The sermon by Scott Brown, titled 'Jesus Manifested His Glory Again,' focuses on the post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to His disciples at the Sea of Tiberias as described in John 21:1-14. Brown highlights five 'snapshots' of Jesus' glory revealed during this event, emphasizing the significance of Jesus' miracles and His compassionate nature. The disciples, led by Peter, go fishing and catch nothing until Jesus directs them to cast their nets on the other side, resulting in a miraculous catch. This demonstrates Jesus' sovereignty and provision. The sermon explores the theme of identity, particularly through John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, and encourages believers to find their identity in being loved by Jesus. Brown also underscores the importance of obedience and faithfulness in everyday life, asserting that Jesus’ love and sovereignty guide believers through trials and provide for their needs. The sermon concludes with an invitation to recognize Jesus’ tender care and to respond to His call to dine with Him, symbolizing spiritual nourishment and fellowship.

Please open your Bibles to the inerrant and holy sufficient Word of God to John 21 and we'll be reading verses 1 through 14. John 21 verse 1. After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. And in this way he showed himself. Simon Peter, Thomas called the twin, Nathaniel of Cana and Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together.

Simon Peter said to them, I'm going fishing. They said to him, we're going with you also. They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore, yet the disciples did know that it was Jesus. Then Jesus said to them, Children, have you any food?

They answered him, No. And he said to them, Cast the net on the right side of the boat and you'll find some. So they cast. And now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of the fish. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, It is the Lord.

Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he had removed it, and plunged into the sea. But the other disciples came in the little boat, for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits, dragging the net with the fish. Then as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it and bred. Jesus said to them, bring some of the fish which you have just caught. Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land full of large fish, 153.

And although there were so many, the net was not broken. Jesus said to them, come and eat breakfast. Yet none of the disciples dared ask him, who are you? Knowing that it was the Lord. Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.

This is now the third time Jesus showed himself to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. Would you pray with me? Oh Lord, we thank you for this testimony of truth. We pray that you would come and lead your people like a shepherd with the staff of your word to guide them, that you would take these things and put them deep within our hearts that we would remember them that they would come back to instruct us and lead us in the ways in which we should go we pray that you would use these to soften any hard hearts that are here today towards you and comfort any who are weak. Amen.

Please be seated. So this morning we return to that question that we have been asking many times through our studies in the Gospel of John, what would it take for you to believe? What would you, it would take for you to believe and have life in the name of Jesus Christ? And so here in this passage of scripture these 14 verses There are more snapshots of the glory of Jesus Christ I've identified five of them. You probably have an outline in front of you where you can see what they are these are the snapshots of the glory of Jesus Christ that were revealed after his resurrection.

And these are designed to shepherd this flock here in this church. These are designed for those who are here gathered in this room at Hope Baptist Church. And as we walk through these words I want you to be asking, how is the Lord shepherding me through these words? How is he shepherding this church as a whole? How is he shepherding my family through these words?

These are the words of life, and these words have been given to us to be guiding lights to all of our lives. So we are in the place in the Gospel of John where we find the Lord Jesus Christ engaging his disciples after the resurrection and John continues to spin out details to explain that the Lord is full of grace and truth. All of it proves that. It's so remarkable. At the beginning of the Gospel of John in the prologue, John tells us that he was manifesting his glory.

Glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth and after the miracle at Cana at a wedding remarkable moment recorded in John 2 11 John tells us that this is the beginning of the signs that Jesus did in Cana of Galilee and manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him. So this is just a continuation of the entire theme of the Gospel of John and I hope I pray that today you are like Moses who said Lord show me your glory and I pray you'll see the glory of Jesus Christ here in this passage. As you've already seen, it's a picture of the tenderness and the compassion and the drawing and the pursuing and the teaching and the feeding and the appealing and the calling of the Lord Jesus Christ to his disciples. He draws them with with cords of love. He bids them to come and eat with him on the beach and after a very frustrating and failing night of fishing.

