John 21:1-11 (Teaching)

[0:00] Good morning. Now that I've made an idiot of myself online, that's okay. Not the first time.

[0:12] Won't be the last. Today we'll be beginning the last chapter of the Gospel of John.

[0:22] And that's, quite frankly, it's kind of bittersweet to me. I had the privilege of teaching this chapter years ago at the church that I pastored in Johnson City.

[0:41] I taught it one Thursday night in our midweek service. I don't think that we're going to blow through it quite as quickly as I did that night because I taught the whole chapter in one night. We'll divide this up into at least a couple of Sundays, maybe even three.

[1:01] But what has led up to chapter 21? Well, of course, the previous 20 chapters of John. Everything has led up to this. But immediately what has led up to this is, in the past couple of chapters, is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

[1:22] And, of course, his burial and his resurrection. The last chapter we read, in chapter 20, we read where Mary had come to the tomb.

[1:34] And she had found it empty. She had come to anoint the body of our Lord, the body of her Lord, and found it empty. And she goes back and she tells the disciples, we read about Peter and John racing to the tomb.

[1:48] And they get there and Peter goes in. Then John goes in. The Scripture says that John saw the same thing that Peter did and John believed.

[1:58] And, of course, more recently we've read where Mary Magdalene was outside the tomb, grieving. And the Scripture says that she stooped down, looked inside, saw the two angels.

[2:13] They asked her why she was weeping. Then she sees Jesus, thinking of him to be the gardener. He asked her why she's weeping and whom she's seeking. And he reveals himself to Mary Magdalene.

[2:26] And, of course, commissions. And we talked about that, how Christ commissioned Mary Magdalene to be the first one to testify of the risen Christ.

[2:37] That she had actually seen the risen Christ. And so all these things happened in chapter 20, which naturally brings us to chapter 21.

[2:48] And I said all that because chapter 21, the first verse, begins with three words, after these things. After what things? After really the first 20 chapters. But more immediately, everything that we read about in chapter number 20.

[3:06] So all that being said, in John chapter 21, the first verse, says, after these things, Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.

[3:19] And on this wise shewed he himself. Then go ahead and read verse 2. There were together Simon Peter and Thomas called Didymus.

[3:32] And Nathanael of Cana in Galilee. And the sons of Zebedee. And two other of his disciples. So back to verse 1. After these things, Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.

[3:48] And the again here, of course, goes back to chapter 23. Or chapter 20, I'm sorry. Speaking of when Christ revealed himself to the disciples.

[4:02] We know that they were all closed up in a room. And, you know, the doors were locked and Christ appeared amongst them. This happened actually a couple of times. Once without Thomas and once with Thomas.

[4:15] So John, the writer of this gospel, says, After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. Now the Sea of Tiberias is actually called a few different things in the scripture.

[4:32] This is also the Sea of Galilee. It is also the Lake of Gennesaret. In the Old Testament, you find it in the book of Numbers and in the book of Joshua both.

[4:43] It's called Chenareth and Chenaroth. But it's all the same body of water. Here it's called the Sea of Tiberias. Remember, John was older. John aged more than any of the rest of the disciples.

[4:58] He lived longer than any of the rest of the disciples. And so John would have more likely than them used terms such as this that were being more commonly used.

[5:10] It was called the Sea of Tiberias because it was named after a Roman emperor named Tiberias. But it was also called the Sea of Galilee and the Lake of Gennesaret.

[5:21] All these are the same bodies of water. Now what's significant about this? Jesus shewed himself to his disciples here at the Sea of Tiberias. Folks, this is the place where Christ first called his disciples.

[5:36] If you remember in the gospel accounts, you know, not just in the gospel of John, but in Matthew, Mark, and Luke as well. Jesus walking along the shore of the water and he calls Peter and he calls his brother Andrew and tells him, Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.

[5:57] It's the same body of water. I'm not going to say it's the exact same place on the shoreline. We don't know that. But we do know it's the same body of water. And it's where they would have first received their calling to follow Christ.

