John 3:1-8

John 3:1-8  “Wherever It Wills”

We all know people we would like to see become believers. People who we pray for and hope for and yet they never seem to come around to believe. We wish for some magic formula that would be said like an incantation that would open the minds and hearts of nonbelievers. There are booklets and sales pitches that have been developed that sometimes work. In this passage we learn something important about faith.

Jesus seems to be a master of strange conversations, and His conversation with Nicodemus is one of them.

1. I believe you are from God

2. No one can see the kingdom unless they are born again
A. Jesus is saying “Nicodemus you have been born again”
B. Jesus is saying “Nicodemus you need to be born again”

3. What is born again mean
a. the need for a spiritual rebirth
b. coming into a whole new world
c. to know there is a physical reality and a spiritual reality
d. 1 Cor 2:14

4. How does it work?
A. the wind blows wherever it wills
b. so it is with people born of the Spirit

A life event, a friendship, a song on the radio, a Sunday school lesson, a Bible found in a motel.

Business men, little children, High school student on a youth trip, a junkie in a gutter, a drunk on a bar stool, a person who has attended church every Sunday for years.

5. How do we live this
a. Always be ready 1 peter 3:15
b. Never count someone out
c. do not be afraid to take a chance.

John 2:17-25 Gaining Peace and Understanding

John 2:17-25 

1. The disciples do not understand.
A. His actions 2:17
B. what He said 2:22, 16:18
C. Events and their own actions John 12:16
D. even at the empty tomb John 20:9

2. The Questions and events
A. Events that change us
B. find a new job
C. move to a new home
D. Make a new friend
E. Loose and old friend
F. People who die
G. People we fall in love with
H. Why God, How can you use this,
I. Caught up in the stream of life.

3. Gaining understanding
A. “If You Will Build It He will Come”
B. The Holy Spirit will 14:25&26
C.  John 16:12-14
D. Eph 1:17 Keep Asking
E. James 1:5 Asking

Life is a complex jumble of events that do not seem to make sense to us. Yet in the tangle of things God is at work. Through prayer the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to see, our mind to understand, and give our heart hope and peace.

John 2:11-17 My Father's House

John 2:11-17 My Father’s House

 

1.       What Jesus saw

A.      The temple size

a.       The inner court (the size of our church)

b.      The court of the Gentiles (our parking lots)

B.      Animal trade

a.       Animals inspected, animals for sale, Dove for the poor

C.      Money changers

a.       Many coins used, Rome, Greek, local Jewish

b.      The Philippines

c.       Temple money, exchange rates

D.      What God intended

E.       How Jesus reacted

a.       Angry Jesus

b.      Uncomfortable Jesus, Jesus is not safe

 

2.       The new temple of God

A.      John 4:21 the woman at the well “You will no longer”

B.      John 14:17 the Holy Spirit will live in you

C.      1 Corinthians 3:16 You are God’s temple

D.      2 Corinthians  6:16 “we are the temple of the living God”

E.       Robert Munger “My Heart Christ Home”

 

3.       What is going on in God’s temple

A.      Our forbidden room

B.      1 Corinthians  3:12 You are building Gods temple

C.      1 Corinthians  6:19 what is going on in your body …

D.      What are we allowing to go on in God’s house?

E.       Are there things Jesus wants cleared out

F.       Are there things going on that would anger Jesus

 

You’re the temple of the living God. We should strive to make it a Holy Place.

Psalm 139:23&24 “Search Me, O God”

additions to drawing out the wine

In all six Jars we have a choice of drawing out the wine or not. We draw out the wine by choice.

 

Phil 4:8&9 says “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.   Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.   And the God of peace   will be with you.”

 

Gal 5:22 – 26 says; “  But the fruit  of the Spirit is love,  joy, peace,  patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.   Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature  with its passions and desires.    Since we live by the Spirit,  let us keep in step with the Spirit. 

Let us not become conceited,  provoking and envying each other.

