THE TOIL IS OVER!

By Pastor Michael Olawore
New Wine Church, London

Sunday 3 July 2011

Foundation Scripture: Luke 5: 1 - 7
In this season, God is releasing us to affect situations by speaking to them. During the latter days of Deeper and Higher 2011, we received a very clear prophetic word from the Lord, ‘The siege is over” and in the spirit of that prophetic word, I bring this message today.
God modelled the art of affecting situations by the spoken word, an example of which we see in Genesis 1 in the story of creation. Here we see that when God created the heavens and the earth, He addressed the chaos, disorder and formlessness with the spoken word. I declare to you that everything that has been spoken concerning you during the last 30 days will manifest in your life – it will not be delayed or postponed but will be manifested – the siege is over! 
The word of the Lord that I bring to you is that the toil is over. The season that has been marked by toil, struggle and fruitless effort is over. It’s a new season. The word of the Lord has gone forth and cannot return void. The days of struggle and difficulty are behind you. I declare that the toil is over in your life, in your career, in your family, in ministry and in your health. Every effort that has previously failed to yield results will now begin to bear fruit.
In Luke 5, the account of the miraculous catch of fish we are told that Peter, a professional fisherman, had toiled all night and yet had caught nothing. God is taking us from toil to ease, from lack to abundance. It is a new season for your life.
In the night season nothing works. Peter had put in long hours and yet had caught nothing at all, a hopeless situation, and in resignation was washing his nets when Jesus came on the scene. Psalm 30:5 says “Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning”.  You are entering into your season of visitation. 
The account tells us that there were two boats on the sea-shore however Jesus selected Peter’s boat to teach the crowds. This signifies Peter having been singled out for the favour and distinction of God. After Jesus finished teaching the crowds He told Peter to go out once again and launch out to the deep. From this we can be sure that God always shows up in our situations and when He does, he leads us into abundance. Be confident of this, your life will not remain hopeless, God will visit you.
In Exodus 3: 7 we see the Lord’s acknowledgement of the suffering and oppression of His people and His promise to bring them out, saying “So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey ..” These words are designed to encourage us that likewise, God will deliver us from every sort of oppression and bring us into the land of promise.
It is certain that God will show up in your situation but you must be able to discern and recognise the moment of visitation. It is certain that the siege is over but the question arises as to what each of us must do in order to take hold of that word and to ensure that we recognise our moment of visitation.
From the account in Luke 5 we can extract four important lessons from the life of Peter, which were instrumental in him obtaining a turnaround:

1. Despite the disappointment of a failed endeavour, he had a positive outlook. He could have refused to give Jesus his boat or could have been disgruntled or irritable but instead, he yielded his boat to Jesus without complaint. I urge you to refuse to interpret life on the basis of previous disappointments and remain positive, irrespective of the situation that you are faced with.Peter had a positive attitude.

Genesis 18 contains the account of Abraham’s encounter with the angelic visitors, whom he welcomed enthusiastically. Abraham would have been around 99 years of age at that time, having received the promise from God around 24 years earlier. The fact that he was sitting by the door of his tent when the Lord appeared to him is suggestive of discouragement, however he did not allow the pain of what he was going through to block his discernment. He was able to discern whom the three men represented and eagerly waited on them, making arrangements for them to wash their feet and rest and instructing his wife to cater for them and stood by them under the tree as they ate. His enthusiastic hospitality struck a chord with the angelic party to such a degree that they had to release a blessing.  Although Abraham was undoubtedly in pain, having waited 24 years for the manifestation of the promise, he remained positive.
From this we can understand that we are only an attitude away from our breakthrough. Our attitudes are an outward expression of our inner feelings. Although we do not determine what we go through, we choose how we go through it; the choice is ours.

2. . Whatever you hold that cannot sustain you is your seed and not your bread; you should never eat your seed. Peter sowed the use of his boat. You should never allow the struggles of life to cause you to stop sowing. Peter recognised that his boat was a seed in his hand rather than bread

Jesus visited Peter to turn his life around but the power to activate that process was in Peter’s hands. Similarly, at your disposal is something that has been given to you to free you from the cycle of toil. It is important to remember that this is not just limited to the financial seed; in Job 42: 10 we learn that Job’s breakthrough came when he prayed for his friends.
In the account of Elijah’s encounter with the widow in 1 Kings 17 we see the same principle. The widow experienced breakthrough in sowing of the little that she had into the life of the prophet and from that moment she never experienced lack again. The harvest is always bigger than the seed.

3. . When Jesus told Peter to launch into the deep and let down his nets for a catch, his response was  Peter’s mind and experience was poised to stand in the way of the Master’s instructions. Peter was a professional fisherman who certainly knew his trade. Nothing had been caught and it was only for him to wash his nets. In receiving Jesus’ instructions he was faced with a tension between what represented his experience and the word of God. This is something that all of us encounter at some point in our lives: the distinction between our real and tangible experiences and the word of God. It is important to remember that the word of God is not subject to our experiences but our experiences are subject to the word of God. Hebrews 1: 3 makes clear that all things are upheld by the word of His power. The word of God is the only reality.Peter had dominion over his thoughts“Master we have toiled all night and caught nothing”.

After Peter lent his boat to Jesus to teach the crowds, Jesus sent him out again to let down his nets for a catch. Although the account in Luke 5 does not expressly say so, it is clear that Peter had stayed and heard Jesus teach; faith was being built up on the inside of him and it was this that enabled him to respond to Jesus’ instructions. The word of God must be the priority in our lives.

4. . He launched out into the deep and let down his nets. He acted on the word that he received, even when it did not make sense to do so. So many fishes were caught that the nets began to break and he needed help from others to collect the catch. Everything that was contrary in Peter’s life was suddenly turned around.Peter stood on the word that he had surrendered to

I declare to you that everything that you have done that has previously failed to yield results is turned around. There is a manifestation of everything you are believing God to do for you. I declare that the toil is over by the power of the Holy Spirit. I speak to every situation that you may be facing today and declare that the toil and struggle is over. You will begin to see results and the manifestation of answered prayers. No more struggle. It’s a new season – the toil is over!