Episode Transcript
[00:00:05] Well, this morning I want to get into the Word. If you've got a Bible with you, please feel free to open it up. We are going to John chapter two this morning.
[00:00:14] If not, you can follow along. They call it the Sky Bible. Apparently, if you want to follow the Sky Bible, you can do that as well. So we're going to read from John chapter two. And this is the first miracle that Jesus performs that is recorded in the Gospels. And it's not just a powerful sign. It's a revealing moment where we see that when Jesus takes ordinary people, ordinary lives, and does something supernatural with them, incredible things take place.
[00:00:43] This miracle doesn't just turn water into wine. It shows us how walking with Jesus truly changes everything.
[00:00:50] So let's read John 2. 1.
[00:00:54] 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.
[00:01:08] Woman, why do you involve me? Jesus replied, my hour has not yet come.
[00:01:15] His mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you, you. Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from 20 to 30 gallons. 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 realize where it had come through, through 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.
[00:02:01] What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory and his disciples believed in him.
[00:02:09] Let's pray together.
[00:02:11] Father, we thank you for your word.
[00:02:13] It truly is a lamp to our feet. It's a light to our path. It is our instruction for living.
[00:02:20] And today, as we look at this passage of scripture, as we look at this miracle that had never been seen or done before.
[00:02:29] Lord, you are showing us something of how we can live and how we can follow your lead. So Father, speak to us, speak to our hearts today.
[00:02:37] May we be obedient to what you would ask of us in Jesus name. Amen.
[00:02:44] Would you believe me if I told you that God desires to do the miraculous through you? How many People believe that, that he wants to partner with us in the miraculous and seeing people saved, seeing people healed, set free, delivered. God desires that for us.
[00:03:03] He desires to work through us. And many of us will have seen God do miracles. Maybe you've experienced a miracle yourself. Maybe you've seen a miracle take place in somebody else's life. Maybe you've had the joy and the privilege of being a part of praying for someone who received a miracle.
[00:03:20] I love what God is doing. Currently in Newton Abbott in rediscovering Exeter, right through. Throughout the nation, we are seeing people find God, walk into churches and say, I'm not sure why I'm here, but I understand. This is where I'll find the answer.
[00:03:40] Why does this happen?
[00:03:42] Because ordinary people like you and I simply live a life filled with the spirit of God.
[00:03:48] And we live a life that says, come see.
[00:03:51] Come and see Jesus.
[00:03:53] Come and meet Jesus.
[00:03:55] And I believe that what we do in the natural, if we are obedient to that God will do something we can't do, which is the supernatural.
[00:04:04] What's interesting is that John chose to tell of this miracle.
[00:04:08] Now, John, he was very much the relational disciple. He was described by himself as the one that Jesus loved probably more than anyone else. That would be something someone would say, wouldn't it? But a lot of his conversation was around the relationships of Jesus and other people. And so he only recorded in his Gospel, seven miracles.
[00:04:32] And this was one of them, water into wine.
[00:04:38] Now, when you think about it, it took place at a wedding, which was all about relationship, wasn't it?
[00:04:44] And it was a setup for what was come in the book of Revelation, the wedding feast that he celebrated his first miracle.
[00:04:53] We read of a wedding feast that takes place in Revelation, chapter 19, verse 9. Then the angel said to me, write, blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb. All of us have got a wedding supper invite.
[00:05:08] The question is, have we RSVP'd?
[00:05:11] Have we actually said, yes, I will be there? Yes, I will respond, yes, I will accept the sacrifice of the lamb, and I will receive that invitation to the wedding supper of the lamb.
[00:05:24] But I was thinking about the miracles that Jesus could have performed. As the first one, I'm thinking the healing of blind eyes, maybe the lame walking. Maybe he could have done Lazarus right at the start and just raised somebody from the dead, but he chose water into wine.
[00:05:40] Now, with all the damage that alcohol does in society and the drunkenness that we see around our streets and our neighborhoods, an interesting one that Jesus chose But we need to understand that the wine that Jesus was speaking of speaks of joy. It speaks of celebration. It speaks of a covenant that he made through the Last Supper. The wine, that's the blood of the covenant.
[00:06:09] Drunkenness in the Bible is condemned, but joy is celebrated.
[00:06:15] In the Old Testament, the first public miracle that Moses performed was turning water into what?
[00:06:22] Blood.
