Fish For Breakfast

Well, let's open our Bibles one more time to the Gospel of John, John chapter 21.

John 21 · chapter mention

We're concluding our series in John's Gospel this morning, if you can believe it.

And so if you would, turn to John chapter 21.

John 21 · chapter mention

If you didn't bring a Bible with you, that's okay.

We have Bibles provided for you in the seat backs in front of you.

If it's not in front of you, look to your left or to your right.

There ought to be one nearby.

But I always encourage you to please have a copy of God's Word open in front of you.

I don't want you just to hear it from my voice, through my lips.

I want you to see it with your own eyes on the pages of God's Word.

John chapter 21, when you found that, if you would, let's stand together in honor of the reading of God's Word.

John 21 · chapter mention

After this, Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias.

And he revealed himself in this way.

Simon Peter, Thomas, called the twin, Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together.

Simon Peter said to them,

I am going fishing.

They said to him, We will go with you.

They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore, yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

Jesus said to them, Children, do you have any fish?

They answered him, No.

He said to them, Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.

So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because of the quantity of fish.

That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, It is the Lord.

When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work,

and threw himself into the sea.

The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish,

for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.

When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place with fish laid out on it and bread.

Jesus said to them, Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.

So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore full of large fish, 153 of them.

And although there were so many, the net was not torn.

And Jesus said to them, Come and have breakfast.

Now none of the disciples dared ask him, Who are you?

They knew it was the Lord.

Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so would the fish.

This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,

Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?

He said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.

He said to him, Feed my lambs.

He said to him a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me?

He said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.

He said to him, Tend my sheep.

He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me?

Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Do you love me?

And he said to him, Lord, you know everything.

You know that I love you.

Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep.

Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted.

But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.

This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.

And after saying this, he said to him, Follow me.

Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them,

the one who had also leaned back against him during the supper and had said,

Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?

When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, Lord, what about this man?

Jesus said to him, If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?

You follow me.

So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die.

Yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die.

But if it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?

This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things and who has written these things.

And we know that his testimony is true.

Now there are also many other things that Jesus did.

Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

This is the word of God.

Let's pray once more.

Lord, we thank you for your word.

And we pray even as we've already sung, God, reveal your glory through the preaching of your word.

Would you show us Christ this morning and give us eyes to see, give us hearts to accept and believe what you've written.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

47 sermons in the Gospel of John.

Spread out among 62 Sundays with a break here and there.

21 chapters.

Some of you probably wish it could go on a bit longer.

Many of you are probably wondering what more could possibly be said.

Well, if we take John literally here at the ending of this Gospel, he says the world itself can't contain the books that could be written about this man Jesus.

We've seen time and time and time again, haven't we?

The example after example after example, story after story after story, written about this man Jesus.

John is trying to get us to see clearly who he is.

And he's written with an aim in mind.

You ought to know this by now.

Chapter 20, verse 31.

These things are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

And that by believing, you may have life in his name.

As we bring our series to a close this morning, as we wrap up the Gospel of John,

really this shouldn't be many new things to you.

It shouldn't be new information to you.

But rather, John's putting the question to us once again, do you believe?

Have you gotten the message?

To that end, he shares two final stories of the person and work of Jesus this morning.

This will be our outline.

If you're taking notes, this will help you to follow along.

We have two final stories of the work of Jesus this morning.

We see Jesus reveals himself to his people.

And Jesus restores his people to himself.

Jesus reveals himself to his people.

And Jesus restores his people to himself.

First, we see here in verses 1 through 14, Jesus once again reveals himself to his people.

All throughout John's Gospel, we've seen him revealing himself, haven't we?

Peeling back the layer of who he is.

We've seen signs and wonders of what he's done that reveal who he is.

We've heard his own statements, these I am statements revealing who he is.

And we've seen the disciples, haven't we, progress in faith,

especially as we come to the aftermath of the resurrection of Jesus.

We see them seeing, beginning to see clearly who Jesus is.

Look there with me to verse 1.

Jesus has just appeared to his disciples twice already after his resurrection,

once without Thomas and then a second time with Thomas present.

And now John says that after this, Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias.

And John says he revealed himself in this way.

The disciples were going fishing.

Peter, ever the vocal leader of the disciples, says,

I'm going fishing, who wants to come?

