 Here we are we're in chapter 2 of John's gospel We're going to be looking this morning at verses this morning this this evening at verses 1 through 12 And so I'll begin reading here in John chapter 2 at verse 1 and we'll read to verse 12 And we'll get into our study John chapter 2 Beginning at verse 1 on the third day There was a wedding in Canaan of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there Now both Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding And when they ran out of wine the mother of Jesus said to him they have no wine and Jesus said to her Woman, what does your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come his mother said to the servants Whatever he says to you Do it Now there were set there six water pots of stone according to the manner of purification of the Jews containing 20 or 30 gallons of peace Jesus said to them fill the water pots with water and They filled them to the brim And he said to them draw some out now Take it to the master of the feast and they took it when the master of the feast had tasted the water That was made wine and did not know where it came from But the servants who had drawn the water knew the master of the feast called the bridegroom and he said to him Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine and when the guests have well drunk then the inferior You've kept the good wine until now This beginning of signs Jesus did in Canaan of Galilee and manifested his glory and his disciples believed in Him I'll stay at verse 11. I won't go into verse 12 All right, here we go Now I want you to notice something I'll lay some foundation we're gonna get into a few things tonight I'll begin with a Foundation I want you to notice that according to verse 11 John makes this very clear that this is what he refers to as the beginning of signs the beginning of miracles and It is the first miracle recorded in the gospel of John more than likely is the first miracle that Jesus ever performed publicly Now I want to lay a little foundation by taking you in a direction About this early in church history books were written that were not accepted as inspired There are different books you can you can look into what is called the apocrypha there the word apocrypha It literally is translated hidden and they have what I refer to as apocryphal books You have a apocryphal books in the Old Testament and you have apocryphal New Testament books They numbers Bible scholars number the New Testament apocryphal books at about 27 27 books that were called apocryphal. I'll give you some information about that in just a moment, but these books include Titles like the Gospel of Peter Or the Gospel of Mary the Acts of Peter the Acts of John the Acts of Paul There was a one called the Gospel of Thomas That book was written around 185 AD. It's an uninspired book But it contains traditions and factual errors concerning Jesus Christ There was a there was a lot of talk as to why people didn't accept the gospel of Thomas just a few years ago And so this particular quote-unquote gospel of Thomas Speaks about the Lord Jesus Christ making up stories about him. It describes Jesus as more like a nature God One who actually does mean things to people in this book called the gospel of Thomas It fabricates miracles like breathing life into birds that have been fashioned from clay It contains a story of Jesus cursing a boy who then became a corpse Again, he cursed a boy who fell dead and his parents became blind In the gospel of Thomas he resurrects a friend who fell from a roof. He heals a man who chopped his foot with an axe He stretched a board that was short because he was working and he didn't feel like going to cut a new one So he just stretched it to finish the job. He harvested a hundred bushels of wheat from a single seed And so you see that there were books like the gospel of Thomas and the others mentioned that were rejected Now why were they rejected? Because there are those who ask, you know, how do we have our canon and you know the books that we have that we Considered to be inspired. Why did the other ones get rejected and all? Well, none of the writers of these other books claimed to be inspired by God Also upon close scrutiny they contain historical and geographical and moral errors and that's that's why they were rejected One source said the early church leaders in the third and fourth centuries Generally distinguished between canonical works canonical works and those that were not canonical but useful or good for teaching Though never relegating any to the final 27 books to the of the 27 books in the latter category one aim with Establishing the canon was to capture only those works that were held to have been written by the apostles or close associates and so When you read like the gospel of Luke and you go into his introduction remember it with me in Luke chapter 1 This is how he begins in verses 1 through 4 He says in as much as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things Which have been fulfilled among us just as those who from the beginning were eye witnesses and ministers of the word Delivered them to us. It seemed good to me also having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first to write to you an orderly