How does the Lord come to his
own? How does he show himself to his
people? How does our blessed Savior make
himself known to his disciples as he promised he would? When
does he do it? We come to this house seeking
to hear his voice. Seeking to see our Lord Jesus
Christ himself, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at
the windows showing himself through the lattice. We read in the Song
of Solomon, the Lord Jesus comes to this place where men and women
are gathered in his name to worship him and he shows himself through
the lattice of the ordinances he's ordained, by the preaching
of the word, by our songs of praise, and by prayer and supplication. The Lord makes himself known
to his own, but when does he do so? Did he not tell us, he
that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he that loveth
me, and he that loveth me shall be loved of my father, and I
will love him, and will manifest myself unto him. And yet we often
are compelled to ask, like Judas, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it
that thou wilt manifest thyself to us and not unto the world? Perhaps we can find some answers
to that question in this 21st chapter of John's gospel. After these things, Jesus showed
himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. And on
this wise, showed he himself. On this wise, showed he himself. That's our subject. After the
Lord arose from the dead, He appeared to Mary and then twice
to his disciples and showed himself to the seven disciples here at
the Sea of Tiberias, these who had gone into Galilee according
to his instructions. These appearances of our Lord
Jesus were more than just physical revelations of the risen Christ. They were intended for more than
just a proof that he was risen from the dead and the proof that
he lives. There were more than just outward
post-resurrection demonstrations of the reality of these things.
Our Savior manifested forth himself in his divine majesty, in his
resurrected glory for the purpose of teaching his disciples, his
love and compassion to his people, and his finished redemptive work
Show forth his glory as our risen triumphant Savior. Now there
are numerous recorded appearances. We read here in verse 14 that
this is the third time our Lord appeared to his disciples. There
are at least 12 of these post-resurrection appearances of the Lord Jesus
that are recorded in the New Testament. There probably were
many others, but 12 are recorded. But after his resurrection, our
Lord never showed himself to anyone except his own disciples. That's important. After his resurrection,
he never once showed himself to anyone except those who were
his disciples, those who were believers. And even they saw
him and knew him only as he made himself known to them. The Lord
Jesus appeared to them, He spoke to them, and they spoke to Him. They saw His physical frame,
but they did not know who He was, and they did not understand
that His words were the words of God the Son, risen from the
dead in human flesh, until the Master Himself made Himself known
to those disciples. This fact again, I repeat, is
important. The Lord Jesus was known even
by these disciples who were believers only by special revelation after
his resurrection. Now by this we understand that
the resurrection was never intended to be a proof of anything to
unbelievers. Easter Sunday morning, you'll
hear preachers all over the country all over the world if you have
a chance Giving the resurrection as proof that Jesus Christ is
the Lord that he rose from the dead that he's the Messiah And
those things are true. They're true but the resurrection
of our Lord was never used by him or by his disciples as Any
proof to an unbeliever that the Lord was risen from the dead?
You see God does not prove himself to men. God does not put himself
on trial to men, and we shouldn't. We shouldn't. The disciples merely
proclaimed the resurrection, demanding the sinners believe.
And all the proof in the world will not cause you to believe
or to understand the Word of God. All the proof in the world
will not do it. It will not do it. But if God
gives you faith, believing on the son of God will prove everything. Believing on the son of God will
give you understanding. Learn this also. Any profitable
site and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, any such site or
knowledge of Christ beneficial to our souls, any saving site
and knowledge of the Redeemer is altogether spiritual. It's not carnal, it's not academic,
it's not emotional and visionary, but spiritual. I mean by that,
the only way you can see and know the Lord Jesus is by faith
that He gives you and eyes He gives you to see Him and know
Him. We cannot see the Lord Jesus
at any time. We cannot even know his presence
or hear his voice, except he is pleased to make himself known
to us. We've come here today desiring
to see and hear him. He promised where two or three
are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them. But
we cannot see him. and we will not hear his voice
except he make himself known and calls us to hear his voice.
