Fishing with Success

We'll begin our worship by singing together in Psalm 25 in the Scottish Psalter version.

We'll find that on page 231 of the Blue Praise Book.

Psalm 25, Scottish Psalter, the first version, and singing there from verse 4 to verse 10.

Words that may be familiar to us, words that teach us to follow Jesus, follow the words that are set before us in the Bible, that we'll be taught by them.

Which will be a theme that we'll have considered in our sermon.

The words there are,

We'll sing from verse 4 down to verse 10.

We'll stand to sing,

Show me thy ways, O Lord, thy paths, O teach thou me.

Amen.

Show me thy ways, O Lord, thy paths, O teach thou me.

Father, thy paths, O teach thou me.

Let in my teaching be.

For thou art, O thoughtless,

Do ye shall be ye shall send.

And I am only all the day,

Expecting to attend.

Thy tender mercy, O Lord,

I may be to remember.

And loving thy kindnesses for thee,

Have ye of hope forever.

My sins and faults of truth,

Do thou art, O Lord, forget.

After thy mercy,

Have ye of me,

And for thy goodness paid.

God, who shall not be,

Thou mayest,

Thou mayest,

In her soul.

And for thy heart, O Lord.

And for thy grace, O Lord,

And for thy grace, O Lord,

And for thy grace, O Lord,

The hope has sought the Lord, our true and mercy due.

The hope has sought the Lord, our true and mercy due.

We'll now join together in a word of prayer. Let us pray.

Our Heavenly Father, we give thanks that we can gather in this place on your day.

The day where we remember the risen Lord Jesus.

And so as we join together, all different people, all different places.

Lord, we pray that you would speak to us.

We pray that as we sing from your word, as we read from your word.

As we call upon you in prayer and as we meditate upon what you say to us.

We pray that we would hear you speaking to our hearts and to our souls.

That we may be guided by your instruction.

That you may lead us and keep us.

And often we confess that we have gone astray.

There are many faults and failings within us.

But Lord, you welcome us to come.

You tell us to come and draw near to you.

And so let us draw near to you, O Lord.

With reverence and honour.

Mindful of whom we are approaching.

Lord, we pray for our children.

We pray for those that will go through into holiday tweenies.

We pray for those that will lead them.

We pray that you would speak to them also.

We pray that you would teach them likewise.

And guide them in their young lives.

We pray for those who have been at camp.

We pray for camps that are taking place.

And we pray that you would be with the leaders there.

And that you may reveal yourself to them in their young lives.

That you may sow seeds in their hearts at such a young age.

And that in your timing they would grow and flourish.

And bring forth fruit for your glory.

So Lord, we pray as we join together in worship and praise.

That you would be pleased to bless your people.

All this we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

I'd just like to say a word to the younger ones that are with us.

You may have noticed as you are coming into the building.

There's a few flags tied to the railings.

And if you go into the hall after.

You'll see there will be a few more flags in there too.

That's for next week's holiday club.

And we pray that it will be a time of fun that we have together.

But every country has a flag.

It's what identifies you as a country.

You hold.

I've got a flag here.

It's got lots of different flags in it.

It's still in its packaging.

I hope no one's looking for it.

It was lying on the table in next door.

I was hoping to come out with a flag.

But I've got this one that's got lots of different flags in it.

You see Switzerland there.

There's other ones there that I don't know.

Great Britain's at the top there.

America, Canada.

Korea.

All different flags.

Identify people.

When they go to the Olympic Games that are taking place and have started.

They'll be flying their flag as a team walk in.

It's telling them, this is where we're from.

This is our people.

This is my homeland.

This is my country.

This is my country.

I was thinking about that.

I was wondering, does a Christian have a flag?

We don't have a flag to show the world.

but Jesus says in his word

in the songs of Solomon

God says

his banner over me is love.

The Christian

has his identity

in the love of Jesus.

The Christian's identity

is in love.

The Christian

is from

heaven.

The Christian is going to heaven.

The Christian belongs to their homeland

which is heaven.

And although they don't have a flag

to fly like the countries

of this world

they can fly the flag of love

for Jesus Christ.

And you may know

of grown-ups who are Christians

that speak to you

and love you like no one

else could love you.

Every Christian

is welcomed

into heaven.

Every Christian

is adopted

into that place

that they call home

because Jesus

died for them.

