Seeking for the help of the Lord
I direct your prayerful attention to the chapter that we read,
the Gospel according to John chapter 21, and reading for our
text the first verse, verse 1. After these things Jesus showed
himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias and on
this wise showed he himself. John chapter 21 and verse 1 What
is upon my spirit this evening is Jesus showing himself to His
people in their daily lives. In this chapter we are drawn
to two things that were repeated three times. The first is our
Lord's questioning of Peter in verses 15 to 17. The Lord met with Peter and he
asked him a question. And he said to him, Simon son
of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? Three times he was
to ask him this question or similar. He answered, he saith unto him,
Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. Then the Lord gave
him a charge, and he saith unto him, Feed my lambs. Three times he asked him, Simon,
son of Jonas, lovest thou me? What is the significance of that? We would remember that Simon
Peter had denied his Lord and Master three times, testifying
that he did not know Him. And three times he is given the
opportunity here of testifying of his love. And as those of
you who have heard me before, I often mention Our Lord didn't
come to him and assure him and say three times that he loved
him He wanted to hear from Peter and we know in John's epistles
John makes it very clear that we love him because he first
loved us If the love of God is shed abroad in our heart it is
by the Holy Spirit and it is a witness and a token of the
Lord's love to us. So it is significant how the
Lord posed this question and drew it out from Peter. We could
ask the same of us each this evening. The Lord asking, Lovest
thou me? Is there in our hearts that by
nature are so hard and cold any love to the Lord? Is there any
drawing to him, attraction to him? desire after him, the contrast
to what we once were, what a contrast with Peter, with his heart overflowing
with love when he was in Satan's sieve, but now he is able to
express it and testify it. Those are sacred times when we're
able to do that on a token of the Lord's love to us first.
But not only was it three times that Peter was asked this and
answered, he was given a commission three times as well. And remember
when the Lord said that Satan had desired to have thee, to
sift you as wheat? Then he also said that when thou
art converted, strengthen thy brethren. I prayed for thee that
thy faith fail not, he said. and when they are converted,
when they are restored, then strengthen thy brethren. We see
in the epistles of Peter how he did that, and we see in his
ministry too, in the Acts of the Apostles. But here the Lord
gives him a threefold commission. The first one is to feed my lambs. The second one is to feed my
sheep. and the third one is to feed
my sheep. It is a real reminder to us that
the commission for the people of God, however much it may be,
and it is to bring the Gospel into all the world and preach
the Gospel and set it forth, yet the Lord speaks once as for
lambs, once for those that are beginners in the faith, young
in the way, young in the faith, and twice for those that are
sheep. And when we think of it, we think
of some of our dear aged friends who may look back, some of them
50, 60 years, and the Lord has been pleased to speak to them,
call them by the praise, pass by them when they're in their
blood and bid them live. And they've been taught as lambs,
fed with the milk of the word, strengthened in the faith and
then they've grown but growing grace and in the knowledge of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and then as grown Christians
they've continued 40, 50 years and in all that time they have
been fed and they need to be fed and so the Lord puts this
balance this emphasis yes There is that for the sheep, that for
the lambs, but there's that for the sheep, and it's doubled as
it were for the sheep. Remember the people of God as
they travel on, weary, year by year, times after times, that
they need that bread from heaven. Man shall not live by bread only. But by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God, except ye eat the flesh and drink the
blood of the Son of Man, ye have no life in you." And so by these
three times we have the emphasis that is to be, as it were, in
the ministry. The Apostle Paul, he says, God
send me not to baptize. He did baptise, and baptism is
a command of the Lord. But again we have an emphasis
on the preaching, the feeding, the establishing, the strengthening,
the edifying of the Church of God. And may this be an encouragement,
and if there's any of the Lord's servants that are listening tonight,
those of you who may be discouraged, you think, The Lord hasn't used
me much to bring to baptism or bring those in conversion. But
it may be the Lord has used you much to feed, establish and strengthen
