2 Cor. 7:5-6
The word "nevertheless" means "in spite of that;
in opposition to." WEBSTER’S (1828)— "Not the less; notwithstanding; that
is, in opposition to a thing, or without regarding it."
Galatians 2:20 is another good example of the use
of the word "nevertheless"— "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I
live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me..." And another: Psalm 89:32-33—
"Then will I visit their trans-gression with the rod, and their iniquity
with stripes. Nevertheless my lovingkind-ness will I not utterly take from
him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail."
I. The "Nevertheless" of A SURE DAY (Ex. 32:30-35).
A. God’s judgment on Jezebel took
13 years to be fulfilled. The wheels of
God’s judgment move slow, but move nevertheless.
B. "Be sure your sin will find
you out" (Num. 32:23). Often, your sin finds
you out in your children.
II. The "Nevertheless" of a STUBBORN DISOBEDIENCE (1 Sam. 8:19).
A. Beware of demanding
things outside of the perfect will of God.
B. Be careful what
you ask for; God might give it to you. "He gave them
their request; but sent leanness into their soul" (Ps. 106:15).
C. Sometimes the best
way to convince a man he is wrong is to let him have
his own way.
III. The "Nevertheless" of a SYMPATHETIC DELIVERANCE (Ps. 106:8).
A. Salvation is by
God’s grace.
B. Salvation is for
God’s glory.
IV. The "Nevertheless" of a SOLID DEPENDENCE (Luke 5:5).
As the golfer approached the first tee, a hazardous hole with a
green surrounded by water,
he debated if he should use his new golf ball.
Deciding that the hole was
too treacherous, he pulled out an old ball and
placed it on the tee. Just
then he heard a voice from above say loudly:
"USE THE NEW BALL!" Frightened,
he replaced the old ball with the
new one and ap-proached
the tee. Now the voice from above shouted:
"TAKE A PRACTICE SWING!"
With this, the golfer stepped backward
and took a swing.
Feeling more confident, he approached the tee when
the voice again rang
out: "BETTER USE THE OLD BALL!"
A. Who is the expert, Peter or Jesus?
B. We need to acknowledge Jesus knows
what He is doing.
V. The "Nevertheless" of SELF DENIAL (Luke 22:42).
To do God’s will we
must deny the will of self.
A. God’s will is correct. When God bolts the
door, don't try to get in through
the window.
B. God’s will is complete. The will
of God, nothing more, nothing less,
nothing else.
C. God’s will is clear (John 6:38-40).
Illustration:
A FATHER'S PAINFUL CHOICE— Sitting majestically atop the highest
hill in Toledo, Spain, is the Alcazar, a 16th-century fortress. In
the civil war of the 1930s, the Alcazar became a battleground when the
Loyalists tried to oust the Nationalists, who held the fortress.
During the war, the Nationalist leader, who was in charge of
the Alcazar, received a message from his son. His son told him he had been
captured by the Loyalists. If the father did not surrender the Al-cazar
to them, they would kill his son. The father weighed his options.
After a long pause and with a heavy heart, he sent a reply to his son,
"Then die like a man."
Harsh? Perhaps. Tragic? Yes. But in this
commander's view, the life of one person—even his own son— was worth the
sacrifice if it saved the lives of others and kept their cause alive.
On the night before Jesus died, He prayed to His Father, asking
if there was any way to provide salvation. But His Father's silence told
Him that there was no other way. In order to defeat the enemy and save
the souls of all who would trust Him, the Son had to die.
VI. The "Nevertheless" of a SAD DISREGARD (Acts 27:10-12,
21).
A. Beware of
trusting circumstances over the advice of God’s man.
B. The voice
of an experienced preacher always best. "STAY PUT!"
C. The majority
is not always right (v. 12).
VII. The "Nevertheless" of a SURE DESTINATION (2 Pet. 3:13).
This world
is heading for a "melt down!"