We are meditating on the significance of the Word becoming Flesh. Last week we saw how Dr E. Stanley Jones, when confronted by Eastern religions, came to the conclusion that the Christian faith is unique because it has at its heart the incarnation principle. On the other hand, in other religions it is always a matter of the word becoming word which is mere human–philosophy; but in the case of Lord Jesus the Word became flesh–a fact, a real being, which is God manifesting in the flesh, coming to live in the midst of man in order to teach man earth life. In this case, Christianity and thus the life incarnate of Lord Jesus Christ becomes the touchstone by which all other religions should be evaluated. In some of the liberal theological seminaries, during the study of comparative religions, students are shown the various parallels between the Christian faith and other faiths. Although the Christian faith is acknowledged to be a little higher than other religions, and possibly more of good moral, yet the Christian faith is not presented as being unique just as it is being presented here. The result is that those who leave such places the other faiths enter the Christian ministry with few or no convictions and nothing unique to preach or believe. Thus many (not all) are just ending up in just merely preaching the Word become word mere–moralism without the real divine spiritual ingredients that makes the Christian faith unique –hence the barrenness or carnalize attributes being manifested in so many Churches today. The Christian faith is not just better than every other faith merely in being–a little more moral, a little loftier in its concepts –it is completely different and not comparable. For instance all other religions tell of man’s search for God: Christianity tells of God’s search for man –of the One Who ‘came to seek, serve and save what was lost’ (Man) as seen in Luke 19:10. This is why though there are many religions on earth today but there is only one Gospel—which is the teaching or revelation of Christ, the life of Christ, the word of God, the good news, the Christian doctrine, the New Testament, the record of Christ’s life and teaching in the first four books of the New Testament. The world’s religions tell of the word become word; the gospel is the Word become flesh. In the face of all rivals our gospel quietly affirms, ‘And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.’ as seen in the book of John 1:14.

Now let us read John 2:1-11; So by whatever [appeal to you there is in our mutual dwelling in Christ, by whatever] strengthening and consoling and encouraging [our relationship] in Him [affords], by whatever persuasive [a]incentive there is in love, by whatever participation in the [Holy] Spirit [we share], and by whatever depth of affection and compassionate sympathy, 2 Fill up and complete my joy by living in harmony and being of the same mind and one in purpose, having the same love, being in full accord and of one harmonious mind and intention. 3 Do nothing from factional motives [through contentiousness, strife, selfishness, or for unworthy ends] or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of humility (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves]. 4 Let each of you esteem and look upon and be concerned for not [merely] his own interests, but also each for the interests of others. 5 Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:] 6 Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [[b]possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not [c]think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped [d]or retained, 7 But stripped Himself [of all privileges and [e]rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being. 8 And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross! 9 Therefore [because He stooped so low] God has highly exalted Him and has [f]freely bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, 10 That in (at) the name of Jesus every knee [g]should (must) bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 And every tongue [[h]frankly and openly] confess and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

A sermon on John 2:1-11 focus on the themes of Lord Jesus's power to provide, the importance of obedience, and the revelation of His glory. It can explore how Lord Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding, fulfilling a need and demonstrating His power and His willingness to be involved in everyday life. The sermon can also highlight the significance of Mary's role in the story and the disciples' faith in Lord Jesus's abilities. A sermon on John 2:1-11. Today I want to talk about the fear of running out. It’s something that can make us kind of miserly and adds pressure on us that seeps out in ways that don’t help us to live up to our best intentions. The story of Lord Jesus’ first miracle is about people who had run out only to find that Lord Jesus supplies their needs better than they ever could have imagined. The story is located near the beginning of Lord Jesus’ ministry. It was likely a family wedding since He traveled with His mother to the small town of Cana (population around 300). He also brought along His new disciples. Running Out; The catalyst for the story is that they ran out of wine at the wedding. Sounds like no big deal. There’s always some detail that goes wrong in a wedding. I always tell couples that I join in marriage to expect something to go wrong. That way when it happens, they can just say, “There it is, the Priest said it. Now let’s go on with enjoying our day.” Running out of wine doesn’t seem like a major catastrophe, you might