[6:11] Now, what's significant about that? Jesus has told them for three plus years to follow him or he called them to follow him.

[6:21] And they followed for three plus years. Then the arrest came. The crucifixion came. The burial and the resurrection has come. All of these things have happened. And now here is Christ on the same on the shore of the same body of water reminding his disciples of their call.

[6:42] Reminding them who they are and who he is. And folks, Christ does the exact same thing with us.

[6:54] None of us have walked perfectly. None of us have walked straightly with God since we have been saved. Every one of us have veered to the left or to the right at some point in our Christian walk.

[7:05] And truth be known, if you're honest with yourself, you've done it several times. Sometimes several times in a day. All of us have strayed one way or the other.

[7:16] But folks, Christ is right there to call us back. Christ is right there to remind us of the calling that he put on our lives. To remind us that we are his.

[7:27] That we belong to him to remind us that we're not supposed to be out fishing for fish as these here were. We haven't even got that far yet. We're supposed to be fishers of men.

[7:38] But Christ is there to remind us of that. He's there to call us back into that straight line, that straight path. Again, after these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.

[7:52] And on this wise, shoot he himself. There were together Simon Peter and Thomas called Didymus and Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee and the sons of Zebedee and two others of the disciples.

[8:05] So here we have seven disciples listed. Only five of them really by name. We have Simon Peter and then we have Thomas called Didymus.

[8:16] And I told you all just in the last chapter, chapter 20, not to get too caught up in this whole Didymus thing. Because I've seen some really rank stuff in commentaries and study Bibles.

[8:28] And heard some stuff taught about this word Didymus, which only means twin. That's the only meaning that it has. But I've seen people twist this around and make all kinds of weird stuff out of it.

[8:41] It simply means twins. So don't get all caught up in that. But it says, Thomas called Didymus and Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee. Who remembers us talking about Nathaniel all the way back in chapter 1 of John, which we started almost two years ago at this point.

[9:00] We talked about Nathaniel. We talked about how Nathaniel is not brought up in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But there's a disciple named Bartholomew that is brought up in those Gospels.

[9:12] And how it's accepted that this is the same person called Nathaniel in John's Gospel.

[9:22] But he's called Bartholomew in the other Gospels. But he is here as well. And it says the sons of Zebedee. Who are the sons of Zebedee? That's James and John.

[9:33] They're the sons of Zebedee. So we have them listed here. And it says, and two other of his disciples. So we have seven disciples all together that were here in this account that we're reading through this morning.

[9:50] Verse 3. So here's these seven disciples all together here.

[10:12] Folks, that's what he was doing when Christ called him. He was fishing. He was fishing. Again, Christ, according to the Gospel accounts, walking along the shoreline.

[10:27] Calls unto Peter. And the Scripture says, and his brother Andrew. Then he goes on down. And he sees James and John with their father Zebedee.

[10:38] And he calls them. And I've often wondered. And this is just a side note. I've often wondered if that call was also to Zebedee. And Zebedee didn't go. But James and John did.

[10:50] Or if that call was just to James and John. I don't know. The Scripture doesn't tell us. But that's just something that I've wondered myself. But regardless.

[11:02] These that were listed in the previous verse. They were there. And Peter said to them, I go fishing. I go fishing. It's just like. It's almost as if the death.

[11:13] The burial. And the resurrection. And Christ appearing to them in that room without Thomas. Christ appearing to them again with Thomas. And everything that's happened over the past three plus years.

[11:25] Just doesn't matter to Peter anymore. It's like he doesn't know what to do. So he's going to do what? He's going to go back to what he knows. I mean Christ is not here at this point.

[11:40] Christ is about to reveal himself on the shoreline. But not at this point. Peter says I go fishing. He's going back to what he knows. And folks we are just as guilty of doing what Peter says here.

[11:54] We get confused. We get disillusioned. We get sad. We get depressed. We get all kinds of things. And we feel like God is a blue billion miles off.

[12:04] And a lot of that is our own fault. Because in our mind he is a blue billion miles off. When God is right there next to us. When Christ is right there next to us. When Christ is within us.

