds and grips the solid rock your talk is jesus yes he's the one this rock is jesus the only one be very sure be very sure your anchor holds and grips the solid rock in times like these i have a savior in times like these i have an anchor i'm very sure i'm very sure my anchor holds and grips the solid rock this rock is jesus sees the one this rock is jesus the only one i'm very sure i'm very sure my anchor holds and grips the solid rock as the offering plate goes around please turn your bibles to luke chapter five that's luke chapter five we're going to read the entire chapter luke chapter five the bible reads and it came to pass that as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of god he stood by the lake of just center it and saw two ships standing by the lake but the fishermen were gone out of them and were washing their nets and he entered into one of the ships which was simon's and prayed him that he would throw would thrust out a little from the 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 drought 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 and when they had this done they enclosed a great multitude of fishes and their net and their net break excuse me and they beckoned onto 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 begin to sink when simon peter saw it he fell down at jesus knees saying depart for me for i'm a sinful man oh lord for he was astonished and all that were with him at the drought of the fishes which they had taken 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 shall catch men and when they had brought their ships to land they forsook all and followed him and it came to pass when he was in a certain city behold a man full of leprosy who seeing jesus fell on his face and besought him saying lord if thou will thou canst make me clean and he put forth his hand and touched him saying i will be thou clean and immediately the leprosy departed from him and he charged him to tell no man but go and show thyself to the priest and offer thy cleansing according as moses commanded for a testimony unto them but so much the more went there of fame abroad of him and great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by him of their infirmities and he withdrew himself into the wilderness and prayed and it came to pass on a certain day as he was teaching that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by which were come out of every town of galley and judaea and jerusalem and the power of the lord was present to heal them and behold men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy and they sought means to bring him in and delay him before him and when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude they went upon the housetop and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the mist before jesus and when he saw their faith he said unto them man thy sins are forgiven thee and the scribes and the pharisees begin to reason saying who is this which speaketh blasphemies who can forgive sins but god alone but when jesus perceived their thoughts he answering said unto them what reason in your hearts whether is easier to say thy sins be forgiven thee or to say rise up and walk for that you may know that the son of man hath power on upon earth to forgive sins he saith unto the sick of the palsy i say unto thee arise and take up thy couch and go into thy house and immediately he rose up before them and took up that whereon he lay and departed to his own house glorifying god and they were all amazed and they glorify god and were filled with fear saying we have seen strange things today and after these things he went forth and saw a publican named levi sitting at the receipt of custom and he said unto him follow me and he left all and rose up and followed him and levi made him a great feast in his own house and there was a great company of publicans of others that sat down with him and of others that sat down with him but their scribes and pharisees murmured against his disciples saying what do you eat and drink with the publicans and sinners and jesus answering said unto them they that are whole need not a physician but they that are sick i came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance and they said unto him why do the disciples of john fast often and make prayers and likewise the disciples of the pharisees but i eat and drink and he said unto them can you make the children of the bride chamber fast while the bridegroom is with them but the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them and then shall they fast in those days and he spake also a parable unto them no man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old if otherwise then both the new maketh the rent and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeeth not with the old and no man putteth new wine into old bottles else the new wine will burst the bottles and be spilled and the bottle shall perish but new wine must be put into new bottles and both are preserved no man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new for he sayeth the old is better let us pray father we thank you for this opportunity to be in your house today and we just thank you for this great church and i pray that you'll fill brother ben with your holy spirit help us help us with all readiness to mind to receive what he gives us help us to have soft hearts to take correction and reproof today and we just thank you for your son's precious blood and the free gift of eternal life and we pray these things in jesus name amen amen you're there in luke chapter five and that's where we're going to begin i'm just putting my stopwatch so i don't preach for three hours luke chapter five look what it says in verse number one and it came to pass that as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of god he stood by the lake of janassa red and saw two ships standing by the lake but the fishermen were gone out of them and were washing their nets 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 now wherever jesus went there were crowds and they wanted to hear him he drew crowds there were two ships by the lake here that's the setting in luke chapter 5 he enters one of the ships and he begins to teach the people out of the ship but things get very interesting as we continue to read in verse 4 it says now when he had left speaking he said unto simon launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a draft so jesus says to launch out into the deep and he offers an instruction which is to let down your nets he asks peter to let down his nets for a draft a draft is that which is taken by a net it's often used at least it was back then i don't go fishing so i'm not sure if people still use the term but back then it was used basically to describe what you would catch in your net and here the context would be fishing the implication is that if you thought this is jesus the implication from christ is if you follow my instructions you will catch a draft of fish you will catch fish and this is seemingly counterintuitive to simon who is peter because he had been toiling all night and caught nothing and so he's thinking well the future will yield the same result i'm not going to catch anything he doesn't believe jesus he has a lapse of faith and doesn't believe that if he were to follow this commandment that it would result in catching any fish luke 5 verse 5 it says in verse 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 the fishing didn't result in fish they toiled all night they worked hard they caught nothing but he says in spite of this and his unbelief nevertheless at thy word i'll let down the nets the net excuse me he says nevertheless that thy word i'll let down the net you know in the christian life there are going to be times where god's telling you to do something in his word that you don't want to do he's telling there are going to be times where he's asking you to do something and you don't necessarily believe the promise associated with that commandment related to that commandment but your response every single time should be what peter said here and it's the title of my sermon nevertheless at thy word nevertheless at thy word we have an initial objection and it's on the basis of what futility he didn't catch anything he thought if that happened in the past surely it would happen again in the future in spite of that though he says nevertheless at thy word he lets down his net he was reluctant and he was doubting you know sometimes you're going to be reluctant about following christ that's just the reality and don't pretend otherwise you're not always going to feel like following christ you're not always going to feel like adhering to his commandments appealing to what the bible says we still have the old man it didn't go anywhere when you got saved it's still there the bible says i beseech you as strangers and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul and this is a war that you have to engage