And it says Thomas and Nathaniel of Cana, the sons of Zebedee, James and John,

and two others came with him, that's seven in all,

which would not have been an unusual thing, right?

Peter, James, and John were all fishermen when Jesus called them to follow him.

They would have been used to a long night out on the sea fishing.

But what was unusual for them this evening was that after a night full of fishing all night long,

they had nothing to show for it.

And John says they came back and they had no fish all night long,

casting nets, casting nets, casting nets, and nothing.

Which wouldn't be strange if I was in the boat, right?

That's how it normally goes when I go fishing.

But these men, these were experienced fishermen.

They weren't fishing with a rod and a hook and a worm.

They were casting nets.

They were expecting to haul in a number of fish.

But John says the night came and went.

Morning was approaching and they caught nothing.

Very unusual.

That's not the only unusual thing that happened, was it?

And to make matters worse, there on the shore,

some strange man calls out to them,

children, have you caught any fish?

Now maybe I just imagine this,

that maybe they had a more gracious tone than I would have had

after a night without sleep, without anything to show for it.

But they answered and said, no, we have no fish.

And so the strange man on the shore tells them,

well, try casting the net on the right side of the boat.

And whether out of despair or desperation or defeat, I don't know,

they cast the net on the other side.

And all of a sudden, just imagine it,

after a night of fruitless labor,

all of a sudden they go to pull in the net empty as before,

and this time it won't budge.

It's weighted.

It's full.

It's full of fish.

After all their efforts, that whole night they listened to the man on the shore.

They tossed the net off the right side.

And this time they can't even pull the net up into the boat.

It won't budge.

Something unusual and incredible has happened.

And John says that it was here at this point,

John, the disciple whom Jesus loved,

he realized who this mysterious man on the shore must be.

And he proclaims.

He says, it is the Lord.

He's back.

Just imagine the joy and the excitement of that moment.

The risen Lord Jesus is right there on the shore,

just a hundred yards away.

He's back.

He's come to visit us once again.

One of the joys of being a father of kids that are still young

is that they're still excited to see me.

Often.

A lot of the time.

Right?

And I love going to the preschool pickup line at their school

and seeing the kids just charge out of the door

and run into the arms of their parents.

And some of them just leap in for a hug.

Other ones, they jump off.

They fly off the curb.

And they land in their parents' arms.

They're excited to be reunited with the ones who love them most.

And we've seen, haven't we, throughout John's gospel,

no disciple is more like a preschooler than Peter.

Right?

And John says, it's the Lord.

As soon as he tells Peter, it's the Lord.

What does Peter do?

He puts on his clothes.

He was stripped down for work.

He wraps himself up.

And he tosses himself in the water.

He says he swam a hundred yards to go see Jesus,

to be reunited with the one who loves him most.

And when he got there,

he found that Jesus had prepared a fire with fish and bread.

And he told them,

go bring the fish that you just caught

and come and let's have breakfast.

Now, this is an aside, right?

But Peter must have been either incredibly strong

or just jacked up on adrenaline from seeing the Lord

because he just swims a hundred yards.

And then at the command of Jesus,

verse 11 says that he got back up in the boat

and he hauled that heavy net ashore

full of 153 large fish.

And although there were so many, John,

he points out this small detail,

the net was not torn.

So right there on the beach,

reunited once again with bread and fish,

and I can only imagine with joy and laughter,

the disciples enjoyed a little fish for breakfast with Jesus.

John tells us in verse 12

that none of the disciples, not one,

none of the disciples dared ask him,

who are you?

They all knew it was the Lord.

See, we see a little bit of their progress

in the faith here, don't we?

They knew it was the Lord.

What a moment.

But you know, as I read this

and studied this text,

as I thought about this event,

as I imagined it in my mind,

I asked the question and I wondered,

maybe you asked the same question

as you read this text.

How in the world did they know it was the Lord?

How were they so confident

that it was the Lord Jesus?

Confident enough for John,

a hundred yards away in the dark of the early morning,

to say it's the Lord?

Confident enough for Peter

to throw himself in the water

and go swim up to the shore.

How did they know it was the Lord?

Well, it could have been

that they're just so familiar with him,

having spent three years together,

eating meals.

They ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Jesus.

