Title: Six Jars / John 2:1-10
Content stone jar
John 2:1-10, 2 Kings 5:9-14
One day, Jesus went to a banquet house in Cana with his disciples. Seeing that his mother, Mary, was concerned about the housework, this Cana wedding house was probably a relative's house. A big problem arose as the feast was about to ripen. The wine, the main food of the feast, ran out. Mary hurriedly came to Jesus and told him that the wine had run out at the banquet house. Then the Lord answered. 'What does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.'
Whether or not she heard the word of the Lord, Mary told the servants, 'Whatever he says, do it', and then completely disappeared inside. Now the problem is left to Jesus and his servants.
At Mary's instruction to follow Jesus' words, the servants only look at Jesus' face. Jesus instructs the servants. 'Fill the jar with water!' The servants filled the six large stone jars placed there with water. Then Jesus speaks again. 'Now scoop it up and bring it to the banquet hall!' The servants followed suit and obeyed. Then, when the banquet hall tasted the water from this jar, he was astonished and said, "There was such a delicious wine in the world." 'Ordinary people make good wine first, then get drunk and then make bad wine, but this house is getting better and better wine!' The water turned into wine. The banquet house, which was in crisis, was restored to full of joy and joy. Rather, as the crisis changed, praise returned.
This verse is not just about the wine of the feast. We are talking about our lives. How can we bring the joy of life into our lives? How can we overcome these crises well and live a victorious life in a life that cannot be without crises? saying that.
Jesus was there.
Jesus was in this banquet house where the wine ran out. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to marry. Jesus was with us at the scene of the crisis. This becomes a decisive factor in overcoming the crisis. Always invite the Lord into your life.
Ladies and gentlemen, are there any obstacles in your life that are difficult for the Lord to come? Is the Lord invited to the field of your life? Are you working with the Lord? Are you walking with the Lord?
Have you ever seen a picture like this? I saw this written below the picture of Jesus, taken in the light and shade of the eye. 'The Lord is a guest at every table in our house, a silent listener to every conversation.' The person who Jesus invites into his life and accompanies him is a happy person. A life with Jesus is not shaken even in the midst of crisis, and we can stand up even in the midst of difficulties. I pray that the Lord at this wedding feast will always accompany you in your home, workplace, business, and field of life.
I came to Jesus with a problem.
There's a problem with the feast house. alcohol has run out. It is a disgrace and shame to run out of alcohol at the party. This is because they are not prepared for the reception of guests, and they are neglecting the guests. In today's terms, it's like a company that went bankrupt due to lack of funds. This was truly a shame, a crisis, and a problem. I couldn't see how to fix it right now.
Then Mary came to Jesus with this problem. This behavior was unjust in the eyes of ordinary people. When the wine runs out, you have to go to the store or to the liquor store, so how can you come to the Lord? But Mary brought the matter to Jesus. Mary knew that the solution of the problem was with the Lord. So I appealed to you to solve the difficult problem of this banquet house.
There are times in life when wine runs out. There are times when life goes bankrupt. The joy is gone, the taste of life is gone, faith is no fun. There are times when the whole world seems cold and you are deeply immersed in solitude. What is the solution at this time? It is to bring it to the Lord. It is to bow in humility to the Lord.
In reality, there are times in life when crises strike, the economy gets tangled up, and problems stand in the way and we do not know where to go. What is the solution in this case as well? It is to bring it to the Lord. Kneeling to God, the potter.
Brothers and sisters, discuss anything with the Lord. Appeal to the Lord. Draw close to the Lord. Where the Lord is, there is a history of change, and when we draw closer to the Lord, the history of problem-solving appears. When the Lord is with us, problems are solved, joy overflows, and poverty turns into abundance. That is why believers must pray. There should be many Marys in the church. Mary, who comes to the Lord with a problem and kneels, the church with many churches will become a church that prospers. It is not only my problems, but people who kneel to the Lord while suffering the problems and pains of others as well. There must be many such intercessors for the church to be gracious.
There was silent obedience and devotion.
