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On May 28, 2017: John 21:1-14 Provision In Times Of Limbo · Teachings On This Day On FerventWord

• You are listening to Fervent Word, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2017. This morning, as we look at John chapter 21, we're looking at a time where I would describe the disciples as being in limbo. They're in limbo in the sense that Jesus has resurrected from the dead, but they've not quite figured out what their future role is going to be and what they're going to be involved in doing and the activities that the Lord will have for them. There was a period of time of about 40 days after Jesus resurrected from the dead that he was here on earth and with his disciples, but it wasn't the same as when Jesus was with his disciples before the crucifixion and resurrection. During those three years of ministry, Jesus was with his disciples all day, every day. Wherever Jesus went, the disciples went, and they would go from place to place ministering together. They were always together. But now that Jesus has resurrected from the dead, things have changed, and the disciples are still hanging out together and spending time together, and Jesus is appearing to them occasionally. And so we see the first appearance of Jesus on that day that he resurrected. The disciples were gathered together in the evening, and suddenly Jesus is in their midst. But then suddenly Jesus is gone. And so they experienced an encounter with the Lord, and then he didn't stay with them. He went on, and they went on. And then a week later, Jesus appeared to them a second time. And this time Thomas was with them, and Jesus appeared again in the room with them and spent a little bit of time with them, but then moved on, and the disciples moved on also. And what we read here in John chapter 21 is their third encounter with Jesus after the resurrection. And we don't know how much time has passed between the last encounter, but there was a week between the first two, so perhaps about the same amount of time that Jesus has been coming and going throughout this 40 days of ministry, and he's not been with them every day. And so the disciples are kind of in limbo. They know that God has stuff for them. They know they've been called his disciples and his apostles. They don't fully grasp yet their role in the kingdom of God and in the work of the church that is about to begin. Now, as we move into the book of Acts and reading through the Bible in three years, we get to see that develop. As in Acts chapter two, the Holy Spirit is poured out upon the disciples, and they really are then equipped and enabled to become the apostles and to establish the church and spread the gospel to the whole world. And that is coming, but they're not there yet. And so they're kind of in this in-between period. They knew what life was like to be walking with Jesus in ministry, but that's changed. They know that God has something in store for them. They don't know exactly what or how, but that's not here yet. And they're in this in-between time. Again, I would describe it as being in limbo, where the time is it's not like the past three years, and we haven't started the book of Acts yet. And the disciples are kind of looking at each other and saying, "What are we supposed to do now? What is this new life supposed to look like?" And so I've titled the message this morning, "Provision in Times of Limbo." Now, I don't mean limbo like ducking under the bar. All the limbo pictures I could find were at the beach. I've never played limbo at the beach. I don't know if you have. I've only done it at the skating rink when I was like 12. But apparently at the beach, it's a whole lot funner than the skating rink because that's where all the pictures are from. But of course, I don't mean this kind of limbo,right? What kind of limbo do I mean? Well, here's the new Oxford American Dictionary definition. Limbo is an uncertain period of time awaiting a decision or resolution. It's an intermediate state or condition. It's an in-between where you're waiting for something concrete. You're waiting for a decision. You're waiting for resolution. You're waiting for clear direction. And that's the condition of the disciples at this time. Something has changed. They're in between. They don't know exactly what awaits them, but they know it's something, and they're just kind of in limbo trying to figure out what are they supposed to do now. They didn't know how long Jesus would be around. He kept coming and going, but they didn't know if that was going to continue on for the rest of their lives. They had no idea what the plan of God was or what would happen next. And so here we find them figuring out what to do. And Peter decides, "I'm going to go fishing." And through that, God provides in this time of limbo an abundance of fish. Now, as we work our way through this passage this morning, I would ask you to consider, are you in limbo? Are you perhaps in your life in a time of waiting? And maybe it's in a particular aspect of your life. A particular part of your life is kind of in between some things where you know that God wants to do something, where you know that God will do, can do, and is able to do something, but you don't know exactly what he's going to do or when he's going to do it or how he's going to accomplish it. Now, it's easy for us to look at this account and to see the abundance of fish that Jesus provided and to think, "I don't really need fish, so this doesn't help me very much." But what do you need? What area in your life would you describe as being in a state of limbo? I think an easy one for us to consider is a job situation. We all know what it's like, probably, to be in limbo in regards to our occupation, knowing that, "Well, I need to do something. I don't know exactly what it is. I don't know what job I should get. I don't know if I should get this position or this promotion." There's a possible change. We're in between jobs, perhaps, or we're looking to make a change. And we know there's going to be a change, but we're kind of in that in-between time of that old job transitioning to that new job. And we can easily find ourselves in a position of limbo that we're in between and trying to figure out how that works and what God wants us to do can be quite challenging. Perhaps you're in limbo in your marriage where there's things out of line, and you know God wants to work. You know that God can work. You know that God needs to work. But what do you do until that work actually happens where there's still the difficulties and the struggles and the issues? What do