I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the Gospel according to John
chapter 21. John 21. I desire this morning that the
Lord be pleased to speak through His Word to the hearts of His
people. I know this. God's going to save
His own. I know that. I know that. I don't know who they are. I know that He has elected a
people from before the foundation of the world. I know that. And
I know He's going to get them under the sound of the gospel.
I know that. I pray that the Lord bless the
Word today and save His own and comfort His own. I pray God speak
to me. I need to hear. I'm a dying man. You're dying
too. And we're going to stand before
God. And all of a sudden, it's going to be real. For the first
time, really, it's going to be real. I pray God have mercy on
me and you. I want to look... We're in the last chapter of
John. coming down to the last few verses
of John. Actually, what I'm wanting to
look at this morning is found in that latter verse 12 of our passage
where the Lord said unto them, Come and dine. Come and dine. But what I want
to do is as I come up to that verse of Scripture, I want to
just go back just a little bit and rehearse back in our memories,
in our minds, some things that led up to that statement right
there. I pray that the Lord calls us
to remember this one thing for sure. Almighty God has mercy
and compassion on whomsoever He will. And if He didn't, We'd
all be goners. This is a very sobering passage
of Scripture. It is the unveiling of the Lord's
mercy to undeserving sinners. There's nobody in this room this
morning that deserves God's mercy. Nobody deserves it. I tell you
what we deserve. We deserve for God Almighty to
put every one of us in hell. That's what we deserve. To spend
eternity separated from God. But God who has mercy. Over the
last few days, from that when the Lord said to his disciples,
come and dine. Must have been a lot of things.
go through the minds of the disciples. One of the disciples in particular,
Peter, was absolutely one of the most vocal of all of the
Lord's disciples. Whenever, back in John 6, and
I'm going to read a lot of these verses. You want to jot them
down, that's fine, but I'll just read them for the sake of time.
But not long before, there were A group of disciples, this is
in John 6, they were following the Lord and the Lord made a
statement to them. He said, no man can come to me
except it were given unto him of my Father. The word can, we've
gone over this before, means ability. No one can. No one can. No one can come to
me. They listened to what the Lord
said and the Scripture said. That's a hard saying. That's
a hard saying when you start talking about no one can. No
one has the ability. And many of them turned and left
and followed Him no more. I'm not going to hear that. Now
here's the Lord speaking. The Lord said that. And somebody
would say, I'm not going to hear that. I'm not going to hear sovereign
grace. I'm not going to hear that. And the Lord turned to his disciples
and he said this, will you go away too? Will you go away also? And Peter said, Lord, to whom
shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life, and we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ,
the Son of the living God." Lord, where are we going to go? You're
the one that has declared Yourself sovereign. The Father, sovereign. The Holy Spirit, sovereign. God,
sovereign. And Lord, where are we going?
Peter gave the right answer. I'm going to tell you something.
A believer's faith is going to be tried to prove God's faithfulness
to him. He's going to try the faith of
his people. Then the Lord said in Matthew
26, 31-35, Then saith Jesus unto them, This is on the night that
he's going to be betrayed. He said, You shall be offended
this night. You'll be offended because of
me. For it is written, I will smite the shepherd, the sheep
of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen
again, I will go before you into Galilee. And Peter answered and
said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of
thee, yet will I never be offended. And Jesus said to him, Verily
I say unto thee, that this night before the cock crow, thou shalt
deny me thrice. Peter said unto him, Though I
should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee, likewise also
said all the disciples." You know what they said to the
Lord? You don't know what you're talking about. Sorry, but your word is not the
way it's going to be. Now that's what they said. You're gonna deny me, all of
you are gonna be offended. Peter said, not me. Oh, may the
Lord keep us from that haughty spirit. That's what comes before
a fall. I will never, never, I'll die
before I'll offend you. Before I would deny you, And
then in Luke 22, 54 to 62, the fulfillment of the Lord's prophecy
was marvelously recorded. Then took they him, led him,
brought him into the high priest's house. Peter followed afar off.
When they kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, were sat down
together. Peter sat down among them, but
a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire and earnestly
looked upon him. and said, This man was also with
him. And Peter denied him. Peter denied
him, denied the Lord. Saying, Woman, I know him not. After a little while another
saw him and said, Thou art also of them. Peter said, Man, I'm
not. About the space of one hour after
another confidently affirmed, saying of a truth, This fellow
also was with him. For he is a Galilean. And Peter
said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while
he yet spake, the cock crowed. And the Lord turned and looked
upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word
of the Lord, how he had said unto him before the cock crowed,
Thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out and wept bitterly. I'll never do this. The Lord
had just told him that. He said, You're going to do it
tonight, Peter. You're going to do it tonight. Peter remembered. And then Mark's account records
something of the loving affection and faithfulness of the Lord.