account most Excellent theophilus that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed and so Luke wrote under the inspiration The spirit, but he said I did a thorough research. I'm able to give you all the information He he was able to interview those who were eye witnesses and all and so when you're looking at your Bible You need to remember that there are miracles that are in the Bible, but they always have a purpose There's always a reason in total There are 37 miracles performed by Jesus that are recorded in the Gospels Now there were many more works that were done that did not get recorded and John makes it clear that This is the first of the beginning of signs performed by Jesus and John 21 25 He said there are also many other things that Jesus did which if they were written one by one I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written Amen, and so you have a certain amount of miracles and there was a purpose for them being recorded During this time and past this time actually beyond this time Early in the history of the church, but after the first century there were people who were writing books and were claiming them to be Authoritative that these books were not received the ones that were received were the ones that had the the sense of authenticity There were eye witnesses and that's basically how the canon or the the scriptures were collected And so as we look at this we're looking at the first miracle that Jesus Christ performed It wasn't making clay pigeons and making them fly I mean we're seeing something and we'll see the reason for it in just a moment now again John refers to this as the beginning of signs and it gives to us at least two reasons Why did he do these miracles? Because you're gonna see him. He's gonna actually have seven miracles recorded in the gospel Why does he record this and why does he want us to know about it? Why did Jesus perform miracles? Well one Jesus performed signs to manifest or reveal his glory Why did he do miracles to reveal his glory in verse 11 this beginning of signs Jesus did in Canaan of Galilee and Manifested or revealed his glory The second reason is he performed signs so the disciples would trust in him or believe in him Because it makes it clear Manifested his glory in verse 11 and his disciples believed in him So Jesus Christ is the one who gives glory to God it reveals his glory and his disciples believe in him and so This is a purpose of any miracle done in the name of God Anybody who claims to be performing miracles This is one of the things we as a church need to remember is That that miracle is intended to bring glory to God so that people will trust in Jesus Christ if someone claims to perform miracles There's a very important question for them to answer Who receives the glory for the miracle performed the person some other power or Jesus Christ? So this sign was not intended to provoke people to argue Whether or not they can drink because that's what happens when we go through this passage See Jesus was a bartender I've had Let me share a couple things about that This is not permission to drink alcohol This is not permission to have alcohol served at your wedding. You just want to be biblical. Didn't they do it in Canaan? Let's do it in Chino. No if you if you were to ask me how I On a personal level deal with these kinds of things I have a basic philosophy and my philosophy related to this is broken down into a few questions One and you if you want to mark these down for yourself You might want to because you can ask yourself the same questions questions I asked myself and I'll I'll just ask them and perhaps it's something of value to you My philosophy related to this is broken down into a few questions one does my drinking alcohol? Bring glory to the Lord Does my drinking alcohol bring glory to the Lord? You say what's the big deal about that? Are you kidding me? I mean, that's Well, according to 1st Corinthians 10 31 Paul said whether you eat or drink or whatever you do Do all to the glory of God? So does my drinking Bring glory to God Because I am to do all things to the glory of God So that I'll ask myself if I'm drinking does that bring glory to God? Secondly, would my drinking alcohol cause anybody to stumble? if you came walking into a restaurant here in town and You say that's my pastor David over there and Marie I'm gonna go say hi because people do that all the time I'm gonna say hi and you came walking up to say hi and I was high Which how would you respond to that? You know if I was there You're drinking wine pastor David. It's Christian brothers How would you how would you respond to that would it stumble you now perhaps it wouldn't When our church was brand-new I was sharing I asked that question. I said what would you do? It was a rhetorical question, but I said what would you do if you came to my house open my refrigerator and saw some Some alcohol in there and this guy in the front row who was who was unsaved and like to drink yelled out in church He said I'd help you drink it brother. You know that wasn't what I expected him to say So would my drinking alcohol cause anybody to stumble and would I encourage people to a life of addiction? I might have the freedom or liberty to drink but that