in every single day that's why these lordship salvation types who think that at salvation good works just flow out naturally and are automatic these are some of the biggest holier than thou's that you'll ever encounter these are the biggest holier than thou's that you'll ever see because that's not the case we have to work hard we have to take up our cross and follow him we have to work hard to do what he said because there will be times where you do not feel like doing it there will be times where you have a lack of faith where you are doubting where you don't think that if you let down your nets that you'll catch anything but what's the attitude in those moments nevertheless at thy word you know the right response is nevertheless at thy word and that's what i want to drill in for the next hour nevertheless at thy word the only acceptable response when we don't feel like doing what the bible commands be faithful even if it seems according to the flesh if it seems paradoxical if it seems counter-intuitive obey anyway obey anyway later on in the chapter as brother nick was reading this caught my eye in verse 18 and behold men brought in a bed a man which was taken with the palsy and they sought means to bring him in verse 18 and delay him before him and when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude they went upon the house top and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before jesus and when he saw their faith he said unto them i said unto him excuse me man thy sins are forgiven thee these instances where jesus heals people offer for us a tremendous picture of salvation and this attitude that says nevertheless at thy word it starts at salvation because when you got saved you were confronted with a doctrine that was different than what you believed before see we were trying to work our way to heaven we thought we could heal ourselves we thought that if we were good enough we could earn salvation but that is not what the bible teaches it says rather that it is by faith alone in the finished work of the lord jesus christ and by placing your faith in him and relying and depending on him your faith makes you whole not your works look at matthew 9 real quickly we'll head back over to this chapter later but go to matthew 9 and i want to show you another example of this where faith is highlighted and that's what these instances of healing that you see over and over again during the earthly ministry of jesus christ what's the lesson for us in the new testament when we go out and we reach the lost with the gospel of christ we're asking them to place their faith in his finished work to receive healing the healing which is the forgiveness of sins eternal life salvation matthew chapter 9 and verse 27 matthew chapter 9 and verse 27 it says this and when jesus departed thence two blind men followed him crying and saying thou son of david have mercy on us and when he was come into the house the blind men came to him and jesus saith unto them believe ye that i am able to do this they said unto him yay lord you know who we're looking for regarding excuse me regarding evangelism who are we looking for we're looking for people who are willing to believe that jesus can save them this is the promise which he had promised us even eternal life we're looking for people who are willing to believe that promise and be healed look at verse 29 the untouched he their eyes saying according to your good works is that what it says according to your faith be it unto you and their eyes were open verse 30 and jesus straightly charged them saying see that no man know it faith is what gets you in the door salvation by faith alone in christ alone plus or minus nothing but should you stop there you see i think we shouldn't stop there the bible doesn't tell us to stop there that's why james chapter 2 which is twisted by damnable heretics says faith without works is dead now a dead faith will get you to heaven if that's what you have a dead cell phone still exists a dead car with an engine that doesn't work still exists a dead faith still exists it's just not useful so how about you go from faith for salvation to faithful for rewards and oftentimes you aren't going to feel like being faithful you aren't going to feel like being obedient the bible will confront you with doctrines that conflict with whatever you believe before it happened doctrinally at salvation and it's going to happen when it comes to your lifestyle when it comes to things you've always done in the past look at first samuel chapter 15 first samuel chapter 15 psalm 143 says teach me to do thy will for thou art my god thy spirit is good lead me into the land of uprightness here's a prayer lord help me to do thy will not my own help me to be obedient to you not my flesh because it's warring with the new man and it will continue to do so until you shed the old man at the rapture a famous verse in proverbs says trust in the lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding who are you trusting in this morning who are you leaning on god are you leaning on yourself are you leaning on yourself now some background here in first samuel chapter 15 saul i don't have time to get into it in great detail but essentially saul is told to smite everyone in amalek god told him wipe them out and he said specifically everything everyone verse 7 we'll see if saul did that in verse 7 first samuel 15 verse 7 he says and saul it says and saul smote the amalekites from havila until thou comest to sure that is over against egypt and he took agag the king of the amalekites alive and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword but saul and the people spared agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen or the fatlings and the lambs and all that was good and would not utterly destroy them but everything that was vile and refuse that they destroyed utterly god said spare not he said take everything out and saul because i believe he was leaning on his own understanding said well hold on a minute i'll only apply that to that which is vile and refuse but what i consider to be desirable i will keep and it probably made sense to him he thought well surely i'm still obeying god by doing it this way he thought he knew better skip down to verse 20 skip down to verse 20 in verse 20 it says and saul said unto samuel yay i have obeyed the voice of the lord he thinks he obeyed and have gone the way which the lord sent me and have brought agag the king of amalek and have utterly destroyed the amalekites but the people took of the spoil you don't understand it was the people how about you show some accountability sheep and oxen the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed to sacrifice unto the lord thy god in gilgo i don't remember that being part of his list of instructions verse 22 and samuel said hath the lord as great delight and burnt offerings and sacrifices in obeying the voice of the lord behold this is a famous portion of scripture to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams what was saul's error what should have been destroyed was not destroyed he wasn't obedient precisely and there was a you know lack of precision here you know there are going to be sins in your life that might seem desirable to you and you will not want to destroy them you will not want to slay them saul was unwilling to slay the amalekites exactly how god intended exactly how god commanded him to do it you know obeying christ it means figuratively figuratively fbi figuratively slaying who jesus what jesus told you to slay it means this is a picture figuratively slaying what jesus told you to slay and that would be the sins in your life that you carried with you from your past see obeying christ means that you destroy what he tells you to destroy exactly the way he told you to do it and the reality is if you're going to go all out for jesus if you're going to choose to after getting baptized walk in the new man and change your life and serve him and put him first then don't take a gag along for the ride take him out take out who god told you to take out kick them out of your life get the sin out of your life and here's the thing at times that will seem counterintuitive at times it might seem like a paradox you might not want to do it but it's at that moment where you need to renew your mind and appeal to what this says not what the flesh says sometimes you have to force yourself and i've given this analogy before but it's so easy when you get home to sit there and do this you get home from work and to sit there and do this and there are times where you literally just have to grab your own arm and you just got to say come here and you just got to go like just put it right here right on the bible and you say i am opening this i'm getting off facebook i'm getting off twitter i'm opening the word of god i'm not reading lies i'm reading the truth and you just got to force yourself hey on the soul when the soul winning time comes