you do in the midst of that time, and how is God going to provide what you need? You could consider your finances, perhaps. And we're probably frequently in limbo in our finances. That's one that we're familiar with as well, that we know bills have to be paid. We know things need to be met. And how is God going to do that, and where is that provision going to come from, and how does he want us to be part of that can be something that is on our minds quite a bit. Now, you could consider ministry if you're involved in serving the Lord and sometimes between things that God calls you to do. Or for me, sometimes it's just between Sunday to Sunday. I know next Sunday God wants me to teach. I just don't know yet what he wants me to teach. And I'll be working throughout the week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, seeking the Lord on what he wants me to teach next Sunday, and then that'll repeat. And so I'm in a constant state of limbo in that sense, in ministry, in knowing that God wants to do something but not exactly sure the details about what God wants to do. And we could look at countless more examples, but you probably know your own heart, your own situation, where there's lack, where there's need, where you know God wants to work, and you're in this state of God hasn't done the work yet, but you're looking for him to do the work. And how does that happen? And I think we have a good example here in this account of John chapter 21 of provision in those times of limbo and in those areas of our lives where we're waiting for God to work. We don't particularly enjoy times of limbo, but we all experience them. And so there's some useful examples for us from Jesus and the disciples. And so four points we'll look at as we work our way through the passage this morning. Point number one is found in verses one through five, and that is, "Do your best to provide." As you think about provision in times of limbo, I think this maybe is going to go a little bit of a different direction than you might anticipate or expect. And the first thing I'd like to encourage you in is you need to do your best in regards to that area of need, in regards to that area of limbo, in that area where you're looking for God to work. Well, you need to get involved and get to work on that work that you want to see God do. Now, there's a little bit of a balance here. And so I want to just kind of throw out a little word of caution, and that is there are plenty of opportunities in our lives where we need to wait on the Lord, and we're instructed to wait on the Lord. And that is important, and we need to learn how to do that. But as we go through this passage today, I would also encourage you to consider that there are also many times, many opportunities where God is saying, "Stop waiting." Remember Moses when he cried out to the Lord as they were trapped, and God said, "Hey, why are you crying out to me? Go take your rod and go to the Red Sea. You'll get to work and start crossing the sea. That's what needs to happen." And there are times that we need to wait on the Lord, but there are also times where we need to get to work and to do our best to help resolve the situation that is at hand and bring the provision that is necessary. Well, we're introduced to this group of guys that's hanging out in verses one and two. Seven disciples are hanging out together. It says in verse one, "After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberius." That's the Sea of Galilee. "And in this way he showed himself: Simon Peter, Thomas called the twin, Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together." There's 11 disciples left after Judas has betrayed Jesus. And so of those 11, seven of them are hanging out on this particular day. It's Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, James, and John, and then two other guys that we do not know their names. Now, Peter we know, James and John we know were fishermen prior to Jesus calling them to be disciples. And so what we see unfold here is kind of natural for them in that this is what they knew. This was their occupation. And so it's not surprising that they would go fishing. And so it tells us in verse three, Simon Peter says, "I'm going fishing." And they said to him, "We are going with you also." They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. And so again, just trying to picture with you this time that the disciples are in of being in limbo, that Jesus isn't with them. When they were with Jesus for the past three years, he led the way. He said, "Okay, we're going to go to this town, and we're going to go to this town, and we're going to go here, and we're going to " he led the way. He gave them the instruction. Now they're sitting around looking at each other thinking, "What do we do?" We've seen Jesus a couple of times. We know he wants us to do stuff. We don't know what he wants us to do. So what are we going to do? And Peter decides on this day, "I'm going to go fishing. I don't know what you guys want to do, but I need a day on the water. I need to just go get in a boat and have a good night casting out the nets for fish." Now, as you spend some time considering this account, you'll find if you look into it that Bible teachers and scholars are really divided about whether or not this was a good thing or a bad thing. There are many who suggest that Peter at this point is backsliding, that he's saying, "Forget Jesus. I quit Jesus. I'm not going to be a disciple. I'm not going to be an apostle. That's over. I give up trying to figure all that out. I'm just going to go back to my previous occupation and be a full-time fisherman." And many suggest that, and that's a valid option to consider. But others see it a little bit differently, and I kind of tend to lean towards that, at least as I studied and prepared for this morning. Tomorrow it might change. You never know. But I think Peter just went fishing. I don't think Peter is rebelling against God here. I don't think he's giving up on ministry. I don't think any of that for a couple of reasons. First of all, there's no clear rebuke that Jesus had no problem saying, "Oh, ye of little faith," and correcting his disciples when necessary. But there's no indication. There's no implication of that from the Lord. It's just some assumptions we might make. I would say it's not an abandoning of the faith. In fact, they are there in Galilee because Jesus told them to be there. They're in Galilee. Originally, they were in Jerusalem. That's when Jesus appeared to them on the first day when Jesus resurrected. He was thereright outside of Jerusalem. That's about 70 miles