Let the Shepherd Lead

Intro:

• I was reading through the headlines in my news app this week, and this one caught my eye: “The Friends cast ate the same lunch every… single… day.”
• The show Friends was a phenomenon when I was a teenager, and I found it strange for it to be a news item fourteen years after its final show, so I tapped on the story to read more.
• The article was from the food network and related that the three women on the cast ate lunch together every day, and every day ate a Cobb salad.
• At least that is what the salad began as. One of the cast members “doctored up” the salad with turkey bacon and garbanzo beans and other items.
• Why was this news? According to the last line, spoken by one of the friends cast, “if you’re going to eat the same salad for 10 years it better be a good salad right?” (See Food Network By Amy Reiter)

Hook:

• Friends, do you approach Christ with that kind of attitude?
  • I have no trouble wanting to worship Christ on Christmas and Easter, but if I’m going to worship him every day my life better be a good life, right?
  • That attitude is understandable, after all Jesus said in John 10:10 “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
• But who defines what a good life is, after all? For Jesus, who lived a perfect life, going to a cruel cross and dying on our behalf was worth it, “for the joy that was set before him”
• Today, I hope to share with you three ways that Jesus makes a routine difference in our lives by talking about one of Jesus’ last moments with all his disciples.

Message Points:

• At our Good Friday service, I shared with you that Jesus’ training of his disciples centered upon two key principles.
• Jesus first trained his disciples to repent or turn – away from selfishness, suffering, and sin – towards Him.
  • Because of our sin, we owed a debt we could not pay.
  • Because of His grace, Jesus will pay that debt for us.
  • All we must do is turn our live to him in order to receive it.
• Today we complete our series, we will see that Jesus trained his disciples to live by faith.
• While some believe that chapter 21 was an afterthought, due to the finality of 20:30-31, I think it is a view of the resurrection for everyday life.
  • Jesus had instructed his disciples to meet him in the Galilee after the resurrection according to Matthew 28:10.
  • Evidently his instructions were so specific that they included a mountain, or at least a reference to one that the disciples already knew well according to Matthew 28:16.
  • This appearance of the resurrected Jesus apparently happens early on into their journey towards that mountain, the one from which he would soon ascend.
  • And we also know that Judas who was the groups’ treasurer had been helping himself to its contents according to John 12:6.
  • So here we see the pressures of an everyday life. These disciples had a spiritual duty to fulfill, a practical journey to accomplish, and a financial problem to resolve.
• As we read Simon Peter saying in John 21:3 that he was going fishing, it may not be so impetuous as we might think.
  • Jesus had commanded a journey, so seven of them they went together. That is seven mouths to feed.
  • Judas had stolen the money, so they could not buy supplies. Even if they had the money, likely they were assuming they were outlaws and in danger if they made themselves known in marketplaces.
  • Galilee, where this occurs, was approximately 93 miles and a group could travel 11-15 kilometers a day. SO their journey took between 6-8 days.
  • After six days, with limited supplies, when they saw their boats and a familiar fishing spot, it makes sense for Peter to solve their provisions problems by announcing that he was casting out onto the lake.
• That is the first point we need to hear today. Living pressures us to adopt routines (21:1-3).
  • We must eat, we must have a home, we must have clothing; and food has to be prepared; houses need to be maintained; and clothing has to be cleaned.
  • Enter routines. Routines make wonderful servants but very poor masters.
  • So long as a routine serves you, and the Lord’s purposes for your life it good.
  • But the minute that a routine begins to demand control as a master, watch out.
  • Do you have any routines in your life that have become your master?
    • Just ask yourself three simple questions
      • Do I think more about my routine than about serving my Savior?
      • Will I sin to complete my routine?
      • Will I sin if I do not complete my routine?
    • Let’s use Peter as an example. His routine was to work hard pulling in fish from the Sea of Galilee. When he was in a bind, like most men, he decided to throw himself into his work.
      • Did he think more about his routine than about serving the Savior?
        • Yes, because he chose to go fishing in order to provide for the others. Food was on his mind, not the spiritual reality that the risen Jesus who had invited them to the Galilee for something special.
