Seeking once again the help of
God, I'd like you to turn with me to the chapter that we read
together, the Gospel according to John, chapter 21. And the text you'll find in verses
5 and 6. Then Jesus said unto them, Children,
Have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he
said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship,
and ye shall find. And they cast therefore, and
now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Those of you who were here this
morning will Remember that we looked at a very similar account
to this, when the Lord Jesus Christ called Simon Peter and
the other of the apostles, as they were by the lake, mending
their nets. And as Jesus was preaching on
the seashore. A crowd was round about him,
pressing upon him, and they had come to hear the Word of God. And as Jesus was preaching, he
asked Simon if he could use his boat, and he pushed him out a
little way and began to preach from the ship. And after he had
finished speaking, he asked Simon to launch out into the deep.
and let down your net for a catch. And Simon answering said, Master,
we have toiled all night and have taken nothing. Nevertheless,
at thy word, I will let down the net. And so a very similar
account at the beginning of the of the ministry of the Lord Jesus
Christ, at the beginning of the calling of the apostles of the
Lord Jesus Christ, we find their faith being tested. We find them
being put to the test. Would they go against their human
reason? Would they go against all that
they understood to be logically right regarding fishing? And
would they listen to the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ? And
we saw that they listened. Peter listened to the Lord Jesus. He said, nevertheless at thy
word, I will do as I have been told and I will let down the
net. And in doing so, he experienced
a great blessing. He experienced the gathering
of a multitude of fish. And not only that, he experienced
a greater blessing that he saw the Lord Jesus Christ for who
the Lord Jesus Christ was. Many had come to listen to this
great preacher but Simon Peter saw him as God manifest in the
flesh and said, depart from me for I am a sinful man O Lord. And so the miracle revealed to
Peter the greatness of Christ. We could say the Holy Spirit
opened up Peter's eyes of faith to lay hold of Jesus as to who
Jesus was and he left all and followed him, he forsook all
and followed him. We know that, as we looked at
Hezekiah the other day, that there are good men that are revealed
in scripture to us. But we know that all good men
are just men at best. And men have their failings.
Men and women have their failings. And Peter was one of those men. Yes, he was able to experience
the great catch of the multitude of fish. Yes, he was able to
witness the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was
able to witness all of the miracles of the Lord Jesus, the raising
of the dead of Lazarus and others and yet he was still Simon Peter. It was still Peter who was very
quick to speak, very quick to act. It was still Simon Peter
who denied the Lord Jesus Christ as Jesus seeks to explain to
them of all that is going to happen to him. that he is going
to be crucified but Simon Peter says to him that these things
were not going to happen and though everybody would forsake
the Lord Jesus Christ yet Simon Peter he says that he would not
go. We read in the other Gospels
also they all agreed. with Simon Peter. They all agreed
that though everybody else was going to forsake him, yet they
wouldn't. In John chapter 13, Simon Peter
said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Where are you going?
Jesus answered him, Whither I go thou canst not follow me now,
but thou shalt follow me afterwards. Peter said unto him, Lord, why
cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy
sake. Jesus answered him, wilt thou
lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
the cock shall not crow until thou hast denied me thrice. And so Simon Peter, in all of
his confidence, was put to shame by a little maid. And how quickly
you and I can speak without really thinking about what we're saying.
