I would like you to use your imagination.

Picture yourself getting into in a fishing boat with some companions, push out into a dark night and catch nothing.

Now imagine another group of men doing the same, only this time under different circumstances. 

Their entire life is in a turmoil. Their leader had been betrayed and killed and perhaps they may be next.
After that miserable night out on the water, feeling like that and cold and wet they hear a man calling out, but cannot make out his features. Who is he? What is he doing there? Where did he come from?
Is he a spy? Is he armed?
Are there any others there?

By now you may recognize a familiar story that is found in John chapter twenty-one.

Peter told them, “I’m going fishing.” And they all replied, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and fished through the night, but caught nothing. John 21:2

Something was wrong from the outset. According to Luke 24:49, Jesus had instructed them to wait in Jerusalem for the day when they would be clothed with power, but they went to the lake instead.

They had already spent three years with Him, observing everything that He said and did and they had been sent on various assignments, saying what He said and doing what He did.

They knew what the anointing can and does do, but on those occasions, it was only for those particular assignments. He wanted them to wait there until the Holy Ghost came to make that anointing “permanent”.

He wants us all to have the same baptism He had and to do the same things He did and now that the Holy Ghost is here that is possible. Being anointed for ministry is a topic we would be wise in studying in depth. Perhaps at another time.

He’s here! The Holy Ghost is here just as Jesus promised. Our Lord has not changed, His word has not changed. His commission to us all has not changed. The Holy Spirit has not changed and I cannot understand why He is rejected as He is. We can and we should be clothed with that same power today.

Perhaps because of our human nature, we generally want to do things the way we want and so the results depend on our own natural resources and abilities that are always finite.

Those disciples were doing just that, depending on their own natural talents and resources. Peter was a leader of sorts but very human, going through all kinds of emotional problems, mainly because of his denial of Jesus. But Jesus knew it would happen, just as He knows what we are like and He makes provision for us. It is up to us to avail ourselves of what He offers.

Even in everyday life, God wants us to be blessed, encouraged, live well and prosperous and true prosperity is not money alone. His idea of prosperity is Shalom, or peace in every circumstance and condition, or as it is sometimes said, “nothing missing and nothing broken”.

Those disciples did not have that, Peter in particular. I shared elsewhere that he had actually given up. I say that because of what the account states.

Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing. John 21:3

That phrase I go a fishing in the Greek is hypagō that  means to move along, to go along, to leave, to depart, to retire, to depart, to slink out of sight, to lead astray and so on.

It speaks of a significant change. If we accept that Peter was a leader, then he led those six disciples astray.

It may sound distasteful, but I keep telling people not to trust anyone, regardless of their position and status, especially religious leaders. A large proportion of our “churches” are full of people who simply should never be in the ministry. They have not been called by God, are not ordained by God, are not anointed by the Spirit of God, yet choose to lead others. Test what I say. I am an ordained minister, qualified by bible colleges and tertiary institutions to doctorate level and subject myself to the same testing. Peter led them astray. If he did, then others can and do, so see how they really measure up to biblical standards.

They chose to follow him, saying, “We also go with thee “. The account states that they entered a ship immediately, so there was no hesitation—and it was not a simple instantaneous action. It was not spontaneous but blindly following along. Tiberias is approximately 115 km in straight line from Jerusalem.

They did not have a car, so that just did not happen overnight. It indicated a deliberate plan of action. But where did they get that boat and who owned it? If you read on, you will see that they had two boats—two different kinds of boats. We have assumed that Peter left everything behind, abandoning everything  and became poor to follow Jesus but that may not be true. He had a fishing business with partners. He was married and owned a home that Jesus visited when He healed Peter’s mother in law. Peter could have left the business in the hands of his partners...

When I researched that, it amazed me. We tend to gloss over bible accounts and miss amazing truths. Amongst other things, it reveals to me the amazing patience of God and the depth of His love and concern for us. Sure Peter goofed off, but would we really have been any different? I cannot say what I may have done, so I am so very, very grateful to the Lord that He has placed me in His plan and put me in the right place at the right time for His purpose. I imagine that the same things go for you.

Let me then break down this account.

It is the Sea of Tiberias. The disciples are there doing nothing when they should have been in Jerusalem. They are not teaching, proclaiming, praying effectively and are not transformed into bold witnesses. They are simply... fishing.

They have seen the risen Jesus and yet, they return to something familiar, returning to old habits, doing the same things as before.

The night passes and John tells us simply that they caught nothing. In that simple statement, it reveals that we can expend effort and energy and resources without result and that we can have movement without direction. It indicates that we can want to return to what once worked or want to stay there and achieve nothing.

And then, at daybreak, something shifts.

That man on the beach suddenly calls out, but who is he? He asks, “Children, do you have any fish?”

They did not know who He was, but He addressed them in intimate terms. What He said was not calling them “children” as in small people—children, but as paidia that means something like “My dear ones”.

This indicates closeness.

