The Church of Eleven22 - Wk 4: Water to Wine

Episode Date: May 2, 2021

God takes what is filthy and doesn’t just make it better; He makes it into a new creation. Have you been made new? Visit coe22.com/john to download the journal, find series resources and more.

The Church of 1122 is a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. Hello and welcome as we join together to glorify God in worship and word. Amen and amen. How are we doing, church? Doing good? You ought to be doing extra good this weekend. Welcome to Trevor Lawrence weekend here in Jacksonville, amen. Are you excited? Who believes in miracles, all right? How many of you know that if the tomb is empty, anything is possible? And not only did we sign him, but I got a little notification from ESPN that we may be signing our very own Timmy Tebow right here at the Jaguars, all right? So listen, man, if the tomb is empty, even the Jaguars can win the Super Bowl, can I get a witness.

I'm talking about miracles. And if you had told me, listen to me, man, Lynn, you know it. If you'd have told me 10 years ago that on a fall weekend in Jacksonville, I would be rooting for Irvin, Meyer, and Tim Tebow? I believe y'all, that's going to take a miracle. Well, guess what, baby? If the tomb is empty, anything is possible. Do you believe in miracles?

And here's why I'm glad that the NFL has decided to align with our sermon series. Because today, that's what we're talking about. We're talking about Jesus' very first miracle. So grab your Bibles. We're going to be in John, Chapter 2. And as you may know by now, Jesus is going to do his very first signer, his very first miracle. and he's going to turn water into wine, and I love teaching on this.

I love teaching on it for a number of reasons. One of my favorite reasons to teach on it is because I just love to see you Southern Baptist squirm in your seat. How many other recovering Baptists we got in the house? Any of you? All right. Those of you that can only get your arm this high, that's all right. You still got something of it on you.

Okay, go ahead and extend that thing all the way. Glory to God, all right? The other reason I like teaching on water to wine is it makes our Catholics feel it home. So welcome Catholics. All right, and I know you're Presbyterians. You're like, don't leave us out. We got you too and the Lutherans and all you drinkers.

All right, glad you're here. Now, one of the questions I want to ask you, A.W. Tozer said this. He said, the most important thing about you is what you think when you think about God. So what is it that you think when you think about the second person of the Trinity, God, the Son, Jesus Christ? And I think a lot of us have a misunderstanding of who Jesus is, and a lot of it is from a bunch of like low-budget Christian movies throughout the years.

And when we think about Jesus, sometimes we think of like a Swedish guy with blonde hair, no split ends, with a British accent, which would be really weird for a Jewish carpenter out of the Middle East. And he's got this real kind of feminine voice. He's like, hello, I'm Jesus. And he's petting sheep and playing with kids. And maybe you think he told a few stories, and he's kind of a wimpy guy. That is not the Jesus of the Scriptures. That the Jesus of the Scriptures is a completely different person than that caricature.

of Jesus. And it's a part of the reason John writes the Gospel of John. He says, I have written these things to you so that you may know him and that you may believe, and in so believing you could receive the right to become children of God. And one of the things that we're going to find out about Jesus is he loved a good party. In fact, he had the kind of reputation where religious people would get mad at him because of the kind of parties that he would go to. In fact, in Matthew 1119, the Bible says this about Jesus, the son of man came eating and drinking and they say, look at him,

a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. The thing that Jesus got in trouble with, with the religious people, more than anything else is, why are you hanging out with those people? And by the way, I know, I know we get some people

that come to our church from different church backgrounds, and I know you have a church background when about once a year, I will get this email from somebody, and it starts out this way, Brother Jobi. It was the Lord's Day, and my family and I were coming to the Lord's house to worship him, and my heart was grieved as I walked up to the front door,

and there was a young, rebellious, spirited man with tattoos on his arm and tattoos on his face, and an earring and smoking a cigarette. My heart sank, do you know this man? To which I reply, he was probably one of our ushers. Hey, man, relax a little bit. this is a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. Amen.

And so one of the coolest things about Jesus in the scriptures is that people that weren't like him really liked him. And the church should be that way too. And so we're going to find out how Jesus got this kind of reputation. John, chapter 2, picking it up in verse 1, says this. And on the third day, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. By the way, a wedding in Galilee in the first century would have been different than today. They would last for like a week long.

It was a big, big deal. It wasn't just a few hours. It was a big deal. And the mother of Jesus was there. Verse 2. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. Think about this. Jesus, this is pre-ministry, man.

