Well, this morning we turn in the Scriptures to the Gospel of John, John chapter 21, and it was brought to my attention that Dr. Godfrey and Reverend Overman have been teaching through the Gospel of John in the adult Sunday school, and I heard that they had made it through chapter 12, and I'm rather thankful for that because that's all the conflict sections. I get to kind of swoop in and preach the restoration at the very end of John here today. It's a beautiful section for the Lord's Supper and for what the Lord, just what we sung out, that the Lord is searching and trying, and He knows, He knows intimately what's going on in the struggle of the Christian's life. He sees it. He pursues. He has a continued ministry of comfort to His people. And so John chapter 21 shows us that this morning, and I'm going to read. Maybe that's not as well-known a section to you, but such a beautiful section in verses 1 through 14 of John chapter 21. Let's give our attention this morning to the Word of the Lord. 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, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, I'm 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 it, 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 into 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. Jesus said to them, Come, 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 with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. May the Lord bless the hearing of his word. Well, as you go through the course of your ministry as a pastor, you see many things when it comes to the life of believers. And I was just counting the other day of how many times I've been to the cemetery in Linden for funerals and committal services, and it's well over 20. And every single one of them stands out to me in a very unique way. There's one that stands out in light of the passage that I just read in a special way this morning. In all of the time that I've done this, all these brothers and sisters have faced various challenges coming to approaching death, knowing that it's coming. One particular man stands out. He led a very simple life. Dear Christian, dear brother in the Lord, love the Lord, love to read. I can still see him coming to the library looking for a good book. I remember visiting him shortly before he died, and he said to me, he said, Pastor, I have something to confess. I really struggle. This man's in his late 80s. I really struggle at times with Christ's forgiveness. I've done some things in life, you know, throughout the course of my life, and I think to myself, did he really forgive me? Did he really pursue me? Did he really forgive and grant that to me? I know what he's done. I'm not doubting the cross i'm not doubting his death i'm not doubting what he accomplished but my sins and of course pastorally i spent some time with him talking about the cross and and talking about what jesus did do and and living in assurance of that and it was uh it was a real time of blessing for me the conversation stood out to me though because here was an 88 year old man struggling with this 88 and I thought this is ministry isn't it this is real this is what brothers and sisters are going through this is what what some of you right now are really struggling with and it's a common experience of every every believer they go through deep down struggles at times of struggling with assurance and struggling with certainty of whether not so much if the cross of Christ is a reality. The cross of Christ they believe. But if that's for them, what I just described for you is what John 21 is all about. Peter has failed horribly. The disciples have failed horribly. And there's a question mark right now. There's a giant question mark right over their lives as to their own usefulness for the Master. as the Apostle would later write, being useful. They can say they loved Christ. They can say they believed. But the reality is, it hasn't been all that evident. That's the fact. It hasn't been very evident at all. So the question of chapter 21, as I read it, and as I spent time reflecting on this, since Peter is really singled out here, and there'll be a reason for that, the question really goes like this. If I have failed the Lord this badly, what does His attitude really like to me? What does this mean for His calling upon me? Fair question, isn't it? The passage this morning that we're considering functions to encourage the Christian in times of discouragement, and there are so many discouragements as we go through the valley of the shadow of death. In times of discouragement, not to lose heart. The Lord has a continued ministry of comfort to his people, of comfort and forgiveness, and he knows you need this. He understands that. Psalm 139 is all about that. So let's open this up this morning and look at this very fascinating section in John chapter 21. It's kind of a postscript here. And the chapter itself is concerned with taking up the issue of recommissioning and restoring the disciples after their mammoth failure. Mammoth. So the scene's an interesting one. In verse 14, you read a very interesting statement that this was now the third time that Jesus had appeared to his disciples. That's important. He's already appeared twice. He said wonderful things to them of peace. But here they are at the Sea of Tiberias, and he had come twice in that