Now as far as the literary structure of the Gospel of John goes, John has already concluded the Gospel at the end of chapter 20, but John is not completely finished. You've done that before. You've finished something you wanted to say but you're not really finished so you need to really continue to fill out the details. So this actually is part of the epilogue of the Gospel of John and of course if you've been traveling with us over these years in the Gospel of John since I believe it was late 2017 when we started. The prologue of the Gospel of John covers from chapter one, verse one through 18.

And here we learn about Jesus Christ and who he is, who he was before his ministry began, casting a vision for what will come later on. But then the largest part of the book of John is often called the book of signs because it is in this section, which composes most of the gospel, the signs of his glory in his earthly ministry. And that begins in chapter one, verse 19, and runs all the way to the end of chapter 20. And then in chapter 21, we find ourselves in the epilogue. John cleaning up some of the questions that need to be answered and things like that.

But We read in the prologue, the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten from the father, full of grace and truth. And so we read these words, no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten son who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him. And this is exactly what continues on here in this narrative in the gospel. And of course, you know, John is cleaning up some unanswered questions.

He's explaining some of the other events that he hasn't recorded previously about the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus Christ He is going to explain in this section what happened to Peter. We'll deal with that next week and What what the disciples should expect after he is ascended into heaven. He addresses the rumor that John would never die, We'll deal with that next week as well and what Jesus did. So this will conclude the Gospel of John. We'll just be turning the page to the book of Acts, but the book of Acts picks up immediately after the ascension of Jesus Christ leaves off.

So what is so clear here in this text is the tenderness and the compassion and the drawing and the feeding and the blessing of his disciples at this time. And again, you know, what would it take for you to believe? Well, I want to give you five more snapshots of his glory. I'm going to give you five more reasons to believe after the however many dozens of reasons we've already covered that you might believe. And I want to give you five of these snapshots of his glory.

And the first snapshot of his glory, of course, happens at a particular location at the Sea of Tiberias. And that is explained in verses one and two. After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. And in this way, he showed himself. Simon Peter, Thomas called the twin, Nathaniel of Canaan and Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together.

So there they are. They're at the Sea of Tiberias. This is a lake of 12 miles long and about 6 miles and 3-4 wide. It's fed by the River of Jordan. It's an astounding place and astounding things happen there.

It's actually 655 feet below sea level, if you can imagine that. And John writes this in 1 John that his life was manifest, the life was manifested many, many times on and around the Sea of Galilee. And he was manifested in order to declare his glory. And John, actually in 1 John 3 verse 8 says that he was manifested to take away sins. He did all these things so that you would see the greatness of your sin and to turn from it and to be saved and have your sins removed and separated from you as far as the east is from the west.

He also says in 1 John that he manifested his name to destroy the works of the devil in your life and my life. This is why he has manifested his name. And so the disciples now, they've left Jerusalem of course and they went home. They went home to Galilee. They went home to the place where they had, what it seems like, had grown up.

It shouldn't shock us that they went home. The Lord actually told them to go to Galilee. He promised that he would meet them in Galilee and they went to Galilee really out of obedience to his word. He declares this in Matthew 28 verse 7 and Mark 16 verse 7. And this is the place where Jesus first met the disciples, where Andrew and Philip were engaged And this is where the miracles took place in Capernaum and in Cana and in Nain.

This is the place of the Sermon on the Mount. I just want us to recognize where they were going. This is the place where he walked on the water. You remember that? They're in the midst of a raging sea, they're terrified and Jesus walks by them as calm as can be, cool as a cucumber.

And they were terrified, they thought it was a ghost. You know, This is the place where the Gadarene demoniac was met, and he was relieved of all of the demons that were destroying his life. And there he was, clothed, and in his right mind, the disciples saw that right in this location. This is the place that they came back. They saw the pigs run over the hill who the demons had entered in.

This is the place where the 5, 000 were fed, where he said he was the bread of life. Remarkable, beautiful things happened here. Can you imagine just for a minute what it was like to go home to a place like this? The place of the miracles of God, the place where God blessed them beyond imagination. And they were now back home.

And it's, you know, when you go home to a place where wonderful things happen, it's always such a blessing, isn't it? You know, if your home was a lovely place, Going home was a lovely thing. And I think the disciples were going home in many ways in that sense. You know, I was thinking about that over the last couple of days. The wedding that we had made me think about this.