it's saturday at 10 a.m or whatever soul winning time you like to go to you might literally have to force yourself out of bed well not me give me a break that's how i know you're lying you might have to force yourself but it's in those moments where you're doubting the promises of god connected to his commandments and your obedience where you need to say nevertheless at thy word nevertheless at thy word i'm going to let down my nets and i want to apply this in several ways the first one is child rearing and look at psalm 78 psalm 78 as you turn to psalm chapter 78 i'll read for you from first samuel 3 so turn to psalm 78 if you would in first samuel 3 it says in that day i will perform against eli all things which i have spoken concerning his house when i begin i will also make an end for i have told him that i will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knoweth because his sons made themselves vile and he restrained them not hafnai and phineas sons of belial perverts freaks and it was because eli restrained them not he restrained them not and and i have a warning for you this morning do not neglect discipline do not neglect this area of your life and for you young couples who may have just gotten married or you don't have kids yet take heed to this do not neglect when you have children disciplining them according to god's word if we all choose if we all choose collectively to forego what the bible says about this if we choose to eschew what the bible says about this child rearing through the lenses of scripture the next generation will be a bunch of hafnai and phineases the next generation will not walk in truth and that will be devastating to the cause of christ we don't want the next generations to take the baton and fail we don't want them to take the football from us and spike it or get tackled or dive or whatever the case may be you know that would be devastating psalm 78 look at verse 5 psalm 78 and verse 5 this is why we host conferences like by the way the heritage of the lord conference coming up this week that's why we're taking the time to do it to edify the children in the room because they will carry the torch that we pass to them psalm 78 says in verse 5 for he established a testimony in jacob and appointed a law in israel which he commanded our fathers pay attention to this highlight it if you have to underline it if you have to that they should make them known to their children that the generation to come might know them even or specifically the children which should be born who should arise and declare them to their children you know the mothers in the room you might have a proclivity to think i don't know if what i'm doing makes a big difference false makes a huge difference makes an enormous difference because how you raise your children today if you choose to do so through the lenses of scripture that will have a generational ripple effect that's what the bible is telling us in psalm 78 what you teach them they will pass down we have parents that taught us things i don't care whether they were saved or not and you know what we did we passed those things down to our children and it's through that that our parents live on and then our children will take those things and pass them on to their children and it's a domino effect that continues but folks it won't happen if you get lazy it won't happen if you forego what the bible says about discipline and training and making sure that you you raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the lord when you do that you know it puts them in a position to do the same thing to their children one day it's a generational impact and overall this is what helps us turn the tide against evil we can whine and complain about the state of this world until the cows come home what are you doing about it what are you teaching your kids you know here's my question who's training your progeny is it you or is it the television set who's training him what are you putting him in front of is it you or is it hollywood is it you or through the lenses of scripture of course or is it video games who's training him today is it you or is it the perverts in the public fool system are you at least filtering that crap out who is teaching your children what are they gaining from you is it the influence of this world or is it the influence that comes straight from the pure word of god that's a question you have to ask yourself honestly and you say well i want to train my children right well training necessitates discipline go if you would to proverbs chapter 13 proverbs chapter 13 and yes let me be very clear about what i'm talking about i'm talking about spanking i don't like that i don't care that's what the bible says oh me have you looked outside just look outside and then you want to get mad at me no no no no no no no no no no look at what the bible says proverbs chapter 13 verse 24 it says he that spareth his rod hateth his son proverbs 13 24 he that spareth his rod hateth his son but he that loveth him chasing it him betimes you say i love my children do you spank them do you discipline them then you don't love them oh i never discipline my children i give them everything they want you hate them no i don't yes you didn't but but that's what the bible says i don't like that well you don't like the bible look at hebrews 12 hebrews chapter 12 if you would here's the problem you want to forego this you don't want to discipline your kids you just want to give them everything they want you know what will happen to them they'll turn into a bunch of spoiled little brats the tick-tock culture is that what you want you want the tick-tock culture you want them getting up on social media making a fool of themselves on tick-tock you know dylan preached about that in sacramento he was right every word he said i agree with garbage tick-tock whores are on tick-tock they're whores you want your daughter to be a whore i don't think so discipline them proverbs 19 it says chasten thy son while there is hope and let not thy soul spare for his crying chastening discipline according to the bible it might lead to some crying spare not spare not love is exemplified through what your discipline this is what the bible says whom the lord what loveth he chasteneth and scourge with every son whom he receiveth and the bible even goes as far as saying that it'll deliver your children from hell now how is that possible because it teaches them that there are consequences for their actions and it teaches them eventually it lays the bedrock down for them to one day understand their need for a savior by grace through faith on the lord and you may not enjoy doing it there will be times where you don't want to there will be times where you just you don't feel like it it's hard you might not you might even doubt that it's making a difference but it's at that moment where you need to say directly to god nevertheless at thy word i will discipline my kids nevertheless at thy word i will chasten my children the way you commanded me to exactly the way you commanded me to i'm going to launch out into the deep i'm going to let down my nets and i have faith that there will be fish waiting for me there say what are you talking about train up a child on the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it the fish in this sermon god's promises and they're waiting for you but you got to let down your net they're waiting for you but you have to have the attitude that says nevertheless at thy word i will let down my nets you have to let down your nets if you want god's promises you have to let down your nets if you want them to be a reality in your life you have to say nevertheless at thy word i will discipline my children i will spank them when they're bad i will do what you told me to do because i have faith that if i let down my nets there will be fish waiting for me a whole great multitude that i can't even number hebrews 12 says in verse 11 i had you turn there hebrews 12 says in verse 11 now to chase now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby divine chastisement can change us and lead to the fruit of righteousness well i think the same principle applies between the the relate when it comes to the relationship between you and your children the same principle applies that discipline and chastening will yield a fruit of righteousness a peaceable fruit of righteousness it's worth it you know it's worth it when you can take them to the restaurant and they're not throwing a fit every 10 seconds like other kids are it's worth it when the waiter or the waitress walks up to your table and says how did you do this and if you explained how they probably would be shocked and horrified because the world the world according to them it's evil they call good evil nuts to them nuts to them nevertheless at thy word oh but but all my friends say it's wrong the internet says that it's wrong atlantic magazine which is toilet paper says you know this leftist