[Peter Eddington] Appreciate you, the stagehand expertise. And thank you, Sarah and Grace. Where'd they go? Oh, there's Grace, but Sarah disappeared. Oh, there she is behind the camera. Very good. Beautiful girls. Yeah, wonderful special music. Thank you very, very much for that. And Terry and I love Ellie Holcomb. I played one of her songs at the end of one of my sermons called "Red Sea Road." Familiar with "Red Sea Road?" Yeah. So thank you, beautiful, appreciate the special music.

The Bible contains a number of stories about fish. There are several accounts of Jesus feeding huge groups of people. And here are a few classic paintings that will illustrate some of these stories. All of these images are in the public domain. A little click, it just doesn't want to work. Hang on a second here. Here we go. You'll recall how Jesus miraculously fed 5,000 men plus the women and children from just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. That's in Matthew 14. This has to be more than 10,000 people when you include the women and children. In the painting here you see baskets and baskets of food being carried around. Another time, He just fed 4,000 men, besides women and children, from just 7 loaves of bread and a few little fish. So at least about another 8,000 people. "His disciples asked Him, 'Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?' Jesus said to them, 'How many loaves do you have?' And they said, 'Seven, and a few little fish.' So he commanded the multitude to sit on the ground. He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them, gave them to his disciples, and the disciples gave to the multitude. Everyone ate and were filled. He took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left." So that's in Matthew 15.

It was an all-you-can-eat buffet. There was food left over. And then what about this fish story? John 21, Simon Peter was fishing with some of the disciples and caught nothing. It's reminiscent of when they were first called by Jesus, when Peter and the others caught nothing. But this is now after Jesus was resurrected in John 21. The resurrected Jesus appeared and told them to put their net on the other side of the boat. Amazingly, than that now filled with fish. "They dragged it to land full of large fish, 153. And although there were so many, the net was not broken." Today we're going to talk about fish. And here you see a classic painting depicting the 153 fish being brought ashore. I'm sure you've heard some big fish stories in the past, but none quite like this one. We're going to study the significance of the fish story in John 21, and then we'll see what's in it for us. What should we learn from it? How should we live our lives as a result? This is going to be a little bit technical at the beginning. But then we'll look at some practical, biblical principles we can all glean from this passage, some personal takeaways from the story of the 153 fish. So the title of the message is, Sons of God and the 153 Fish. The meaning of the 153 fish is the subject and it's an exact number used for a reason, for an illustrative purpose in Scripture. So in John chapter 21:11 we read, "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." Why 153? Why not one less or even one more?

And you recall with the earlier fish story The net did break when Jesus was first calling them. At a basic level, it might just be that John was for some reason remembering the exact number of fish. Recording a specific number though adds to the authenticity of the account. This is a real eyewitness remembrance. They likely counted them for dividing, selling, or maybe out of curiosity because the catch was so large. My favorite explanation put forth by some critics is that fishermen are prone to exaggerate. But then, this cannot be an exaggeration like most fishermen would tend to do. So the writer of the fourth gospel tells us the exact number of the catch so that we can believe that it was a miraculously large catch of fish. And we don't just dismiss it merely as Peter's exaggerated claim. "Yeah, we caught hundreds of fish." "Sure you did." "No, we caught exactly 153 fish. It's a real story." Remember this account is after Jesus was crucified and is now resurrected. And He appeared a number of times to his disciples in the seven weeks leading up to the day of Pentecost. And then, of course, just prior to Pentecost, He was taken up into heaven and a cloud received Him out of the Apostles' sight.

