NEVERTHELESS, AT THY WORD!
“Don’t Let Weariness Make You Miss Your Harvest”
October Theme: HARVEST
Theme Scripture: Galatians 6:9
Main Text: Luke 5:1–11
KEY 1 — DON'T LET WEARINESS MAKE YOU QUIT
Galatians 6:9
“And let us not be weary in well doing…”
Peter said:
“We have toiled all the night…”
Peter was tired because he had been working.
Sometimes the people who become the most weary are the people who have been the most faithful.
The prayer warrior can become weary.
The preacher can become weary.
The teacher can become weary.
The caregiver can become weary.
The parent can become weary.
The person who is always helping everybody else can become weary.
BEING TIRED DOESN'T MEAN YOU'RE UNFAITHFUL.
Even Elijah became discouraged.
Even Moses became frustrated.
Even Jeremiah became weary.
The problem isn't that you get tired.
The danger comes when tiredness makes you stop doing what God called you to do.
Galatians doesn't say:
“You'll never get tired.”
It says:
“DON'T FAINT!”
Fainting means you stop before you reach the destination.
You stop praying.
Stop believing.
Stop serving.
Stop witnessing.
Stop expecting.
The enemy doesn't always have to destroy you if he can simply wear you down enough to make you quit.
So when you get tired:
Rest if you need to.
Pray.
Renew yourself.
Get back into the Word.
But:
DON'T QUIT!
KEY 2 — DON'T ALLOW AN EMPTY NET TO DEFINE YOUR FUTURE
Luke 5:5
“We have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing…”
Peter's net was empty.
But an empty net only described what had happened.
It did not describe what was about to happen.
YOUR PRESENT CONDITION IS NOT ALWAYS YOUR FINAL CONDITION.
Peter could have looked at the empty net and said:
“There aren't any fish.”
But there were fish in the water!
His problem wasn't that there was no harvest.
HE JUST HADN'T REACHED HIS HARVEST YET.
Sometimes we look at what hasn't happened and conclude nothing is happening.
“I've been praying and nothing changed.”
“I've been witnessing and nobody came.”
“I've been sowing and nothing grew.”
But remember:
A SEED DOES ITS FIRST WORK WHERE YOU CANNOT SEE IT.
When you plant a seed, it disappears beneath the ground.
For a while, the field looks exactly the same.
But underneath the dirt:
Roots are developing.
The seed is opening.
Life is beginning.
INVISIBLE DOESN'T MEAN INACTIVE!
Don't call your ministry unsuccessful because you haven't seen everything God is doing.
Don't call your prayer unanswered because you haven't seen the answer yet.
Don't call your field barren because the harvest hasn't broken through the ground.
EMPTY NETS DON'T MEAN EMPTY WATER!
KEY 3 — LET GOD'S WORD OVERRULE YOUR EXPERIENCE
Peter said:
“Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word…”
Peter was an experienced fisherman.
He knew the lake.
He knew the nets.
He knew the best fishing times.
Everything Peter's experience told him said:
“THIS ISN'T GOING TO WORK.”
But Jesus said:
“LET DOWN YOUR NET.”
Peter had a decision to make.
Would he trust his experience or Christ's Word?
Peter said:
“NEVERTHELESS AT THY WORD!”
That's faith!
Faith doesn't deny the facts.
Peter didn't say:
“We didn't really have a bad night.”
He admitted:
“We have taken nothing.”
Faith can acknowledge the facts without allowing the facts to have the final word.
Abraham's age said impossible.
NEVERTHELESS AT THY WORD!
The Red Sea said impossible.
NEVERTHELESS AT THY WORD!
Jericho's walls said impossible.
NEVERTHELESS AT THY WORD!
Goliath said impossible.
NEVERTHELESS AT THY WORD!
Lazarus had been dead four days.
NEVERTHELESS AT THY WORD!
Sometimes you need a NEVERTHELESS in your spirit.
My body says one thing—
NEVERTHELESS!
My circumstances say another—
NEVERTHELESS!
My experience says it hasn't worked—
NEVERTHELESS!
People say give up—
NEVERTHELESS!
“AT THY WORD!”
KEY 4 — SOMETIMES HARVEST REQUIRES ONE MORE CAST
Jesus said:
“Launch out into the deep…”
Jesus sent Peter right back to the place where he had been disappointed.
Think about that.
Same lake.
Same boat.
Same net.
Same fisherman.
BUT ANOTHER CAST!
Sometimes God doesn't change your field.
HE TELLS YOU TO TRY THE FIELD AGAIN.
You prayed before?
PRAY AGAIN!
You invited them before?
INVITE AGAIN!
You witnessed before?
WITNESS AGAIN!
You tried to reconcile before?
TRY AGAIN!
You encouraged that child before?
ENCOURAGE THEM AGAIN!
You worked the ministry before?
SERVE AGAIN!
You cast the net and it came up empty?
CAST IT AGAIN!
Illustration:
Imagine somebody digging for treasure.
They dig ten feet.
Nothing.
Twenty feet.
Nothing.
Thirty feet.
Nothing.
They become frustrated and walk away.
Then someone else comes along, digs one more foot, and discovers what the first person had been searching for.
The first person's labor wasn't useless.
THEY JUST STOPPED TOO SOON.
Galatians says:
“In due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
You don't know whether your next cast is your due-season cast.
DON'T STOP ONE CAST TOO EARLY!
KEY 5 — OBEDIENCE CAN TURN YOUR PLACE OF DISAPPOINTMENT INTO YOUR PLACE OF HARVEST
Luke 5:6
“And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes…”
Notice:
“WHEN THEY HAD THIS DONE.”
Peter didn't just hear Jesus.
PETER OBEYED JESUS.
The miracle followed obedience.
And look where the miracle happened.
SAME LAKE!
The place that had given Peter nothing all night suddenly gave him more than he could handle.
Same water.
Same boat.
Same fisherman.
Same net.
DIFFERENT RESULT!
Why?
Because Jesus spoke and Peter obeyed.
God can bless you in the same place where you were disappointed.
The place where you cried can become the place where you rejoice.
The place where you struggled can become the place where you testify.
The place where you thought nothing was happening can become the place where God gives you abundance.
Psalm 126:5
“They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.”
MAYBE YOUR TEARS HAVE BEEN WATERING YOUR HARVEST!
Don't curse the field because you haven't seen the harvest yet.
KEY 6 — GREAT HARVESTS REQUIRE PARTNERS
Luke 5:6–7
“They inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners… that they should come and help them.”
Peter prayed for fish.
But when the fish came:
PETER NEEDED HELP!
The harvest was bigger than one man could handle.
That's a picture of the Church.
No pastor can gather the harvest alone.
No minister can do it alone.
No deacon can do it alone.
No missionary can do it alone.
No evangelist can do it alone.
No altar worker can do it alone.
No teacher can do it alone.
EVERYBODY IS NEEDED!
One person invites.
Another greets.
Another teaches.
Another prays.
Another works the altar.
Another follows up.
Another disciples.
Another encourages.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6:
“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”
THERE IS NO NEED FOR COMPETITION WHEN WE'RE PULLING THE SAME NET!
And notice something else:
“Their net brake.”
If God sends the harvest we've been asking for, are our nets ready?
If new souls come, are we ready to teach them?
If hurting families come, are we ready to love them?
If young people come, are we ready to minister to them?
If new converts come, are we prepared to disciple them?
We don't just need to pray:
“LORD, SEND THE HARVEST!”
We also need to pray:
