Jesus Honors Marriage (John 2:1-11 Jeff Kliewer)

Cornerstone Church iconCornerstone Church

2 views

Sermon Notes: notes.cornerstonesj.org Jesus Honors Marriage

0 comments

08:39
Father, thank you so much for this opportunity to gather. In your name,
08:45
Lord, we want to thank you for the ministry of the Kamlins who ran the race in Portugal and you brought them home safely.
08:52
We pray that you would continue to keep them and use them even from here. Lord, we want to lift up this worship service to you and ask that your blessing would fall in this room as the people continue to come in, as we gather and begin to sing praises to your name.
09:10
We pray that the presence of the Holy Spirit would descend like a dove in this place and touch the hearts of every person,
09:17
Lord, that we would really sing worship unto you for you are worthy. We pray,
09:23
Lord God, that you would teach us from your word and change us with your word, set our hearts and our minds and our affections on you, that we would love you with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, that we would love one another.
09:41
So Lord, we want to commit this worship service to you and ask that you would just take over and do your will in this place.
09:49
In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Will you stand with me?
10:09
A voice in the dark, a song that lights up the stars.
10:17
One breath that gives life, one sovereign in power, who speaks with thunder and fire.
10:30
One Lord, one King. There is no other that can compare to you.
10:40
You are the one, O Lord, with greatness, the one who never changes.
10:50
Jesus, you are the one who rules in power, the one who reigns forever.
11:03
Jesus, the one true God. One life to be saved, one land that was slain, one love above all.
11:41
There is no other that can compare to you. You are the one,
11:50
O Lord, with greatness, the one who never changes.
11:57
Jesus, you are the one who rules in power, the one,
12:10
Jesus, the one true God. You're the one true
12:18
God. And we have seen the glory of the one and only
12:27
Son of God. Yes, we have seen the glory of the one and only
12:35
Son of God. You are the one,
12:42
O Lord, with greatness, the one who never changes.
12:49
Jesus, you are the one who rules in power, the one who reigns forever.
13:02
Jesus, the one true God. You're the one true
13:10
God. You're the one true God.
13:18
He's in great singing this morning. This next song is amazing because it really just ties things together with Old Testament characters into how
13:28
Christ is looked at through those characters. And through this song, just continue to remember that Christ is the true and better.
13:38
He is the one that is perfect. He's the one that is our perfect sacrifice.
13:44
He's our Redeemer. And He is our God. So let's sing together. Christ the true and better Adam, Son of God and Son of Man, who when tempted in the garden never yielded, never sinned.
14:21
He who makes the many righteous brings us back to life again.
14:31
Dying, He reversed the curse, then rising, crushed the serpent's head.
14:48
Christ the true and better Isaac, humbled son of sacrifice, who would climb the fearful mountain there to offer up His life, when through salvation was provided for a full and boundless love.
15:27
Amen. Amen. From beginning to end,
15:36
Christ the story is the glory. Hallelujah.
15:44
Amen. Christ the true and better Moses, called to lead a people home, sending forth
16:07
His earthly powers, God's great glory to be known.
16:16
With His arms stretched wide to heaven, see the waters parting too.
16:25
See the valleys torn forever, cleansed with blood, beginning to end.
16:44
Christ the story is the glory. Hallelujah.
16:52
Amen. Christ the true and better David, lonely shepherd, mighty king.
17:09
He the champion in the battle, where,
17:14
O death, is now thy sting. In our place
17:20
He bled and conquered, crowned Him Lord of majesty.
17:28
His shall be room forever, we shall e 'er
17:34
His people be. Amen. Amen.
17:42
From beginning to end, Christ the story is the glory.
17:52
Hallelujah. Amen. Amen. From beginning to end,
18:06
Christ the story is the glory. Hallelujah.
18:15
Amen. Christ the story is the glory.
18:33
Lord, we come before you this morning, eager to hear from your word. Lord, open our eyes and soften our hearts.
