1. Seven disciples, including Peter, went fishing after Jesus' resurrection instead of continuing his work. They fished all night but caught nothing. 2. In the morning, Jesus stood on the shore but the disciples did not recognize him at first. 3. When Jesus instructs them to cast their net on the right side of the boat, they catch so many fish they are unable to haul the net in. This miracle causes the disciples to realize it is Jesus.

1. John 21:1-14

2. WHAT IF THIS IS YOUR LAST
MESSAGE THAT YOU WILL
EVER HEAR?
WHAT IF THIS IS YOUR LAST
MESSAGE FROM GOD?

3. If you have spent the last months
going nowhere in the Lord!
Can I invite you today, to have a NEW
vision and purpose in the Lord!
This was the SEVETH appearance of
Jesus after His resurrection.
These few verses can easily be broken
up into THREE points:

4. Jesus the Stranger (Verses 1–4).
When Peter returned to the old
life, he took six other men with him.
Their work was in vain because the
Lord was not with them. How good it
is when Jesus comes to us when we
have disobeyed Him and have failed
in our work!

5. Jesus the Master (Verses 5–8).
When Jesus takes charge, failure is
turned into success; and the
difference was only the correct side of
the boat, cast your net on the RIGHT
side of the boat! You never know how
close you are to victory, so admit your
failure and obey what He tells you to
do. He never fails.

6. Jesus the Host (Verses 9–14).
It took six men to drag the net
(verse 8), and Peter (verse 11).
We should always remember
that “God’s commandment is
God’s enablement.”

7. JESUS THE STRANGER, VERSES 1-4.
1 After these things Jesus showed
Himself again to the disciples at the
Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He
showed Himself:
“Jesus showed Himself again to the
disciples.”

8. This was the third time Jesus appeared to
His disciples, when all or most of them
were together.
He appeared to TEN of them in John
20:19; again to ELEVEN of them in John
20:26; and at this time to SEVEN of them
in John 21:2.
But, we shall find that this was the
SEVENTH time in which he had manifested
himself after He arose from the dead.

9. “Sea of Tiberias”
Notice that Jesus is again at the “Sea
of Galilee,” Galilee means = wheel or
circle. They had gone in a circle!
They had gone BACK to the very place
that Jesus called them
from, (Matthew 4 “Follow me and I
will make you fishers of men”) no
wonder they are at Galilee! The place
of a circle.

10. When the Lord had first called them they
where fishing, now they are fishing
again, they are back right where they
started from, they had gone in a complete
circle. How you are in Christ today, are you
back at your “sea of Galilee”?
The “Sea of Galilee” is not a sea but a
lake, a lake that is 12 1/2 miles long, and
from 4 to 7 1/2 miles wide.

11. Note Matthew 28:7, 10, “Go to Galilee
and where they shall see Him,” note
verse 16 “to the mountain”
The meeting place was on the
mountain on higher ground, but
instead of being on higher ground
with Christ, they went fishing instead!
They where all at sea, the sea of
trouble waters.

12. When Jesus meets His disciples they are
“all at sea.”
Some times when people are confused we
may say that “they are all at sea.”
Well these disciples where all at sea
physically, mentality, emotionally, and
maybe spirituality.
See they had just lost the one that they
loved, their master and saviour the Lord
Jesus Christ.
They had lost their way, lost their purpose
and may have lost hope.

13. Peter, James and John had been on the
Mount of Transfixion, they had seen and
experienced the great miracles of Jesus,
and had heard His teaching, yet now we
wonder where these are in Christ.
Because they all denied Christ! Now they
maybe wonder if they can ever be used of
the Lord again.
You may feel that way yourself, maybe the
devil is saying to you “you are finished,”
well note, this is where Jesus meet them
again.

14. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas
called the Twin, Nathanael
of Cana in Galilee, the
(James and John) sons of
Zebedee, and two others of
His disciples (unnamed)
were together.