 

We must make a conscious choice to bring these things forward in our life and leave things that are contrary out of our life. But it is a purposeful choice it will not happen on it’s own. Paul discovered the war in himself and that even when he was working at drawing out the wine the sinful part of him often made it to the surface. In all six areas of life we must choose and work to draw out the wine.

Six stone Jars 3 "Filling the Jars"

Fill the Jars

THIS PART IS NOT COMPLETE, LEFT OUT IS THE EXPLANATION OF THE SIX JARS, PERSONAL, FAMILY, FRIENDSHIPS, CHURCH, COMMUNITY, AND THE WORLD.

 

Jesus’ mother has left and Jesus has chosen the stone jars now he orders that the jars be filled with water. This is no small task that Jesus is asking, the jars are not movable, and they are most likely empty since the water they hold has been used by all the wedding guest to wash with. If the servants knew what Jesus was going to do they may have suggested that Jesus only use one or two jars. Even with the Jars half-filled they are still going to go get 60 gallons of water to fill the jars.

Filling our jars is not easy, it’s going to take some work. We often run for the newest spiritual book or video study and expect it to work some magic on us and transform our life. But this is just not going to happen. We will have to work if Jesus is going to transform us. Before Jesus can turn our water into wine we have to fill the Jars.

Often we think, “Jesus I only need a little water into wine, not all six.” Our temptation is to hold back and not fill our whole life but just part of it. It’s sad to say but if we are honest we want just enough water into wine to get by, to fix whatever we think is broken, or heal whatever disease we think we have. Jesus asked for all six jars to be filled before He did anything and Jesus expects no less from us.

In Matthew 22:34-40 the Pharisees and the Sadducees ask Jesus what is the greatest commandment. Jesus’ reply is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and with all your mind.” Jesus has left nothing out, we must love God with everything. In Mark 8:34-36 Jesus tells the disciples whoever wants to save his life, (in this world) will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Jesus and the gospel will save it.” The disciples were told they would have to take up a cross and follow Him. Jesus will not settle for two or three water jars filled, He wants all six.

How do we fill the jars? We fill the jars of our life in the ways they have always been filled. Like I said earlier we all want some book, preferably a short one, or some video, or a sermon or two that would fill the jars of life with water. Jesus promised the woman at the well that if she asked He would give her living water that would spring up within her. So the first thing we have to do is ask, ask God for water. In asking Jesus for the water we acknowledge that we have none and need some. Professing our need and not our self-sufficiency is the first step in being filled. “Gods strength is shown in our weakness.”

Prayer must not stop with our telling God how needy we are and giving Him a list of what He can do for us. To be filled by God’s spirit we need to listen, really listen. The other day I was on the phone with a friend and I had said something and was waiting for him to answer. The longer this person did not talk the more uncomfortable I felt, finally they answered my question. God wants us to listen, be quite and listen. We have a whole list of things that come to mind when someone suggest this. What if someone sees me, they will think I am a nut. What if I really hear something, then I’ll think I am a nut. What does Gods voice sound like anyway?

The truth is you will know Gods’ voice when you hear it. You will need to listen until you hear it. A man was asked “why do you climb a mountain?” and he replied, “If you have to ask, you would never understand the answer.” When you listen long enough, you will hear God speak and there will be no doubt about who is speaking.

We also need to be filled with Gods’ word, not just a verse or two that we memorized or keep on a card in our wallet. We need to be filled with it. “This book of the law shall not depart from my lips but I will meditate on it day and night.” “Your word I have hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.”

To be filled with Gods’ word we need to not only study and memorize it, but also read it. When is the last time for no reason you picked up your Bible and read something? We can often read a 300 page novel and yet reading 4 pages of our Bible seems like work. We need to just read it and let the words wash over our mind and heart, filling us.

Ultimately we must let Jesus fill our lives. We allow Jesus to be in our work life, our family life, our social life as well as our church life. That does not mean that we only do “Christian” things, it means that in whatever we do and wherever we are, Jesus is there too.

 

Drawing out the Wine Sept 1st

We found that Mary knew that Jesus could and would do something. That Mary dared to get Jesus involved. We saw that work is needed to fill the Jars with living water. Now the wine must be drawn out and taken to the table.

