THE SECOND SUNDAY IN THE SEASON OF EPIPHANY,
THE TEXT ....JOHN 2: 1-11
Introduction::: TODAY IS THE SECOND SUNDAY IN THE SEASON OF Epiphany...
LAST WEEK WE AFFIRMED THAT ..The Greek word Epiphany can be translated "the showing forth."
The word "epiphany" also means appearing, , making SOMETHING visible what was once unseen and hidden.
The season of Epiphany is ALSO about light:
REMEMBER OUR SCRIPTURE OF ISAIAH CHAPTER 60:
VERSE 1"..Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you."
SO THE SEASON OF Epiphany is ALSO about the coming of the true Light into the darkness of this world.
AND WHO IS THE ONE TRUE LIGHT IN OUR LIVES BUT JESUS..
ALSO the season of Epiphany..has a name called discovery.
Epiphany is the period of the church calendar in which we affirm the discovery of Jesus, it is the season in which his real identity, is made clear to the world .....and clearer to those who will look for it..
What began with the very private announcement of :
A......the angel to Mary
B......then angel to Joseph,
C......the angel to the shepherds
D...THE REVELATION TO THE WISE MAN
IS NOW MADE MANIFEST TO US...
The season of epiphany is to be found in the image of like a stone that is dropped in the water, which sets off a series of small ripples,,,, which get bigger and bigger and bigger until the entire surface of the water bears witness to the PRESENCE of that stone.
AND The first of these RIPPLES - IS the changing of water into wine (John 2:1-11) - It’s an event that reveals who Jesus is and what he does.
WE READ OF Jesus AT A wedding at Cana, a village near Nazareth in Galilee. NOW WHY MIGHT WE FIND JESUS AT A WEDDING? VERSE # 2 TELLS US IT WAS BECAUSE HE WAS INVITED.
The fact that Jesus, together with the handful of disciples WERE INVITED the happy function shows that he’s not an antisocial killjoy.
On the contrary, JESUS he’s pleased to enter into the whole spectrum of human life.
JOHN VERSE 1 SAY’S THAT JESUS’S WAS AT A WEDDING IN CANA OF GALILEE ....
Weddings were, and are, a GRAND EVENT in the Jewish culture. It was no short ceremony_.no the festivities lasted for days. It was a time of great celebration.
There was no such thing as a honeymoon! No, the couple kept open house for a week IF NOT LONGER....
AND The grooms family was expected to provide all the refreshments for this week of festivities.
That’s where we pick up our scripture: Read John 2:1-11
Suddenly the host discovers that they HAD RAN out of wine. They had more guest than they anticipated. It would have been improper for the culture of this time to not have wine.
Evidently they did not have the money to go and purchase more wine. Jesus’ mother comes to Jesus and says, "Son, we’ve got a problem here, and we need your help. The groom’s family HAS RUN out of wine."
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, `Fill the jars with water’; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, `
Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.’
They did so, 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 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.’
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." John 2:1- 11
THIS WAS FOR THE DISCIPLES AND EPIPHANY EXPERIENCE...
John calls this first miracle a sign. Signs are usually placed in places to give us information, or point us in the direction. The miracles of Christ were always meant to reveal to us the glory of God, and point us to who He truly is.
Let’s take a look at what this first sign means for us today.
WHY AND WHAT WAS THE OCCASION OF THE MIRACLE /SIGN..
TO MEET A PRACTICAL NEED
The wine was a symbol for joy. They wanted to experience the gladness of the wedding ...
It is therefore reasonable to believe that this first miracle took place, at least in part, to satisfy a very practical need.
TO MEET A PROPHETICAL NEED
Another purpose of the miracle may have been to meet a prophetical need. Everything that Jesus Christ was doing had significance.
A SIGN POINTS AND GIVES DIRECTION...
The purpose of the signs was to manifest His glory and to motivate His disciples to believe in Him (2:11).
THE MIRACLE WAS A CO-OPERATIVE NEED
The Lord’s work, in most instances, is a cooperative effort. It involves people working with people, or, better, people working with God.
Our text shows that the Lord instructed the people to cooperate with Him by doing what they could do. He then performed the miracle of turning the water into wine, which they could not do.
IN MINISTRY God uses people!
Many of our churches are suffering because they can neither cooperate with God nor with each other.
Had the servants not obeyed the Lord in filling the water pots, the Lord would not have performed the miracle.
When we fail to fill our spiritual water pots, we do not experience the miracle of the water being turned into wine.
The filling of the spiritual water pots may be in the form of:
reading your Bible,
tithing,
church faithfulness,
praying, or
witnessing.
The filling of the water pots demonstrates a faithful obedience to the Lord. May we fill the "water pots" that God gives us and receive the joy of God’s blessings.
