John 21; THE RISEN LORD v 1.

; Jesus is Risen; V 7; Jesus is Real; V10; Jesus is Revealed; V12; Jesus is Recognised. V17; Jesus Is Revered. V 11 . The Person of the risen Lord. Jesus the Saviour and Redeemer whom God sent to this earth to reconcile all repentant sinners to Himself. Jesus was prophesied in Isaiah 9 v 6; For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful , Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. V 2 . :Presented to the people John 1 v 29. Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world, The Disciples accepted the Lordship of Jesus in their lives and witnessed to His purpose in being sent by His Father. Their lives were radically changed by the Holy Spirit baptism given them by Jesus. Have our lives been changed by meeting Jesus and serving Him ? V3; Pre occupation of Peter; Without being unfair to Peter he left his trade as a fisherman to follow Jesus and when he thought that Jesus had gone he went back to his trade. Jesus later recommissioned him to "Feed Christ's sheep. " Jesus forgave Peter. Matthew 18 v2l-22; Then came Peter to Him and said, Lord how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him, till seven times ? Jesus said to him, I say not unto thee until seven times but until seven times seven. V4; The Place where Jesus meets our needs. For the disciples it was on the beach. For us it can be anywhere when we call on the Lord Our greatest need has always been the redemption of the repentant sinner and Jesus paid the price of that on Calvary's Cross. 1 John 3 v22; And whatsoever we ask we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things which are pleasing in His sight. V5. The Purpose of the risen Lord; Have you any meat ? Jesus had come to them to meet their need,Have you a need that Jesus cam meet, Forgiveness of sin, any fears, any bad habits to give up. Jesus rose from the dead to offer you. new life , make you a new creation. Matthew 7 v7-8; Ask and it shall be given you, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh. findeth and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. V6. The Promise of the risen Lord. John 15 v7; If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it will be done unto you. Obedience to the Lord brings its own reward. Let down your net on the right side and have it filled to overflowing. Matthew 11 v 29-29 . Come unto me all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest unto your souls. V7; The Perception of the risen Lord. He knew that none of the disciples in the boat had recognised His voice. It was not until He had performed the miracle of a net filled with fish that one of the disciples whom Jesus loves recognised the miracle as coming from Jesus John 10 v27-28; My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they know Me. And I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. How often are we too busy to pause and hear the Lord's voice speaking to us. Would you recognise His voice if you hear it ?

V8; The Provisions from the risen Lord. Dragging the net filled with fishes: All the disciple present were required to pull the net to shore. All Christ's disciples are required to go fishing, for lost souls and to bring them into the family of God. Acts 1 v8; But you shall l1 receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and in Samaria and to the uttermost part of the earth. V9; The Pleasures of the risen Lord. Not only did He provide the disciples with a much needed breakfast, but He also filled their net with fish . It pleases Jesus when we pray to the Father in Jesus' name as He is always ready to see that our desires are fulfilled. Ephesians 3 v2O; Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. V10. The Persuasion of the risen Lord. Bring of the fishes which you now have caught. Share with Me some of the things which I have given you. Jesus was always seeking people who would share their God given blessings with others less fortunate. He tells us to tithe, give love offerings and seek to help others into the kingdom of God. Prove Me now and see if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing... Psalm 107 v8-9; 0 that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men, For He satisfieth the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. V 11. The Proof from the risen Lord. He starts in by first doing the miraculous, rising from the dead, and then presents Himself to His disciples and others; and then proceeds to meet the needs of the people. This was the same Son of God whom they knew before the crucifiction. Do we show by our way of life that we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, crucified on Calvary's Cross and rose from the dead. That he redeemed us from the bondage of satan. That He wants us to be His disciples and go fishing for lost souls. Mark 16 vl6 &20; And He said unto them, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs following. V12. Participation - with the risen Lord. Come and dine. What a glorious invitation to have fellowship with Christ. Just a humble breakfast but made memorable because of the Person who issued the invitation. Our Sunday morning communion though humble is a thrilling-occasion because Jesus is there by His Spirit and He has invited us to dine with Him Revelation 3 v2O; Behold I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear My voice and open the door I will come in to him, and will sup with him and he with Me. V13. The Performance of the risen Lord. The risen Son of God who not only provided the Fish but cooked it as well . This same Lord who washed His disciples' feet and taught us the privilege of serving one another to the glory of God. John 3 vl4-15; And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of man be lifted up. That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life. V14; The Presence of the risen Lord. Following the resurrection the disciples had been- priviledged to have fellowship with Jesus on several occasions. How often have we felt the presence of Jesus ? Up from the grave He arose with a mighty triumph oe'r His foes. . How do I know He lives, He lives within my heart. Psalm 100 v4-5; Enter into His gate with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise be thankful unto Him and bless His name. For .the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting and His truth endures to all generations.

