2. Are you Guilty of this too?
•Ever fail to wait on God’s
answer to prayer, before
you jumped into
something?
•We love when God says
“yes” and can deal with
“no”…
•But when God says, “Wait…”
3. “After these things Jesus manifested
Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of
Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this
way. 2 Simon Peter, and Thomas called
Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee,
and 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 will also come with
you.” They went out and got into the boat;
and that night they caught nothing.
4. 4 But when the day was now breaking,
Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples
did not know that it was Jesus. 5 So Jesus
*said to them, “Children, you do not have
any fish, do you?” They answered Him,
“No.” 6 And He said to them, “Cast the net
on the right-hand side of the boat and you
will find a catch.” So they cast, and then
they were not able to haul it in because of
the great number of fish. 7 Therefore that
disciple whom Jesus loved *said to Peter,
5. is the Lord.” So when Simon Peter heard
that it was the Lord, he put his outer
garment on (for he was stripped for work),
and threw himself into the sea. 8 But the
other disciples came in the little boat, for
they were not far from the land, but about
one hundred yards away, dragging the net
full of fish.
9 So when they got out on the land,
they *saw a charcoal fire already laid and
fish placed on it, and bread. 10 Jesus *said
6. them, “Bring some of the fish which you
have now caught.” 11 Simon Peter went up
and drew the net to land, full of large fish, a
hundred and fifty-three; and although there
were so many, the net was not torn.
12 Jesus *said to them, “Come and
have breakfast.” None of the disciples
ventured to question Him, “Who are You?”
knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus
*came and *took the bread and *gave it to
7. likewise. 14 This is now the third time that
Jesus was manifested to the disciples, after
He was raised from the dead.”
John 21:1-14, NASB
8. Without His Will…
•1st, just so we’re on the
same sheet of music…
•Perfect Will, Permissive Will
•Vv 1-3, Peter went fishing
•How do I know he was
outside of God’s Will?
•Maybe he was just being
industrious….
9. Jesus had already prophesied…
•What they would do…
John 16:32a “Indeed the hour is
coming, yes, has now come, that
you will be scattered, each to his
own…”
• That Greek word is “idios”
• It means, “one’s property, one’s
life, one’s things.”
10. They got into Peter’s boat…
•V3, the Greek article for “the” is
the word “ha”
•Meaning “a particular boat in
Galilee”
•Would you let just anyone drive
off in your car?
•For the 1st time in 3 years, they
were concerned about daily
11. They got into Peter’s boat…
•They weren’t sure how things were
going to go now that He wasn’t
with them constantly
•Does that mean Christians should
not plan for the future or work?
•God forbid! Paul told Timothy
absolutely the contrary
12. “But if anyone does not provide for his
own, and especially for those of his
household, he has denied the faith and is
worse than an unbeliever.”
1 Timothy 5:8, NASB
13. They decided…
• The Lord wasn’t going to provide
for them anymore, they decided
• And ignored what they were told
to do– Go to Galilee and wait…
• God didn’t call Peter to make a
living fishing
• God called him to be a “Man-
Catcher”– for His Kingdom
14. They decided…
• The Lord wasn’t going to provide
for them anymore, they decided
• And ignored what they were told
to do– Go to Galilee and wait…
• God didn’t call Peter to make a
living fishing
• God called him to be a “Man-
Catcher”– for His Kingdom
15. Person Who is Self Reliant
Self-Reliance
Disobedience
Failure
Loss of Close
Fellowship with
God
16. Within God’s Will…
• Vv 4-6, After a bad
fishing day, the last
thing you want to
hear…
• Déjà vu for Peter?
• Out there all night and
caught nothing, and
Jesus says, “try the
other side”
17. Within God’s Will…
• This is what the Christian Life
boils down to…
• Our walk has constant choices
• In God’s Will or Out of it
• In self-reliance we become
faithless, prayer-less, Bible-less
• Before we find forgiveness, we
must confess sin/failure (Fonz)
18. Close Fellowship w/ the Savior
• Vv 7-14, gotta love Peter…(O to be like
him; running to Jesus)
• Breakfast with Jesus on the beach–
doesn’t get any better
• Notice– Jesus told them to
bring the fish they caught
• Divine Will + Human Effort
• God requires total obedience
20. So, how do we succeed in life?
• Why the specific 153 fish?
• Key to success?
• Simply obey the Word
• From Gen to Rev, blessing
comes from obedience
21. “In your seed all the nations of the earth
shall be blessed, because you have obeyed
My voice.”
Genesis 22:18
“Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he
who keeps the words of the prophecy of
this book.”
Revelation 22:7
22. So, how do we succeed in life?
• Why the specific 153 fish?
• Key to success?
• Simply obey the Word
• From Gen to Rev, blessing
comes from obedience
• Obedience is blessed
• Disobey; Blessing’s doors
slam shut
23. Take Home! Choices…
• Self-Reliance >
Disobedience >
Failure > Loss of
close fellowship
with God
• Complete
dependence to
God > Obedience
> Success in God
> Close fellowship
with God