doesn't mean the people with me also have the same kind of liberty I may not be an addictive personality and I'm not and I could if I wanted to have a beer And I'm not going to be afraid of running to it every week and then drinking six packs and finally ending up with harder No, I don't have that addictive personality. I that's not where I'll go But would you with somebody else I may not be having a problem with it But will my children and can I encourage my children to live a godly life if they open the refrigerator and they see What I drink or if they see me drinking in the house? I ask myself those questions my liberties are always limited by how I affect other people and it ought to be That way in 1st Corinthians 8 verse 9 beware less someone Less somehow this liberty of yours becomes a stumbling block to those who are weak in 1st Corinthians 1024 let no one seek his own but each one the others well-being Romans 1421 it is good neither to eat meet nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak There are quite a number of believers today who say you stumble. That's your problem. That's your problem That's your problem. It's not my problem Why should my freedoms be limited by your weaknesses? Because love cares about the week Because love cares about the week and if I am more caught up with what I'm free to do and who cares about you I'm not loving you. I'm not loving you. I'm not caring for you I'm stumbling you and there's too many scriptures speaking about that for me to ignore Does drinking alcohol develop my reputation as a man of God? You see It's not going to It's not going to develop my reputation as a man of God what it will do It will stumble and it will cause people to Consider me less than set apart for God You see public public drunkenness in Israel was a disgrace. It was avoided Why well because it brought shame to the person who was drunk Proverbs 20 verse 1 says wine is a mocker strong drink is a brawler and whoever is led astray by it is not wise second Intoxication impairs your judgment and anybody who tries to argue and say no, I actually think better when I'm drunk Must be drunk Proverbs 31 verses 4 and 5 It is it is not for kings O. Lemuel It is not for kings to drink wine nor for princes intoxicating drink Lest they drink and forget the law and pervert the justice of all the afflicted a Third thing is drunkenness will destroy your life Who has ever become better because they are alcoholics? Ask yourself that question. Who has ever become better? Because they're drunks who who has ever become better in Proverbs 23 verses 29 through 35 Who has woe and who has sorrow who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Now have you ever been around a sorry drunk we used to call them sorry drunks Who has woe they're complaining and upset? Oh life is bad and you know, that's the question who has woe who has sorrow Sometimes they think that you know a five foot two hundred and fifty pound man thinks he's six eight five hundred once he's had a few drinks in him, you know who has contentions argumentative drunks Complaints wounds without cause. They're so drunk. They stumble they fall they hurt themselves In and because they they were drunk and they tripped and he gives the he gives the The answer to that he says those who linger long at the wine those who go in search of mixed wine And then he says do not look on the wine when it's red when it sparkles in the cup when it swirls around smoothly at the last it bites like a serpent it stings like a viper your eyes will see strange things Your heart will utter perverse things Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea Or like one who lies at the top of a mass saying hey, they struck me. I wasn't hurt They beat me. I didn't feel it and then you'll go on to say when shall I awake that I may seek another drink So it's just an unwise hurtful painful thing to be addicted to Don't use your liberty as an excuse for the flesh Don't use the freedoms Christ has given to you to live lower than what God would have you to live the argument that we're having today About alcohol and all I could give a whole series of sermons on because it's very it's a very It's a very current argument One last example, and I won't use names. I just don't feel like doing it at the moment So Justin Bieber Is it has made a public Claim to have returned to his first faith because at one time some of you may or may not have known this but early on in his Career those who know even who this guy is Justin Bieber He at one point was very he used to talk about his spirituality In his early days, I remember back several years and then he you know It became popular and asked the way of the world can be sometimes we've drawn away We begin to pursue it and we're not known for being a Christian any longer and having a spiritual life And that happened in the life of Justin Bieber. It's happened to many people But it happened to him not that long ago within a few years He made a profession of faith and he came to a faith in Christ and and and I thought well bless the Lord I'm glad to hear that that this young man is is right with God I think that's a great thing anytime someone comes to faith in Christ I think that's a wonderful thing and it was spoken