[12:16] In form of the Holy Spirit. We treat him like he is so far away. And folks it's. Like I said we are all guilty of doing that. And we sing songs that will bolster this in our minds.

[12:30] Talking about how far God is away. How God is. You know beyond. Beyond the heavens. And in the heaven of heavens. And talk about how God is this far away.

[12:42] And that far away. And that just reaffirms that in our minds. But folks God is right here next to us. But Peter doesn't treat it like that. Peter says I go fishing.

[12:53] I don't know what else to do. So I'm going to go back to what I know. And the rest of them. Followed in suit. They say unto him. We also go with thee.

[13:04] They went forth and entered into a ship immediately. And that night. They caught nothing. And folks. This will ever. Every time I read this verse. This will ever.

[13:15] Put me back to John 15 and 5. When Jesus Christ says. I am the vine. Ye are the branches. If you abide in me. You will bring forth much fruit. But Jesus also.

[13:27] Intimates to them. Without me. Ye can do nothing. He told them that. And without Christ. You and I can do nothing. Without Christ. These disciples could do nothing.

[13:39] Think about what we're reading here. Peter said. I go fishing. And the rest of them said. We. We also go with thee. We'll go fishing with you. Because that's what we know. That's what all of us know.

[13:50] That's what we were doing. When Christ called us. They're going back to what they know. And they knew it well. This is how they made their living. And it says. That night. That they caught nothing.

[14:01] Folks. Outside of Christ. We can do nothing. When we. When we try to move forward. In our own lives. In our own power. And in our own strength.

[14:12] And in our own know-how. We will not move forward. At all. We must move forward. With Christ. We must move forward with him. And folks. Really and truly.

[14:23] For the child of God. We have no choice. But to. Move forward. With Christ. Because the victory is won. That we can't go backwards. Why would we go backwards.

[14:35] When the victory has already been won. Through Jesus Christ. Why would we go backwards. When Christ says go. He doesn't say go backwards. He wants us to go. Into all the world.

[14:46] And preach the gospel. To every living creature. He wants us. To go forth. Not go backward. Why would we even entertain. The thought of going backwards. But that's.

[14:56] Exactly what Peter. And the rest of these disciples. These other six here. Were doing in the scripture. They were moving backwards. They were going back. To what they knew. Before.

[15:07] Jesus. They went back. To fishing. And that night. They caught. Nothing. What a statement. These seasoned fishermen. Go out. All night.

[15:18] And they don't catch anything. Reminds me of Luke. In chapter five. The same thing happened. This was at the very. Very beginning. Of the. Accounts of Jesus.

[15:30] Of the ministry. Of Jesus. In Luke. In chapter five. We read. A very similar account. Where. They're out there. Fishing. They've caught nothing. Jesus tells them.

[15:41] To cast their net. On another side. And they pull in. This huge draw to fish. This huge catch. Of fish. And this is where. We read. Where Peter says. Depart from me Lord.

[15:51] For I. Am a sinful man. This very much. Reminds me. Of that. And don't think. For a moment. That throughout. The rest of what. We're going to cover. This morning.

[16:02] That Peter's mind. Wouldn't have went back. To that exact. Same moment. Three years. Before this. When Christ. When Christ. Initially. Called him. To be a fisher.

[16:13] A fisher. Of men. They'd been out. All night. They had told. They had strived. They had done everything. That they knew. To do. And yet.

[16:23] They came up. Empty handed. Verse four. But when the morning. Was now come. Jesus stood on the shore. But the disciples. Knew not.

[16:34] That it was Jesus. When the morning. Came. When the day. Was breaking. When the light. Was coming over. The horizon. In other words.

[16:44] When the morning. Was come. Jesus stood on the shore. But the disciples. Knew not. That it was Jesus. And folks. We've been in this same boat. As the disciples are here.

[16:55] We talked about it. In the last chapter. In John chapter 20. When Mary. When Jesus. Was standing. Right by Mary. And it was Jesus. And she did not. Recognize him.

