In this sermon, the preacher focuses on the story of Jesus appearing to his disciples after his resurrection in John chapter 21. The disciples, who were fishermen, had been fishing all night without catching anything. Jesus appears on the shore and tells them to cast their net on the right side of the boat, resulting in a miraculous catch of 153 fish. The preacher emphasizes that this was the work of the Lord and highlights the importance of recognizing Jesus as the source of success. The sermon also emphasizes Jesus' love and grace towards his disciples, despite their failures and denials.

Well now, this morning then we turn for yet another meditation on the main theme from Simon to Peter. And the theme of our message this morning is based upon John chapter 21, verses 1 to 14. Vital reassurance is the title that we have given to it. As we have been following in the footmarks of our Lord and his disciples over the months that are gone, we have seen how amazingly patient he is with his own. And yet how sovereign and how sufficient is his grace. He overcomes every obstacle. He is able indeed to make all grace abound toward those whom he calls. Where sin abounded, I believe we have all seen grace abounding far, far more. We come today to what must be deemed a very important landmark in the training of the twelve. And under God I trust it will be an important landmark in the training of each one of us. For whatever work the Lord may have for us to do. We have now reached a critical stage. I say critical for this reason. Up until this point or up until this stage in the developing ministry of our Lord, Simon Peter has been very ignorant of himself. Now we have been stressing this the last two or three times especially. He has been a man who for some reason or other has been almost totally oblivious to all his faults and sins and follies. This as we have pointed out on one occasion must surely be one of the great tragedies in his life and it may be equally so in our lives. Other people can see Simon's sins so glaringly standing out. He couldn't see them himself. So that whenever the Lord challenged him for anything he said, Oh yes Lord you can depend upon me, the others may let you down but never me. He was so sure of himself. And I'm not so sure that his breed is yet extinct in the Christian church. There are those of us whose sins are very obvious to others. Whose weaknesses are glaring to our fellows. And yet apparently we are ourselves utterly ignorant of them. May God grant us to see ourselves as Simon Peter ultimately came to see himself. Because what makes this a critical point is this. At long last Simon has come to a knowledge of himself. What brought it to a head of course was his three fold foul denial of his Lord. It's very sad that it had to come to that. But it was only when Simon did that and then saw his Lord nailed to the cross going alone to die. That the hideous reality of his own carnal, sinful, arrogant, proud, blaspheming self hit him between the eyes. You know it's very sad. Sometimes the Lord has to let some of us slip into terrible sin. Before we come to a knowledge of ourselves. Thus having seen his Lord crucified and buried in a borrowed tomb. Simon Peter spent probably the most dismal three days and nights that a man ever spent. He heaved out the sorrow of his soul in tears. As he wept and thought and pondered. One can almost sense the heaving of his great soul for relief. Little care. Until the dawn of a new day when Jesus personally met him. You remember how he commissioned Mary Magdalene and the others. Go tell Peter and the others. But Peter especially that I'm risen from the dead. Then we are told that he made a special appearance to Simon. 1 Corinthians 15 5. And that somehow or other stayed. The terrible sense of lostness and hopelessness that gripped Simon up to that point. At the same time we must be realistic. If we rightly read between the lines. Neither that personal confrontation with Jesus. Nor his subsequent appearance to Peter along with others. Has really rehabilitated the man spiritually. He is still very nervous. Very fearful. Very timid. Wouldn't you be? If you had really seen yourself as a man or a woman. Capable of denying your own Lord with oaths and curses. Wouldn't you feel like that? And so here in the passage that we have before us today. The episode brings to our notice the mood of the disciples still. And the ministry of the Lord. Whereby he would meet that particular mood of a somewhat desolated people. Now the passage I think naturally divides into a two-fold thrust. First we see the disciples in semi-retreat. And secondly we see the master in full pursuit. This is what I want to stay with for a short time. First of all the disciples in semi-retreat. These followers of our Lord are not now turning their backs upon him. And returning to the boat and to their secular affairs. Simply or even primarily because Jesus was crucified. Now can I please underline that. Because I have no time to expand it any further. They are not going back to the boat. They are not in semi-retreat because Jesus was crucified. Because they know that he is alive. The mere fact of the crucifixion. What was at an earlier stage perhaps deemed by them to be a sheer tragedy. Is no longer seen in that light because God has omnipotently reversed that. And the very worst that man could do to him. Has now become the greatest deed of God. He has raised him from the dead. So Jesus is alive. Why then are they retreating? Why are they retreating from any spiritual ministry of a positive order? Surely the knowledge that Jesus was risen should have saved them from anything of that order. You know strange as it may seem. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ caused some problems for them that they never had before. And especially during these forty days. Oh yes he was risen all right. Risen all right. Thomas made sure of that when he put his hand. His finger in his hands and his hand in the wound in the master's side. He's risen all right. But there are problems that emerge. Even now. I suppose they might even have asked this. There were times before the cross when he seemed so full of authority and of power. And yet that happened to him. They took him away like a lamb and led him to the slaughter without a bleating of the lip. Could it not happen again? I suppose also they might have been asking a question such as this. If they were able to do that to our Lord will they not do it to us? If the shepherd could so easily be smitten what about his sheep? If the master was nailed to a cross what will our master's enemies do to us? Dare we be loyal to him? Dare we serve him? These then kindred Christians could not other than torment these early disciples at this stage. Peter among them. Oh yes let me repeat they knew that he was risen. But there's something strange about the risen Christ. Something they cannot come to terms with. They can't make sense out of it. They can at one moment touch the print of the nails in his hand and then there's something strange happening. Here they are in an upper room. The doors are closed. The windows and the doors are barred. And suddenly he stands among them. How can a risen physical Christ, the Christ they'd known so long, how can he do a thing like that? Is it real? Can't you see them rubbing their eyes and asking is this thing real? And then just as easily as he had emerged into their midst as he had come into their midst so again he makes his exit. And when he's gone they don't know where he's gone to. They don't know what he's doing. They don't know where he's sleeping. They don't know where he's staying. They know next to nothing about him until suddenly he comes from somewhere again and he meets them on the way. He's so elusive in his glorified body. The risen body is the same as the old and yet it's different. And the difference makes them all so, so, so nervous. What kind of a church can you build around a crucified Lord? Even with a print of the nails in his hands if he's here one moment and then he's gone another. You turn around and he's not there. What kind of a kingdom of God can you build upon a king such as this? Ah yes, it is his kingly power to come in when the doors are bolted and barred. But then he leaves you. And where is he? Now can I put a little word in brackets here? You see all this has meaning. There is nothing meaningless in the purpose of God in the unfolding drama of divine redemption. What is happening is this. That God is teaching the disciples and preparing them for the age of the Spirit. Beginning at Pentecost. He is present though he's absent. Now that sounds Irish to some. He is physically coming and going. But he's within reach. He's within range. And he comes when they need him. And when he comes he has all power. You see this is an era which is introducing another. So you see the kind of problems that these people have. How can they launch out into a militantly aggressive evangelism when they're not sure of him? Puzzled and perplexed these disciples, can I put it like this? They knew too much to go back. But they had too many doubts to go on. Oh they knew too much to leave him and forsake him. That they could not do. The whole three years teaching. The evidence of his grace and of his power. They can't wipe that out. Thanks be to God. There is that indelibility about the grace of God. You can't get rid of it. And when once he's done work in your heart you can't shake it off like that. They couldn't. They know too much to go back. But you see they have too many doubts to go on. They can't go out into the world on an errand of militant evangelism for the Christ that was crucified and risen just like this. They're not sure of things. And the world certainly discovers our uncertainties. So what they do is this. They're nervous. And nervous people cannot long remain inactive. They've got to do something. And especially Simon Peter. Oh what can we do? Simon says, well fellows he says I don't know what about you but I'm going fishing. And they all said Simon that's a great idea we come with you. And back they go like a flock of sheep. Simon set the pace. You see he's leader still. Even in his backslidden state. The potentiality is there. The power is there. The human charisma is still there if not the divine. It's a very dangerous thing to have this. There are men and women even in their most backslidden moments can be leaders. Simon said I go back. They all go after him. They knew too much to retreat properly and fully and to make a break. But they