Simon Peter couldn't really comprehend all that his saviour, the Lord
Jesus Christ, was going to go through. And everything that
the Lord Jesus Christ had to go through, he had to go through
it alone. he was not helped by any man
he wasn't helped by any angels upon the cross he was there forsaken
of God upon the cross as the scriptures prophesy they all
forsook him and left and so Simon Peter in his in his self-confidence
The Lord Jesus had to teach him a lesson and so he was left to
himself and he was left to deny the Lord Jesus in the courtroom
in front of a little girl. And we see as Christ told his
apostles and told those who were listening to him that he must
be crucified. the Lord Jesus knew exactly why
he was coming to earth. He was born of the Virgin Mary
so that he would live a perfect life underneath the law of God,
that he would fulfil the whole law of God, every line and every
dot and then he would be crucified upon the cross. He would there
be punished for the sins of his people. And he knew exactly what
he was doing. It was not out of his control. He says, nobody takes my life. I lay it down. I have power to
lay it down and I have power to take it again. And so Christ
knew exactly what was going on. It was his disciples who couldn't
understand. It was his disciples who could
not comprehend his teachings. And even when he was crucified,
They still didn't grasp, even when he appeared to them the
first time and the second time, they still couldn't really understand
all that was going on and all that was going to take place
when the Lord was going to send them out into the world as preachers
of the gospel. He told them that he was going
to go before them into Galilee and there they would see him. There were those who witnessed
his resurrection. Jesus told them that they were
to meet him at Galilee. We read that on this account
at the seashore this is the third time that Jesus appeared to his
apostles. As they were waiting for the
Lord Jesus it's like they became impatient. They didn't really know what
they should be doing. Waiting is one of the hardest
things to do especially when you don't really know how long
you are waiting for. If you know you've got just a
week, maybe that's easy enough. You can cope with that. But if you don't know where the
end of that wait will be, it's very easy to become impatient
and agitated. And it seems like that with the
apostles of the Lord Jesus, this seven that were there at Galilee.
Jesus had told them, wait for me. And as they're waiting, Peter,
being the leader of them, says to them, I'm going fishing. Remember what Jesus had told
them to do. That he had called them, this
morning we saw he called them to be fishers of men. And they had forsaken all and
they had followed the Lord Jesus Christ. The scripture tells us
no man putting his hand to the plough and looking back is fit
for the kingdom of God. We know that when you're mowing
a lawn or when you're ploughing you must look forward to get
your furrows or get your lines straight. And if you begin to
start looking backwards or grumbling and complaining how long you've
got to go, you'll begin to wander. Your lines will begin to go out
and not to be parallel with one another. And Simon Peter, he
began to look back. Christ says, I'm going to make
you a fisher of men. And now he begins to lead his
friends also back to fishing. I'm going fishing, they said. We also will go with thee. And
they went forth and entered into a ship immediately. And that
night they caught nothing. It's really easy, isn't it, to
be pulled down by other people. very difficult to pull people
up with you but it's very easy for somebody else to pull you
down. That's why it's so difficult
for Christian children at school. There are so many temptations.
There's so many things for them to be drawn aside by. It's very
difficult for them to cause the school to come and to follow
Christ. But it's very easy for the school to cause the children
to come and follow the ways of the world. And even at work. It's very easy to be caught up
in foolish conversation and general chitchat that has no profit.
But you begin to try and swing the conversation to God and Christ
and it all begins to go quiet. Nobody wants to come along with
you then. And it's the same here with Simon
Peter. I'm going fishing. We're all
coming along with you. but they laboured through the
night and they caught nothing just as they did before laboured
through the night and caught nothing. In their own strength
they caught nothing. They were not really meant to
be there, they were meant to be waiting maybe in prayer and
meditation for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ but now
they are labouring throughout the night and catching nothing. But the Lord Jesus Christ abounding
in mercy and goodness comes to them but they don't realise that
it's him. Jesus stood on the shore, but
the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. This is often the
case with the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, that people didn't
recognise him. Mary Magdalene, as she came to
the tomb of the Lord Jesus, Stooping down she found that he was not
there and a man appeared to her. In chapter 20 and verse 14 when
she said thus she turned herself back and saw Jesus standing and
knew not that it was Jesus. He was able to withhold from
their understanding who he was. She could see him. she couldn't
comprehend that it was the Lord Jesus Christ. Woman why weepest
thou whom are you seeking she supposing him to be the gardener
saith unto him sir if thou hath borne him away if you have taken
him away tell me where you have laid him and i will take him
away jesus said unto her mary She turned herself and said unto
him, Rabbi, I know which is master. Jesus was withheld from her until
he says her name. The scripture tells us that the
Lord Jesus Christ knows the names of his sheep and they know his
voice. Mary recognized the voice of
the Lord Jesus Christ and she was able to confess the Master. She saw the resurrected Savior. You think of those two that were
on the road to Emmaus and the scripture tells us that Christ
hid himself from them also. they talked with him on the way,
he reasoned with them out the scriptures, he explained to them
everything concerning himself out of the scriptures but then
they come to the end of their journey, they beckon to the Lord
Jesus, please stay with us and then he makes himself known in
the breaking of bread and he disappears out of their sight
And they say, did not our hearts burn in us in the way? The word
of Christ was having an effect upon their heart, yet the image
of Christ, they were unable to recognize him until he breaks
the bread. Maybe their minds went back to
the breaking of the bread when Christ fed the 5,000 or the 3,000,
or when he broke bread as they ate, as he blessed the food.