They are adopted

into this place

of love

because Jesus died

in love

for every single

one of us.

We love

as Christians

because Jesus

first loved

us.

And when we go out

into this world

as Christians

we don't have a flag

to fly

with lots of different

colors in it.

we fly the flag

of love.

We love one another.

We love our neighbors.

We help those

who are poor.

We look after those

who are hurting.

we fly the flag

for Jesus

in the way

that we act.

In the love

that we show.

So that people

meet you

and say to you

why does that person

love me so much?

They can say

well it's because

Jesus loved me.

when we go

into the world

fly the flag

for Jesus.

Love

one another.

That people

would come

and love

Jesus too.

So remember that.

Love one another.

Whoever it is

when you

when you're at school

when you're at college

when you grow up

in this world

keep loving

one another.

Keep loving the people

that you don't know.

And when people ask you

why do you love me

like you do?

Tell them

I'm flying the flag

for Jesus

because Jesus

loves me

and Jesus

died for me

on the cross

at Calvary.

So I pray

these thoughts

would be blessed

to all of us.

We'll join together

in saying the Lord's

prayer together.

Our Father

which art in heaven

hallowed

be thy name

thy kingdom

come

thy will

be done

on earth

as it is

in heaven.

Give us this day

our daily bread

and forgive us

our debts

as we

forgive our debtors.

And lead us

not into temptation

but deliver us

from evil

for thine

is the kingdom

the power

and the glory

forever.

Amen.

We'll continue

in our praise

and our worship

by singing

in Psalm 25

of the Sing

Psalms version.

Psalm 25

of the Sing

Psalms version

you'll find that

on page 33

33.

And for this

Psalm we'll sing

the first verse

and then we'll jump

down to verse

Mark 6

and sing

down to the end

of that Psalm

to verse 9.

So we'll take

verse 1 first

and then we'll jump

down to verse 6.

The words there

are to you

I call

O Lord

my rock

do not be deaf

to my loud cry

I'll be like those

gone down to death

if you are silent

in reply.

And then at verse 6

Praise to the Lord

for he has heard

the plea for mercy

which I made

he is my strength

he is my shield

I trust in him

who sends me aid

my heart uplifted

leaps for joy

my thanks to him

I gladly sing

The Lord God

is his people's strength

a saving fortress

for his king

Lord save your people

your own flock

be pleased

your heritage

to bless

be their good shepherd

carry them

forever

in your faithfulness.

We'll sing these

verses to God's praise

and while we sing

the children

going to holiday

twenties will come out.

So we'll stand to sing

To you I call

O Lord my rock

to love the end

to my love

I use...

is the Lord glory

for all the eis

to the son who are

our service

and war

the ends

on ourчик

we sing

of risk

and the Holz

and the hives

in our life

to bring our eyes

to even

to the rebel

confusing

and host

down to the likeness

alone and staff

the て if you are silent

Praise to the Lord for the matter,

Love thee forever to which I am.

He is my strength, he is my shield,

Iは let him never change me in,

My heart of there be for joy,

I allow me to consist.

