October 19, 2003
Morning Worship
Text: John 2:1-11
Subject: The Miracles of Christ
Title: Better Than Expected
This is a good church. It is not a great church yet, that is going to come, but it is a good solid church. What does the Lord expect from us? To be faithful in attendance and in giving? To study and pray daily? To love others as we love ourselves? Yes to all. And that is part of what makes us a good church. But Jesus said, “I will build my church!” and if HE is building it don’t you think He wants a great church and not simply a good one? As a church, we often need to step back and take a look at our vision. Where are we going and more importantly, how are we going to get there? We have a vision for the church. Often we become blinded by the everyday operation of ministry and lose the vision.
Two men went fishing. One man was an experienced fisherman, the other wasn’t. Every time the experienced fisherman caught a big fish, he put it in his ice chest to keep it fresh. Whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a big fish, he threw it back. The experienced fisherman watched this go on all day and finally got tired of seeing this man waste good fish. "Why do you keep throwing back all the big fish you catch?" he asked.
The inexperienced fisherman replied, "I only have a small frying pan.
"Sometimes, like that fisherman, we throw back the big plans, big dreams, big jobs, big opportunities that God gives us. Our faith is too small. We laugh at that fisherman who didn’t figure out that all he needed was a bigger frying pan; yet how ready are we to increase the size of our faith? Whether it’s a problem or a possibility, God will never give you anything bigger than you can handle. That means we can confidently walk into anything God brings our way. As long as we maintain our vision, we can do all things through Christ.
The important thing for us to remember is that as the church grows and ministry increases we must continually keep our eyes on Jesus. He is the one who knows our needs better than we do. As a matter of fact, as long as we focus on Him, He will supply our needs. In doing so He will often go beyond our expectations.
Today, as we look at the wedding in Cana, we will see four steps that are necessary in becoming the church God wants us to be.
First, we must recognize our need.
Second, we must raise our standards.
Third, we respond in obedience.
The last thing we do is to reap the benefits.
Jesus is looking for opportunities everyday to glorify God.
Let look today to see what the Lord is saying to the church.
I. Recognizing the Need (vs 1-3)
A. The Occasion: There was a wedding in Cana. In a small town like Cana it may have been the social event of the year. The bride and groom may have been related to Mary and Jesus as well as some of the other disciples. Since the whole community was there, it may have been a financial strain on the young couple to provide enough refreshment for everyone. But the pressure was present to make them try to do something they were not able to do. In such close knit communities, failure to provide sufficiently for everyone would likely place a stigma on this couple that would haunt them for the rest of their lives. It wasn’t that their preparation was lacking. They had made all the right preparations. It was their human ability that fell short. They didn’t have enough wine for everyone.
B. They did invite the right person. The world doesn’t understand that even though they may look for all the answers to life’s question in self-satisfying acts of pleasure, there is only One who can truly satisfy. He will meet every need and all you have to do is ask. That is why Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks will find, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?” But knowing the need and knowing the Lord doesn’t bring and end to the problem. You have to ask.
C. Presenting the need. Verse 3, “And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, ‘They have no wine.’”. Is there reason here to think that Mary had anything in mind but for Jesus to do something in the natural to help? It is possible that the arrival of Jesus and His disciples at this time may have been the cause of the wine shortage, Mary asks Jesus to do something. Maybe Mary has pondered the things that she kept in her heart, the things that were reported by the shepherds when the baby Jesus was born. “For there is born to you on this day as Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Those three words –Savior, the one who would deliver them; Christ, the anointed one; Lord, the literal translation means the supreme authority or God. The angels told the shepherds that this child was God. And Luke 2:19, “But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” It is possible that Mary anticipated the time of Jesus’ revealing of Himself to the world. Whether or not she knew of the type of ministry Jesus would have is irrelevant. She did the right thing. She made a request for help. And she made it to the right person.
II. Raising the Standard. (4-6)
A. Things are different now. Verse 4 presents some difficulty in its understanding. Three different translations read differently and would appear to have different meanings. KJV says, “Woman, what have I to do with thee?” The NIV reads, “Dear woman, why do you involve Me?” while the NKJV says, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?” Consider this. First of all, just as John the Baptist was used to proclaim the coming of the Lamb of God, was Mary being used to announce the beginning of His miracles or signs as John calls them? If that is the case, then the NKJV makes a little more sense. “What does your concern have to do with Me?” Just as Jesus asked when the woman touched His robe in the crowd, “Who touched Me?” He is now asking, “What makes you think that I can do anything about it? Have you seen Me do anything before?” (My hour has not yet come.) Notice also that Jesus, although the gospel writers have continually referred to her as His mother, now addresses her as “woman” - not denying that she is His mother, but that now their relationship is about to change. If Jesus is seeking the depth of Mary’s faith, she quickly shows him.