I want you to understand that He desires closeness, relationship and friendship. He said in John that He does not call us His servants but as His friends. You are one of His dear ones, or can be one of His dear ones and that status depends on our willingness and obedience to Him. It is not so much as what we do, but who we are that matters.

What He said conveyed no revelation, nothing “prophetic”, no deep meaning. It was a simple, “dear ones”, but it got their attention and pierced the night.

There are times when we can miss His voice because we are ”too busy” or looking for some “deep teaching”, a “revelation” or prophecy, when all He asks is our time, love and affection.

On most occasions for me, it is in the stillness of the night and can often take me by surprize. We can be ‘too busy” serving Him (and so we should) and become so entrenched in our projects and programs that we often choose for ourselves and not still our spirit man and our racing minds and ask Him if He would like something. Often times He asks me, sometimes waking me and asks, “would you like to sit with me for a while?”

What He could say today is, “How are things going?” He knows anyhow and that makes it more precious, because He is very interested in our lives and wants to be part of them.

They could only say one word, “No”. A simple answer; a simple prayer, a single word is all that we need. When you are in trouble, the best prayer to say is, “help”. I am convinced that long heavily worded, “politically correct” prayers avail little. Jesus spoke of them unkindly.

All that he wanted was a simple reply, no explanations, no excuses, no pretenses. “No”. Once they said that, He gave a very simple and very precise instruction.

Cast the net on the right side of the boat.

Whatever He tells you to do... do that

The instruction is not dramatic or spectacular but very simple. He did not tell them to do what we often see in many churches, such as applying certain “principles” like the “ten laws” of a certain thing or to make a “faith confession” or to “sow a seed”.
I’ve attended enough “faith conferences” etcetera to realize that this is not necessarily how God does things.
For example in one such large church they held such a conference held every year in which the guest speakers hyped up the audience and hype is the correct word, to repeat their “faith confessions”, to give lavishly and expect a harvest.
They often said that when you give mortgages would be paid off, they would be promoted or receive a new car. It was often declared that a certain number of them would be millionaires next year etcetera, but I saw the same people doing the same things, expecting the same results and nothing had changed for them. Why?
Only a few achieved such results, but the people up the front at the top of the pyramid got the money. The “problem” is that there are times when such giving does work.
Many years ago when I lived on Mount Tamborine in Queensland, the Lord instructed us to sell our can and give half the money to one person and half to another, not to a church or minister but to people with a real need. We debated for a while because there is no public transport on the mountain, but did as the Lord told us. Sometime later, someone bought us a car.

What Jesus told these men to do was very specific for that occasion only and that is the key.

All throughout scripture, God told certain people to do certain things at a certain time for a certain objective.

• He once told Moses to cast his rod down and later told Aaron to do likewise, not Moses.
• He told Moses to strike a rock once but to speak to a rock another time.
• He told a leader to wait until he heard the sound of wind blowing though the mulberry trees during a campaign but told another to dig trenches and fill them with water.
• He told a prophet to lay on his side, another prophet to cut his hair another to break into a wall, and someone else had to cast a stick into the water to raise an iron axe head.
• He told Gideon to tell his men to drink at the stream to select his men.

Jesus’ mother gave us sound advice, “Whatever He tells you to do, do that”.

• Jesus told them to fill water jugs with water and pour it out. As they did it turned to wine, but He never did that again.
• He spat on the ground and made clay that He smeared on a blind man’s eyes, telling him to wash in the pool to be healed, but He never told anyone else to do that.
• He told another man to stretch his withered hand out but I do not see that again in His ministry. I’ve seen that happen myself and it is a jaw dropping experience.

I’m trying to show you that we have to follow His lead and do what He says on each and every occasion to achieve what He wants, not necessarily what we want.

His command to them was for a reason they did not understand. They did not know that He had already lit a fire and had breakfast waiting for them. They did not know that the fish were there, ”waiting” as it were for His command. Once He told them to let the net down that those fish came racing to the net, jostling each other for a position as if yelling out, “Catch me. Catch me”.

When they first met Him, He had commanded them to let their nets (plural) down, but Peter had responded by saying that he would let down one net. I wonder what may have happened if he had fully complied with that command. Was Jesus restoring early errors? He had to yet minister to Peter for his denials.

On the previous occasion He had not specified on which side. This time however It was to be on the right side.

This means the right hand side of course. In aviation and shipping the right hand and left hand is known as port or starboard and shows a red or a green navigation light, but there is more to it than that. The right hand figuratively speaks of a preferred position, of authority and of fellowship and friendship. In a boat like that it might not have made any difference which side they used, but He was reaching out, offering something unique and special, in His opening words, “Little children” or “dear ones”.

You can be very dear to Him.

When we are in that relationship and when we do what He asks us to do, we can be favored and when we have the favor of God on us, we can move from struggling and nothing to something. He did not ask them to do anything else and there was nothing they could have done to earn that favor.

They cast the net out and enclosed so many fish that they could not draw them in.
That is exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask or think as Paul said.