THE MIRACLE SERVED A FUNCTION
ALTHOUGH the purpose or function of the miracle was to meet the very humble request of Mary and the wedding party.
IT WAS also were performed to meet a spiritual need or teach a spiritual lesson.
YES,, there is much more to this miracle than a wedding party. John calls this the first of Jesus’ signs.
AND That’s what this AFTER-Christmas season epiphany is all about: Jesus POINTING TO His glory as God’s Son.
This miracle at Cana of Galilee has much to teach us today.
First of all, this is the first of our Lord’s miracles. John calls it "the beginning of signs" in verse 11.
The Jews repeatedly washed their hands before they ate Washing water became wedding wine that day in Cana.
Jesus turned water_ceremonial cleansing water_into the best wine men ever drank.
YET BUT JESUS KEEPS SILENT ABOUT THIS FIRST SIGN..
YOU would THINK that Jesus would want everyone to know what He was doing.
He could have called for everyone’s attention, announcing to all that He was about to turn water into wine. He could have been much more dramatic, waving His hands over the waterpots, and then personally presenting the "good wine" to the head steward.
BUT In fact, Jesus does not seem to even touch the waterpots or the wine.
He simply gives instructions to the servants to fill the pots and to serve the contents.
If you had interviewed the head steward or any of the guests and asked what they thought of the celebration, they probably would have said: "Oh, it was a really nice celebration, and the wine at the last was really something."
Most of the people never knew a miracle had taken place. It seems that only Mary, the servants, and the disciples were aware of what happened. John tells us that because of this miracle, the disciples believed in Him (verse 11).
AND Most likely, this is the way many miracles occur today.
They occur in ways that seem so natural many do not even recognize them as supernatural.
LASTLY, notice especially how this miracle "manifested our Lord’s glory." John tells us: "This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him"
This is a rather interesting statement, because it seems inconsistent with what we have just observed. How could our Lord’s glory have been manifested when so few even knew a miracle had been performed?
The Greek word for glory is doxa..
No man can rightly define glory, any more than he can define God. BUT WE TRY BY SAYING THAT....
Glory is the fullness of God, and that is a subject too high for our finite minds. Yet, we do know in part.
When God gives His glory, He gives Himself.
He cannot parcel Himself out in pieces - no man receives a portion, but all.
The one who receives His love also gets
His mercy,
His holiness,
and His strength.
That is the fullness of God.
That is the glory of God - that He gives Himself in fullness and never partially.
And those who seek the glory of God must learn that God truly desires to give Himself to us, which means He wants us to enjoy fullness.
We know so little of His glory.
We think only in terms of cosmic power and splendor. We are such strangers to the real meaning of God’s glory,
THIS "seeing OF his glory" is not a mystical vision as such. It is really in- vision, insight.
IT WAS AN EPIPHANY EXPEREIENCE....
However, it does work something like mystical vision, for it empowers us to see what others cannot, will not, or do not see.
We see all things and people as they look in and under the
mystical,
magical,
mysterious light of eternity, the unique kind of light that can only be found in the eternal atmosphere.
When we see all things and all people in, under and by that light we see them as they really are in eternity and as they also might be or become in time.
This is the work of the glory of God.
CONCLUSION:
The glory of God is available to those who thirst for intimacy. Scripture makes clear that it’s possible for every true follower of Jesus to see and understand the glory of God. Indeed, our Lord reveals his glory to all who ask and seek for it diligently.
Contrary to some Christians’ thinking, the glory of God is not a physical manifestation of some kind.
It’s not an ecstatic feeling that overcomes you.
Nor is it a kind of supernatural aura or angelic light that bursts forth. Simply put, God’s glory is a revelation of his nature and attributes!
The Lord himself defines his glory this way in scripture. Therefore, when we pray, "Lord, show me your glory," we’re actually praying, "
Father, reveal to me who you are." And if the Lord does give us a revelation of his glory, it’s a revelation of how he wants to be known by us.
Moses’ experience with the glory of God demonstrates this truth. The Lord sent Moses to deliver Israel without giving him a full revelation of who the God of Israel was. The Lord merely told him, "Go, and say I AM sent you."
But he gave no explanation of who "I AM" was.
Moses had a gnawing hunger and thirst to know who the great I AM was -- to know what his nature and character were all about.
I believe this is why Moses cried, "[Lord]...I beseech thee, shew me thy glory" (Exodus 33:18
And the Lord answered Moses’ prayer. First, he instructed Moses to hide himself in the cleft of a rock.
Yet, as Moses waited for the glory of God to appear, he saw no thunder, no lightning, no shaking of the earth. Rather, God’s glory came to him in a simple revelation:
Now, God only reveals his power or glory with a purpose in mind. So, what was his purpose here?
It certainly wasn’t to give Moses a moment of ecstasy.