18:44
Speak to us this morning through your word, Lord Jesus. Fill Pastor Jeff with your
18:55
Holy Spirit. Guide his steps in his words this morning. Speak, O Lord, as we come to you to receive the fruit of your holy word.
19:17
Take your truth, plant it deep in us.
19:24
Shape and fashion us in your likeness.
19:30
That the light of Christ might be seen today in your acts of love and your deeds of faith.
19:44
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us all your purposes for your glory.
20:05
Teach us, Lord, full obedience, holy reverence, true humility.
20:17
Test our thoughts and our attitudes in the radiance of your purity.
20:31
Cause our faith to rise, cause our eyes to see your majestic love and authority.
20:44
Words of power that connect.
21:05
Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds.
21:11
Help us grasp the heights of your plans for us.
21:19
Truth unchanged from the dawn of time.
21:25
Let me echo down through eternity.
21:32
And my grace will stand on your promises and my faith.
21:45
Speak, O Lord, and the church is built.
21:52
And the earth is filled with your glory.
22:03
Thank you, worship team.
22:16
Beautiful. Let's pray. Father, your word says, all flesh is like grass.
22:26
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the Lord stands forever.
22:32
Lord, we pray that we could take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.
22:39
For those that would seek to change the immutable law of God, we pray,
22:46
Lord, that that folly would be exposed. We thank you for your word that is unchanging, and so we ask,
22:53
Lord, that you would change us by your word. For all those that hear, that you would grant a heart of faith.
23:01
And, Lord, we pray that you would accomplish things in our hearts through the hearing of the word.
23:06
We pray that marriages would be strengthened, that marriages would be established, that singles would be encouraged in the work you've called them to do, that the church would be built up, and that the bride would be made more beautiful as we await the coming of the groom, the
23:26
Lord Jesus Christ. We pray, Lord, that you would take over this service and do your will.
23:34
Speak, your servants are listening. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled.
23:49
For God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous, Hebrews 13, 4.
23:56
The scripture clearly honors marriage, but the culture in which we live has explicitly dishonored marriage.
24:09
It's been seven years now since the High Court of the United States of America passed down a ruling called
24:15
Obergefell. In that ruling, five lawyers, outnumbering four others just by one, passed a law in which they say the limitation of marriage to opposite -sex couples may long have seemed natural and just, but its inconsistency with the central meaning of the fundamental right to marry is now manifest.
24:42
In other words, Obergefell says that these five lawyers know better than 6 ,000 years of human history across every culture in which marriage existed between one man and one woman only.
25:00
Listen to the opening sentence of the Obergefell ruling. The Constitution promises liberty to all within its reach, a liberty that includes specific rights that allow persons within a lawful realm to define and express their own identity.
25:21
This is the starting point of the childish reasoning of the Obergefell decision, that each person and individual is not bound by any natural law, but rather defines and expresses their own identity.
25:38
It is really a faith statement because the ruling says this, Only in more recent years have psychiatrists and others recognized that sexual orientation is both a normal expression of human sexuality and immutable.
25:57
Now there is one immutable, that means unchanging, God in the universe, one being who is
26:04
God, and he never changes. His word is as he has said from the beginning. He never changes.
26:10
But this faith statement of the ruling of the Supreme Court says that sexual orientation cannot change.
26:19
It would take but one example of that change to disprove the thesis, and there are in fact millions of people who have been changed by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
26:30
In fact, Paul accounts of this way back in 1 Corinthians 6, where he says,
26:36
And such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the
26:43
Lord Jesus Christ. So the gospel does change people, even though this faith statement of Obergefell says it cannot happen.
26:53
It is a statement based on feelings. Without the recognition, stability, and predictability marriage offers, children suffer the stigma of knowing that their families are somehow lesser.
27:06
The marriage laws at issue thus harm and humiliate the children of same -sex couples.
27:13
And so, protecting their feelings as they would desire to do, they seek to change the very definition of marriage.
27:21
And they conclude this way, No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family.