V15; The Problem of the risen Lord. He has something to straighten out with Peter. Lovest thou Me more than these .? Does Jesus question your priorities too ? Jesus used the word agape when talking to Peter about Love. This is a compassionate divine love while Peter was only thinking of Phileo, a friendship . Our risen Saviour asks us to love Him more than anything else. 'Am I Lord of all in your heart ?' John 14 v2l; He that has My commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves Me, and he that loves me shall be loved of My Father and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him. V16; The Persistent risen Lord. This was the second time Jesus asked the question and still Peter had misunderstood. Yet he was about to be commissioned to feed Christ's flock. As Christians we are asked to feed and tend the flock of Jesus and to bring others to Him. John 12 v26; If any man serve Me let him follow Me, and where I am there shall also My servant be; if any man serve Me him will my Father honour. V17;-'The Problem of the risen Lord. Finally Peter understood what was required of Him. Jesus had given him a great responsibility. I wonder how many times Jesus has to speak to us before we finally catch on that we should be serving Him and in what manner. When our Saviour asks us this question what will our answer be ? Lord Thou knowest all things, you know I love you. Joshua 24 vl5; And if it seems evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve. whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood ,or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. V18; The Prophecy of the risen Lord. Having made sure that Peter understood just what was required of him. Jesus tells him that he will have to suffer for the gospel's sake. Yet Jesus knew that He could now trust Peter with this commission. I wonder what Jesus could prophecy about us for the years ahead. Will we be responsible and be His profitable servants ? will we stand before Him on judgement day and hear His, well done thou good and faithful servant. Proverbs 3 v5-6; Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths. V19; The Proclamation from the risen Lord. Follow Me. This is the message that Jesus has proclaimed down through the ages. With it He says Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptising the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. V20; 21; The Patience of the risen Lord. Peter had been given a task to do but now he wanted to know w at John was going to do. Jesus had to say to him. 'you just concentrate on your work and leave John with Me. I have a work for him.' Our Redeemer has a job for every Christian, let us not waste time being jealous or just wondering why that other person doest seem to be doing anything for Jesus. Matthew 7 v2O-21; Wherefore by their fruits shall you know them. Not everyone that sayeth unto Me Lord ,Lord, shall enter into the kingdom heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven V22; The Prodding from the risen Lord. Peter was probably a slow plodder like some of us,, but he was used mightily of the Lord. Lei us just get in step with other eager Christians and bring much fruit into God's storehouse... . V23; The Preparation . Jesus required John to write the gospel of John so that people all over the world could know the story of how and why the Son of God came to this earth. We too, as we move from day to day are writing a book about ourselves which will one day be opened in heaven and read to all, But Bay by day people around us can. read us page by page as we perform for Jesus. Will it make good reading or will people be put off Christianity by our behaviour. ? Acts 4 vl2. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among