They had the opportunity to observe

his mannerisms, his personality,

how he broke the bread

when he distributed it to the masses

and fed the thousands.

And they had eaten bread and wine

at the last supper before the death of Christ.

There's familiarity in the breaking of bread.

It could have been that

he revealed himself to them

in the way that he served them.

And no one served them like Jesus.

And after a long night of fishing,

here was Jesus preparing a fire,

making breakfast,

preparing the fish,

and setting the table.

He revealed himself

in his persistent desire to serve them.

This was the master that washed their feet.

The Son of Man,

who came not to be served,

but to serve,

and to give his life as a ransom for many.

They knew it was him by his service.

That still doesn't explain, does it,

how John knew it was him

from a hundred yards away.

How Peter was so confident

it was him from a hundred yards away.

There's one more reason

why I think they knew it must be him,

even before arriving on the shore.

They knew it was him

because something similar

had happened to them

and with them

and another encounter with Jesus

earlier in another gospel,

but with a few key differences.

Luke chapter 5,

Luke 5:1–11

verses 1 through 11.

You can turn there if you like,

but what I want you to notice

is that these two stories

are so similar.

In fact, they're so similar

that critics of the Bible

say that this is just the same story

repurposed and told

in different places

and in different ways,

but I think that

that misses the point here.

Oftentimes,

when we're studying God's word,

if you see two similar stories,

two similar occurrences,

the point,

the message,

is in the similarities,

but also in the differences

between the stories.

So look here,

Luke chapter 5.

Luke 5 · chapter mention

Luke tells the story

of Jesus calling the first disciples

to follow him.

This was the very beginning

of their relationship.

This was the very first time

they ever heard the voice of Jesus.

It's the beginning

of Jesus revealing himself to them.

Now, I want you to listen

and see if you can spot

the differences here.

Luke chapter 5.

Luke 5 · chapter mention

Luke says that Jesus

was teaching

at the side

of the lake Gennesaret

and he saw two boats

by the lake,

but the fishermen

had gone out of them

and were washing their nets

and he got into one

of the boats

which happened to belong

to a man named Simon

who we know is Peter.

And he taught the people

from the boat

and when he finished,

listen to this,

he said to Peter,

put out into the deep

and let down your nets

for a catch.

And Simon answered,

Master,

we toiled all night

and took nothing,

but at your word

I will let down the nets.

And when they had done this,

Luke says,

they enclosed a large number

of fish

and their nets

were breaking.

And they signaled

to their partners

in the other boat

to come and help them

and they came

and filled both the boats

so that they began to sink.

But when Simon Peter saw it,

he fell down

at Jesus' knees

saying,

depart from me

for I am a sinful man,

O Lord.

For he and all

who were with him

were astonished

at the catch of fish

that they had taken.

And so also

were James and John,

the sons of Zebedee,

who were partners

with Simon.

And Jesus said to Simon,

do not be afraid.

From now on

you will be catching men.

And when they had brought

their boats to land,

they left everything

and followed him.

It's interesting,

isn't it?

This event,

obviously,

it would have been

seared into their memories.

This was one of those

life-changing

foundational events.

And so when it happens

again here in John

John 21 · chapter mention

chapter 21,

of course they knew

it was Jesus.

Why?

Because this was

the exact way

he had first

revealed himself

to them.

What was the lesson

for them back

at the beginning?

Come follow me.

Come follow me.

and I will make you

fishers of men.

Well, what are they doing

here in John 21?

They're still catching fish.

Could it be?

What's the lesson here?

Could it be

that Jesus is saying,

guys,

the time has come.

The plan of salvation

has been accomplished.

I have come.

I have lived.

I have died.

I have risen.

The time has come

for you to stop

catching fish

and go out

and begin

catching men.

Could it be

a lesson for them?

I have sent you out

to proclaim forgiveness

of sins in my name

and here you are

still catching fish.

You've gone back

to your old life.

You've gone back

to life as usual,

as if the resurrection

didn't happen.

Don't you know

the resurrection

changes everything?

And now it's time

for you.

If you've seen me

clearly for who I am,

it's time for you

to go share

that message

with others.

It's time for you

to go and be

a fisher of men.

You see,

if you have seen

Jesus for who he is,

if he's revealed

himself to you,

you don't just go back

to your old way

of life.