must get something to do. And they must go somewhere. They've got to change the scene and the scenery. And Simon tells them what to do. And they all join in. Now my friends before we leave this can I put it to you. We're not here simply to talk about Simon Peter this morning. What about us? Where are you this morning? Am I speaking to some men and women and fellows and girls. And the fact about you and the fact about me perhaps may be this. That really we know too much to go back in full retreat. But we have too many doubts to go forward. Our Lord puzzles us in so many ways. The mystery of his providence. He said something. He's done something. He's allowed something. And because of the mystery of his providence or of his ways or of his word. We are found today actually in a kind of cul-de-sac. Into which we have gone hoping that things will get better. And things will get straightened out. Otherwise we would dearly love to make a wholesale retreat. Are you inactive in Christian service just because of this? Would there be many more hands involved in our Sunday school. In our teaching ministry. In our summer fellowship ministry. In bringing souls along to hear the gospel. If it were not that there are multitudes of our members in a semi-retreat. They know too much to go back. But they don't know enough to go on. They've not got the passion of truth in their souls. They know nothing of the burning of the word in the soul. And the mighty fire of the Holy Ghost in the heart. Is that you? No, you've not gone back to the boat. But you're up some cul-de-sac. That some humanly charismatic teacher. Now I'm not speaking of the charismatic movement properly. I'm speaking of a human charisma. A carnal charisma. A human thing entirely. They have led you up the garden path. And your life revolves around a man. Or an ism. The disciples in semi-retreat. I'm glad to be able to leave that for a moment. Come with me to the second main thread woven into this rich tapestry. The Saviour in full pursuit. Oh, their Saviour knew the mind and the mood of these men. Isn't that wonderful? You know, my friend, what is more wonderful still is this. He knows your mind. And he knows your mood this morning as he knows mine. And I am glad that if they were meandering out and back out of his will, he's not meandering or coming quietly toward us. He's in full flight. He's in pursuit. Now, what did he have to say to men in this condition? What did Jesus want to say to these people? As this is really my concern this morning, I'm not simply concerned. I'm not primarily concerned with the details of the narrative. Sometimes we cannot see the wood for the trees. I want to see the wood. I want to see the message. What was it that our Lord wanted to say to these men in and through this incident? And what does he say? Because he never fails. Three things. One, in the first place, Jesus would teach them the sheer futility of life outside of his will. That night, they caught nothing. If ever I was tempted to rejoice over the failure of men, you know, I want to rejoice over this. I want to say hallelujah, praise the Lord. Not a fish, not a fish, not a solitary fish that night. And that's not out of spleen, but out of concern for the glory of God. Not a fish. Why not? Were there none in the lake? Or have they lost their hands, those of them who had previously been fishermen? Not at all. There were scores of fish in the lake, as we shall see later on. A hundred and fifty and three come crashing into the nets at a certain stage later on. And the nets are really breaking, nearly breaking. It's not that they've lost their hand. It's something quite different. The Lord of oceans and tides and waves. The Lord of the fish of the sea and of the birds of the air. The Lord of men and of beasts and of demons and of angels. The Lord is in command of the lake and of its fish. And that night the fish in this lake were under strict orders to keep away from that net. They were permitted to go anywhere else, but not into this net, because the Almighty God has a lesson to teach these men on board that ship. You see, He's in command. There's no gospel apart from this. None whatsoever. You can't understand the Bible. You can't understand the gospel. You can't understand a thing unless you stand on this plank. Our Lord is sovereign. This is no accident. This is no freak. It was He who kept the fish out of their net. But what's He saying? What's He got in mind? Why does He do things like this? What's His message? Well, you see, He is graciously but firmly telling His retreating and nervous disciples that the very best skill exercised in the most familiar circumstances is no guarantee of success outside of His will. Can I repeat that? That the very best skill employed in the most familiar circumstances is no guarantee of success outside of His will. That night they caught nothing. The reason is not that they've lost the art of fishing. The reason is that they're retreating somewhat out of His will. This is love's way of showing them that there are more perils in retreating from Him and away from Him than in going forward with Him. Now, this is something that the devil doesn't want anybody to hear, and I'm going to repeat it. I have met it so often in pastoral work. There are fellows and