Title: Expect a Miracle / John 2:1-11
Expect a miracle
John 2:1-11
When an organization in the United States asked thousands of married people 10 years ago, "Do you expect your marriage to continue going forward?" 60% answered negatively. This is an example of how much the family in modern society is in crisis. However, in Western society where one in two couples divorce, statistics are coming out that one in 40 couples who worship on Sundays and one in 400 couples who worship at home. This cannot be a miracle. Believing in Jesus Christ is such a wonderful thing.
Jesus was attending a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee, but the wine ran out during the feast. For the Jews, who valued the law and respect, running out of wine at the wedding house was a serious problem, not just a disgrace, but a shame for the whole village.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, came to Jesus and said that the house had run out of wine, and instructed the servants to do what Jesus said. When Jesus told his servants to fill the empty jar with water, the servants obeyed and filled it with water, and when he went to the banquet hall and gave the water, a miracle occurred when the water turned into wine.
The event in today's text, when Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee, is Jesus' first miracle, and the Bible calls this a sign. The sign means that the life of every believer in Jesus will be similar to this event. Therefore, I pray that great miracles may happen in your life in Jesus as well.
First of all, we must expect miracles to happen in our lives in Jesus Christ. It is very important to expect miracles. Expecting a miracle is a huge religious event in itself. Many believers are living their life of faith without any expectation of miracles. If you have expectations, your posture will change.
Because Mary expected a miracle in Jesus, she was able to bring the problem to Jesus, and because she brought the problem to Jesus, the miracle of water turning into wine happened. The Bible appeals to us to have faith in miracles.
For the servant who was sick and dying, the centurion asked Jesus, "Just say the word," and healed the servant, and the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years held onto the hem of Jesus' robe with faith in miracles. Jesus said to the two blind men, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" When he did, they opened their eyes with a cry, "Lord, not so." The Syrobonic woman believed that Jesus could heal her demon-possessed daughter, and was able to save her daughter when she clinged to it, saying, "That's right, even dogs eat the crumbs that fall from my master's table." Miracles happen to those who believe.
Of course, the belief in miracles is controversial. There is clearly a problem with faith that only hopes for miracles. Some of our problems have our share in ourselves. There are crosses that we must bear, and there are sufferings that are beneficial to us. Therefore, unconditional hope for miracles cannot be said to be mature faith. However, a more serious problem than the attitude of only hoping for miracles is lack of faith in miracles. Many saints expect miracles and are afraid to believe. “Faith in anticipation of miracles” always creates a crisis.
Seeing a critically ill patient and declaring that "God will heal you", declaring that God's miracles will happen to those in tribulation, brings fear. "What if a miracle doesn't happen? Do miracles really happen?"
We must believe in miracles and seek miracles. Because there is not one of us who does not need God's miracles.
I hear the desperate situation of many saints who come to receive prayer after worship every week. Every time I ask for a miracle in Jesus name. Ladies and gentlemen, there is no one who does not seek a miracle when visiting a desperate person after being diagnosed with cancer. We fall for the same sin over and over again. There is ongoing economic hardship and poverty. We see our families that have no longer had anything to be happy about. We need a miracle.
However, expecting miracles does not mean experiencing them all. In order to experience miracles, we must not only expect, but only go to the stage of obedience to the word of the Lord.
At the request of Mary, Jesus first said, "What has this to do with me, my hour has not come", and no work was accomplished. It means that the house's work has nothing to do with Jesus. It means that the time has not yet come for Jesus to work. This is exactly what happens when we pray. I pray though. There are still times when the answer is not experienced. Then you have to ask, "Does this really have anything to do with Jesus?" Is that so?
Jesus' mother, Mary, solved this problem with "obedience." He told the servants of the house, "Do what this man instructs. Then the miracle of turning water into wine took place. That's right. Entrusting all of your problems to Jesus and completely obeying His Word is the way from 'my problems' to 'problems related to the Lord', and it is the moment when the Lord's time comes to us and our family.
Last week, there was a funeral for Elder Hwang Yong-seok, my younger maternal grandfather. Elder Hwang was called the father of orphans in Mungyeong, who started taking care of 10 orphans during the war in 1954 in Jeomchon, Gyeongbuk, and took care of 500 orphans. The funeral at the Shinmang Orphanage, which the elder had run his whole life, was covered with wreaths sent from all over the country. As I entered the mortuary, I came across a large inscription on the wall that was not suitable for a funeral home. "I believe today will be a very good day" This article was the elder's lifelong motto, and it was a lesson he taught to orphans. He believed in the miracle of life in Jesus Christ.
We must doubt our doubts and believe our faith. If we truly align all our thoughts, dreams, and plans with Jesus, we will experience the miracle of life turning water into wine in Jesus Christ.