of and I I believe that he's sincere I have no reason to doubt that and so I rejoice with him But I also become saddened when I see a picture of him and his quote-unquote pastor at a bar in Australia doing shots his pastor and his sheep doing shots and It breaks your heart Now who's gonna argue who's gonna say oh you're going to hell because you were doing shots with your pastor But can you imagine the amount of people who were emboldened To live less than what God would have you to live to diminish your Your your your testimony your witness your capacity to communicate how God gives you new wine You see I had enough of the old. I don't need it anymore I've never had a Holy Spirit hangover because of the new wine I've never apologized for something I did under the influence of the Holy Spirit and his new wine But I have apologized or found guilty for the things in the past that I have done Well under the influence of the old and so it's just wise for us to abstain from anything That is going to keep us from having a testimony that brings glory to God And that's something to be aware of and with that said that's just kind of an introduction Let's get into verses one and two now on the third day, which is Tuesday On the third day and by the way in Israel you will still on Tuesday see people getting married Many times they'll get married on Tuesday So on the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there Now both Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding. So when you're looking at a map Israel divided if you look at his California is similar And you look at Southern California and then Central California Northern California Well northern California would be the area basically that Cana of Galilee is in that would basically if you're looking at a map So it's to the north. It's a village that is around nine miles north of the city of Nazareth And Cana is mentioned in the Gospel of John three times and Jesus is there at this particular wedding So it's been noted that Jesus's attendance at this wedding Gives the seal of approval for marriage in general Now notice the mother of Jesus is there along with Jesus and his Disciples now the disciples that are being mentioned here for those who take notes It would be Andrew Simon Peter Philip Nathaniel and more than likely John Now you also are meant it also is mentioned here that Mary is there Mary is at the wedding also Because in verse 3 it says when they ran out of wine the mother of Jesus said to him they have no wine And so Mary the mother of Jesus is there. I'm gonna give you some study material on Mary right now Mary the mother of Jesus is mentioned three times in the Gospel of John She has mentioned by name in this passage She's mentioned in John 1925 and she's also alluded to in John chapter 6 verse 42 when you look in the Bible for a biblical record of Jesus's mom Mary There really isn't that much information. There's not much known of her Now let me share you a little bit about tradition because there's a lot of tradition related to Mary But again, it's the tradition of man. It's not scripture Some of you perhaps were raised in the same religious System I was raised in so I'm gonna give to you my religious training as a child And I'm gonna compare it with what scripture says if you don't mind. That's what I'm gonna do You see there's a lot of tradition related to her, but it's not found in the Bible There is I was taught something referred to as the immaculate conception Now the immaculate conception was that she Was conceived that she was conceived and born without sin Without a sin nature and she was according to Catholic dogma that she was filled with sanctifying grace I took the straight out of Catholic sources she was free from personal or hereditary sin and it became official church dogma in 1954 so that's tradition She was also thought to possess what is called perpetual virginity meaning she never knew a man She never had physical intimacy She was also thought to have been assumed into heaven body and soul that became a dogma of the church in 1870 in Catholic theology Mary is called the Mediatrics means that she meaning that she intercedes for people when they pray to her She is called co-redemptrics Meaning that she participates in salvation in the salvation process and did so by consenting to bear Jesus She is referred to as the queen of heaven From her union with Christ. She attains a radiant eminence Transcending that of any other creature from her union with Christ She receives the royal right to dispose of the treasures of the divine redeemer's kingdom From her union with Christ finally is derived the inexhaustible efficacy of her maternal Intercession before the son and his father This is what I was taught and any of you who were raised in the Catholic Church or perhaps continuing to to be in the church You know that that's I took this straight out of Catholic sources. This is what they say. This is how I was taught All of this is tradition It's derived from sources other than a genuine study of the Bible Because the Bible does not give much information about Mary from piecing together the verses that mention her We can get a snapshot When you look at the doctrine of immaculate conception and it says that