Nobody knows who he is. Nobody's trying to get brownie points with God the Father. They don't know who he is yet. But somebody making the list has decided, you know who's a good time? that Jesus guy, that carpenter, Joseph's kid, we got to invite him to the party. Let me ask you this. Are you living your life in such a way where you get invited to the party? Because if not, you ain't doing it right. Now, when it comes to how we respond to culture and how as Jesus followers, we kind of understand how to navigate this culture, there are two extremes that we see in the New

Testament, and I think both of them are wrong. One of the extremes is way over here. here, and they're known as the Pharisees. Literally, Pharisee means separated one. And so they believe because God is holy, that I'm going to act holy, and whatever I do, I can't get any of that on me. And so there's no way they would go to parties. They also didn't have friends. They didn't get invited to the parties. The problem with that is they also had zero impact and influence on the culture because they saw the culture as its enemy, and you can't influence your enemy. You can influence your friends. But way on the other extreme was a group of people. A group of people. men called the Sadducees.

Pastor Britt introduced them a couple of weeks ago. And here's the thing. The Sadducees didn't even believe in a resurrection. That's why they're sad, you see. Now, I know it's dumb, but you'll remember it for the rest of your life. And because they did not believe in a resurrection, they thought, well, you only live once, so might as well make the most of it, right? And so it was eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you may die.

And so the problem with the Sadducees is that they were indistinguishable from this culture, and therefore they made no impact. You see, and Jesus is like right down the middle. Jesus hung out in places with people that did not believe who he was or believed what he believed, didn't act like him, but they liked him. Now, oftentimes out here, especially with like our college kids or singles or whoever,

well, I hang out with all these people and I hang out with these sinners because that's who Jesus hung out with. Well, a couple of things you might want to jot down. Number one, you ain't Jesus. That could be the whole sermon right there, you ain't Jesus. And every time Jesus hung out in these situations, it was not for his entertainment, it was for their

salvation. But Jesus conducts himself in such a way that he gets invited to the party. Verse three. And when the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine. Now this is a really big deal. There was a first century rabbinical saying that said when the wine runs out, the party is over. That'll preach right there, won't it? Now here's the thing.

I want you to see what Mary does, okay? Mary comes to Jesus and says they have no wine. And the reason she's bringing it to Jesus, first and foremost, is because this was a high honor, high shame culture. And so when this groom was betrothed to his fiancé, he had about a year to make sure all the preparations were made, not only for their life together as a merry couple, but also for this very party. because the wedding was a demonstration to the community and to her family, I am the man, I have what it takes to take care of your daughter and begin a family. And so if he were to run out of wine, it would have been an utter disgrace and he would have been

shame. That's a part of it. That's a part of it. But another part of it is this, is that Mary knows who she's talking to. And I want you to see something very, very important here that Mary does. that when Mary has a need, she brings that to Jesus, no matter how big or how small. Because I think she knows that he can do something about it.

And the reason that I think she knows that he can do something about it is because she remembers this miracle from about 30 years ago. She remembers that an angel shows up in her bedroom one night and says, the Lord has found favor on you, Mary, and you are with child, you are pregnant. And she's like, time out, Angel. I mean, I don't have a bio degree or anything, but there is an activity that precedes pregnancy, and I have not participated in said activity,

to which the angel is like, well, good news. Merry Christmas is God's baby, all right? And the Bible says that she treasured this in her heart. So for all of this time, I imagine she's just waiting with anticipation for when he's going to reveal himself to the rest of the world. And although I think this matters a lot, okay, in the grand scheme of all of heaven and earth, I think wine at a party might not be the most part,

pressing issue on the planet, but it doesn't matter. It is not insignificant. And your prayer requests are not insignificant to God because you were not insignificant to God. And because you were a big deal to him, whatever it is that's going on in your life is a big deal to him. So whatever it may be, no matter how big, no matter how small, we bring our stuff to Jesus. That's what she does. So Mary, Mother of Jesus, comes to him and says, they have no wine. I think her heart's breaking for the groom. And then look at verse four. And Jesus said to her, woman, what does this have to do with me? Now, some of you fellows just realized, baby, I've been quoting scripture for years. I didn't even know it. Can I take the trash out? Woman, what's this got to do with me? Okay, so that's what he's

saying. That really is what he's saying. A lot of people try to soften it up and it's kind of harsh. And the reason it's harsh is because of this next line. My hour has not yet come. You want to underline that. You want to pay attention to it. Because all throughout the gospel of John, he's going to talk about, my hour has not come, my hour has not come, my hour has not come. But when he goes into the Garden of Kassimini, then he's going to say, my hour has come. The hour he is talking about is the hour that he is crucified on our behalf. That's what he's talking about. And I think a big part of what is going on here

that it takes the crucifixion and resurrection for us to understand this, is that this man is going to be shamed if he runs out of wine. And so Mary comes up to Jesus and says, can you do something about his shame? And ultimately what Jesus is saying is, I am going to do something about his sin and his shame. I'm going to take it all away in a few years when I die on the cross, but that moment has not come yet.

