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by Pastor Don Gettys I Need A Miracle JOHN 2:1-11 Jesus had successfully survived 5 weeks in the desert with the master tempter. The experience I'm going to relate to you happened right after Jesus was tempted. It's recorded in the second chapter of John. Jesus must have been starved to death after the wilderness temptation. After a time he and his mother went to a wedding. This wedding was in Cana. Because the guests were extra thirsty or perhaps because not enough juice was ordered, somehow, the punch ran out. Now, you don't run out of wine at a wedding. So Jesus' mother came to Him and said, "They need some more wine." Jesus made up some more out of water, and it was better than the first. Jesus took some plain worthless water and changed it into something of great value. Now, you're in for rich amounts of blessing today as we study this experience. He wants to do that for each of us. He want to take something that is not too valuable and make it into something that is extremely valuable. You are in for rich amounts of blessing today as we dig into this fascinating story. JOHN 2:1 "On the third day..." Let's stop right there. On the third day, this wedding took place. Jesus was raised on the third day. The third day is the day of new life. At creation it was on the third day that this world emerged from its watery grave and was clothed with living vegetation. On the third day Jesus came out of His grave clothed with eternal life. The third day is the day of new life. Here on this third day is the day that Jesus emerges from his years of seclusion and His public ministry comes to life. ..."A wedding took place..." Jesus performed the very first wedding of Adam and Eve and now, 4000 years later, He continues to sanctify marriage. It is good to be married. It is not good to be just living together. We should be married. God holds the patent, He is the inventor of marriage. He stands behind the product with a lifetime warranty. But... both husband and wife have to send in their warranty cards. Tell me, when you buy a can opener, do you send in the warranty card? Be honest, now. Are there a bunch of warranty cards in your drawer somewhere that you think is worthless, it's practically cheap plastic junk made in Taiwan or someplace. We don't even send in the warranty cards, do we? And too often when two people get married, we don't send in the warranty cards. You need to send them in. You need to check in with Jesus. If both of you pray together both of you will experience a greater joy in Jesus. 2:2--- "Jesus and His disciples had also been invited to the wedding." Jesus and five of His disciples were at the wedding. Notice that Jesus comes by invitation only. If you don't invite Jesus to your wedding, how can you expect to have the complete happiness that you could have had? That potential is missing. Had Jesus not come, there would have been no miracle. No Jesus--no miracle. If there is no place for Jesus in your marriage, you will never have the miracle of the greatest love. If your love has run out, the only solution is to invite Jesus into your home. If your home needs a miracle today, then continue listening.... 2:3---- "When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to Him, they have no more wine..." Mary came to Jesus with her deepest need and He provided an answer. You can do the same thing today. Jesus has not gone out of the miracle business. Your need may be for Forgiveness or Physical healing because some disease is growing in your body. Or you may be on the verge of losing your marriage. Your children may be in heart wrenching trouble. Whatever your need, come to Jesus. Jesus will help you. Mary came to Jesus. No mention is made of Mary's husband Joseph because he had just died, about 2 months before this time (DA145). Did you notice here that it appears that Mary was trying to exercise her Motherly authority over her son. 2:4---- "Dear WOMAN, why do you involve me?" Let me ask you: How many of you when you talk to your own mother call her WOMAN? On Mothers day do you jot down a note in the card: "Dear WOMAN?" Yet this is the name Jesus called His mother. From that moment, He called her WOMAN! To me this shows Jesus Omniscience. (God is omnipresent, God is omniscient, God is ... He had all knowledge. Jesus purposely avoided calling Mary "Mother" to clarify her standing. I believe Jesus could foresee the modern MARIOLOGY movement today. Thousands of people pray to Mary. They worship Mary. They call her the queen of Heaven. Jesus refused to use a name which would lend support to her deification. When Jesus called her woman, He was teaching that she was a human woman, ONLY a woman. Luke 1:28 says of Mary: 'Blessed art thou AMONG women'. It does not say Blessed art thou ABOVE all women. God blesses all Christian mothers. John 2:5--- "His mother said to the servants, 'do whatever he tells you'." In meekness and humility Mary accepted Jesus words of correction and surrendered her will to whatever His will might be. Let's be wide awake here......If you need a miracle in your life, you must totally surrender your will to Jesus. Tell Him the problem, but do not tell Him what to do about the problem. His answer may be larger and better than anything you could imagine or hope for. In Jesus life, this miracle is a WATERSHED. The changing of the water into wine is the beginning point of His public ministry. Before this time Jesus was just about problem free. He had lived a more or less normal life in and around the carpenter shop of Nazareth. But, If Jesus performed a miracle that day, that one public act would thrust Him into a new role. He had come to do His Fathers will. This act would be a life changing event. He would be placed on the Pharisees' most wanted list. He would be followed by noisy, jostling crowds. The only alone time from then on, would be when others slept. This single act would create jealousy among the religious leaders who would spy on Him and eventually get enough false evidence to try Him and convict Him and hang Him on the cross. If He did that miracle that day that would start Him on the path He would go down. As He stood there looking at the empty drink glasses of the wedding party, He could see laid out before Him all this and more. The hour had come for Him to begin the 1260 day ministry, ending in His own agonizing death. Jesus chose to begin the process of securing our salvation and establishing Christianity. For His first miracle he chose to make grape juice from water. If you were choosing something for your very first miracle might it be perhaps to raise someone from the dead? Something spectacular! Or today, paying off the national debt or raising the Titanic or instantly curing AIDS? Jesus chose a simple thing. John 2:6---- "Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from 20 to 30 gallons." These containers were spotlessly clean because they were ceremonial vessels. Can a miracle be performed in a dirty vessel? If you need a miracle today, first ask Jesus to forgive your sin and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Then