So turn with me on your iPads, your phones, in your Bibles to John 21. Let's read the first 14 verses to get the full context here. "The disciples had given up on ever seeing Jesus again and had decided to go back to being fisherman. They were discouraged." Mark 14 talks about them sitting around the kitchen table, moaning and groaning and all depressed because things hadn't panned out like they thought. And then Jesus came through the wall and said, "Get to work, preach the gospel to every creature." So this is kind of similar here. They've given up. John 21:1, "After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. In this way he showed himself to Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee. James and John of course, and two others of his disciples were together." Verse 3, "Simon Peter said to them, 'I'm going fishing.' They said to him, 'We're gonna go with you also.'" They're going to go back to their old employment. Let's go fishing. "They went out immediately, got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing. When the morning had now come," verse 4, "Jesus stood on the shore yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. And Jesus said to them, 'Children, have you any food?' And they answered Him, 'No.'" Verse 6, "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 fish." Verse 7, "Therefore, that disciple whom Jesus loved," that'd be John, "said to Peter, 'It's the Lord.' And when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment," could be his coat or his shirt, "because 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, about 200 cubits, dragging the net with fish. And as soon as they'd come to land, they saw a fire of coals there and fish laid on it and bread. Jesus said to them, 'Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.'"

Then verse 11. "Simon Peter went up, dragged the net to land full of lodged fish, 153. Although there were so many, the net was not broken. Jesus said to them, 'Come and eat breakfast,'" and in my New King James Bible this chapter is called "Breakfast by the Sea." "'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." But even though they must have been tired and weary they immediately did what Jesus said, and they subsequently caught 153 large fish. And they must have marveled at how the nets were able to hold such a huge catch. The netting held without breaking which was another blessing. At first glance, this shows Jesus that we'll provide for them, and for us as we go forward in our lives, but it would also have recalled the earlier miracle of the fish catch when Jesus first told them to follow him. The other time when they weren't catching anything. This latest miracle would be a strong reminder of the mission he had originally given to them to be fishes of men. But why the number 153? Why is Scripture so specific about this? We need to be aware that we are reading a text from a different time and culture where numeric and symbolic things matter, though it is quite natural, of course, for anyone, any fishermen to count his catch. Yet they might actually be much more here, there are certain numerical issues involved.

One explanation is that the Jews of the time thought there were 153 nations on earth. And so they thought the 153 fish represented all nations eventually being harvested or fished in God's plan. All nations would have the opportunity for salvation if there were exactly 153 nations like the Jews used to think. Some of the greatest Bible students and from the earliest times have felt, there must be something significant and mysterious in this number 153. Augustine, a philosopher and theologian from the fourth century saw in this number some connection with the saved as being definite and particular down even to the last one. Making up not a large round number, but a smaller and odd number, 153. And Augustine saw in this a proof of the fact that the number of the elect is fixed and preordained. So I would not take to this particular view of Augustine. Jerome, a Christian theologian, a historian also from the fourth century, who translated Scripture into a Latin Bible, saw some deeper meaning in the number two, in the number as well. He said, "There are 153 sorts of fish, that is all kinds of men enclosed in the gospel net." And at that time it was thought there were only 153 species of fish in the world. So he thought, "Okay, this represents everybody. Every species of fish. And so the disciples caught, 153, signifying that people of every demographic and time period will be saved through the gospel." That's what Jerome thought.

But here's another angle to the story. It's well known that Hebrew letters are also numbers. First line letters being one through nine. The next 9 being 10 through 90, and the last five being 100 through 400. So coding words with numbers is called gematria. Now, this is not some kind of conspiracy theory. Hebrew letters are also numbers. Gematria comes from the Hebrew Gematria which is a transliteration of the Greek word geometria, or geometry. That's where the word comes from. Now, besides 153 having some interesting geometria properties or letters for numbers properties, the number 153 also has unique arithmetic properties to triangular number. It's the sum of the integers from 1 to 17 similar to how pool table balls are lined up on the table before the first breaking shot. One then two, then three, then four, then five balls are placed in a triangle on the pool table. That only totals 15 balls. But if you go all the way to 17 rows, you total 153. And almost every modern Biblical commentary on the symbolism of 153 mentions this fact of 153, being a triangular number of 17. And 17 is often a significant number in other places in the Bible too. Some have noted that 17 can be broken down into 10 plus 7. Some claiming this is the 10 Commandments plus 7 for God's completeness as shown in other places in the Bible. But as I said, 153 is a triangular number of 17, which is actually a much more important thing in a world where you primarily count using physical objects. We use calculators and computers now. Rather, in our world, where numbers are more like abstract concepts. In fact, the word in New Testament, Greek for to calculate is derived from the word for pebble. The Greeks think of pebbles when they're counting things.