upper room, But what we're finding as we open chapter 21, if we see this as we should see it, it's really opening up the heart and the mind of the disciples. And Jesus is showing us that through his own actions. The Lord spelled out clearly in the last chapter, and I love if you go back and have some time to look at what the Lord had said to them. He had said what his purpose was for them. He had said what his mission was for them. And he said, I am sending you. You are going out to be my witnesses. Remember he said that. As the Father sent me, I send you. Period. This is the reality. But the problem comes out in verse 3. In verse 3, this is what we read. Simon Peter said to them, I'm going fishing. Literally, I'm off to fish. The text, the next thing you read in the text is that the rest of the disciples said, we're going with you. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? This was Peter's fishing boat. They all got in. They headed out to sea. And they went fishing. Reverend Camminga said this to me a few times in Linden. Hey, let's go fishing. So we jump in his boat and we go out into the Puget Sound and we start fishing. You know, on the back of his boat, there's a sign. You know what that sign says? It says there's a little plaque. It says, three-fourths of the earth is covered in water. Therefore, man should be on the water 75% of his time. What a thing for retirement, huh? If you know how fast his boat moves, you'll know why that sign's there, by the way. I love fishing. Reverend Camminga loves fishing. We never catch much, but we have a great time out there. Everything follows in this case here in John chapter 21 that they shouldn't have been fishing. They shouldn't have been out fishing. Commentators are divided. They say, oh, come on, they've got to eat. They've missed the whole point of the section. The text is opening up for us this morning a very real struggle and we see it in the way that Christ handles them. A real struggle in the hearts and the minds of the disciples and we see it here. You know how strong they were committed to Christ throughout the course of His ministry? Have you ever thought back and thought about what they left? They left tax offices. They left fishing businesses. And then throughout the course of the ministry, we get toward the end of the ministry of Jesus and He announces they're going to have a massive fall. They're going to deny the Lord of glory in the heart of His afflictions. And lo and behold, Peter has been singled out in this whole thing. You remember what Christ said. You remember what happened. That Jesus had said, all of you will be made to stumble because of me this night. Remember what Peter said? Lord, even if all those other guys, all of them, the other disciples, fall and stumble, me? I will never be made to stumble. even if I have to die with you, I'll die with you. I'll count the cost. And then there's a little statement right after that that the rest of the disciples, and you see the pattern here. Peter says it, disciples follow. Peter said it earlier, disciples follow. And the disciples said what? We read that right after Peter said that, you have an interesting statement in John, so said all the disciples. We won't deny you. We'll be with you through this. Well, this was no little failure. Jesus is being mocked on trial before the whole Sanhedrin. It's an awful moment of shame. And he's even going to be punched in the face. I mean, it's just horrible things that go on there. And Peter is standing out in the courtyard. And you'll remember back in chapter 18, back in chapter 18, that here, notice what's said. This is verse 18. Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal of fire because it was cold. And they're standing warming themselves. Peter also was with them standing and warming himself. There he is. Standing there with the very betrayers of our Lord. The very ones who would crucify the Lord of glory. Peter's standing there warming himself for earthly comfort, isn't he? Because it's cold. What a moment. And Jesus is ridiculed and mocked. And you remember that he passed right by Peter. And they even turn around. Jesus turns around and they make eye contact through this whole thing. And the Gospels make very clear that Peter denied his Lord and the disciples denied their Lord and it was awful. So here's the scene. Peter knows Christ is risen. He's seen Christ. Jesus has spoken. And here we are in John chapter 21 at the very end of the gospel and Peter says, I'm off fishing. Listen, you know what this is. Every Christian can identify with this. Jesus is raised. He's achieved a great victory over there, but I'm here. And the one thing that still troubles our souls as we go through life is often the massive failures along the way and the discouragements that we run into. And it feels like a giant question mark is here over our lives, over the lives of the disciples. Are they really useful? Is Jesus really that loving? This was, I don't know if I can emphasize this strongly enough, this was blatant base denial. And they heard Christ's teachings along the way. I mean, think of being with the Lord, going through the regions and listening to teachings that said, listen, if you don't count the cost, if you don't take up your cross, deny yourself and follow me, you can't be my disciple. Or how about this? He who seeks to