The Lord said, I'll never, I'll never leave thee. I'll never
forsake thee. Now you think about what's happened.
Peter had affirmed, you know, we ain't going nowhere. You're
the Christ. Where are we going to go? I'll
never deny you. And then after the Lord's resurrection,
Mark 16, when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene, Mary
the mother of James and Salome had brought sweet spices that
they might come and anoint Him. And very early in the morning,
first day of the week, they came to the sepulchre, the rising
of the sun. They said among themselves, Who shall roll away the stone
from the door of the sepulchre? When they looked, they saw the
stone was rolled away. It was great. Entering into the
sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed
in a long white garment, and they were affrighted. He said
unto them, Be not affrighted. Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which
was crucified. He is risen. He is not here.
Behold the place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his
disciples and Peter." that he goeth before you into
Galilee, there shall you see him as he said unto you." Especially
tell Peter. Tell the one that had just denied
him three times after he was told that he was going to. The
one that did it right in the hearing of the Lord. The Lord
just looked at him. You go tell his disciples. You
tell Peter. And then the Lord met with them. First time after His resurrection,
in John 20, the same day. that day that he was raised,
that evening being the first day of the week. When the doors
were shut, when the disciples were assembled for fear of the
Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst and said unto them,
Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he showed
unto them his hands and his side, which then were the disciples
glad when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again,
Peace be unto you, as my Father has sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he
breathed on them, And saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.
Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them. And whosoever
sins ye retain, they are retained." Now, we went over this, but I'm
going to say it again, just for memory. No man born in Adam can
retain or remit sins as a false religion. It says you go and
you sit down and talk to this guy through this little box and
he can, you know, forgive sins. No, he cannot. No one can forgive
sins but God. What does this mean? What the
Lord was saying, He says the message of the gospel of free
grace that you preach He said the declaration of that gospel
is the declaration whereby sins are remitted by God or retained
according to God's purpose to leave a man to himself. It's
through the preaching of the gospel. No man born in Adam can
forgive sins. No sir. I grew up, somebody trying
to teach me, tell me that that men could forgive sins. No, they
cannot. That's a lie. Anybody that says
that this guy right over here, this fella, can forgive sins,
he's lying to you. Well, at that meeting, Thomas
wasn't there. And when they told him, the other
disciples told him, said, we've seen the Lord. Thomas, the Lord,
met with us today. And Thomas said this, except
I see in his hands the prints of his nails, put my finger in
the print of the nails and thrust my hand into his side, I will
not believe. Faithlessness. Denial. Forsaking. Eight days later,
the Lord, who had promised to never leave him, met with him
again. Thomas was there that night.
And he said to Thomas, Peter was listening, Reach hither thy
finger, and behold my hands, and reach hither thy hand, and
thrust it into my side. And be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said
unto him, My Lord and my God. When the Lord told Thomas, Be
not faithless, with that word went the power. And Thomas believed
him. That wasn't a suggestion. That
was a command. Then in John 21, after these
things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the
Sea of Tiberias on this wise, showed he himself. There were
together Simon Peter, Thomas, Caulditimus, Nathanael of Cana
in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.
And Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto
him, we also go with thee. And they went forth and entered
into a ship immediately, and that night they caught nothing.
And you know, here again, we just went over this. When Peter
said, I go a fishing, he wasn't going out just for an afternoon
of enjoyment. This is what he said, I quit. I quit. I'm done. It's over for
me. I'm going back to what I was
doing before he called me. I'm not going to do this anymore. It's over. I go a fishing. Gave you that example. Same one
when the Lord asked him, will you go away also? It means to
depart. Look it up. It means I am finished
with him. Would a man say that? Spirit
of God says he would. The other says, we're going to
accompany you. We're going with you. Now the
master who's watched them in their rebellion, watched them
with an eye of compassion from the shore and mercy, and he calls
to them in their struggling. Now here we come right up to
where we're about to finish this passage for this morning. He
said, children, have you any meat? Have you caught anything? How
are you doing on your own? How's it going for you? Y'all
doing okay? Have you had any meat? No. He
said unto them, cast the net on the other side, on the right
side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast their four and
now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. These guys were professionals.
