Who Filled the Disciple's Nets With Fish?

Tom: We are continuing with the gospel, we’re in the Gospel of John [21:9]: “As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.”

Now to back up a little bit, the disciples were out fishing.

Dave: Mm-hmm, all night.

Tom: Yeah. Jesus is standing on the shore. They caught nothing, and He tells them to cast their net on the other side of the boat, and they fill the net to the point that it starts to break.

Dave: Mm-hmm.

Tom: So Peter gets excited when John tells him this is the Lord, (they should have known that) but he jumps in the water and he doesn’t try to walk to the shore, but swims to the shore and this is where we pick up.

So Jesus is standing there, but He already has food set out for them.

Dave: He’s not only shown them that, “If you want to go back to your profession of fishing, I can bless you, but I’ve called you to be fishers of men. Well, you don’t have to fish, I’ll give you fish.” And amazing, here He is, there’s a fire, coals—where did He get the wood? He wasn’t running around gathering wood—and they’re broiled, the fish are already broiled, ready for them. It’s a powerful lesson for them Tom, that He can provide.

Tom: Dave, for our listeners, for myself as well, I believe I’ve been called of the Lord to do what I’m doing right now. But I know going back, after I became a believer trying to figure out what my calling was, and so on. What do you say about that? I’ve talked to people who have said, “Well, this is really where the Lord wants me, I know that,” and they’ve gone to do something and it didn’t work out. Or they lived in such fear of making the right choice that they didn’t do anything. How do you see that?

Dave: Well, Tom, I’ve had many young men in particular come up to me at meetings and say “Well, Dave, I’d like to get into a ministry like this too. How do I do it? Do you take any apprentices? How do we get started? Or what school would you recommend, or whatever, you know?” And I have a simple reply. We’ve talked about it a number of times on this program. Jesus said to His disciples, “You go out and you make disciples, and you teach them to observe everything that I have commanded you.” So I’m a disciple of a disciple of a disciple all the way back to the original disciples. Therefore I’m supposed to be like the original disciples doing what Jesus commanded them to do. So every Christian should be in the ministry. That’s what I tell these young men: “Well you’re in the ministry. Now, if you are faithful to what God has called you to, He’ll lead you a step at a time.” Solomon said, “A man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” God will direct you one step at a time. Be faithful where you are. Be a witness. You have secular employment? Well, be a witness. It doesn’t mean you get up on a soapbox and take your employer’s time to preach to your fellow employees. But in your life, your testimony and then maybe on a lunch hour or whatever—you have plenty of time in the evening. You can go out and knock on doors door to door. You can stand on the street corner if you want and preach the gospel. However the Lord leads. You can use your home. People have homes and if you live near a university there are foreign students, students here from other countries, from China, or from Muslim countries. They would love to get inside an American’s home. Invite them in for dinner. Get acquainted with them. Have discussions, talk with them. Begin a step at a time faithfully to take the advantage of the opportunities that the Lord gives you. Are you in a cab? Well, talk to the cabbie about the Lord. Wherever it is. And as you do this, then when you’re faithful in one way, then the Lord will guide you and direct you. But don’t set out to—you’re going to have some big ministry now. And you’re going to aim for that. “No, Lord, please direct my steps. Help me to be faithful where I am right now.”

Tom: Dave, I think back, and my experiences—and sometimes I’m really stunned, because the very things prior to knowing him, my background in Roman Catholicism, my education and so on, I didn’t piece those things together and say, “Oh, this is what I’m going to do and later down the line I’m going to use all these experiences for the Lord.” But I’m agreeing with what you said. I can see from my experience that God has directed me through some things, allowed me to go through some things to use to his glory today. I think that’s a major part of it. I’m not saying everybody can identify with what I’m talking about, but certainly you see God’s hand.

Dave: Well, Tom, you went through some tough periods as I recall where the next meal was coming from was a problem and the Lord saw you through.

Peter talks about the trial of your faith. It’s much more precious than gold that perisheth.

Again we can kind of get in another lick at Calvinism there, because the Calvinist says, “It’s not your faith. God gives you the faith and He must regenerate you, and then He gives you the faith.” But we probably talked about that last week as well.

But Jesus says it’s your faith. “I have prayed for you Peter, that your faith fail not.” So there are trials that we will face. And the disciples—I guess they’re facing a bit of a trial now. What are they going to do now? Jesus called them to follow Him and to preach His word and so forth, but now He’s—“Well, we have seen Him, He is alive, but then He disappears, and what are we going to do with our lives? Well, let’s go back to fishing.” And Jesus comes along here and it’s a gentle rebuke. “You guys fished all night, you didn’t catch anything. Well, I can fill your nets with fish. Come ashore guys, and look, I’ve got the coals laid out. There’s the fish, broiled fish, what do you want?” And He says, “Bring the fish that you’ve caught.” Imagine! He gives them credit for what He did. That’s—Tom, it’s beyond comprehension. But they had to haul in the net. They had to use their muscles a little bit. So we have to do some work. God is behind it, the blessing is from Him. But He gives us credit—that’s amazing—because we cooperate with him. “Work out your own salvation…. It’s God who works in you.” But you’ve got to do something too.

Tom: Right. Well done, though good and faithful servant.

Dave: Right. “Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three.” This is not a fairy tale, Tom. He even counted the fish. This actually happened. “…And for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus said, Come and dine. And none of the disciples dared to ask Him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.”

We mentioned this last week, “This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.”

Now that goes contrary to the people and, who we mentioned, Richard Foster and Calvin Miller and there are many others out there in the church teaching that you can visualize Jesus and it will be more than an exercise of imagination, because you visualize you get a clear picture. Jesus will actually come to you and He will talk to you and so forth. Well, obviously the disciples did not have that power. They had not learned that technique. Jesus came when He decided to come. He showed Himself to them and it goes beyond that, Tom, because He’s already said to doubting Thomas, “Because you’ve seen me, you believe. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

And we walk by faith and not by sight. So, we are to walk with the Lord and He will do amazing things in our lives, even though we do not physically see Him now because He’s at the Father’s right hand. But He promised He will never leave us or forsake us.