she had no sin nature Well, she possessed the sin nature as I'll do human beings I'll have sin and fall short of the glory of God in Romans 5 12 It says through one man sin entered the world and death through sin and thus death spread to all men because all sinned Proverbs 20 verse 9 asks the question who can say I have made my heart clean. I am pure from my sin So the Bible very clearly makes it plain that every human being is born with a sin nature And she had one too in Luke chapter 1 verse 47 It's Mary who said my spirit has rejoiced in God my savior and only sinners need a savior If she were without sin, she would have been the perfect sacrifice for sin Because that's what was required. I have a brother-in-law. I love very much very much many years ago He and I were speaking about this topic because he's a devout Catholic very devout Catholic and We were speaking of this subject together and I asked him. I said, do you believe that Mary? Had no sin and he said yes, I believe that he said I was taught that I believe that and I said so you're saying she was Perfect and had no sin at all and he says yes, that's what I was taught and so I asked him the question I said why didn't they crucify her? Why didn't they crucify her because what was required was a perfect sacrifice and seeing that she had no sin Why was she not crucified and why was Jesus crucified? Because and I quoted Luke 1 47 because she said my spirit rejoicing God my savior said she was a sinner She bore the savior that saved her. She was a sinner also Second she did not live in perpetual virginity She was a young unmarried virgin when she conceived Jesus according to Luke chapter 1 verses 27 and 34 But after marriage and the birth of Jesus she had normal marital relations with Joseph Matthew 125 says Joseph did not know her until she had brought forth her firstborn son called his name Jesus Third she had other children after giving birth to Jesus notice verse 12 in this chapter here It says after this he went down to Capernaum He is mother his brothers and his disciples and they did not stay there many days In Matthew 13 verses 55 and 56 the question is asked is this not the carpenter's son is not his mother called Mary and His brothers James Joseph Simon and Judas and his sisters are they not all with us Scripture does not teach that she was assumed body and soul into heaven earliest church tradition says she died in Jerusalem, but in the seventh century It was widely held that she'd been assumed into heaven She does not intercede because only Jesus intercedes on our behalf Hebrews 725 says he is he is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him Since he always lives to make intercession for them in 1st Timothy 2 verse 5 There is one God and one mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus She is not co-redemptrics Jesus in other words didn't need help to redeem mankind in Hebrews 1 3 Jesus who be in the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person and Upholding all things by the word of his power when he had by himself purged our sins sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high and Obviously heaven needs no reigning queen because there's only a king Now she was at the cross when Jesus died according to John 1925 and she is last mentioned and acts chapter 1 verse 4. That's what you find about Mary That's why it's so important to remember that old Latin phrase Sola scriptura The word alone God's word alone that is that is what our measure of that's where our faith is derived It's not by man's traditions. It's by what God's word says and that's why I took just a couple moments with you tonight Just to let you know. This is who Mary is now. I don't say that to disrespect her I Say that to honor Jesus because he's the one who died on the cross for me He's the one who bore my sin and he's the one who was big to be exalted above all and that's who we worship is Jesus Christ so as we look at that it says again in verse 2 now both Jesus and his disciples were invited to the wedding and When they ran out of wine the mother of Jesus said to him they have no wine Now marriage ceremonies were a time of celebration There was a procession of the bridegroom and his friends to the bride's house This would occur at night by torch light at her house speeches and blessings would occur The procession would return to the groom's house a wedding banquet would be held a religious ceremony would be formed And then a prolonged feast would begin and sometimes they would have a feast for up to a week Well on this occasion the wine had already been used up before the feast ended It was great embarrassment to the host for failing to be hospitable to the guests They may have been poor. They couldn't afford the best wine for their guests. So mom steps in and Mom steps in to inform her son and notice what she says in verse 3 they have no wine Now let's develop this for a minute. Mary knew that Jesus was Messiah For many years she observed his words and she observed him as her son and She knew of his works. She knew who he was in other words On the night he was born remember the shepherds that shared what had happened that night And it caused people to marvel at the things the shepherds told them well