you can expect a miracle. It is amazing to me that Jesus would not work a miracle in the wilderness to supply His deep personal need, but here Jesus performs a miracle to supply a LUXURY! Obviously, Jesus wants the best for us. John 2:7-8---"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." Jesus performed the miracle and yet look at how it seems that these servants did all the work. They FILLED the jars, they DREW out some wine, they DELIVERED it to the wedding coordinator. The work was human, but the result was divine. The miracle required human cooperation! To get a miracle in your life if you are a conscientious objector. You must be a conscientious co-operator. You must be willing to do whatever Jesus asks you to do. WATER: A symbol of Jesus Himself and His word. The miracle started with water placed down in the darkness of a earthen pot. So similar to the creation of this world when darkness was over the face of the deep. Jesus created the vine which takes water from the ground and makes it into grapes from which we obtain grape juice. That is a miracle! I don't know how that ugly vine can do that! Here Jesus speeds up the process. Here Jesus Himself does the work of the vine. Jesus is the Vine! CLAY POT: Like Adam, it was made from the earth itself. Lifeless and cold. We are made from the clay of the earth. Jesus wants to fill us with the breath of life, He wants to fill us with the water of life, He wants to fill us with Himself. Jesus Christ wants to live in your heart. He wants to live in my heart. Even though we humans are poor and weak earthen vessels, Jesus can use us to accomplish His mission. We are valuable in His hands. The WINE was actually pure tasty grape juice, perhaps tasting much like the grape juice we will drink from when we get to heaven. It was out of this world. It was not fermented. Desire of Ages p. 149---it was the pure juice of the grape. The wine represented our sinless Saviour. Jesus' blood was pure. The Grape Juice was pure. Fermentation represents impurity. Fermented wine is alcohol and should not be tasted. (See Prov. 20:1; 23:29-32; I Cor. 3:16, 17, 6:19) The wine was a symbol of Jesus Shed BLOOD. This is the fountain of every blessing. Notice that the precious blood of God's Son must be poured out before it can save. This first day of Jesus ministry pointed to the last day when He would die and His blood would be spilled for every sinner. Jesus ministry begins as it ended. It started with the drinking of the cup at a meal and ended with the Lord's supper where again the cup was served. Finally He drank the cup on the cross. FILLED TO THE BRIM. God always gives to the overflowing. His blessings flow forth in generous amounts. When Jesus Christ, the water of life come in to this clay vessel He wants to fill it up, completely full, completely to the overflowing, nothing of the world remaining, completely to the top. His blessing flow in generous amounts. JOHN 2:9--- "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...." The SERVANTS knew. Those who are NEAREST to Jesus possess the true knowledge of Jesus. To know Jesus we must come near to Him. Those Christians who perform the humblest service are the ones closest to Him. The humble shepherds knew Jesus had been born. The servants are in the Know. Amos 3:7 "Surely God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto (Unto Who???) His SERVANTS the prophets." The ruler did not know what had happened, but the servants did. A miracle had taken place. Jesus was beginning His ministry. All heaven rejoiced as Jesus embarked on the course that would attain salvation for the lost race. Jesus surely changed the value of the water that day. The most valuable water that could be. Value is determined by what someone is willing to pay to obtain the item in question. Let's say that I go down to my friendly used car dealer and see a nice car in fairly good shape with a price of $3500.00. Suppose I make an offer of $3000.00 for it. That means that I feel the value of the vehicle is $3000.00. If he accepts my offer, that is an indicator that he agrees that this is closer to the true value of the automobile. Value is the worth of an object to the person who desires it. We get some idea of our worth when we look at God. God has all the money in the universe, He owns everything. To Him money is no object. To redeem us He could offer a sack of chicken feed or a scoop of coal. But our God did not choose these. He wanted us so much that He gave His own Son, to pay for what we were worth, in His estimation. This high price tag is a true indicator of our worth. I start out as worthless as water. But Jesus comes and takes up residence in my heart. I belong to Him. Instantly I become something of great value. You know, auctions never cease to amaze me. If a famous person dies, his toothbrush could bring $500 just because it was in his mouth. Our great value is because we belong to a great person-----Jesus, and He paid for us with His precious blood. JOHN 2:10...."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." God saves the best till last. Mature people try to do the same. Satan is just the opposite. The devil gives the best first. Hebrews 11:25--We "enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time". Then come the WAGES of sin, Romans 6:23. God saves the best until later. The children of Israel had to go through the sizzling desert heat before they entered the wonderful promised land. The Cross comes before the crown. "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day", Proverbs 4:18. The best is yet to be! Dear friends, sooner or later the wine of this old world will run out. Your health will break, or your money will be gone. Your gay friends will die, your life will come crashing down sooner or later. The prodigal son soon found himself without money or friends. The world will let us down sooner or later. Only Jesus can give us true lasting joy. Jesus stands today ready to "Give unto us beauty for ashes, and the oil of JOY for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness," Isaiah 61:3 Notice what Jesus charged for 150 gallons of heavenly drink: Nothing. It was totally free of charge. This symbol of His blood was there for the taking. Whosoever came would receive. Our salvation is completely free. All you have to do is come to Jesus and ask Him to save you. At that moment His precious blood will blot out your sins. You know, I am like an empty cold stone vessel. Lifeless without Jesus. My sinful life can only be regenerated by an infilling of the presence of Jesus. But only as I am empty of self can Jesus fill my heart. Are you willing to put self on the alter? If you are thirsty for real life, come to Jesus. I need a miracle! Do you? Come to Jesus. Surrender all to Him. Jesus will create a reward for you that you can't imagine how good it will be. Come and drink ye all of the salvation that Jesus freely offers to each of us! Taste and see that He is good. You will never thirst again. --------------------------------------------------------------------McDonald Road Sermons