girls and men and women in middle life, especially middle life, who are afraid that to go on in an entire abandonment to the will of God means they're going to lose something. It's dangerous to give too much of your physical strengths, too much of your time, too much of this, too much of that. No, no, no, no, no. You be careful. Don't spend too much. Don't give too much. Don't do too much. Isn't this the peril that wastes at noonday? My Lord Jesus Christ wants us to know this morning that the dangers of going back out of His will are greater than the dangers of going on with Him. Because you may have your gifts and you may have your training and you may fish in the most familiar waters, but if He does not see fit to let the fish get into your net, you'll catch nothing. And there are men and women today, I shouldn't be at all surprised that they're here in Convocation Hall this morning, some of them, who've done exactly this, and their life this morning is a miserable, parched, spiritual desert. Now it's sad. They thought that to go back depending upon their own natural abilities was far safer than to go on with the Lord. It's not. That night they caught nothing. And don't let anyone say, Aha, but the Lord does allow even a bad man to make rich sometimes. Yes, yes. But that will be settled when the accounts are finally audited. There are no exceptions to what I'm saying. None whatsoever. Ultimately the Lord will sort out all things from this principle. To go on with Him is the only safe course in life, because He's the Lord and the Saviour. But there's another thing that Jesus wants to tell these men. He would teach these nervous and now timid men that they may be absolutely certain of victory when it is His will to give it. Oh, there's real irony here before we come to that. I hope the Bible makes you laugh sometimes. I'll tell you, it makes me howl. And here's the case in point. Here's a carpenter from Nazareth, the audacity of it, from the backwoods. Can anything come out of Nazareth that's worthwhile talking about? And here's a carpenter from Nazareth, humanly speaking, telling fishermen trained in this particular area, fishermen with experience, how to fish. And where? You know, the cheek of it. What does a carpenter know about fishing? He was a stranger to the lake, he was a stranger to waters. There were no waters for fishing around his home, and he was brought up in that environment. Well, let him get on with his carpentry. But what right has he to tell fishermen how and when to fish and how to make a success of it? Ah, you see, this is the glory of it, isn't it? Behind the irony is the wonder that the carpenter of Nazareth was none other than the Lord of the universe, God incarnate, who knew the fish as well as he could deal with wood and timber. Arriving near the shore towards the break of day, having caught nothing during the night, these men were doubly miserable. And added to their spiritual problems, which were still there in the background, there also failures in another realm now, a familiar realm for some of them. And I guess that they were tired and very disappointed and disillusioned, not knowing what to say. I'm sure Peter must have been difficult to get on with during that last hour before they came ashore. They were certainly not in a mood for conversation with strangers. And yet, here is a stranger on the shore yonder, and he makes as if he wants to talk to them. And no sooner have they come within the sound of his voice than he shouts to them the familiar word, Children, have you caught any fish? I wish I could have heard the inflection in his voice then. I wonder how he put it. Children, have you caught any fish? Is the emphasis on the children, the relationship? Or is the emphasis upon the fact that they have miserably failed and he knows all about it. Have you caught any fish? Huh? I can't tell you. I don't think anyone can tell you. But ask the question he did. Children, have you caught any fish? And they replied with a somewhat sullen, if not guilty, negative, only to elicit the tantalizing report from him. Now, here it is. Here's the carpenter. Here's the stranger on the shore. They don't recognize him yet. Fellows, if you cast the net on the other side, the right side of the ship, you shall catch. What audacity! Who does he think he is? What does he out there on the shore anyway, even if he's a fisherman, what does he out there know about fish in here? Here are we on the boat. We know what's going on all around us. We know what's best. We are fishermen. We are not blind. We can see. What does he know out there? That the command comes, cast your net on the right side of the ship and you shall catch. You know, there are some things that you can never explain. A strange, a strange inexplicable impulse came upon them. Made the beeline to the net. And the very net was about to break. A hundred and fifty and three of them crash into the net. And the whole situation is changed from one of sheer failure to one of unqualified success. And John, bless him, John recognized it. This is the work of only one person. I can't see him clearly yet. It's just dawn, you see. It's not light yet. I can't see him yet. Perhaps there's a little bit of a haze there. I don't recognize him yet. But this can only be the