rag puts out an article saying oh you should never discipline your children spanking is wrong it's bad don't do it i don't i don't know what to do nevertheless at thy word who cares what they're saying they call even they don't know what a woman is and you're gonna listen to them they can't define a woman hey it's worth it when your children can sit in the service like they are right now it's quiet in here it's worth it why because you're disciplining them you're training them you're teaching them that when the church service starts hey it's time to listen to the preaching of the word of god and when they get older that will pay dividends you'll see a peaceable fruit of righteousness they will grow up loving the lord they will grow up loving church they will grow up loving soul winning they will grow up loving the things of god and if that's what you want it starts now you discipline them you train them to sit in the service that's why we have the family integrated services so they can sit down and they can see a man up here a man up here with the word of god preaching his guts out for you turn to Ephesians 6 Ephesians chapter 6 it's worth it when you start to see those results but it might take some time maybe you're not seeing the results right now and you start to wonder is this really happening i'm not sure if this is working should i continue down this path maybe i should just put them in timeout instead no nevertheless at thy word oh i'm not sure you know i haven't seen much of a behavioral change yet nevertheless at thy word oh i i don't know i mean it does this you know where's the fruit nevertheless at thy word the fish are there let down your nets here's the other application i want to talk about honoring your parents Ephesians chapter 6 yes there's a conference coming up i'm sure this will be brought up i'm not going to talk about it too much is consider this a preview all right and so i'm talking to the children listen up children pay attention okay listen carefully i'm talking to you obedience to mom and dad is obedience to god obedience to mom and yes dylan i repurpose the alex jones thing all right chill out obedience to mom and dad the resistance to tyranny is obedience to god obedience to mom and dad folks it is obedience to god that's what the bible teaches Ephesians 6 look what it says it says children obey your parents in the lord for this is right honor thy father and mother which is the first commandment with promise well my parents they make me eat nutritious foods and i want to have ice cream for dinner you don't understand ben my parents they make me do school work when i don't want to my parents they make me read the bible when i don't want to my parents they drag me to church when i don't necessarily feel like going every single service my parents they drag me out soul winning you don't understand my parents they make me do chores i don't care what does the bible say that should be your attitude children what does the bible say it says children obey your parents in the lord in verse one this is right honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the lord thy god giveth thee it says in exodus chapter 20 you have the concept in the old testament you have the concept in the new testament and so kids when you don't feel like it when they tell you to do something you don't necessarily want to do and you're thinking i just i don't i don't feel like doing my chores today i don't want to obey mom and dad it's at that moment where you need to say to god nevertheless at thy word i know what the bible says i know what god has commanded me and obedience to my parents is obedience to god and so even when i don't want to even when i don't feel like it even when they're telling me to do something that i'd rather be doing something else nevertheless at thy word nevertheless at thy word that's the attitude you have to have nevertheless i will obey i'm gonna i'm gonna go out into the deep i'm gonna let let down my nets and there will be fish waiting for me look at verse three you say why because that's what the bible says look at verse three that it may be well with thee and thou mayest live long on the earth don't you want to catch that fish well then when your parents give you the list of chores when your parents tell you get up out of bed we're going to church when your parents bring you out soul winning when your parents tell you to read the bible when your parents tell you it's time for school work when your parents tell you this is your dinner eat it and enjoy it nevertheless at thy word might not want to might not always feel like it nevertheless at thy word launch out into the deep let down the nets there's some fish waiting for you a long life that's what the bible says that's what it's promising and i know you're not going to see this in the medical journals today they're not going to have obedience to mom and dad in the the fancy medical journals that want to pump you full of vaccines and pharmaceutical drugs coming from the medical industrial complex i get that it won't be there but it's in the bible and i trust that a heck of a lot more and you know it says it promises you fish it promises you a long life don't you want to be hey i'd like it i'd like to come here as an old man on crutches just kind of stumbling in 99 years old and amening preaching against fags that'd be great well i need to make sure i honor my parents this is not just for kids i think we should do it as well as adults do you call your mom and just say i love you do you call your dad just want to let you know i appreciate what you've taught me over the years how you doing they're not saved so what call them there's something you learn from your parents and kids you have an invaluable opportunity your parents are saved and on fire for the lord do what they say it will yield the fruits of peaceable righteousness like we talked about you're going to take these lessons with you through your whole entire life follow what they are telling you to do obey mom and dad you say i don't feel like it i don't i might not want to nevertheless at thy word that's what the bible says look at matthew chapter 5 matthew chapter 5 how about this one and this might seem counter-intuitive it might seem counterintuitive to us but loving your enemies loving your enemies loving people who hate you verse 43 matthew chapter 5 verse 43 it says you have heard that it hath been said thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy but i say unto you love your enemies he doesn't stop there he continues bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you man jesus takes it a bit farther not just he doesn't just stop at love your enemies he specifically tells you do good to them bless them pray for them we don't want to do that but it takes a certain kind of humility to set those feelings aside and say nevertheless at thy word i'll love my enemies go to proverbs 25 proverbs chapter 25 we've got to set aside that wrath and say you might hate me for a stupid reason i love you you know people talk oh racism in america so horrible if somebody doesn't like me because of my ethnicity i love them they hate me because of my ethnicity i love them i don't care just don't violate my life liberty and private property we're good i love those people i'm not gonna be a victim about it i don't care go ahead make the terrorist jokes i think they're funny folks look the the the complete christian loves even their enemies that's the reality and of course there's the caveat for those who don't know i'm not talking about god's enemies here all right i'm not talking about the enemies of god i'm not talking about the romans one animals the beasts that's a different sermon for a different time i think i've covered that one before okay we're not talking about them so get that out of your mind you come to this church for any length of time you'll understand this concept very quickly david slew goliath didn't he did he slay saul when he had the opportunity no there's your distinction no the bible says about jesus christ when he was reviled he reviled not again when he suffered he threatened not but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously in first peter chapter two that's god folks that is god god almighty god was able not to revile again and yet us dirty rotten rag sinners can't do the same thing and he would have had every right to respond he would have every right if he wanted to theoretically to revile again and yet he chose not to as a perfect deity he was g he was he was god manifest in the flesh that's our example who are your enemies you might be wondering how about the guy cutting you off on the as you're driving to work he flips you off and yells at you what's your reaction what do you want to do in the flesh you just want give it right back to him i'll show you you give me one finger i'll give you two how about that how about them apples you know i'm driving with dylan we're going past a