according to Luke 2 19 Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. So from the very beginning She was musing concerning Jesus her son Later when Jesus was was 12 years old and he went to Passover He had remained behind and his parents Joseph and Mary had left and remember how he went into the temple And he sat with the rabbis listening to them and asking them questions and his parents came to take him home with them and they said you very worried us and He said I must be about my father's business and when he said that they at first didn't understand But Luke 2 51 says he went down with them and came to Nazareth was subject to them But his mother kept all these things in her heart Now she may have been aware of what the Baptist had said about him because John had referred to him as the Lamb of God And she knew he was preaching repentance She knew people were beginning to come to hear him speak and she also knew there was a need and that He didn't have money to buy supplies But she knew that he could help and so what she's doing here is she's encouraging him to meet the need Now again, we noticed in verse 11 up until this point Jesus has not performed any miracles And so when she says in verse 3 they have no wine Jesus responds in verse 4 Woman and what is your concern have to do with me? my hour Has not yet come Now when he says my hour He's simply saying it's not my time to act The term hour is used various times in the gospel We're gonna see it in chapter 7 chapter 8 chapter 12 chapter 13 as well as chapter 17 and From the beginning he's looking at his purpose Because that hour that is to come is to glorify his father and it it isn't you're not gonna Press me into your timetable in essence is what he's saying I'm on my father's timetable, but notice this and I want to develop this for a moment because here in verse 5 it's I I Marked it out for myself to always remember his mother said to the servants whatever he says to you do it Now When it says and I'll give you a couple things Commentator when she says that commentators believe that the way she's speaking Shows that the marriage is for one of their family members because she's barking orders to people She obviously expects something to happen When she's when she tells them to follow Jesus's commands But here's the thing I want to develop with you for just a moment if I may people will say You dishonor Mary there may be some right now in this room We're thinking he's dishonoring Mary No, I honor her I honor her for who she is for what she has done, but honor and honor her in a way that is Biblically right, but I do listen to her advice. I think every person ought to Look at what she says whatever he says to you do it now. That's good advice That's good advice her command is for me to do what her son says What does their son say is the question does he say honor my mother? Does he say pray to mama? Does he say all the things that tradition is no no what does Jesus say well? We know because in Matthew 4 verse 17. What did he say? He said repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand do what he says in Matthew 11 28 He said come unto me through 30 come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden I will give you rest. He said take my yoke upon you learn from me. I'm gentle and lowly in heart You will find rest for your souls my yoke is easy and my burden is light do what he says come unto me He says and I'm gonna give you rest Jesus said unless a man is born again He cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. He cannot see it nor can he enter in So how does a man enter into the kingdom by receiving Jesus Christ? So you repent and you receive him so the advice his mother's giving to us is advice We ought to take it's a command we ought to obey whatever he says to you That's what you ought to do. She didn't say do what I'm telling you to do She said whatever he says to you that is what you are to do and that's the heart of Christianity It isn't just following somebody else's orders But it's following the order of the one who points you to the one you're supposed to worship And so when Mary says that I like that whatever he says to you do it And that's what I want to do now as he's saying that as this is being said verse 6 And there were there were set there six water pots of stone According to the manner of purification of the Jews containing 20 or 30 gallons a Piece this water was more than likely the water that was used for ritual cleansing The Jews would they had what they were called mitzvahs, but they also would wash pots pans Hands they would use water for for washing in mark 7 verses 3 and 4 It says the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way Holding the tradition of the elders when they come from the marketplace They do not eat unless they wash and there are many other things which they have received and hold like the washing of cups Pitchers copper vessels and couches and so that's what this was for these would have been Holding the water for washing rituals and so Jesus is Mary has said whatever he says you do we know that there is a lot of water there that is available in verse 7 So Jesus said to them fill the water pots with water They filled them up to the brim He