The Lord's body is in the same

As taking our prayer for his king

Lord, Savior, leave a new

Throne of the Lord's body

Lord, Savior, leave a new

As taking our prayer for his king

Lord, Savior, leave a new

And we'll turn now to read from Scripture

We'll have two readings this morning

And our first reading will be from the Gospel of Luke

Luke 5 · chapter mention

Chapter 5, the beginning of that chapter

And afterwards we'll turn to John chapter 21

John 21 · chapter mention

So firstly, the Gospel of Luke

Luke 5 · chapter mention

Chapter 5, from the beginning of that chapter

Down to verse 14

Sorry, down to verse 11

Let us hear God's word

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him

That's Jesus, to hear the word of God

He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret

And he saw two boats by the lake

But the fishermen had gone out of them

And were washing their nets

Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's

He asked him to put out a little from the land

And he sat down

And he taught the people from the boat

And when he had finished speaking

He said to Simon

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

They enclosed a large number of fish

And their nets were breaking

They signalled 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

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

Let's now turn to the Gospel of John

John 21 · chapter mention

Chapter 21

Again we'll read from the beginning

Of that chapter

There's a resurrection appearance

Of Jesus

To the disciples

On the shore

Chapter 21

Verse 1

After this

Jesus revealed himself

Again to the disciples

By the sea of Tiberias

When he revealed himself

In this way

Simon Peter

Thomas called the twin

Nathaniel of Cana and Galilee

The sons of Zebedee

And two others of his disciples

Were together

Simon Peter

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

He 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

A hundred and fifty three

Of them

And altogether

There were so many

The net was not torn

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

They knew it was

The Lord Jesus

Came and took the bread

And gave it to them

And so with the fish

This was now

The third time

That Jesus was revealed

To the disciples

After he was raised

From the dead

Amen

May the reading

Of God's word

Be blessed

To those who have

Heard it

This day

Let us join together

Again in prayer

Let us pray

Our Father in heaven

As we come near to you

And draw near to you

And read your word

We pray that we would

Have a mind upon you

That is not distracted

That is not led to and fro

By the thoughts of this world

And we pray that as we come

To this passage

And your resurrection appearance

To the disciples

We would learn from it

And that you would teach us

From your word

Lord we pray that you would

Humble us

As we come before you

And we acknowledge

That we come before

The Lord God almighty

The creator of all

And the sustainer

Of our very lives

That we would humble ourselves

And be reverent

To worship you

And give you

All glory

Honor

And praise

And as we do so

Drawing together

As your people

As different families

From around the surrounding area

Visitors that are here with us

We pray that we would know

The power of your spirit over us

Guiding us

In our understanding

Helping us to see

And see Jesus in a new light

That we would be taught

From his words

That our ears would be unblocked

To hear something new

And fresh this morning

That you would continue

To instruct us

And guide us

As the good shepherd

In our lives

That we as your flock

Would continually draw near

To be gathered together

But to be ultimately

To rely on you

To follow you

To go with you

To where you will lead us

And so

Lead us with your promises

O Lord

In our lives

Let us hold fast

To the promises

That we have

That you go

And prepare a place

For your people

That you will hear

Our prayers

That you will not

Forsake us

So many

That we can hold fast

On to

Give us confidence

As we do so

That we would not

Disbelieve

But believe

In the risen Lord

Jesus

Who lives

And ever will live

And if we believe

In him

Though we die

Yet we shall live

Lord we pray

That the gospel message

Would be proclaimed

Across this nation

With faithfulness

And you would

Turn your people

Back to you

Knowing

The plight

Of the situation

And where sin

Has left them

Knowing that they

Are in need

Of a saviour

That they are in need

Of being rescued

Knowing that they

Need the Lord

Jesus Christ

In their life

That in him

They can have

Peace and purpose

Lord

Pray that you would

Teach our nation

Teach our

Leaders in government

That they

Would come

And trust in you

And lead

Our nation

Our country

In the ways

Of God

That we would

Fly the flag

For Jesus Christ

And his word

As truth

Lord

We pray

For those

Who proclaim it

We pray

That you would

Give them the power

Of your spirit

We pray

That you would

Bring many more

Men to

Come and

Devote their lives

To you

Consecrate their lives

To the gospel

And not just men

That needed to

Proclaim it

But women

Boys

And girls

That consecrate

Their lives

To the Lord

Jesus Christ

That you would

Give them

Understanding

In their hearts

That they would

Cry out

Knowing

To whom else

Can we go

So let us

Come

And sit at the

Feet of the

Lord Jesus

This morning

Like Mary did

That we would

Not busy

Ourselves

Like Martha

And lose out

On teaching

But give us

Peace in our

Hearts

As we come

To your word

We pray for

Our people

That we know

That are

Finding life

Difficult

That are

Anxious over

Their health

That are facing

Great changes

In the future

People that are

Mourning

We pray that you

Would draw near

