"If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small."- King Solomon

It is dangerous to be strong in anything except in the Lord and the power of His might.

That word adversity means: grief, pain, sorrow; to lie opposite, be contrary or oppose.

Relying on your own human comprehension, might and perspective when adversity comes, does not require you to do anything uncomfortable.  

There is only one purpose of adversity: To get you to change.

Today, I want to give you the second of six things that will kill the conspiracy against your dreams:

2.            KILL OLD PERSPECTIVES

"NOW IT occurred that while the people pressed upon Jesus to hear the message of God, He was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee). And He saw two boats drawn up by the lake, but the fishermen had gone down from them and were washing their nets.  And getting into one of the boats, [the one] that belonged to Simon (Peter), He requested him to draw away a little from the shore. Then He sat down and continued to teach the crowd [of people] from the boat.  When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon (Peter), Put out into the deep [water], and lower your nets for a haul.  And Simon (Peter) answered, Master, we toiled all night [exhaustingly] and caught nothing [in our nets]. But on the "ground of Your word," I will lower the nets [again].  And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish; and as their nets were [at the point of] breaking,  They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and take hold with them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink." (Lk 5:1-7)

The prerequisite for ministry has always been "work." 

You can have a dream (vision), or creativity but no "work" to endorse or speak for it.  In Luke 5, Peter is not called into ministry to be a "fisher of men" until he experiences unprecedented success in catching "fish first." 

In other words, Jesus says, "You can't catch men until you can catch fish first."

When Jesus came to him, Peter was on the seashore of worthlessness, frustration, exhaustion and embarrassment. He had toiled all night and caught nothing. 

• Have you ever been there? 
• Have you ever worked years in a profession for years with nothing to show for it?
• Have you ever felt that you just weren't smart enough, good enough, skilled enough, favored enough and longed to be doing something else?

Peter did. He is a reject from the synagogue, so that which he does not love, he must do, and that which he does love, no one wants him to do.

So Jesus asks Peter if He can use an area of his life that he feels insignificant in as a mechanism (or platform) for ministry.  Then, after teaching in Lk. 5:4, Jesus makes Peter a promise:  "If you put out into the deep [water], and lower your nets, I WILL GIVE YOU A HAUL."

Peter answers, "Master, we toiled all night and caught nothing, but on the grounds of your word, I will do it." 

In other words, "I don't believe anything is going to happen.  I fished or "applied" there already.  There are no fish to catch, no jobs to apply for, the industry is dead; I've hung up and washed my nets, but I'll do it to prove my perspective."  

And he pushes out only ONE boat.

Peter only throws 50% at what he has failed in. 

Sound familiar?  Sometimes that's how we are.  We throw 50% at the marriage, 50% at the job interview or business; 50% at our job productivity. 

But, you cannot throw a net with an old perspective. 

You cannot interview, start a business or run a church with an old perspective.  When God tells you to do something, you must throw everything you have at it.

You must throw 110% at the things you don't feel like doing. 

Peter pushed out one boat and it still wasn't enough; because God meant everything (use everything at your disposal to defy your failure).  When they signaled for the other boat, they caught so much fish that one man's nets filled two men's boats and they were still sinking from the weight of the blessing. 

Today, God wants to give you a miracle so big that it crushes your old perspective (or boat) and forces you to get a new and greater one.

But OLD PERSPECTIVES die with a Word.  God has to give you a Word - a new point of reference - to get you to lower your nets and trust again (to sow, prophesy, dream, hope and "fish" again.)  

He has to crush your current capacity with His expectation (His promise) to show you a level of dominion you have never seen before. 

If you have a new perspective, you can cast a net in the same place you have fished all night (and caught nothing), and catch the biggest haul of your life.

But where does the Word come from?

The words (and perspectives) that come into your life are the product and result of those that are speaking into your life. 

QUESTION: What was the last leadership book you read?  What was the last resume, grant writing or interviewing book you read?  What did the Word of God speak to your destiny this morning? 

Old perspectives lie dormant in old mindsets, traditions, familiarity and unsubstantial results.

And you cannot reach your desired haven until you are willing to kill them and replace them with new ones.