[17:05] And here is Christ. This man that they had spent. Three years with. Here is Christ. On the seashore. Now granted. One might say. Well. We don't know. You know.

[17:16] How far off the shoreline. They were. They may have been. So far out. That they. Couldn't see him. Couldn't make out details. To see. That it was him. Folks. What the scripture. Is getting at here.

[17:27] Is Christ. Was there on the seashore. When it. When the morning. Had come. And the disciples. Failed to recognize. Whom. He was. The same way.

[17:37] That Mary. Failed to recognize. Whom. Jesus was. Why? Why did Mary. We went over this. When we went through chapter 20. Why did Mary. Fail to recognize Christ.

[17:47] For who he was. Because she was so. So. She was so. Caught up in her grief. She was so caught up. In the. In the thought. That they. Whoever they was. Had taken Christ away.

[17:59] And had hid his body. And she did not know. Where to find him. These disciples. Were in the exact same boat. As Mary was. And Mary was in the same boat. As the disciples were.

[18:09] They were. They were. They were. So caught up. In their confusion. They were so caught up. In what to do next. And what to expect. And all these other things. And Christ was.

[18:20] Obviously. Nowhere around. At the point. That Peter said. I go fishing. So they just went on their way. To do. What they knew. How to do. But when morning came.

[18:32] When morning came. But when the. The morning was now come. Jesus stood on the shore. But the disciples knew not. That it. Was Jesus. Folks.

[18:42] And we do the same thing. We'll get so caught up. In our own grief. We'll get caught up. In our own woes. In our own injuries. In our own health. In our own finances. In our own relationships.

[18:52] And anything else. That we feel like. Is falling apart. In our lives. And we fail. To see Christ. Right next to us.

[19:02] We fail to see Christ. Within us. Because the Bible teaches. That when we get saved. The Holy Spirit. Comes to abide in us. He comes to live in us.

[19:13] The Holy Spirit. Is Christ. I mean. You cannot separate Christ. And the Holy Spirit. You cannot separate. God the Father. From God the Son. You cannot separate. God the Son. From God the Spirit.

[19:23] You cannot separate them. At all. If you have one. You have all three. So. When the Spirit. Is living inside of us. Christ is right there. With us. Christ has said.

[19:34] Lo. I am with you always. Even to the end. The Bible says. He will never leave us. Nor forsake us. But when we get caught up. In the events of the world.

[19:44] In the events of our lives. And when everything is turned. Seems like it is turned upside down. And everything is. In turmoil. Around us. Folks. Christ is still.

[19:55] Right there. And he. Just as he was with these disciples. He. He is ready. To. To give us. That which we need. He is ready. To sustain us.

[20:05] He is ready to keep us. And to help us. And to guide us. And all these other things. That are promised. Within the scriptures. But when the morning was now come. Jesus stood on the shore.

[20:15] But the disciples knew not. That it was Jesus. Verse 5. Then Jesus saith unto them. Children. Have ye any me? They answered him. No. Now.

[20:26] Here. They still don't realize. That it is Jesus. But folks. That is neither here. Nor there. This is an amazing verse. This is an amazing verse. In this last chapter of John.

[20:38] Really. It is an amazing verse. In all the New Testament. What all has Christ done. Very recently. Very recently. What has Christ done. He has been arrested. He has been through two.

[20:50] Illegal trials. He has been found guilty. Of nothing. But yet. He was pronounced. Pronounced guilty. Judgment was laid upon him. As if he was guilty.

[21:01] He took mocking. He took scourging. He took people spitting on him. He took people hating his guts. He bore his cross. To a hill called Calvary. And he laid down upon that cross.

[21:13] He voluntarily gave up his life. He was slain for the sins of the world. He was slain for my sins. And for yours. He died. He was buried. He was resurrected. All these things.

[21:24] Have happened here. And what does he ask. His disciples. When they are out on the water. Have ye any meat. Even after everything. Christ has been through himself.

[21:37] Christ is still concerned. For the well being. Of his followers. He is still concerned. For the well being. Of all of those. That have professed faith in him.