gas station and he can attest to this and we noticed two pickup trucks i think they were pull into the gas station get out and they're like squaring up ready to fight because of something that isn't that right isn't that what happened why what are you doing you are stupid are you an idiot do you really want to go to prison over something so dumb oh but you don't understand they cut me off so what how carnal are you that's what the world does water up a duck's back is the way we should look at it love your enemies how about the old ifb some of them are not friendly to us some of them are like a soul to us because we believe in the pre-tribulation rapture because we believe in replacement theology because we reject dispensationalism they reject us and there are times where they mistreat us and they hate on us and they lie about us do you love them in response and i'm talking about the ones who are saved they got the right gospel they're soul winning they might not want to have anything to do with you do you love them it's not it's not all of the old ifb there's many of them who don't necessarily have this attitude some of them are even friendly with us it's rare but it happens some people who left our movement they're not not everyone who leaves the movement is like some horrible heretic reprobate now granted there are some who are we know about them and they've been preached against and praise god for that but you know some of them are not they just got carnal or they're they're bitter for some stupid reason and they're off in the wilderness doing nothing but are you hating on them you know i love them there's people i can think of right now who probably i mean i was blocked from facebook by some folks by some people i love them they don't love me you know loving your enemies it may not come naturally the inclination is to hate those who hate you but the right response is when you feel like disobeying this when you just want to hate them back when you were when you want to revile again that's when you need to say to god nevertheless at thy word i will love my enemies nevertheless at thy word i'm not going to go tit for tat with them nevertheless at thy word i will not revile again nevertheless at thy word i'm going to let down my nets there'll be fish waiting for me see what are you talking about proverbs 25 look at verse 21 proverbs 25 verse 21 it says if thine enemy be hungry give him bread to eat and if he be thirsty give him water to drink for thou shalt he coals of fire upon his head and the lord shall reward thee counterintuitive isn't it maybe kind of a paradox you might not naturally do this but your enemies hungry feed them give them bread they eat give them water to drink there'll be coals of fire heaped up on their head and you will receive a reward there's fish waiting for you just got to let down your nets you just got to follow what god said turn to matthew 6 matthew chapter 6 how about this one seeking first the kingdom of god seeking first the kingdom of god here's what i noticed though when it comes to loving your enemies a soft answer turn at the way wrath now some people you piss off so badly that maybe that didn't work just try not to get them to that state but hey a soft answer turn at the way wrath be somebody who can de-escalate things and that'll help you love your enemies but more than anything when you don't want to do it nevertheless at thy word seeking first the kingdom of god is another application that i think is relevant we might not always want to do this but look at verse 25 therefore i say unto you verse 25 matthew 6 verse 25 therefore i say unto you take no thought for your life that's jarring that's what we do instinctively what you shall eat or what you shall drink nor yet for your body what you shall put on is not the life more than meat and the body than raiment we have a propensity to be anxious about our immediate needs that's how we are especially as men leading families some of them very large families when we go to work and we provide for them you have a propensity to worry am i doing enough will i lose my job will i be able to provide will i be able to put food on the table will i have enough money to keep them with a roof over their head we're predisposed to worry about these things and the reality is jesus said hey take no thought when you start worrying when you start feeling that anxiety that nervousness it's at that exact moment when you need to say nevertheless at thy word look at verse 26 behold the fowls of the air for they sow not neither do they reap nor gather into barns yet your heavenly father feedeth them are ye not much better than they you're better than birds now put that in your pita pipe and smoke it god feeds the birds and we are better than them as mankind he will feed us too we're better than them he will feed us too look at verse 30 wherefore if god so clothed the grass of the field which is which today is and tomorrow was cast into the oven shall he not much more clothe you oh ye of little faith i don't know how i'm going to provide for my family oh ye of little faith i'm afraid of being homeless i think i'll be homeless tomorrow i don't know what i'm checking with my head cut off oh ye of little faith even grass which is ordained to be burned clothed and you don't think god can clothe you verse 31 therefore take no thought saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall be shall we be clothed he wants you to have peace that passeth all understanding that people ask they'll ask you about the reason for the hope that's in you verse 32 for after all these things do the gentiles seek for your heavenly father know it that ye have need of all these things verse 33 if you have to underline it if you have to write it down if you have to highlight it if you have to put a bunch of arrows next to it do whatever you have to do it says but seek ye first the kingdom of god the command is clear from christ seek first the kingdom of god seek first the things of god put him first make god the very top of your priority list so when would this be difficult to do how about this scenario leave steadfast or be fired you might have this happen you might reach this crossroads in your christian life where the boss calls you into the office he says i've seen what you preached i've seen that church you're going to and and and you know you either leave and denounce it or we're letting you go are you going to seek first the kingdom of god or are you going to cling to that because you're worried about how to provide the temptation is all right i'll just go to church someplace else i'll go to the lame old ifb church that believes in dispensationalism and no soul winning and i'm sure there's some other good churches out there but my point is i'll leave i'll do whatever you ask i'll leave steadfast i'll even denounce what they preach just don't let me go that's the temptation you might want to in the flesh you might want to do that how about this one you already were fired you made the right decision and they let you go you know what the temptation is all right i give up how about this let's say you were let go from your job because of your faith you get another offer but it's in an area with no good church at all you will not go to church anymore if you move there the temptation is you know what i'm out i'm out of here i'm i'm heading out of here i'm done i give up on the things of god i give up on church i give up on soul winning i give up on serving the lord it is too burdensome for me i'm moving out into the wilderness i'm taking that job offer and you will never see me again that's the temptation don't sit there and be a holier than thou you know we would all feel that temptation inside in the flesh that says hey just get out of here just go take the offer get out get out of the fight get out of the battle anxiety is powerful enough to make you draw back anxiety and nervousness and fear it is powerful enough to get you out of the spiritual fight and so my question is well how are you going to respond in those times when you have a lapse of faith when you're feeling nervous when you're feeling anxious when you don't know what the future holds how are you going to respond to that what are you going to do so here here's the right attitude here's what you should do you should say hey you know what i'm not going anywhere you can take the job that's fine i'm not going anywhere because you know what i believe what god says is true what the words of the lord jesus christ say in matthew chapter six i believe that they are true i believe he will take care of me what does it say your necessities will be provided for that's what it says he's going to give you the food he's going to give you the clothing he's going to give you the necessities in life if you choose to seek him first how do you know you won't lose all these things if you forsake him then you're left with nothing the right answer is i'm not going anywhere god will