You know what a happy time it was for our whole church to gather, to rejoice, to bless, to send off a couple, to celebrate. I just thought of all the sweet times we've had together. So many sweet times. Our children have sat there and watched it. What a blessing.

They'll never forget it. And all the remarkable things that the Lord has done, the happy times of our gatherings, have been very very sweet. Well these these disciples are now back home and Jesus promised to meet them there and They are there to wait Now when did this happen? Well, we're not told exactly what happened. It happened sometime after eight days after the resurrection and sometime before the fortieth day because Jesus revealed himself for forty days after the resurrection before he ascended into heaven.

And remember that the first time he showed himself after the resurrection was in the upper room. They were terrified. They were locked in a room afraid of the Jews would come and get them and do the same thing to them that they did to Jesus. And then eight days later on the Sabbath day or on Sunday on this on the Lord's Day they met them and Thomas was present Thomas was absent in the first meeting and now this is the third time He manifested his glory to the disciples. Now, this is the third time in the Gospel of John.

There are other records of his manifesting his glory after the resurrection, but John is just speaking about his own record. This is the third time, you know, for all purposes, in the Gospel of John, but there are many others. So the focus of these 14 verses is the third appearance of Jesus Christ to his disciples recorded in the Gospel of John. And notice these words. Notice that he showed himself.

After these things, Jesus again showed himself. And it's a word that John uses regularly in his gospel. It means to manifest. It means to display. And this word is in verse 1 and it's in verse 14 of this text at the beginning and the end of this section.

And there are about 18 uses of this word in the gospel of John. In chapter 5 verse 1 we read that Jesus manifested his glory. He said, I manifested your name to those whom you gave me. And John can't get over the manifestations of the glory of Jesus Christ. He speaks of them over and over again.

They have been so defining and touching and transforming to him. Even, he records in Jesus' prayer in John 17, where Jesus says that all these things happened, that his disciples would see his glory, everlastingly. And so he manifests his glory on earth to give you a taste of his glory everlastingly. So this manifestation of his glory is something that is so prominent here. And of course there were many other appearances.

Jesus showed himself to Mary Magdalene, to the women, to Cleopas, to Simon. He displayed his glory to 500 of his disciples on the mountain of Galilee where he gave the Great Commission. And so he's bent on displaying his glory. And he's displaying his glory here in the Sea of Galilee also called the Sea of Tiberias also called Gennesaret those are all the same places. Acts chapter 1 verse 3 I'll give you a little tip off so how the book of Acts begins All that Jesus began to do and teach, this is Acts 1-3.

All that Jesus began to do and teach until the day in which he was taken up, after he through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the Apostles whom he had chosen to whom he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs being seen by them during 40 days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. That's what he was doing. He was appearing and he was speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. But here there are just seven that are gathered, seven fishermen that they are named. There are multiple witnesses here.

Notice the names except for Peter, we don't hear from them again. They lived their lives out without any more print coverage. And this is really a picture of all of us. God brings us into this world. He saves our souls and it doesn't matter whether we're known or unknown.

But all are collected up, all are caught up in this wonderful story of redemption, caught up for all eternity into his glory. Outcasts redeemed. Nobody's redeemed. What a blessing it is. The Church of Jesus Christ is composed of these.

You know, the world will not know us. We will live our lives out before the Lord doing the things that God has put in our hands. But his glory remains in the midst of it. And it's the only thing that really matters. It does not matter if your name appears in print.

It matters if your name appears in the book of heaven. That's the book you want to be in. So the Church of Jesus Christ is like this and This is the real story of the ages. You have Nathaniel who is here. Remember Nathaniel?

Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile. He was there. And then there's another snapshot of his glory here. I mean he's called his disciples back to this place where he demonstrated his glory over and over again. Can you imagine what it was like to be there again?

You know when you experience something on a particular street and you pass that street, it comes back to mind when you drive it. Can you imagine what the disciples were experiencing as they walked back into their hometowns and remembered all the things that happened there? What a blessing. Well the second snapshot of his glory, well his disciples went fishing and caught nothing. God was glorifying himself in there, catching nothing.