How could you?

You have a repurposed

identity in Christ.

The resurrection

of Jesus,

when you see it

with eyes of faith,

changes everything

about who you are.

We are now sent out

as fishers of men

with an unbreakable net,

the finished work

of the gospel

of Jesus Christ

and a Lord

that commands you

to cast.

Of course,

there's a problem,

isn't there?

When you hear

that command

that we're called

to go be fishers

of men,

there's a problem.

I've heard each of you,

many of you,

express this to me

when I've spoken

with you about

our call

and the task

of personal evangelism,

that you and I

are called,

each one of us

as followers of Christ,

we are called

to go be fishers

of men.

We are called

to go share

the gospel

with our friends

and our family members

and our co-workers

and our neighbors.

We come across

a problem.

Do you know

what it is?

We feel so

insufficient

for that call,

don't we?

Who are we

to go

and proclaim

this gospel message?

We know

that we're sinful,

we're insufficient.

Who are we?

Which is why

the second point

this morning

is so encouraging

for sinners

like us.

Jesus reveals

himself to his people

and second,

Jesus restores

his people

to himself.

If anyone

was disqualified

from useful service

to the Lord,

it was Peter.

Right?

It was Peter.

You remember

Peter and the size

of his failure

three times.

He denied the Lord.

He was unwilling

to associate

with the Lord.

He wanted nothing

to do with the cost

of following Jesus.

I don't know him.

I don't know him.

I don't know him.

And now as he sees

the Lord on the shore,

I mean,

he's excited to see him,

but he has to be carrying

just a load of guilt.

Right?

And there's this

unresolved tension

here.

But what Peter learns

in this moment,

and it's such an important

lesson for us as well,

is that his status

before the Lord

and his usefulness

for the Lord's ministry

is not in his goodness.

It's not in his strength.

It's not in his faithfulness,

but in the faithfulness

of Christ.

Look there to verse 15.

John says,

When they'd finished breakfast,

Jesus said to Simon Peter,

Simon, son of John,

do you love me

more than these?

You've boasted before

about the strength

of your love.

What about now?

Do you love me?

And he said,

Yes, Lord,

you know that I love you.

And he said to him,

Feed my lambs.

So he said to him

a second time,

Simon, son of John,

do you love me?

And again,

he replied a second time,

Yes, Lord,

you know that I love you.

And he said,

Tend my sheep.

So he said to him

a third time,

Simon, son of John,

do you love me?

And he says,

Peter was grieved

because he said to him

the third time,

Do you love me?

And he said,

Lord, you know everything.

You know that I love you.

You can see right into my heart

and know the truth.

You know that I love you.

And Jesus said,

Feed my sheep.

Why?

Why does he ask him

this question three times?

Oh, you remember,

three times previously,

Peter had denied him.

I don't know him.

I don't know him.

I don't know him.

And now Jesus,

three times,

asks him,

Do you love me?

Do you love me?

Do you love me?

And now three times,

Peter is able to respond

to the Lord,

Yes, I love you.

Yes, I love you.

Yes, Lord,

you know that I love you.

This is Jesus

graciously restoring

his servant

to himself

and to his service.

And if you've ever

failed the Lord,

and if you've ever denied him,

like Peter has done here,

and we all have,

we should take heart.

Now this is a clear illustration

of the heart of Jesus

towards sinners like us.

You know,

we were traveling this past week,

and on the way,

we listened to the kids' version

of Pilgrim's Progress.

I forget what it's called.

Littlest Pilgrim,

Big Journey,

something like that.

John Bunyan's

Pilgrim's Progress.

You know,

you know the classic book.

And we got to the point

where Christian,

the pilgrim,

as he's journeying

on his way

to the celestial city.

On his way

to be reunited

with the king

who's called him there,

called him to this journey.

He's on his way,

and he comes,

and he meets Apollyon.

And Apollyon begins

to accuse Christian.

And he says,

you've been faithless.

You've denied the Lord.

You've swerved from the path.

You've been lazy.

You've been prideful.

He piles on accusation

after accusation

after accusation.

And Christian responds,

I love this.

He says,

all this is true

and much more

that you left out.

But the prince

whom I serve

and honor

is merciful

and ready to forgive.

Now we often sing

when Satan tempts me

to despair

and tells me

of the guilt within.