south of Galilee. And so they were down in Jerusalem area for the first two encounters with the Lord. But in Matthew chapter 28, we see the record that when Jesus resurrected, he sent a message to his disciples through the ladies who went through the tomb and said, "I'm going to meet with you in Galilee." And so the disciples are now in Galilee waiting to meet with the Lord in obedience to the instruction that he gave them. And so they're there in obedience. They're not somewhere else. They're not running away. They're not abandoning the faith and disregarding what Jesus said. They're there because Jesus told them to be there, and they're waiting, and they're trying to figure out, "What do we do while we wait for the Lord to show up? What do we do?" And you can imagine you're waiting. If you've ever been waiting for someone, and you're waiting, and I don't know when they're going to come. They're going to show up at some point. I don't know when they're going to come. And waiting and waiting, and you're starting to look around, "Okay, well, what can I do while I'm waiting?" And I think that's where Peter was, just restless while he's waiting. Jesus wasn't with them. He wasn't telling them what to do. And so, "Well, I might as well do something productive." And it might have been very practical, actually, because we know that Peter did have a wife and a family. And so perhaps he's just thinking practically, "I need to provide for my family and maybe go catch some fish and sell them. And I know how to do that and be able to take care of them in this interim time." Well, whatever the reason was, we don't know for sure. But here's what we do know. They're out on the water. They're fishing all night long. And in verse three, it tells us that they caught nothing. The word nothing, it means not even one. So it wasn't that they caught a little bit, but basically it was nothing. Not even that. They caught absolutely nothing, not even one fish after a full night of fishing. Now, they would fish all night long as fishermen. That was their normal thing. And then in the morning, they would bring their catch to shore and be able to sell it and provide for them and their families. But this time, they worked all night. They did their best. They didn't just cast out the net one time, "We didn't catch anything," and then give up. But being professional fishermen, they knew how it was. They threw out the net, "Oh, we didn't catch anything. Okay, let's try again." And try again and try again and try again. All night long, they're trying again and catching nothing. Verse four, "But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore. Yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, 'Children, have you any food?' And they answered him, 'No.'" So after a full night of trying and trying and trying and not being able to catch fish, it's the morning now. They're near the shore, and they see a figure on the shore. They don't recognize him. They're still about 100 yards out from the shore. They don't recognize him, but they hear this voice, "Did you guys catch anything?" It says, "Children," or some have translated it, "Boys. Hey, boys. Did you guys catch anything?" It's a normal question to ask fishermen,right? Whenever you see a fisherman, you're, "Hey, what'd you catch? Are the fish biting?" And we ask it in various ways. But did you catch anything? And because they didn't recognize Jesus, perhaps they thought this was someone looking to purchase whatever they caught. And that was a possibility, but they didn't have anything. And so they answer, "No, we didn't catch anything." I wonder how they answered because if you've ever seen a fisherman who hasn't caught anything after working really hard and trying their best, I remember first meeting Pastor George. Before he was Pastor George, before he was even Christian George, when he was just Daniel Sodota's dad. And we had a fishing event over at the Prado Dam area, and we caught nothing all day long. And I first met George after that day, and he was grumpy. It was his first church event that he'd come to. And man, he was a fisherman, but nobody caught anything. And he was just frustrated and grumpy and really scared me a lot when I first met him because he was like, "Whoa, that's an angry guy." But the Lord's done a great work, and he's caught lots of fish since then. But I wonder how they answered, probably feeling like failures, feeling frustrated and grumpy and upset over their best attempts coming up with nothing. The commentator John Butler says, "To labor a long time and with great effort, yet have little results, is not an uncommon experience in every walk of life." I think we can testify to that,right? Maybe you haven't been on the Sea of Galilee trying to catch fish and know how frustrating that can be. But you know what it's like to work really hard at something, to do your best, and for it to not produce much results. And again, especially in these times of limbo in these areas of your life that you know there needs to be a work, and you know God wants to work, but as best you try, there's not much happening. As best you try, there's just not much results. You're doing what you can. You're doing what you know. You're doing your best. But catching nothing, nothing seems to be working. But I think what Peter and the disciples did here was a good thing even though they caught nothing. They used the resources that they already had. Now, I think it would be a different account if it records that they went and bought a boat, that they sold everything they had and bought a boat so they could go back into the fishing business. No, these were fishermen who already had a boat. It was just sitting there on the shore. And so they said, "Well, let's just go out on the water. Let's use the resources we have to try to fulfill the needs that are there, to try to bring in provision." I think that's appropriate for us to consider. Now, changing course in our lives, committing to things that are going to impact our lives, well, hey, you need more than just, "Well, I'm going to try it." You need to have clear instruction from the Lord when you're making those kinds of commitments and changing your life and going those different directions. But I think also God gives us a lot of freedom to say, "Hey, look, use the resources that you already have, that I've already given to you, and do the best you can to resolve that need, to meet that situation, to take care of what is going on." And of course, you could take that too far. You could look at the example of Abraham and Hagar. Abraham married to Sarah. God promised them, "Hey, you're