(John 2:8)
�And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.�
I was out at a home improvement store with my son�s family one recent afternoon. His children are little jewels of propriety. They are simply the best behaved little kids in the history of the world. They are nearly perfect in nearly every way; failing perfection only because they wish to give us �cute� moments to remember.
Did I mention that these children are my grandchildren?
Seriously, they are very well behaved children. Well, most of the time. This store was so large, and there were so many things that the children could focus their attention on, that the little ones tended to be overwhelmed by temptation.
Grandpa was left in charge of the tykes for a short time while their parents were looking at one display. The children ran off and I had to call them back and ask them to remain with us.
Later their father had the same experience.
Later, actually several times later, their mother had the same experience. It seems that moms get more opportunities trying to corral the little ones than do fathers and grandpas. I don�t know why this is so. Well, I ain�t saying why this is so! (Moms get the bulk of the burden because dads and grandpas get tired a whole lot quicker!)
Like I said above, really good little ones but tempted beyond the capacity of a five and a three year old to handle.
How often are we like this toward our Heavenly Father? I didn�t put a question mark at the end of that last sentence because it wasn�t a question; it was an observation! It is true that we are often so overcome with the trials and temptation, not to mention the simple everyday experiences of life, that we fail to follow the expressed will of the Father in our daily lives.
Most of us are pretty good Christians during the hours of 10:00 AM to Noon on Sunday mornings. It is the rest of the week that we fail to remember that we have Bibles in the house that are readable. It is the rest of the week that we fail to remember that God really wishes us to engage Him in prayer. It is the rest of the week that we live for all practical purposes as devout Atheists with no consideration of the fact that God not only exists, He has also called us to salvation and discipleship.
Sometimes that �rest of the week� intrudes upon our Sunday morning interlude in piety as we drift off into thoughts of �the real world,� forgetting that the spiritual is that real world. It is our present physical existence which is short and transitory while our spiritual existence is forever.
Have you ever used Ephesians 2:8-9 to witness to someone? I was polite and didn�t ask if you�ve ever witnessed to anyone. Were truth to be told, most of us have never been the witnesses which we are called to be.
Still, I�m certain that you�ve heard those verses. �For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.�
Good verses. We cling to them as we claim peace in our harried lives through the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Whoops! Did I say, �Our Lord?�
Folks, that is not simply a nice religious phrase. That is part of our duty towards God. Look, very closely at the very next verse after Ephesians 2:8-9. Verse ten says, �For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.�
Again, this is an affirmation that salvation is all about the work of Jesus. Salvation has nothing to do with us since it is a gift to us from the Savior. But, the last part of that verse adds a responsibility on our own part. We were created in Christ Jesus to this salvation with the express purpose that we should walk in good works. As much as God has ordained our salvation, He has also ordained that we walk in good works.
I�m reminded of the story of the lady in the backwoods church. The preacher said that we should not use the devil�s brew of �white lightning.� The lady said, �Amen, preacher.� The preacher said that we should not burn the devil�s weed of tobacco in our sanctified mouths. The lady said, �Amen, brother. Preach the Word!� The preacher said that we should not gossip about our brothers and sisters. The lady said, �Wait a minute, preacher. You�ve done stopped preaching and started meddling.�
I feel sort of like that preacher when I mention verse ten. And, I would expect that more than a few of my readers will agree with that lady�s third assessment as imaged in my own words!
Nonetheless, we do have a duty to follow Christ. Following Christ means that He is the One doing the leading. Works will never save our soul; that much is certain. But, a lack of works will never serve to edify our souls; that much is also certain.
Look at our text verse and see the spoken word. �And he said unto them��
The fact is that Jesus spoke personally to these servants. There is a very simple reason that Jesus spoke personally to these persons. No; it isn�t simply that they were there in front of Him. Now, this might have been part of the reason but it was not the real reason.
Jesus didn�t speak personally to them because they were servants. After all, we might surmise, they were the ones who were supposed to be taking orders and doing things.
No. That�s not it!
Jesus might have spoken to them because they had approached Him with their dilemma. Now, we�re getting closer to the reason.
They knew that they lacked the power to solve their problem. They also realized that He was the only One Who held the answer to that problem. Jesus spoke to these men because they were the one�s who had the duty to solve the problem of the lack of wine
Quite often we look toward the preacher as the one who has the commission to go out into the world with the message that Jesus died in time so that others could live in eternity. Well, I guess you could say that this is true. The pastor is so charged. The next question in this train of thought would be directed as to just where we are charged to serve Jesus.