15. The seven.
FIVE men went fishing, plus two
others, giving a total of SEVEN, they had
gone fishing.
Note SEVEN men, if they would be ladies
it may have read “I am going shopping.”
Yet it was SEVEN men that went back to
their old secular occupation, these men
where told by Jesus to be “Fishers of men”
Matthew 4:19, yet went fishing for fish
instead.

16. This is an amazing group here.
Here is Simon Peter, eager but
failing, warm-hearted, yet walking afar
off; he is impulsive and hotheaded.
Then here is Thomas, the doubter, who
has a question mark for a brain.
Nathanael, the wisecracker, who was also
a doubter at the beginning.
The sons of thunder, James and John.
Two others who are not named. Perhaps
these two represent you and me.

17. 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.

18. “I am going fishing.”
When Peter said “he was going fishing.”
When he said he was going back to his old
ways, notice he took others with him “we are
going with you also.”
The backslider often takes others with him!
Not only did he let himself down; he also took
SIX other men with him. Men who should have
known better, men that walked with Christ,
men that sat under the ministry and teaching of
Jesus, yet when ONE went back, he took others
down with himself.

19. Some we may know are out of touch with
the Lord, BUT what of the others, the ones
that you take down with you.
You see you may fail before the Lord, BUT
what of your family and friends that you
take down with you. These are the others!
Who are the others in your life?
To walk in the Lord and then to walk away
is terrible, BUT what of the others you
have testified too.

20. “They went out and
immediately.”
Without thought they went.
These are the men that once
left their nets “immediately” to
follow Jesus, now return to
their old ways “immediately.”

21. “They fished ALL night.”
Can you see something in those
few words, when you walk from
the light, you walk in the
darkness!
They fished in darkness, and
caught nothing. You see instead of
being the “light of the world” they
are in darkness themselves.

22. They fished all night and caught nothing.
This may be the only true fish story that
has been told!
The disciples are no longer walking in the
light but in darkness, with that darkness
came the nothing!
They left the light and are now in the
darkness. Some of you may now we
walking in the darkness, your life is dark
and you have nothing!
They had empty hands, empty nets, an
empty boat and empty hearts.

23. They failed to catch anything
because they are now outside of
God’s will and purpose, Jesus told
them to be “fishers of men,” not
fishers of fish.
Not only did they fail in God’s
work, now they failed in their own
work.
They lost out of grace and now
lost out of works.

24. Is this the same Peter of Luke 5:11 “So
when they had brought their boats to
land, they forsook all and followed
Him.”
Peter left all to follow Jesus, BUT soon
he was back to his old ways.
The disciples, not fully knowing how
they were to be employed, purposed
to return to their former occupation
of fishing.

25. They were not the first
fishermen to spend the night
fishing without success!
They illustrate the uselessness
of human efforts apart from
divine help, especially in the
matter of fishing for souls.

26. 4 Butwhen the morning had
now come, Jesus stood on the
shore; yet the disciples did not
know that it was Jesus.
“But when the morning had
now come.”

27. When the day was now breaking.” Yes, a
new day was dawning for these men and
more so Peter.
When the morning came, see when you
labour all night and gain nothing, you are
every so glad to see the light of day again.
I did a few weeks of nights a few years ago
over Christmas, boy I was glad to see the
morning sun and light again, knowing that
my shift was coming to an end.
But to labour all night, without anything
to show is so down hearting.

28. This can be a dawn of a new day in
your life. Christ can now give you light
and purpose for your life.
After a night of nothing I believe the
disciples where glad to see the dawn
and the light of the new day.
It was going to be a good day for them
because Jesus stood on the shore, to
welcome them back again.

29. “Jesus stood on the shore.”
It was the same Jesus, but they did not
know Him, they lost sight of Jesus in TWO
ways.
They no longer followed Him.
Now they no longer knew Him.
He was in His glorified body and He could
be recognized; yet they would have been a
distance out on the lake, and in the early
morning it would be difficult to identify
people on the shore.

30. This can be the
dawn of a new day
for you, for Jesus
said “come and
dine.”