1.       Believe there is wine

a.       Servants put water in

b.      Jesus did not tell them it was wine

c.       The risk of dipping it out and taking it to the table

2.       Believe there is a need

a.       That the guest need the wine

b.      That the guest want the wine

3.       Drawing out the wine

A.      Personally

a.       Drawing out our transformed parts

b.      Paul’s war with flesh and spirit

c.       We choose to bring the transformed part out

d.      In our thinking, in our hearts, attitude, actions

B.      Family

a.       Teaching our children

b.      Sharing faith with each other

c.       Loving our spouse

d.      Loving our children

e.      Family choices

f.        Values we hold and support

C.      Friendships

a.       What we do in our friendships

b.      Love, support, encourage, forgive

c.       Where are our friendships taking us

d.      we draw them toward a transformed direction

D.      Church

a.       working to bring out the wine

b.      working to bring transformation in people’s lives and the church as a whole

c.       sharing the wine Jesus has given us

d.      encouraging those around us in their positive efforts

E.       Community

a.       Believe your community needs Jesus

b.      Be open about our faith

c.       Share your faith with others

d.      Call people to Jesus don’t force them

e.      Make your church known

F.       The World

a.       Support missions

b.      Encourage missionaries

c.       Go on a short term mission trip

 

Do you believe Jesus can help?
Do you believe in the need for transformation?
Will you dare to draw out the wine and bring it to the table?

It is the only way we will experience the miracle of God.

 

jars of stone a heart of love

2

From Jars of Stone to a Heart of Love

The way Jesus chooses to fulfill His mother’s request also tells us many things. Jesus chose six stone jars used for ceremonial washing. Finding wine in these jars would be the last thing anyone would think of. We are told they each hold about twenty to thirty gallons. It is highly doubtful that Jesus thinks they need 120 to 180 gallons of wine, so we know He chose the jars for another reason.

These jars hold water to wash with to make a person ceremonially clean. The cleansing is just a temporary outward removal of the grime of life on the street, but has no real effect on the soul. At the time the wine would have no real meaning, but later in the upper room Jesus would use wine as a symbol of His blood which would cleans the soul.

For the Jewish people cleansing, sacrifice and forgiveness was a temporary thing. Cleansing with water was symbolic and only lasted until you entered the streets of life and your feet became soiled again. The sacrifice of the Lamb would absolve them of their sin at the time but was not a lasting forgiveness that covered the whole of life. There was no movement from the life of sin to the life of the redeemed.

The wine is symbolic of Jesus’ blood which not only cleanses from our current sin but redeems us from all sin. Jesus’ blood breaks the hold that sin has on us and sets us free to pursue God with our whole and undivided heart. In the act of choosing the water jars Jesus announces that He is about to change the whole way people view and relate to God.

Before Jesus dies on the cross, people make sacrifices and go through cleansing to try and become acceptable to God. Once Jesus dies on the cross God has made the sacrifice on behalf of people, because He wants them to be acceptable to Him. God has moved from being the one we must appease, to one who extends grace. Water turned into wine and sin turned into grace.

Gods’ grace is not a temporary fix for the problem of sin in our lives, it is eternal, permanent. This once for all sacrifice does not have to be renewed every now and again to be effective. While the water runs away leaving us to be covered again by sin, the blood is a permanent covering that washes us in an ongoing manner that never ends. We no longer run around trying to make God accept us, we only accept what He has done for us.

The jars are made of stone. They are cold, inanimate and impersonal. The blood that the wine represents is warm and flowing from the very heart of Jesus. The blood is by nature very personal and represents a God who is very much alive. While the stone of the jars cannot have a relationship the heart of Jesus can.

This marks a very real change for the people then and people today. For the Jews of Jesus time God was impersonal, an authority figure that stood watch over your every move keeping a list and checking it twice. Jesus becomes the list breaker. Jesus shows us that God is not so much interested in keeping track of our sin as He is of forgiving them. The heart of God is that none should perish but everyone have eternal life.