We thank you, O God, for this opportunity
to gather together and to search your word.
We thank you, Lord, that your word is
sweeter than the honeycomb.
It is so full of riches, there's so
much wealth in it.
Like a rich and abundant diamond or gold
mine where, as we dig, we find such
treasures.
We ask you, Lord, to be with us
and bless everyone who is here.
Amen.
In John chapter 21, from verse 1, We
ask you, Lord, to be with us and
bless everyone who is here.
Amen.
Brother Michael put me in a spot when
he was announcing that today is the International
Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians, and it
came to me about Acts chapter 4, how
they were persecuted and what their reaction was.
But I thought, no, I've prepared this, and
I just felt, let me continue with this
which I've prepared.
Perhaps we can look at that subject another
day.
But remember the persecuted Christians.
Pray for them.
That the Lord would enable them not to
be discouraged, but to go forward with courage.
John 21, from verse 1.
Afterward, Jesus appeared again to his disciples by
the Sea of Tiberias.
It happened this way.
Simon Peter, Thomas, Caldidamus, Nathaniel from Canaan, Galilee,
the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples
were together.
I'm going
out
to fish, Simon Peter told them, and they
said, we'll go with you.
So they went out and got into the
boat, but that night they caught nothing.
Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the
shore, but the disciples did not realize that
it was Jesus.
He called out to them, friends, have you
any fish?
No, they answered.
He said, throw your net on the right
side of the boat, and you will find
some.
When they did, they were unable to haul
the net in because of the large number
of fish.
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to
Peter, it is the Lord.
As soon as Simon Peter heard him say,
it is the Lord, he wrapped his outer
garment around him, for he had taken it
off and jumped into the water.
The other disciples followed in the boat, towing
the net full of fish, for they were
not far from the shore, about a hundred
yards.
When they landed, they saw a fire of
burning coals there, with fish on it, and
some bread.
Jesus said to them, bring some of the
fish you have just caught.
Simon Peter climbed aboard and dragged the net
ashore.
It was full of large fish, one hundred
and fifty-three, but even with so many,
the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, come and have breakfast.
None of the disciples dared ask him, who
are you?
They knew it was the Lord.
Jesus came, took the bread and gave it
to them, and did the same with the
fish.
This was now the third time Jesus appeared
to his disciples, after he was raised from
the dead.
Now let's have a closer look at this
matter.
Peter said to the disciples, I'm going fishing.
Thomas, Nathaniel, the sons of Zebedee, and two
other disciples all said, we're going with you.
It was evening, and so they
fished the whole night, not catching even one
fish.
It was in vain, and as it was
about to dawn, before the light was fully
there, there stood a man on the shore.
He called out, children, have
you caught anything?
Now in my translation it says children, but
in Greek it can also be interpreted as
young men.
Some translators have used the word friends.
Now, whether it was children or speaking of
young men, he called out to them and
said, tell me, have you caught some fish?
They probably took him as an older person
than they were, who was shouting from the
shore.
Now it was the custom that people who
would buy fish would call out to the
fishing boat.
The disciples might have taken him for a
wholesaler, a person who wanted to buy the
fish.
Have you any food?
Maybe he had wanted some for breakfast.
They said, not a thing.
Now I'm the same as well.
If I see boats coming from a trip,
and I go to the ski boat and
I ask, have you caught any fish?
Because I'd also like to buy some fish,
to have food.
But they answered and said, we haven't caught
anything.
They didn't understand who this man was.
And then this man proceeded to instruct them.
Saying to them, throw your nets on the
right hand side of the boat and you'll
get a real catch.
And so they threw the nets where he
had said, and they were not able to
pull in the nets, so many were the
fish.
And it was Jesus who had instructed them.
He was telling them, look, remove the nets
from the left hand side, throw them on
the right hand side, on the other side
of the boat.
And when they did as he said, they
weren't able to pull the nets because of
the many fish.
This contains a great lesson.
They were fishing on the wrong side.
They were fishing on the left hand side.
Why is that?
He said to them, no, remove the nets
from there and throw them on the right
hand side.
In English it is a double meaning.
In other words, throw it on the right
or the correct side.
Now let me give a quick lesson for
the white people who don't know about Zulu
custom regarding the pagan men who would have
a number of wives.
Now to make it short, some South Africans
that don't even know something of the black
custom.
When a heathen man has got many wives,
the first wife is they, the hut.
The second wife, if he's got a dozen
wives, is on the left side.
And the left, the second wife, is the
kosho, the left one.
