The Water Turned into Wine John 2:1-6, NIV On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied, “My time has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Hallelujah! I would like to share the grace of God under the title, “The Water Turned into Wine,” based on John 2. Could you please repeat after me? “The Water Turned into Wine. The Water Turned into Wine.” King Solomon, the wisest man in human history, said in his later years. (some words missing in the sentence?) Ecclesiastes 1:2?says, “ ‘Meaningless! Meaningless!’ says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.’ ” This is the summary of life made by the wisest man on earth. He was saying that everything was meaningless when he looked back in retrospect. He could not find any meaning of life at all. This describes the life of humankind away from God. Our meaningless life is fleeting away. The Scripture says that the span of our life is but trouble and sorrow. Ever since Adam and Eve committed the original sin, all humankind was cursed to live in sin, laboring and toiling. Moreover, unexpected trouble or hardship comes to us to disappoint and frustrate us. I would like to ponder the teaching of our Lord regarding how to resolve the problems of our lives through today’s Scripture. First, I want to speak about people in a desperate situation. There was a wedding reception, but they ran out of wine in the middle of the banquet. John 2:3 says, “The wine was gone.” Since the water quality in Israel was not very good, they drank wine. Wine is an indispensable drink in receptions or banquets. A wedding took place at Cana, a small town in Galilee. They used to have a week-long banquet for a wedding reception, inviting all the villagers. They would prepare food and wine for the banquet. However, they ran out of wine soon after the banquet had begun. It could be because there were more guests than expected or they had not prepared enough wine. They ran into a problem. They came to the bride and groom, saying, “There is no more wine.” Then the new couple talked about it to their families, “What should we do since there is no more wine?” It was impossible to buy such a large quantity of wine in the middle of the wedding banquet. More than anything else, it was such a discourtesy to the guests. The passage, “the wine was gone” signifies that they were at the end of their tether. A new home which had started with a dream for happiness encountered a big problem. From time to time, we face hopeless situations that we cannot handle. Sometimes we have to face death or an inerasable sense of guilt. We may fail in everything we try and do. Things may go worse and become more difficult. Sometimes obstacles like the Red Sea are ahead of us. Sometimes problems like the invincible city of Jericho may stand firmly before us. We feel like having to climb mountain after mountain of problems. We are living in such a devastating and hopeless situation. This reveals where humankind stands, having turned away from God. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Consequently, sin entered into our lives. God’s judgment was upon Adam and Eve. Genesis 3:17 says, “To Adam he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ ‘Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.’ ” All things that sinful humankind does away from God are meaningless. Ecclesiastes 1:14 says, “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” Bernard Shaw, a famous English playwright and critique, once said about life: “There are two tragedies in life: one is not to get your heart’s desire. The other is to get it.” He was saying that we cannot come out of the tragedies of life either way. Because we are born sinners, we cannot overcome the hopelessness of our lives. Fear, worry, and anxiety always press upon our hearts. Since many celebrities are insecure about their popularity, they cannot overcome the pressure. Some non-Christian celebrities want to forget about it by drinking alcohol or doing drugs. Some even commit suicide. Humankind cannot overcome such hopelessness on its own. All the splendor of humankind is like grass or the flowers of the field. 1 Peter 1:24 says, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall.” Hopelessness is the nature of humankind, away from God. Who can deliver us from this utmost hopelessness? Second, I want to speak about Jesus Christ, the problem solver. John 2:4-5 says, “‘Dear woman, why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied, ‘My time has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ ” When we face trouble, we must talk to our Lord Jesus, who is our problem solver. John 2:3 says, “When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’ ” Now that we are living in absolute hopelessness, we must come and talk to the Lord Jesus, who is our absolute hope. Then we will find solutions to our problems. There is no other way. Only Jesus can resolve our problems. The moment we meet the Lord Jesus, hopelessness will depart from us and we will enjoy amazing and overflowing hope in our lives. The newlywed couple who faced a big problem could be saved because they had invited Jesus to their wedding. John 2:2 says, “…and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.” Invite the Lord Jesus into the center of your life in order to get your problems resolved. Open your heart, invite the Lord in, ask Him to sit at the center of your life, and live for the Lord. Then He will resolve all the problems in your life. Rev. George Muller, who had received more than 50,000 answers to his prayers, once said, “I am nothing. It would be better if I did not exist. However, everything is possible in the Lord.” Everything is possible in the Lord. Hallelujah! Jesus came to earth which had been covered with hopelessness, took all the hopelessness of the universe, and died on the Cross. He was resurrected on the third day. Jesus is the great victor, resurrection, eternal life, and eternal joy to us. In Jesus Christ, we are freed from the law of sin and death. Paul made a wonderful proclamation in Romans. Romans 8:1-2 says, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” Amen. Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set us free from the law of sin and death. It is true. As soon as we believe in Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life has control over us, setting us free from the law of sin and death that entangles us, and filling us with grace and joy from the Lord. While they were in a desperate situation because there was no more wine, Jesus’ mother came to Jesus immediately and asked for His help. When we ask for His help, the Lord will listen to our prayers and answer them. John 14:13 says, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” When we run into an unexpected problem, we must come to the Lord and cry out for His help, saying, “Lord! We have run out of wine. Lord, my spirit pants for Your grace. I am being swamped by so many problems. Lord, help me.” We need to cry out to the Lord in our prayers. We need to ask for His help, saying, “Lord, it is too hard for me. I am in such a hopeless situation that I want to die. Lord, help me. My company is in trouble and I may lose my job. Protect my job and my company. Protect my business from bankruptcy. Lord, have mercy on me. Lord, help me!” When we cry out to the Lord for help, He will listen to our prayers and answer them. Since prayer is our supplication to the Lord, we must tell Him what kind of situation we are in. When we cry out to the Lord in prayer, He will listen and answer them. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” When we cry out to the Lord in prayer, He will tell us great and unsearchable things we do not know. Prayer helps us to overcome hopelessness and difficulties, bringing wonderful dreams and hope in our lives. Psalm 34:6 says, “This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.” The Lord saves! When we keep crying out to the Lord without giving up, He will save us from all our troubles. Matthew 21:22 says, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” If we believe, we will receive whatever we ask for in prayer! We must continue to pray persistently until we receive answers to our prayers. Bartimaeus, who was born blind, heard that Jesus was passing by. He shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Mark 10:47-48 says, “When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ ” His life was hopeless. All he could do was beg since he was blind. However, when he heard that it was Jesus, the Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus of Nazareth, have mercy on me!” According to the Scripture, even though many rebuked him and told him to be quiet in harsh language, he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” When we cry out to the Lord, it is possible that people around us may laugh at us. They may persecute us. Remember that it is time for us to shout all the more to the Lord. When we cry out and shout to the Lord more loudly and more fervently, He will hear our shouts. Bartimaeus’ shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” caused the Lord to stop and call him. Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Lord, I want to see.” Jesus said, “Go, your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight. Hallelujah! Jacob’s hip was wrenched as he wrestled with an angel, but he did not let the man go unless the man blessed him. In the battle against the Amalekite, Moses’ hands were held up, remaining steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. A Syrophoenician woman asked the Lord to drive the demon out of her daughter but was denounced because she was a gentile. She kept on begging Jesus, and the demon was gone from her daughter. It is true that the Lord answers our prayers when we approach Him with prayer and supplication. John 15:7 says, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” When we cry out to the Lord in prayer, holding on to His Word, we will experience the blessings and miracles of the Lord. We should not stop here at this level of prayer, though. After praying, we must obey the Word and march forward with faith. John 2:5-8 says, “His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ ” Jesus’ mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you. Obey his word.” Nearby there were six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing. Jesus told the servants to fill the jars with water. So they filled them to the brim. Then Jesus told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They must have been puzzled because they had filled the jars with water, but Jesus was telling them to take it to the master of the banquet. His mother had said, “Do whatever he tells you.” Hallelujah! Faith is obedience. We will be blessed when we obey the Word of God. We should never doubt God’s Word. If we doubt, even though we pray hard, we cannot expect to receive answers to our prayers. Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it. Hold on to the Word and pray. Then believe that you have received the answers already. Miracles will take place. Diseases will be healed. Problems will be resolved. Demons will be cast out. Your business will go well. Believe and ask in prayer, without doubting that it will be done. The servants believed and took the water to the master. The water turned into wine while they were taking it to the master. Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, died. When Jesus arrived at the village, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days, and there was a bad odor. Nonetheless, Jesus went to the tomb and told them to take away the stone laying across the entrance. Jesus was telling them to remove the stone even though there was a bad odor. However, since Jesus told her to do so, Martha obeyed and took away the stone. Then Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. This Scripture clearly tells us what we should do and what the Lord does. What should we do? We should obey the Word of our Lord. When we obey, He will perform miracles. What we have to do is draw water and take it to the master of the banquet. It is the job of the Lord to change the water into wine. In order to experience the miracles of the Lord, we must do our job. We must come to church and worship the Lord with all our hearts, praying to Him, serving Him, and dedicating our lives to Him. After that, when we ask Him to perform miracles, the Lord will change water into wine. If the servants had not filled the jars with water, the water could not have turned into wine. Not only that, the water would have remained the same if they had not taken the water to the master of the banquet, saying, “No way, Sir. This is water. We cannot take it to them.” Since the servants did what the Lord Jesus had told them to do, the water turned into wine along the way. What we have to do is to absolutely obey Him. We should never doubt or step backward, but march forward with faith, holding on to the Word. Then He will perform miracles. It is not we but He who performs miracles. It is not we but He who heals the sick. It is not we who brings prosperity. The Lord gives prosperity to us as a gift. Therefore, we should never forget that obedience is the starting point of our faith and God’s miracles. 1 Samuel 15:22 says, “But Samuel replied: ‘Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.’ ” Now, we need to fill the jars with faith. We need to fill the jars of worship services, the jars of prayer, the jars of service, and the jars of thanksgiving. Then our Lord will perform miracles. If we ask the Lord to give us something without worshipping Him, without thanking Him, or without praying to Him, God will not perform miracles for us. First, we must do our best to give our love and dedication to the Lord. When we ask for His miracles after we have done what we should do, the water will turn into wine. I urge you to have absolute trust in the Word, obey Him, and march forward with faith. Eddie Rickenbacker was sent on an airplane to personally deliver a secret message to General Douglas MacArthur in 1942 during World War II. Due to a navigation failure, the pilots had to ditch the plane in the Pacific Ocean. Rickenbacker and the crew landed on water and drifted at sea fighting with hunger under the sizzling sun and the possibility of shark attacks. Rickenbacker assumed leadership, encouraging and browbeating the others to survive. He encouraged them using Psalm 46. Psalm 46:1-3 says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” He said, “God is with us. Even though we are drifting in the Pacific Ocean, He will rescue us. Trust in the Lord.” He prayed for them and preached the Scripture to them. The crew’s food supply ran out after three days. After a few more days, a seagull landed on Rickenbacker’s head. He captured it, and the survivors divided it equally and used some for fishing bait, so they could catch fish. They lived on sporadic rainwater and similar food miracles. The U.S. Army Air Force intended to abandon the search for the lost crew after more than two weeks, but Rickenbacker’s wife convinced them to extend the search another week. They were rescued on the twenty-fourth day. Hallelujah! Let us give glory to God. On November 13, 1942, Navy pilots rescued the surviving members of the crew off the coast of Nukufetau near Samoa. Reporters asked them how they could survive fighting and overcoming hunger, fear, and hopelessness. Rickenbacker answered, “We had faith, and we prayed. The Lord answered our prayers.” Miracles are taking place even now. Rickenbacker trusted in the Lord Jesus and His Cross, praying with faith, for 24 days while drifting in the Pacific Ocean. The Lord rescued them and received glory through it. This is true. When we cry out to the Lord in prayer, miracles are happening even now. Third, I want to speak about a life changed in Jesus. John 2:9-10 says, “…and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, ‘Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.’ ” They were in huge trouble because there was no more wine. The miracle performed by Jesus turned the situation into a banquet of joy. When the Lord is with us, our lives will turn into a joyful banquet. People often give something good at the beginning and give something not so good later. I heard that some people sent samples of good quality for trading but later shipped trade goods with lower quality. Then a claim of damage would be filed, causing the goods to be shipped back. Our Lord is not like that. He always makes things better than before. When we believe in Jesus, things will be better every day. Today will be better than yesterday, tomorrow will be better than today, and the day after tomorrow will be even better than tomorrow. We may be in trouble now. We may be facing problems. However, when we kneel down before the Lord in prayer in times of trouble, holding on to our faith, God will turn things around and make them better than before. There will be a wonderful change because of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” We are new creations in Jesus Christ. Before believing in Jesus, we were as common and invaluable as water. We used to be weak, restless, and change easily. After believing in Jesus, however, we are changed into wine?valuable, meaningful, and happy. As the children of God who have been changed in the Lord Jesus, we need to lead meaningful and valuable lives. Our lives change when we believe in Jesus. Our destinies will change when we believe in Jesus. Great changes occurred in England after the Industrial Revolution. Many country workers moved to cities, causing the city population to increase more than ten times. The countryside was left almost desolate. Since they needed more workers to run new machines in the factories, children worked in the factories. The whole society fell into moral laxity, so people indulged themselves in alcohol, gambling, and many crimes. Rev. John Wesley stood up in 1738. After his Aldersgate experience with the Holy Spirit, he began field preaching. He traveled all over England and many other countries. He traveled 225,000 miles to preach. He delivered 54,200 sermons after he came back from America in 1738. He wrote about 200 books. When Anglican churches did not take him in, he traveled around to preach, saying that the whole world was his parish. Wesley visited people at places of execution, at the most miserable places, and visited people who were suffering. He went to people and preached the gospel regardless of time and place. He was often attacked and stoned by mobs. However, some mobs later believed in Jesus, turned around and came to God. He brought about a great revival in England. This is true. When Christians rise, it will change the whole society. It is time for us to rise. We are living in chaos and confusion. The political situation is unstable. Even though the economic recession is not yet recovered, real estate prices are going up at a steep rate. There are severe conflicts between the owners and employees. There is an ideological barrier among us. We find conflict, criticism, and chaos everywhere around us. Jesus Christ is the only one who can resolve such problems. Now that we have become Christians, we must change our sick and chaotic community as the Lord changed water into wine. We must ask the Lord to use us in restoring our nation, in bringing stability to the country’s political and economic situations, and in lifting conflict and confrontation from our community. When we rise up before the Lord with faith in Him, He will use us in His great work. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” When we pray and seek the Lord, He will have mercy on us and restore our country according to His grace. The miracle at the wedding at Cana was the first miraculous sign of Jesus. John 2:11 says, “This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.” It means that it was the first of many miracles that Jesus performed. From the day we believe in Jesus, many miraculous signs will be performed in our lives. The second, the third, and many other miraculous signs will follow the first one. The miraculous sign of changing water into wine also symbolically shows the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross and His glorious resurrection after death. Jesus came to earth in the flesh. However, He put on a new and glorious body when He was resurrected on the third day after His death on the Cross. Indeed, when we believe in Jesus, we will change completely, just as the water turned into wine. The old has gone and the new has come! Jesus ended the age of the law and started the age of grace. By believing in Jesus, we can become people of the Spirit, taking off the old clothes of our old self, and living victoriously in the Lord. As the water turned into wine, let us receive the overflowing living water of life and live with victory, joy, and blessings. John 4:13-14 says, “Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ ” John 6:35 says, “Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.’ ” He will never be thirsty! The Lord Jesus is your Lord. The Lord comes into our lives and changes our lives to be worthy, meaningful, and rewarding, just as He changed the water into wine. He will never let us be thirsty again. The blood of the Lord flows in our hearts. By drinking His blood, we can be freed from the snares of sin and death. We can be healed from all kinds of diseases. Our wounds will be healed. We will be filled with the grace, joy, and blessings of the Lord. Our lives will be worthy and meaningful. We will live victoriously in the Lord. You are completely renewed. You have become new wine in the Lord. The Lord will be with you throughout your lives and will perform great things for you. Let us pray. Our Father of infinite love, grace, and mercy, we give our thanks to You. Even though we were worthless like water, always stumbling and indecisive, You have changed us into wine by the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. We thank You for a meaningful and happy life. Now that we are changed, make us Your faithful servants so that we will change our community as such. Use us to heal this chaotic society. Giving thanks, I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.