but he was revealed to them in the breaking of the bread. And Christ here is revealed to
his disciples in the miraculous catch, which they catch. Verse seven, therefore, that
disciple whom Jesus loved said unto Peter, it is the Lord. After they had cast the net onto
the right side of the ship, after they had sensed that the net
was now filled with fish, John says, it is the Lord. Christ
was made known to him in that miracle that took place. Those
fish that were absconded the net all night, the same as they
did at the beginning of their call, now cast themselves into
the net in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ, his word. And it's revealed to John, it
is the Lord. Simon Peter, again, acting quickly,
jumps into the sea and swims to the Lord Jesus Christ. And
so Christ can be hid from us at times. He's always present
with his beloved people. Yet at times we cannot see him,
at times we cannot sense him, at times we cannot hear his word,
yet he is always there. As Mary came face to face with
Christ, she couldn't comprehend who it was, yet he knew her and
he knew her name and he spoke to her. with the disciples walking
to Emmaus. Jesus was with them. He was expounding
the word to them. They were feeding off the living
word and then Christ reveals himself to them at his time in
the breaking of bread. Christ here, his children, his
apostles acting in disobedience, going back to what they wanted
to do. comes to them in mercy and in
grace and deals with them in compassion to reveal himself
to them. It was him who withheld the fish
so that he could show them himself, show them his power and then
reignite or reinstate them in that call that they had been
initially called to. He was reminding them of past
mercies. Sometimes events in our life
They remind us of things that we've already been through before. Sometimes experiences that we
have remind us or bring us right back to the time when the Lord
dealt with us and maybe we were converted. Like David, he says,
restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, that time of our first
love, when we first loved the Lord Jesus Christ. And there
are then events in our life that cast our minds back to that point
and encourage us to press on. Sometimes we can be filled with
so much doubt. Am I really a Christian? Was
I really saved? the Lord in his mercy brings
our minds back by the experiences that we have to bring about that
remembrance of his love and his goodness towards us. And if we
look at those similar events on the Lake of Galilee, Simon
Peter's call, fishing all night and catching nothing, yet nevertheless
at the word of Christ I will let down my net. Now he's just
about to be commissioned again to go into the ministry after
backsliding. The Lord Jesus brings him into
a similar situation. helpless, unable to do anything,
laboured in his own strength and now he shows him the power
of God in the miraculous catch of the fish. Reminding them of
who, whose they were and what they had been called to do. Sometimes it's very easy, isn't
it, to fall back into things that we find easy. Sometimes
Jesus calls us into a work or a service for him that we find
very difficult. Yes, we experience his help in
it, but it is something which we find difficult to do. And
in our minds, we think, well, if I could just maybe give up
this thing that I'm doing for the Lord and I could go back
and do this, it was so much easier. Simon Peter, you know, his natural
tendency was to go back to fishing, something that he was familiar
with. Maybe you've had thoughts like
that, even this week, about just giving it all up, going back,
going back to what you once were. Well, you would catch nothing.