If he gets the third wife, she'll be
on the right hand side.
The fourth one, on the left hand side.
The fifth one, on the right hand side.
1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, on the
right hand side.
Even numbers, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, on
the left hand side.
Because you don't count those, they are on
the left.
You just count those on the right hand
side.
Now with them it's like in the Old
Testament, only the eldest, the first born, gets
the inheritance.
So if the first wife should just have
daughters, and the second wife has got a
son, and then after many years he gets
the third wife, and she gets a son,
then the son of the second wife isn't
counted, the young son of the third wife.
Because she's on the left.
They don't count them.
Only liberals count the parties on the left
side.
But according to the Zulu custom, you don't
count those.
You just count those on the right hand
side.
So you see, it's not so easy to
have many wives.
You'll have to know something of the custom.
So if you serve the Lord, You
serve the Lord.
Serve Him in the correct way.
Not on the left hand side, the incorrect
way.
Do it on the right, the correct side.
Right side.
There are many who are in the service
of the Lord, but fruitlessly so.
There is no results, there is no fruit
to their work, and all they do is
just as nothing comes about, and they spend
their lives doing things on the wrong side,
on the left hand side, instead of doing
it where the Lord says, on the right
hand side.
May I repeat that in English?
Maybe you wonder, why is it that there's
so little result in my ministry?
Why is it that I'm not prosperous in
the Lord?
Ask yourself, Are you on the right side?
Or maybe on the wrong side?
You may serve and struggle and sweat, and
have no results, there's no prosperity with what
you are doing, because you're not doing it
at the place where the Lord wants you
to do it.
You're not doing it on the right hand
side.
On the other side, the other way, the
opposite way.
All the prophets of God, their first message,
the first words they uttered was, repent.
Remember too John the Baptist, he started with
repent.
Jesus too, which means doing it the correct
way.
To repent
in
Greek, it describes a change of mind, a
turnaround, thinking in the opposite direction.
Don't think in the wrong way, now you
think in the correct way.
Certain person I know, I won't mention his
name, got converted.
It was during that time when the Holy
Spirit had been poured out, the Lord met
with him, and said, this person said, I
want to follow your way.
I want to receive your blessings.
Now this person was accustomed to dealing with
people in a habitual way of telling them
what to do, and should they not listen,
he would be irritated, and give them a
telling off.
He was very abrupt, and said, what are
you doing?
When he repented, he
said, when
he understood the meaning of repentance being a
changed mind, he would then remind himself, when
he would meet with a circumstance that would
be similar to the way it used to
be, he would tell himself, how did I
used to react?
I used to scold, I used to get
upset, no longer, I must be different.
Now this person was accustomed to dealing with
people in a habitual way of telling them
what to do, and should they not listen,
he would be irritated, and give them a
telling off.
He was very abrupt, Now this person was
accustomed to dealing with people in a habitual
way of telling them what to do, and
should they not listen, had been in the
habit of, when people, neighbours would allow their
cattle to roam into a sugar cane, he
would scold them furiously, and impound them, and
say, do you see what's happened?
I'm going to take them now at a
price.
Now, these animals were goats.
Then I asked him, what do you do?
We came and asked, what should I do?
The neighbours allow their goats to come and
feed there in my fields, and they destroy
the crop.
How should my new reaction be?
And so I asked him, what do you
think?
He said, I used to find them and
I used to try and punish them like
that, teach them a lesson.
But I've repented.
I've repented.
And
that
is what he did.
He went to that person, gave them a
rope, and money to pay a herdsman so
that you can look after them.
And that neighbor said, what you, it shows
that you've really got converted.
And so they came to an amicable agreement
whereby the neighbor was so impressed with this
change of behavior that even after the month
which was paid for by the neighbor, by
the person and said to pay your herd
boy, he said after a while, no, I
can't allow that to continue.
I'll see to it.
And then that was the end of cattle
and goats feeding on his crops.
People used to trouble him when they would
cut sugarcane.
Now, previously, the people that used to do
the hoeing in the sugarcane fields would hoe
to remove the weeds and purposely avoid some
spots and not the places where he had
told them to be.
Now, he had to get up early in
the morning and give them piecework and he
would say, now you, you see to this
section, you to that section.
And then in the afternoon he would have
to come around to check that they've done
it.
But now he got converted and he changed
his way of thinking.
Now, on the way to the fields in
the morning, an old granny stopped him.
He stopped his car and said, what's the
matter?
And this old lady said, I want to
get right with God.
I want to become a Christian.