[00:06:24] Not water into wine, but water into blood. It was a sign of judgment, it was a sign of death.
[00:06:30] That miracle reveal humanity's need, but it could not save Jesus. First miracle, on the other hand, has a stark contrast. Where water once was, blood became blood, water was turned into wine.
[00:06:46] Joy, celebration, a promise of God's covenant. Where law revealed guilt, grace instead brings life.
[00:06:56] The law was necessary and it was good. And it is good for us today. I like the fact that when I drive down the road, the law hopefully helps people stay on the other side of the road while I'm staying on this side of the road.
[00:07:10] I had someone say to me, God once told me to go through a red light.
[00:07:15] I said, no, he didn't.
[00:07:17] I said, I can guarantee he didn't. Because we are under the law of the land. We are to submit to the governing authorities above us. And the law is good, the law is helpful, but the law will not save. The law in the end will only lead to death because we cannot fulfill the law.
[00:07:33] But this joy that Jesus was offering would bring grace, would bring life to people.
[00:07:39] From the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus is pointing towards his bride, the church.
[00:07:46] So this morning I want to focus on three things that I see in this passage.
[00:07:51] They are so simple, and you gotta say this isn't really that deep. But can I go about maybe 2 inches deep, right into our hearts, maybe into our minds?
[00:08:02] And can we listen to what Jesus is saying to us this morning?
[00:08:09] Let's read again the first few verses. On the third day, a wedding took place in Cana, in Galilee. Jesus mother was there.
[00:08:17] 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.
[00:08:25] Now. The first thing I read here is that Jesus was at a party.
[00:08:30] Why was Jesus at a party?
[00:08:35] It's not complicated. I told you, it's a simple sermon. Why was Jesus at a party?
[00:08:40] He'd been invited. Exactly. Jesus had been invited.
[00:08:44] Friends, it's as simple as this. We want to see the miraculous take place in our life. Invite Jesus.
[00:08:51] Invite Jesus into your neighborhood. Invite Jesus into your conversations, into your workplace. When you're going to work, have you invited him into that conversation.
[00:09:02] Have you thought about going into your work situation and saying, jesus, I've got my eyes open, I got my ears open. Today I'm going to listen to what people are saying. I'm going to be aware of what I see. I'm going to see that person that's normally quite happy, but today they're feeling a bit sad. I'm going to be aware, and I'm going to invite Jesus into that situation.
[00:09:25] Now, Jesus had no problem inviting himself into other people's lives, right?
[00:09:30] As he walks the Sea of Galilee, he sees the brothers mending the nets, and he sees the other brothers casting their nets. And he says, come, follow me. And they left everything, absolutely everything to follow him.
[00:09:43] What about Zacchaeus?
[00:09:45] Zacchaeus has climbed up a tree because he's too short. I know that problem. He's too short, and he's looking, trying to see Jesus. And he can see Jesus, and he thinks he's just looking out to see Jesus. But Jesus had another plan. He says, zacchaeus, I'm going to come to your place.
[00:10:02] We're going to have food together.
[00:10:03] He invited himself into Zacchaeus life, but Jesus will also go where we invite him.
[00:10:12] Is there any part of your world, your life, where Jesus doesn't have an invitation?
[00:10:19] It's very easy to compartmentalize our lives, even as followers of Jesus, where we can find ourselves saying, God, I'll give you everything in those three rooms but that one.
[00:10:32] I'm just gonna keep that one to myself for now. I'm not gonna give you the key to that door because there's some things in there I don't want you to have access to, or I like a little bit too much, or I'm a little bit afraid of what would happen if that door was opened and you were allowed in to work on it.
[00:10:49] My question for all of us is, would we open our lives fully to and invite Jesus into every part of our life?
[00:10:57] Because there is no miracle without Jesus.
[00:10:59] We can bring the natural, but only Jesus brings the supernatural.
[00:11:07] So then there's this moment where Jesus Mother hears of this dilemma. A host without wine.
[00:11:15] Now, the Jewish culture, for those of you who know and understand it and maybe have even experienced it, hospitality is a big thing.
[00:11:24] If a stranger comes, we will welcome you.
[00:11:27] That's what we try to do. That's the heart of our church, right? That when visitors come, we want you to feel welcome. We wouldn't want anyone to come into this place and feel like they come in and they maybe hear about God, but they don't feel or experience that love through the people that they connect with.