27:32
In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than they once were.
27:40
As some of the petitioners in this case demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death.
27:47
They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The judgment of the
27:54
Court of Appeals of the Sixth Circuit is reversed. It is so ordered, and the gavel strikes down on the judge's desk.
28:04
Notice they affirm that marriage must be two people.
28:12
We'll get to that. They also notice that this love of marriage somehow exists even past death, which moves the realm of their governance from this world alone to something metaphysical, something supernatural.
28:28
They're dealing in issues of faith. And lastly, it is a decree.
28:35
They are ordering something upon a nation of 300, and at the time, 320 million people.
28:44
Now, of the nine judges who ruled that way, five ordered this decision, called
28:49
Obergefell. But there were four that each one wrote a dissent.
28:55
And I want to highlight just a couple things that were said before we get into the text today of Scripture. The first is
29:01
Roberts. And he points out in his dissent against this opinion that marriage has existed between one man and one woman for all of human history across every culture known to man from, as he says, the
29:19
Kalahari Bushmen to the Han Chinese to the Carthaginians to the Aztecs.
29:25
Just who do we think we are? Strong point. He also says that although the majority opinion randomly inserts the adjective two in various places, it offers no reason at all why the two -person element of the core definition of marriage may be preserved while the man -woman element may not.
29:53
And he points out that across time, there has been much polygamy, and it's been more common to have polygamy than ever this idea of a same -sex union.
30:04
So why two? Why not three? Or four? Or more?
30:11
The same logic that does away with the male -female binary, binary of marriage as it's always existed, could just as well do away with the two.
30:23
Roberts makes that point, but it gets stronger. Scalia points out that the court here is legislating from the bench.
30:32
They are making a decision for an entire nation based on a one -person majority of nine lawyers.
30:40
And he objects to that. Thomas says, since well before 1787, liberty has been understood as freedom from government action, not entitlement to government benefits.
30:57
He says, along the way, this decision rejects the idea, which is captured in the
31:03
Declaration of Independence, that human dignity is innate. And this decision suggests instead that it comes from the government.
31:13
In other words, what Thomas is arguing about is this idea that it's up to government at all to give dignity to people.
31:22
Rather, that dignity is innate. It already exists in every individual person.
31:28
It's not up to government to grant dignity. He also quotes from John Locke and says, the first society was between man and wife, which gave beginning to that between parents and children, concluding that to the institution of marriage, the true origin of society must be traced.
31:54
Petitioners misunderstand the institution of marriage when they say that it would mean little absent government recognition.
32:04
What Thomas is saying is that society was built from the first man and the first woman, and a family that came from that union.
32:16
And it's not up to government to grant recognition, otherwise marriage would mean little.
32:24
Sam Alito will be the last I mention. He says, no country allowed same -sex couples to marry until the
32:31
Netherlands did so in the year 2000. This is a very new invention.
32:38
But he points out also, it will be used to vilify Americans who are unwilling to assent to the new orthodoxy.
32:48
There will be an attack on those who uphold the age -old definition, which is certainly beginning to manifest.
32:58
Most Americans, understandably, will cheer or lament today's decision because of their views on the issue of same -sex marriage.
33:05
But all Americans, whatever they're thinking on that issue, should worry about what the majority claims for their power and what that portends.
33:19
If a court can redefine the very meaning of marriage itself, what would the court restrain itself from doing?
33:30
It is a bold claim that they make. Now, what the
33:37
Obergefell deciders missed is that law has a pedagogical function.
33:44
The word pedagogical means teaching. Law teaches morality.
33:52
God's law in the Ten Commandments taught Israel, and the people of God still understand.
33:57
God's law never changes. And it teaches us what is right and wrong.
34:03
In fact, it is the tutor that brings us to Christ. If we did not have a law, a standard, to show us what's right and wrong, how would we know that we're sinners that need to be forgiven?
34:15
How would we then turn to Christ to find forgiveness? But when the government makes up laws contrary to God's law, they teach a different ethic.