It's like Simon Peter, you'll toil and toil all night. You'll
be outside of the will of Christ. It was only inside the will of
Christ that they experienced that blessing. Cast the net on
the right side of the ship and ye shall find. Another thing which they were
reminded of is when they saw the Lord Jesus Christ on the
shore. As they recognised him they noticed
as they brought the boat to shore that they noticed that there
was fish, a fire and fish and bread. We look back at the ministry
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We see that there was a time
when there was 5,000 people that needed food. Jesus asks the question, what
are we going to do? And they say in John chapter 6, verse 9, one of the disciples, Andrew,
Simon Peter's brother, says unto him, there is a lad here. which
hath five barley loaves and two small fishes but what are they
among so many? So it's like Jesus is drawing
from their past experiences that first initial call of labouring
and then catching and now as he casts their mind back to that
time when the multitude were fed just with these five barley
loaves and two small fish but what are they amongst so many?
Well what are they in the hand of Almighty God? The same God
that drove the fish into the net at the beginning, the same
God that drove the fish into the net at the end, is the same
God who caused the five barley loaves and the two small fish
to feed an abundance of people so much so that there was plenty
left over. God is a God of encouragement. He does encourage his people. He does encourage them to press
on in the pathway of life. He does help them along the way
and he does bring them into similar experiences that they've already
been through before to remind them of past experiences that
they have drawn on that he may help them pass through the ones
that they are now passing through. not only themselves but people
that are passing through those experiences the same. The apostles
were now going to be sent out into the whole world, they were
going to have to trust the Lord Jesus Christ for their strength,
for their ability, for their protection and also for their
provision. They had forsaken all and followed
the Lord Jesus and Christ was reasserting his authority and
his ability to provide for them everything that they would ever
need for the work that he would call them to do. And he always
does that. He will never call you into a
work and not give you the strength and the ability and the faith
to do the work that he is calling you to do. Peter had to learn from his experiences. Christ on purpose brought him
down to test him, to show him that he's not as great, that
he's not as strong and he's not as bold as he thought he was.
But he still loved him and he still was going to use him in
his service. He was still going to use him
as an apostle of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But he
wanted to challenge him regarding his love. Isn't that what we looked at
on Wednesday with Hezekiah? God did test Hezekiah. He had an abundance of things
and all those things that the Lord had given him. And yet he
used those things for his own pride, for his own glory. And God said to him, now, because
you have done this, all of these things that you have shown are
going to be taken away. And so Christ hates pride in
the midst of his church. He is the head. all others, whether
apostles, pastors, deacons, church members, all part of that body. Peter was a part of that body
and he brought shame on himself by denying the Lord Jesus Christ
and Christ in his love and mercy dealt with him not to destroy
him but to cause him to grow in grace and in the knowledge
of the Lord Jesus, to cause him to grow in the understanding
of himself. And so he comes to him and he
asks him a question. Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou
me more than these? Now the word these in the Greek In the Greek language there can
be that feminine and masculine and that neutral words, not like
our language. This word these is a neutral
word. So it's like Jesus is saying
to Simon, you know Simon, we've just gone fishing. Do you love me more than these
things? Do you really love me enough
to forsake this boat, this fish, these fish? And he said to him, Yea, Lord,
thou knowest that I love thee. You know, sometimes things can
hinder us from following wholeheartedly the Lord Jesus Christ. We try
and hold on to things more than we want to hold on to the Lord
Jesus. And the Bible is very clear that
we cannot serve God and money. Yes, we need money and we need
to continue working to provide for our families. But it's Christ
first. Seek first the kingdom of God
and his righteousness. And all of these other things
will be added unto you. And so Jesus says to Simon, do
you love me more than this boat? Are you willing to walk away
from this fisherman's lifestyle to become a fisher of men? Or it could be said, do you love
me more than these other men? You see, you boasted that you
loved me more. You boasted that you would stay
with me more than all the other men. Do you still think that
you love me more than these? And he confesses, yes Lord, thou
knowest that I love thee. Jesus says, feed my lambs. He
said unto him again the second time, Simon son of Jonas, lovest
thou me? He said unto him, yea Lord, thou
knowest that I love thee. He said unto him, feed my sheep. He said unto him the third time,
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because
he said unto him the third time, lovest thou me? And he said unto
him, Lord, thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee.