What happened on this occasion was totally different to the first time when the net broke and they had to call their partners for help.
Even then, the boat started to sink.

This time however, the net did not break and the boat did not swamp.

This reinforces my belief that we cannot keep doing the same old, same old things and expect a good result every time. Holding church following the same formats every time might not be what God wants. Conducting a crusade a certain way one time might not work the same way next time. A certain kind of prayer might “work” on a given occasion but not on another. The reasons are simple. There could be different people with different needs and problems. Someone might have narrowly avoided a traffic accident on the way to church. There are many variables involved.

They let the net down and the fish swam straight into it and that haul was so heavy, they could not lift it up out of the water and into the boat.

Something of a supernatural nature happened and they suddenly realized who this man was when John said “It’s the Lord!”

The genuine supernatural reveals the Lord. It draws people to Jesus. The counterfeit draws attention elsewhere. Man gets the glory. A real man of God should simply get on with the job and thank God for what He does. The greatest prophet in Jesus’ estimation, John, pointed to Jesus and took no acclaim for himself. He also told some of his own disciples to follow Jesus, saying that he had to decrease so that the Lord would increase.

They were about 100 meters from the shore. Think for a moment at how sound travels. It was in the still quietness of an early morning and sound carries easily, but it still makes me wonder how loudly Jesus spoke. I doubt if He yelled. Many preachers have a habit of yelling as if it has a good affect, but if the anointing is there, that can “carry” the message with impact. They did not recognize His voice immediately which tells me that we can miss His voice if we are not tuned in. He did promise us that we, His sheep, Hear His voice and it is often very still, gentle and calm, yet carry authority.

Peter jumped overboard and swam ashore, but the others remained in the boat. The account says that he was “naked” but not literally naked, because he had abandoned his outer garment to work. I pondered over this and remembered that he had denied the Lord three times. He had abandoned Him. He could have acted like that out of a sense of guilt and shame. Jesus had to yet restore him by asking him if he loved Him.

Perhaps because of his rash and impetuous nature at the time, he abandoned the others and left the catch behind so they had to struggle, one man short, to reach the shore. Often times ministry is a team effort. There are times when we, “up front”, should realize that the Holy Spirit can and does move on anyone He wishes. Decades ago we had what we called “body ministry” and the pastor merely guided the meetings and allowed the Spirit to move without controlling things. It can and sometimes did have problems of course, but if we look closely in to Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, especially 1 Corinthians chapter fourteen, it suggests that this can be done—with guidance and appropriate oversight.

I’ve stood up to preach when the Holy Spirit told me to abandon my notes, or told me not to do anything but delegate to another. We should be mature enough to realize that and abandon any pride and simply stand aside to let God do what He wishes to do.

The other disciples stayed with the catch as they should have done and followed Peter in a “little ship”. The Greek wording indicates that there were two boats—ploion and ploiarion that suggest to me that Peter still had a fishing business with partners. After all, where did he get those boats?

They dragged the net to the shore and John stated that as soon as they reached it, they saw the fire with a fish breakfast already being cooked. Why didn’t they see the fire from the boat? Anyone who has gone camping knows that when someone lights a fire, that light can be seen from a reasonable distance. I wonder therefore why they never saw it.

153

Jesus then told them to bring the fish in and Peter joined them. When they counted the fish they had caught 153 fish.

When the bible gives a specific number like that, it really draws our attention to something, but the question is what does it mean?
This is a perplexing problem and many scholars cannot reach a consensus of opinions.

I discovered something very interesting when looking into the Hebrew gematria or numbering. It comes to what is termed The Number of The Sons of God or Beni Ha-Elohim.

If we look at the individual letters as per the list, they come to a total of 153.

Jesus told the disciples that he would make them fishers of men and He has given us the same assignment, so we too are to be fishers of men. This tells me that salvation is of the Lord.

When they reached the shore, they found something unexpected: A charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread (ἀνθρακία – anthrakia).

This word appears only once before in the Gospels. It was at the moment of Peter’s denial, when he stood warming himself by another fire.

This is profound. This links the place of failure with the place of restoration.

If you have failed, the Lord has already made a way for full restoration. If you lack, He has the ability to provide. If you are lonely, He is the friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Jesus was not waiting for them to bring something. He had already prepared it. The fire is already lit and the meal is already there.
This shows me that provision does not depend on our success. It precedes it!

It tells me that we cannot earn a thing, especially our salvation for it is a free gift from God.

This tells me that His presence is offered with only one condition and that is our hearts.

This tells me that The One who stood on that shore is not waiting for perfection in any way from us. He perfects us. He meets us in the ordinary, prepares what we do not yet see and invites us to come closer.

The One who passed through death and rose into life understands the hurts we endure and the weight we carry. He comes not with distance, but with nearness, asking for presence, for a heart willing to remain, to trust and to love.

He is already at work, quietly preparing what comes next, gently leading you forward.

Your story is not over. Life is still unfolding and light has already begun to break through.

Robert