said to them draw some out now Take it to the master of the feast and they took it So after filling the pots with water, they take a sample to the head waiter This is a man the master of the feast is in charge of the entertainment He provided the food he gave directions to guests and all and so they take it Well verse 9 when the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine Didn't know where it came from the servants who had drawn the water knew the master of the feast called the bridegroom He said to him every man at the beginning sets out the good wine when the guests have well drunk than the inferior You've kept the good wine until now Well, what do we see here? Let me develop a couple things with you that are fairly practical One we see that Jesus not only rescued the people from embarrassment Because the wine had run out and the hosts would be embarrassed, but he also provided abundantly One of the things that we believers Have to come to understand is my God My God really does bless abundantly my God my God Really does bless abundantly as he blessed your life. He's blessed mine My God blesses abundantly. He really does That I don't know how to say it in Ephesians chapter 3. That was overwhelming in Ephesians Ephesians chapter 3 verse 20 It says he is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think According to the power that works in us Why does it seem sometimes that he isn't working abundantly? Well, one, maybe we don't expect him to To maybe we have him on a timetable. We're expecting him to do certain things in a certain time And have you ever discovered that God is not on the same clock that you're on? Have you discovered that? I have too He works in a different timetable and so I've I've grown over the years to actually get to the point where I think I'm learning to wait on the Lord. I I've gotten to the point in my walk where I've discovered That he loves he loves me and that he would he would not do anything to harm me and Though I may be going through something that I wish would stop He's the one who knows how long the pressure needs to remain Because in the squashing of of the olives for the olive oil and all in the crushing of the grapes There's a pressure that releases. What's inside and one of the things that I'm learning is that when I sense pressure That he's putting me to the place where I come to the end of myself So I can finally see where his strength begins Like Paul I want to I am learning and would like to learn to some degree That when I am weak then I'm made strong And I think that part of what has happened in these last days in the church is Because life in and of itself so often is such a it's a pressure There's a lot of pressure. I am never going to minimize the fact that there's a lot of pain and pressure in life It is it's filled with that. Let's face it. You don't wake up every morning with Birds singing outside, you know, and you know, maybe you do and you want to shoot them with a BB gun I don't know but you don't wait you don't wake up in the morning and just it's going to be a great day-to-day every day Because you know that the minute you you get out of bed the enemy is already preparing to take away the joy You know that and you also know your own flesh that today I can enter into temptation if I don't watch and pray it can happen. I can stumble you know that we know our own weakness We know our own flesh now you may get up you may have your devotions you have your prayer time You know breakfast is on time and you get in the car. You got plenty of time to get to work You're driving to work everything seems to be good And then you always have that very generous person who who comes driving up in the freeway He decides to drive up the emergency lane and cut in front of you at the last moment You slam your brakes and your coffee spills and before you know it You're using words that you wouldn't use in front of your kids and and you think oh my god What happened? How did I because my flesh well It's like this sin lies at the door waiting to take advantage and my my flesh is very capable of Yielding to that moment so I know that I need the Lord 24 7 I know I'm weak and like the apostle Paul I can sell wretched men that I am who will deliver me from this body of death I need God's help, but thank be to God There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus who walk according to who do not walk according to the flesh But by the spirit there's no condemnation God knows my heart and if my heart accuses me God is greater than my heart And he knows all things and he knows my desire is to please him to do the right thing before him to be a blessing to others But he also knows that I can yield myself Sometimes the things that I ought not to and because of that I have to rely on the Lord day by day and there are pressures that come into my life and People say well, you know as you get older the temptations are less. That's not true. There's no center like an old center It's a fact because you learn how to refine I mean when you're a kid and you try to lie you get busted. I mean, it's kind of stupid, you know, you say stupid Stupid lies you do, you know because you're does a dumb kid But if you practice you can get good and you can get