This morning, we continue our series, “The Miracles of Jesus.” Before we get into the miracle, let’s look at the foundational scripture I will share with you all year.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us. I pray you get refreshed and restored as we study each miracle.
Read Luke 5:1-11
Yesterday, I introduced you to the story of Simon Peter’s miraculous catch of fish. Let’s go back to it today.
Here’s a quick recap. Simon the fisherman (later known as the Apostle Peter) fished all night and caught nothing. He was cleaning his nets by the shore of the Sea of Galilee, getting ready to go home, when Jesus walked up and asked him for help. Jesus wanted to preach to a crowd that was following Him. Simon agreed to help. The fisherman contributed his time, talent, and treasure to Jesus’ ministry. When Jesus was done preaching, He honored the principle of sowing and reaping and saw that the fisherman received a harvest on the seed sown. Simon gave from his fishing business, so he was going to receive in his fishing business. Jesus told him to launch out and let down his “nets” for a catch. Simon almost missed out on the blessing. After years of fishing, Simon knew how difficult it was to catch fish in nets during the day, which is why he had fished all night. Furthermore, this was just not a good time to fish. All his human efforts had proven fruitless.
As he considered all he knew about fishing and all the toil he had already put into a fruitless night, Simon’s head was telling him to tell Jesus, “No, thank you.” After all, he was the fisherman, and Jesus was the preacher. But thankfully, his heart overrode his head. Something ‘on the inside‘ told Simon to give the preacher a chance. So Simon said, “Just because you said so, I am going to do it.”
However, I don’t think Simon was truly convinced. He launched out with only one net, not the “nets” Jesus told him to cast. Simon put that single net into the water, and it was like the fish were jumping into it. There were so many fish that the net began to break, and the boat began to sink. This was a net-breaking, boat-sinking load of fish! Simon had to call for his partners to help bring in the load. This caused Simon to fall to his knees and worship Jesus. From that point on, Jesus would make Simon and a couple of his friends fishers of men.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Adam did not toil before the fall.
— While Adam was in the Garden of Eden, he did not rely on human effort. All he had came from God, and all he did was led by God through the Holy Spirit.
— God gave Adam a tremendous position. He was the ruler over the garden and was projected to be the ruler over the entire planet. God gave Adam power. He had dominion over the earth and the power to name, define, and govern. God gave Adam provision. All Adam’s needs were met, he and his wife had more than enough to eat, and God saw to it that the Garden was sustained. It was fed by four streams, and it had an underground irrigation system. God gave Adam a partner. While Adam had a thriving relationship with the Father, he realized every animal had a partner on the earth, and he did not have one. So, God gave him Eve. Adam being alone was the only thing God saw that was “not good,” so God addressed the issue by giving him a wife. Adam had it all. He was lacking nothing. This is a picture of God’s best. This is a picture of what God desires for His children. This is the original picture of God’s will before it was tainted by sin.
— Before the fall, Adam did not work to earn anything. Adam did not work for provision; he only worked as part of his divine purpose. His work was to walk out his purpose on earth. This work was fulfilling, and there was no “toil” associated with it.
2. Toil is part of the curse.
— When Adam was in the Garden of Eden, he had a position, power, provision, and partnership. God also gave Adam one parameter. See, power without parameters is dangerous. God put the fruit of one tree ‘off limits‘ to Adam. The parameter made Adam a free-moral-agent, giving him the right to choose between obedience and disobedience. Without this choice, Adam would not be ‘his own man.’ As we all know, unfortunately, Adam disobeyed God.
— In response to man’s disobedience, God cursed the serpent, the woman, and the man. As part of Adam’s curse, man would have to earn his provision by the sweat of his brow (Genesis 3:19). Prior to the curse, Adam’s provision was sweatless. As part of the curse, he was going to have to work hard for everything he got.
— While Adam was in the Garden of Eden, his provision came from God, by grace, without human effort. After he was kicked out of the Garden, he (and everyone after him) was going to have to work hard, with human effort, to earn what had previously been provided.