And Jesus said unto him, feed my sheep. Now this magnifies
the mercy of God as he reinstates Peter back into the ministry,
back into his service. He had denied the Lord Jesus
Christ. He had wept over his sin. He was repentant over his
sin. He was discouraged by what he
had done. And now Christ comes and reinstates
him into the ministry. Peter needed to fall, to knock off those proud edges. And although it's very difficult
to see people fall and very difficult to see people pass through difficult
situations yet Christ knows exactly what he is doing. He says he
cannot lose his sheep. Those who are truly his, yes,
they may sin externally like David, yet Christ brings them
back. They are deeply sorry for what
they have done, just as Peter was deeply sorry for what he
had done, denying the Lord Jesus Christ. And Christ makes it fully
aware that he knows what Peter did. but also that he is a God
who is willing, willing to pardon. Lovest thou me. So again a similar application
to this morning it is obedience. There is that lack of patience
from the apostles of the Lord Jesus in not wanting to wait until
Christ came. But then the command of the Lord
Jesus, children, have you any meat? Cast the net on the right
side of the ship and ye shall find. And they cast and there
was a multitude of fishes, teaching them to trust in the Lord Jesus,
to trust his word and to seek for his guidance
and direction and provision. Real Christianity is not just about miracles. The greatest miracle that we
can experience is the miracle of new birth. Simon Peter, when
he believed and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, received the
salvation of his sins and he became a follower of the Lord
Jesus. But true Christianity is day by day lived out in the
monotony of life. at home, at school, at college,
at university, at work, on the street, in the house, dealing
with the children, dealing with the bills, trusting the Lord
Jesus Christ in every sphere and particular thing in our lives. Not just on Sundays. Peter had to learn to trust the
Lord Jesus Christ, to be obedient to the Lord Jesus, so that when
he went off into the world to proclaim the gospel, he would
experience that day-by-day provision and help and protection of God
until that time came. As Jesus says to him, that another
would gird him and carry him where he would not as Peter as
is prophesied by the Lord Jesus Christ is martyred for his faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. So it might be that Christ is
made known to us in the day-to-day experiences of life not just
in the miraculous events of life. May we have that day-to-day walk
with the Lord Jesus, that simple faith, that simple trust to see
him in our daily lives. Cast the net upon the right side
of the ship and you shall find. May the Lord add his blessing.
Amen. Let's conclude our worship here
today in singing from Hymns for Worship, number 54. 54. There is a name I love to
hear, I love to sing its worth, it sounds like music in mine
ear, the sweetest name on earth. Hymns for Worship, 54, tune 124.
? I love to live, I love to sing
it true ? ? That sounds like music in my ear ? ? The sweetest
babe of all ? ? It tells me of the Savior's love ? to set me free. And tell me of his precious blood,
that sinners never fear. If it's my trembling soul rejoices,
then my speech does entail tells me in a still so quiet, to trust
and never fear. Jesus, the name I love so well,
the name I love to fear, ? Now St. John of the Twelfth comes
down ? ? The heart goes in again ? ? His name shall shed its praise
forevermore ? ? Come ye people and meet me after
all ? ? And then where do the blind look from ? ? For still
in sorrow free ? ? As in the new eternal sun ? Almighty God, we do thank thee
for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we pray that we may
be granted that faith to believe and to trust in him for the salvation
of our souls. And we pray that we may witness
the Lord Jesus Christ in the day-to-day times of our lives,
that he would appear to us and bless us. Now by the grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father, with
the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit, to be with
you all, for now and for evermore. Amen.