Breakfast with the Risen Lord!
John 21:1-14
Intro
Breakfast, Cracker Barrel, Country Boy Favorite, Uncle Herschels.....I love breakfast food anytime!
Background
There are 7 disciples that are part of this fishing-breakfast buffet story. 2 of them are unnamed! The five that were named are Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathaniel, and the sons of Zebedee-James and John! This is the third time according to verse 14 of this chapter that Jesus had made Himself known to His disciples since being raised from the dead. And I have to believe it must have been an awesome privilege to have Jesus break into the normal fishing routine of this small group of disciples! .....Has Jesus ever broken into your little routine and made all the difference in the world? Oh, he has on occasion totally changed my direction.
Now for our consideration this evening I want to take a look at how Jesus changed the normal routine of His followers.
First of all.....
I. They didn’t know it was Jesus! V.4 Read
Have you ever had an experience where you did not know who it was that was speaking? Phone...somebody just hauls into conversation and you have no clue who your talking to! You know, these 7 disciples must have been caught off guard because they were not expecting a visit from the risen Lord. They may have even been depressed and decided to just get away from it all and go fishing. So when Simon Peter said he was going fishing the whole crew decided to go with him....quite possibly to get away from it all...and who do you suppose decides to pay them a visit?! Jesus himself! What a privilege, what a relief to know that he was risen just like he said! And this was the third time that he had shown himself to them according and now he breaks into the normal routine of their lives. Do you need God to break into the normal routine of your life? What about your family? What about your job or lack of a job? Do you need God to break into the normal routine of your life? Well, he will! God can do for you what He promised! Ephesians 3:20-21 “He is able to accomplish in our lives more than we can ask or think!”
I. They didn’t know it was Jesus
II. They didn’t have any fish to eat! v.5
I love fishing. But more times than not my success has been much like the disciples found here in John 21! I just not a professional angler! Story, 72 Ford Torino, storm, Mont, Rubber raft, trolling motor, Morse lake, Mont went swimming. Sometimes our spiritual life is as about as productive as our fishing trips. Sometimes, we are in such a serious rut that we have no spirit left within us to make a difference in our little world, our town, our job. The results of our witnessing has caused us to give up on asking anyone to church. Or maybe we have blown it spiritually and we are not even in a place to be concerned about the lost. Well, there is a way back! Jesus says in this passage... “Do you have any fish? How has your success been? The disciples say “Lord we have not done so well”...so what do you think they decided to do? They decided to find out what Jesus had to say to them. And he said “Cast your net on the right side of the boat!”
Which brings us to point #3
I. They didn’t know it was Jesus
II. They didn’t have any fish to eat
III. They learned that it pays to obey v.6
If you have been unsuccessful in your walk with God. If you have been unsuccessful in your witness to God you might ought to retrace your steps and find out when you ceased in your obedience to God! I Samuel 15:22 asks a question “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in the obedience of His children?” And the writer comes back with this reply “To obey is better than sacrifice” Psalm 119:34 says “Obey the Lord with your whole heart!”
ILL.
Every conscientious parent recognizes how difficult it is to exercise his God-given authority over his children. The delicate balance of being tough yet tender is not easy to maintain. Many parents intensify a rebellious spirit in a child by being dictator like and by being harsh. Others yield when their authority is tested. When a strong-willed child resists, the pressure to give in for the sake of peace and harmony can become overpowering. It reminds me of the story of the mother who wanted to have the last word but couldn’t handle the hassle that resulted whenever she said no to her young son. So after an especially trying day, she finally flung up her hands and shouted, "All right, Billy, do whatever you want! Now let me see you disobey THAT!"
Our Daily Bread.
You see one of the things that the disciples did right in this story was.....they obeyed! Jesus said cast the net on the right side. Their response was full obedience! And our response should be full obedience as well! They caught 153 fish! And you and I need to remember that we are not the only ones who need to fully obey! Even Jesus, according to Hebrews 5:8, was subject to this matter of obedience! The verse says “Though HE was the Son of God, yet HE learned obedience!”
You and I must learn to obey as well!
I. They didn’t know it was Jesus
II. They didn’t have any fish to eat
III. They learned that it pays to obey v.6
IV. They ate breakfast with the risen Lord! V.12
The excitement begins to build in the story! On their way in from a big night fishing John the Beloved discovers that it was Jesus who they were talking to! And about that time Peter can’t stand it anymore, he throws on his outer garment, dives in for a swim of 200 cubits, or about 100 yards, and heads to the shore to see Jesus! This is the third time that he has shown Himself to the disciples and [you know Peter], he didn’t want to miss out on any of the action! Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught!” And while this command was addressed to all the disciples Peter figures, hey I got these boys into this fishing trip, I can get’em out!” So John’s gospel records for us that Peter went and dragged the net to land...all by himself...and the net was full of fish, 153, and even though there were a whole bunch of fish the net did not break! And Peter hardly had time to get the fish to the shore and Jesus said “Come, and eat breakfast!” I’ve had some good breakfast in my time....But this breakfast that the disciples had was awesome because of their honored guest! I wonder what their conversation was like around the breakfast table that morning? We have a little insight....let me read the rest of verse 12 “None of the disciples dared ask Him ‘Who are you’ because they knew that it was the LORD. John the Beloved knew it was Jesus when he heard his voice, Peter knew it was Jesus because John told him so...now they all are aware, even Thomas, they knew that it was Jesus, the Christ the Son of the Living God! And now, you are aware that it’s Jesus who wants to break into the normal routine of your life and you also can have breakfast with the Risen Lord....he left the Holy Spirit with us, to guide, to guard, to give us peace and to be closer than a brother!
May God bless you and may HE make you a blessing!