[21:48] That have believed in him. Christ is concerned. About them. That's what's so amazing. About this. I mean folks. If this had been you.

[21:59] Or if it had been me. And we had suffered. Even a fraction. Or a very small percentage. Of what Jesus did. And some folks.

[22:10] That have been following us around. For a while. Failed to recognize us. How would we react? We would say. I'm finished with you. I'm done with you. I've done this for you.

[22:21] I've done that for you. You don't even know who I am. I'm finished. But not my savior. Not my savior. He doesn't treat us like that. He was still concerned.

[22:33] With their well being. And with their welfare. Children. Children. He refers to them. As children. Have ye any meat. Children. Being a very.

[22:43] Endearing term. We're talking about. Grown men here. Not children. But we're talking about. Grown men. And not only grown men. But some of them were.

[22:54] Very rough men. They were fishermen. By trade. So that's. How they knew to be. But Christ refers to them. As children. He says. Children. Have ye any meat.

[23:05] That's what was on his mind. Not. I mean. I don't read any rebuke. From Christ. In this statement. There's not rebuke. For them. Going back.

[23:16] To what they knew. There's no rebuke. To them. For. For going backwards. Period. Christ. Showing concern. He is showing compassion. Towards those.

[23:26] That have been. Following him. Children. Have ye any meat. They answered him. No. They answered him. Truly. They answered him. Honestly. No.

[23:37] We don't have any meat. We've been out here all night. We've caught nothing. Again. Go back to Luke 5. And read that account. Luke 5. Verses 1 through 11. I believe it is.

[23:48] You read that. And it's very similar. To all of this. The same. The same basic thing. Happened. They've been out all night. And not caught. One single fish.

[24:01] But. Christ shows up. And he turns the tides for them. Have ye any meat. They answered him. No. Verse 6. And he said unto them. Cast the net.

[24:12] On the right side of the boat. Or of the ship. And you shall find. They cast therefore. And now. They were not able to draw it. For the multitude.

[24:23] Of fishes. Christ says. Cast on the other side of the boat. Cast on the right side. This. I don't. Think this is exactly. How God intended it.

[24:35] But. This has. Two meanings. In my. My own. Little. Puny brain. Cast on the right side. Cast on the other side.

[24:46] Of course. Obviously. They were casting on the left side. Christ tells them. To cast on the right side. But folks. In our. Modern English. What would the right side be?

[24:56] That would be the correct side. Cast on the correct side. Now I said. I'm not sure. That's exactly how God intended that. To be. But. In my little brain.

[25:08] It works like that. But he tells them. Cast on the right side of the ship. And ye shall find. Folks. There was no doubt here. There was no doubt. He didn't say. Cast on the right side.

[25:19] And. And. Maybe you'll get a few. He didn't say. Cast on the right side. And. You might find. He says. Cast on the right side. And ye. Shall.

[25:30] Find. Folks. If Christ says. It's going to happen. It will. Happen. If this Bible says. It is going to happen. It will. Indeed. Happen. They cast. Therefore.

[25:41] And now. They were not able to draw it. For the multitude. Of fishes. What has happened here. We have seen. From a few verses ago. We've seen the disciples.

[25:52] We've seen Peter say. I go a fishing. We see. We've seen the disciples. The other six disciples say. We go. We'll go with you as well. Or we go with you also.

[26:04] And they go out on the lake. And nothing happens. They spend all night out there. Not one fish. Enters that net. From what we can gather. In the scriptures. They were doing everything. The way that they knew how to do it.

[26:16] They were doing everything. The way they had always. Known how to do it. But Christ shows up. On the seashore. And he tells them. How and where to cast the net.

[26:27] And he says. Ye shall find. They cast therefore. And now they were. Not able to draw it. For the multitude. Of fishes. I've seen this verse.

[26:37] Used. Several times. Or this passage. I should say. Used several times. And passages like it. In the. Within the scriptures. To promote.

[26:49] A prosperity gospel. And folks. That's not the message here. At all. Prosperity preachers. Will stand up. They'll say. See. If you just. Do it. God's way.