You who are yet without Christ, without life, without faith,
without God, without hope, must forever remain in your present
condition and grow worse unless the Lord Jesus makes himself
known to you by the mighty operations of his grace. Unless he who redeemed
sinners by his blood and now sits on the throne of grace gives
you repentance, you will not repent. Except he calls the light
of the glory of God to shine in his face by the gospel, you
will never see his face. Except he give you faith, you
will never believe him. Faith is his gift. Salvation
is his gift. All the blessings of grace are
his gifts. Nothing depends on us. Nothing
can be achieved by us except as he is pleased to bestow his
grace upon us. The same is true of you who are
the Lords and of the man preaching to you. Though you're born again,
Though we live by faith in Christ, though we live in the Spirit,
walk in the Spirit, and are filled with the Spirit, as all believers
are, we cannot at any time, under any circumstances, in any condition,
we cannot see and know our blessed Savior except he make himself
known to us by the wonderful operations of his grace upon
us and for us. Though the Lord Jesus stood before
Mary. And spoke to her. Though she was carrying on a
conversation with the risen Christ, Larry, she didn't have any idea
who he was. She thought it was Gardner. But she knew him so well. But
he could not be known, except he make himself known. Though
our Lord Jesus, the risen Savior, walked with those disciples along
the road to Emmaus, they must have walked together for a long
time. He opened to them all the scriptures, beginning at Moses
and at all the prophets, and showed them things concerning
himself. And yet they did not know who spoke to them. They
did not know who was walking with them. They had seen him
and walked with him for three and a half years. But now he's
risen from the dead. And this risen Christ, this glorious,
accomplished Redeemer, was not known and could not be known,
even as he walked with them, except he make himself known.
Though our Savior miraculously stepped into their midst, the
disciples gathered together The first morning, the first day
of the resurrection, in the first evening of that day, that first
Sunday evening, they're gathered with the doors bolted and barred. And the Lord Jesus walks up and
the door opens before him and he's standing in the midst. He's
standing there miraculously, miraculously. I mean, there's
no way for him to come through that door except to either kick
it down or the door open of its own accord. And the door opened,
there he stands. They still didn't know him. Didn't
have a clue who he was. Because they could not know him
until he made himself known to them. The same is true of you
and me today. We read his word and we study
and we pray. We come to the house of God and
we sing his praise and we read the scriptures and we hear the
word proclaimed and we pray and we see him only as he is pleased
to make us see him. We know him only as he is pleased
to make himself known. We hear him only as he is pleased
to speak to our hearts. You see, everything depends on
him. Everything depends on him. How
often you men pray for us and you pray, Lord, let us not just
go through the motions. God, let us worship you. Why? Because we spend too much time
just going through the motions. Lord, let us not just hear our
pastor, but oh God, let us hear you speak through his lips. Why? Because far too often all you
hear is the preacher. The only way we can see the Lord
Jesus Christ, the only way we can behold the glory of God in
the person and work of his dear son is by faith in Christ and
that faith by which we behold him is the gift of his own grace, even to you who have faith. The
exercise of that faith is the gift of his grace. How often we try to exercise
faith. Oh my God, what a sad commentary
on our sinful depravity. We try to exercise faith only
to go on in unbelief. We try to exercise faith only
to go on in our doubting. We try to exercise faith only
to go on in our own way until he graciously gives us faith
and causes us to believe. On this wise showed he himself. This appearance of our Lord Jesus
to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias indicates that there
are specific times and seasons when the Lord Jesus comes to
his own. And he always comes when he does
for a specific reason. There are specific times and
seasons when the Lord Jesus makes himself known. And there are
always specific reasons when he does. All right, let me show
you several things here. First, the Lord Jesus shows himself
to his chosen when we know ourselves most undeserving. When we know ourselves most undeserving. Look at verses two and three.