going to have a son." They were in limbo for a long time. They had the promise from God, but they didn't see the fruit of it. And in that time of limbo, Abraham and Sarah decided, "We can make this work. Here's Hagar," Sarah says, "my handmaiden. Why don't you marry her, have a child through her? I'll raise that child as my own." And voilà, God's promise fulfilled. And they took matters into their own hands and did it their way and caused all kinds of problems as a result. And so yes, we could take that too far. But I would also suggest that many times as believers, we too often kind of sit on the sidelines doing nothing where God would say, "Hey, I've given you resources. Don't just complain about that situation. Don't just grumble about it and be upset by it and be dealing with the issues of it. But do something. Get out on the water. Cast out the nets. Use the resources you have to start to work. Even if it feels like it's fruitless, begin to work in that area of lack and need in your life." There's the saying, "God helps those who help themselves." And then there's the corrected Christian version of the saying, "God helps those who can't help themselves." And the reality is both are true, that God helps us, and we're completely helpless without him. John 15, Jesus says, "Apart from me, you can do nothing." But at the same time, the Lord says, "I want you to do stuff." He's going to work, and we'll see that as we continue on in the passage. But he involves the disciples and their efforts in his work. I think there's sometimes a misconception that when we are spirit-filled, when we're led by the Spirit, then we automatically know God's will. But being filled with the Spirit doesn't mean you always know God's will. Being filled with the Spirit, being led by the Spirit doesn't mean that you don't try things or experiment or explore the opportunities ahead. And I want to give you an example of that because I think it's important for us to consider. It's in Acts chapter 16 where Paul the Apostle is on a missionary journey. It's his second missionary journey, and we call them missionary journeys. But he didn't really have a plan. He didn't have a detailed map. "Allright, here's all the points we're going to hit. We're going to go this route. We're going to take that road." And he didn't have all that laid out ahead of time. The initial plan was, "Let's go visit the churches that we already planted." And that's what started them out. But they began to explore beyond that, filled with the Spirit, led by the Spirit, and yet trying things to find out, "Where can we go share the Gospel, and what does God want us to do?" In Acts chapter 16, verse 6, it tells us, "Now, when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia." And so on this trip, they don't have the route exactly mapped out. They don't know exactly what's going to happen or where God wants them to go. And so Paul, as he's leading the way and moving from place to place and ministering from city to city, they get to a point where, well, Asia, it's not talking about the continent of Asia, but talking about Asia Minor there in Europe. And Paul really wants to go to this area. He really wants to minister the Gospel there. It would be a southward turn for them to go to this region. And as they're preparing to go, as they're attempting to go, the Holy Spirit says, "No." Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, but they didn't know. And so they're trying, and God says, "No." But then in verse 7, it goes on to say, "After they had come to Missia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them." Asia was south. Bithynia was north. So Paul was like, "Go in. I want to go to Asia. I want to go to Asia. I want to go." And the Holy Spirit says, "No. Can't go south. Maybe I should go north." And so he seeks to go north. He looks to go north, but it says the Holy Spirit did not permit them. Now, we don't know what exact means the Holy Spirit used in these cases. But either way, we see he's testing. He's exploring. He's trying to find out. He's trying to go where God wants him to go. And the way that he does that is not sitting in his tent, "Allright, Lord, I'm just going to sit here until you tell me all the points I need to stop at and where the final destination is and the roads you want me to take to get there and how fast you want me to go on the roads." He's not just sitting there doing nothing while he's waiting, but he's going, listening to the Lord, being open to the direction of the Lord while he goes. But he's going. He's on the road. And it's through that process that the Lord is giving him the direction that he needs to not go that way and not go that way. And so it goes on in verse 8 of Acts chapter 16. It says, "Passing by Missia, they came down to Troas." And so he doesn't just give up because the Holy Spirit said, "No." The Holy Spirit said, "No." So then he continues on. There's only one direction left. We came from there. He won't let me go there. He won't let me go there. I guess I got to keep going that way. And he ends up at Troas. And it's there at Troas that the Holy Spirit is going to give him a vision and give him some clear direction about where to go next. But he discovered that. He learned that by trying things, by exploring the will of God, by exploring what God would have him to do. I think that's a great example for us. Again, as we talk about provision in times of limbo, it's appropriate for us to do our best to provide. Again, whatever area of limbo you might be considering, again, a job is an easy one to consider because, well, yeah, you could be in between jobs. You could be in limbo in that regard. But there's also your part of that transition and that, well, maybe you should look for a job. Maybe you should apply for a job. Maybe you should do your best, test out what God wants to do. Again, you could consider your marriage, your finances, your ministry, your missions, whatever area of your life is in that condition of limbo that you're in between. You know God wants to work, but you don't know exactly how, and he hasn't worked yet. And so what do you do? I would encourage you, do your best. Use the resources you have. Don't change your course without instruction from the Lord. Don't change your life without hearing from the Lord. But what can you do with what he's already provided? What can you do with his word that has been given to you? What can you do with what he's entrusted to you to do your best to resolve the situation, to meet the need, to handle the things that are going on? There are many times where we need to just sit and wait on the Lord. But