And Jesus knows that at just the right time, it's actually on the weekend of Passover, that he will give his life as a ransom for many. and the day that he displays his glory that the stopwatch is on that leads to that very moment. And ultimately he's saying, though he respects Mary for sure, he is saying, I only do the will of my Heavenly Father. Now look at this part. Verse five. And his mother said to the servants, some of the best advice, some of the best discipleship advice in all of the scriptures.

His mother said to the service, do whatever he tells you. Do whatever he tells you. Now think about it. She didn't even get the answer she wants. I think she wanted to go to Jesus. Hey, they're out of mine. He said, don't worry about mama. I got this, okay?

That's not what he says. The woman, what's this have to do with me? And yet, even when Jesus does not respond to her prayer request, the way she wants him to respond to her prayer request, her posture is that of obedient discipleship. Looks at the servants and says, boys, just do whatever he tells you. 1122, what is he telling you to do? By the way, notice, not asking, because the Lord doesn't ask.

What is Jesus telling you to do? And the moment you know, then the next question is, then why aren't you doing it? How come every time we talk about baptism in here and you've got that little thing in you and you know you're supposed to go to the class and yet you don't? Why not? Is it fear? Is it outright rebellion? Why haven't you taken that step to join the disciple group or lead a disciple group or

go into the mission field or share the gospel with somebody? what is he telling you to do? So she tells him, do whatever he tells you. Verse six. Now, there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rights of purification. This is very important. Each holding 20 or 30 gallons.

So there were these, all throughout the old covenant, the old covenant was to let us know, the Old Testament was to letting us know that God is holy and we are not, and unholy people cannot just waltz into the presence of a holy God. Similarly, all of these religious systems of rights and ritual

whereby they would wash the outside as a picture of what it would be like to be holy and cleansed so that you can enter into the presence of God. And at every kind of festival, at every kind of party, there would be these kinds of places to wash your hand. I don't know if you've seen the Jesus movies, a lot of beach, not a lot of ocean, people are kind of grimy, can't take a shower every day, and they didn't invent the fork or the chopstick yet, so it's kind of fingers to face. So you want to wash your hands before you eat at the party. And so there was this intricate ceremony where you would go and stick your,

hands all the way up to about the elbows, scrub all of the grime out, and then, you know, they didn't have like paper towels or a little dryer thing, so he would just kind of air dry. And these stone jars, they've been in this wedding party for multiple days now, and they're standing over there by the side. They're sitting over there by the side. And at this point, they're pretty nasty. And Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars with water, and they filled them up to the brim. and he said to them, now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast, and so they took it. Think about this. The servants don't even know who Jesus is.

The servants don't know that Jesus is a miracle working. He hadn't done miracles yet. All they do is they heed the advice of Mary, and they do whatever he says. You've got to think, the servants must be thinking, is Jesus trying to punk this guy? We are going to take some nasty dishwater used hand washing water. it's nasty, and take it to the guy that's in the charge of the entire party? What is happening here? Well, let me ask you something.

What do you do when Jesus tells you to do something that you don't understand? What do you do when Jesus tells you to do something, and not only do you understand, not understand why he's telling you, but you know that it could lead to your embarrassment. What do you do when God says, go? do you make excuses do you negotiate with yourself have you ever noticed when you negotiate with you you always win and notice look man our lord owes us no explanation he just says go get the stone jars fill them up with water dip out some water give it to that guy and that's what they do

listen i do not do this perfectly by any stretch of the imagination i got a long way to go longer than all of you put together, but I want to be the kind of man that when God says go, I go. That when the Spirit of God nudges me in a direction, I don't want to be full of fear. I want to be a man full of faith. And so, God will never tell you to do something that does not line up with his word, but any time the Spirit of God just whispers or nudges or yells or whatever and says, do a thing that lines up with his word, I just want to be the kind of God that does it. A few years ago, I'm standing in Publix at the pharmacy line, which is not really a line,

trying to make one, you know, I'm talking about, and there's this lady standing in front of me, and she kind of turns around, and she looks, and she has the, she has the, like, I think that's my pastor look, but I could tell she probably goes to another campus, because I could see her thinking, like, God, he's not as tall as I thought he was. Because in Mandarin, I'm like, 6, 6, 7, something like that. If only. And so she looks at me, and I'm like, yeah, that's me. And she says, she starts talking about why she's there and what's going on.

And she said, would you pray for me? And I just felt like the Spirit of God said, just pray now. Just pray now. because I don't know about you, but I know what I would do. I'd say yes, but if I just say yes then and don't actually do it then, then I'll forget, right? And I don't want to be a liar. And so we're standing in Publix, and I thought, hey, it may be awkward. Can I just pray for you right now?