the Church of God. And the Lord is sovereign as
to how he uses his servants. And we're not to dictate that
we don't. We are not in our power. is to
how we used where we used we are to be his servants and so
with Peter These three times they were significant, the difference,
the lambs and the sheep. Now we have the second thing,
which is concerning our text. We are told in verse 14, this
is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples
after that he was risen from the dead. this is the time that
is introduced by our text that Jesus showed himself again to
the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias and on this wise showed he himself
three times really we may say this and to clarify it really
means three days, three separate occasions the first time, the
first day was that first day of the week when the Lord rose
from the dead and on that day he appeared many times he appeared
to Mary at the tomb he appeared to those on the way to Emmaus
he appeared in the upper room in the evening and other times
as well on that day that he hath appeared under Simon and so the
third time is not referring to the number of times literally,
but as to the days, the days that he appeared. And this is
very evident from when we look at the previous chapter, chapter
20, and we find that the first time that he showed himself to
his disciples was indeed that first day of the week when he
rose from the dead. The second time was eight days
later when Thomas was then with the disciples. He wasn't there
the first time in the upper room. And the Lord met with them there
and appeared to them there. And so we read of those appearances
of the Lord. And then we read this time here
on the shores of Tiberias, the Sea of Galilee, and this is the
manner that the Lord appeared to them. So what is the significance
of this as well? We have three times that the
Lord gathers together, and I believe it's the emphasis is on those
upper room times, those times when the Lord was so clearly
seen. Yes, He appeared to the two on
the way to Emmaus, but in the evening of that day when they
are brought to say that the Lord is risen indeed and hath appeared
and there they are assembled together and the Lord comes and
he comes with the doors being shut through fear of the Jews
and says peace be unto you and he shows them his hands and his
side then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord and
how the Lord then spoke to them and spoke peace to them, gave
them the Holy Spirit, breathed on them, receive ye the Holy
Spirit. We read then from that first
time that Thomas was not there. The Lord didn't appear in the
intervening week, but he appeared eight days later, the first day
of the week again, and Thomas is there. and the Lord draws
near and blesses them again, shows himself again to them. And then we have this third time,
but this time is different, this time the disciples, they were
together and Simon Peter says, I go fishing, I go back to my
calling, I go back to where the Lord really found him and called
them from their nets and from their fishing and said that he'd
make fishers than fishers of men. And so like we have with
the threefold commission to Peter, we have three appearances. And
what is the difference with them? Well, I believe the significance
is we have two emphases. This is on the first day of the
week. This is a gathering of the people of God, the gathering
of the disciples and the Lord appears to them. That's twice. The emphasis is on the gathering
of the people of God. Shall we say in that that it
is the gathering in the house of God for worship. Forsake not
the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some
is, so much the more as you see the day approaching. And I know
at these times we cannot fully gather. We feel Feel it in this
way, we can gather around the Word of God, but the Lord has
instituted that the people of God should gather, and to Him
shall the gathering of the people be. And we have this picture
here, right so early on when the Lord first rises, and they
physically are together and I think it's a good thing as we anticipate
in some time in the future now nearer future gathering together
again that is the pattern when we are able we know that many
will be very frightened to return at the moment some not able to
at all, some through infirmities or weaknesses and that they cannot
come to the house of God God will provide for such that genuinely
cannot come and are fearful to come and that is our desire too
to facilitate that provision for them. But we must never turn
away from the fact that the Lord would have his dear people see
each other, meet with them, see each other and speak one to another
and we have this pass in here with thee two times and dear
Thomas he wasn't with them that first time and you might say
he missed out on that blessing he had to wait another week he
wasn't there and may our desire be that if the Lord is going