To them

For your word

Tells us that you

Are near to the

Broken hearted

And lord

We just pray

That you would

Be our

Guide

Ultimately

In this world

That we would

Come back

To your words

That we have

In scripture

That we would

Understand them

As truth

And instruction

For us to

Follow

Be with us now

As we come

To your word

And consider it

Guide us

And keep us

From the evil

One

And all this

We ask in the name

Of the lord

Jesus Christ

Amen

We'll continue

In our praise

Before we come

Back to the

Passage

In John

John 21 · chapter mention

Chapter 21

And we'll sing

In Psalm

145

Of the

Sing

Psalms

Version

You'll find

That on page

190

For time

I think

If it's okay

We'll just

Sing from

Verse Mark

17

To 21

17

The lord

Is just

And good

In all his

Ways

He shows

His love

To all

That he

Has made

The lord

Is near

To all

Who call

On him

To all

Who call

In truth

To him

For aid

We'll sing

These last

Three

Verses

To god's

Praise

We'll stand

To sing

The lord

Is just

And good

In all

His ways

The lord

Is just

And good

In all

His ways

The Lord

Is just

And good

In all

His ways

The lord

Is just

The lord

Is here

To all

Who call

Him

To all

Who call

Him

To

Him

Come

And good

God

The Lord protects all those who love His name,

A special to knock His wickedness.

Thy lips will fade as some of the plans to go,

I will be forever in His face.

Let every preacher magnify the Lord,

And may still slowly live now and always.

I will turn back to the passage that we have read there in John chapter 21.

John 21 · chapter mention

I am reading there at verse 7.

The last few times that I have been with you here and preached with you,

We have looked at the importance and the impact of the resurrection appearances of the Lord Jesus in the Gospel of John.

We have looked at the account of Mary.

We have looked at the disciples in the locked room.

We have looked at the account where he appeared to Dante and Thomas.

And now this is the fourth appearance that John records.

This is the appearance on the Shoah.

And chapter 21 in John's Gospel is the conclusion.

This is his final sign of.

This is the last thing he has to say to the reader.

We have this closing purpose at the end of chapter 20,

Where he says he has written all these things so that you may believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,

And have life in His name.

But he has got one last thing to say.

He has got one last thing to write.

In order to believe.

He has got one last thing for you to hear this morning.

And the restoration of Peter falls through in this chapter and forms an important part of this chapter.

But John clearly segregates this resurrection appearance in the way he writes.

John wants you to notice this appearance of Jesus.

You look at verse 21.

He starts off by saying,

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

He revealed himself in this way.

He's emphasizing this revelation.

And then at verse 14, he breaks it and says,

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

The third time he revealed himself to the whole of the disciples.

The gathered disciples.

So what's the significance of this passage?

What does John want us to notice?

Because John is the only writer that records this passage.

And if he wants us to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, why is he recording this?

Well, Jesus is distancing himself from the people.

Jesus cannot stay in the world any longer.

His appearances seem to become less frequent.

Jesus cannot stay in the world.

Jesus cannot stay in the world.

He's instructing them how to live their lives without him.

So the disciples are here.

Thankfully, they're not in the locked room anymore.

They've opened the door.

They've faced the world.

They've faced whatever doubts they had in their hearts.

They've placed their trust in the Lord's words.

And I am sending you, as we have seen previously.

But we see them here.

They've gone out.

But they seem to be a bit lost.

They seem to be struggling to figure out what the next steps are in their lives.

And as we look at this passage here, there are three expressions that really shape this appearance.

And the first of these expressions that are said by the character Peter is,

I am going fishing.

The first thing to consider.

What Peter says, I am going fishing.

I'm sure there are many men in here that have exclaimed that.

I am going fishing.

Whether it's out of frustrations or maybe just to get a break.

But how does Peter say it?

He's speaking to the disciples there, those that are with him.

And there's seven of them there.

The passage lists them at the beginning.

They're at the Sea of Tiberias.

This is also the Sea of Gennesaret, that we read of in Luke 5.

It is also the Sea of Galilee.

It's the same place with three different names.

Peter is here saying, I am going fishing to the seven disciples that are with him.

And you might ask, well, why are they here at the Sea of Galilee?

What has left them here?

Well, if you look at the other Gospels, Jesus tells them to go to Galilee.

You'll find that in Matthew 26 and Mark 16.

He instructs the disciples, I'll see you again at Galilee.

So the disciples here, they're on the right path.

They're doing the right thing at this moment in time.

And for these fishermen to return to Galilee, it would have been natural for them to return

to their place in where they had worked.

They would have probably delighted to come back to that place that they had left,

to come back to the shore of the Sea of Galilee,

to come back and see the people whom they were familiar with,

to come back and tell them all that they had seen.

But as they come back, they start going off course.

They start to wander back into their old way of life.