She's like, sure thing. And so I put my hands on her. Remember, you can put your hands on her. And I put my hands on her. And we just started praying. I just started praying out loud in publics for what was going on there. We said amen. And then she walked over to the little checkout thing.

It was her turn. And I looked up, and there's another lady. She's standing right here. And she's like, I go. She told me what campus she goes to. She's like, hey, will you pray for me? And I'm like, yeah, why not? Let's go, okay?

So I put my hands on her. I pray for her right there in public, out loud, pray for her. Say amen, she walks up. I look up, there's a third lady. And I go, what campus do you go to? She says, I don't go to your church, but if you're giving out prayer, I'll take prayer. Let's pray. Last week, I told you to do the discipleship journey, to go home and ask yourself those

questions and figure out what your next step is. Did you do it? And if you didn't, why not? and what is the next step that God is calling you to take? Is it that first mission trip? Is it share your faith? Is it to get baptized? Is it to forgive that person?

Is it to pick up the phone and make that hard phone call that begins the restoration and reconciliation process with that relationship that's been broken? What is it, man? Do whatever he tells you to do. Because here's what I need you to see. Here's what I need you to see. Notice how many. steps of obedience God used for this miracle to happen.

Notice how many people he used, and notice how many steps, little steps of obedience, after step of obedience, after step of obedience. I mean, it starts with Mary coming to Jesus saying, can you do something about this problem? And then it goes to the servants who do what he says. Go get the stone jars. Check. Fill them up with water. Check.

Find a ladle. Okay. Check. dip some out. Yes, sir, what's next? Take it to him. This may be embarrassing. But they still do it. Just little steps of obedience, one after the other, and they don't even know exactly what's going to happen. And yet, little do they know that there is a miracle at the end of these steps. Church, what if? What if? What if your miracle is just on the other side of a faith step of obedience that Jesus is calling you to take, which leads me to wonder how many miracles are still stored up in stone jars because

God's people just won't do what he says. You see, if the tomb is empty, man, anything is possible. Maybe your marriage could be saved. Maybe you could experience freedom from that addiction. Maybe that relationship could be reconciled. Maybe your body could be healed. Maybe God could give you the endurance to walk through this season of life with a peace that turns. transcends understanding. Because when Jesus does this miracle, it's step after step after step after step. And God uses all of those steps of obedience like a chain, like links in a chain and links in a chain.

And little did they know that there's a miracle hanging on the other end of that chain. You need a miracle in your life? Just take that step of obedience that Jesus is calling you to take. Listen, I was spending some time with our finance team this week. They're awesome, man. They're really awesome. Every year we go through a third-party audit here at the church, just to be totally transparent and, you know, all of this.

And so once a year I get to meet with the auditors, which, you know, it's not exactly like, yippee, audit day. And so we sit in there and the people are great, man, and they're going through it, and they're like, you've got a clean audit. And it's because we've got this incredible finance team. And I was looking at our finance team, and I was thinking about these verses, and you don't know the people on our finance team's name. You don't know their name, which is probably good, because if you know our finance team's name,

we're probably on the news. You know what I'm saying? It's probably not good. And it's a thankless job, man. Like they sit in the back with numbers and, you know, just do their thing all the time and they don't have microphones and stage and guitars, any of that kind of stuff. But I'm telling you, I'm telling you,

our finance team is a significant part of that chain of obedience that leads to the miraculous. Over the last four weeks, 362 people at 1122 have surrendered their life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. That's a revival stuff, okay? and if you're one of those people, do you realize how many men and women took very small steps of obedience to just do the thing that Jesus told them to do that could lead to the only eternal miracle, which is salvation? Like if you're one of those folks that surrendered to Jesus, somebody invited you. Somebody invited you to either tune in or show up.

And if you showed up, there was somebody that was serving in the parking lot to help you get parked. And then there was somebody at the door that opened the door and somebody that greeted you. And somebody, a whole bunch of somebody's that cleaned this place up and got in. ready for you to be here. And there are teams of teams of somebody that are running cameras and turning knobs and controlling audio and all that kind of stuff. And there's a whole bunch of bands all over the city that have been training their whole life to just lead in worship. And there was a finance team behind the scenes paying all the bills and running all the payroll so that the lights could be on so that when it became my turn to do my one little part of my chain in the link or my link

in the chain of obedience and I opened the word of God. There was a miracle there. and 360-something people receive Jesus. So what's your step? What's Jesus calling you to do? And even though you don't know, even though he may not show you the big picture right now, you just don't know what hangs in the balance. There could be a miracle on the other end of that step.

So that's what they do. They do exactly what he says. And when the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, he didn't know where it came from. though the servants who had drawn the water knew and the master of the feast called the bridegroom. Go get the groom, come over here. I've got to ask him some questions.