Verse three, Simon Peter said to them, I'm going fishing. Now, how should we take this? You can hear sermons about this verse that take different angles. I've heard sermons on this verse that say they were disobedient, despondent, destroying disciples, going back to their economic lives, rejecting their call of Jesus Christ. And of course, Jesus had commissioned them to be fishers of men already.

We know that for sure. But was Peter walking in disobedience? Was he walking in the flesh? And I'm not confident that they were sinning. I'm confident rather they were actually following the Lord.

He told them to go there. He did not tell them not to fish. They were fishermen. They had jobs. They had families.

Peter had a family. How do you feed your family? Well, you need to work. So I'm not so confident that they went out in disobedience. The other disciples followed Peter.

Peter was a leader. He said, let's go, and they went. Peter was an activist. Peter was out in front quite a bit. You need people like that, frankly.

The disciples need people who say, let's go. Let's go do this. Let's go do that. That's what leaders do. They say, let's go.

And that's exactly what Peter did. And were they backsliding? I don't think they were backsliding at all. I don't believe they were abandoning the mission of God at all. They had families to support.

Fishing was their livelihood. If we're going to say that they were sinning then we might say that Paul was sinning because he was making tents and so were the others who worked as well. I find nothing in here that they were disobedient, only that they were desiring to be faithful disciples. Jesus told them to Galilee, that's all they knew. Now there's a principle here I think.

The principle is this, be content with what the Lord has commanded. And go do that. And be satisfied with that. And then be faithful with what he's put in your hand. Just do that.

Just be faithful in the place that God has called you to be or the place he has put you. And he will lead you from there. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths.

So obey the Lord in the place that you are now and then he'll take you to the next place. Do your work as unto the Lord. Be faithful in the small thing. And God will make your next step clear. You know, young men and women often ask this question, you know, what am I going to do for the rest of my life?

Well, I don't know. My answer is this, just do faithfully what God's put in your hands and then he'll lead you into the next thing. You don't even need to worry about it. He will do it. He's big enough.

You know, he controls every synapse of every brain in the world and he'll get you where he wants to get you. So you don't need to worry about it so much. He will show you the way. Just do what he says, he will meet you there, and then he will direct you from there. And so we can be content with that.

So there's also an example here, and this is the disciples, they are doing what he told them to do. Now, I was reading in Isaiah, I've been reading in Isaiah for a month. I read this morning, Isaiah 30, 18, blessed are those who wait for him. Blessed are those who wait for him blessed are those who wait for him I think that's what we find here here's the third snapshot of his glory the snapshot of Jesus calling out from the shoreline This is verses 4 through 6 But when the morning had now come so light is dawning it's that dim light of dawn and Jesus stood on the shore yet his disciples did not know that it was Jesus. For all of those, for all of you who don't like to get up early in the morning, recognize there's so many places in the Bible where the disciples are getting up in the morning at dawn.

So they are there at morning, it's dawn, great things happened at that time. Then Jesus said to them, children, have you any food? He's speaking to them across 100 yards of water, 300 feet. And It says that they did not know it was Jesus. We don't know if it's because the light was dim or perhaps his glorified body was a little bit different.

J.C. Ryle says that. I'll just read you how J.C. Ryle explains this. I liked it.

His body was the same and yet not the same in the same way that in our resurrected bodies we will be the same yet not the same. Well we don't know exactly what Jesus Christ looked like in his resurrected body. He was able to do things that his old body weren't able to do, but he does many of the things that his old body did, like eat fish and eat honey, which he does after the resurrection. So the morning light is dawned and Jesus is standing on the shoreline and he calls out to them and they answer back to him no we didn't catch any fish and then he said to them cast the net on the right side of the boat "'and you will find some.'" What an amazing thing. So they did it.

They cast their nets on the other side of the boat. By the way, that's not very far away from the other side of the boat. You know, it's not like it was a different region necessarily. But Jesus, you know, was showing compassion. They'd been fishing all night long and They fished all night long because that's when you fished.

It was strategic. It's what you did to catch fish. And they had failed. It's easy. I don't know if you're a fisherman, but it's easy to relate to these fishermen who got skunked.