      • Would Peter have sinned to complete his routine?
        • While it is likely that Peter went and reclaimed his own boat, it is also just as likely that he sold his boat when he began to follow Jesus. Perhaps he went to “borrow” the boat from his fishing partner’s father Zebdee. This may be the reason they are mentioned in verse two in the fashion that they are as his sons.
      • Would Peter sin if he did not complete his routine?
        • What words do you think came to Peter’s mind every time he cast that net during the night and caught nothing.
  • And Peter is not alone. There were seven other disciples in that boat with him, and since that day myriads of other believers have joined him in that boat.
    • We know intellectually that Jesus is the Savior.
    • We have repented of our sin, and do want to follow Him. Our hearts are in the right place.
    • But just as soon as we have to put our faith into practice that is all out the window.
    • It is the routine of life that so quickly takes our resurrection joy – the joy in a new life granted by Christ at our salvation – and soils them with our mundane chores.
• But into the chaos of our everyday routine, Christ speaks.
  • Notice that it was early in the morning. For fishermen in the first century, this was just about quitting time.
  • The disciples were dejected and defeated, I am sure, but there upon the shore was the resurrected Lord.
    • Just as he had done in Luke 5, Jesus makes an audacious request in verses 4-8.
    • He confirms that they had caught nothing, and then he asks that they cast on the other side of the boat.
    • Miraculously the net is filled.
  • Before you ask, a 1986 discovery of a Galilee Boat or a Jesus Boat revealed that they were 27 feet long (a bit larger than a standard above ground swimming pool) and 7.5 feet wide (about one of our rectangular tables) . There is no way fish were swimming from side to side or even front to back on that boat all night evading the nets.
  • This was so clearly a miracle that John immediately made the leap. Verse seven tells us that he said to Peter, “it is the Lord”.
  • Peter was so sure of this that he quickly secured his outer garment that he had taken off for work and jumped into the water to swim and then wade to Jesus.
  • So why did Jesus do this miracle, perhaps even his last? He did it for the benefit of his disciples.
    • Jesus sought to make sure that his disciples remembered the difference that he alone could make.
    • Friends, can I tell you that this is a message that I need to hear day by day by day.
    • After all, it is day by day that pressures build and routines demand our time, attention and devotion.
    • It is God’s desire that we be living sacrifices according to Romans 12:1 which is our reasonable worship.
    • This means that God cares about the attitude in doing our daily routines.
      • Are you facing each daily pressure and completing each daily routine in ways that benefit you and those around you?
      • Do you live in the power of Christ’s resurrection each day?
• That is our 2nd Point, Christ calls us to a different way of living (21:4-8).
  • That different way of living, implied in this passage primary involves faith.
    • The disciples did not know it was the Lord, but in good faith they cast on the other side of the boat.
    • Faith must be flexible, not unbending because faith must prevail over all sorts of challenging circumstances.
    • Faith must also be courageous, because, just as they cast into the water on the other side of the boat, every “leap of faith” involves taking a chance.
    • Do you have faith?
      • Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
      • Faith is not blind.
      • Faith is built as we see God keep his promises over and over again.
      • Faith is built as we see God’s goodness to us and to others.
      • The more that we genuinely know about God’s goodness and faithfulness, the more we can express faith.
    • But our journey of faith begins when we choose to believe that Jesus has died to pay the penalty for us and then trust his promises by giving him control of our lives.
  • Thus, that different way of living, also, by implication must involve humility.
    • The disciples were comprised by two distinct sets of professional fishermen.
    • This is a fishing story, but no one can brag about their catch here, without first bragging about Jesus.
    • Just as John the Baptist had said at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, “I must decrease that he might increase.”
    • Humility is preferring another above yourself. It is not demanding or insisting upon your way.
  • These two differences in Christian living, faith and humility go hand in hand. They are inseparable from       repentance or turning away from self to Jesus as Savior.
  • And in the power of the resurrection they are both present every day in the life of a believer. So consider for a moment that…