Now, I almost hesitate to do this, but I want to talk just for a second about what does the Bible say about drinking. Again, Southern Baptist, I know you're really uncomfortable right now. I can see it on your face. I'm really glad. That makes me more happy than you know.

Okay. Now, the reason I hesitate is because John chapter 2, is not primarily a commentary on social drinking. It's not. But while we're here, we'll take this rabbit trail for just a second. So is it okay for a Christian to drink?

To drink wine, to drink, you know, whatever. Is it a sin to drink, all right? If you do a study of the scriptures, what you're going to find overwhelmingly is that wine is a blessing from God. Now, are there some people way over here who have already pre-decided that wine is evil,

beer is evil, and anybody that touches it is evil, and you're going to hell. And that group of people is a little bit excited about your trip to hell. Okay, that's how that goes. These are like the judgmental fundamentalist.

Now, I don't know that there's a bunch of you here, quite honestly. I think we ran you all off on the Song of Solomon series when I explained what the pomegranate was. I think you couldn't handle it, and so you're probably not here. But if you're listening online or whatever, maybe you are here, I don't know.

So if that's you, I would say, loosen up. You probably need a drink more than anybody else, okay? Just relax. Can you just relax a minute? we should never condemn what the Bible does not condemn. And so all throughout the scriptures, you'll see that wine is a gift. In Deuteronomy 14, verse 22, you shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year,

that we should bring to God our first and best. And then the next verses are on how we celebrate God by taking the tithe and throwing a party for the Lord. Verse 26 says, and spend the money for whatever you desire, oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves, and you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice you in your household, that if you're going to throw a party, you should do a party in such a way that glorifies the Lord. Psalm 104.14 says this, talking about God, God, you cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, that God has given mankind the gift of wine to gladden his heart as a gift.

In the New Testament, in 1 Timothy 523, the Apostle Paul is talking to this young pastor Timothy, and here's what he says, no longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments. And if you wonder why Timothy has stomach problems and frequent ailments, it's because he's a pastor. He's got to drink a little to get through it, okay? That's what's going on here, sort of. Now, we don't want to condemn things the Bible does not condemn, and we never want to take what God has told you to do personally and then apply it to everybody else. So there are unrighteous reasons to never touch it because do you think that your right activity is going to make you right before God? If that's what you need to repent and trust in the finished work of Christ on the

cross. Now for sure, there's a whole bunch of people that decide, nope, not for me, either through wisdom reasons because if they drink a beer, they drink a week and then it doesn't go good, you should never ever touch it. Or for just conscious reasons because you think, nope, not for me, for the sake of my witness, etc. Praise God for all those righteous reasons. All right. But what the enemy can do often is take a good gift from God

and then twist it, repackage it in such a way that hurts people. So he does this, not just with wine, he does it with food. Think about food as a gift from God. And yet the enemy takes food and makes it a problem for people.

Whether it's like bulimia or it's gluttony, but he takes a good gift and any time you get all hung up on the gift instead of the gift. of the gift that will become idolatry. And so the Bible also has warnings. Like in Proverbs, it says, wine is a macker, strong drink, a brawler, and whoever is

led astray by it is not wise. The Bible says, don't be dumb. So if you can't drink without being dumb, stop. And some people are way over here, and it has a hold of you. And you reached out to grab onto some drink because you wanted to grab onto fun, and now it has a hold of you. fun anymore. And whether it's a disease or a demon of alcoholism, I would say to you, get help, get help, get help, and you're often the last to know. Hopefully, you've got people

in your life that would love you enough to point that out to you, and you need to take whatever step of obedience. Go to a meeting, run to play. That is all helpful, but I'm telling you, the only one that will be able to break the chains of the addiction is the king of kings. His name is Jesus. Amen. Now, and then 1122, there may be a bunch of you, and do you just drink too much? Stop. The Bible says in Ephesians 518, do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the spirit. And if you begin to nuance the definition of what it means to be drunk, man, you've lost the game already. It says, you see, we want to be filled with the spirit, and a fruit of the spirit is self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. So if you lack self-control, that is not from God. and the enemy is coming after you. And so ultimately, man, if you're way over here and you're addicted to it or you're way over here and you were trying to apply your own rules to other believers as if that's what it takes to get to heaven, to both groups, I would say, repent and trust Jesus.

And to everybody else in the middle, do what God has called you to do and then leave room and grace for everybody else. But again, John 2 is not a commentary on social drinking. He turns one. water to wine for a different reason. So the head of the party takes a sip and is like, well, go get the groom. The groom comes over verse 10 and he says to him, everyone serves the good wine at first and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good

wine until now. He's saying, listen, man, you know what he's talking about. You usually start with the Kamus and you end up with the stuff in the cardboard. You know what I mean? You start with a nice craft beer and by the end of the night it's Natty Light. That's what he said. That's what most people do. But you started pretty good, and then you upped your game. What's going on? This is different than everybody else. And a part of what he's saying is this, man, God don't make junk.