E.W. Bullinger in his book, "Number in Scripture" on page 258, writes this, and I think it's getting to the core of what the 153 may mean here. "The utmost that can be said is that had it been a round number, 150. It would have been an absence of all definiteness. But as it goes beyond and gives the 3 by which the 150 has exceeded, it does seem to convey the impression that we have here these fish are a symbol of the saved." He adds that this is an illustration and confirmation of God's words recorded in the same gospel in another part in John, that this is the will of the Father who sent me that of all he has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. In other words, Bullinger is figuring 153 represent all of those who will be saved, all of those who will not be lost. No fish in the net were lost. The net did not break. So here's the passage Bullinger was referring to. "This is the will of the Father who sent me," John 6:39, "that of all he has given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day." And Bulliger thinks this verse is related to the 153 fish. On page 259 he then notes that in the Hebrew alphabet the term sons of God, the expression, bene' ha- Elohim, occurs exactly seven times, and the gematria, or numerical value of those Hebrew letters for sons of God, adds up to exactly 153. So he says that 153 fish represent the sons of God. And this fits in very well with the Apostle John's writings in general. As we'll see in a moment, the children of God, the sons of God, a common theme throughout all of John's writings. More so, then some of the other Bible authors except for maybe Paul who recalls that it was John who records Jesus' words that we will become members of God's family. We will also be gods and it's taken from a quote in Psalm 82. John talked about us being children in God's family there in John 10:34, we read, "Jesus answered them, 'Is it not written in your law? I said, you are gods.'"

Take it from Psalm 82, "I said, 'You are gods and all of you are the children of the Most High.'" So we'll come back to this thought of sons of God, in a minute, Sons of the Most High. But in the record of the miracle itself, there are some other remarkable phenomena too. The word for fish in Greek is fish is by gematria 1224 or 8 times 153. It's related. John used to play on Greek and Hebrew words a lot. The words for the net in Greek, by gematria, also amount to 1224, or 8 times 153. The net is unbroken and carries the precious freight of fish from the right side of the ship safely to the shore and not one is lost. The commentators say, "Not one of the sons of God is lost." The sake of that, it goes back to the Hebrew gematria, sons of God equaling 153. So perhaps there's some value or truth to these calculations and conclusions. Now, in Ezekiel 47 we see also another interesting tie-in to 153, and fish, and nets. It's the millennial prophecy of the healing of the waters of the Dead Sea. And many scholars have pointed out a connection in John 21 to Ezekiel 47. Here refers to living waters from the future temple in Jerusalem flowing out to the Dead Sea and healing the waters there. Prophecy states, "There will be a great multitude of fish in the restored sea. Fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim, and bring in great many kinds of fish." And this too has numeric correlation. So turn with me if you would to Ezekiel 47. We'll read verses 8-10 here. Ezekiel 47:8, remember this is a millennial prophecy, "Then he said to me, 'This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea.'" It's talking about the Dead Sea, you know, it's full of salt, nothing leaves and you try to swim in it, you just float across the top, right? There's so much salt.