men, whereby we must be saved. V24. The Pre emminence of the risen Lord. The Apostle John wrote of that which he had seen handled and tasted. He wrote of real life experiences as he lived and worked with the Lord. He gives all glory and honour to Jesus. Only as we keep close to Jesus can we know Him as real in our lives and give Him the honour and glory due to Him. Jude v24-25; Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty dominion and power both now and ever. V25; The Presence of the risen Lord. The disciples gave themselves completely to Jesus and His cause. We did not have the privilege of being with Jesus but we have Jesus in our lives as we trust Him. prove Him and experience His working within us John 14 v23; Jesus answered and said unto Him, If a man love Me he will keep My words, and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. Acts 26 vl6-18; But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared unto you for this purpose to make you a minister and a witness both of these things which you have seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto you. Delivering you from the people and the Gentiles unto whom I bow send you. To open their eyes and to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of satan, to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me. Now here are a few thoughts about the Apostle Peter. Matthew 26 v59-75. In the above verses we see that Peter denied that he knew Jesus, as Christ predicted that he would on the third occasion the cock crowed and Peter remembered the sayings of Jesus and wept bitterly. Forgiveness came with reconciliation and a sending forth of Peter in the Lord's service. In this story we can see some special things about Peter. His Responsibility; Rejection; Remembrance; Realisation; Relationship; Remorse; then in John 21 vl5-17 we see, Repentance; Restoration; Release,, Reliability; Resolve. Responsibility; Peter was one of the first Apostles to be sent out by Jesus to proclaim the Gospel. He had the privilege of being in Christ's School of Learning. He was close to Jesus but not fully committed. Rejection; When Christ was arrested by the soldiers, Peter kept a little apart from the gathering. But on three occasions he was challenged as being on of Christ's band. three times he denied that he was a friend of Jesus. He rejected his Apostleship when it seemed possible that he could be brought before the soldiers Jesus had previously told him that before the cock crowed in the dawn, Peter would have denied Him three times. Thus on the third occasion Peter heard the Cock crow. Remembrance. Peter remembered then the words that Jesus had spoken. He remembered his earlier words of support for Jesus that he would proudly stand up for Jesus. He remembered that good intentions are not enough but only a sincere committal to the Christian way of life. Relationship; Peter had broken off his relationship with God and he was now a most unhappy man. All who turn their backs upon Jesus will live to regret it. When things were going smoothly and many people were being added to Christ's band Peter was a happy man. Realisation; Peter now fully realised that he had put himself outside the circle of Christ's disciples also. No longer could he be active in spreading the Gospel. When having nothing to do with Christian things there is only the world to fall back onus. A dangerous thing to do. Remorse. He left the scene and wept bitterly. There is always good news for the backslider. Repent and return to Jesus who will forgive and reinstate you in His church. The longer one is away from God the harder it is to return. Restoration. While Peter was out fishing the Risen Lord came down to the beach. He had not finished with Peter and a matter had to be settled. How gracious is our Redeemer and forgiving and compassionate.

Peter denied Christ three times. Christ had to ask Peter three times before he understood what Jesus was trying to say. Finally there on the beach, Peter was forgiven and set aside for a particular ministry for Jesus. Release; His anguish and guilt complex had gone. In forgiveness Jesus had given him peace of mind and a desire to follow Him more sincerely. Peter was now committed to Jesus, to the Christian cause. He was a changed man fully aware of what Agape love meant .. Reliability. Now Peter was a man of determination, sincere and through the power of Jesus at Pentecost Peter became a mighty man of God. Resolved; Now he had a deep resolve never to let Jesus down again no matter what. He died for his beliefs and faith in Jesus. Because of his denial, Peter lost all that was meaningful and of any value. He had a guilt feeling about it as he had lost his spiritual contact with God. However by the grace of God, Peter was forgiven restored and put back into Christ's ministry. Peter made whole again, Spirit, soul and body. We can also repent of our sins and backsliding and ask God's forgiveness which is freely given. We can be put back into the ministry that was set aside for us, because each Christian has a role to play for Jesus. May we hear as we stand before God that wonderful greeting, well done thou good and faithful servant. standing on the promises of Christ my king through eternal ages let His praises ring. Glory in the highest I will shout and sing standing on the promises of God. Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to Thee. Take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless days Take my love my Lord I pour at thy feet its treasure store. Take myself and I will be ever, only, all for thee.