If Jesus is going to make some wine, it is going to be heavenly. And the head of the party is like, wow. And then in verse 11, we get a verse that gives us the commentary on what's going on. Now again, this is the first of Jesus' miracles. Have you ever wondered why? Why this one? why water to whine it does not seem like the most pressing uh the most pressing interest in all of the universe i mean why not raise somebody from the dead or raise 25 people from the dead or just

levitate or write your name in the stars why not do something like that and we're going to find out why right here verse 11 says this this the first of his signs underlined signs Jesus did at Cana in Galilee and manifested his glory. That matters. And his disciples believed in him. And after this, he went down to Copernum with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days. What we're going to see, there's seven signs that are listed in the Gospel of John.

And what we're going to see is this pattern. There's a sign that manifests his glory and people believe. There's a sign that manifests his glory and people believe. And here's what you need to know. A sign points to something bigger than itself. And so the question is, so why, Jesus, why did you turn water to wine at this party in Caner? And some people will say, is it because his mom asked him?

Well, ultimately the answer is no, but partially the answer is yeah. I mean, I don't know how this works, and it'll make your head explode a little bit. God is the sovereign king of the universe. He does what he wants with who he wants whenever he wants, and yet Jesus says you have not because you ask not. somehow there are some things that just won't happen even though God does whatever he wants whenever he wants but if his kids don't bring it to him it just doesn't happen and Mary even though this might not be

the most important thing pressing on the world in this moment she brings that need to Jesus and Jesus does something about it that's a part of it is it about first century hospitality yeah maybe that the groom is going to be completely embarrassed and Jesus is full of compassion and so he covers for the guy. But ultimately, verse 11 tells us why, because it is a sign, and again, a sign points to something greater. And this is important to pay attention to all throughout the New Testament. The purpose of Jesus' miracles isn't necessarily to show his raw power,

but to point to his redemptive purpose. The point of Jesus' miracles is not for him to just divinely flex. Look what I can do. But it's not to just display his raw power. but it is to always point to his redemptive purpose. And there's a few things going on here. First of all, pay attention to what he does. He could have just snapped his finger and made it rain wine,

but that's not what he does. He says, go get the stone jars. And notice what he says about the stone jars. He doesn't say to the servants, all right, here's some Chlorox wipes. Now I want you to go over and just clean up the stone jars and clean them and clean them and clean them until your fingers fall off. Why? Because if you just clean up the outside,

clean up the outside, but you don't do anything about the inside, we will have nothing to offer the party. That's religion, by the way. Just a whole bunch of effort and energy trying to clean up the outside and not doing anything about the inside. Do you know what else he doesn't say? He doesn't say, go get me a filter. And what we're going to do is we're going to take this water and we're going to filter it and we're going to try to pull out all of the bad stuff. Why? Because being a Jesus follower is not primarily sin management. Because here's what happens. If you spend all of life just trying to not do bad stuff. It will always lead to just remorse and resolution. Remorse and resolution. Oh, I screwed up again. I'll never do that again. You ever been there?

But the gospel does not call us to remorse and resolution. The gospel calls us to repentance, to be changed and transformed. So he says, go fill those things up with water to the brim, and then what he does is he makes it new. He makes a new creation. And don't let it, don't be lost on the fact that it was stone jars for the right of purification. Because a part of what's happening, it's actually going to happen in the next four chapters, is Jesus is going to be showing us over and over and over. The old covenant has been fulfilled in me. I've kept every law.

I am the fulfillment of every prophecy. I am the yes and amen of every one of God's promises. And that old way of external activity to try to be made right before God is gone because I am going to show. shed some new wine in my blood, and I'm going to change you from the inside out. That's what happens. You see, and maybe, maybe, just maybe. Maybe the reason Jesus does this wine to initiate his ministry is this. The Bible starts with a wedding and ends with a wedding. I don't know if you know that. That after creation in chapter one, in chapter two of Genesis, God creates man, says, it's not good

for man to be alone, gives him his wife Eve, and there is a wedding. And then at the very end of the scriptures, there's a wedding. And then the thing that's going to inaugurate the public ministry of Jesus is a wedding. And maybe, a little bit of conjection on my part, but just go with me here, maybe what Jesus is doing is what every single person does that goes to a wedding. And I don't mean every single person, I mean every single person that goes to a wedding. You know what you do if you're single and you go to a wedding, right? You walk in that place and you, especially ladies, whether you're four or 84, you begin to evaluate the wedding with this, and if you're single, man, with this weird mixture of, like, hope and optimism and criticism and jealousy, all that just mixed

in there, all right, God bless your ministry, and that's what you do. And you just sit back and be like, okay, all right, those dresses are hideous. You all look like Easter eggs and don't they got to play this song in white, who does she think she's kidding? And that was too late. All those kinds of things, right? But what do you do? You begin to think about your upcoming or future wedding. And guys, They kind of fall into two camps. There are guys like boys that can shave that haven't grown up yet, and they're like, oh, I hope this never happens to me. It'll ruin my Xbox career.