He came to these poor disciples after a night of great fault
and sad failure. There were together Simon Peter
and Thomas called Didymus and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee
and the sons of Zebedee and two other of his disciples, seven
of them altogether. And Simon Peter saith unto them,
I go a fishing. They say unto him, we also go
with thee. Men follow men, and they follow
the examples of men, sometimes in that which is good and right,
but most often in that which is evil. Simon said, boys, I'm
going fishing. They said, hang on, we'll go
with you. They went forth and entered into
a ship and immediately, or immediately, and that night they caught nothing. These seven disciples got together
somewhere near Galilee, Tiberias, not far from the Sea of Galilee.
Peter said, boys, I'm going back to my fishing business. Fishing
was what he did before the Lord saved him. These men were fishermen
by occupation before the Lord Jesus called them. And now Peter
says, I'm going back to where I was. When this all began, unsure
of his master's purpose, unsure of what to expect. Being a man
of action more than of thought and contemplation and meditation,
Peter decided to go back to the boats and nets. It seems clear
to me that in this action, Peter turned his back on the preaching
of the gospel. He turned his back on the work
of an apostle. He turned his back on that to
which the Lord Jesus had called him and for which he had equipped
him. and the other disciples readily followed him. Isn't it
amazing that Thomas, just right before this, Thomas said, I will
not believe except I put my fingers in his hands and thrust my hand
into his side. And the Lord Jesus appeared to
him and said, Thomas, give me your finger. Give me your hand. And Thomas said, my Lord and
my God. And now Peter, Says, I'm going
fishing. Thomas says, I'll go with you.
I'll go with you. And Bill Raleigh, you're not
one bit stronger than Thomas and neither is your pastor. We're all disinclined to that
which is right and good and righteous and noble and gracious and terribly
inclined to that which is selfish and evil and self-centered. Obviously, These fellows still
own their boats and nets. Why? Why? Our brother Darwin took off to
go down to Arkansas. He won't mind me telling you
this. He was for years ensnared with
his boats and nets. You all know it. And when God put him as pastor
in Taylor, Arkansas, I had great hope when I watched him sell
off everything. Preachers be warned, be warned. Sell all and follow Christ. You pray for your pastor that
I will make it my business every day of my life to be separated
unto the gospel of God. Nothing else. We must disentangle
ourselves from the cares of this world and make it our relentless
pursuit to pursue the knowledge of Christ and the service of
Christ. These poor fallen preachers,
here they are. Peter had cussed and denied the
master three times. All of them had forsaken him
in his time of need. All of them. They all now went
back to their fishing business, and they entered into one of
their ships, as they had done all their lives, and they fished
all night long. But that night, the strangest
thing happened to a bunch of professional fishermen. They
caught nothing. Brother Larry took me out several
times in Florida fishing. We would go out with fellows
who knew where the fish were. I may be mistaken, how often
did you know those fellows to go out intending to catch fish
when they caught nothing? They knew where the fish were
and they would go find the fish. Once or twice, Doug and I were
down there when Larry wasn't present and we decided to go
fishing. One time we did so on our own,
not again. Because the fellas down there
didn't know us. So we paid them our money and we caught a few
fish here and there. Next time, we called Larry and said, Larry,
how about calling Jason and telling him to take us out? Or ask him
to take us out? Because that's Larry's buddy.
And when Larry says take them out, you catch fish. Because
they know where they are. These fellas were professional
fishermen. They knew this sea of Tiberias
like the back of their hand. They knew where the fish were,
and they toiled all night long and caught nothing. They had been called to be fishers
of men, not fishers of this sort. And
our Lord, who is the sovereign of the fish of the sea graciously
kept his fallen disciples from having any success that night
because he wouldn't let them have their way. What I said to you out on the
porch just a little bit ago, look back over your life and mark
the days that you know of when he just wouldn't let you have
your way, by which he saved you from destroying yourself and
destroying those around you. You see, failure and disappointment are often instruments our God
uses to prepare us for some blessed, sweet experience of his grace.