34:25
So what has been the result of this teaching? At the time that Obergefell passed, the year 2015, seven years ago, the
34:36
LGBTQ population in America was identified at about 3 .5%.
34:45
Since the decision, listen to this, Barna did a study this year in which among 18 to 24 -year -olds who are being taught by this law, now 39 % identify as LGBTQ.
35:08
Do you recognize what a drastic change that is in the history of the world? Nothing like this has ever before been seen.
35:17
Moreover, there has been a 4 ,000 % increase of girls who consider themselves to be boys when it's trapped in a girl's body.
35:31
This phenomenon was almost unknown before the year 2000, and in the last few years, it's multiplied by 4 ,000%, which is a horrifying thought, but it is the logic of Obergefell, because it begins by saying that every individual establishes their own identity.
35:53
So why would that not include the ability of an individual to identify as whatever gender they prefer?
36:02
But on that logic, it goes still farther, because the University, the
36:07
Children's Hospital in Boston, has performed now 60 mastectomies on minors who identified by the opposite gender.
36:21
That is, little girls, young ladies, with perfectly healthy breasts, mutilated by doctors for the sake of this ideology.
36:34
Listen, guys, these things matter. If you care about little children who are being taught by a culture the lies of the enemy, then you ought to care about the full truth of God and His counsel.
36:49
Very important things. It is leading to the destruction of marriage.
36:55
The trajectory to define and express your own identity makes humanity no longer subject to any natural law.
37:04
Therefore, there can be nothing denied. Which will end in the destruction of marriage itself?
37:12
Turn with me to 1 Timothy 4, verses 1 to 3. Where is all of this headed?
37:20
You see, guys, the frog in the pot starts to feel the water warming up a little, but the change is so gradual that it doesn't jump out of the pot.
37:32
You know the story? You know the parable? In the same way, those of us who have been born more recently, and all of us born in these days, the culture has been heating up since the sexual revolution of the 1960s.
37:49
And the frog never seems to jump out of the pot. We don't notice the severity of what's happening.
37:56
But look at the direction in which we're headed. 1 Timothy 4, verses 1 to 3.
38:02
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times, some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.
38:21
Guys, that describes our day. The demonic doctrine that a woman can bring her baby and offer that child to Moloch and call it health care is a lie from the pit of hell.
38:41
It is a doctrine of demons. The doctrine of child mutilation is a doctrine from hell.
38:50
It is from the pit. Verse 2 says, Through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared.
39:01
As with the hot iron, the idea is the conscience which should prick a person towards righteousness and to have compassion for that child has been seared and hardened.
39:14
The heart begins to harden. But look at verse 3. Very interesting. In the latter days, these also who, what does it say?
39:26
Forbid marriage. And then there are also these dietary issues that I think we see rising in our culture with the attack on the farmers.
39:36
You see protests happening in places like Sweden. They require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
39:48
But notice those three words, who forbid marriage. Where does the trajectory of Obergefell lead?
39:57
If every person establishes their own identity, there is no rationale any longer within that logic for marriage to be between two.
40:11
Might as well be between three. In fact, there are no restrictions whatsoever at that point because you've abandoned the standard of natural law.
40:22
Of God's created order. And once abandoning that standard, there is no stopping the trajectory until it becomes to the point where marriage itself must be forbidden.
40:35
Because marriage would grant certain rights and justifications. Certain privileges in society.
40:41
And so the end of the slippery slope is to forbid marriage altogether. Marriage grants privileges unlike anything else in our culture.
40:53
We hear about different privileges that people have, right? The greatest privilege, the greatest difference maker in predicted outcomes between individuals is to be raised in a biblical family.
41:10
The breakdown of biblical family undermines the outcomes in a person's life. Now God can overcome those things as well, of course.
41:19
But for those who make equality their God, they look and say, the biblical family, it's just not fair.
41:27
These children being raised in the biblical family, they have too much of an advantage in life.
