By Minister Gabriel Adunmade
Lesson 1

The struggle of man began in the Garden of Eden, after man disobeyed God and God pronounced judgement on man following the sin of disobedience

Genesis 3:19 – In the sweat of thy face shall thou eat bread, till thou return in to the ground for out of it was thou taken, for dust thou art, and into dust shall thou return.

It was not so in the beginning. Genesis 2:16 – And the Lord God command the man, saying of every tree of the garden, thou may freely eat.

Jesus Christ picked most of His disciples where they were struggling for daily living to make both ends meet. In fact in the Old Testament, all the people God used were working either in the farm tilling ground, or in the field rearing animal. Moses was looking after his father in law (Jethro) cattle, David was looking after his father’s sheep; Saul was searching for his father’s lost Donkey. Elisha son of Shaphat was ploughing ground when Elijah found him.

Jesus Christ does not condone laziness, He cherish hard working people. As a matter of fact, who ever want to be His disciple must be hard working.

However, each time Peter, John and James feature in the bible (of cause before they received power) in connection with their profession (fishing) it was always with struggling. For instance, in Luke 5: 4-6, They fished all night without catching any fish. Yet at each point, miracle and wonders happened in their lives. (As it will happen in the life of some one here today). Why did it happen? Simple obedience without questioning, reasoning or arguing.

After the death of Jesus Christ, why did they go back fishing even when they have been told they will be fishers of men? That is what usually happen when boredom replaces zeal.

Sometimes God allows us to struggle in order to teach us that – planning, budgeting, figuring things out, our skills can fail us, our expertee, many degrees, our exposures, best practices can still fail us. It can only be solve by one way Ecl 9; 11. NLT.

If you don’t believe fastest runner does not always win the race- go and ask Elijah and King Ahab. If you doubt strongest doesn’t always win the battle, go and ask David and Goliath.

If you are not sure the skilful people are not necessarily wealthy, go and ask Obededom – who became the richest man in the city with in a space of three months without toiling or struggling. This not to say that it is not good or needful to plan, budget, work hard or be skilful- BUT ALWAYS GIVE GOD PRIORITY IN ALL WHAT YOU DO.

Lesson 2

Proverb 23:4 NLT. Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich, be wise enough to know when to quit. Sometimes extra hours of work (over time) continue picking up agency work every Sunday will give nothing but high blood pressure. Worries and fear of if I don’t do it I would not be able to pay my bills. On the other hand, may be you are thinking of quitting and throwing in the tower or about to give up because what worked for you in the past is not working now. God is an interceptor, (just as He is the intercessor). When the enemy wants to throw arrow at you, He will intercept it (Modecai is a living witness) Any weapon formed against you (not weapon enemy may form, they are already formed). But the good news is that they will not prosper. Lesson to learn – In your struggle, futility of your effort – Jesus is closer to you than you ever think. John 21: 4, Genesis 28:15-16, Psalm 30:5. Your own struggle may be job, paper in the home office, sickness, problem with your course work etc. Jesus is closer to you than you think.

Lesson 3

Mathew 14: 26. The disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, but they thought He was spirit.

John 21:4 – Jesus stood on the shore the disciples did not know and could not recognised him. Jesus was there near them, but they could not see him, they fail to remember him in their struggles. Many of us are so much occupied with our job, vocation, or even pleasure that we fail to remember the existence of the only one who can help us out. Jesus knew and saw us when we were struggling, being ridiculed, humiliated, or even mocked. He does not need to jump in to our struggle to bring us out of them. All He needs to do is to speak the word.

All we need to do is to keep the word – Palm 119: 67.

The centurion said, speak a word and my servant will be whole.

Peter said we have toiled all night, but at your word: Lesson to learn – Jesus is there, even when you cannot see Him. Genesis 28: 15 -16 Jacob said, God is here and I knew not.

Lesson 4

John 21: 5 – children, have you any meat?

John 6: 1-6 was about how Jesus fed 5000 people. In verse 5, Jesus said to the disciple (Philip) where shall we buy bread that these people may eat.

Ezekiel 37 (Valley of dry bone) – God asked Ezekiel, can these dry bone live?

Sometimes teachers ask question from students, not that they don’t know the answer but they just want to know how much the students know. Jesus asked the disciples questions not that He didn’t know what to do, but to test their faith. Confessions precede deliverance. He’s only asking you whether you want him to do what He only can do.

Lesson 5

Luke 5:2 the disciples were washing their net in the morning, they have admitted defeat preparing to go home. The enemy may plant tier but they cannot uproot the wheat, they can form the weapon but it will not prosper, they can delay but they cannot denied.

What you cannot accomplish all night (Your own night may be days, weeks, months or years) God can accomplish it for you within seconds, just ask Him to speak the word and key to into it. Lesson to learn: When you are at your lowest point, when everything seems to have failed, you are closer to your winning than you think.

PRAYER POINTS:-

(1). God whatever does not conform with your image in my life, die in Jesus name.

(2). I will not drink water of affliction in Jesus name

(3). The vehicle/plane of my destiny will not crash land in Jesus name.

Minister Gabriel Adunmade is a minister of RCCG Everlasting Father’s Assembly, Leeds