to come and bless the church of God then we want to be there
we want to be part of it we want to be with the dear brethren
but then we had this third time And the third time is, they've
gone fishing. Now dear friends, in our lives
we are given this one day in seven, we are given this privilege
and this blessing of gathering together, but there's six days
in the week that we work and that we labour. What if we were
to say, the Lord will never show himself to his disciples in those
six days. He will never appear to them
in their employments, in their work, in their labours, in their
homes, he won't. But we have this little picture
here with these three. The emphasis on the house of
God. He loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of
Jacob. But he does bless the dwellings
of Jacob. And I believe I proved this in
my early days and when I was first blessed. and seeking the
Lord because I was actually blessed more at home and in my workplace
in the midst of the world than I was in the house of God. And
yet the Lord used means to make me really desire and want those
blessings in the house of God and brought them to me there
and to look for them there. But I know the sacred blessing
of expectation that the Lord visits his dear people where
ever they are and in their callings and in their work and we have
this little picture here in this way of the Lord coming and visiting
them here and the manner how is told in our text he showed
himself unto the disciples showed himself again to the disciples
at the sea of Tiberias and on this wise showed he himself. And we are given then the manner,
the way that the Lord showed himself to his disciples on this
occasion. I want with the Lord's help to
speak firstly on Jesus showing himself. And then secondly, showing
himself in the assembly of his people. And thirdly, showing
himself in our daily lives and in our work. But firstly, Jesus
showing himself in a gospel day. Of course, we have now the Lord
ascended up into heaven, the disciples saw our Lord ascend,
the angels stood beside them, and said, Ye men of Galilee,
why stand ye gazing up into heaven? His same Jesus that hath ascended
into heaven shall come again in like manner. And yet the Lord
has said, Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. And we know the Lord appears
to His people, reveals Himself to His people, and we would then
ask how in a Gospels day does the Lord appear and show himself
to his people? The first thing I would say in
this is that it is only to his people that he reveals himself
When the Lord rose from the dead, we are told specifically that
he did not appear to the general population, he appeared unto
the disciples, witnesses chosen of God, and we believe that the
Holy Spirit never enlightens the non-elect, those that are
not God's people, giving them ability to receive grace or to
view and to see the Lord. He is hidden from them. We are
told that He is as a root out of dry ground, no form nor comeliness
that we should desire Him. But when the Lord is revealed
to a people, in that very revealing, it shows whose they are, and
the Lord's knowledge of them, and the sovereignty of his revealing
himself to a person, it is a most blessed token for good, what
the Lord has shown himself to be to us. If he no longer is
a root out of dry ground, but he is precious and beautiful,
and we have seen him, as we hope to look at how, then there is
that token of being one of the Lord's dear children. The Lord
hasn't for nothing said that a risen Saviour only appears
to His own people. It is to be a token for good. It is to be that real evidence
of being the Lord's. So the Lord is sovereign how
and when He appears and he appears to those that he knows are his,
that he has suffered, bled and died for on Calvary's tree and
risen again. And so he rises again and shows
himself to those people whom he has risen for, whom he has
died for. The second thing that is very
evident here and in all of these accounts is that the time of
his showing himself to his disciples was in the Lord's hand and not
in theirs Thomas he could not hasten on that time when the
Lord showed himself the disciples were not here they were saying
they were going about their earthly calling and the Lord then sovereignly
comes and he chooses the timing Our times are in His hand. It is the blessing of seeing
a sovereign God that our blessings are not in our own hand, our
own command. We are not walking in sparks
of our own kindling. We are not creating our own visits,
but we are waiting on visits from the Lord and looking for
the Lord to come and to bless us. I remember over in Australia
when I first knew the Lord, a dear sister in faith there nearing
her journey's end, and seeing how she was under the blessing
of the Lord and waiting for the Lord, to see the joy of the Lord
when she was blessed. And when that blessing receded,
her very attitude, it spoke volumes. that she knew the Lord knew her