save his life will lose it. Now, in John chapter 21, what have we come to with Peter? He's done all. He's failed in every single way. of what Jesus gave really strong statements warning against in the Gospels. And you understand this, don't you? This is real. Here's the Christian life. Here's the struggle that we go through. And I believe it's a very real struggle of every sincere Christian that at times sees just sensitivity to sin. We're prone to give in to certain sins. We're prone to, Augustine used to say that, the reason we're not involved in everything is because we have one sin that often really, really attacks and that we're really prone to. And what happens in times like this? It's a sincere struggle for the Christian. And those who know it and who have what the Scriptures describe as a very sensitive conscience, a very sensitive broken and contrite heart that the Scriptures are constantly talking about, what do you feel when you sin? Young people, you know, you feel defiled. You feel disgusted with yourself. David described this very thing in Psalm 51, that God had broken His bones all the day long. The heavy weight of God was upon him because of his sin. And the guilt and the despair and the distress at times was awful. And he and Christians get to the point of often saying, How could I be a Christian and do these things? You know it. You know it. The Bible's inspired questions all over the place like this for us. Of the struggles of God's people in times past like this, will the Lord cast off forever? Will He be favorable no more? Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? There it is, isn't it? So this is a real struggle of God's people. And I believe the Lord is teaching us very strongly here through this very circumstance of the question that we all have of what does the Lord think about His sheep who fall? What does He think? How does He feel? What is going on with our Lord when this happens? because here the disciples are pictured for you as going where? The wrong way. It's a little bit like Jonah, isn't it? So you read in verse 3 that they went out and immediately got into the boat, and all night, lo and behold, they caught nothing. This was not a profitable fishing trip. They went out at the best possible time to fish out in the Sea of Tiberias, and they caught absolutely nothing. And the text makes clear that this was a struggle for them. They were going the wrong way. The Lord had not called them to be about this. And lo and behold, it fails. So I want you to think about it. Christ had just said to them in the previous chapter that their message to the ends of the earth would be what? That it would be the announcement of the forgiveness of sins. Every pastor knows this. by the way. Every pastor knows that, everyone called by the Lord knows that he can't give this kind of message in confidence and in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power until it comes from the heart of one who really has known it and received it. I can't get away from what Calvin said. He said, no man will steadily persevere in the discharge of his office. Listen to this. Unless the love of Christ shall reign in his heart. In such a manner that forgetful of himself and devoting himself entirely to Christ, he overcomes every obstacle. What an amazing statement, isn't it? The love of Christ. What he was saying is the Christian will never be driven in the calling that Christ has set upon him and placed upon him until Christ's love has completely turned you away from yourself to a sweet and peaceful confidence in his person and work for you. That's the Christian life, by the way. That's what drives the Christian life. And this is what Christ is dealing with here. He has called them to believe it. I want you to think about some of the things he's already said to them. In chapter 15, he says, I don't call you slaves. You're not under the law. I'm speaking to you as friends. He spoke to Abraham as a friend. He had told them that He loved them. He had told them that there were things they were going to understand about the Father that they didn't understand before, of His love for them. And that He had already decided in praying for them that He would send them out to the ends of the earth, what? To announce His forgiveness. And that the joy of their own should drive them in it. So he had prayed constantly that this joy would be fulfilled. And now he's showing us the reason here. We see it in the beauty of what happens next. I want you, if you have the Scriptures open, to look down as he starts to restore them and see what he's doing in verse 4. When morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore. Yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. They had no idea. They were totally blinded. Jesus said to them, Children, have you any food? What was he saying? I'm hungry? That's not what he's saying. The question goes like this. How'd you do all night? Catch anything? Maybe they had forgotten who's in control of everything. Did you forget? It's a loaded question. How was your fishing trip? Did you get any food? Is how it reads. Any food come out of this for you? He's playing off of something. John 21 is summarizing everything that happened in John's gospel and he's playing off of something that he taught them back in chapter 4 about their own mission, about what he