[00:11:44] And so this whole host all of a sudden has run out of wine, which was absolute shame on the host, the shame that he would have experienced if they had this wedding. And there was not enough wine for people to drink.
[00:12:00] So he asked the question, woman, why do you involve me?
[00:12:08] Now, I don't know, it's hard to read the context or the tone, but I don't think that was a sign of disrespect.
[00:12:17] Jesus was not disrespectful. It wasn't, woman, why do you involve me?
[00:12:22] It was woman, sign of respect.
[00:12:25] Why do you involve me?
[00:12:27] My hour has not yet come.
[00:12:30] I always thought it'd be nice to try that with my mom one day.
[00:12:35] Michael James Devetta. So you know you're in trouble when your middle name gets thrown in the middle, right?
[00:12:41] Michael James DeVita, it's time for you to tidy your room, woman.
[00:12:47] How many people wouldn't have got past woman, my time to tidy my room has not yet come.
[00:12:56] Jesus hadn't performed any miracles at this point that we see recorded.
[00:13:02] I don't even know what Mary thought was going to happen, right?
[00:13:08] Was she aware of something that was going to happen? Did she have that mother's instinct?
[00:13:14] Was she just saying, I don't want this person to feel and experience the shame? Was that the empathy that we see within Mary?
[00:13:25] So Jesus says, woman, why do you involve me? Jesus replied, my hour has not yet come. Immediately, she says, his mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you.
[00:13:35] So he's just said, my hour has not yet come. And she says, we'll just do whatever he says.
[00:13:41] Mary, like every good mum, ignored her child when she thought better.
[00:13:46] Come on. How many mums have spoken over their children saying, I know you think you'd like to do this, but I've got something better now. It's an interesting dynamic, this one I still can't understand a full, fully grasp what's happening in this moment.
[00:14:01] Did Mary bend Jesus arm to do his will?
[00:14:05] I don't think so. Was Jesus always going to do this miracle? He was.
[00:14:10] But isn't that the wrestle that we have with God?
[00:14:14] Will you do this, Mike? Yes, I will. And then I don't, does that mean I failed and I don't get another chance? No, I get another chance. When he says, well, what about this time? Will you do it? Will you go speak to that person? Will you love that person? Will you serve that person?
[00:14:29] And I just think there's this amazing dance that God allows us to have with him of obedience and sometimes indisobedience. And he just continues to invite us into what he wants to do in people's lives.
[00:14:45] Do whatever he tells you.
[00:14:47] My second thought this morning, if you thought the first one was difficult, invite Jesus. The second one's even more, do what Jesus tells us to do.
[00:14:57] Do what Jesus tells us to do. I told you it was simple this morning.
[00:15:01] If you're not sure what lies in your future, come on, we've got some young people here.
[00:15:07] The whole world is ahead of you. And you're not sure what you want to do. You're not sure what God has for your life.
[00:15:15] Do whatever he tells you to do.
[00:15:17] Now, here's what I've found. He won't tell you the end of the story, but he'll tell you your next step.
[00:15:25] He might not show you.
[00:15:26] I mean, if I went back two and a half years and said, jesus, tell me where I'll be, I would not have been in Exeter, honestly. I would have been back in New Zealand pastoring the church we were pastoring, not coming over here to serve Mark and the team here.
[00:15:44] I'm kind of glad I didn't know, but I just simply took the next step and I did what Jesus asked me to do.
[00:15:53] How do I deal with the struggle I'm having at work with somebody?
[00:15:57] Do what Jesus tells me to do.
[00:16:00] What might that be? It might be that you go in a little bit more humble, come in a little softer in the conversation.
[00:16:07] What about that relationship that speaks strained?
[00:16:10] Husband, wife, mother, son, daughter, father.
[00:16:18] What is Jesus asking you to do? Is he asking you to forgive?
[00:16:22] Is he asking you to let go of that judgment that you've held over that person?
[00:16:27] Maybe even as I'm speaking, you say, wow, that sounds like my life.
[00:16:31] Well, that's probably what Jesus is asking you to do.
[00:16:35] Because what I've found is that our walk with God is many, many steps of obedience with a few disobedient ones in between.
[00:16:45] And I think sometimes God just says, I'll take you to there, but I need you to take you here first.
[00:16:51] Will you be obedient in this step, and then this step, and then this step? And will you prove yourself faithful in this step so that I can give you more to be faithful with?