there are also many times where we need to do our best and apply ourselves and engage in the work that needs to be done. Well, as we continue on now in verses 6 through 8, we have point number two, and that is, "Obey Jesus, and he will provide." And here now, Jesus, as he comes on the scene, gives them instruction. If they obey it, they're going to be, well, rewarded with great abundance. And that's what we see happen. When they obey Jesus, he will provide. But I'd like to point out, Jesus does not show up and say, "Guys, guys, what are you doing on the water? You dumb disciples, always just rushing ahead and not thinking things through. I've got all the fish you need. Just get out of there." He doesn't do that. Instead, in the work that they're engaged in, when they didn't know what to do and they're just like, "Well, let's just go fishing," Jesus enters into the midst of that and says, "Okay, you didn't get here by direct command from me, but I want to use this situation to bring the provision that you need. I want to minister to you through this. I want to do a work through the midst of this." And so he meets them where they're at and doesn't call them out of the water, but actually gives them instruction to work a little bit longer in that fishing endeavor that they were in. Verse 6 tells us, "And he said to them, 'Cast the net on theright side of the boat, and you will find some.'" So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. And so here we see as Jesus calls out to the disciples and says, "Hey, have you caught anything?" And they had to confess, "I have nothing to offer you. Nothing. I'm empty. I've tried my best all night long, and I've come up empty." But now Jesus, as he shows up on the scene, he says, "Well, let me give you a little instruction." And it's amazing how one word from Jesus changes everything instantly. They didn't know it was Jesus yet. And sometimes that happens in our life as well. It takes us a while to recognize that the Lord is speaking to us. But when you recognize that the Lord is speaking to you, if you will obey, well, there's going to be some great results to responding to what God is saying and obeying him. Sometimes we don't recognize that it's the Lord speaking because, well, I don't know if you're like me, but I still get surprised that God speaks to me. I don't know if that's for everybody or I'm just a weird person, but it's still amazing that God speaks to me and gives me things to share on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights that he gives us direction for. And sometimes it takes a little bit to recognize the Lord is speaking to me because his grace is amazing. His mercy is never-ending. And the fact that he would be so involved and work in our lives in that way is incredible. But he does speak. He does have things to share with you in these times of limbo. And even when you're doing stuff just because you're exploring, you're trying to figure out, "I'm doing my best." Jesus can meet you there in that place, and maybe he'll call you out of whatever you're trying. But perhaps he might also say, "You need to do it just a little bit differently." Jesus met them where they were, asked them to continue the work. Again, he didn't say, "Get over here. You don't need to be fishing." He says, "Try again. Work a little bit more. Put in another hour." And so they do. It says that they cast the net, and then it says now they're not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish. What a change,right? All night long, they were casting out the net, pulling it in, empty. Casting out the net, pulling it in, empty. Getting more and more frustrated, more and more discouraged. Now this guy says, "Cast it on the other side." And they do. And now they go to pull it in like they did a thousand times before, and they can't. They're tugging on it, and it's full of fish. It's so full of fish, they're not able to pull it into the boat. In fact, in this whole encounter here in John chapter 21, they never pull it into the boat because it's too big of a catch of fish to pull into the boat. God provided for them abundantly and instantly. And let me just tell you that God can do the same thing in your life. God has ways to provide instantly and abundantly for you. Now, of course, we all wish that every time God provided instantly and abundantly,right? That's not necessarily a promise that everything is going to be resolved instantly. But it is a great encouragement that when you've tried really hard for a long time, you've done your best and come up empty, it's really encouraging to know that the Lord can change that with one word, with one instruction. Overnight, he can change everything. And sometimes we are so overwhelmed and discouraged and frustrated by our situation, we're ready to give up. But remember, as bleak as it might look, Jesus is able to enter in with one word of instruction and change the whole picture. Miracles are not just providing for the multitudes. Jesus did a miraculous work in providing for the 5,000 plus women and children. He did a miraculous work providing for the 4,000 plus women and children. He did miraculous things to provide for the multitudes. But here we're going to see this miracle take place that is for seven guys. It's not only for multitudes that the Lord works miracles. God can work miracles in your life. He wants to work miracles in your life. He will work miracles in your life as you respond to his instruction, as you obey him. He does. He works miraculously and provides abundantly and changes things around. Again, not everything is resolved instantly. But if you've been struggling with something for a long time and trying to resolve it and nothing's taking place, when the Lord gives you the instruction, put it into practice. Live it out. Do what he says because God is able, as you obey that instruction, to do a miraculous work. In verse 7, it says, "Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord.'" Now, when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he had removed it, and plunged into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from land, but about 200 cubits, dragging the net with fish. And so here we learned they're 200 cubits out. That's about 100 yards. They're 100 yards out from the shore. They throw out the net. They have this crazy catch of fish. They're not able to bring it in. And suddenly the light goes on. It says, "The disciple whom Jesus loved recognized, 'It's the Lord.'" That's a reference to the disciple John. He referred to himself as the one that Jesus loved throughout the book. So John realizes, "This is the Lord." And