good at almost anything You can get good at stealing and lying and cheating you can if you practice it But you can also practice righteousness and you can practice dying to self and you can practice praying And seeking God and asking to God fill me with your spirit that I might walk according to those things that are pleasing to you And God I want to be blessed by you. So one of the things I see here is they that God blessed, but he blessed abundantly And he'll bless you too. Why not? What makes you any different than the people at this wedding feast 2000 years ago? What makes me any different? God still Blesses and so one of the things that I see is he provides abundantly again He's able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or even think According to the power that works in us second the water pots used for purification were made of stone like people's hearts Ritual religion will never satisfy because ritual is Not sufficient for real needs That's why Ezekiel 3626 says I will give you a new heart Put a new spirit within you and listen to this I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh and so those Water pots religious water pots if you will they were made of stone and so was my heart until Christ softened it Third wine in the New Testament is often used as a type of the Spirit of God in Ephesians 5 18 do not be drunk with wine in which is dissipation Be filled with the Spirit and so Jesus provides abundantly the new wine of the Holy Spirit Every morning as you awaken. I Encourage you as a pastor. I encourage you Every morning as you awaken When the cobwebs are cleared and you kind of realize you're still alive Pray I Pray every morning. I encourage you to do the same thing Father in Jesus name Fill me with your spirit Jesus fill me with you. I want to walk in your spirit today Jesus. I've been praying that for so long I can't tell you how long every morning fill me with your spirit because Lord I know my flesh and I know how easy it is To yield to it Fill me with your spirit. I pray for the Lord's filling often You know, I've been baptized in the Holy Spirit, but I ask for refillings Your spirit fill me your spirit come upon me in a beautiful and fresh way. Oh Lord Jesus And before I come up and teach I'm praying when I give him dutations I'm praying when I'm teaching sometimes. You'll see me look up. I'm praying. That's another habit somebody told me I have they say you look up I see it. I'm waiting for somebody to come down and jump on me. I don't know They say you look up, but I'm praying You know father fill me with your spirit because he pours this Holy Spirit out abundantly and Fourth the master of the feast represents those who appreciate the new wine Not everyone does Some want to remain in their own religious beliefs You know That's true. There are some who are Very satisfied in their own religious beliefs. You'll see this as we continue through the gospel That what Jesus will do a work and I'll give a word. There are those who reject him Because they're satisfied to stay in their own religious faith In luke 539 No one having drunk old wine immediately desires the new for he says the old is better And so the master of the feast represents those who appreciate this new wine And with that said verse 11 this beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him I'll read verse 12 After this he went I wasn't going to after this he went down to Capernaum He his mother his brothers and his disciples and they did not stay there Many days. So he moves to the city of Capernaum When you go to Israel we go into Capernaum. It's uh, it's on the uh, sea of Galilee And it's in the north and it's a it's a village a coastal village there and Jesus Had his ministry headquarters there and he moved from Nazareth. He moved to Capernaum and That's where peter was and james was and and other disciples and and a lot of his works Are going to take place up in the Galilee region where this is in reference to so he's simply saying that he went to Capernaum And it speaks of his mother his brother and his disciples and they didn't stay there many days In other words, he stayed there for a short time But he was about to go south and we'll pick that up. He was about to go south for the Passover So again, Capernaum is a place where Jesus Did a lot of teaching we go in Capernaum when we go to Israel we go to A site that is the traditional site of where the apostle peters house was Um, it doesn't look like anything that you'd see in the first century to be honest with you And what has happened is the catholic church has built a A church over at it and we call it the spaceship if you were there You'd know why it looks like a saucer. That's how they built it And they say that that there's archaeological evidence that this could very well have been the home of the of the apostle peter so the apostle peter lived there and Jesus moved his headquarters to Capernaum And uh, he's going to use that his as his headquarters and Jesus is now going to launch into his ministry And we're going to be picking that up next week when we get into verse 13 And see some of the things that he's about to do John is about to open up to us and we're going to see some very great things to apply to our own lives