They knew the Sea of Galilee. This is where they're from. This
is what they did. They knew the best spots. They weren't amateurs. Have you
caught anything? No. You cast over here. and you will
catch." And they cast the net, just like
the Lord said, and 153 fish got in that net. You know why? God said to 153 fish, get in
the net. And there they were pulling that
net in, and while they were pulling that net in, Those who had not
recognized him before, the one whom Jesus loved, John, looked
and saw the Lord standing on the shore. And he said to Peter, it's the Lord. Oh, what a mindful must have
been in Peter's mind right then. How could I have been so unfaithful? How could I have made such a
rash statement? How could I so easily leave him? And how could I have allowed
myself to leave these to go with me? How could I have said that? I'm leaving. How could I have
denied him? How could I have acted in such
a way? But all in the struggles of Peter,
the evidence of the Lord's faithfulness to never leave Peter to himself
manifested itself. Verse 7 of John 21, now when
Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girded his fisher's
coat and said unto him, for he was naked, and did cast himself
into the sea. Now these last few verses is
where I want to just look for just a moment. Verse 8, John
21, verse 8 through verse 11. And 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. As soon then
as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and
fish laid there on, and bread. And Jesus saith unto them, Bring
of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up and
drew the net to land full of great fishes, 153. For all were
there so many, there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Who spoke? The Lord. This is the only recorded conversation. The Lord said,
verse 10, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. I want you
to notice the silence of those disciples. Verse 8, they were dragging the
net fish. Verse 9 said they came and saw
a fire of coals and fish were there. The Lord told them, He
said, bring the fish which you've now caught. Simon Peter goes
and starts helping. Pull it in. Nobody's talking.
Go back up to 20. But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence
before Him. Zephaniah 1, 7. Hold thy peace
at the presence of the Lord, for the day of the Lord is at
hand. For the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice. He hath bid His
guest. Here's what, here's the situation.
You're exposed. Don't try to justify your rebellion. Be quiet. Just be quiet. The best thing in the world to
do, a sinner shown and exposed for what he is, be quiet. These disciples were standing
in his presence totally by grace. He did not have to be there. They realized that which they
had said and done had been so disrespectful and now it's time
to hush They're dragging the catch that
the Lord has miraculously placed within the net. And the scripture
says they come, in verse 9, to the land, they saw a fire of
coals there. Do you know there's only one
other reference in all the scriptures of a fire of coals being witnessed? Do you know when it was? Just a few days before, I'll
read you the Scripture. John 18, 18, And the servants
and officers stood there who had made a fire of coals, for
it was cold, and they warmed themselves, and Peter stood with
them and warmed himself. Who but the Lord would truly
know what went through the mind of Peter? when he looked at that
fire of coals and surely remembered, the last time I looked on something
like this, I forsook him. The last time that I saw this,
I denied him three times according to his word. And now, by the
grace of God, I'm being able to stand here and look at Him
meet every need I have, physical and spiritual." Then the Lord says in verse 10,
"...bring of the fish which ye have now caught." The emphasis
is on the word now caught, which you've now caught. What could
they do without Him? They've fished all night, they've
done nothing, caught nothing, and at His command, 153 fish. And the net didn't break. Oh,
again, to the natural man, you know, I'm sure skill, cunning,
strength, knowledge would be attributed to such catch. But
to those taught of God, the Lord receives all the honor and all
the glory and all the praise. No boasting. I want you to bring
the fish that you've now caught. But I tell you this, what regenerated
sinner would fail to remember the parable of the Lord concerning
the kingdom of heaven? Matthew 13, 47 to 49. Again,
the kingdom of heaven is likened to a net that was cast into the
sea and gathered of every kind, which, when it was full, they
drew to shore and set down and gathered the good into the vessels,
but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of
the world. The angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from
among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire.
There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Oh, but there was something
else about that. 153 fish. Yet was not the net broken. Almighty God is going to gather
all of His elect, all of His sheep, all of His fish. He's
going to gather them and the net is not going to be broken. We're going to be kept by the
power of God. Through faith, believing, God
Almighty has kept me. I can tell you this, these disciples
didn't keep themselves. All they had ever done was rebel. Purpose in their heart, I quit.
Remember Jeremiah? Jeremiah said all of the problems
that he'd gone through and all of the fightings and the resentment
from everything. I mean you just got to a point
to where after a while you think, you know what? I'm done. I'm done. I ain't fooling with this anymore. It's more than I can bear. Jeremiah says, I will not preach
his word anymore. I quit. He said, but his word was in
my bones like fire. And I couldn't, I couldn't quit.
I couldn't quit. If I could, I would. If I can
leave, I will. I will leave. I will leave. But I tell you this, if I don't,
it's only by the grace of God. John 6.39 says, And this is the
Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath
given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again
at the last day. Who told the disciples where
to fish? The Lord. Who put the fish in the net?