provide you know nothing short of a bullet is going to stop me from serving the lord jesus christ nothing short of a bullet is going to stop me from coming to steadfast baptist church nothing short of a bullet is going to stop me from going out soul winning and leading people to righteousness nothing short of a bullet and i hope that never happens obviously but you have to have the attitude nothing will stop me if i lose a job in the future so be it if i'm about to lose a job now you know so be it if i've lost a job in the past so be it i'm not going anywhere because i believe the promises of god which say seek first the kingdom of god and what happens all these things will be added under you we're going to read it here in a moment now look you might be afraid that's natural you might be nervous you might be anxious you don't know what the future holds you cannot see the end from the beginning and so as a result you might not want to put the things of god first you might decide oh i don't know what to do i'm just going to leave church i need this job i don't know how i'm going to provide for my family but it's in those moments when you're doubting it's in those moments when you have a lapse of faith that you need to say nevertheless at thy word i'm going to see the kingdom of god first and i know he'll provide for me if i stay here god will get me another job i have seen this countless times over and over and over and over again where men lose are persecuted they lose their source of income and they get a better job later even if it's not the very next one it happens later because the bible says all things will work together for good to them that love god how am i supposed to put food on the table for my family i'm not sure if i should seek the kingdom of god first it sounds like i need to move somewhere where there isn't a good church so i can have a stable income nevertheless at thy word i'm going to seek the kingdom of god first i'm going to believe that if i let down my nets there will be fish waiting for me there what are those fish a positive outcome look at verse 33 again but seek ye first the kingdom of god and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you i think we're reading the same bible hopefully hopefully you're not reading the message this morning hopefully you're not reading some garbage false translation i think we're reading the same exact words in your king james bible as what i have up here all these things will be added unto you the necessities of life and so why don't you say this well i'm not sure what's going to happen tomorrow yeah you might not know you can't tell the end from the beginning but nevertheless at thy word i will seek god first nevertheless at thy word i'm going to church regardless of what happens nevertheless at thy word they could take my job they could take my reputation they could take away everything from me but at the end of the day i will not stop because the bible says he will add all these things the necessities of life nevertheless at thy word irregardless of your own doubts look at uh mark 16 if you would mark chapter 16 and the fish will be there the fish will be there just let down your nets let down your nets the fish will be there let down your nets seek first the kingdom of god let down your nets he will take care of you the fish will be there you'll have a large draft for you psalm 37 says the steps of a good man are ordered by the lord and he delighteth in his way though he fall he shall not be utterly cast down for the lord upholdeth him with his hand i have been young and now am old yet have i not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread here's the only thing you have to be worrying about if you find yourself in a scenario where you're being persecuted you lose your source of income you're not sure what's going to happen next am i serving the lord am i putting him first because the bible says that he will not that he's never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread he's never seen the righteous for are you are you listening he's never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread all these things will be added unto you and so in spite of your doubts in spite of your unbelief in spite of whatever feelings you might be feeling right now and the worry and the nervousness and the anxiety nevertheless at thy word put him first just seek first the kingdom of god and you know it's gonna work out we're praying for you i'm praying for you it's going to work out and i get it it's hard man and and i understand it's difficult but it will work out that's what god said do you believe him or not mark 16 this is the last application how about evangelism how about evangelism now here we have in mark chapter 16 the real ending of mark i don't like this whole long ending i get it when people use that term that's fine i'm not against you this is the real ending of mark the modern versions they like to delete this they like to delete the real ending of mark or cast doubt on it let's read what it says verse 15 mark 16 15 and he said unto them go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned look you can believe on the lord jesus christ and you could jump on a pogo stick you're going to heaven anyway don't get confused by this it's not teaching baptismal regeneration notice the second half of the verse it says and he that believeth not shall be damned it doesn't say that if you you know he that doesn't get baptized shall be damned as well the baptism is on one side of the equation because it's not necessary for salvation in case you were confused but i mean is this not one of the most famous passages in all of scripture go ye into all the world and preach the gospel satan's trying to stop this how casting doubt well i don't think i'm going to get any fish i've been toiling all night if i let down my nets i'm not going to catch anything here's christianity today it says questions of effectiveness changes in culture and the emergence of other evangelical methods have contributed to a decrease in what is known as visitation evangelism but there are healthy programs while neighborhood canvassing is still practiced successful strategies have changed with the times and added new components to the traditional model of home visitation you see the temptation is to change with the times let's do something a little different the culture is changing you know it's about a relationship man but a relationship dude i you know i just i just uh i just show them my lifestyle man and then it just radiates godliness and then they just get saved dude is that is that what the bible says what will stop you from soul winning well obviously a lot of different things laziness things of that nature but how about this one the lie that says soul winning doesn't work the lie that says it's out of style oh it's traditional we don't do that anymore now we show people how godly we are now we put a a a a track on the door and walk away that the person inside takes and throws in the garbage that's what we do now we just put some door hangers on there now we just you know lifestyle evangelism there's all these other methods that people want to do getting away from the tried and true method of knocking some doors with your bible in hand to preach the gospel of jesus christ look at second chronicles 30 if you would second chronicles chapter 30 we're almost done we're almost done second chronicles chapter 30 you know in acts chapter 14 the bible says and there came there there are certain jews from anioc and iconium who persuaded the people and having stoned paul drew him out of the city supposing he had been dead paul at lystra literally stoned the jews persuaded the people and he was persecuted in this way stoned did he quit though no of course not he kept going how about after stephen's sermon stoned to death they were gnashing on him with their teeth they hated him there will be times where evangelism is difficult it might not be as receptive you might run into a bunch of rejections over and over again but that's not a time to quit that's not a time to throw the baby out with the bath water that's not a time to say you know what this doesn't work anymore it's a time to say nevertheless at thy word i will preach the gospel nevertheless at thy word i will go ye into all the world like jesus committed nevertheless at thy word i might be doubting i might have a lapse of faith i might not want to do it i might want to sleep in nevertheless at thy word i'm going out to knock some doors and preach the gospel of the lord jesus christ because there are people who need it second chronicles 30 look at verse one i think this is a picture of that and hezekiah sent to all israel second chronicles 30 verse 1 and hezekiah sent to all israel and judah and wrote letters also to ephraim and manasseh that they should come to the house of the lord at jerusalem to keep the passover unto the lord god of israel hezekiah is inviting