John 21.1-14
Family Feud Game
Name something that would make you rich overnight.
Going from nothing to everything.
Night fishing on the Sea of Galilee.
After His Resurrection He revealed Himself to those He chose to reveal Himself to. It was not for public viewing. It still is that way. We need to submit to His Authority here, with ourselves and others we are praying for. He is an all wise God.
His Revelation is Amazing.
He comes at times when we desperately need Him.
He shows up when we reached the end of our hoarded resources.
He meets us where we are.
We see Christ revealed in this account as we close our journey in John’s Gospel.
1. After A Night Of Failure vs.1-5
Following Peter, they caught nothing.
Peter was making a career decision here, leading others with him. With so many of my friends retiring I am being asked the question about my own retirement. Being led down a path that is not for me would be letting others or myself make the decisions, not God. Jesus told them He would see them in Galilee when they were in Jerusalem.
They were waiting and wondering. Peter got restless. We have to do something!
We know at least three of these were fishermen who left their nets to follow Jesus. Thomas, we are not sure of, Nathaniel definitely not as Cana is about 20 miles from the Sea of Galilee.
Disappointment, defeat, struggles, even pain prepare us for new manifestations of God’s Wonderful Grace.
Failure in business can be good preparation for spiritual and future success.
Lessons they learned in failure:
*We cannot do it on our own.
*We need direction from the LORD and faith in His Word.
*We need to continually look to Him.
Their work was a failure because the LORD was not with them or in this venture.
Night, not just a time for fishing, but a season in the disciples’ lives. That morning as the sun rose there was the darkness of their failure.
Notice a few things.
Weeping may last for the night but joy comes in the morning.
Psalm 30.5
Jesus was standing there but they did not recognize Him.
That was Jacob’s story. Genesis 28.16
Too often it is true of the followers of Jesus.
God loves to write last chapters. He puts commas where we often put periods.
What seems like an end can be a new beginning.
What was a wasted night turned out to be a complete turn around.
Don’t let failure be the end. Look to Jesus!
2. Jesus works miracles. v.6
I love the way He asked them if they had any fish... anything to eat.
Totally honesty here.”No”
He was turning their failure of fishing all night and catching nothing into a complete success.
Their obedience and faith produced a great catch.
Total defeat turned into unprecedented success. Joseph is an example, a grand example.
In a moment He turned their failure into an overwhelming success.
Joseph went from the prison to the palace in a day.
God brought his family to him... in His Time.
Genesis 41.50 Before the years of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. 51 Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” 52 The second son he named Ephraim and said, “It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”
The difference between success and failure was the width of the boat! You never know how close you are to victory, to a tremendous blessing! It could be just a few feet or inches!
Spurgeon told how he got depressed right before a great blessing came from God.
3. We can see Christ in Everyday life. vs.7-14
Supplying our daily bread. We need to recognize that He is the provider, the supplier. So much easier to recognize it in third world countries. We have a problem. Our wealth has an appearance that we have all we need. Conversation this week with some young people
The Laodecian Church thought that way and actually bragged about it. Israel fell into that trap. God had warned them. They serve as examples for us.
There is always a new day when Jesus shows Himself to weary souls.
His Providential provisions.
Philippians 4.19
The hopeless things in our lives and in our nation and in the world can be changed in a moment by Jesus. All that is needed is His Word or His touch. It may be closer than we think. He is able to take us from nothing to everything!... in a moment, in a few steps across the boat... if we listen and obey.
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