You can just imagine, you can almost see them there, these seven men,

sitting at the banks of the shore, wondering, what are we going to do next?

Jesus has told us to come here.

What's next?

They have no real plan set before them.

They don't really know how to carry out the work of Jesus

and how to continue it.

They fall back into their old work.

You can see them just sitting on the shore,

watching all the other fishermen heading out to a night of work.

That was the most opportune time for catching fish.

Peter's just sitting there, and you can just see impulsive Peter just exclaiming,

I'm going fishing.

Whether it was for food, whether it was just for something for him to do, we don't know.

But he's off.

And others say, we will go with you.

And the end of verse 3 sums up that endeavour that they went on.

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

They all followed Peter back into their old way of life, back to fishing.

And surely deep down within themselves they knew fine that Jesus had not sent them to Galilee

to go back to being fishermen.

From day dot when Jesus had called them, as we saw in Luke 5,

he called them to be fishers of men, to leave the fishing boat.

They're at exactly the same place in which he first called them.

But Peter here leads them astray.

He leads them back into their old lives.

They maybe think this is the best thing to do.

And the disciples all follow the wrong voice.

And this is a point that we must all come back to again and again in our lives.

Personally asking ourselves, who am I following?

Am I following my own voice?

Am I following what I think is best?

Am I following someone else?

People in this world chase after having followers online.

They want to have as many people following them.

But what are they saying?

What are these people doing?

Who are we following in our lives?

And truth be told, it can look far more attractive than following what Jesus has set aside for us.

Because the devil will tempt you.

Certainly tempt you.

To divert you from following Jesus at all.

You read Pilgrim's Progress and you see Christian there and the battles he had.

Trying to follow the path that was set out for him and follow the light.

And they're diverting and they're getting themselves into all different trouble.

The devil will tempt us away with things that look attractive and things that look easy in this life.

But who are you following?

And where is that person taking you?

Tomorrow?

In the week ahead?

In the year ahead?

Into eternity?

Who are you following?

This is a lesson here to keep following the right voice.

To keep reminding the disciples here.

Listen to my words and remember my words that I taught you.

Follow me.

Do not follow man.

Do not return into your old ways even when they do look attractive to you.

Be faithful to me and what I have called you to.

It's even evident when you go through this chapter.

You can read it in your own time.

Jesus says to the disciples when they're questioning and asking one another what will happen to them.

Jesus says, what is that to you?

You follow me.

Who are we following?

These seven disciples went out into the sea of Galilee with great efforts, with great diligence.

We learn from this passage that they fished all night long and now day is breaking.

Peter was stripped naked, making every attempt to succeed in the work that he wants to do.

But he's getting nowhere.

They've got nothing.

They're exhausted.

They're tired.

They're empty handed.

But Jesus stands at a distance on the shore.

The disciples could not make out who he was.

And we have this conversation recorded between them.

And he addresses them as children in verse 5.

Do you have any fish?

And they say that this address as children is more like an informal address to shout lads or guys.

Guys, do you have any fish?

Fish.

But if you go to the Greek, it puts a different slant on that phrase.

It translates really, do you not have any fish?

There's a negative in it.

That makes a bit of a difference when you're asking someone that.

If I ask you, do you have sweets in your pocket?

Yeah, I've got sweets.

It's like, do you not have any sweets in your pocket?

You know, the second one with a negative in it, it's like, you're not expecting it.

Do you not have any sweets in your pocket?

It's implying you've got nothing in your pocket.

Jesus is speaking to them, asking them, guys, do you not have any fish?

And when he says fish, it's not even a full fish.

It is the smallest bit of fish that you could imagine.

Do you not have anything at all?

He's asking them.

And they say, nothing.

As a fisherman returning to port with absolutely nothing is embarrassing.

And Jesus is asking them to admit their complete failure.

We don't have a bean to show for all the work that we have done.

You see, what following the wrong man left them with?

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

So it's a lesson for us to consider who we are following,

and what we will be left with when we follow.

We must follow Jesus.

We must follow Jesus.

So that at the end of our day, we'll not be left empty.

You can exhaust yourself chasing after the things of this world,

trying to gather as much as you can.

But at the end of the day, what's it going to give you?

Nothing.

Follow Jesus.

The second phrase that I want us to consider is,

it is the Lord, in verse 7.