had set them apart to do with the whole Samaritan woman, remember? And the city that was coming in. And remember what happened there. They had come to Jesus trying to find food for him. Rabbi, eat. Here's our food for you. Jesus was dealing with a woman at that point saving her. Remember what Jesus said? I have food to eat of which you do not know. Therefore the disciples said to one another, has anyone brought him anything to eat? Jesus said to them, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. The Father gave me a command. That food, you know what that food is, right? That food is eternal life. To give that food, that life, to as many as he has given me. That's my food, said Jesus. Now, put it all together. Here he is at the end. Do you have any food? Keep in mind on the shore, he's got something for them, doesn't he? And their answer is abrupt. No, they don't know who this man is. And he said to them, cast the net on the right side of the boat and you will find some. So we read that they cast it and they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. The net so swelled, they could barely drag the thing. Now don't miss it. No one recognizes him at this point. They are totally blinded in God's sovereignty. They can't see him. And John, looking back over this, must have been extremely touched by this event in the ministry of Jesus to them. Because as soon as this happens, the first thing that he blurts out right after this, therefore, the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, it's the Lord. I don't think I captured that. I won't yell it any louder. It's the Lord. Here's my question. What opened his eyes? It wasn't physical. What did God use to open his eyes? Notice it comes on the heels of the catch. You know what it was? This is a repeat. This has already happened. Earlier in the Gospels, if you have your scriptures open, I want you to just look briefly at Luke 5 and look at verse 1 and you'll be amazed at the connection here of what Jesus is really playing off of. This is verse 1 of Luke chapter 5. Picture the scene. So it was, as the multitude pressed about him to hear the word of God. I love this scene. He stood by the lake of Gennesaret. Same lake, by the way. Same lake as Tiberias. Same boat, Peter's fishing boat. Peter's there. Multitudes have gathered to hear the word of God. Picture it. They're all gathered around the boat. Verse 2, And saw two boats standing by the lake, but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats. We know this was Peter's, which was Simon's. And he asked to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and he taught the multitudes from the boat. But stop. Picture this for a minute. Jesus is in the boat. What's he pictured as doing? The multitudes are here. I mean, it's a very similar setting to this, isn't it? It's a pulpit. It's a wood pulpit. And there are people standing, sitting, doing this very thing right now. And what happens here? Jesus is netting men, not with a physical net, but with the word of God, isn't he? Notice the strong connection here between word and fishing. So what did he do right after this? When he had stopped, he said to Simon, there's our guy, launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. Simon answered and said to him, Master, we've toiled all night. We've caught nothing. Nevertheless, at your word, now think of our scene, I will let down the net. And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners on the other boat to come over and help them. And they came and filled both the boats so they began to sink. This is verse 8. Now look carefully at verse 8. 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 which they had taken. And so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, here it is, do not be afraid. This is not in question what he's about to say. From now on, you will be, you will catch men. I believe he never forgot that moment. You realize that was the definitive moment I believe that Peter could talk about a conversion? He saw his sin. He saw the grace of the Lord clearer than he had ever seen it. And right then and there, the Lord yanked him from the former occupation and he said, You're mine. You have a new occupation. You're done with the fishing business as you know it. You're my kind of fisherman and you're going to get men. I've got a different food for you. The kind of food that I've been about that my Father has given me to do. I'm sending you with my nets. I'm sending you with the Word and you're going to net men right on in to my kingdom. What a moment of calling. Now here they are. They have failed badly. Mass discouragement is set in. Christ is standing on the shore. I would imagine the morning fog is probably kind of blinding. Whatever the case. Jesus says, cast your nets. They do it. They are plumb full. And John, eyes are opened. It's the Lord. And what does Peter do? He can't get to Him. This is repeating history again. He can't get to Him fast enough. He loved the Lord. And I love this scene, beloved, Because in the very place where Christ had originally called them, same lake, same boat, same full net, same calling, the Lord is declaring to them at the very end before He leaves the earth, my calling for you has not changed. Isn't that beautiful? And it's a crucial point for us, isn't it? That Jesus here recreates the very scene