God Shows Up!
The Gospel of John
John 21:1-7 (Reading vs. 1-14)
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - August 22, 2018
(Revised July 25, 2020)
BACKGROUND:
*In John 21, God tells us about one of the wonderful appearances of our Risen Savior. It happened on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and vs. 14 tells us that it was the third time Jesus appeared to His disciples.
*We know that the LORD God is always here, because by His Holy Spirit, He's always everywhere. King David marveled at the omnipresence of God in Psalm 139. There in vs. 1-12 David declared:
1. O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
2. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.
3. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways.
4. For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.
5. You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.
6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.
7. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8. If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
9. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10. Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.
11. If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me,'' Even the night shall be light about me;
12. Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
*God is always here, and Christians, we know that, but there are times when the Lord makes us keenly aware of His presence. The first time I remember was in Athens Georgia during Spring Break in 1974. I was over a year away from trusting in Jesus. But I had been seeking the truth for over a year, and God was definitely working on my heart.
*That spring, I had gone back to Georgia to see my family and friends. And during a Saturday night of partying with college friends, the talk turned to religion. I remember telling my friends, "Maybe the Christians are right." Their response was instant and overwhelming. They absolutely rejected the message of the cross with great ridicule and passion.
*After that, I went outside by myself. On the top of a pine-covered hill, with the wind whistling through the trees, there, for the first time, I was aware of the presence of God. It was indescribably profound. God was patiently drawing me to trust in the Lord, and 14 months later, by the grace of God, I was saved!
*God shows up! And the more we seek Him, the more we will be aware of His constant presence. God tells us this in Jeremiah 29:11-13:
11. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
12. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
13. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
*God will show up, and this meeting by the sea helps us understand. Let's begin by reading John 21:1-14.
MESSAGE:
*The Lord Jesus showed up by the Sea of Galilee, and He wants to show up in our lives too!
1. SO DON'T GET DISTRACTED.
*Christians: We must not get distracted by the things of this world. And we can see a possible distraction in vs. 1-3:
1. After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself:
2. Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.
3. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing.'' 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.
*Some people believe this fishing trip was a big mistake for Peter. They think that he was giving in to the temptation to go back to the old life, back to the old ways. I’ve preached it that way myself, and there is some circumstantial evidence. The Lord had already called Peter away from his fishnets to fish for men. In Matthew 4:19 Jesus said, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.'' There's also no evidence that Jesus told them to go fishing. And Peter’s statement in vs. 3 sounds at least a little willful: "I’m going fishing."
*On the other hand, Jesus didn't condemn Peter for fishing. And the Lord gave them a great catch!
*But the possibility of Peter being distracted from the things of God reminds us that we can get distracted too. And it doesn’t have to be something bad. There is nothing wrong with fishing in and of itself. But we can get distracted from the things of God. We can miss the blessings that God wants to give to us, and the blessings that God wants to give through us.
*Pastor Wayne Childers told another fishing story that happened about 35 years ago. An amazing treasure was on display at one of the big jewelry stores in Oklahoma City. This display was part of a treasure had been found in a sunken ship near Florida, and it included millions of dollars worth of gold coins, jewelry, and gold bars.
*But one of the divers who recovered the treasure said they had found something else on the bottom of the sea: Almost-new fishing hooks snagged on the wreckage of that 300-year-old ship. Think of the men who fished on that spot. They probably got aggravated when they lost their hooks. (1)
*But to be so close to the treasure and miss it, -- that was the greater loss, and God doesn’t want us to miss the riches of His treasure! By His Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ is right here with us, so don't get distracted.
2. AND EXPECT GOD TO WORK IN YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE.
*Again these 7 disciples are our example, and we can give them the benefit of the doubt about fishing. There's no evidence that Jesus had forbidden them to go fishing. In Luke 24:49, Jesus will tell them to "tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.'' But that happened at a later appearance of the Lord.
*Maybe these disciples went fishing to make good use of their time as they waited on the Lord to reappear. Maybe they went fishing just because most of them were fishermen, and they liked to fish.