I want to confess my sins.
Now, his first reaction was, well, I'm busy.
I've got to see to this other thing.
But then he said, no, I've repented.
There's a change of mind.
And he allowed her to continue.
And she spoke her heart.
I'm just cutting.
I'm touching them.
I come on.
Now he looked at his watch.
It was past eight o'clock.
He knew he was late.
And as he drove off, there was the
next person saying, I also want to get
right with the Lord.
But he resisted his impulsiveness.
And he said, Lord, I do want to
do the right thing.
And that my mind is completely changed.
And he was able to pray with that
person.
The next thing it was ten, eleven o
'clock.
And when had the laborers come at seven
in the morning?
He thought, well, I've got to pay them
and now they won't have done their work.
They'll be sitting around holding their hose and
just waiting, not having done any work.
When he got to the place where the
laborers would wait, there wasn't a soul.
He looked at the field.
And he noticed that weeding had taken place.
He went in to further into the field.
And he discovered he
discovered as he walked further into the field,
that it was all weeded properly.
And then they were right at the end
of the field.
And he marveled at how much more work
they had done since he had changed his
mind, since he had repented.
Now that is the secret of seeking first
the kingdom of God.
And then all these other things get added
unto you.
A neighbouring farmer I
was in a real mess and I scolded
the boys and I said you'll get a
proper hiding if you do this.
Never do it again.
I'll give you a good threshing.
And they just stood at the end of
my bed and they just gazed at me
and then dance started.
And said, Granddad, you say you'll give us
a hiding, do you know how to give
a proper hiding?
I said yes, I know.
He said, do you know how to give
a real hiding?
I said, indeed, a proper one at that.
And they said, alright, we understand and then
they turned around and off they went.
Now when the Prophet said, repent, they were
saying, change your mind.
Let there be a turnaround.
Don't act in the way you used to
act.
Don't think in the way you used to
think.
Look now from the other side.
Now a long time ago when I first
began to pitch tents for preaching at Tribini,
there were some rural traditional people and girls
who came and sat down.
And they said to me, I'm going to
tell you a story.
I'm going to tell you a story.
And they said to me, I'm going to
tell you a story.
And they said to me, I'm going to
tell you a story.
And they said, Now
those were different days.
The people weren't used to it.
And when I said, if you don't believe
in the Lord Jesus, you're going to die.
But if you become a Christian, you will
live forever.
They said among each other, no, this man,
this white man is lying.
Even Christians die.
And I said to them in my message,
repent.
Turn around is the literal Zulu meaning.
Turn around.
And they said to each other, what does
he mean?
Must we change our seating arrangement and look
in the other direction?
Do you want us to look backwards?
And also down there in Porchepstin on the
south coast, I
was
also to explain the very basics of repentance,
meaning a turnaround, to think differently, a change
of heart.
meaning a turnaround, to think differently, a change
of heart.
If you have been known for certain habits
and getting upset, and doing things which are
part of your character, you have got to
live in a completely opposite direction As a
young person, if you had a bad reputation,
let the reputation be changed.
Now the whole night the disciples had fished,
not catching a thing.
And here is this man on the shore
saying, take your nets and throw them on
the right side of the boat.
It could be that they were in the
habit of taking their nets and throwing them
out and that was just the customary way
to do it.
But Jesus said no, don't do it in
the old way, do it in the new
way.
Turn around and throw the net on the
other side.
It's a change of behavior, it's like if
you play cricket and you are right handed
then you handle the bat in a certain
way.
Now if you get told to do it
in the opposite way, it means a complete
change of your game.
And so one who doesn't understand what repentance
means, that change of mind doesn't understand and
has never experienced repentance.
Now they didn't yet know who the man
was instructing them like this.
But there was a weightiness about his voice.
It came with authority and they obeyed, threw
it on the right side and the nets
were full.
Now when John witnessed this event, that the
fish were so many that they couldn't pull
up the nets into the boat.
Here he refers to himself as the disciple
whom Jesus loved.
We don't know if Jesus ever said words
like I love you especially.
But John just felt for himself that the
Lord had a special love, he loved him
more than the others.
In John's experience the Lord loved him more,
gave him more grace.
Do you know what that is?
Or are you a murmurer, a complainer who
says well it seems like God himself doesn't
even notice me.
Jesus can't love me and little old me
I'm just ignored.
No, John had exactly the opposite attitude.
He felt that Jesus loved him more.
Is that your experience?
Can you say Jesus loves me more, he
shows me more grace.