The Lord. Who kept the net from breaking? The Lord. You know
the conclusion of that? Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation
is by the grace of God. Now, all of these verses that
I read before, will you go away also? Where are we going to go?
You have the words of eternal life. You'll deny me three times
before the night's over. No, I won't. He did, and the
Lord looked at him. Thomas said, if I don't see the
nailed prince, I ain't going to believe. Peter said, I'm leaving. I'm done with this. I'm going
back to fishing. I'm going back to what I did.
We'll go with you, Peter. Peter, it's the Lord. And what is the word of the Lord
to all those who so disrespectfully denied Him, forsook Him, fled
the night, the day of His crucifixion. All of them fled. All of them
were scattered. All of them. What was His word
to them who were so disrespectful? He said, come and dine. Come
and dine. In closing, Jesus saith unto them, The Lord is speaking specifically
to somebody. How many people lived in that
general area right there? How many lived around the Sea
of Galilee? I don't know. I don't know. But let me ask
you this. Who did the Lord speak to? He
spoke to them. My sheep hear my voice. I know them. And listen to this
word. They follow me. Yep, Lord, I'm
just like Peter. I'm just like Peter. I'm just
like Thomas. I'm just like the other disciples.
And you say I follow you? Jesus saith unto them, come. I love looking up words. I want
to know what they mean. I want to know exactly what they
mean. This word, you look up the word C-O-M-E. C-O-M-E. It's got a list of definitions
this long in Strong's Concordance. It's just never ending. This word right here, this specific
word is a word spoken where there's two or more people involved and
it's a specific word that always is followed by an imperative
command. Come hither. Come here. Come now. My kids was growing up If I said
to them, now you kids, when y'all get through playing, y'all come
on in the house. Okay? Well, when you get through playing,
you know, it's kind of open-ended there. But if I said to Gabe
or Sarah or Hannah or Becca, you come here right now. Do you
know that's a different word? This is what I mean. I mean you
get here now. I mean now. This is that word. Come. and dine. Come and dine. Here's an imperative
command that is given by the Lord. You come and dine. You come now. You come right
now. The word dine is a word that is actually breakfast. It's
interpreted breakfast. But actually means the first
food. The first food. Now there's no
doubt that the Lord exhorted them to be in union with Him.
You dine, you dine with Me. Sit down with Me. You don't supply,
I supply. You come dine. Last night, Howard
and Paula Deedy, Granny and I, we went out and got us a bite
to eat. And you know what we did, we sat around and we ordered
our food and then we We dined. I mean, we were eating. We did
eat. But there was something else
that was going on between us. We were having company together. You know, it was my family. You know, I knew every one of
them that was sitting there. I didn't know all those other people.
I don't know who those people are. But I tell you what, I knew the other
five that were sitting there. That was my family. I grew up,
grew up, you know, knowing that's my mama. and my brother, and
my sisters, and my wife. We were all sitting there, dining,
fellowshipping together. Oh, the depth of the union of
the Lord in spiritually feasting upon Him. You cannot fathom this,
but I'll tell you this. Whenever a believer sits down,
we're sitting here together, and here's what we're doing.
We're dining. dining on the bread himself. You tell me one more time. I want you to go ahead and just
be up front with me and tell me what I am by nature. You tell
me this is when the gospel is preached, the savor of this truth
is going to come forth. Man is ruined by the fall. You
listen to the gospel. Man is a rebel against God. I'll tell you the second thing
you're going to hear. God Almighty is merciful to His
people. God is sovereign in electing,
redeeming, regenerating grace. Here's what we've heard. Man
is a rebel against God. And Almighty God is merciful
to His people. I am the living bread which came
down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread,
he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give
is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." When
we feast on the bread of Heaven Himself, here's what we're feasting
on. He put away my guilt. He died in my stead. He was made
sin for me. He who knew no sin, that I might
be made the righteousness of God in Him, The bread of heaven
is the broken body of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then the scripture
says, and none, verse 12, of the disciples asked him, who
art thou, knowing that it was the Lord. Nobody dared ask him. They knew that it was the Lord. Remember his visage. was marred
more than any other man. He was beat to a pulp. Scarred. Beaten. And now here he is in resurrected
glory and they're looking at him and nobody dared ask who
he was. I tell you this for a believer,
No believer dares question that the Lord is in the presence of
his people. Peter, it's the Lord. And Peter,
by the grace of God and every other regenerated saint, is going
to go to Him. My sheep come to me, and Him
that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. May the Lord
add His blessing to the hearing and understanding of the gospel
for Christ's sake. Amen.