Okay, good luck. But then some of you actually grow up and become a man, and you might not be evaluating the flowers and the centerpieces, but you are evaluating what it will take for you to stand in an altar and make a covenant with someone to lay your life down for her like Christ did for you. And Jesus is a 30-year-old single man, and what if when he shows up to this wedding, he is thinking about his future wedding.

Now, you may think, oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, pastor. I didn't think Jesus ever got married. He didn't while he was on earth. But the way the Bible closes in Revelation 21 and Revelation 19, it talks about the day of Christ's wedding when Christ, like the groom, comes and get his bride as the church. And what if, what if Jesus is looking at this wedding

in Canaan of Galilee, and he's thinking about what it took for this groom to be prepared for these people to have this party, and then he is reminded of what it's going to take for him to prepare his bride, the church, for this ultimate feast in heaven. What if what he's thinking about is this, John, who writes the gospel of John, later in his life, he is going to write down this vision or this revelation. If you're new to Bible study, it's not revelations. There's not a bunch of them. There's just one revelation. And in Revelation chapter 21, the Bible says this, then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more.

And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them. They will be his people and God himself will be with them as their God. It's the point of the whole Bible, by the way, God with us. When he creates Adam and Eve, he just walks in the garden with us.

God with us. And then sin separate. So he creates the temple sacrificial system. So through the shedding of blood, God could invite people into his presence in the temple. But it was just a foreshadowing of when Jesus showed up and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. God with us. And then for anyone and everyone who would believe you enter into a covenant, like a marriage covenant with God. And it's God with us forever and ever and ever.

amen. And religion is about a contract. If you do this, then maybe God will do his part. But a covenant is no matter what, no matter what you do, I will love you. And then, just like when you were married, you used to live separate, had two different names, had two different lives, and now when you make a covenant together, there's one house, there's one name, there's one bedroom, there's one. And then after the covenant of us with God, this is what happens. Verse four, and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. Not I am cleaning things up. Just like at the wedding,

he doesn't just filter the water. He doesn't take nasty water and just make it clean water. Just like he doesn't take us, bad people, and try to make us better, but he makes us a new creation in Christ. I am making all things new. And he also said, write this down for these words are trustworthy and true. And he said to me, it is done. Literally, it is finished. I am the alpha, the omega, the beginning of the end, to the thirsty, I will give from the spring of water of life without payment. That the Bible ends with this marriage between Jesus and his church, that we are unified with him forever and ever and ever. And if you back up two chapters, it describes the wedding part. It describes the wedding part. Listen to this. Revelation 19, 6 through 9.

John says, and then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out. Hallelujah, for the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exalt and give him the glory, for the marriage of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. That sounds like a party to me. and what if Jesus is standing there? Mary comes up and goes, son, they're out of wine, they're out of wine. And then he looks at this situation

and he begins to empathize with the groom because it was the groom's responsibility to get ready and then he begins to think about the things that he will do to get us ready for this eternal wedding feast. Then it says this, this is how it closes. It was granted her, that's the church,

to clothe herself, would find linen, bright and pure, for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, write this, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the land. Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb. And so Jesus decides, okay, I will do something. And I'm not just going to do a miracle just to display my raw power. I'm going to do a sign to point to my redemptive purpose.

And my redemptive purpose is this, because I'm going to bless this. by inviting them to the marriage supper of the land. So go get that nasty water. Bring it here. Now, there is wine to drink for everyone who is invited. Not clean up the outside, that won't do it. Not try to take the bad out, that won't do it. But Jesus transforms it from water to wine.

And here's what he knows. Here's what he knows. When my hour comes, when my hour comes, when my hour comes, I will bring a new wine to my people. But the wine Jesus is talking about won't just be poured in a cup. The wine Jesus is talking about will be poured out of his veins on the cross when he pushes up on his nail-pierced feet and he says, it is finished. Now, if you say to me, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, how do you put the, how do you equate wine here in chapter 2?

How do you equate wine with his blood? And I'll tell you how. is that on the night Jesus was betrayed. He gathers his disciples together in the upper room. And they thought, well, they were going to celebrate the Passover when they celebrate the liberation of God's people out of slavery in Egypt. And they did this every year of their life. Since the moment it happened until this day, they celebrated the Passover.