That is a valid point. If, as the verse in Ephesians 2:10 says, the outworking of a true salvation experience is that the salvation will generate a people who are walking in good works, what is the nature of our personal good work? If I am given an assignment in a school class room to write a book report, what am I supposed to do? I�m going to hazard a guess that the teacher expects me to write a book report, and probably to read the book as well!
So, what is our assignment as a good work to walk therein? Before He departed from this earth, back into the Glory Land of Heaven, Jesus told His disciples something. He said, ��God ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.� (Mark 16:15)
Well, O. K. That�s what He asked of His disciples. What does He ask of me?
In order to answer that question we might ask another. Just what is a disciple? A disciple is the follower of a certain discipline, or way of life, as announced by a teacher or leader. A disciple is a follower of that teacher.
Among the aspects of the life of Jesus as He walked this earth in His physical body, was that He was a Teacher. Now, that�s not all that He was while on this earth. But, He was a Teacher. A disciple is one who attempts to follow Jesus. That, really, is the simple meaning of the word �Christian.� That would make each of us disciples.
So, how do we follow Jesus? What did that verse in Mark say? We are to spread the gospel message that Jesus died in time so that others might live in eternity. This means that, not just the pastor, all Christians are called into a �preaching� ministry.
The preacher is one who assumes the office of a prophet. A prophet is one who relates the words of God to humanity. The �preacher� who does not do this may be a public speaker; but he is not a preacher of the Gospel. We are all to be preachers and prophets of the Biblical message of sin and salvation. How we handle this job in our daily lives is subject to our gifts from the Lord. But, handle this job we must.
The servants, in our text verse, would be the ones who had the charge to serve others. The servants would be the ones, in our text verse, who would act as agents of the governor of the feast to ensure that the wedding feast was bringing glory to the bride and groom.
We are called to bring glory to God. We do this by spreading His Message of sin and salvation in such a way as to reach the hearts of others with this message. In whatever manner we do this task we must be much in prayer. That is simply part of our preparation as servants. This prayer should also lead us to be much in the worship of God through our perusal of His Holy Words in His inspired and preserved Scripture.
The wedding guests had needs that the servants were called to attend. So, also, does the world about us have needs that we are called to attend. The world about us is lost and on the road to a Christless eternity. Our overriding purpose is to warn them, to woo them, and to win them.
We warn them of sin and the consequences. We woo them not by being accusatory but by being concerned and tactful. We win them by presenting the message that Jesus died in time so that they might live in eternity. A corollary of presenting this message is that we have prayed for these same people. We can not do this job by ourselves; we must ask the Holy Spirit to send His convicting power.
Jesus also spoke to these men pointedly. He told them exactly what they were to do. He didn�t leave them in doubt as to His intentions.
God has not left us in doubt as to what is His Message to humanity. Not only did He inspire His Words, He has also preserved them for us in even our day. Don�t let those little footnotes in your Bible�s fool you. God never lost control of His Word. It is a ridiculous thought to even consider such would be a possible action from a loving and powerful God.
God has not left us in doubt as to what His message to man is for this day. He has given us certain Word. It is not a message of philosophy, although it is a correct philosophical message. It is not a message of science, although it is a correct scientific message. It is not a message of a self help guru, although it is a message which allows us to move in ever better and more productive and peaceful paths.
It is that simple message of sin and salvation. �For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.� (John 3:16) The message we are to give to the world is that Jesus died in time so that others could live in eternity.
It is the very power of God which gives force to that message. We just give the message, backed by a life of perusing Scripture and energized by the power of prayer, and God will do the rest!
This is why Jesus was able to speak purposefully to these servants. He knew that all the power of Heaven was at His disposal. A problem at the feast? Not when Jesus was involved in solving that problem.
So, too, is that power of Heaven backing us as we spread the message that Jesus died in time so that others could live in eternity. Our only need is that we access that power in the pages of His inspired and preserved Words, and call in the might of the Spirit to give vitality to our witness.