Upward I look

and see him there

who made an end

of all my sin.

The Lord

restored Peter

not only to himself

but also to tremendous service,

to tremendous responsibility.

As we read through the book of Acts,

Peter becomes a pillar

of the early church.

He tells him here

this responsibility

three times.

Feed my lambs.

Tend my sheep.

Feed my sheep.

Does the Lord care for his sheep?

Of course he does.

This is no small responsibility

that he's entrusting to Peter.

Feed my sheep.

What was the qualification?

What claim?

What right did Peter have

to do this service?

It's not in his goodness,

is it?

It's in the goodness

and the restoration

and the grace

that he's received

by the ministry

of Christ Jesus.

And the good news for us,

church,

is that this

restorative ministry

of Jesus.

It's not just for Peter.

It's not just for shepherds.

This is the work of Christ

for all of his people.

Jesus restores his people

to himself.

You know,

there's not a person in here

who can honestly say

that you have perfectly

followed the Lord.

Every one of us

in our own way

has denied him

just like Peter.

But as we grow

to understand

the heart of Christ

towards sinners like us,

the more that he reveals himself

to us

so that we see him clearly

for who he is,

we won't hide our sin

from him like Adam.

And we won't try

and put on some appearance

of false holiness.

We'll run to him

with our sin

like Peter.

That's exactly

what he wants us to do.

You know,

it's interesting, isn't it?

The first time

that Jesus filled the nets

and he called Peter

to follow him,

do you remember the response?

What did he say?

I'm sinful.

Depart from me.

I'm a sinful man,

O Lord.

That was just

after a glimpse

of the holiness

and divinity of Christ.

That was a short glimpse

of the identity of Jesus.

But here,

after three years

spent with the Lord,

and here,

after what had to be

the very pinnacle,

the very peak of his sin,

what does he do?

He jumps out

and swims

to the Lord

for restoration.

Now, we should know

that both responses

are correct, right?

As sinful men

and women

on one side,

we ought to stand

in reverent fear

of the holiness of God

and what that means

for us as sinners.

We should never

treat our sin lightly.

We should never

misuse and abuse

the grace of God,

the kindness of God

as an excuse

or a license

to sin.

And yet,

if we understand

the gospel,

and the more

we understand

the heart of Christ,

that Christ Jesus

came and died

to take away

our sin

from us,

that he came here

for sinners

like us,

that he died

to restore

sinners like us

to fellowship

with God,

we ought to

cast ourselves

like Peter

into the depths

of his heart

of grace

towards sinners

like us.

The more clearly

we see him,

the more quickly

we'll run to him

for grace

and restoration

and say,

Lord, use me

however you see fit.

Jesus gives us

one final lesson

to Peter

here in verses

18 through 23.

He shares with him

how he will die.

Which, you know,

that seems like,

that seems a little

strange at first glance,

doesn't it?

But what he's doing

is he's sharing

with Peter

that this ministry,

following me,

fishing for men,

shepherding my sheep,

will come at

great cost.

Following me

will come

at great cost.

Look what he says,

Truly, truly,

I say to you,

when you were young,

you used to dress yourself

and walk wherever

you wanted,

but when you are old,

you will stretch out

your hands

and another will dress you

and carry you

where you do not

want to go.

And this he said

to show by what kind

of death

he was to glorify God.

And after saying this,

he said to him,

Follow me.

We don't see

Peter's death

in the scriptures,

but tradition

and church history,

historical records

indicate that

Peter was put to death

in Rome

at the hands

of the emperor Nero.

As part of a widespread

persecution

against Christians,

Peter was crucified.

But at his request,

he was crucified

upside down

because his testimony

was that

he would not

be worthy

to be put to death

in the same way

as the Lord

Jesus Christ.

His hands

were stretched out

and he was carried

where he did not

want to go.

But it's amazing,

isn't it?

Peter was finally

willing

to bear public

shame

for the sake

of Christ.

He was finally

willing

to associate

with this man

Jesus

whatever the cost

may be.

He was restored

and then some.

John says

that Peter,

he turned

and he saw

the disciple

whom Jesus loved

following them.

The one

who had leaned

back against him

during the supper.

This is John.

And Peter said,

well,

what about this man?