*If we give these fishermen the benefit of the doubt, then this part of the story reminds us that God shows up in our everyday lives. God shows up at work, and that’s good, because if there’s any place most Christians need the Lord’s help, it’s at work.
*Sometimes godly employees have to put up with rude and unreasonable bosses, customers, patients, students and more. There's also job uncertainty and business risk, computer glitches, office politics, back-biting, plus a whole host of other temptations and stresses, not to mention mockery and outright persecution for our faith.
*But God is on the job when you are on the job, and He will show up where you work.
*My wife Mary gave an example of answered prayer for a close co-worker. One day Janet unexpectedly missed a meeting, and it turned out that she was frantically retracing her steps from the day before. She had lost a bracelet that was especially valuable to her, because it was a gift from her deceased mother.
*Mary later called to check on the search, and the bracelet was still missing. That’s when Mary suggested that they pray. They did pray, and then Mary went on with her schedule. But Janet immediately felt the need to recheck the trunk of her car, even though she had already searched it twice.
*She stopped the car, opened the trunk, and there it was, in the same spot where she had looked before. The Lord must have let her hit just the right bump for that bracelet to bounce into view.
*Now, some people might think that was a small thing to pray about, but God cares about the little things too! And both of those ladies were praising the Lord that day.
*God will show up where you work, and one of the biggest ways He shows up is through His people.
*Howard Hendricks told the story of a flight he was on in the summer of 1987. It was from Boston to Dallas, and it took off 6 hours late. Tired Friday-afternoon flyers were naturally steamed about the problem. Howard said the man across the aisle from him growled at the flight attendant every time she walked by.
*Dr. Hendricks admired the flight attendant's self-control, and the way she handled the situation, so he walked to the back of the plane to compliment her. He asked her name. Then said that he wanted to write American Airlines to express his appreciation. But she smiled and said, "I don't work for American Airlines. I work for Jesus Christ." (2)
*Where did she get her patience and strength? It came from Christ in her, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)
*God shows up at work! The Christmas shepherds remind us, because in Luke 2:8 they were "keeping watch over their flock by night." Also remember that Peter, Andrew, James and John were at their nets when Jesus called them to follow Him. And in Matthew 9:9, Jesus "saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, 'Follow Me.' And he arose and followed Him."
*God shows up at work, so expect Him to work in your everyday life.
3. AND TRUST GOD TO GUIDE YOU.
*In vs. 3, these seven disciples went fishing, but "they caught nothing." Most of these men were professional fishermen, but they caught nothing.
*The good news in vs. 4-6 was that Jesus was close by:
4. When the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
5. Then Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any food?'' They answered Him, "No.''
6. And He said to them, "Cast the net on the right 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.
*Notice in vs. 5, Jesus asked them a question: "Children, do you have any food?" Did Jesus already know the answer? -- Surely He did. So, why did He ask the question? It must have been for their benefit. It must have been to get them to admit their need, which they did. It also must have been to start a conversation with them, which He was able to do.
*Darren Rogers pointed out that "the Lord knew where the fish were. They had confessed their failure, and it was time for Jesus to take over. He told them where to cast the net, they obeyed, and they caught a multitude of fish.
*The difference between success and failure was simply the width of the boat! And when we let Jesus give the orders, we are usually closer to success than we think. Jesus knows where the blessings are for our lives," and He wants to guide us too! (3)
*God guides us in different ways, but His greatest guidance comes from His Word, and that's what happened here. Jesus told the disciples what to do, they listened, they followed the Lord's guidance, and they were greatly blessed.
*The miracle for us is that we have the same words that guided them 2,000 years ago. The Bible is the Word of God, and we can always trust in His Word!
*The best thing God's Word can do for us is save our souls! If we hear the good news about the cross of Jesus Christ, and put our trust in the Risen Savior, if we will receive Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, then God will forgive all of our sins, give us eternal life, make us a part of His family, and give us a home in Heaven.