and he would come he wouldn't forsake her he would visit her
again and though she was tried through those times it was not
in a way well I must run here or thither in trying to find
the Lord she knew there was that sweet waiting for his appearing
and whether it is for a blessing or showing himself through the
word or coming in the hour of death The Lord knows that time,
His second coming, they that look for Him, shall He appear
the second time without sin unto salvation, but of that day or
hour knoweth no man. It is the Lord that knows. And
I can testify those blessed and sweet times, some of them have
been so unexpected. We look for judgment, we look
for wrath, and the Lord has suddenly broken in and suddenly blessed
and so it is the time of His choosing notice this and mark
it in your lives the timing of the Lord, the visits of the Lord
and very often it will be when we least expect it, when we feel
so low even so far off when we look for wrath and He sends blessing
and mercy and lifts us up all of grace and all of mercy. The
third thing to notice in the Lord showing himself in the gospel
day is that it is through the Holy Spirit. The Lord said it
was needful that he go away, because if he went not away,
the Spirit would not come unto you. He's spoken of as the Spirit
of truth and the Comforter. When he, the Spirit of truth,
has come, He will show you all things which I receive of mine
and show it unto you. It is then through the Spirit
and we are dependent upon the Spirit. The disciples were to
tarry at Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on
high. It is vital that the Holy Spirit
reveal the things of God. It is a mystery to us. Father,
Son and Holy Spirit, how the Lord can be in heaven physically? His same flesh and bones that
hung on Calvary's tree are in heaven. And yet He has said,
I am with you always. But He is with us by His Spirit. And a great mystery. If you've
seen me, you've seen my Father also. I go away, yet I am with
you. And this secret, this blessing,
is with the people of God but may we value and love the blessed
spirit that seals the people of God and reveals to them not
just in the naked truth but in sweetness and a sweet savour
the things of Jesus but then fourthly he is revealed
by the word of the Lord we read of Samuel when the Lord first
called him and blessed him Samuel did not yet know the Lord but
the Lord came and spoke to him called him by name and then when
he knew that it was revealed to him we read at the end of
chapter 3 in that first of Samuel and the Lord appeared again in
Shiloh how did the Lord appear? For the Lord revealed Himself,
how did He reveal Himself? To Samuel in Shiloh by the Word
of the Lord. By the Word of the Lord. And
it's a good lesson to us here. We know from Hebrews that God
in sundry times He has spoken to the fathers by the prophets
in diverse manners but in these last days He has spoken unto
us by His beloved Son and He speaks to us in this same word,
reveals the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel and in Shiloh significance
there with the tabernacle was but it is by the word of the
Lord and I've no doubt there's some of you that have known those
sweet times that the Lord has come through His Word and shown
us Himself through the lattice of the Word, shone upon the Word,
we've seen, we've believed, we've received that Word, we've been
like the eunuch who started off with Isaiah 53 and couldn't see
the Lord. and then under the preaching
of Philip he could see the Lord he could see Jesus, he could
see Him and testify that Jesus is the Son of God and it is that
way the Lord reveals Himself to His people through the Word
otherwise the Word is closed to us we cannot see the Lord
and we cannot receive Him through it when the Lord is pleased to
open it up and he shows himself there but then he shows himself
again I do like that in our text it says after these things Jesus
showed himself again to his disciples might be some of you this evening
you're so tempted and tried the Lord has blessed me years ago
but Will he come again? Will he visit again? I will come
again and receive you unto myself. But before that time, the Lord
does visit again. There's a blessed thing concerning
grace as well. He giveth grace, and he giveth
more grace, and he giveth grace for grace. The Lord didn't just
visit his dear disciples once. he visited them again and again. You read also with his teaching
as well, as he was wont, he taught them again. Dear friends, do
be encouraged. Seek of the Lord, ask him for
those fresh revelations, those fresh views of Jesus in his word,
those fresh times when he draws near and visits us and blesses
us with a faith's view of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Spirit
shining upon the Word and magnifying His precious Name. And to you
which believe, He is precious. We see not yet all things put
under us, no, but we see Jesus, and Paul sets it forth beautifully