I like these fishermen. They got skunked, like me sometimes. So Jesus shows them where the fish are. So did Jesus see the fish in the water and say oh just throw it on the other side was that what he was doing? Was Jesus a divine fish locator?

You know, who could see and then you go to the right place. I don't think that's what is happening. In the Bible Jesus controls fish And I believe this is by his miracle working power. He moved the fish on that side of the boat. You know, God does control fish in the Bible.

He brought a fish to swallow a man, and then he had that fish belch that man onto the beach. When it was time to pay the taxes, Jesus put a coin in a fish's mouth, called that fish to the shoreline, and Peter took it out of his mouth and paid the pull tax. Jesus controls the fish. And I think that's what's happening here. Jesus doesn't look down at your problem and then just try to navigate it.

Oh no look at what terrible thing has happened to Joe now I will start sort of move around him and do things no no no no this is not the sovereign hand of God in nature. God controls everything. God makes it happen. God moves the fish. And then here in this text, Jesus Christ tells his disciples where they are, where he put them.

And this is really the principle of Scripture in all of these things. You know, we're in the midst of this remarkable moment that people are calling a pandemic and there's been a lockdown and all kinds of demands and tumult among the rulers of the land. And we always need to remember this God is not surprised God is not looking down from heaven saying oh no there's a pandemic he's not saying oh no the president caught the virus he's not saying that he gave the president the virus okay The you know the the singular testimony of scripture on the spread of disease is that God spreads it. Just go read your Bible. Every time there's a mention to plague, God starts it.

God stops it. God starts it so that people will turn to him and worship him and not trust in themselves and he stops it for his own purposes. And that's how people get the virus. It spreads silently. God is the super spreader.

God is the infection cell that sets the infections out in the world. We just need to recognize it. And that's why we have no reason to fear. No, no reason at all. God is controlling it all.

This has been such a blessing to see our congregation not fearful at all about these things. What a sweetness that is. To be able to walk in the world in total freedom, knowing that God is in control, and being as wise as serpents and innocent as does. So God is not doing workarounds for this boat. You know, God determined all these things in the same way that he always does.

You know, I said I've been reading in Isaiah, and in the section that I've been reading, it really is a display of God's control over all the nations, and he walks through all the nations of the earth from chapter 13 to 23, But then you get to chapter 24 to 26, there's a really a disclosure of why all this is happening and it's very clear God has done it all. But then, but then there's a song that the people of God are singing in the midst of this display of God's control over the nations. And by the way, there's a lot of tragedy that's happened, that happens in the midst of this, a lot of trouble that happens in the nations that actually the people of God experience. But the people of God are singing they're happy and in chapters 26 there's a song and here's what they're singing we have a strong city that's what the people of God are saying we have a strong city God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks and then those famous words you will keep them in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusts in you.

Trust in the Lord forever for in Yah the Lord is everlasting strength. So the church should never be in a panic attack. If the church isn't catching fish, if the disciples aren't catching fish, they shouldn't panic. God is in control. God is moving.

God is ordaining all of these things. That's why we sing that great hymn. Great is thy faithfulness, oh God my father, there is no shadow of turning with thee. Thou changest not thy compassions they fail not. Paul and then he's And then the wonderful chorus, great is thy faithfulness, all I have needed, thy hand has provided, great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.

Well that's what the picture is here And Jesus Christ is demonstrating his glory by providing for his disciples. I think he's saying again, without me, you can do nothing. I think he's repeating what David said years before, unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. It's the Lord who's in control of all these things. So they labored all night long, they caught nothing, and it was it was all for God's mercy.

It was all to declare His glory. They didn't catch fish so that Jesus would declare his glory. That is why you are in the midst of a trial right now, so that you will see his glory as a result of it. You will see his glory at some point, but God is bringing you through a difficult time if you are in a difficult time because he wants to display his glory and he often does it right when you're at the precipice and that's what he did here with these disciples. Now This situation would bring back memories to Peter for sure and the other disciples because a very, very similar, almost identical thing already happened a couple of years before.