3. Jesus redeemed us from every curse Adam brought upon us.
— Jesus came to get us OUT OF everything Adam got us INTO.
— In the story of Simon’s miraculous catch of fish, we see the redemptive power of God in operation. Simon had worked hard all night long. The Bible says he “toiled” all night and had nothing to show for it. He, like all of us prior to coming to Christ, was living under the curse. He was working hard to earn his provision, and in this case, all his human effort was fruitless.
— Jesus gave Simon a glimpse of what it was like before the fall of man, when man did not have to earn his provision. As soon as Simon put his net into the water, God supernaturally caused the fish to jump into it. This was the largest load Simon had ever drawn in, and it came as a result of God’s supernatural power.
— Once you are Born-Again, God has to teach you to rely on Him as your source. He does not want you to rely on human effort alone, and He also does not want you to think that you have to earn everything. There are many things God releases to you by His unearned grace.
4. Working for provision and working for purpose are NOT the same thing.
— While Adam was in the Garden of Eden, he did not work to earn a living. His living was provided by God’s grace. Everything he would ever need to succeed in this world was prepared for Adam before God breathed life into his nostrils.
— Adam worked, but not for provision. Adam worked as a manifestation of his divine purpose.
— Like Adam, everything we need to succeed in this world was planned and prepared by God before we were born. Your provision has already been prepared. The resources you need to maximize your purpose and potential have already been stored up. As you walk with God and allow Him to walk with you, He will lead you in a life of faith. When you exercise faith in the unseen (what God enables you to see in the spirit), this faith will unlock the door to what God has already provided.
— God does not want you working for provision. God wants you to work for His purpose!
— You are supposed to work for purpose and believe God for provision because your provision is already stored up. God is your source.
— Favor can do more (where your provision is concerned) in a minute than labor can do in a lifetime.
5. The sweat associated with human effort is part of the curse.
— Working hard by the “sweat of your brow” is part of the curse Jesus died to redeem us from (Genesis 3:19).
— You can work hard and put in countless hours of human effort to earn a living, but even the best natural/human efforts sometimes produce nothing. Simon toiled all night long, putting in human effort and lots of sweat, and by morning time, he had nothing to show for it. I am sure we can all identify with tireless efforts that wound up being fruitless.
6. God did not call us to be lazy, but He also did not call us to rely on human effort.
— You will be hard-pressed to find anyone in the Bible whom God used mightily, who was also lazy. God does not use lazy people. God wants us to be willing to work hard. But the important caveat is that He does not want us to work hard WHILE WE ARE TRUSTING IN OUR OWN HUMAN EFFORT to produce the results. He wants us to work hard, focus on our purpose (which is His purpose for our lives), and trust Him every step of the way.
— When you work hard with your total trust and confidence in God, your work is not effortless, but it can be sweatless. Even though you are working hard, your testimony is one of “sweatless victory.”
— Simon’s net-breaking boat-sinking load of fish did not come without effort. He still had to launch the boat and let down his net. But the results were clearly sweatless. God made the fish jump into his net. This is a picture of the type of success (or sweatless victory) we can experience when we are led by God, and we do what He leads us to do.
I will stop here and pick it up from here tomorrow.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
I was Born-Again the moment I acknowledged Your Son, Jesus, as my Lord. Your Spirit lives in me. I now learn Your ways.
My spirit WAS changed instantly. My soul — which is comprised of my mind, emotions, and will — is BEING changed daily. I am learning to think, feel, and make decisions like You.
As I do, I no longer rely on myself or human effort alone. You are my source. I am learning to transition from earning everything by the sweat of my brow to receiving SWEATLESS VICTORY in every area of my life.
I work, and You bless the work of my hands to the point where I experience success without stress, struggle, or strain.
You delivered me from a life full of sweat and no fruit! I now work by Your grace, focused on Your purpose, doing all for Your glory!
Living this way, my work is not effortless, but it shall be sweatless. GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