to the Hebrews. What a balancing when we see
so many afflictions and trials and turmoils in the world so
many troubles everywhere and uncertainty but we see Jesus
and on the mount there was Elias taken away and there is Moses
but then there is Jesus only and may we see no man but Jesus
only and have him show himself to us. So Jesus does show himself
in a gospel day, shows himself to his people and in that way
gives them that token for good. Often think of that is true in
the way to Emmaus, what a testimony that would be to the Church of
God, when a poor sinner is able to tell to thee, dear brethren,
what was done in the way, and how the Lord made himself known
to them in the breaking of bread. Tell what was done in their lives,
and how that led to the Lord showing himself to them. those two things so vital he
which hath begun a good work in you and it leads to Christ
and it leads to that poor sinner viewing him and seeing him well
secondly I want to notice the Lord showing himself in the assembly
of his people These are these two occasions
that come prior to our text. The text being the third occasion,
but the first two being in an assembly of his people, the gathering
together. There's three main things you
notice here. The first thing is the preaching
of the word. that we are not to forsake the
gathering of ourselves together but when there is that gathering
then the word is to be preached how the apostle was critical
and censored the Corinthian church that were using their gathering
together to exercise the gift of speaking in tongues, in languages
but there was not those there to interpret so that it didn't
edify them it didn't edify those that were there and he said that
he would rather speak five words with the understanding than ten
thousand words in an unknown tongue and it was that the Church
of God might be edified that it might be profited and blessed
goes along with that command to Peter to feed, feed my lambs,
feed my sheep. And so in the preaching of the
Word it did please God through the foolishness of preaching
to save them that believe. And it is to feed them with the
Word of God and to instruct them in the ways of the Lord. The
Lord is to be lifted up at the command he has given to us is
to preach the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ is that Word. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And He is to
be our meat and drink, not living by bread only, but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Jeremiah said, Thy words
were founded, I did eat them. and they were to the joy and
rejoicing of my soul." The Lord makes it clear that it is specifically
his sufferings, his death, his shed blood, his broken body,
except you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of
Man, there is no life in you. And the Apostle says, I determined
to know nothing among you, saved Jesus Christ and him crucified
and that was the message to the Saint Corinthian church and so
in the assembly of the people of God it is through preaching
like it was we mentioned the eunuch and how that Philip began
and to preached and to from that text he preached unto him Jesus
and that it be a sacred a blessing thing in our gathering together
that Jesus is preached unto us set forth that eternal Son of
God the beloved of the Father sent forth into this world to
save sinners And the Lord says, the Son of Man came not to destroy
men's lives, but to save them. And He came with that precious
name of Jesus, a name which is above every name, that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow. For He shall, not might,
He shall save His people from their sins. He has a people,
they are sinners. They need saving from their sins. He shall do it. It is all the
work of the Lord, and the Lord is pleased to do this through
the preaching of the Word. The second thing, in the assembly
of the people of God, the Lord has been pleased to give the
ordinances of His house. They belong to the house of God,
the assembly of the people of God, and yes, in times gone by
we have, when the house of God has had to be closed for repairs
or it may be that we've had dear aged friends who have not been
able to go out even as a whole congregation and we met in their
homes and the ordinances have been observed in our homes and
yet it's been in the attitude of a church we've been in a different
building but it's been as a church and it is the ordinances that
belong to the Church of God, not as it were to individuals. They are given to the Body of
Christ. The first is Believers' Baptism,
that it is that those that believe, it is to be the entrance into
the Church. He that believeth and is baptised
shall be saved. We have in Acts 2 a beautiful
pattern that there is a pricking in the hearts, there is conviction,
there is a preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is a gladly
receiving his word, and those that gladly received the word