And Luke records it in Luke chapter 5. Now I'd like you to open up to Luke chapter 5. And I want you to see the parallels and also see what's different. So it was, this is Luke chapter 5 verse 1, Luke 5 verse 1. Luke 5 verse 1 reads, So it was as the multitudes pressed about to hear the word of God, that he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake, but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.

Then he got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When he had stopped speaking, he said to Simon, launch out into the deep and let down your nets for the catch. But Simon answered and said to him, Master, we've toiled all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless, at your word, I will let down the net.

And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus knees saying, depart from me for I am a sinful man, oh Lord. For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken.

And so also were James and John the sons of Zebedee who were partners with Simon. You learn a little bit about the business that was going on there. And Jesus said to Simon, do not be afraid from now on, you will catch men. So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed him. That was an astounding moment in their lives.

Same lake, the Sea of Galilee, same time frame, fishing at night, failing all night, same problem, no fish, same promise, cast the net, and the same result. But notice, in that occasion in Luke chapter 5 it was terrifying to Peter. But in this passage of Scripture Peter went overboard. He was so happy. The fourth snapshot of the glory of Jesus Christ revealed.

I want to pull a couple of things out of verses seven and eight for us to see this glory. One element of it is that John knows that he is loved by Jesus Christ. And then Peter goes overboard into the sea. So the first thing we see is this matter of the disciple whom Jesus loved and then Peter jumping overboard into the sea. So Peter jumps into the water.

Now my view of this is that they were close to shore. We learned that they were close to shore. There was a skiff that brought the other disciples to the shore later. Peter got there first. Peter put on his outer garment.

He was in a working garment, and then he put on his outer, more formal garment, and he jumped into the water. Now, did he swim? Maybe. Well, I know you can swim in full clothing. I've done that a few times.

But it's quite likely that they were in shallow water and Peter jumped out and waded to the shore fully clothed. But we don't know for sure. It seems like he could have been swimming, but he also may have been in shallow water. You know how that works. You have a larger boat, doesn't come right to shore, but there's a skiff to bring people to the shore so that the boat's not broken up on the bottom.

So whatever it is, he did go overboard and they were dragging the net with fish. Now you might ask what kind of fish? What kind of fish are in the Sea of Galilee? Well they're still there. And they are tilapia.

Have you ever had tilapia? Well when you eat tilapia you are eating holy fish. And How big were they? They can get two pounds. So it could have been a heavy load of big fish or most likely it was.

Maybe two to three hundred pounds of fish in that net. But then we get to this remarkable statement. I hope it's unforgettable to all of us. It's a statement of John's perception of Jesus' attitude toward him. So hang on to this one, okay?

John's perception of Jesus' attitude toward him. I think this is so wonderful and really so important. Verse 7, Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter. So here you have two disciples, one who knows that Jesus loves him, and the other is jumping overboard for Jesus. That's what's happening.

And we learned something about John, about how John thought about his life. And I want to ask you how you think about your life. In this statement, John was just simply reflecting his understanding of his identity. And John's identity was all tied up in the most important identity marker you can have, that Jesus loves you. If you want to be identified as anything, that is what you want to be identified by.

His identity wasn't primarily that he was a fisherman. John's identity was an everlasting identity that would never fade away. Whether he lost his family or his job or his friends or anything, his identity was secure. He knew who he was. He was loved by Jesus Christ.

Now, you know, how do you see yourself? How do you think about yourself? What do you say to yourself about yourself? Well, I hope that the first thing that comes to mind is that you're the disciple that Jesus loved. So do you feel that way?

Do you feel his favor? Have you experienced his love? Do you feel like he's treating you lovingly? Do you feel that way? Do you really believe that you are in everlasting arms?

Do you believe that he knows the numbers, the number of your hair? Do you believe that his angels are keeping charge over you? Do you believe that he loves you with an everlasting love? Do you believe that your name is graven on his hands? Do you believe that he holds your tears in a bottle?

Do you believe that he has adopted you? Do you believe that he's praying for you? Do you believe that he is carrying you? Do you believe that he has hemmed you in behind and before? Do you believe that his hand is on your head?