If the Lord permits his own to fall, It is that he may lift
them up, and in the lift, he'll make himself
known. If he lets his own fall, it is
that he may lift them up, and in the lift, he will show himself
gracious. Here's the second thing. Our
Savior shows himself to his disciples, his chosen, at daybreak. When the morning was come, Jesus
stood on the shore, but the disciples knew him not. The revised version
translates those words like this. When the day was now breaking,
Jesus stood on the shore. Turn back to Isaiah chapter 12,
Isaiah 12. Whenever the Lord Jesus comes,
it's the breaking of day in our souls. Whenever the son of righteousness
arises with healing in his wings, whenever the day star arises
in your heart, it's the breaking of day to our souls. That is
true with regard to the blessed initial experience of God's converting
grace. When he comes in his grace, the
daybreak of grace is begun in our souls. And though a night
of weeping endures for a season, sorrow endures for the night.
Joy comes in the morning and in the breaking of the day, the
Lord shows himself. Look here in Isaiah 12 verse
one. And in that day, in that day, when the Lord hides himself,
it's always talk about night. When sorrow comes, it's always
talk about darkness. When he comes and reveals himself
and speaks in his grace, it's always day in that day. Thou shalt say, O Lord, I will
praise Thee, though Thou wast angry with me, Thine anger is
turned away, and Thou comfortest me. Verse 4, In that day shall
you say, Praise the Lord, call upon His name, declare His doings
among the people, make mention that His name is exalted. Here's
the third thing, John chapter 21, verse 4 again. The Lord shows himself to his
own, sweetly forcing confession. If you're his, if you're his,
mark my words, if you're his, he will sweetly force you to
know who and what you are and to confess it before him. Look
at verse four. When the morning was now come,
Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples knew not that it
was Jesus. Then saith he unto them, Children,
have ye any meat? And they answered him, No. Morning dawn and the Lord stood
on the shore, the disciples were only about 150 yards out beyond
the shore. They could both see him and hear
his voice, but they didn't know that it was the Lord. He asked
if they'd caught any fish, and they said no. Now, he didn't
ask this question for his information. He knew. He didn't ask it so that they
would know they hadn't caught any fish. They knew they didn't
have any fish. He asked the question to draw
their attention to the fact that their return to their occupations
that they formerly enjoyed with success was a complete failure. They'd gone back to fishing,
business they knew. They'd gone back to the boats
and the nets that they had taken care of, those boats and nets
that had provided for them well in the past. And the Lord says,
so you're going back to fishing? You're going to start taking
care of yourself now. You're going to start providing
for yourself. Have you done? He asked the question to sweetly
and graciously force them to confess their complete failure
and inability. Without me, you can do nothing. That includes fishing. Without
me, you can do nothing. And he asked this question to
make them attentive to the miracle he was about to perform. He says, y'all been fishing all
night? Where you been fishing? How did
you set your nets? Let me see your nets. Watch this. He calls their attention to their
emptiness and their nothingness and their worthlessness, compelling
them to confess, Lord, we are nothing and we've done nothing.