[00:17:05] Sometimes I wonder whether it's not so much doing what Jesus is asking you to do next.
[00:17:12] I wonder if these nine words would set some people free.
[00:17:16] Do the last thing God told you to do.
[00:17:20] Do the last thing every time you get before God, does that same thing come up?
[00:17:28] Does that same person's face appear as you're praying, who you found it too hard to forgive?
[00:17:35] Let go.
[00:17:38] Maybe God's asking you to go back and do the thing that he asked you to do quite some time ago.
[00:17:43] It'll take courage, but it'll be exactly what God needs you to do. And he will go with you. If he's prompting it, then he is already gracing that situation.
[00:17:55] You have the grace to walk through that difficult conversation with somebody else.
[00:18:03] And with this challenge comes the biggest and most common question people ask. How do we know what Jesus is saying to us? Is this really God?
[00:18:13] What I've learned over the years is God asks us to do very simple things.
[00:18:19] Actually, much more simple than we think. But often they seem too simple.
[00:18:25] Moses, what's that you hold in your hand?
[00:18:29] A rod, throw it on the ground.
[00:18:35] I've thrown sticks before.
[00:18:37] Nothing miraculous in that.
[00:18:39] But out of obedience, Moses throws the stick on the ground and it turns into a snake.
[00:18:45] Moses, strike the rock.
[00:18:48] I mean, I've thrown sticks at rocks before. Nothing happened. But when God's asked me to do something, and God asked Moses to do it, he strikes a rock. And what happens? Water flows out of it. Enough for the million plus people that were in the wilderness.
[00:19:04] Then the people need water again at another time.
[00:19:09] And God says, moses, he didn't say s strike the rock. He says, speak to the rock.
[00:19:17] Moses says, I've got a better plan than God.
[00:19:20] And anger strikes the rock instead of speaking to the rock.
[00:19:25] Had he been obedient, maybe he would have gone into the promised land with the people again. That doesn't seem fair that Moses missed out all the amazing things he did. And yet that was a part of God's plan.
[00:19:40] Naaman, I want you to go dip in a river seven times.
[00:19:45] Well, how about I go get cleansed and purified at the temple? No, no. A dirty, muddy river. Go dip seven times.
[00:19:55] Once, nothing happened. Twice. This is getting a bit embarrassing.
[00:20:01] I won't do all seven, I promise.
[00:20:06] Simple. Right.
[00:20:09] Peter, step out of the boat.
[00:20:12] Anyone ever tried to water walk before? Anyone pray that prayer? Come on. I did as a kid. Jesus, come on, let me walk on water. I ran as fast as I could towards the water. I did not walk on water.
[00:20:24] But when Jesus said, peter, I want you to walk on water when he says, come.
[00:20:28] Peter stood.
[00:20:30] A simple thing to do. We've all taken a step before, but we haven't walked on water.
[00:20:35] But when God has asked us to and we step, we can step into the supernatural.
[00:20:40] How about the young boy that bought his loaves and fishes?
[00:20:44] I want to know his name. I wish his name could have been put in the Bible because I reckon there are a bunch of other adults that hid their lunches in their tunics. When you're not getting any of my lunch. If you guys didn't come, this is something an adult would say. If you guys didn't come prepared for lunch, that's on you, right?
[00:21:02] This young boy says, jesus, I've got some loaves and fishes.
[00:21:08] Sometimes that's all God asks.
[00:21:12] It's like, I've got five pounds in my wallet. Okay, I can help somebody.
[00:21:19] The other day, I had money in my wallet. I was able to help somebody. If I didn't have money in my wallet, I couldn't.
[00:21:25] In that sense, sometimes God is just asking us to do the simple, basic thing.
[00:21:31] But would we do it?
[00:21:34] So let's get into the rest of the story. Nearby, verse six stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from 20 to 30 gallons. That's 75 to 115 liters. That's a lot of water.
[00:21:49] A lot of water.
[00:21:51] Now, it would have seemed foolish for those servants to fill those water pots. Remember, this was used for ceremonial washing and cleansing. That job's already been done. Like, the guests have come in. They've been washed, they've been purified. They're ready to have the party. It's like that job is done. We're not filling these until the next moment.
[00:22:12] And Jesus said, I want you to go first. Fill up those clay water jars.