as soon as he says it, Peter jumps into the water. He's so excited to see Jesus. You got to love the passion, the energy of Peter. I mean, always just rushing into things,right? It's kind of an interesting contrast. In verse 8, it says, "But the other disciples came in the little boat." Peter is like, "I can't wait. I don't know what you guys are doing. I'm going to Jesus." And he dives in. He's swimming to Jesus. The other guys are like, "Well, we can just row the boat. We'll get there. It's okay. Take our time. No rush." Peter's excited. He hears it's the Lord. The Lord's shown up, and he can't wait to see Jesus. And so he plunges in. The rest come with the boat, dragging the net with the fish. And we'll pick that up in the next couple of verses. But again, in times of limbo, the provision that God wants to provide, first of all, do your best. Use the resources you got to deal with the situation at hand. But while you're working, be listening for Jesus to speak. While you're giving it your best, don't just insist on your way and it has to it would be easy for a fisherman in the water to hear instruction from some guy on the shore and say, "What do you know? We're professional fishermen. We do this for a living." Cast it on the other side. It'd be easy to have that attitude. But well, they had this experience back in Luke chapter 5 where Peter was out in the boat with Jesus. Jesus says, "Let's launch out into the deep and throw out the net." And Peter said, "I worked all night. I didn't catch anything. But okay, you say so, so I'll do it." And he cast out the net. Boom! An abundant catch of fish. That was at the beginning of Jesus's ministry. So now it's a couple of years later. Someone says, "Cast the net on the other side." They go, "Oh yeah, that worked last time. Let's try it again." Remembering the instruction of Jesus before, they try it again, and they get to see the work of the Lord. As they obey Jesus, he provides for them. And so as you work, as you're doing your best, be looking to the Lord to instruct you, to give you some insight, to give you some direction. And again, maybe the direction is get out of the boat. That's not where I want you. But maybe the instruction is you need to work a little bit harder at what you're doing, a little bit longer in the things that you're doing. Maybe you need to put a little bit more effort in or do it a little bit differently. The Lord, as he gives us instruction, is able to work miraculously. It's not only for providing for multitudes, but your situation and your life, for you as an individual, the Lord is able to work miraculously and will work miraculously on your behalf as you follow him, as you obey what he says to you. Moving on to point number three now in verses 9 through 11. Point number three is contribute to what Jesus provides. In verse 9, it tells us, "As soon as they had come to land, they saw on a fire of coals there I'm sorry, they saw a fire of coals there and fish laid on it and bread." So here they are in the water. They cast out the net on the other side. They catch this huge, abundant catch of fish. Peter plunges into the water as they recognize the Lord. The disciples come by boat to the shore. They all get to the shore. They head over to where Jesus is. And what do they find? They find a campfire. They find that Jesus has fish already on the fire. This isn't the fish that they caught. This is fish that was already there. It's already cooking. And Jesus has bread there as well. Now, where did Jesus get the fish? Did he fish for the fish? Did he bake the bread? Did he buy the fish? Did he buy the bread? Where did the fire come from? Did someone else make it, or did Jesus light the fire, or did Jesus just snap and then just it was there? We don't know. But that's not the point. The point is Jesus could have done it any way he wanted. He has provision. He has resources that he doesn't need us at all to provide. He can come up with his own resources. He comes up with his own ways and methods. He has everything that he needs without us. They get to the shore, and Jesus already has fish. He didn't really need their fish. He had fish, and he had bread already getting ready for a good breakfast. But then in verse 10, it tells us, "Jesus said to them, 'Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.'" Now think about this with me, please. They get to the shore. Jesus already has fish. And he says, "Hey, why don't you bring some of your fish? We'll add that to the meal." Why? Jesus miraculously could snap his fish into existence, but his power is kind of limited, so he couldn't get enough fish to feed all seven disciples. So he was kind of lacking a little bit. Well, why don't you bring some? Because I couldn't create enough fish in order to feed you. Of course, we know that's not the case,right? Jesus could have done that. He could have just provided the abundant fish, every fish that was needed, and the bread that was needed. He could have just done everything with the disciples doing nothing. Of course he can. But you know what God likes to do? He likes to say, "Hey, let me help you do the work that you're doing. I'll give you a little bit of instruction, teach you how to cast the net in a different way, and you're going to see great results from that. Now let's take those results and let's incorporate that into the work that I'm doing." God loves to take the work that we produce, the effort that we give, the time that we put in, and then to incorporate that into his plan and his purposes that have eternal value and eternal rewards. Now, occasionally the Lord will say, "Hey, you do nothing. You just sit there and I'll do everything." But I would suggest more often, Jesus works with you. He works, and it's miraculous, and it's abundant, and there's all kinds but he also engages you in that work, and he expects you to be involved. One of the verses we know and love and quote frequently is Matthew chapter 6, verse 33. "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added unto you." And all the other things is referring to the needs of this life, the food and the clothing and shelter and those things that we need that Jesus is teaching. Don't worry about. He says, instead, seek first the kingdom of God, and then all these other things will be added. But something to consider is that all the other things being added many times is added with our participation, not so much that we don't do nothing for it, but that we are engaged in the work of those other things being added to us as we are serving the Lord and seeking the Lord and seeking first the kingdom of God. Think about it this