the northern kingdom to participate in the passover and the passover is a picture of god's wrath passing over you the saved passing over the individual who believes on the lord jesus christ courtesy of the blood of christ that's what we're doing we're inviting people to take part in that hey i want god's wrath to pass over you let me show you what it takes to go to heaven but look what happens in verse 10 the invitation is sent to keep the passover again the message is sent but look what happens in verse number 10 verse 10 says so the posts passed from city to city through the country of ephraim and manasseh even unto zebulun but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them verse 11 nevertheless that's kind of the word of the sermon isn't it nevertheless divers of asher and manasseh and zebulun humbled themselves and came to jerusalem they were mocked they were laughed to scorn but what happens nevertheless diverse of that northern kingdom you had divers of asher manasseh and zebulun who humbled themselves and came and took part in the passover even though the initial response was laughing at them mocking them laughing them to scorn nevertheless you had asher manasseh zebulun they humbled themselves and that's salvation humbling yourself and realizing i cannot save myself you may be scorned when you go out soul winning you may have a bunch of doors slammed in your face you may have people who aren't interested you may go to an area that isn't very receptive you soul winning leaders you may lead a soul winning time where the numbers aren't quite there you might not be getting great multitudes saved like you envisioned right now you might have you might be toiling all night and not catching anything but the right response to god is this the right attitude to have is this nevertheless at thy word i'm going to keep going i'm going to let down my nets look at psalm 26 psalm 26 why because soul winning works don't tell me it doesn't work don't give me that crap i don't care what year it is you know it worked 55 times in shreveport louisiana didn't it yeah last time i checked it worked a thousand 201 times in 2022 alone so and he doesn't work have you read this have you read your bulletin it worked 1200 times 1201 times and it'll work a few more times at two o'clock it'll work a few more times at 5 30 p.m with jeff goodwin it'll work a few more times at 5 30 p.m with stephen malton on tuesday it'll work at six o'clock on thursday with suhail it'll work friday at six with stephen malton he goes twice good for him saturday 10 a.m jason west it'll work with jason saturday at 10 a.m it'll work with matt ily and the last saturday of the month i can guarantee you it will work when the lugo west clan team up for their blitz it's going to work soul winning works soul winning works it always will work because we have the power of the word of god so many years at work has the word of god lost its power i don't think so it has let's see the bible has the power to get somebody saved think about the power to take a lifelong catholic in 15 minutes and get them to believe salvation salvation by grace through faith alone and get them to believe eternal security that is incredible power enough power that'll one day smite the anti-christ at the battle of armageddon enough power to make those who wanted to arrest jesus fall backwards the you know enough power to make those who walked on the on the walk to amaeus burn inside when they heard the word of god being spoken in prophecies concerning the lord jesus christ enough power to get somebody to to turn from trusting in their own good works or some other false god and instead placing all their faith in the lord jesus christ you know i get it it's getting dark out there i understand that it's getting more wicked every single day and people don't want to know about the things of god people don't want to know about you know doctrine they don't want to know about the king james bible they don't care about the things of the lord they don't want to come to church i understand all that but soul winning still works it still works and it's not always fun it's not always fun i was screamed at the other day i wasn't fun it's not fun all the time some days i want to sleep in i'll admit it i'd rather sleep i'd rather scroll facebook but it's during those times and and you probably feel that way too sometimes don't lie to me it's during those times where you say nevertheless at thy word i'm going but you don't understand i've had a hundred doors in a row slammed in my face people aren't interested in the gospel it's not receptive i don't know what to do nevertheless at thy word let down your nets nevertheless at thy word have the attitude hey i'm going soloing that's what jesus told me to do i have faith in that i have faith that if i launch out into the deep if i let down my nets there will be fish waiting for me there why because that's what the bible said psalm 126 is where i had you turn we sing this often look at verse 5 they that so in tears shall reap in joy verse 6 psalm 126 verse 6 notice he that goeth forth and weepeth bearing precious seed shall what doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his sheaves with him soul winning works oh but i stutter a lot it works oh you don't understand i i'm not very articulate it works i'm shy it works i'm nervous it works you believe the bible or not doubtless doubtless is the word that it says right there it works pray abide in christ be patient the fish are waiting for you all you have to do is just let down your nets just let down your nets they're there well i just started going so winning i haven't gotten anyone saved yet let down your nets do what god said nevertheless at thy word i'm going soul winning nevertheless at thy word i'm gonna go and knock some doors i'm gonna reach the community and dispense for them the love of christ nevertheless at thy word i will reach the loss turn back to luke 5 we're gonna wrap it up here this is the last place i'm having you turn look saul claimed to obey god and and what happened he did not he claimed that he did but he did not obey god he didn't slay a gag the animals he kept he didn't do what god said now this is arguably less egregious i understand but neither did simon peter he didn't do what jesus said he says okay i'll give him credit he said nevertheless at thy word but he doesn't follow exactly look at verse four now when he had left speaking he said unto simon launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a drought 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 singular and when they had this done they enclosed a great multitude of fishes and their net break peter's commanded let down your nets he says nevertheless at thy word he lets down the net and it breaks doesn't it he had no confidence that he would catch any fish and i think this is what led to him doing it wrong jesus is commanding him to let down the nets and he's thinking you're not a fisherman i'm not going to follow your instructions precisely there aren't any fish we toiled all night we didn't catch anything and you're telling me to go launch out into the deep you're telling me to let down my nets here i'll let down a net and i ain't gonna catch anything anyway and then it breaks doesn't it shouldn't he have listened precisely perhaps it wouldn't have broken the fish in this story you can think of it as obviously yeah converts with regard to soul winning i get that but how about the promises connected to god's commandments didn't you notice the promises discipline your children they will not depart you train them they're not going to depart they will be a fruit of righteousness then we talk about that obeying your parents the long life connected to that loving your enemies doing good unto them and a reward waiting for you coals of fire on their head seeking first the kingdom of god and and the the necessities of life will be given to you god will take care of you going out soul winning and converts what you will doubtless come again converts are waiting for you to knock on their door the promises associated with the commandments of god the the laws of god we sometimes don't think that they will come to pass and we doubt and so we kind of just do it in a nonchalant way or totally wrong okay i'll correct my children fine but i'll put them in timeout that's not what jesus said all right i'll obey my parents kids you might be thinking okay fine i'll obey my parents i'll do what the bible says but i'm gonna do it with the worst attitude possible that's not what jesus said that's not what he said you know obedience is when you don't necessarily feel like it i love my enemies fine i'll yeah matthew five says it i can't deny the clear text of scripture i'll love my enemies like the bible says but i'm not going to do good unto them that's not what jesus said i'll seek first the kingdom of god matthew six is clear i'll seek first the kingdom of god by not working at