*But all of these wonderful things can only come through the Word of God. That's why 1 Peter 1:23-25 tells Christians that we have:
23. . . been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,
24. because "All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away,
25. but the word of the Lord endures forever.'' Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
*Church: If saving our souls was the only thing the Bible ever did for us, that would be infinitely more than enough! But God's Word can do so much more! It can guide us in every area of life.
*We know this because Psalm 119:105 says: "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Then in vs. 130 the writer told God, "The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple."
*One preacher explained the light of God's Word this way: "It was a sunny summer day, and our family had decided to visit the Lava River Caves in central Oregon. We paid the cost, and the ranger gave us instructions about the lanterns. He said, 'You'll need this lantern when you go down there. It's very dark. Without it you won't get far.'
*We lit the lantern; then began the path into the cave. While we were in the bright sun, the lantern seemed unnecessary, but very quickly it got much darker. The lantern, which had seemed so dim up above, shined bright and strong down in the darkness. With its help we could see the low-hanging rocks, puddles and the turns in our path. We held it high before us.
*With that lantern, our experience was fun, not frightening. How different everything would have been if we had been in a cave with no light!"
*Then the preacher said: "All of us are on an even less familiar path that can stretch years ahead into unexpected places and perils. This is called the path of life. And wherever our pathway leads, this much is guaranteed for all of us: There will be some darkness. Troubles will come to all on the path of life. We're bound to face trouble. Not all is predictable. Not all is pleasant. Some of it is very dark indeed. You are going to need a lantern, a lamp for your feet, a light for your path when darkness descends." (4)
*Church: We will never find a better light than the Word of God! We need to let it shine in the good times and the bad. God's Word will shine on our brightest days, and it will shine in the darkest night.
*Without it, we can never find the right way to go in life. But we can always trust in the guidance of God's Word, especially because it endures forever! As Jesus said in Matthew 24:35: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away," so trust God to guide you.
4. AND POINT OTHER PEOPLE TO JESUS.
*That's what the Apostle John did in vs. 7. In this verse John spoke of himself in the third person and said, "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."
*In that moment, Peter didn’t realize that Jesus was near, and there are multitudes of people like that today. God wants us to do what John did: point other people to Jesus Christ!
*It is much easier for us than it is for many Christians in the world. In 2004, our International Mission Board reported the story of a former Muslim from South Asia. He had really suffered for the Lord, so for security reasons, they changed his name to Lamak.
*Lamak was born into a wealthy and powerful Muslim family. But he turned his life over to Jesus, while he was working in Singapore. When he went home 4 years later, Lamak took the risk of sharing Jesus with his family.
*His father-in-law was so enraged he had Lamak strapped to a chair, and he used live electric wires to force him to renounce the Lord. But this young man refused to deny Jesus.
*Today Lamak has scars on his arms from the torture. But he uses those scars to share his testimony with other people. They ask Lamak about his scars, and he tells them about Jesus!
*Lamak has also worked with our short-term missions workers. At the time of the story, he had helped plant 32 churches, and had baptized 500 Muslims who trusted in the Lord. (5)
*If Lamak could do that, then what can we do? God wants us to do everything we can to help point other people to Jesus Christ!
CONCLUSION:
*The same risen Lord and Savior who stood on the shore of the Sea of Galilee 2,000 years ago, is here with us right now. By His Holy Spirit, God shows up!
-So don't get distracted.
-Do expect God to work in your everyday life.
-Keep trusting God to guide you.
-And keep pointing other people to Jesus Christ.
(1) "Illustration Digest" by Jon Allen - March-April 1994
(2) Kenneth O. Gangel in Roy B. Zuck, DEVOTIONS FOR KINDRED SPIRITS - Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1990, p. 372 - Source: Sermons.com
(3) SermonCentral sermon "Breakfast On The Beach" by Darren Rogers - John 21:1-14 - July 11, 2007
(4) Adapted from online sermon - "Light for the Path" (I believe it was by Pastor Michael Kasting.) - Trinity Lutheran Church - Oregon City, OR - 09/13/2009 - Psalm 119:105 - http://www.trinityoc.org
(5) International Mission Board illustration for the Lottie Moon Offering in 2004