And it wasn’t to give him a legacy, something he could tell his children and grandchildren about.
No -- God allowed Moses to see his glory so that he might be changed by the sight of it! And the same is true for us today. God reveals his glory to us so that, by seeing it, we might be changed into his very own image!
Today, Jesus Christ is the express image of who God is. When our Lord became flesh, it was as a full revelation of the heavenly father’s
mercy,
grace,
goodness and readiness to forgive.
God wrapped up everything of his nature and character in Jesus. And any revelation of his glory to us now is meant to change us into an expression of Christ!
Beloved, God wants to tell us, "Moses understood my glory, and now I want you to understand it. I want to open your eyes by my Spirit to show you who I am.
I’m not just a God of wrath and judgment. My nature is love!"
JESUS INVITES US TO , "Let THE DESIRE of God’s glory become so real to you that you become rooted and grounded in it.
Keep seeking it,
KEEP studying it,
KEEP claiming it, appropriating it in your life -- until the vision of Christ’s glory bursts forth in you!
As you remain in the word, seeking the revelation of his glory, you’ll be changed. And you’ll keep changing, from glory to glory!"
1. The First and Foremost Effect of the Glory Is a Change in Our Relationship With the Lord!
When Moses saw this revelation of God’s glory -- that he is good, loving, caring, gracious, forgiving -- he quickly fell to his knees and worshipped. "Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped" (Exodus 34:8).
The EPIPHANY of God’s nature overwhelmed this man. He saw how merciful, long-suffering and patient God is with his children -- including stiff- necked people, Moses was so stirred by this revelation, he ran out from behind the rock, fell down and worshipped!
I believe this one verse tells us much about the church today. It says a Christian can pray diligently without ever really worshipping. Indeed, it’s possible to be a prayer warrior and intercessor and still not be a worshipper of God.
You can plead for your unsaved children, pray for the needs of an entire church, be holy and meek in seeking God’s burden -- and yet never truly worship him!
1. The glory of God is a EPIPHANY of our Lord’s nature and being.
The way God wants us to know his glory is through the EPIPHANY of his great love toward humankind. And that’s just what he revealed to Moses: " the Lord God,
merciful and
gracious,
longsuffering,
and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin " (Exodus 34:6-7).
The Lord is forever waiting to show us his love to forgive us, shower us with his mercy and restore us to himself!
2. The EPIPHANY of God’s glory has powerful effects on those who receive it and pray for an understanding of it.
Up to this point, Moses had viewed the Lord as a God of law and wrath. He trembled with terror in the Lord’s presence petitioning him, crying out to him, pleading with him on behalf of Israel.
This had been the basis of his face-to-face relationship with the Lord.
Yet now, at the first sight of God’s glory, Moses was no longer fearful of the Lord. Instead, he was moved to worship: "Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped" (verse 8).
He saw that God wasn’t just the thunder, lightning and piercing trumpet that had made him shrivel in fear. On the contrary, God was love and his nature as one of kindness and tender mercy!
Do you see the incredible truth scripture is showing us here? True worship arises from hearts that are overcome by a vision of God’s unmerited love for us. It’s based on the revelation that God gives us of himself, of his goodness, his mercy, his readiness to forgive.
So, if we’re to praise God both in spirit and in truth, our worship must be based on this awesome truth about him.
Indeed, once we receive a EPIPHANY of God’s glory, our worship can’t help but change.
1................Why? Seeing his glory changes the way we live! It affects our countenance and behavior changing us from "glory to glory," making us more like him. Each new EPIPHANY of his love and mercy brings supernatural change.
2...................Seeing God’s glory also changes our relationships with others. Paul tells the Ephesians church, "You’ve seen and tasted the glory of God. Now, be a EPIPHANY of that glory to others!" "Be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32).
Many Christians talk about intimacy with the Lord walking with him, knowing him, having fellowship with him.
But we can’t have true communion with God unless we receive into our hearts the full EPIPHANY of his love, grace and mercy.
That’s why I’m to come into his courts with praise and thanksgiving because I’m thankful for who my God is. He cares about everything concerning me!
Few believers, however, have laid hold of God’s love for them by faith. They live in fear and despair, with little or no hope, always facing a storm. They can’t understand why their lives aren’t fulfilled, why they’re full of such turmoil and confusion.
They often think, "I pray daily, and I read my Bible. I constantly show God how much I love him. So why don’t I have rest and peace?"
It’s because they’ve never grasped the truth that God loves them! They haven’t comprehended that, in spite of all their weaknesses and failures, their heavenly father cares about everything they’re going through!
MAY WE BASK AND BATH IN THE EPIPHANY OF THE GLORY OF GOD, AS REVEALED TO US THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.
AMEN............AMEN...............AMEN