all you're a bozo that's not what the bible says what kind of loser i'll try and get people saved i'll obey the great commission i'll go out and put a door hanger on the door that's not what the bible said i'll go out and i'll do lifestyle evangelism i'll go to the local mall and walk around don't you see how godly i am don't you want to get saved i'm radiating godliness right now i think i got five people saved and all they did was look at me is that what the bible said no that's not what jesus said he said let down your nets i want fish let down your nets then the net won't break if you're going to follow christ follow him precisely with precision he's asking you to change some things in your life this morning maybe it's something i didn't cover how about you do it exactly the way he said how about you do exactly what he asked you to do luke 5 verse 7 and they beckoned under 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 when simon peter saw what he fell down at jesus knees saying depart from me for i am a sinful man oh lord for he was astonished and all that were with him at the draft of the fishes which they had taken and so was also james and john the son of zebedee which were partners with simon and jesus said unto simon fear not from henceforth thou shalt catch men and when they had brought their ships to land notice this they first took all and followed him james and john are there as well but notice the astonishment it actually worked i let down my net and there were so many i couldn't even hold them this work jesus was right all along his instruction was right all along and then in verse 11 they forsake all and they follow him they forsake all and they follow him you know when you do what god says in your life when you follow the commandments precisely exactly what god asked you to do the result will be astonishing give me a sec when you see the the peaceable fruit of righteousness when you see your children walking in the spirit and loving god and coming to church you see the children playing on the stage and they're singing hymns and they love god and they love his word it's astonishing isn't it wow this this really works this really works when you're 105 years old man i'm glad i obeyed my parents when you go soul winning and you lead people to righteous they get saved wow this really works when you seek first the kingdom of god and you you realize he is going to protect you you do get a better job you are able to provide for your family it's astonishing wow this really works this is real and so nevertheless at thy word i will do what you tell me to do this could be motivation to forsake all and follow him bible says there are many devices in a man's heart nevertheless the council of the lord that shall stand you know there's a lot of you in the room that you'd be much better off if you stopped leaning on your own council if you stop leaning on the devices of your heart if you stop leaning on the council that comes from unsaved people who don't even want anything to do with the word of god and if you leaned on the council of the lord jesus christ what jesus said christ council let down your nets let down your nets and even though peter was initially incredulous he was eventually astonished initially incredulous initial objection initial doubting but then astonishment afterward because god is always right because god's way is always the right way and it's easy for us we could look down at peter we can why didn't you just follow jesus i mean what's wrong with you why didn't you just let down your nets like he asked well are are you letting down your nets we could look it's easy for us to get on our high horse and look down on peter but are you letting down your nets in your life are you saying nevertheless at thy word and doing what jesus christ commanded peter should have just taken christ's advice what a loser are you taking christ's advice are you following his instruction you say but i've already toiled i've caught nothing i didn't catch any fish why would letting down my nets yield any result whatsoever how could that possibly have a positive outcome well my bible says walk by faith not by sight my bible says a faithful man shall abound with blessings the children of israel when they were confronted with the red sea thought this is it we're done and they should have said nevertheless at thy word instead they said we're all gonna die but moses said the lord will fight for you see the salvation of god and what happens that red sea opened up for them and they walked right through and their enemies were dismantled they were destroyed you know a tremendous miracle right there a tremendous miracle and so even if you lack faith you're you're in your life right now and you've been confronted with the red sea you don't know where to turn you're not sure what's going to happen you're not sure what the future holds it's at that exact same moment where you need to say to god nevertheless at thy word nevertheless at thy word i will obey my parents nevertheless at thy word i will discipline my children according to the word of god nevertheless at thy word i will love my enemies like the bible clearly says in matthew chapter 5 nevertheless at thy word i will take no thought for my life and seek first the kingdom of god even when i might not want to even when i'm consumed with anxiety nevertheless at thy word i will open my mouth boldly to preach the gospel of the lord jesus christ i will go out sowing even when i don't feel like it nevertheless at thy word i will let down my nets because it's not about my will it's not about my wants my desires what i want to do it's all about you and so nevertheless at thy word i will obey it's all about jesus and so nevertheless at thy word i will follow nevertheless in spite of my unfaithfulness in spite of my doubts in spite of whatever's going on here in the flesh nevertheless at thy word i will follow nevertheless at thy word i will comply hey what's a really good like attitude to have what what's the what's the key to success in in the christian life and we all need this what's the key to success when you don't feel like doing it nevertheless at thy word you say i want i want to have a fruitful christian life with precision well here's your key to success the mentality that says nevertheless at thy word and then let down your nets so hopefully that was helpful for you nevertheless at thy word let's pray father the purpose of preaching is to try and provoke people to follow you and my hope is that people don't just say oh good sermon you know i don't care about that father i just want people to to apply this and and to my hope is that this would light a fire under them to say nevertheless at thy word they may not know why they may not understand it all the time they may not be able to see the end from the beginning but lord i just hope that in spite of all that in spite of our doubts in spite of when we don't want to follow you that you would help us to say nevertheless at thy word and that we would let down our nets like you know peter was supposed to do and and lord that you would help us to do that please lord use this message to guide people in doing that please lord use this sermon to help people follow you better in jesus name i pray amen amen for the final song song number 132 132 never alone song number 132 never alone 132 i've seen the lightning flashing and heard the thunder roll i've felt since breakers dashing trying to conquer my soul i've heard the voice of jesus telling me still to fight on he promised never to leave me never to leave me alone no never alone no never alone he promised never to leave me never to leave me alone no never hello no never hello he promised never to leave me never to leave me alone the worst fierce minds are blowing temptations are sharp and keen i feel a peace in knowing my savior stands between he stands to shield me from danger when earthly friends are gone he promised never to leave me never to leave me alone no never hello no never alone he promised never to leave me no to leave him alone no never hello no never hello he promised never to leave me never to leave me alone when in a bloodshed south valley treading the road of care my savior helps me to carry my cross would be heavy to bear my feet entangled with briars ready to cast me down my savior whispered his promise never to leave me alone no never alone no never alone he promised never to leave me never to leave me alone no never hello no never alone he promised never to leave me never to leave me alone he died for me on the mountain for me they pierced his side for me he opened that mountain the crimson cleansing time for me he waited in glory seated upon his throne he promised never to leave me never to leave me alone no never alone no never alone he promised never to leave me never to leave me alone no never alone no never alone he promised never to leave me never to leave me alone you are dismissed god bless have a good