Only that they might be made to see with clarity the significance
of the miracle he's about to perform. The lack of success
in those fishermen But the Lord Jesus standing early
in the morning on the shore formed a great occasion for our Lord
to manifest forth his grace and his greatness. When the Lord
is about to reveal himself to his people. Oh, how graciously
he sometimes prepares the way. He can and does supply all our
need. My God shall supply all your
need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Fourth, our Lord Jesus shows himself
to his chosen to display his greatness as God our Savior. In verse 6, he said unto them,
cast the net on the right side of the ship and ye shall find. I sat and studied, meditated
on, thought about this statement. A good bit of the morning, yesterday
morning, just stuck right here at verse 6. I had no idea how
adequately to explain it. Experienced fishermen, experienced
fishermen are not likely to obey instructions from a stranger
standing on the shore. That's just, that's just not
likely. I recall my first visit to Mexico,
we'd all been out fishing. just what's now Cancun. Well,
it was Cancun then, but there was nothing there. It was just
a beach back then, and not even any motels or anything. We went
out to the District of Harris and we were fishing. And Brother
Walter Groover had been doing this for a long, long time. And
we caught some fish, and there was one fellow with us who kept
giving instructions. It kept giving instructions and
Walter just, he'd smile and go on about his business and just
kept on doing things just like he'd been doing them for years
and years and years. And this fellow said, Brother Groover,
are you ignoring me? He said, Brother, you're a hard
man to ignore. But you know what he did? He just kept on ignoring
him. How come? Because he knew what
he was doing. He knew the other fellow had
never been down there. He didn't know what was going
on. Experienced fishermen aren't likely to take instructions from
a stranger standing on the shore. And yet, at the command of the
Lord, cast the net on the right side of the ship, these seven
disciples, without hesitation, picked up their net and cast
it on the right side of the ship. Without hesitation, they did
what he said. They had toiled all night to
no purpose, And now that the day was breaking, they'd given
up all hope. But the authoritative voice of
the stranger on the shore, so full of promise, they heard and
they immediately obeyed. This is it. Why have we got that
written here? This is an obvious display of
our Savior's glorious sovereignty, God, in human flesh. You see,
He who is God commands and it's done, whether you know it or
not. He commands men who have no idea
who He is, and they do only what He commands, and always what
He commands, and immediately what He commands. He commands
devils, and they obey His voice now, immediately, absolutely. You mean His voice rules everybody
and everything all the time? Aren't you glad? He who died
in our stead, in his hands, holds the reins of total dominion everywhere. Our Lord will sometimes leave
us to ourselves, not only to show us how utterly impotent
we are, but also to make us know more fully his divine greatness
as God our Savior and to teach us to look to him. Oh, Savior,
teach me this, to look to him and not to ourselves for everything. Fifth, our gracious master shows himself
to his chosen to give us success. Look at verse six again. They
cast therefore their net Now the cast therefore and now they
were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes By this
great display of his power the Lord Jesus Made himself known
to these disciples whom he dearly loved look at the next verse
therefore therefore since they cast in the net and it started
to pull these fish in they're just 153 fish in at one bit Wow
and they're trying to get this thing in the net and John stops
the whole thing. He said boys. I That's the Lord. Nobody could do that but God
Almighty. No man except the God man could
make this thing happen. Therefore, that disciple whom
Jesus loves saith to Peter, it's the Lord. Now, when Simon Peter
heard it, that it was the Lord, he girt his fishes coat unto
him for he was naked. Probably just had his underwear
on, a loincloth. Maybe he was plum naked. It doesn't matter.
He put his fish's coat on and did cast himself into the sea.
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. No doubt. When John saw this, he remembered
something that happened back in Luke chapter five. Turn back
there. Luke chapter 5. A similar incident. Luke 5 verse
4. Now when he had left speaking,
he said unto Simon, launch out into the deep, and let down your
nets for a draft. And Simon answering said unto
him, Master, we've toiled all night, and taken nothing. Nevertheless, at thy word I'll
let down the net. And when they had this done,
they enclosed a great multitude of fishes, and the net broke. And they beckoned unto their
partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and
help them. And they came and filled both
ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it,
he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me, for I'm
a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished. and all
that were with him at the draft of the fishes which they had
taken. And so was also James and John,
the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus
said unto Simon, fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their
ships to land, they forsook all and followed him. These disciples, when they heard
the Lord say, cast your net on the right side of the ship, and
you'll find, they cast their net on the right side of the
ship and took in a great multitude of fishes. And John said, oh,
how come we didn't see this before? That's the Lord talking to us.