Do you believe that Jesus Christ loves you? Do you believe that he's causing all things to work together for good in your life? Do you believe that he will complete the work that he began in you? Well, the truth of the matter is, and this works out in everyday life. The more you're loved, the more you can do.

The freer you are, the happier you are, the more you are loved. And that's true in every marriage. That's true with every child. It's true in every church. It's true everywhere.

Now this is a major doctrinal issue actually. I think it's one thing and it's a very important thing to take it very personally and very emotionally. But there's more here than that. This actually is a very, very significant and pivotal doctrinal matter. And It really strikes to the heart of the difference between extreme Arminianism and Calvinism.

Arminians can say, God loves us because we loved him. God loves us because we sought him. God loves us because we went after him. But the Calvinist says we love him because he first loved us. We love him because he first loved us.

This is the sovereignty of God and salvation. That we were drawn with cords of love. That we came because we were drawn by him, not of our own. You know, the Apostle Paul prayed that the Ephesian Church would have a powerful sense of the love of God, and I pray that our church has a powerful sense of the love of God that is in Jesus Christ, that you feel that you are disciples whom Jesus loved. The Apostle Paul wanted the whole Ephesian church to get this.

And so as Paul was shepherding the Ephesian Church, so let him shepherd us today. I'll just read a portion of his prayer for the Ephesian Church. Ephesians 3 14, for this reason I bow my knees before to the father of our Lord Jesus Christ from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might through his spirit in the inter-man, inter-man that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. A church that is full of the fullness of God is a church that says, I am the disciple whom Jesus loved. There's a great sense of the love of God in a church where the power of God is at work in the heart.

Don't you love that song? The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell. It reaches to the highest star. So John, John also, by the way, if you continue to read his writings and in his epistle in 1 John, you remember when he wrote, "'Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us? He said, God is love in 1 John.

So God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. And you can say, God so loved the world. But it's a wholly different thing to say, God so loved me. And I pray that that's your testimony. I pray that's your identity, the way that you think of yourself.

And the way that you think of yourself isn't tied up on your personal success. It's not on your bank account. It's not in your skills. It's not in your career. The how you think about yourself is not based on your position or your respect or the way that people treat you.

These things will disappear at the wave of God's hand and they often do. And if your identity is tied up in those, Your identity is all tied up on sand that's so easily washed away. But if you think of yourself as a person loved by your Savior, you can walk in humility for all eternity, knowing that he cares for you. So don't say about your identity, I'm rich, I'm tall, I'm strong, I'm gifted, I'm funny, I'm smart, I'm successful. I'm black, white, red, yellow, Whatever it is, don't say that, but let your identity be in that you're a disciple that Jesus loves.

The fifth and final snapshot of Jesus' glory is Jesus is on the shore now with a fire and he feeds his disciples breakfast. Verse 9, verses 9 through 13, then as soon as they had come to land they saw a fire of coals there and fish laid on it and bread and Jesus said to them bring some of the fish which you have caught. So Jesus is there on the beach and he has a meal for them and I regard this as another miracle he created fire and food and there it was he'd he'd already done it with the loaves and the fishes it's not an unusual thing he did it with the wine at the wedding of Cana here there's a fire of coals it's very interesting It's the very same language that's used elsewhere. Twice in the gospel, this gospel we read of coals, a fire of coals. And here In John 18, 18, there's a whole other scene not too long before this situation.

Peter is in a courtyard with the high priest and he's warming himself over a fire of coals and he's denied the Lord. And he has failed to be bold in the face of a girl who just asked him a simple question and he was at a fire of coals there and now he's at another fire of coals and Jesus is cooking for him. Isn't that amazing? Perhaps the Lord would just bring to mind this for Peter so that it would take him back just for a moment and then bring him right into where he wasn't to being provided for here. Now I think Jesus is sending his disciples a message and it's the message of Jesus Christ.

It's come be refreshed. Come eat breakfast with me. They just came off a frustrating and failing night. You might just think about that for a minute. What would that be like to be out in the water all night long and be beating your head against the wall and nothing is working and you catch nothing?