I�m not saying that we are guaranteed the appearance of success in every instance. I am saying that we are guaranteed spiritual success at every instance of our witness. All will not accept the message of the Father. That is not our problem. If that sounds harsh, I don�t mean it to be so. I�m just saying that the individual must make the decision for Christ; we can not do this for them. Our sole duty is to give them the knowledge to make that informed choice by repeating the message that Jesus died in time so that others could live in eternity. We couple this with a life spent in the study of His Words in Scripture. We strengthen this with prayer that the Holy Spirit convict the souls of those to whom we witness.
The ultimate fact is that we can do all the above, but we cannot make that decision for another. What we can do is to be faithful in that to which we are called.
Notice that these servants were called to a sanctified work. ��Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast��
These servants were given a task. It was their task. This is the true meaning of sanctification. Sanctification is that means whereby a person, or persons, are called to a specific task.
To my right hand side I have a twelve cup coffee maker. It does not make toast. It does not cook hamburgers. It won�t even make lemonade. My coffee maker has a specific task to make coffee. It is etymologically correct to say that this little electrical gadget is sanctified to make coffee. That is the basic meaning of the word. Sanctification denotes a specific task to which we are called. Scripturally, it is to be set apart for the Savior�s purposes.
We each have a task to do in the work of the Lord. All of us are called to give forth the message that Jesus died in time so that others might live in eternity. But, some are called to be special prayer warriors. All are to pray. But, to some is given that specific task as a primary objective.
Some are called to give. Some are called to disciple others. Some are called to engage in friendship evangelism and upholding others in the faith as well. There are more things whereby God has gifted His churches through the persons in membership at the various locations of assembly.
I had several different duty stations and assignments while I was on active duty in the military. I was a military policeman. I was an infantryman. I worked in a corrections facility. I worked in a legal office. I was a company clerk. The unifying factor in all of these situations was that I was a military person in all of these jobs. I was assigned wherever my skills, such as they were, were needed.
So, also, does God call each of us to specific tasks as members of the body of our local congregations. Some will argue that they do not need to attend a local congregation. This is not the attitude of a true Christian. A true Christian accepts the �marching orders� of his Heavenly Commander. Part of those orders is to be at the duty station of a local church fulfilling the task to which one is called.
In fulfilling this God given task one is built up in the faith, himself, as he yields his gifts and callings to the Master. In fulfilling this God given task one is building up others in the faith as they are the recipients of the ministering of these gifts which God has set forth in the various local church bodies.
It is very easy to see that absenting oneself from attendance in a local church body is far outside the will of God. Therefore, it must also be allowed that one cannot worship God as easily, or as competently, outside the local body of believers as he could in fellowship with that body. If my hand were to be cut off I would lose the skills which that hand has in the functioning of my body. I would, for instance, type much more slowly. But, it is also true that the hand, itself, would wither and die as it ceased to receive nourishment from my body. That same scenario holds true in the spiritual realm of the individual believer and the corporate body of believers in each of the local churches.
Meanwhile, no matter the specific task which is ours, we are called to spread the message that Jesus died in time so that others could live in eternity.
Jesus also gave a trial to these servants. They were asked to do something which could have caused them some problems with the governor of the feast. They were asked to take what they believed to be simple water to that governor. That governor was expecting wine. It could have caused these servants complications if they had arrived with water.
Despite the outward sign that they would be humiliated, and possibly punished, by taking water when their charge was to deliver wine, these servants followed the words of the Master.
So should we also cast aside our doubts and follow, in full faith believing, the directions of our Lord and Savior.
I love the Book of Jonah. Here was a guy who never did get around to accepting the will of God completely. He argued with God from the beginning of the Book to the ending. But, Jonah, after he had received a little schooling in the belly of a specially prepared fish, did do that which God wanted accomplished.
Folks, that is true faith. It is a faith that says, �O. K.,� to God even when we disagree as to the task. We might argue that we are too shy, or any other reason why we cannot accomplish the task of spreading the Gospel Message. That simply doesn�t matter. Just accept the limitless grace of the Creator of the Universe and move out in faith. It is up to Him to supply what is needed.
He ain�t failed yet. And, He�s not going to start simply because it is you that is attempting the task. Don�t be so full of yourself as to think that you can limit the power of God.
When these servants completed the task assigned, Jesus gave them triumph. Where they had seen water they now saw wine.
My little three year old grandson has been trained to put his little hand in mine when we are crossing a street. He does so without question.