And Peter said, it is. And the other disciples said,
it is. Nobody but the Lord can do this. No doubt they also remembered
a parable the Lord Jesus gave them over Matthew 13, right at
the end of Matthew chapter 13. A parable by which he taught
them something about the gospel, the gospel ministry in the kingdom
of God. Verse 47. 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 sat down and gathered the good into the vessel, but cast
the bad away. So shall it be at the end of
the world. The angel shall come forth and sever the wicked from
among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire,
and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Jesus saith
unto them, Have you understood all these things? And they say
to him, Yea, Lord. Have you understood these things?
Gospel preaching It's compared to fishing. Compared to fishing. But not with a bait and hook
and line. Never. Never. It's compared to
fishing with a net. You see, if you fish with a hook,
you have to bait the hook and deceive the fish. That's what
churches all over America do all the time. They bait the hook to see the
fish. If you fish with a hook and the
bait that you put on the hook, a great measure of success depends
on you. Ah, man, I've got the right bait
for this. I know where the hole is. I know
where to catch the fish. Watch me. I'll go get them. I
was telling somebody the other day, one of Brother Bobby's friends
was out there one day. He and Larry and Bobby had been
out to catch some fish for Bobby's pond, and y'all caught a scatter
fish in no time. Had him in the well of that boat.
Fellow said he knew a honey hole down there. A lot of fishing
success depends on the fellow who's got the right bait and
the right place and the right equipment and the right skill.
But if you fish with a net, everything depends on God putting
the fish where you put your net. Everything depends on God putting
the fish where you put your net. When the Lord Jesus told these
disciples to cast their net on the right side of the ship, he
wisely, sovereignly, graciously calls the fish to swim into their
net. and they caught a great measure
of fish, 153. I read that story and can't help
but thinking how near and dear to his heart the Lord's people
must be. He says now as much as he said
then, children, have you any meat? Cast on the right side
and you shall find. If we fail to seek spiritual
sustenance from him, as we often do, he will be found
of those who seek him not. If we look not after him, as
we often do, he will look after his sheep. Walk not as we should, as we
often do. He will graciously find his sheep
and bring them again into his way. How often the Lord makes
himself known by gracious acts as well as by
his word, makes himself known by his providence and by his
grace in countless instances. when we least expect it. Here's
the sixth thing. Look at verse 9. Our gracious
Savior, Jehovah Jesus, Jehovah Jireh, shows himself to his chosen
in the provision of our needs. As soon then as they were come
to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid their own
and bred. Jesus saith unto them, bring
of the fish which you have now caught. Simon Peter went up and
drew the net to land full of great fishes and hundred and
fifty and three. And for all there were so many,
yet was not the net broken. Even in his resurrection, even
in his resurrection, the Lord Jesus remembered the needs of
his hungry people in the flesh. So it is now. He who is God, our Savior, is
touched with the feeling of our infirmities. And even in his
resurrection glory, sitting on the throne of grace, our Lord
Jesus knows our needs and supplies our needs, the needs of our souls
as well as our bodies and our bodies as well as our souls.
And he supplies those needs according to his infinite wisdom. and his
marvelous grace exactly as they are our needs. These disciples
have been working all night long and they didn't have a sardine
among them. And they come to shore early in the morning and
they're tired and they're hungry. And the last thing they needed
was some caviar served up on a fancy plate with some fancy
glasses for some wine. What they needed was some bread
and some meat. And when they got to shore, they
laid some fish and a little bread. Just what they needed. Just exactly
what they needed. Oh, but rich men have. Who cares? I'm hungry. Give me the bread
and the fish. Give me the bread and the fish.
Oh, but the Lord could have given so much more. He owns the cattle
of a thousand hills. I want a cattle like the mansion
in the sky. I need some bread and some fish. And the Lord provides
as a wise shepherd what his people need at the time they need it. for the good of their souls all
the time. And in the provision He makes,
He Himself is seen. These disciples must surely have
thought not far from here, not long before this, about a day
when there were 5,000 people hungry. And the master said,
have you got anything to feed them? They said, no. Said, who's
going to feed these folks? Oh, we got a little boy here
with his lunch. And he said, bring it to me.