If that's

what it's going

to cost me,

what's it going

to cost him?

If that's what

you have planned

for me

as I follow you,

what about him?

And John said

that Jesus replies

to him,

well,

if it's my will

that he remain

until I come,

what is that to you?

You follow me.

Do you get the message?

You know,

apparently this

started a bit

of a rumor

that John

wasn't going

to die

and that he

would instead

live and remain

until the return

of Christ

but John

sets us straight

and he said

that's not

what Jesus said,

that's not the point.

What's the point?

The point

for Peter

and for us,

church,

is you

follow

me.

Don't get

hung up

on

whatabouts.

don't get

tripped up

on comparing

callings

with this guy

or that.

If you have

seen Jesus

clearly

for who he is,

if you have

been restored

as a broken

sinner,

restored to

fellowship

with God himself

by the blood

of Christ,

your call,

whatever the cost,

you

follow

me.

And for some,

that may

mean

going

into

dangerous

places,

proclaiming

the name

of Christ,

being persecuted,

even giving

your life

for the cause

of Christ.

That may be

the path

that God

has for you

or it may

be that

the Lord

has called

you to pray

and to share,

to give generously

to kingdom

causes,

to faithfully

teach your family

about Jesus,

to teach your

children and

your neighbors

to evangelize

your friends.

It may be

that the Lord

has called

you to live

to a ripe

old age

and die

as an old

man or woman

faithful to

Christ.

Or it may

be that the

Lord causes

you to stretch

your hands

out on a

cross and

die for the

sake of

Christ.

What

difference

does it

make for

you?

The call

is you

follow

Christ.

And if

Jesus is

who this

book has

proclaimed

him to

be,

then church

he is

worth it.

Amen?

Amen?

John ends

this gospel

with this

fairy tale

ending.

Don't you

love this?

He says,

this is the

disciple who

is bearing

witness about

these things

and who

has written

these things

and we

know that

his testimony

is true.

There are

also many

other things

that Jesus

did.

Were every

one of them

to be written,

I suppose

that the

world itself

could not

contain the

books that

would be

written.

That sounds

at first

like an

exaggeration,

doesn't it?

And maybe

it is,

but if this

man Jesus

is who

John has

told us

that he

is,

remember

John chapter

one?

It says,

all things

were made

through him

and without

him was not

anything

made that

was made.

All things,

all the books

that have ever

been written

on geology,

on ecology,

on astrology,

on ornithology,

all of it

rightly understood

is theology,

is Christology.

All of it

is from

him and

for him,

Paul says,

to him be

the glory

forever.

Christ Jesus

made it

all.

John says

another wonder

of wonders

is that the

one who made

it all

stepped down

into his

creation

in order

to redeem

it.

How many

books could

we fill?

To tell

the stories

of Christ?

How many

books could

be written

to tell

the stories

of men

and women

who have

been given

eyes to

see him

for who

he is?

How many

books can

be written

to share

the stories

of restoration?

Even in

this room,

sinners

reconciled to

God by the

blood of

Christ.

How many

stories can

be written

through the

ages of the

church after

years and

years and

years and

years?

I don't

think John

is exaggerating

church.

all the

shelves of

the world

would not

be enough

to contain

the books

that can

be written

of this

man,

Jesus

Christ.

And we

have all

of eternity

to explore

the wonders

of the

grace of

God towards

us who

believe.

But this

book,

the gospel

according to

John,

was written

with one

purpose in

mind,

that you

may believe

that Jesus

is the

Christ,

the Son of

God,

and that by

believing you

may have

life in

His name.

Have you

gotten the

message?

Do you

believe He

is who He's

claimed to

be?

Let's pray.

Lord, as we

close this

book,

we thank

You and we

praise You

again for

Your Word.

We thank

You and we

praise You

again for

the person

and work

of Jesus.

And we

pray, Lord,

it's my

desire that

this church,

Father, that

You would

make us a

people who

see You

clearly.

Would You

reveal Yourself

to us more

clearly that we

might love You

and honor You

and worship You.

And Lord,

would You lead

us to be quick

to confess our

sin to You

and quick to

run to You

for restoration.

And Lord,

would You make

us quick to

share about You

and that others

might come to

know You as

we do.

We love You,

Lord.

We pray this

in Jesus'

name.

Amen.