of their original call with the very words they heard when they first believed. And notice the scene. As they're dragging in the nets, Peter gets there. What does he look up and see in verse 9? When they had come to the land, they saw a charcoal of fire and fish and bread laid on it. Peter must have stopped and pondered this. The only other time this very phrase is mentioned in John's Gospel is the scene of his own denial. Right? with the betrayers of Jesus. What would you guys think of someone who denied the Lord today, walked out? We wouldn't think very well of someone like that, would we? And do you see what Jesus just did? Christ has just recreated in front of your eyes this morning the very original scene, recreated it of their calling and Peter's denial, putting it together so that they would go forth in full assurance of faith. That is vital for the Christian life because in this very section, the next section, Jesus is raising the issue of Peter's love for Jesus. Peter, do you love me? And if you study, there's this tug of war going on between the words love and it's very fascinating and it's really clear what Jesus is doing. Peter has not loved Jesus that much. Peter has shown massive failure and John so picked up on this later in the first epistle. you know what he said? You know what he said. It never was that we first loved him. It always was because he first loved us. Vital for your life as a Christian. Absolutely vital. I never really have loved him. Chris Gordon has never really loved him all that much. The reason I stand here today, The reason I testify the whole way through. The reason you're here today. It's because of his steadfast, loving, and dying for us. While you were an enemy. Hating him. Despising him. And he continues to love you with a relentless, pursuing love that doesn't let go. That's the gospel. And that's what Peter needed. And you know what? That's what you need. It's exactly what you need. And he's declaring through the work that he began, the work that he began, and then he will see it to completion. This is Philippians 1. This is the calling of God is what? Irrevocable. It doesn't change. Sovereign grace. And it's so important for us because there's something beautiful about remembering the place we were called, remembering the place where that hand was put upon us and we saw our sin, and remembering when we saw the light of the gospel and it overwhelmed us with joy because as you're going to go on, the discouragements are going to be dark. The discouragements are going to be real. The discouragements are going to hurt. And the Lord is taking you back. John 21 is telling us He wouldn't let them go. And if you try it, I don't want to end up in a big fish. Do you? Believing, here's the issue, that He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. For what end? Because He's got a great purpose in that. That you are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which He prepared beforehand. This is not just for pastors, beloved. This is for you. That's why it's here. That He has called you with a holy calling. For what end? What does the Philippians say? That you might shine as His lights in this world and be assured of it. Good shepherding doesn't stop. I want to close with this. I know we've got to come to the table and we've got some other things to do. Just picture the scene and we'll close. Charcoal of coals. He looks up and there on it is a fish and a bread. The nouns are singular here. I believe this is one last miracle that Jesus does here showing them John 6. And I want you to think about what He does. He doesn't ask for their food. He feeds them with a meal prepared for them. And then he wanted them to look at the net. Drag it forward. As they're eating his food, he wanted them to look at the net that they had just dragged forward. And as they were eating the food, as they were sustained by his life, forgiveness, joy, gospel, to look at the multitude of fish they had just dragged up. An exact number. Now, I have my theory on that. I won't get into that. And remember that this is the food now that they are to be about in confidence, no matter the discouragements. He gives the food and drink of eternal life. He holds their life. Go out and be about my food, is what he was telling them. And you know, today we celebrate Pentecost. I had to get that in, because I know that means a lot. It means a lot to me. He said at Pentecost, he would send a what? A comfort. Can you imagine them ever saying, I'm done with the ministry? after the Comforter had come? He was teaching them. He would be with them. He would hold them. He would give them grace in the very real discouragements that will come. And the same is true for you today. He will uphold you when sin crushes and it's hard and you feel like giving up. He has a message for you. You have the Spirit. Look up. What do you see today? Imagine it, they come up and they see a meal prepared for them. You know what I see? I see a meal prepared for you. We didn't set this up. The Lord is declaring that His body and His blood is powerful for you to keep you, forgive you, and hold you, and not let go. I need that. You need that. This is for those who trust Him and believe the gospel promises. The food and drink is the food and drink that sustains our life in forgiveness. let us all be about his food. Amen?