    • Every time you explode at those around you because they do not follow your routine, you are displaying that you believe your way is best, even above that of God.
    • Every time you implode, seeking an escape because the pressures and the routines overwhelm you, you are displaying a lack of confidence that God is in control, not matter what.
    • Every time your mind is consumed with your pressures and your routines, you have pushed Christ aside and takem back the control of your life.
  • BUT notice, the disciples were just like us; and Jesus came to them.
    • Jesus is here today, calling you to cast on the other side of the your boat.
    • It may not make any sense. In fact it may seem insane, but Jesus is calling and asking you to trust Him.
    • It may be that he is asking that you trust him to give you a new life free from past additions, trials, and concerns.
    • It may be that he is asking you to trust him to give you a new family, healed and made new.
    • It may be that he is asking you to trust him to give you a new attitude, free from the explosions or implosions you are used to experiencing.
    • If may be that he is asking you to trust him by giving His church another chance.
  • Have you already begun to push him aside or shrug him off? WAIT friends, wait.
• Let me help you see how to respond to his call better. Not that I am an expert. I need to be reminded often myself, which is one of the reasons we have a church family and worship services.
  • In our last verses, we notice that Jesus has provided them with a breakfast that is already prepared. They have fish on the fire and bread.
  • But before they can join him for breakfast he says, “bring some of the fish you have just caught” in verse 21.
    • Notice he did not ask them to prepare the fish they had just caught. If he had we might could assume that they were going to eat a bit of his miraculous provision.
    • Also notice that he say to bring them and Peter’s response is to climb into the boat and drag the net ashore, not to begin to filet fish. From this we can assume that they had not completed the last task of a successful catch, the sorting of the fish and mending of the nets.
    • Finally notice that it says in verse 11 that there were 153 large fish and the net was not torn.
      • From this we learn by the word large, that there were other small fish.
      • There were some that likely would have been thrown back, and others that may not have been desirable to eat for some reason.
      • Jesus had provided for the disciples not only a breakfast, but a catch to meet their other needs.
    • Notice that we do not read that any of the fish were ever place upon the fire, and in verse 12 after this sorting is complete Jesus invites them for breakfast.
• This leads us to consider our third point: Routinely having faith in Christ gives us a different peace (21:9-14).
  • Jesus is alive, and resurrected. He has power over the here and now, and power hereafter.
  • And Jesus did not condemn the disciples for going fishing to provide for their needs. We will need routines to accomplish everyday tasks, and Christ understands that.
  • But Christ is in charge of our lives, not the routines. He is the one who will provide for us.
    • By not using the fish they caught for breakfast this lesson was made all the more meaningful.
    • Everyday routines may give us provisions. They may be useful.
    • However, the everyday routines of our lives must serve Jesus, not have Jesus serve the everyday routines.
  • Further, as they began to partake of the grilled fish and bread, they were having a glimpse into the eternal provision of our Lord.
    • This is not unlike in John 6 when Jesus took the loaves and the fishes and miraculously provided for the five thousand who were there.
    • On that occasion, in verse 11 we read that Jesus took the loaves and gave thanks and distributed them.
    • But now, since our Lord has been raised from the grave, and his divine human nature is now fully on display, he offers no prayer, but directly provides.
    • In eternity, our provision will come directly from Jesus day by day.
  • By faith, we have a Savior and Lord who provides for us and that should give us peace and rest.
    • Ordinary routines are God’s means to provide for us temporarily, but Christ is God’s means for providing for us eternally.
    • Therefore we should trust Christ, not our routines.

Conclusion:

• At the beginning of the message I posed this question to you, “if I’m going to worship Christ every day my life better be a good life, right?”
  • Friends the Christian life is a good life. Not because we are good people, or because everything we experience is good.
  • The Christian life is a good life because we have a good God. He took the cruel cross of Rome, and the horrors of death and hell and transformed them into the joy of the resurrection.
• Today he is offering you that joy and peace, but you must turn to him humbly and desire to live for Him by faith.