work of one person. It is the law. When Peter heard that, he put two and two together instinctively, put a garment around him, jumped into the water and made for the person on the shore. And true enough, it was the law. As to when the significance of that miracle really dawned on them, we cannot say. But sooner or later it must hit them between the eyes. Not only can he withhold success when it is better for his disciples to fail, he can give it. When it is his will that they should have it. He can send the fish into the net. He's the Lord, you see. Oh, men and women, I hope you're worshiping the Lord with me this morning. He's the Lord. Now, one other thing here, and we must not miss it. I would be very cross with myself if I forgot this, of all things. Here we have here this morning what the critics tell us is virtually a duplicate of a miracle that Jesus wrought a long time ago and is recorded in Luke chapter 5. If you read Luke chapter 5, we've already dealt with that incident, and then you come to this and you don't check too carefully, you might say, well, really, it's the same event, and John has mixed it up, he's put it here, Luke put it in another place. Not on your life. I want to go so far as to tell you this morning that Jesus deliberately duplicated that miracle, and that for this reason. In order to show his disciples that death has shorn him of nothing. He went to the cross. He submitted as a lamb to the smiters and the slayers. He died. He gave up the ghost. He was buried in the tomb. He was dead. What can a dead man do? The purpose of this duplicate of that other miracle is this, to say, I can do the same thing still. I am omnipotent. I am Lord. I can do now, even though my physical body is a little bit of a mystery to you, don't let the mystery hide from you this fact. I'm still what I was and more. I'm Lord of death. I'm Lord of life. I'm Lord of the creatures. I'm Lord of the ocean. I'm Lord. I can give success when it is my will. Let every disciple who may be tempted to retreat out of fear take serious note. You know, the outlook is far brighter forward with Jesus Christ than it is backward without Him. Oh, I know you may have wounds in your body. I know that most of these men were martyred in due course, some of them in North Africa. I know there, that there's something bigger than death. There is something greater. There is something wonderful even in death for Jesus said, Blessed are ye when men shall persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad. That's the New Testament theology and philosophy. His is the word that gives victory. His is the word that restrains it. Come with me to the last lesson here. As He pursues His retreating disciples, Jesus not only demonstrates the futility of life outside of His will and the certainty of victory when it pleases Him to give it, but also the continuity of His care and love even for His wayward half-believing disciples. No, no. He has not washed His hands of them. I believe that one of their problems at this time was this. Assuming that He Himself is what He said He was. Assuming that He is the Son of God and the Lord of life and of destiny. What's He going to do with us now? One of our number sold Him for 30 pieces of silver. Simon Peter our leader three times denied Him with curses and with oaths. And all of us forsook Him and fled. What's He going to do with us? What's He think of us? Surely He's going to wash His hands of us and He'll get some new fellows around Him and He'll put the whole business of His kingdom into their hands. My dear friends, oh let me bring you this message this morning. He loves His people even in the rebellion. That's what we have here. He will not let them go. He will not let them go. He will come after them. And if they're in semi-retreat, He's in full and total pursuit. If the hall of fishes that fill those empty nets speak of His undimmed sovereignty and sufficiency of power, His action on the shore proves His undiminished love and affection for them. The simple fact of the Lord's presence there that time of day speaks of His interest in them still. Have you thought of that? What's He doing there? Is He out for His morning's walk? I don't think so. He was there because they were where they were. He had an interest in them. That fact is underlined by His simple question. Children, have you caught any fish? He was interested in them. He wanted to know. Of course I believe that He knew in His heart the answer to that question before He asked it. But ask He did because He wanted to show that He was concerned. The facts speak for themselves. Especially so when He mercifully and totally unsolicited gives them the secret of success and fills their empty nets with fish. But all these things pale into insignificance alongside of something else that happened on the shore. Look at it. You notice what happened. I read. When they got to land, they saw a charcoal fire there. This is the revised standard version I'm reading. With fish lying on it and bread. Jesus said to them, Bring some of the fish that you have just caught. Then I'm omitting a few words and then He concluded, Come and have breakfast. Now that's the best translation, not come and dine. Come and have breakfast. Have you got the picture? Not only has He been generally concerned for them. Concerned for them so as to get up early to teach them a lesson that He deemed important for their well-being. But He thought of their empty stomachs. Oh men and women, followers of Jesus Christ especially. Look, put your arms of faith around this this morning and don't let it go. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, risen from the dead, went down to the shore to prepare a breakfast. A hot breakfast. Not just your roll and butter and marmalade. A cooked breakfast for His backsliding disciples. There was no need for it. No, no, only the need of love. Self-kindled love. The cause was not in them, the cause was in Him. He loved them. He loved them in their backslidings and despite it. And He would follow them and He wants to lavish the best upon them. And He wants to make it abundantly clear to them. Look fellows, I love you and I'm not letting you go. But now hang on, we can pass over that far too quickly. That's a general statement that I've made, come down to the particular. There is something which is terribly humbling here. The Lord of life and of death, the Lord of fish and of seas, the Lord of the night and of the day, has been buying bread somewhere. Who buys the bread in your house? Well, it's the housewife probably. Who brings in the fish. The very Son of God has gone on a shopping escapade and He's bought all the ingredients of this meal and He's brought them to the shore. Like the slave servant would do. Then He's got some charcoal from the shore somewhere and He's put it all together as a good boy scout would know how to do. And then He's got some flint and He's got some spark from somewhere and He's got the charcoal aglow and then He's begun to blow upon it. Can you see the picture my friend? The Son of God blowing a charcoal fire into existence on the seashore. Kneeling there with His nose to the sand. Why? Out of love for His retreating disciples. He will not let them go. He wants them to see. He loves them still. Simon with all your denials. Simon with all your rebellion. Simon despite all you've done, I love you still. I have a plan for you and a purpose for you. More of that will come out in the end of the chapter. But for the moment He loves them still. He who washed their feet in John 13. That's probably the climax of the pre-Calvary ministry. The ministry of the other side of death. When He makes Himself the slave, the servant of His people. He's not changed. Now in resurrection power He tells His people that even though He's Lord of all, can withhold or give success, yet He in His grace is theirs. So however much I have thundered this morning that Jesus is Lord and it cannot be thundered over much. Oh my dear friend, let me with equal emphasis say to you children of God that He wants to be your servant. He wants to serve you. That's why He's brought you here this morning and that's why He Himself is here. He's come to prepare a meal for you. I hope it's to your taste. I know it's to your profit because He prepared it. And He wants you to learn these two things as these disciples in semi-retreat of old. If you're going back without Him it's far more dangerous than going forward with Him. To go forward with Him there is one thing you can know, you can be certain about. When it is His will to give the victory, He will give it. Nothing can frustrate Him. And in the meantime, despite all your failures, He only asks for penitence and brokenness and contrition and a turning afresh to Him in faith. And you will know the flood of His grace, the ruins of your soul to repair and make your heart again a house of prayer. Yea, and commission you afresh. That's what follows this. We can't go on to it this morning. For the work that He originally had in mind for you, which you will never give up. He never revises His plans. But when He first thought of them He did so with inscrutably divine wisdom. My friend, where are you? You know it's a great privilege to preach to you good people. It dawned on me this week that I've been here for nearly a year now and you've not thrown me out or sent me away. Despite my lingo. Well, where are we brother? This is not your lovely Egyptian English. You've put up with me. But may I ask you a question? Where are you men and women of God? As you sit in this seat in Convocation Hall this morning, is there a private rebellion in your heart? In your imagination and in your fancy are you on the way back or on the way forward? Where are you in your dreams and in your hopes? Going on with Him or looking for an escape and a way back without Him? And if only He assured you of Heaven at the end you would rather go back than go forward? I want you to see Him this morning He's come to us in Convocation Hall. He comes to you from His Word and by His Spirit and He says, come, come, come. I've prepared a meal for you on the strength of which I want you to know that you can go forward anywhere with Me. It's the safest. It's the best. It's the only way. Oh God grant us and any who are visiting among us this morning as we have meditated upon this delightful theme from the Word of God God grant that we may go with fresh fuel for devoted, loyal service forward with Him who is our Lord and our Saviour and to His name be all the glory and the everlasting praise.