This is a phrase that John exclaims to Peter when he recognizes,

it must be the Lord.

He says, it is the Lord to Peter.

Have you ever thought how you would react if someone said that to you?

And someone said, if you were about your day-to-day work,

and someone said to you, it's the Lord.

The Lord is here.

The Lord has come.

On the day when the Lord will come, people will exclaim that.

When it is, we do not know.

But we must consider how we will react when the Lord does come.

And it is interesting that when you come back to this passage,

and you see how the Lord Jesus is revealed to them,

it is not made by his voice, as it was to Mary.

It is not made by his sight, as it was to the disciples.

But it is made by his work, and what Jesus does for them.

And in our lives, we desire to see Jesus in the flesh.

We wish we could hear his voice speaking to us so clearly.

But it is often his hands at work that enables us to say, it is the Lord.

Because Jesus is unnoticed in this passage.

Which is interesting, because the disciples have already met him twice already.

And when you go to verse 12, they are sitting with Jesus on the shore.

The disciples dare not ask him, who are you?

Jesus doesn't seem immediately obvious to them.

They have a question in their mind.

Who is this man?

But they know fine.

Deep down, it is really Jesus.

There seems to be something different about his appearance.

And if anything from this, it is Jesus instructing them to not rely on the visual.

Thomas was there in this group.

Thomas was the doctor that said, I will not believe unless I see him and touch him.

But Jesus is...

Jesus' identity isn't so clear here.

We can't say exactly why, but we don't know.

He is hidden.

He said, don't rely so much on the visual and my appearances.

I will be with you.

I will continue with you.

But you will see me in the works that I do.

You won't physically see me.

You won't audibly hear my voice.

And that work that he told them to do was to cast the net on the right side of the boat.

And it kind of sounds ridiculous for them to do.

They have been fishing all night.

They have not cost anything.

Jesus gives them a promise to that word.

You will find some.

It emphasizes their complete inability, I think, that they listened to this man and they did not question it.

Like they did in Luke's Gospel.

He questioned, we've toiled all night.

But they're here with nothing.

They've got nothing else to try.

This stranger saying, cast your net on the right side.

Well, let's give it a go.

What other options do we have?

Time is running out.

They try it and they receive a net full of fish.

Time is running out.

What option do they have?

To whom else can they go to?

We must follow Jesus.

What other option do you have?

Are time is running out?

John is the first.

John is the first.

He has to put two and two together.

Maybe he remembers that account in Luke.

And when he says it is the Lord impulsive Peter jumps straight into the sea.

But before he does that, he puts on an outer garment.

Which is a strange thing to do if you're going to go swimming.

To put on a jacket, a coat, a covering.

But it is believed that he did this because he didn't want to appear before the Lord in his nakedness.

In his shame.

He came before the Lord Jesus with reverence when he knew it was him.

And we must come before the Lord with reverence as well.

In Luke 5, when Jesus was revealed in the catching of the fish, Peter said,

Depart from me.

He realized who he was before the Lord.

And we must realize who we are when we see the Lord in our lives.

It is the Lord.

And the final saying that shapes this passage is,

Come and have breakfast.

I am going fishing.

It is the Lord.

Finally, come and have breakfast.

This is a great phrase to hear if anyone ever says it to you.

You're lucky enough to get that offer.

Come and have breakfast.

Come, it's provided for you.

Come and enjoy it with me.

This is what Jesus is saying to them.

I will provide for you.

And you will come and be with me.

And although there was fish on the fire already prepared for them,

he tells them to bring something of what they have.

And though these disciples went off track, they went back into their old ways in life,

probably knowing themselves the foolishness of what they are doing.

We know you didn't call us to be fishermen.

Jesus used this lesson to feed them, to instruct them, to guide them.

They themselves were nourished by the results of their own mistakes.

It was used for their own building up.

Jesus cannot stay with them.

But they find a lesson in the works of Jesus in their lives.

And I'm sure there are many of us here who have seen Jesus work in our lives and have learned great lessons from it.

You can look back in your life, and it's often when you do look back,

and you say to yourself, well, it was the Lord.

The Lord was there.

But you learn from it.

And maybe it was that you had made a mistake in doing so.

You look back and the Lord has restored you and taken you and guided you.

It's a lesson for the future.

Now, we can't see him physically.