[26:59] God will. God will bless you abundantly. But their blessing. Of abundance. Is in money. And in material things. And homes. And cars. And yachts.

[27:09] And jewelry. And all these other things. Fame. And fortune. That's. Their version. Of being blessed abundantly. Folks. Whatever God wants to give me.

[27:20] Because the Bible tells me. In James. In chapter one. That every good. And every perfect gift. Cometh down. From the father. Of lights. Anything. That God wants to give me. Is a blessing.

[27:31] Regardless of how small. Or insignificant. It might seem. To the world. Folks. If it is. From God. It is truly. A blessing. For me.

[27:42] To receive it. Christ tells them. Cast on the right side of the ship. And ye shall find. They cast. Therefore. For now. They were. And now. They were. Not able. To draw it. For the multitude. Of fishes.

[27:53] Folks. In a nutshell. This is saying. When they were out there. Doing it the way. That they wanted to do it. At the time. That they wanted to do it. And. And. In their own strength.

[28:04] And in their own power. And their own know-how. They didn't get anything. Accomplished. But when they done it. The way Christ said. Folks. When we do things. The way this Bible.

[28:14] Tells us to do. When we live our lives. The way this Bible. Tells us to. When. When. When we do our marriage. In the way this Bible. Tells us to.

[28:25] When we handle our finances. In the way this Bible. Tells us to. Folks. That's the correct way. To do it. And that's. The only correct way.

[28:36] To do it. The only correct way. Is God's. Way. If we just. Handled our lives. In general. The way that the scripture. Told us to. Tells us. To do it.

[28:46] We would. We would have a lot less suffering. A lot less strife. And a whole lot more peace. In our lives. I'm not saying we'll be rich. And I'm not saying that we'll be. Disease free.

[28:57] That we'll. We'll never have a runny nose again. Or another headache. I'm not saying anything. Along those lines. That's not guaranteed. Anywhere in the scripture. Until the afterlife. We're guaranteed that.

[29:09] We're guaranteed that. In. In. In. The great beyond. Bible says. There'll be no more weeping. There'll be no more crying. There'll be no more death. There'll be no more sin there.

[29:20] Praise God. That's why. And because there's no more sin. That's why those other things won't be there. All that stuff came. Because of sin. But when we do things God's way.

[29:31] We'll have much more peace. In our lives. They were not able to draw it. For the multitude of fishes. Don't do things our way. Do them God's way. Do them the way Christ.

[29:43] Does. Says to do them. Therefore that disciple. Whom Jesus loved. Saith unto Peter. Now. Who is the disciple. Whom Jesus loved. This is another cameo appearance.

[29:53] By John. John inserts himself here. In the scripture. Without naming himself. Therefore that disciple. Whom Jesus loved. Saith unto Peter. It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter.

[30:05] He heard that it was the Lord. He girded his fishers coat unto him. For he was naked. And did cast himself. Into the sea. Folks. Don't ask me. Why he was naked. Out there on a boat.

[30:15] Because I can't tell you. Evidently. That's the way they done things. Back then. There's. Nothing in scripture. To really give an explanation. For that. But.

[30:26] It does tell us. That John. Is the one. That told. Told Peter. Is the Lord. Therefore that disciple. Whom Jesus loved. Saith unto Peter.

[30:37] It is the Lord. It is the Lord. After this. After. After what? After verse 6. After they've. Pulled. Caught this. Enormous.

[30:48] Catch of fish. After Christ. Told them. What side. Of the boat. To throw it on. Peter. Peter. Obviously. Still doesn't understand it. But John.

[30:59] Tells Peter. John says. It. Is. The Lord. John's eyes were opened. At that point. John. Had. Understanding. John. Had. Realization.

[31:11] As to whom it was. On the seashore. That. That was standing there. And hollering. At them. And he tells Peter. It. Is. The Lord. And what was Peter's reaction?

[31:21] Now when Simon Peter. Heard. That it was the Lord. He girded his fishers coat. Unto him. For he was naked. And did cast himself. Into the sea. Folks. This is the same Peter.