were baptized, and then they continued with the apostles in
the breaking of bread. And yes, in those days, from
house to house, but as a church, as a gathering, And so it is
the ordinance of the Lord's house, believers baptism, buried with
him in baptism, risen again in newness of life, the ordinance
of the Lord's supper, this do in remembrance of me, as oft
as ye do this ye do show forth the Lord's death till he come. And it is a command then is looking
back to his sufferings, observed in the present and looking forward
to his coming. and that is to be observed by
the body of Christ the church is the bride of Christ the local
church is a local type of that one church and one body in all
the world there is but one redeemed church but the local church is
a complete type in itself self-governing and under Christ as a type of
his bride he is redeemed and so The ordinances belong to the
Bride of Christ, they belong to the Church, they belong to
the Lord's dear people gathered together in His command. And so then we also have fellowship. John in his epistles, he says,
truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son,
but our fellowship is with one another. and he makes that clear,
he joins together the people of God and joins them with their
God and their Saviour and the whole work of the Gospel is to
unite, to bring, by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples
indeed, in that ye love one another John, he speaks in his epistles
of those that went out from us, and they went out. If they had
been of us, they no doubt would have continued with us, but they
went out. And there's a portraying of those
that had rejected Christ, completely gone away, like Demas, have forsaken
me, having loved this present world. Those that, like Judas,
completely fell away. and the joining together the
gathering of the people of God together we know that we have
passed from death unto life in that we love the brethren and
I believe it's one of those things that we've felt keenly at this
time that we haven't been able to see the brethren we haven't
been able to converse face to face and to gather in the house
of God together and this is a privilege, a blessing of the assembly of
the people of God together, drawing together. Then they that feared
the Lord spake often one to another. We are thankful for the means
that we have had and we can see each other as we do in preaching
tonight and hear each other. We are thankful for that but
it is so nice when we are able to meet together and so the Lord
showing himself in the assemblies of his people, there are those
unique ways, ways that belong to the house of God that should
make us love, as the Lord does, the gates of Zion, to love the
house of God, they're my best friends, my kindred dwell, their
God, my Saviour reigns. It is seeing that body of Christ
and seeing the Lord's image upon his people the mark upon them
you know when Barnabas went and saw where the grace of God was
where there was conversions in Antioch he said then was he saw
the grace of God and was glad he saw the effect of the grace
of God in their hearts and seeing face to face is so much different
than even in the means that we have now. And so may we think
of the two gatherings together that were first of the Lord,
where the Lord showed himself to his disciples, and think of
the Church of God, the gathering together in the house of God. But then I want to look in the
third place at showing himself in our daily lives and in our
work. I believe I can say that I've
had many, many visits, many truly sweet blessings in the midst
of a workplace. Even when I've been where the
youngsters, the teenagers that I've been teaching, and they've
been blaspheming and speaking all manner of evil, and I think,
well, next week I'm not going to teach them. It's after work
hours. I'm not going to do this and
next week they were alright again and then the next week they were
carrying on in their same ungodly way that one particular time
I felt so low I felt what they were saying, what they were doing
that it was my sin as their teacher, instructor and as I was standing
by the whiteboard in front of them The Lord dropped in with
such sweetness and power His word. On their part He is evil
spoken of, but on your part He is glorified. And I have never
forgotten it. It was a very sweet and sacred
time, and there have been many times the Lord has drawn near
and blessed me at a work desk. and in the midst of the world
and it's a sacred thing to testify that when we go from the Lord's
house and you might be like the eunuch being to worship disappointed
this evening you might return to your work tomorrow they might
say the Lord's day is past you're not going to be blessed now but
I can testify of this like the dear disciples here the Lord
does draw near and he can and does bless even in the workplace. Dear friends, we don't want just
a one-day-a-week religion. We want an everyday religion.