Every one of us should feel what John
felt, that Jesus loved him in a special
way.
And if you don't know that, you are
not where you're supposed to be.
Most probably you're still on the wrong side.
Your net is not on the right side.
The love of Jesus should be so genuine,
so great, so loving, so warm to you.
That you say I don't think there's anybody
else in the world who is loved the
way I am loved.
If not, if you don't know that, then
I can understand why you are such a
flop in your spiritual life.
Like women baking cakes, then some things turn
out to flop.
And then most probably that's the reason why
you are such a flop spiritually.
If the love of Jesus is warm in
you, burns in you, you can say with
John, beloved of the Lord.
He who experienced the love of Jesus so
realistically, he said Peter, it is the Lord.
Peter, hearing that, took his garment, wrapped it
around himself and threw himself into the water
to swim to the Lord.
Do you take note of the little change
when they behaved just a little bit differently?
It was just on the other side, everything
changed, the whole scenario was new.
There were immediate, immediate results.
And the miraculous draft of fish, immediately, it
didn't take time.
Just try in your life.
If you haven't won people, just do it
the other way.
You'll be surprised.
And then you'll see it is the Lord.
And then you'll
see it is the Lord.
I don't know why it is that John
believed that it was the Lord, he was
first to experience it, what was it that
he noticed?
Maybe the mists of unbelief were cleared up
and he was not blinded like the others.
Or the mists of doubt.
The fog of doubt.
Now, regarding the fishing, it wasn't the first
time that they caught fish in this manner.
Remember in the beginning, how the Lord was
with them in the boat.
And how he said, throw out your nets
into the water.
Throw your nets out there.
And Peter said, but Lord, we've been fishing
all night and haven't caught a thing.
But at your command, we will do it.
And then Peter and the others threw out
their nets and it seemed like all the
fish swam into his net.
To such an extent that the nets began
to tear.
And the boats looked like they were going
to sink.
They had to call on other boats close
by, come and help us, we are sinking.
And our nets are tearing.
And then there was a second boat which
came by to assist them.
When Peter experienced that, he came and cast
himself at the feet of the Lord and
said, Depart from me, O Lord, for I
am an unclean man, I am sinful.
He cried like
a
person
who finds repentance and who comes to the
Lord with this repentance.
He cried like
a person who finds repentance and who comes
to the Lord with this repentance.
Not the type of repentance where a person
just comes forward at an altar call grinning
and looking about him, not being aware of
the Lord, but looking at the others.
That's not real repentance.
But one who casts himself down before the
Lord, cries before the Lord and is aware
of his sins says, Lord, I'm not worthy
of your presence.
Undoubtedly John remembered that.
But this was so different.
The many fish the same.
But the nets went tearing.
The boat didn't sink, want to sink.
It's so different this time.
But when Peter saw it's Jesus, he didn't
say depart from me, he jumped into the
water and swam to the Lord.
It wasn't like the first time.
Now maybe John thought of that incident and
then he uttered the words, Peter, it is
the Lord.
Now Jesus was also teaching his disciples, teaching
his church what it is like in the
body, in the church of how to serve
him, how to grow and advance in serving
the Lord.
They were entering a new life with the
risen Christ, fellowship with the living Christ after
his resurrection.
My, what a different life it was.
The nets didn't tear.
The ships didn't sink, want to sink.
They're having fellowship with the resurrected Christ.
What a different life.
Jesus has taught them a lesson.
On to higher ground.
Jesus has taught them a lesson.
As I share these points only briefly, I'm
only highlighting a few things.
I pray that you would have revelation from
the Lord, that you would be seeking the
Lord even now saying, Lord, what are you
saying to me through this?
That the nets went tearing.
What does that mean spiritually in your life?
What does that mean?
You can say, I can't anymore.
It's enough.
I'm at breaking point now.
You see?
I'm just touching the fringe of things.
But I pray while I speak, Lord, please
reveal to these people what these things mean.
Do you get that?
Maybe your experience is, I'm sunk.
Or I'm just going down.
I can't handle it.
It's too much.
I can't bear it.
But look at the difference here.
The nets were not torn.
They were experiencing now the resurrection life.
You see, you're still on that plane.
But there's a higher plane.
You're learning a higher lesson.
Living life on a higher plane.
If only all of us could enter into
fellowship with the risen Christ, how different things
would be.
And then
Peter
threw himself to be with Jesus.
He disregarded the fish.
And there were many that were very big
fish.
But no longer were the fish important to
him.
It was Jesus to cast himself down before
him.