Wine is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. When we put our little and powerless hand into His expansive and powerful Hand we can accomplish wonders of which we can little dream! It is not of us and our power. It is all of Him and His unlimited power!
Notice, finally, the settled wish. ��And they bare it.�
These servants acquiesced to His direction. That, sometimes, is a very hard task for us to even consider.
I have an acquaintance who has been preaching in churches for about forty years. He was called into the pastorate by his boyhood pastor. In his entire career he has never been issued a �call� to a church which was not initiated by that boyhood pastor, or the succeeding pastor of that church. In each of the churches where he has served he has either been dismissed or seen the church split during is tenure. The current church he �serves� was running over three hundred in the Sunday services when he took over the pulpit. That church is now lucky to see sixty to seventy people come through the doors for a service.
This pastor does not have any sort of calling program for his church. I say �his church� because I firmly believe the Lord is not in charge of this assembly. He does not do any calling himself. It seems that he is afraid for the church to grow as this might dilute his �power base� and cause him to lose this church and the parsonage which comes with it.
At his present age this parsonage seems a very compelling interest.
Sometimes we, as human beings, will do what we believe we should rather than listening to the voice of God within our hearts. For forty years the Holy Spirit has been telling this man to sell insurance while he has been telling the Holy Spirit that he is a pastor.
Folks, let us never get so caught up in our goals that we fail to see the leading of the Spirit in our own lives. God has a place for us to serve. May we be certain that we are in His place rather than our own. A career of harming the churches of God is not that about which we are likely to see reward when we cross into His presence.
Even a great knowledge of the Scripture does not make one a �church leader.� Obedience to the calling of God upon our lives will make us a Christ follower. Isn�t that where we are supposed to be?
These servants were careful to follow the direction of Jesus.
In doing this they also were seen to accept His duty.
I have a very good television set. My son bought it for me as a Christmas gift several years ago. On this set I have watched many John Wayne movies.
I have also served in the military in a place of combat. I earned my Combat Infantryman Badge shortly after going into the combat zone. I�m very proud of this medal.
Between the movies and the combat I noticed very few similarities. If I, as an infantryman, had just gone off on my own in some Hollywood fashion, I would have jeopardized the entire mission to which my unit had been called. �and I�d probably have been shot myself!
The point is that in the real military, as opposed to the Hollywood conception of the military, the individual is not important above his mission. The military will place each soldier, and group of soldiers, in exactly the specific location where they are able to produce the most good toward the success of the entire mission.
When we step forward to accept the oath of induction into the military we take an oath to subjugate our personal wills to the will of the military as a whole. Our duty is to simply follow orders.
Coming back from my one year tour of duty, actually in my case it was one year and one day, in the Vietnamese Conflict I missed my airplane coming home. Hence, the extra day. I was lucky that I was leaving a war zone. That is probably the only thing which saved me from a Courts Martial.
The Army has little patience for a soldier who is not where he is supposed to be when he is supposed to be there. I heard this said in rather unmistakable terms. I heard it several times!
Our duty toward God is no less important. It is vitally important to the cause of Christ that we find our purpose in that local church and perform that duty to Him. It could be that we are called to simply be sitting in the pew some Lord�s Day when a visitor comes in to see what this church is all about.
We may strike up a conversation with that visitor, or show some small act of kindness such as handing him our Sunday School Quarterly so he understands just what we are taking about. This may be the act which is used by the Spirit to quicken this person�s spiritual understanding; they may be saved. They may then go out and call a friend, or many friends.
Our simple fidelity to being in that pew may be the triggering act which allows the Spirit to send a great revival to our community.
Simply be faithful to God�s leading and the results will echo down through the halls of eternity!
These servants certainly learned that lesson. They were astonished at His deed.
They were only looking for water. He showed them wine.
Many today will expect to find salvation through the pools of baptism. That�s not where salvation is found. Baptism is merely, please don�t think that I�m playing down the importance of this ordinance, the act of one who is already a follower of Jesus Christ. It is not a saving experience.
Don�t look for water to save your soul. You need the wine of the Spirit of God. Look unto Jesus. It is He Who went to the Cross of Calvary and, with His Own blood, gave the blessing of true Salvation to all who would accept Him and His work.
Accept Jesus as your own Savior. Do it today and you will witness the greatest miracle of all. That miracle is the promise of a home in Heaven and peace and fellowship with the Lord of Creation.