We can't hear him audibly.

But he is at work in your life.

The Lord Jesus is at work.

Maybe you have to look back to when he first called you.

That's what he did with the disciples here.

He took them right back to where he first called them,

to be fishers of men.

And they learned a lesson from it.

To trust in the words of Jesus Christ.

To follow him.

Not to try and earn things for themselves.

For Jesus will provide for them.

And often we do not know how Jesus will provide for us.

Often we have to, often we go, often we make the mistake of trying to do it all ourselves.

But Jesus went before them.

There was fish already on the fire there.

But Jesus used this lesson.

To build them up, to instruct them.

What a catch they had.

They had 153 fish.

And everyone asks, what does this mean?

Why 153 fish?

And I don't think anyone really knows.

Everyone's, people have tried in all sorts of mathematical things in order to reach the significance for the 153.

But I think it just simply means that the Lord provided for them abundantly.

And the Lord will provide for you abundantly too.

Whether it be in this life, or certainly will in the next life.

The Lord will provide for you.

And he will welcome you with warmth.

When you come to him today.

And when you are welcomed to be with him.

In his glory.

In heaven.

Come and have breakfast with me.

Come and dine with me.

Come and enjoy what I have provided for you.

He has provided for you the most wonderful salvation.

It is already done.

We must come to him.

We must not resort back to following our old lives.

We must come before the Lord.

That we would see him.

And understand what he has done for us.

And this passage.

It's all about fishing.

But it's not really about fishing at all.

It's not really about the success of the catch that they had.

It's a lesson on how to go on in the Christian life.

To trust in him and his words.

To follow Jesus no matter what.

To honour him.

To trust that he will provide for you.

We all want to be successful in life.

Success.

Success.

Is found in Christ.

True success is found in Christ.

the world will leave you empty.

The world might pat you on your back

and say you're successful.

But are you really?

What have you got to show it?

What will you have to show it

when you hear them say it is the Lord?

Following the world

will leave you empty handed

but following Christ

will bring an abundance to your life.

He will provide for you.

So let us follow him.

Let us trust in him.

He is the resurrection

and the life.

Do you believe this?

Amen.

May these thoughts be blessed to us.

We'll conclude by singing in Psalm 23

of the Scottish Psalter.

Find that on page 229.

Psalm 23.

Words that are familiar to us.

Psalm 23.

The psalmist says that the Lord is his shepherd.

I'll not want.

He makes me lie down in pastures green.

He leadeth me the quiet waters by.

He also says,

My soul he doth restore again.

And me to walk doth make

within the paths of righteousness.

Here and for his own name's sake.

and yea though I walk in death's dark vale

yet will I fear none ill

for thou art with me and thy rod

and staff me comfort still

my table thou hast furnished

in presence of my foes

my head thou dost with oil anoint

and my cup overflows

goodness and mercy all my life

shall surely follow me

and in God's house forevermore

my dwelling place shall be

what a provision by such a shepherd

that we can follow

let us stand together and sing these words

to God's praise the Lord's my shepherd

I'll not want

Lord's my shepherd's name

it makes me down to life

and pastures be

he leadeth me

the quiet water shine

thy soul be done

restore again

and me to hope

doth may

within the paths

of righteousness

and me to hope

and yea though I walk in death's dark vale

yet will I fear none ill

yet though I walk in death's dark vale

yet will I fear none ill

for thou art with me

and thy door

and staff me come for still

thy table

thy table

has furnished

thy table

has furnished

shed

in rest

of

thy woes

my

end

The Lord with oil and oil

And my cup overflows

Goodness and mercy

All my life

Shall surely follow me

And in the sun forevermore

My dwelling place shall be

Concluded prayer

Lord Jesus

As we depart from one another

We pray that you would be our shepherd

And that we would follow you

Into the uncertainties of this life

Lord we pray that you would correct us

And provide for us

And that we may see your hand at work within us

So that we may proclaim to one another

It is the Lord

He is still at work

He is still alive

And he still reigns

And will reign eternally forever

May we hold on to the resurrection promises of Jesus

That he has provided life for all who believe in him

So let us believe in the Lord Jesus

Watch over us as we part

Be with us as we gather later in this evening

And may you bless the gathering of your people

Amen

Amen

Oh

Amen

Thank you

Amen

Thank you.