[00:22:18] We're told in 1 Corinthians 1:27 that God uses the foolish things to confound the mighty.
[00:22:25] We want to see people saved and healed and set free and delivered. Would we do something foolish? If that's what it feels like, because God has asked us to, Mary had it right. Just do whatever he tells you to do.
[00:22:40] Now, every time we see a number mentioned in scripture, there's normally a meaning associated with it.
[00:22:47] Now, it could have said there were a number of water jars, but the number six was mentioned.
[00:22:54] Now, in numerics, when you look at the numbers in the Bible, six represents man. It's you, it's me, it's humanity.
[00:23:04] Is it possible that Jesus was saying, I want to fill up humanity.
[00:23:11] I want to fill again this group of people. How many years have they been waiting for their Messiah to come?
[00:23:18] 400 plus years, 400 years waiting. Do you know how many generations?
[00:23:25] 12, 13, 14, 15 generations waiting.
[00:23:29] But Grandma, Granddad, you said that the. The Messiah was coming. He hasn't come yet on the deathbed. Is he coming? No.
[00:23:37] Generation after generation waiting for the Messiah to come.
[00:23:42] I don't know about you, but I would have been tired of waiting.
[00:23:47] I mean, I have trouble waiting 15 minutes for a football game to start on TV. It's like, come on, let's go already.
[00:23:54] Or waiting in line and there's three people in the supermarket line. It's like, come on, we're talking hundreds of years waiting for the promise of God to be fulfilled. Do you reckon the people would have been a little bit dry, a little bit empty, a little bit waiting for God to come?
[00:24:13] Could it be the water jars represented a people who had lost joy in their relationship with God? The wine had run out and all they had left was empty water pots. The law hadn't saved them this. Their good works had fallen short.
[00:24:27] These jars that were held for the external cleansing, but they could do nothing for the internal cleansing.
[00:24:35] And the joy Jesus was offering fullness where there was emptiness, joy where there was disappointment. Wine was used in the psalms to describe joy.
[00:24:46] The prophetic picture we see is God wants to use normal everyday people to do the miraculous.
[00:24:53] 1 Corinthians 4:7. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us.
[00:25:02] These clay water jars, there was nothing miraculous about them, but God needed something in those jars in order to perform the miracle.
[00:25:15] Verse 7.
[00:25:17] Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars with water. So they filled them to the brim.
[00:25:23] Do what Jesus tells us to do.
[00:25:27] There's a process that needed to take place here. The miracle was about to happen, but without the jars being filled, there would be no wine.
[00:25:37] What does the water represent?
[00:25:40] The Word, Spirit of God.
[00:25:42] If we would be people who would fill up with the Word of God every day as often as we can be in His Word.
[00:25:51] Because when I need to go and minister to somebody, what will God draw out of me but what I've put in, or what he has put in me, the amount of times that I've been in the Word.
[00:26:04] And then when I see somebody and I meet with them, I've already got something that I can encourage them with because it's already gone in me.
[00:26:13] Do we have the Word of God in us so that when somebody needs to take a deposit from us that they would receive it?
[00:26:20] I like the language here. They were filled to the brim. He says fill them to the brim. That means right to the top.
[00:26:27] Have you ever gone to give somebody a cup of tea and you're walking through the living room and you just filled a little bit too much and splosh, sploshes splashing everywhere.
[00:26:38] That's the picture I have of how God wants us to be so filled with His Word, so filled with his spirit.
[00:26:44] The fruit of the spirit, it's like orange juice. It just splashes out.
[00:26:48] The fruit of the spirit just splashing out of us because we're so filled with God, because we've taken the time to fill up those jars. I don't want to be an empty jar waiting for a miracle. I want to be full so that when Jesus is ready to do the miracle, he can draw something out of me.
[00:27:08] So would we be disciplined in going into His Word and allowing His Word to fill us, to be with His Spirit and just allow his spirit to fill us, refresh us, strengthen us every day?
[00:27:24] John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God from the beginning. Jesus is the Word, the Word is Jesus. There is no separating the two.
[00:27:38] And when we read the Word of God, we are connecting directly with Jesus Himself.
[00:27:45] Then comes the cool part of the story, because up until now, it hasn't been that exciting. There's been a wedding. I filled some water jars. Nothing exciting. You wouldn't write a blockbuster, blockbuster movie out of this one, would you?