way. In Second Thessalonians chapter 3, Paul the Apostle wrote to the Thessalonians and said, "For even when we were with you, we commanded you this. If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat." Paul says, "Here's the principle. Let me remind you about the principle." Because, well, there were people in Thessalonica who were thinking, "Hey, Jesus is coming back at any moment. Christians are really nice and generous, so I don't really have to put in a lot of effort to work, provide for myself. Someone else will feed me. If I'm hungry, you'll give me some food,right? So I don't have to work that hard. I don't have to be that engaged in providing for myself because, well, there's the people around me, my brothers and sisters in the Lord. They'll provide for me, and they'll meet my needs." And that was the condition of some people in Thessalonica. And Paul says, "Listen, that's notright. Here's the principle. If you don't work, you don't get to eat. The expectation is that you involve yourself and put forth effort, expend energy." He'll go on in Second Thessalonians 3:12 to say those who are laying around and not doing anything. He says, "We command and exhort through the Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread." You should eat your own bread because you've worked, because you've made an effort, because you've involved yourself. That is the expectation of God, not just in the area of finances, not just in the area of occupation. But generally speaking, God wants you to be involved in the work that he wants to do in your life and through your life. Jesus gives the instruction. He helps you do the work, and he provides miraculous results in the work. But you also have to be part of the work and obey what he is saying. In verse 10, Jesus says, "Bring some of the fish which you have just caught." Guys, you just caught the fish. That was work. They hauled the fish to shore. That was work. And he says, "Bring it." And it tells us in verse 11, Simon Peter went and dragged the net to land full of large fish, 153. And although there were so many, the net was not broken. There was a lot of energy expended to catch this fish, to bring it to the shore, and then to drag it up onto land so that it could be part of the meal. Jesus could have just pointed his finger at the net full of fish and plopped it on landright next to them, fully cooked. You don't even have to cook it. Here it is. It's already prepared. He could have. But he involved them. Hey, you guys contribute to the work that I'm doing, to the meal that I'm providing. You guys be part of it. That's what Jesus is saying. Go, bring your stuff, bring what you caught, the efforts and the things that I've shown you and the fruit of that. Yeah, contribute that, bring that. And Jesus has a way of incorporating that into his work and his plans. When the Lord blesses the endeavors as you obey him, as you walk with him, many times those blessings are so that you can contribute to the work of God. Now again, as you consider the different areas of limbo in your life, finances is an easy one to consider in this regard. When God blesses you with abundance and gives you that bonus, it is perhaps so that you can contribute to the work that he wants to do. And maybe there's some plans for those resources that he's blessed you with. But considering other areas of your life as well, in your marriage, as you're putting forth effort and doing your best and hearing from the Lord about how to progress and build that relationship, as the Lord works in your marriage, it is a blessing for the two of you, but it's not just for the two of you. There's some other things that God wants to incorporate into that picture that perhaps your kids, he wants to use that work to minister to them and bless them. Or perhaps you get the point. We could go on and on in many different ways. But as we invest ourselves and we're involved, Jesus then takes the fruit of that and says, "Hey, why don't you bring that? You worked hard for that. You're part of the work, and you get to be part of my plans now." And so many times we just want to sit there and just say, "Jesus, do it for me." And Jesus instead says, "No, let's do it together. Let's do it together. Why don't you join with me and participate in this work?" Sometimes we spend a lot of time praying for missionaries. Lord, bless them. And Jesus might say, "Let's do it together. Why don't you go show up? You bless them." Contribute to what Jesus provides. He has his own means and resources, and he really doesn't need us. But by his grace and his abundant mercy, he invites us and allows him to be part of his eternal work, which has eternal reward. Well, finally, verses 12 through 14, we have point number four, and that is receive what Jesus provides. Verse 12 says, "Jesus said to them, 'Come and eat breakfast.' Yet none of the disciples dared ask him, 'Who are you?' knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish. This is now the third time Jesus showed himself to his disciples after he was raised from the dead." Now Jesus gives them an invitation to come and eat. Come and eat. Notice this whole thing from the beginning to the end is about the fish. Peter says, "I'm going fishing." He didn't know what God wanted him to do. He didn't know the plans. He didn't know the purposes. In his restlessness, in this time of limbo and waiting, he just decided, "I need to go fishing." They didn't catch anything until the Lord came on the scene and said, "Here's a little bit of instruction. Keep on fishing, but here's how I want you to fish. Cast it on this side." And now the catch is so great they can't bring it in. And so they, well, they put a lot of effort to bring it to land and to get it on the shore. And Jesus says, "I want to use that. I want to incorporate that. Come on, be part of the work that I'm doing. Be part of this meal that I'm providing." But now at the end, he says, "Now you be blessed. Come and enjoy the fruits of this effort. Come and enjoy the fruit of the work that we've done together." And they get to receive what Jesus provides, which includes, well, their part and the things that they contributed to the breakfast. Come and eat breakfast, Jesus says. It's an invitation to fellowship. It's an invitation for nourishment. It's an invitation to be with Jesus. Listen, when you follow his instruction and are involved in the work, it's not just like slave labor,right? Where Jesus says, "You're going to do what I say. You're not going to get anything out of it, but I'm going to get all the benefits." Right? That's not what it is. Jesus invites us to be involved in his