"When it reaches the sea though," this new water, "its waters are healed." This is a prophecy of the Dead Sea being healed after Christ returns. Verse 9, "And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a great multitude of fish because these waters go there, for they will be healed and everything will live wherever the river goes." Verse 10, "It shall be that fishermen will stand by it, from En Gedi to En Eglaim, they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds of the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many." What I want to focus on here is verse 10, "En Gedi to En Eglaim," is an interesting phrase. The gematria for Gedi in this story is 17. The gematria for Eglaim is 153. And Gedi is the 153rd Hebrew word in this chapter. And so, for God to inspire the Apostle John to use the exact number 153, Biblical scholars point out, also ties into the Old Testament accounts of the healing of the waters in His future millennial prophecy of a very great multitude of fish. The scholars say this passage here relates to the catching of the 153 fish as well. So I'm giving you lots of different ideas here at the moment about what people think this 153 means, but in particular it perhaps meaning, Sons of God in Hebrew. A newer thought, here's a different one, has recently been given that amongst the multitude to receive direct blessings, healings, or appointments from Christ, there are recorded exactly 153 special cases. And if counted of these up in the New Testament, come up with exactly 153 characters whom Jesus directly interacted with in his ministry. So they say that 153 fish is related to this, everyone Jesus interacted with. And so the list includes people like Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Arimathea, Peter's wife's mother, Jairus and his daughter, the 11 apostles of Matthew 10, the lunatic child and father, Simon the leper, Mary, sister of Lazarus, the centurion, the 70 disciples of Luke 10, Joanna and Susanna, Martha, the 10 lepers, Bacchus, Malchus, the 2 disciples at Emmaus, Nicodemus, the woman of Samaria, the woman taking in adultery, Lazarus and more, adding up all of them to exactly 153 people interacting with Jesus. So that's a more modern thought on it all.

But additionally, the catching of the 153 fish happened only after Christ became involved in the fisherman's work. Up until then, remember they caught nothing all night, and this is a subtle or perhaps not-so-subtle reminder, that without Christ the disciples and our attempts to accomplish something great on our own will fail. But with Jesus, all things are possible. John 15:5, we read, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit. But without Me," Jesus says, "you can do nothing." So Christ had to be involved in the catching of these 153 fish, and this story has to be reminiscent of a previously abundant catch that Peter, Andrew, James, and John experienced when they were first called to follow Christ and told to become fishers of men, not fishers of fish. And here, given that the disciples are now trying to go back to their pre-conversion employment as fishermen, when this latest miracle occurred. Likely, reminded them they now work for God, whose willeth still was for them to catch men, not fish. Lastly, there are 17 apostles labeled so in the New Testament. Remember 153 is a triangular number of 17. The New Testament lists Jesus as the "Chief Apostle," Hebrews 3, plus the 12 with Matthias replacing Judas, Paul and Barnabas, and Jesus' brothers, James and Jude. Perhaps a combination of some of these theories and explanations is what Jesus Christ intended. When the Apostle John recorded the exact number of the 153 fish being taken up then that miraculously, to have is a good case though for what the 153 may mean. I might mention, I did find quite a few other outrageous suggestions that were made as to the significance of the 153. There's no need to go into some of those crazy ones.

There is a good case, supported in multiple ways, was seen in 153 as having both real and symbolic significance in this story. The connections with the number 17 and the commissioning of the disciples suggest the symbolic significance has to do with sons of God and preaching the gospel to people and nations all over the world. To all nations, to all people, but it's not just about numbers or gematria. Here are 2 specific personal points and lessons we can note from this account in John 21. There's a very suggestive interaction between the work of Jesus and the work of the disciples in the preparation of that breakfast. On the one hand, Jesus has already provided all they need. Mention of both fish and bread reminds us of John 6 and the feeding of the 5,000 besides women and children. On other hand, He invites them to contribute what they have caught to the breakfast He is making. We have a role to play too, in fulfilling God's work. Caring for the congregations and preaching the gospel. And yet the work they were to do would be entirely dependent on their obedience to the call of Jesus Christ, and entirely the result of His miraculous provision for them, but they still had to do the work. They still have to provide for the meal and their work made a contribution. The Apostle John, of course, wrote both the Gospel of John in the Book of Revelation, almost certainly he wrote the three epistles of 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John as well. The Gospel of John and the general epistles of John have the same themes throughout, about the children of God. The sons and daughters of God. Because we are sons of God, we have to behave as sons and daughters of God. We too must follow what Christ is telling us and be obedient. If He tells us to bring something to breakfast, right? We follow.