We want that which is a mark on our whole lives, that, as
the Apostle says, when Christ, who is our life, shall appear,
may that be a searching word, may be to some of you, how much
do you have of Christ in the week? Or is it just your religion
vanishes away after the Lord's day? Or is it that you have a
closet religion, and you have that which you carry with you
when you go to work, when you come back, when those that are
working with you, they take knowledge of you, that you've been with
Jesus? Your light is not under a bushel,
your salt has not lost its savour, but you are a savour amongst
those with whom you work and labour. One sacred blessed thing
here in this account, the dear disciples were together, they
were fishing, they were going, and they were with their brethren.
We know of course the Lord then, he met with them as their brethren. Very few of the Lord's people
are favoured in that way, to have those that they work with,
all of the Lord's dear people. Some are. Be very thankful to
the Lord, if that is the case. But, here we have them, The Lord
coming to that place of work, in their case here, it was with
their fishing. Then the situation was that they'd
gone fishing and things had gone wrong. No fish. Qualified fishermen,
experienced fishermen, they go all night and they catch nothing. You know what it is to be at
work, everything seems to go wrong. Devil comes in and says,
the Lord's not with you. He's not blessing your labors. All things are going wrong. And
yet when we think of this occasion, this was just when the Lord appeared
to these dear disciples when they had no fish. And how does
he appear? He appears as a stranger first. They don't know him. They don't
recognize him at all. And then he begins to speak to
them. And he speaks and he asks them a question. He might say
to these fishermen, professional fishermen, the worst question
he could ask, have you any fish? Have they got to admit that they've
gone all night and caught nothing? What if it was the question that
Philip came to the eunuch as he's reading the word of God,
understandest thou what thou readest? In one sense, the worst
question he didn't know. And yet those very questions
was an introduction to what the Lord would do. They had to acknowledge
that even in that which we are qualified with and have ability
with, we have no might to perform it. You know, I'm a trained mechanical
design engineer. Spent many years in Australia
designing many things and many times at my desk I've looked
at a a specific design or requirement, and I thought, how can I do this?
How can I make this machine work? How can I fulfil this purpose? And I've had to cry unto the
Lord from my desk, Lord, show me, show me what to do, show
me what shape this machine should be, or how I shall overcome this
difficulty. And the many answers to prayer,
and the many helps that I've had in that. The Lord knows how
to do maths. He knows how to design things.
He knows what your profession is, what mine is. He knows to
give you wisdom and help in those things. And here He comes. And suddenly, in an unexpected
way, they find help from this stranger. He says, cast the net
on the right side of the ship. And they do as asked. And now
they're not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Unexpected help, wonderful help. And as they receive this help,
then John recognizes the Lord. You might think, why didn't Peter
do that? I believe there's many of the Lord's dear people, and
they don't, at first they don't recognize, they need to have
help from another of the Lord's dear people to point out that
help you've had. That answer to prayer, he would
say, yeah, but it's only in the matter of getting fish, it's
only in the matter of working out how to design a machine,
it's only a matter of how to work my sums. But Johnny says,
it is the Lord. Don't worry about the fish so
much. It is the Lord who has done this
miracle. That's who it is. As soon as
Peter realizes that, then he throws himself into the sea.
He goes to see the Lord. There's a blessed thing where
we can recognize the Lord. No doubt they thought that. Two
years when the Lord first called them. When again, he'd been teaching
in their boat and asked them to push out. to get a draft and
they said no again that time that they have toiled all night
caught nothing but at thy word we will let down the net that
was how the Lord first met with them as it were early on they
knew a very similar miracle in that time the net break there
were so many they lost some of the fish there is quite a significance
with that this time they didn't they know exactly the number
153 none is lost and someone said it forth but in this the
gospel is preached as the gospel net there are those that are
lost as it were those that hear naturally but those that are
truly called and known of God chosen of God the Lord knows
every one of them and the gospel net will catch them and hold
them and they won't get out of it and so there was that thing
which was, the Lord was known by how he worked and I believe
I've known this through my life, it would be different with each
of the Lord's dear people but when he appears for them at first
he uses that same pattern later on in their lives, the Lord says
that my sheep they know my voice was not only the voice literally,
but the manner of his working. Sometimes you might go past,
say, a building site, you don't see the builder at all, but you
see how the building's being done. And if you've seen a particular
builder before, you say, I know who builds like that. And though
you haven't seen the builder, you know who has done that work.