What is that like? You're probably fairly tired. And now it's daybreak and you're exhausted. And the Lord Jesus Christ refreshes them and he refreshes them two ways really. He gives them a great catch of fish and he invites them to eat breakfast with them.

Those two things. So there was a great catch of fish. We read about that in verse 11. Large fish, 150 of them. But the net wasn't broken, which is probably another miracle.

Now, so there were, and there were 153 fish in this load. Now, interpreters of this text, read them if you'd like, have racked their brains to see if there's a symbolic meaning in the 153 fish. What's the meaning of the 153 fish? You know, if you're into numerology, you might just get wrapped into that little rabbit trail there. Marcus Aurelius said that there were 153 species of fish, So it has been concluded by some that the number refers to the in-gathering of all the peoples of the earth from every Italian tribe and nation.

Others have worked out complex mathematical formulas. Augustine explained this matter of 153 fish on the basis of the symbols of numbers. The numbers 7, 3, and 1. 7 represents the number of disciples in the boat. Another 7, another multiplier of 7 represents the gifts of the Spirit.

Three, the three represents the Trinity and one represents unity. So here's Augustine's mathematical formula. Seven disciples times seven fruits of the spirit plus one equals 50. 50 times 3 equals 150 and 50 plus 3 equals 153. So the 153 fish signify the fullness of the church in Peter's boat, that's seven men, filled with the spirit, that's seven, perfected by adding one for unity of her faith, one, and then multiplying by three and adding three for faith, you get 153.

So, what is the meaning of the 153 fish? Are you ready? This is my last and final answer. The meaning of the 153 fish is that they caught 153 fish and it was absolutely amazing. Out of the obedience, out of these obedient fish going to where Jesus wanted them to go and the disciples catching them where he wanted them to catch them and there were a hundred and fifty three fish and they were really heavy and the net didn't break and that is the meaning of the hundred and fifty three fish so then then Jesus calls out to them again.

He says, come and eat breakfast. The King James has it in beautiful language, come and dine. Isn't that nice? The Revised Standard Version says, come and break your fast. And then of course we have here, come and eat breakfast.

Take your choice. They're helpful and compelling. Jesus wants us to know that he's inviting his disciples to dine with him after a troubled night. You know, we see this. John continues to write about these things in John 3.

He says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him and he with me." So John wants us to understand this theme here and then John finally explains the purpose of all this in verse 14. This is now the third time Jesus showed himself to his disciples or manifested himself or manifested his glory to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. So the Lord Jesus Christ pursues his disciples, he refreshes them, he encourages them, he draws them with cords of love, he blesses them, He shows them how sovereign he is, how absolutely in control he is of everything. He had already showed them he controls the wind and the waves.

He'd already told them, showed them that he controls disease. They already saw him control everything. And he could feed 5, 000 at the snap of the finger that he was sufficient for them. And so he does it again, John records it, and I think that he is making it very clear to them that they ought not to worry about their life. That he is a provider.

He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arms and carry them. And he will gently lead those who are with young. By the way those are probably pregnant women those who are with young. He will lead them.

He'll care for them. If anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink. He's been saying that over and over again in a hundred different ways. So beautiful. He says come and in a few minutes we'll be taking the Lord's Supper And we will remember that Jesus Christ invites his disciples to eat and to drink with him, to be fed by him.

And we will hear him say, take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me." So the plain meaning of this text really is that Jesus is manifesting His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And we see His care for the disciples. We see the obedience of the disciples to go where they were told to go. And we see the tenderness of Jesus Christ to feed hungry and weary disciples in their time of need when they haven't caught anything.

And we also see What is the most important part of anyone's identity? Do you see yourself as a disciple whom Jesus loves? That's the most important question. And I pray that you answer that question by saying, oh yes, he loves me. Oh, he loves me so.

Look at all the ways he's loved me. Would you pray with me? Father, we thank you for these manifestations of your glory so that we would glorify you, that we would praise you, that we would find all of our comfort in you, we would see all of our help in you, we would see your majesty, your absolute mastery of everything that happens in the world from the political scene to nature to the provision of food to the greatest need of our whole lives and that is to be loved with an everlasting love. Amen.