Symbolically, 1 John in the first three verses, is a good place to turn here to see this thing about us being called as children of God which sons of God is the gematria of 153, and all those fish. "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we..." And this is, like, an amazing thing to think about, right? "...that we should be called children of God or sons of God. Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God." There are no other religions that teach this. Even other Christians don't fully understand what it means to become a son of God. They think we'll be like angels or something. No, we'll be part of God's family. And so this is an amazing passage right here, this explanation. "Beloved, we are children of God, as not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, when Christ returns we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." Right now, we can't see Jesus or God the Father as They are because Their glory would destroy us. We would be blinded. We'd be burned up by Their power and glory. We can't see Them like They are. So Jesus had to come and just let Moses see His back, or come looking like a human being. We will see Him as He is. We'll see that glory and we will be like Him. We will be glorified too. "And everyone who has this hope in Him, purifies himself just as He is pure." You have that hope of seeing Him like He is and being like Him, you have to purify your life. You can't live like the world. You have to live a pure life in every respect. We have a responsibility to purify our lives because of the hope we have as sons of God. It's part of the 153 symbolic fish.

What is purity? It's to be spiritually minded and filled with the Holy Spirit as a son of God. Let me read with me Romans 8. Let's read verses 5-17 here for a moment because Paul is speaking to the Romans touched on this subject as well. Romans 8:5, "For those who live according to the flesh, those who are in the world set their minds on things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit." Talking about two different kinds of people here, "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then," verse 8, "those who are in the flesh cannot please God." At verse 9, "But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." So you want to have the Spirit of Christ. "And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." So we have an element of God's Spirit and future eternal life in us. Verse 11, "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit which dwells in you." Then we'll see Him like He is. We too are resurrected. You have to have the Spirit of God to be counted as one of His. This leads to us eventually being raised to immortal life just as Jesus was raised. And there's more. "The Holy Spirit dwelling in us designates us as children of God as sons and daughters of God," as we read on here. And I believe this is the most likely theme of the 153 fish, the gematria of sons of God, 153 and a topic the Apostle John and Paul wrote about extensively.

Of course, it's in the Hebrew where this 153, Lysimachia, sons of God. Romans 8:12, just read a few more verses, "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. If you live according to the flesh, you'll die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." Verse 14, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. We did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear that you receive the spirit of adoption, with whom we cry out, Abba, Father." Of course, if you've ever watched any Israeli TV shows on Netflix, we've watched a couple of Israeli TV series on Netflix and they say, "Abba," right? "Dad." It's just very common. And, yes, our Father in heaven will be like our dad because we will be His sons and daughters. Verse 16, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." It's very definite. There's no arguing around it not angels, or like angels, but actual members of God's family. "And His children," verse 17, "then heirs." So heirs of God, it says. "Heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may be all glorified together." As I read a moment ago, the sons of God who have this hope in Him purifies himself just as He God is pure. 1 John 3:3, "We have to live a pure life. Purify our lives." That's number one. Obedience is one of the lessons from the 153 fish. To do what Jesus says, "Put your net down on the right side of the boat. Bring the fish ashore. Help me prepare breakfast." Whatever it is following Christ and His Word and His law futher. But secondly, of course, becoming fishes of men and women. Becoming fishes of men. The fishermen witnessed a miracle that morning on the Sea of Tiberias from their saviour. And Jesus already had some fish cooking over coals on the beach with some bread. Christ is our prime source of provision. Our provider, our sustainer, and our commission, just like for the early disciples, is to become fishers of men, as stated in Matthew 4, Mark 1, and Luke 5.