work. He incorporates us into his work for our benefit. Because at the end, we get to partake of the fruit. We get to partake of the rewards. We get to partake of the meal and be nourished and receive the fulfillment, the provision that was necessary. Listen, this is how God often works. He doesn't just do stuff for us while we do nothing, but he involves us in the process with the benefit of rewards, fulfillment, nourishment, provision as we obey him and walk with him. And Jesus, it says, took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish. He gave them the meal. Now, receiving from Jesus sometimes can be a difficult thing, especially considering the first couple of points. Listen, when you're working really hard on something, sometimes it can be hard to just receive. And it happens a lot where someone is working very hard, but in the end, when God wants to give back, they're not able to receive it. There's some people who love to work. There's some people who love to give, and that's great and that's good. But even those who have the gift of giving and love to give also need to be able to receive. None of us are in a position where we can always minister all the time and not be ministered to. None of us. In fact, that's one of the amazing things about the body of Christ. God has designed us to be interdependent, that we need each other. None of us can only give out. God invites us to participate. He wants us to be involved in the work. He helps us to contribute. But it's not just about us giving and participating in the work. It's also about us receiving and being fed as that work continues. Now, we like to come to that point where we could say, "Look what I did all by myself." We do. We like that. I'm looking forward to being able to say that in regards to my other occupation and building websites. There's some things I'm really good at. There's a lot of things I can't do. I have to ask for help. But I'd much rather be able to come to the end of a project and say, "Look what I did all by myself, all me. I didn't need help from nobody." And sometimes we can have that in our lives, that attitude, that heart, and we're not willing to receive from Jesus what he wants to give. But we need to humble ourselves, be teachable, be open and receptive. Jesus's provision may not look the way that you expect. These guys didn't recognize Jesus. Even in verse 12, it says they dared not ask him, "Who are you?" knowing that it was the Lord. Like, it's kind of an interesting verse. I'm not going to get sidetracked too much, but they knew it was Jesus. But then they're like, "Is it really Jesus?" But they knew it was Jesus. But they're like, "I don't want to ask if it's Jesus because I know it's Jesus. But is it Jesus?" Something was different. They couldn't quite know for sure, but they knew, but they didn't know. And sometimes God's provision doesn't look the way that you expect. It's like that classic illustration. A guy gets a warning. There's a flood coming. You better get ready. You better get out. He says, "You know, God's going to provide for me. He's going to take care of me. He'll save me." The warning comes and the floodwaters begin to rise and the neighbors are now evacuating. And they say to this guy, "Hey, you could jump in the car with us. We're packing up. We got to get out of here. The flood's coming." He says, "No, no, that's okay. God's going to save me. I'm good." But the flood comes and the house is flooded. Pretty soon, the guy's sitting on his roof with the waters all around him. A rescue boat comes by. "Hey, get in. We'll take you to safety." The guy says, "No, no, I'm good. God's going to save me." Finally, a rescue helicopter comes in, drops down the ladder. "Get in. We'll take you to safety." "No, no, I'm good. God's going to save me." The floodwaters continue to rise. The guy drowns. He gets to heaven. "God, why didn't you save me?" God says, "What are you talking about? I sent you the warnings. I sent you the neighbors. I sent you the boat. I sent you the helicopter. My provision didn't look like you expected, but I was providing." And you know, sometimes we miss what God wants to do because we're so insistent that it has to be this formula this way. And maybe God wants to do something different. Receive even when it's difficult, especially when it costs you your pride. Receive what Jesus provides. Receive what Jesus offers you. That is the way to be fulfilled and to resolve that time of limbo. Let's pray. Lord, I pray for each of our hearts as we consider this idea, Lord, and your provision and those times that we're in between. Lord, we know you want to work in different areas and different aspects of our lives, but the work hasn't happened yet. We don't know exactly how you want to work or what you're going to do or when you're going to do it. And so, Lord, what do we do in the meantime? I pray that you would help us to wait on you, to sit and do nothing when it's appropriate. But, Lord, I pray that you would also help us to be open and willing to get off the couch, to get on our knees and seeking you to get to work in the midst of expending energy and involving ourselves and using the resources that you've provided to meet those needs that are there and to begin that work. And, Lord, when it's fruitless, when it's difficult, when it's discouraging, I pray that you would help us to be open to your instruction, that you might teach us the way that you want us to go, that you would speak to us and we would hear, "This is the way. Walk in it. Help us, Lord, to hear from you and to obey you when we do, or that we might experience your work in our lives, that we might participate in the work that you want to do and contribute to your plan and your kingdom." I pray also, Lord, that you would help us to be humble, to be teachable, to be receptive, that we would look to you in faith, not looking to you in pride and all that we can achieve and all that we can offer you, but looking to you in humility, recognizing apart from you, Lord, we can do nothing. And even the victories and the great results, it's all from you. And I pray that you would help us to receive as each one of us has needs and needs nourishment and needs fulfillment. And, Lord, we're in that time of limbo. I pray that you would help us to receive from you what we need to be nourished and built up and edified. And by you and by those that you've placed around us, teach us, God, to rely upon you and trust in you as we involve ourselves in the work that you've called us to. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. 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