The protagonist of this amazing miraculous event is, of course, Jesus. But the Lord was only a director, and the people who actually played the main characters were the servants of the house. They obeyed and devoted themselves to whatever the Lord said without questioning any reason or question, following Mary's words, 'Whatever he says to you, do it'. When asked to fill the jar with water, the servants obeyed. Six jars full of water were drawn and poured. Now that the wine is running out, what useless thing is this! But the servants do not speak at all. There is only action. There was only dedication. And there is no objection to what Jesus said to bring the water to the banquet hall. It was unlikely that he would be beaten with a bottle of water while taking it to the banquet hall. But the servants obeyed silently. dedicated. It was at this time that a miracle occurred. Water turned into wine.
Through these obedient workers, a miracle was realized. Who is the person who performs God's miracles? He is a person who is obedient to the Word. Who are the people who have continued the faith with this church in 2000 years of history? by obedient saints. Who are the people who keep the faith even in these difficult times today? People who do not make excuses, those who submit themselves thoroughly to the Word, and those who are faithful to the end--the faith is kept, maintained, and spread by these obedient people.
Where there is obedience there is action; where there is no obedience there are words. Where there is obedience there is gratitude, and where there is no obedience there is complaint. Usually, they all seem to have faith, so we bury them together well, but when a crisis comes, is it really obedient or not? It is to reveal whether you are truly a person of faith or not.
Two friends went hiking. I met a wolf. A friend suddenly started switching from a bag to sneakers. Another friend says 'No matter how fast you run, do you think you can run faster than a wolf?' A friend wearing sneakers says: 'I have no intention of running faster than a wolf. I'm just trying to run faster than you.'
Just as true friendship is revealed in times of crisis, true faith is also revealed in times of crisis.
When St. Francis was in the monastery, two young men came to him to make disciples. So, to test the two of them, Francis gave them two cabbages and told them to take them and plant them in the ground, and plant them so that the leaves go down and the roots go up. But one went and planted just as the teacher had told him. Plant so that the leaves go down to the ground and the roots go up. But for one person, that's not right by experience. So I planted it well so that the roots go down to the ground and the leaves go up. One became a disciple, and the other could not. From common sense and experience, it is correct to have the roots face down and the leaves face up. But as a disciple, you are not qualified. If I have my experience and my knowledge, I don't need to be a disciple. You don't have to come here. If you plant cabbage well, you just have to farm. To become a disciple of a good teacher, you have to obey and follow what the teacher teaches.
A Christian comes to church to believe that he cannot be saved through my experiences, my knowledge, and my works, and to believe in the grace of the Lord and to obey His Word. We are here to obey God's Word. Faith is obedience. We obey because we believe, and we believe because we obey. Faith is obedience like a fool.
Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Syria, had leprosy and came to Elisha to be healed. At that time, Elisha sent his servant Gehazi to bathe in the Jordan River seven times. When Naaman heard this, he got angry and said,
'I thought that he would come to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place to cure leprosy. Aren't the Damascus rivers Amana and Barbar better than all the rivers of Israel?" (2 Kings 5:11)
That's right. The Jordan River is not very large or clear. By comparison, the Damascus River is blue and beautiful. But, are you not here to compare rivers? If you have come a long way in search of Elisha to be healed, you must follow his advice.
Naaman said. 'I think...' If my thoughts are so important, why did you come to Elisha? You can do it according to your own thoughts... Faith is about asking 'God's thoughts', not 'my thoughts'. It's not about bringing the Lord into my thoughts, it's about aligning my thoughts with His thoughts.
Says his sensible subordinate. 'Would not the Prophet have told you to do something greater than this? How much more can you not tell me to bathe in the Jordan River seven times?' Here, too, we realize how important the person of intercession is. Naaman accepted his subordinate's invitation and obeyed Elisha's words, but his illness receded and he had clear skin and returned home with joy and thanksgiving.
Please align your life and life goals with 'the Lord's thoughts' rather than 'my thoughts'. Obedience to the word of the Lord is faith, and that is life-changing.
Brothers and sisters, when you look at Sanora, there are times when problems get in your way. Sometimes things don't go well, and it's like a banquet house that runs out of wine. Please do not forget that the Lord is with you every time. Like Mary, open your problems to the Lord. Please put the problem into the stone jar of faith. Please put it in the stone jar of prayer. And I hope that you will thoroughly obey what He says. There is grace. There is a problem solving. The history of restoration takes place. And I hope that it will become a faith that changes from day to day to a faith that is beautiful and fragrant like delicious wine, rather than a faith that walks in the same place every day. This is the true Christian faith and blessed life.