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.’
Woman, why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied. ‘My hour 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 eighty to a hundred and twenty litres.
Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.’ They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realise 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.’
1) Jesus Changes The Natural To The Supernatural
There’s nothing more supernatural than raising someone from the dead. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, that’s exactly what He does. Jesus brings us from death to life and fills us with living water. The closer we are to Jesus, the more our old sinful nature disappears and His nature shows through.
I Corinthians 1:26–31 Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”? That makes it quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God. Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. MSG
Colossians 1:21-22 You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent.
1 Corinthians 6:11 Some of you used to be like that. But now the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and the power of God’s Spirit have washed you and made you holy and acceptable to God.
Colossians 2:13 You were dead, because you were sinful and were not God’s people. But God let Christ make you alive, when he forgave all our sins.
What jumps out at you from the verses we just shared?
What is the tension between holiness and grace?
Is holiness/righteousness necessary? Necessary for WHAT?
To put our finger on some real life issues: Michael Livengood talked about casual sins – what do you think some of the things that rob us are?
What’s God’s part and our part in change?
Can anyone think of any other verses that reinforces this or challenges you?
APPLY IT:
We often get caught up striving to be “better people.” We can never get better by our own efforts. Let God’s supernatural power do the work in you.
2) Jesus Changes What Is Normal Into Something Valuable
The value of something is based on what someone is willing to pay for it. Jesus paid for us with His life. He changes us from plain old water into valuable wine. We are valuable!
Stop defining yourself in the labels that used to define you, and find your identity in the One who saved you and loves you.
Can we agree that the value of something is determined by the price you are willing to pay? Well, God gave His Son for YOU.
Your life is not determined by the mess you made; your life is determined by the price Jesus paid!
When we are in Christ, He may correct us, but He does not condemn us. Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave once and for all. Through that, our sins past, present and future are forgiven.
MORE READING:
- Psalm 139:13–18 You are the one who put me together inside my mother’s body, and I praise you because of the wonderful way you created me. Everything you do is marvellous! Of this I have no doubt. Nothing about me is hidden from you! I was secretly woven together deep in the earth below, but with your own eyes you saw my body being formed. Even before I was born, you had written in your book everything I would do. Your thoughts are far beyond my understanding, much more than I could ever imagine. I try to count your thoughts, but they outnumber the grains of sand on the beach. And when I awake, I will find you nearby.
- Romans 8:31–39 What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us? God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else? If God says his chosen ones are acceptable to him, can anyone bring charges against them? Or can anyone condemn them? No indeed! Christ died and was raised to life, and now he is at God’s right side, speaking to him for us. Can anything separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble, suffering, and hard times, or hunger and nakedness, or danger and death? In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!
- John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
What stands out from these verses about your value?
What other things can we find value in – right or wrong?
What can shake our perception of worth?
How do we correct our understanding of value – how do we stop defining ourselves on our past or what other people say?
APPLY IT:
We all have days and seasons when we feel like God has forgotten or abandoned us. Let these verses remind you just how valuable you are to God. He is guiding you through your worst times, not ignoring you in them. Turn to Him and see how He will not forsake you.
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