God is known by the judgment that he executed, and God is
known to his people by the manner of his work. And in this case,
these two acts of the miraculous raft of fishes, John recognizes
the Lord. Another thing to notice here,
though they brought the fishes, they were fed by the Lord, not
by what they had caught. Our Lord, when they come to the
shore, He'd already got a fire. He'd already got fishes, he'd
already got bread, and he bids them to come and dine. He did not even need what they
had brought at all. What they were to be fed was
is what the Lord provided to them. And however much that the
Lord might appear to us and help us in providential things and
in our daily callings, What we feed upon is the hand that is
done it. The Lord reproved those often
that he worked the miracles. They had the loaves and the fishes.
They followed him to the other side of the sea. And he says,
you seek me not because of the miracles, but because you did
eat of the loaves and were filled. Labor not for the bread that
perisheth, but that which endureth through everlasting life, that
had the presence of the Eternal Son of God, the Saviour, the
Redeemer, the seed of the woman there, and great as it was their
need of food, they thought that a greater blessing than actually
who had given it, those when the Lord healed the lepers. Where
are the nine? Nine of them they thought a greater
blessing to be healed of leprosy than to have it actually that
the Lord had miraculously cured them. And so whatever the Lord
may appear for us and help us, it is to trace through those
things to the hand, to the Lord himself, who it is, who stands
behind it, who's the means of giving, providing, helping, going
before, Who is the author of this? We profess we do not believe
in chance or fortune, but do we really watch and give glory
to God for all the blessings that he gives? Every help, every
answer to prayer. And then we have in the seventh
place, especially for the ministers, the Lord's people, In one sense, as Peter and the
disciples were said, the Lord said that he'd make them fishers
of men. But you know, however much the
Lord might bless our ministry, our title for heaven is not that. And that which we feed upon is
not the amount that are converted or how the Lord uses us. You
know, when the disciples came back and they said, even the
devils are subject to us, the Lord said, rejoice not, that
the devils are subject unto you, but rejoice in this, that your
names are written in heaven. And it is to rejoice that we
are his people, that his precious blood has been shed for us, that
we are bound up in the bundle of life with him and with his
dear people. and that the Lord has revealed
himself to us, and that through means, even in our daily lives,
has been pleased to make all things work together for good
to them that love God, to them that are the called according
to his purpose. And those all things are not
just comprised to the Lord's day, but they comprise the whole
of our lives, my life's minutest circumstance. is subject to His
eye. And blessed be when those things
we come into, even trials and troubles, disappointments and
when things go wrong, that the Lord appears for us in them and
shows Himself to us. And we lose sight of those things,
those secondary things, and see the Lord only. We have a lesson
like that with dear Hannah. For this child I pray, the Lord
has given me my request. but then she goes from that child
and you see the song of praise and she's praising and blessing
the Lord and Samuel is not mentioned at all. It's a blessed thing
when the Lord's helps and tokens for good lead us to see Him and
we're so taken up with Him and love Him and worship Him and
we have here the whole purpose and reason what the Lord will
do for His people to draw them to Himself Father, I will that
they whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they
may behold my glory, and in the glories in the chambers of his
grace here, and in glory above, he'll bring his dear people to
see him. May the Lord then be pleased
to visit us in this way, show himself again to us, give us
a fresh glimpse, a fresh visit of the Lord, fill their hearts
with love and joy, then will the disciples glad when they
saw the Lord. May the Lord art His blessing.
Amen.