This message is an edited version of a sermon given at Loving God Fellowship.
Copyright © 2007 Loving God Fellowship, Inc. http://www.LovingGodFellowship.org
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Glory Revealed
The Life of Christ Series
By Greg Johnson
June 10, 2007
John chapter two of the Bible gives us the account of Jesus’ first miracle, turning water into wine. Jesus took the ordinary and made the extraordinary. Jesus took the most common element of this earth and turned it into something that was not a common. He took something of this world and made it out of this world.
FAITH
(John 2:1-5 NIV) "On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, {2} and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. {3} When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, "They have no more wine." {4} "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come." {5} His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you.""
Jesus’ mother displays great faith. She took the need to Jesus and left it in His hands. She did not know how Jesus would accomplish the miracle, but she believed that He would. The means did not matter to her as she trusted the end result to Jesus.
You may be in great need today. Take your needs, your cares, your burdens, your anxieties; take them all to Jesus. Don’t be concerned about how Jesus will accomplish the miracle; just believe that He will act on your behalf. Don’t fret about the means; just trust the end result to Jesus.
OBEDIENCE
(John 2:6-10 NIV) "Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. {7} Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim. {8} Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so, {9} and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside {10} and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
Each of these stone water jars could hold 20-30 gallons of water. Jesus tells the servants to fill them up to the brim with water, draw some out and take it to the head of the banquet. It amazes me how the servants react in the fact that they obey without questioning the validity of the logic. They just did what Jesus told them to do trusting the methodology. They did not analyze nor did they vocalize. They just obeyed and in doing so expressed great faith in the words that they were given by Jesus. They filled, they drew and they took it to one in charge. Somewhere between the filling and the taking, the supernatural took place. We can learn much from these obedient servants.
All throughout the Bible, there is a close connection between faith and obedience. Faith and obedience go hand in hand. We obey Jesus because we trust Him and believe in what He tells us to do. We have faith in Him and when He tells us in His Word to daily deny our self, take up our cross and follow Him (Luke 9:23), we do it. We gladly follow Jesus on our Journey from earth to glory and along the way we make a difference in our day for Him. We love people as He loves people. When Jesus tells us to go, we go believing that He will never leave nor forsake us and that He will empower us to accomplish what He is sending us to do.
JESUS REVEALS HIS GLORY
(John 2:11 NIV) "This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him."
Friend, this is a wonderful picture of salvation. If you are not following Jesus, He will take you just as you are today and do a supernatural work in your life. You will never be the same as you daily deny yours self, take up your cross and follow Him. He takes ordinary people and makes them extraordinary. He takes common folk, puts the Holy Spirit in them and they are born again (John 3). A person being born again is the greatest miracle that will ever take place. Fall at the cross of Christ, receive Him as Savior and submit to His Lordship. He will change you into something new and do a work in you that you could never do for yourself. Be born again!
I call those that are following Christ the Beloved as they have experience the love of Christ. Beloved, as you put your faith in Jesus, He reveals His glory in you. In the midst of your need, Jesus will lift you up so that He will be glorified. Put your faith in Jesus. Obey Jesus. Behold His glory!
Know that you are loved,
Founding Pastor
Loving God Fellowship
http://www.LovingGodFellowship.org/greg_johnson_blog
Loving God Fellowship is an interdenominational evangelical fellowship in Salem, Oregon, with a worldwide Internet church community @ http://www.LGFinternetChurch.org .