[31:32] That denied Jesus. Three times. This is the same Peter. That went out. And wept bitterly. After the third crow. Of the cock. It's the same.

[31:42] But. In. On that same token. It's the same Peter. That followed Christ. A far off. He was still following. And folks. Just because.

[31:54] Just because. Of this denial. That we. That we just brought up. Because of that denial. Christ. Could have said. Everybody but Peter.

[32:05] He could have revealed himself. To everyone but Peter. Every. The other. The other. Six disciples. On that boat. Every one of them. Could have said. It is the Lord. And Christ.

[32:16] Could have kept. Peter's blind. Eyes blinded. Could have kept. His heart blinded. He could have done. Anything that he wanted to. But folks. Peter. Was God's.

[32:28] Peter. Belonged. To Christ. Peter is the one. The very one. That made the profession. I believe that. Thou art the Christ. The son. Of God.

[32:38] He believed. In Jesus Christ. He followed. Jesus Christ. Yes. He denied him. Three times. But y'all have heard me say it before. I wish I could say. I only denied him. Three times. This is.

[32:50] A beautiful moment here. Peter's the first one. Off the ship. He don't even. Wait for the ship. To get to shore. He don't even. Wait for it. To get. Just a few feet. From the shore.

[33:00] It says. He put his coat. Upon himself. And he jumped. Into the water. He was that. Anxious. To get to Christ. He was that. Anxious.

[33:11] To get to his savior. He was that. Anxious. To get. To the very one. That he had denied. The folks. That denial. Didn't stick with him. We read. In this. Very chapter here.

[33:22] We won't get to it today. But we read. In this very. Very chapter. The restoration. Of Peter. The restoration. Of Christ. To Peter. And it's.

[33:32] And it's beautiful scripture. When we. Whenever we do. Get there. Peter. Gird his fishing coat. Unto him. For he was naked.

[33:43] And did cast himself. Into the sea. That's. How anxious he was. That's how excited he was. That's how much he wanted to be close. To Jesus.

[33:54] And Jesus. Did not deny him that. When. When Peter cast him. Cast him. His self. Into the sea. Jesus. Could have simply. Willed. That he not come up.

[34:07] Jesus. Could have simply. Willed. That he stay under the water. Till he drown. This is the one. That denied me. This is the one. That. That said. That he would give up.

[34:18] His very life. For me. And he didn't do it. This is the one. That said those things. The folks. Again. This is the same. Peter. That said. Thou art the cross. The son.

[34:29] Of the living. God. This is the same. Peter. That when they came. To arrest Jesus. He. He. He cut off. The ear. Of Malchus. The. The. The high priest. Servant.

[34:40] It's the same. Peter. Think.

[34:51] Think. Think. Think. Think. Think. where he looked down in the water where he's trying to guess how deep the water was where he was at or anything along those lines i read that he girt his fit his coat upon himself and he threw himself into the water and folks when we throw ourselves at jesus my goodness what peace comes what peace comes when when when when turmoil comes in our life or when blessings such as this comes in our life it was it was it was a bad night for them fishing but then that bad night turned into blessing once they done it the way christ told them to regardless though of what it is when we cast our feet ourselves at the feet of jesus christ when we cast ourselves to him it's a wonderful thing and it's a peaceful thing when we do that and and i'm sure we've all had instances like that in our lives where you know everything that we had tried everything that we have done every bit of strength that we had we put into something and it was all futile and it was all to no avail but when we cast ourselves at christ and when christ or when we do things the way of christ wants us to do them the way the scripture tells us to do them then it turns out right it's got to turn out right if it's done the way god says there's no way for it to go wrong it might go wrong in the world's eyes it might be something tumultuous in the in the world's eyes but if it is the way god tells us to do it folks it has got to be right the other disciple came came in a little ship for they were not far from land but as it were 200 cubits dragging the net with fishes so the other disciples came in a little ship after peter had thrown himself into the water the other disciples came in a little ship for they were not far from land but as it were 200 cubits dragging the net with fishes so they're dragging this huge catch behind them the the disciples are here verse 9 as soon as soon then as they were come to land they saw a fire of coals and fish laid there on and bread jesus saith unto them bring to the fish which he had now called so as soon as they came there christ already had the fire bill christ was prepared for them to get to land folks christ knows exactly what's going to happen he he is absolutely omniscient he knows it all he knows everything and before the disciples even got to land christ had a fire bill ready to provide provision for them so that they wouldn't have to wait this goes back to that verse where he says children have ye any me he was concerned about their welfare he was concerned about their physical needs he was concerned about their physical or spiritual needs as well and here he has a fire uh a coal built there on on the on the beach or on the shore as soon as they were come to land they saw a fire of coals there and fish laid there on and bread he was ready he had what they needed for their sustenance to sustain them for just a little while longer he was ready to give this to his disciples jesus saith unto them bring of the fish which you have now called so bring of those that were in the huge net and that huge catch that you just dragged up to the land simon peter went up and drew the net to land full of great fishes and 150 and three what's significant about that not the 153 i couldn't tell you what's significant about that i have no clue there's nothing in