Does Jesus mean more to you than 153
big fish?
Does he mean more to you than anything
else in the world?
More than Dachau, nearest dwellings.
More than drink.
More than girls.
More than women.
That he means more.
And off you go to him.
And when they looked, there was a fire
already had prepared a fire.
And he was busy grilling fish.
Now, I haven't got time to speak about
that.
It's one o'clock already.
I'm sorry.
Where did he get the fish?
Where did he fish?
Did he go to a fish shop?
Was he in a store where it rained
cats and dogs and fish?
Where do those fish come from?
We asked Bigelowanga.
We asked his team.
We asked who did Jesus call up here.
When they were going to call.
And it's not for us to speculate.
It's enough.
And you'll find in your life as well
that Jesus does things for you where you
cannot logically discern what it or understand how
it was possible.
But he'll do it anyway.
But breakfast was ready.
But then he said, and bring the fish
that you have with you and let's continue
barbecuing the fish.
and there Jesus gave them the chance then
to bring in the fish and so they
pulled the nets in with all that came
with it and they counted only the big
fish were 153 and Jesus wanted to show
them and that and that was without torn
nets to show them the difference of the
resurrection life.
This was just an example to them, an
illustration.
Jesus was illustrating what was going to happen
spiritually soon at Pentecost they were going to
throw out their nets into a sea of
sinners full of anger and rage and drunkenness
and immorality and all sorts of things and
they would be able to throw in the
nets and catch sinners and bring them to
the Lord and that was literally what was
going to happen they were also going to
count those who came to the Lord on
that day of Pentecost 3,000 of them.
Jesus was teaching them.
They were being schooled, they were being skilled
to know that when the time had come
what they ought to do.
But because of time let me get now
to the last point.
He teaches them.
Now Peter was no stranger to fishing.
He had been a professional fisherman.
He
didn't know Peter.
So Peter knew exactly that turf.
Fishing was his domain.
And now Jesus is teaching them.
All our earthly thinking, all our carnal things
that we can organize and do in our
minds are utterly useless in the kingdom of
God.
They have to be cast aside.
It is stupidity in his sight.
Remember Peter as a professional was now being
taught that things are different now.
In the spiritual realm you can't do things
the way you were used to as a
professional fisherman.
All you need to do is to seek
his wisdom, to hear from him.
Be like a little dog that follows its
master just waiting and looking for any sign
from him.
Don't do things in the way that you
know and say well I can lead the
church because I'm clever, I'm intelligent, I can
use my own intellect.
No, all that is utterly in vain.
Don't say well I'm intellectually superior to these
others.
I ought to do it and I know
how to handle the ministry better than so
-and-so.
All that is utterly in vain.
It doesn't work.
That is part of the old life.
You can't serve the resurrected Lord in your
own wisdom.
You must use his wisdom and his strength,
his power.
In other words, where are you spiritually?
Where Peter was before the cooked croak.
He denied him thrice.
He looked down on his colleagues.
I can do things better.
I am stronger.
You can expect more from me than from
these poor men.
You're still there, far away, sitting by the
fire, ready to deny your Lord thrice.
You're still there, far away, sitting by the
fire, ready to deny your Lord thrice.
You're still there, far away, sitting by the
fire, ready to deny your Lord thrice.
You're still there, far away, sitting by the
fire, ready to deny your Lord thrice.
You're still there, far away, sitting by the
fire, ready to deny your Lord
thrice.
So if Jesus says to you, throw your
nets on the right side of the boat.
Don't throw it on the wrong side.
Do exactly as he tells you.
Don't say but I'm constrained by our tradition.
This isn't the way we used to doing
it.
Throw all the tradition overboard and do what
he tells you and the fruit of it
will prove to you that the Lord has
spoken you'll
experience that love where you say the disciple
whom Jesus loved most the way you personally
experience that love with which he loves you
and you'll experience things that you've never ever
met up with before and
you'll realize and admit that what Jesus does
is totally new it's this is a new
experience as you as he teaches you so
be available and listen to you what your
master says don't lean on your own understanding
I would be so glad if you've been
blessed by this message if just these few
points and really we've left a lot out
that the Lord would reveal himself and that
it would bring you into a new relationship
with the resurrected one Let's stand to our
feet.
Lord as your people stand on their feet,
help them.
That they won't just stand up or arise
on their physical feet but spiritually would arise.
and that what we've heard about how it
was before you appeared on the scene and
then what happened when you arrived on the
scene, Lord make it to be a life
changing experience for us.
Amen.