[00:27:58] So we invite Jesus. We do what Jesus tells us to do. And this is where the natural becomes supernatural. And I close with this.
[00:28:06] Jesus does what we can't do.
[00:28:10] They couldn't turn water into wine, but they'd filled up the water jars. That's what they've been asked to do.
[00:28:16] Verse 8. Then they told them, now, draw out, 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 realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.
[00:28:31] How amazing is Jesus. He even lets the servants take the wine to the emcee.
[00:28:36] Now, when I read a passage of Scripture, I'm always looking into the detail of it going. I wonder at what point that all happened.
[00:28:44] When they drew the water, was it in a cup and it's still water, still water, still water, still water, and then turns into wine at his mouth, or do they draw it out as they drew it out it was now wine.
[00:28:57] But can you imagine even that little bit of fear of the servant? I mean, did the servant. If it was me, I probably would have taken a little.
[00:29:04] Just check this. It's actually wine.
[00:29:07] Now imagine taking that as a servant to the mc. Hey, we've got some wine. And it wasn't wine. There was faith in the servants, right?
[00:29:15] They still had to be a part of the miracle.
[00:29:20] And I think that's the invitation that God gives to us.
[00:29:24] Mike, I want you to be a part of the miraculous.
[00:29:27] I'm going to even allow you to draw out and be a part and serve my goodness and my love and my joy, my healing and my miraculous signs and wonders to other people.
[00:29:40] Would we be filled up and be prepared to draw out?
[00:29:46] Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, everyone brings out the choice wine first and the cheaper wine after. The guests have had too much to drink. But you have saved the best till now. What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory and his disciples believed in him.
[00:30:05] I love what John records here. The miracle was the first of the signs that revealed his glory. And from this moment, his disciples who had chosen to follow him, believed in him, truly believed in him.
[00:30:19] If you're anything like me, maybe there's times and moments in your life where you have had doubts as to whether God is real.
[00:30:27] You go through a difficult time.
[00:30:30] You've prayed prayers that don't feel like they've been answered.
[00:30:33] Anyone experience that? I've had that throughout my lifetime, waiting for a miracle that doesn't seem to come in my timing, but it seems to come at the right time in God's time.
[00:30:50] My encouragement for all of us as we close today is that we would be aware of Jesus speaking to us, that we would listen.
[00:31:04] Firstly, we have to invite him in.
[00:31:07] And maybe you haven't yet invited Jesus into your life.
[00:31:11] Maybe you haven't made that decision to say, jesus, I'm all in with you.
[00:31:17] It's time for me to repent. It's time for me to turn from my sin, from my way of living. And I want to follow you now. I. I need you to be Lord. I need you to be the one in charge of my life because I'm wrecking it on my own. I need you, God.
[00:31:32] You can pray that prayer and you can invite Jesus into your life today and ask him to come and fill you.
[00:31:41] You can invite Jesus and then you can do what Jesus tells you to do next.
[00:31:48] I felt this morning that there's some people you're sitting on some things that are historical.
[00:31:54] 20, 30 years of hurt, grief and pain.
[00:32:00] And even as I spoke about it, there it was again.
[00:32:04] Jesus is saying, will you forgive? I really felt it was around forgiveness. Will you forgive? Will you release that person from that judgment that you've held in your heart towards them?
[00:32:14] It will be painful. It will hurt.
[00:32:17] But you will hold that for the rest of your life, to your deathbed, if you will not let go and release and forgive.
[00:32:25] And you watch the joy of the Lord fill your heart again.
[00:32:29] He wants to do that in your life.
[00:32:33] If you would be free from that, would you just close your eyes for a moment?
[00:32:40] Maybe just open your hands to God?
[00:32:44] Just as a sign of saying, God, would you come?
[00:32:48] Would you come and fill me again afresh?
[00:33:06] Sometimes even in church, we can go right through a service and not take a moment to stop and listen.
[00:33:15] I just wonder, as Matt plays, whether you could take a moment to listen, because the instruction that you will receive will be different to what somebody else receives.
[00:33:30] How do you know if it's from God?
[00:33:33] Here's the filter I pass through my mind.
[00:33:36] Will it bless God?
[00:33:39] Will it bless someone else?
[00:33:42] Does it line up with His Word?
[00:33:46] If it answers yes to all of those questions, then there's a really good chance that's God's will for your life.
[00:34:02] Let's listen.