[38:55] biblical numerology to do with uh with the with the number of 153 but i think it's uh uh just giving us an idea of how great of a catch of fish that was what's significant about it though is simon peter went up and drew the net to land full of great fishes what did we read just a few verses ago in verse 6 when they received this blessing when they cast the net out on the right side they cast therefore and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes they were not able to draw it they seven men were not able to draw it but here in this verse verse 11 simon peter went up and drew the net to land full of fishes one man did what seven could not he drew this this net of fish why because christ commanded him to and christ will not command you or me or any one of his followers or or any one of the children of the father none of us will be commanded to do anything that god will not enable us to do it's the same net of fishes that seven men couldn't handle but it says here simon peter went peter by himself went and fetched this net of fishes simon peter went up and drew the net to land full of great fishes 150 and three and for and for all there were so many yet was not the net broken so not only will god enable us to do what god has called us to do and what god commands us to do but he makes sure the net doesn't break as well peter could have been dragging that net of fishes up there to where jesus was as jesus requested and the whole net break then all the fish start flipping back towards the water any number of things could have happened but no if god enables us to do something god is going to see that on through and some people will say well what about ministry and i've heard this actually used as an example what about ministers and ministry you know god has called them to do that but ministers die well folks there's other people out there to carry on the ministry as long as that minister continues ministering through throughout the call that god has put in his life he's doing what god's asking him to do but it's not like the ministry as a whole dies at that point god has had people from the very beginning of this thing to declare the word of god he's had people from the beginning of this thing to declare the goodness of god and the righteousness of god and the judgment of god he's had people to do all of these things and he will ever have people to do that until the whole thing comes to an end one day after a while if god calls you to drag a net of fishes up to him he will enable you to do it and he will make sure that net doesn't break in the process but if god doesn't call you to do it that's when things many times will fall apart but then we want to blame god i've used the example here before and i've used it other places before there's so many people within the church i'm talking about within the body of christ that get burned out in serving god they get burned out in serving the lord that and they get mad at god they'll say god i've done everything that i know to do i've led singing i've played piano i've played guitar i've taught sunday school i've preached i've headed up bible schools and i've participated in christmas programs and i've done the bake sales and i've done this and i've done that god why why are you allowing all these things to happen to me after everything that i've done for you and god might just look down and say i never asked you to do those things

[42:57] you took all that upon yourself you put all of that upon yourself i'm not saying don't do those don't help in these things but folks any of us any of us can only handle so much before we break and when that happens many times we want to point the finger at god when god had very little if anything to do with it shame on it i've been guilty of that i've been guilty of that very thing wondering wondering wondering you know why why i guess i'm not being rewarded for everything that i've done and feeling more like i've been punished and god may just be looking down at me saying i i never asked you to do half of those things much of this you took took on yourself and you put it upon yourself that's a cross i never asked you to bear god made you be saying that very thing i think we're going to end it right there uh for today anybody got any questions or any comments on any of that all right if not god bless you i appreciate your attention