think it was a sign that it was time to wrap up the party. But it was a different culture. In those days, weddings were elaborate community events that lasted several days and as such the wine is expected to last long. Why did they run out? Perhaps they didn’t plan well enough. Maybe lots of people brought last-minute-uninvited friends as Lord Jesus did. More likely, scholars suggest, the couple was poor they just didn’t have enough money to supply everyone. Unfortunately, to run out of wine was considered a sign of disrespect, of not trusting that you’d be taken care of. You could be ostracized from the community for allowing that to happen. I read you could even be sued. Imagine starting marriage with being embarrassed, broke, and facing a lawsuit. Mary Pushes Lord Jesus into His first sign; Mary observes, “They have run out of wine.” Lord Jesus sounds annoyed, harsh, “Woman, what is that to you and Me? My hour has not yet come.” He calls her “Woman” not mom or mother. Woman! Wow. Most moms might have walloped (strike or hit very hard) Him alongside the head. But Mary ignores it and pushes Him into action. She bypasses Lord Jesus while He’s standing right there and tells the servants, “Do whatever He tells you to do.” She pushed Him into His first miracle. Can’t you just see Him rolling His eyes? Think about it: even the Lord Almighty had His mother telling Him what to do when He was 30 years old. Can you imagine what this is teaching us when you compare it with what is happening today? I love this human moment that reminds us that Lord Jesus identifies fully with us right down to a pushy and authoritative mom who will persuade you until you do exactly what she wants. Now from this usual and intimate relational interaction between Lord Jesus and His Mother Mary we see that also, like Lord Jesus, there are going to be things that God wants you to do for which you don’t feel inclined to get involved or prepared to make a difference. From time to time, you are going to need a little push to get going in the direction you need to go. That is exactly what we experiences from God in our life, God giving us a Push in other for us to get going in the very right direction that God wants us to go! This is Lord Jesus exemplifying how life is lived on earth for us to learn and follow, hence He said, ‘if you follow Me, I will make you…!’ We need to always follow the life examples of Lord Jesus in everything that we do on earth for that is when and only when it shall be well with us. Anything contrary, we end up in problems and difficulties in life! So let us be very careful how we live our life any which way, realizing that there is only one right way to live life and that is the way of Christ! Sometimes we need a nudge; Have you ever had a Mary, someone who nudged (pushed) you into doing what you would otherwise have not got yourself involved in or prepared for? Maybe it was someone who is blunt in saying: “We’re going to church; I’ll pick you up at 9:10.” Or she says, “Open your checkbook and give $100 dollars to homeless relief.” But you were hoping to get away with five, ten at the most, but she pushed and persuaded. I don’t think I would have accomplished much if there hadn’t been people who challenged, pushed and persuaded me to move forward in life. We all need Marys in life– someone who will encourage, push or even persuade us, someone who will even see where we need to be and get a little pushy with us in other to get us there. Do you have a Mary? Maybe this is the time today to listen to her instead of shutting her out because God will use such person to push you on in life to the height where you ought to be which on your own you will not have been able to. Maybe you are supposed to be a Mary for someone else. Maybe there is someone who you sense their call to be faithful to God in some area of their lives. Go ahead, get a little more assertive, not belligerent (hostile or aggressive), but encouraging. They may roll their eyes and sigh, but they may also start down a path that leads to blessing and live to thank you later. It occurs to me the pastor’s job is to be a Mary to countless people, to give them the push they need in life in other to succeed. Sometimes it begins with a call that begins “I’ve got an opportunity for you.” Or a sermon that says, “You’ve been thinking about this a long time. Now is your moment to act.” Or ‘’you having been doing things this way all this while, which is wrong, now do it this way’’

Lord Jesus told the stewards to fill the six stone jars of 20–30 gallons each with water. The text says these jars are for rites of purification. Before entering the wedding guests ritually washed themselves signifying a cleansing for God. One level of the story is that Lord Jesus brings something internal (you drink the wine) that hand washing purification rituals by themselves can’t. Lord Jesus told the stewards to fill these jars—not empty wine flasks. The next time we see Lord Jesus with wine it’s at the last supper where He took the cup and said drink from this all of you. Communion is a reminder of the cleansing, healing, forgiving power of Lord Jesus. So we see that everything that comes from Lord Jesus is for our general transformation towards goodness and well being! Wine is a sign of blessing/benediction; The detail of wine is important to the story. Not because of the alcohol content, but because it was a symbol of blessing. The God who provides the abundance of the world, the abundance of the grapes that produce the wine is looking out over us. Wine glasses were raised, just like we still do today of blessing a new marriage. Dozens of times in