And Jesus took the bread. And he was supposed to say Jewish rabbinical stuff about Moses and Pharaoh and let my people go and all of that. But instead of doing that, he personalizes it. He breaks the bread and he says, this is my body. They had no idea what he's talking about. The next day when they see him on the cross, it became a reality. And then after the meal, they would eat a full meal. And then he holds up this cup.

It was a cup filled with wine. And here's what he says. He says, this is my blood. This is my blood. Pour it out for the forgiveness of sin. And he goes on to say, is a cup of the new covenant. Covenant and Testament mean the same thing. And the old covenant is a covenant of law, just like those stone jars of purification. Here are the rights and rituals

that you have to go through in order to be made right. He says, that has been fulfilled in me, and this is a new cup, a cup of my grace. The old covenant is a covenant of law. The new covenant is a covenant of grace. And as often as you drink of this, as you take my body and blood into you, you do this in remembrance of me. Later that night, they finish the last supper. They go to the garden of Gassimini. Gassimini is an olive grove. It means the place of crushing. He says, Peter, James John, come with me. Come here, I need you to pray for me. The Bible says that he knows that his hour has come. He knows that the wrath of God is about to be poured out on him, that he is so overwhelmed with this, that he is depressed, he is distressed, he is praying with such

intensity that he is sweating blood and he cries out, Father, if there be any other way, let this cup pass from me. You ever wonder if Jesus is the only way to God? Jesus asked the same question in the Garden of Gassimony. That's what he's saying. Father, if you could just obey the commandments, if you could be good enough, if there is some truth claim in another world religion that leads to you, can we just go with that way? Because it seems like an awful waste of my blood on Calvary tomorrow if somebody, if there's any other way. Father, if there be any other way, let this cup pass from me. And the cup was the wrath of God. Our perfect just judge pouring out judgment on sin. And he said, not my will, but your will be

done. And when God judged sin on the cross, he poured out the cup of wrath on Jesus. And Jesus poured out the cup of grace by his blood. And on the cross, he pushes up on his nail-pierced feet, and he says, it is finished. And in fact, in Matthew chapter 26, before Jesus is crucified, dead, buried, and resurrected, he says to his disciples, the next time I drink out of this cup, I'm going to drink it with you in paradise. And what he is talking about is blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

on behalf of Jesus Christ, I would like to extend to you an invitation to the wedding supper of the land. And I've got some really, really good news for you. Everybody's invited. Everybody's invited. If you can hear my voice, you are invited to the marriage supper of the land. No matter what you've done or where you're from or how you grew up or what you struggled with, that you are invited. everybody's invited, and I've got some really good news. We all get in the same way. That there is a red carpet. We just all walked down the red carpet, and the red carpet was

turned red by the blood of Jesus. Nobody gets a head start. We're all invited. We all get in the same way, maybe the best news of all, and the price for your entrance has already been paid by Jesus Christ on the cross. When he said it is finished, it counts for you. So the point, I think, the sign that he's pointing to is this, that God takes what is filthy, and he doesn't just make it better, he makes it into a new creation. Have you been made new? Have you been made new? God the Father is inviting you right now. Blessed are you who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb? Would you receive the invitation? And if you were to say, yeah, yeah, I want to go. How do I do that? Man, I'm not saying your life is easy, but it is a simple response that you say yes to him.

that's what it is. You admit it just like that stone water full of, stone jar full of nasty water, man, I am all messed up here on the inside. I am a sinner in need of a Savior. I believe it. And I believe that when Christ died on the cross, when he pushed up on his nail pierce feet, and he says, it is finished somehow that counted for me and I have been invited in. And in this moment, you confess him as Lord and Savior. And blessed are you who have been invited into that kind of covenant relationship with God forever. He is inviting you. Won't you come? So I would just say, who wants to say yes to that? If you would just bow your head, close your eyes. And if you would say, Pastor, that's me.

And today, for the very first time I want to receive Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I want to say yes to his invitation, to admit it, I'm a sinner, to believe that when Christ died on the cross, that counted for me. And in this moment, confess him as my Lord and Savior. Would you lift your hand right where you are? And would you say, Father, here I am. I surrender my to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God.

Our good and gracious Heavenly Father, God, we love you more than anything. And God, we thank you that you sent Jesus on a rescue mission to seek and to save us who were lost. And God, we thank you that you just don't invite us into better behavior, but you invite us into a covenant relationship. And God, I thank you that you're the waymaker. God, I thank you that you are the miracle worker.

and God like Mary I pray that we would be the kind of people that bring all of our wants and all of our needs to you because we know that you care for us and Lord we look forward to the day we look forward to the day when you bring us to that great wedding feast forever and ever and ever and we pray this in Jesus name amen thank you for listening join us next week as we continue in this series be sure to check us out at co-e-22.com full weekly reading plan, group curriculum, and other resources.