He said, make them sit down in rows. And he started breaking
the bread and the fish. And they ate and ate and ate
and ate until they were all full. And then they took up 12 baskets
full of scratch to take home. The Lord Jesus is Jehovah Jireh. the Lord who sees and provides
and is seen in the provision he makes. And one more thing,
look at verses 12, 13, and 14. Our blessed Savior shows himself
to his chosen to give us the joy of sweet communion. Jesus saith unto them, come and
dine. And none of the disciples durst
ask, who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.
Jesus then cometh and taketh bread and giveth them and fish
likewise. This is now the third time that
Jesus showed himself to his disciples after that he was risen from
the dead. Someone once said Christ has a way of giving whereby he
himself is made known. In Luke 24, When the Lord said
at meet with his disciples and broke bread, gave it to them,
their eyes were opened and they knew him. Here are these poor, sinful,
fallen disciples sitting with the Lord of glory at breakfast
with the master. They must have recalled his marvelous
displays of greatness and power and glory and grace in the past. And they were all struck. Here's Peter, who just three days before, had
been cussing a blue streak, denying Him. Here are these disciples,
all had forsaken Him. Here are these seven men, they've
gone back to fishing, abandoned the most glorious call any man
could have on this earth. They've gone back to fishing.
And here they are, sitting at breakfast with the Lord Jesus
and their sins and iniquities, he remembered no more. He didn't upbraid them. He didn't
chastise them. He didn't take out rod and whip
them. He fed them. He sat in communion with them. And here they sat, awestruck. Oh, God. What am I doing here? Who am I that you should come
to me, that you should redeem me, that you should call me?
All struck. Filled, oh Merle, they must have
been filled with a horrible sense of their sin. And yet, perfectly
comfortable. Now that's grace. Oh, that's
grace. Perfectly comfortable in the
presence of the Savior. In sweet communion with the Son
of God. None of the disciples asked Him
any questions because they knew it was the Lord. Now listen to
me. Their doubts, their unbelief,
their questions, all of them about his resurrection, their
doubts, their unbelief, their questions about his person, their
doubts, their unbelief, their questions about his work, all
of them were completely resolved by his presence. completely resolved in sweet
communion with him. They came from defeat, frustration,
and failure at the sea to find the fire kindled and meal of
bread and fish prepared by the Son of God. What a lesson there
is for this, for this preacher, and for all who preach the gospel
of God's grace. We're unable to provide anything. We have no strength of our own,
but his grace is sufficient. Our Savior's provision is always
so complete, both spiritually and carnally. His provision for
our bodies and our souls, His provision for His church and
His kingdom, His provision for every preacher who preaches His
word is always exactly what we need. Nothing could be added
to it and nothing should be. The command when He provides
everything is simply come and dine. Come and dine. Oh, the gospel call to sinners,
come and dine. The gospel call to you who are
his is come and dine. Bring nothing, just come and
dine. The law demands that you bring
something. Religion demands that you bring
something. Christ says, come and dine. For all is in him and he is all
to his people. He made of God unto us wisdom
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. He has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Of Him are
you in Christ Jesus. Who is that man in whom dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily? And you are complete
in Him. Jesus has a table spread where
poor sinners, poor needy souls are fed. He invites his chosen
people. Come and dine with his manna
does he feed and supplies our every need. Oh, it is sweet to
sup with Jesus. Come and dine. The disciples
came to land, thus obeying Christ's command for the master called
unto them. Come and dine. There they found their heart's
desire, bread and fish upon the fire. Thus he satisfied the hungry
every time. Soon the lamb will take his bride
to be forever at his side. All the host of heaven will assembled
be, all to be a glorious sight, all the saints in spotless white,
and with Jesus they will feast eternally. Come and dine, the
master calleth, come and dine. You may feast at Jesus' table,
Come and dine. He who fed the multitude turned
the water into wine. To the hungry calleth now, come
and dine. He says, eat. Oh, friends, come
and dine. Behold, all things are ready. Amen.