the Old Testament, the prophets used the metaphor of a wedding to describe the relationship between God and the people. To say that they had run out of wine was a symbol that they believed the relationship had run out of benediction, of blessing. People felt that God had given up on them. The wine had gone dry. It is in that feeling of despair that Lord Jesus provides not just wine, but a blessing. God is still acting and involved in your lives in similar way providing when things seem to have run out. Turning water into wine wasn’t a parlor trick displaying Lord Jesus’ miraculous ability, No! It was an object lesson telling people that God isn’t done with them when it seem there is no way, there are still blessings in store. It was the best wine saved for the last moment. Whatever season you are in right now it can be better than the other seasons because you have a better perspective, enough cycles around the sun that it’s not all about you and you can have an appreciation for what others are going through. God still transforming; Our HOJ monthly healing Sunday tradition has embraced the Still Speaking campaign to remind us that God is still speaking and active and involved with our lives, transforming it every day. Have you run out of wine in a relationship that is important to you? Have you run out of wine in your dreams–feeling like you are just going through the motions, feeling like you are the one who is poor, and embarrassed? Maybe you should follow Mary’s advice: Do what Lord Jesus tells you to do. Go back to the basics– the gospel of sharing, the gospel of forgiving, the gospel of serving others, the gospel of trusting that God is with you, the gospel of knowing God is able. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is a transformative gospel, transforming all aspect of people’s life into something very refining, very refreshing and very life giving and life saving, and very promising. Buckets not eyedroppers; It’s natural to wonder if God is stingy with blessings. We get into deficit thinking. That you only get a little from God and God might take it away if we mess up. We think maybe I can’t go to God now, I’ve used up all the grace God’s going to give me or I don’t want to ask for a blessing now because I might really need it later. I’ll just wait and cash in my chips with the Almighty when I’m really in trouble. Sometimes we don’t ask God for what is on our hearts because we think it’s so trivial, not a major crisis. That’s why the water into wine story is so great. It wasn’t like anyone was dying or anything more serious or important was happening. Preachers like to say the story reminds us that God cares about all of our lives. If it matters to you, it matters to Lord Jesus. The water into wine sign is a sign of how God cares and acts on our behalf. God is the God of abundance and will give you what you need especially when you are at right standing with Him. The divine is not stingy with eyedropper droplets of blessings–it’s poured out by the bucketful. Do the math. 6 purification jars filled to the brim (my cup overflows) 20-30 gallons each. He turned as much as 180 gallons of water into wine. Not just a little eyedropper full, but an overflowing amount. This first miracle of Lord Jesus is just a foretaste of everything that follows. Lord Jesus is the one who gives us blessings and has an abundance of love and grace for us to get us through no matter what. Do you believe God can do a new thing in your life? Lord Jesus turns the water into wine. Today’s Transformations; He can turn our weeping into laughter; our sorrow into joy, our fears, and failures into a witness of transforming power; our swords into pruning hooks, our cries of anguish into shouts of joy and praise. Revival preacher Billy Sunday used to say that he hasn’t seen a lot of water turning into wine—but he’s seen whiskey turn into furniture. The alcoholic decides to rely on his higher power, get clean and suddenly the money he’d waste on booze turns into something productive. Have you seen it? Cigarettes into baby food; fast food into ministry to support a place of hope and grace where people can get their lives turned around; mocha Frappuccinos into youth ministries and Bible studies. Our Lord Jesus brings the good stuff. He’s no fuddy-duddy. He made 180 gallons of wine for a party that had already gone through a bunch. And what He brings is the good and best stuff. At the wedding the guests were astounded, the best stuff is being served now! Now is the moment. Lord Jesus knows how to celebrate the joy of life. Because what He is really after is to bring the good stuff to life. As Rev Harriet Cross says He brings: The Merlot of mindfulness - It could be used metaphorically to describe a particular state of mind, experience, or event that evokes feelings of mindfulness, such as a "wine appreciation" experience where one is fully present and focused on the sensory details of the wine, like the taste and aroma of the Merlot, as a way to be more mindful. The Cabernet of kindness - Kindness is the quality of being gentle, caring, and helpful. The Rose of righteousness - implying that those who follow God are transformed and grow in righteousness, just as a beautiful rose flourishes. The Lord Jesus Juice of Justice - seems to be a symbolic or metaphorical expression referring to the idea of justice and righteousness being brought about through the power and influence of Lord Jesus. I’d add, the Champagne of quit feeling sorry for yourself worrying about what you don’t have and get up and do what He told you to do and watch what God can do when you do your part. The best is yet to come!