B. Whatever He says, do it! Nearly nine years ago, as a husband, father, and devoted, born again Roman Catholic knelt in prayer to the music and soothing voice of a visiting music evangelist, the Lord Himself visited him in his spirit. “Your work here is done.”, were the words that were spoken – whether audible or not I do not know. But the man had been a born again believer for seven years and had come to know that whatever He says, do it. He and his family left the church and began attending a Spirit filled congregation Where the Lord spoke to him again, calling him into the ministry. Although it did not make any sense, he began studying for the ministry. Whatever He says, do it! Five years later, he was asked to leave his hometown of nearly forty years to go to another place that had been prepared for him. Whatever He says, do it. So here we are in Palmyra. I’m glad that He knows what He is doing! Mary’s words reveal her faith. Say it with me, “WHATEVER HE SAYS, DO IT”
C. Bridging the gap. “Now there were set there six water pots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.” The water pots were connected to the Old Testament Law. Mark 7:3, “For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders.” Jesus was about to do a new thing with old vessels. But the wine that Jesus is about to offer will become symbolic of the new covenant. He begins His ministry and ends it with the cup. The beginning with joyous overtones, the end with resolve to finish what He had started.
III. Responding With Obedience (7-8)
A. Not just hearers of the word, but doers also. “Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the water-pots with water’.” There is no indication that the servants doubted what they were told to do. Obviously, the party had already begun. There was no need for anyone to wash their hands again. Why fill them up? They just did what Jesus told them to do. Why do we need to be doers of the word? Because Jesus works through the hands of His people. He is no longer here to continue His earthly ministry, but we are. He can’t lay hands on the blind and have them receive their sight, but we can. He can’t tell anyone any longer of their need for a savior, because hall have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but we can. He can’t because He is sitting at the right hand of the Father. We can, because we are the water-pots, the vessels that He wants to use to pour out ministry into the world. When we hear the word and then become doers, we continue the ministry that He began. We are filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ. (Colossians 1:24)
B. Taking the risk without asking questions. When Jesus told the servants to draw some out and take it to the master of the feast, they just did it. Remember, Whatever He says, do it? They did it. Acting only after you have all the right answers or only when it makes sense is operating in the flesh. That is one of the big problems with our Pentecostal churches nowadays. People are so afraid to be led by the spirit for fear of “getting in the flesh” and in doing so, that is exactly what they are doing. By refusing to move in the Spirit, you stay in the flesh. Now if we waited till all the pieces fell into place before we stepped out, nothing would ever get done would it? Faith is fighting your way through a crowd to touch the hem of His garment. Faith is letting your friend down through the roof of a house so he could get next to Jesus. Faith is rolling the stone away from the tomb so a man dead for four days could walk out. Faith always involves taking a risk and with the risk comes the chance that you might be exposed to criticism. But the rewards always out weigh the risks.
IV. Reaping the Benefits. (9-11)
A. This is different. Jesus is doing something different. One of the special things about the Bible is that it is full of what I call Holy Paradoxes i.e. it is when we are weak that we find strength; it is only in total surrender to God that we find freedom; it is only when we rely on God that we can have power. Another paradox is that God is eternal and unchanging, yet His mercies are new every morning, He wants us to sing a new song, and He says, “Behold, I will do a new thing.” (Isaiah 43:19) Jesus saved the best wine for last. It was the wine that He, the creator, personally made for the feast. The wine that He offers now is the better wine. Paul tells us that we are not to be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. It’s better than any wine.
B. It is not what was expected. This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.” If we were all to be honest today, how many of us would say, “Everything that I expected to happen in church happened today.” When Jesus shows up on the scene, He gives us what we need and not always what we expect. I want you to notice at least three results of the miracle. (1) The bride and groom were kept from embarrassment. (2) His disciples believed in Him. (3) He manifested His glory – God was glorified. What a privilege it is to serve a God who does what He said He would do! He heals broken hearts, beat down spirits, and worn out bodies. He gets the glory, we reap the benefits. He provides for our needs. When we tithe, He gives back abundantly. He gets the glory, we reap the benefits. He delivers us from the oppression of addictions and worldly influences that we alone cannot free ourselves from, and He gets the glory, but we receive the benefits. He saves souls from hell – He gets the glory and we receive eternal benefits. Aren’t you glad that He does things differently than we ever expected? How boring it would be if He operated according to our limited imaginations. “He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”
Jesus could have just spoken the word and kept the wine glasses from ever going empty at this wedding. But He chooses to use people to accomplish His work. Why did He use the servants to fill the jars with water? Because witnesses testify. Why did He have them take the wine to the master of the feast? Because the recipients of His grace tell others. ? God gets the glory, we reap the benefits. And though the benefits are always what we need, they are seldom what we expect.
Let’s recap the four steps that I have given.
1. Recognize the needs and ask the Lord in prayer.
2. Raise the standard. Never put limits on what God can co.
3. Respond with obedience. Be doers of the word even if it doesn’t make sense.
4. Reap the benefits. This is the good part. God gets the glory, we reap the benefits.
It is always better than expected!