Look at Matthew 4. This is 18-20, for example. "And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee." So it's the Sea of Galilee, it's the Sea of Tiberias, it's the Sea of Gennesaret. This depends which language you're reading it in Greek, Aramaic, Hebrew, right? "...Sea of Galilee. Saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen. And He said to them, 'Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.' They immediately left the Nats and followed Him." You may have gone fishing with your dad, your grandfather when you were young. Many men still fish today bringing home the salmon or trout to feed their family. Got some employees at the home office that love to go to Alaska. Mark Welch in particular likes to go to Alaska every summer and bring home a cooler full of frozen salmon that he's caught, pounds and pounds of them. But fishing for men and women, not salmon, is a completely different situation. In many regards, a lot more difficult. And it requires God's calling and opening people's minds to understand what they're hearing. The analogy of fishing for people is like a fish taking a nibble of something desirable they see and hopefully, consume. Take the hook. Now, challenges to preach the gospel in a way you're attracted to, as we wait patiently while God works out the timing of their calling. So in the United Church of God, we're laying a very large foundation of material, literature, videos, sermons that when God wishes, He can send people to learn and He can open their minds. And I believe the time will come when God will do that. But we have to do our part and do what Jesus says.

Let's read more about this in Luke 5:1-11. Once again, this is early in Jesus' ministry when He was first calling His disciples to follow Him. Luke 5:1, "So it was, as a multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret." All right, the Sea of Galilee, Lake Tiberius, Lake of Gennesaret, it's all the same place as John 21, where they caught the 153 fish. "...and saw two boats standing by the lake," Jesus did. "But the fishermen had gone from them and washing their nets." Jesus saw an empty boat sitting there. "He got into one of the boats which was Simon's and asked him to put it out a little from land. He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat." We were walking around a lake yesterday, not too far from Westminster where I was staying at the motel. And there's some kids on the other side of the lake. It was a fairly big lake, and we could hear them giggling and playing on the other side of the lake. This is why Jesus went out on the lake a little bit. Almost like a natural amphitheater, right? "He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He stop speaking, He said to Simon, 'Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.'" So here comes the lesson, right? "Simon answered and said to Him, 'Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless, at Your word, I will let down the net.'" Like, in what good is this going to do? "When they done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net broke." Fish were getting out, it was breaking. "They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help. And they came and filled both their boats, too much 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, O Lord.'"

You know, I wish I hadn't doubted You. You told me what to do. "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. Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.'" Women, of course. Verse 11, "So when they brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him." You can see why this later, story after Jesus' resurrection of the 153 fish brought them back to reality. "Oh, yeah, we're supposed to be fishing for men, not fish." We too must forsake all, that stands between us and God, and follow our Savior, Jesus Christ. We too must repent and pray for sin to depart from us, for all sinful, we must, too, become fishers of men, preaching the gospel, being lights of truth in this evil age of the devil. We must announce the return of our Savior and the Kingdom of God. That's our work. That's our commission. The Bible contains a number of stories and parables about fish. There are accounts of Jesus feeding huge groups of people like we talked about. The count of the 153, that number is perhaps most interesting.

So today, we talked about fish, and I believe there is quite some significance to the fish story in John 21. What should we learn from it? How should we live our lives, as a result? To be obedient as sons of God, become fishes of man. John wrote in his first general epistle, "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, we should be called children or sons of God." Some very interesting mathematics that 153 may represent all of those who will be saved. All of those who will not be lost in any torn net, the sons of God. The 153 in the Hebrew gematria, sons of God. It's not just about numbers, gematria. Remember two specific personal points and lessons we can note from this account in John 21, obedience. Want to be a son, daughter of God? You have to follow the rules, then of course, becoming fishers of men and women. So, let's keep studying the Word of God from Old Testament to New Testament, from Engedi to Eneglaim. You've been there, right, Scott? And getting in Eneglaim, you've been there? I believe you have. Yeah. Let's keep studying the Old and New Testaments and see what we can continue to learn. Look forward to the chili cook-off.