41:33
To have a father disciplining them in the home and training them in certain things and the mother caring and nurturing in ways that the father can't, that complementarity produces an outcome that is absolutely unequal.
41:48
Witness the destruction of the nuclear family in many inner cities and the resultant chaos that ensues.
41:58
The nuclear family then becomes the target. And so written right into the platform of BLM was the very destruction of the nuclear family.
42:11
Marriage, family, the building blocks of society. These things must be defended.
42:19
But we live in a culture that's at breakneck speed. You talk about a slippery slope, right?
42:27
We've taken a step on a slippery slope. No, we are moving breakneck down that hill.
42:35
It's no longer a slippery slope. We're out of control. And the outcomes, the suicidal tendency of teenagers, some studies showing as high as 40 % with major anxiety disorders.
42:53
It is a very troubling trend in our culture. But take heart, church.
43:00
This is what the scripture foretold in 1 Timothy 4, 1 to 3.
43:06
It also foretold when you see the signs of the times, the people's love growing cold, when you see the signs of the times, take heart because your redemption draws nigh.
43:22
These things must happen. But turn your eyes to heaven. Encourage one another with these words.
43:27
Because as the one world beast empire rises, the church, the remnant will remain faithful.
43:34
And he, Christ, will reckon us righteous.
43:40
And he will rescue us. He will come for his bride. So the culture is denigrating marriage.
43:49
I would say Obergefell as a decision was the profaning of marriage. That's what it was, the profaning of marriage.
43:59
But turn with me to John chapter 2. The point of our passage today is that Jesus honors marriage.
44:10
The contrast couldn't be any starker, any brighter.
44:15
John chapter 2, let's read it. And here's the question I'd like to ask.
44:21
Of all of the signs that Jesus gave in the book of John, he gave 9 signs.
44:31
He healed blind eyes. He healed the servant who was sick and dying.
44:37
He healed paralysis. He walked on water. He fed the 5 ,000.
44:43
He raised Lazarus from the dead. He multiplied the fish. And he himself raised from the dead.
44:50
He did some amazing miracles. Why is the first one a wedding?
44:59
The answer, changing water to wine, the answer was because he knew the fundamental importance of marriage.
45:08
Biblical marriage. He did the turning of water to wine at a wedding in order to uphold the sanctity of marriage.
45:19
And to underscore the importance of it. Let's read it. John chapter 2, verses 1 to 11.
45:26
On the third day, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee.
45:34
And the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.
45:42
When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine.
45:48
And Jesus said to her, woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.
45:56
His mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you. By the way, that is just great advice for life.
46:03
Just do whatever Jesus says and you're going to be okay. Verse 6 and following now. There were six stone water jars there for the
46:11
Jewish rites of purification. Each holding 20 or 30 gallons. Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars with water.
46:22
And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.
46:29
So they took it. And when the master of the feast tasted the water, now become wine and did not know where it came from.
46:37
Though the servants who had drawn the water knew, the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, everyone serves the good wine first.
46:45
And when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.
46:53
This, the first of his signs Jesus did at Cana in Galilee and manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him.
47:09
So the point of the book of John is that very thing, that you would believe in him, right? John chapter 20 verses 30 and 31.
47:17
These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God. And that believing, you would have life in his name.
47:26
It's the point of the book of John. So how does John go about proving the point?
47:33
First, he provides the word. The word. Second, he provides the works.
47:42
The first line of evidence is testimony. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was
47:49
God. John himself, the apostle, gives testimony to who Jesus Christ is.
47:55
He proclaims him, the word. Secondly, in the first chapter you have
48:01
John the Baptist. Behold the Lamb of God. These are the word made manifest.
48:08
Declaring who Jesus is. The second aspect of the book of John are the works of Jesus Christ.
48:15
And I mentioned these miracles that he did. Those are the signs. And the first one we have here in chapter 2.
48:23
So these are evidences to show that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. So that believing in him you would have life in his name.
48:31
That's the point of the book of John. And so in chapter 2 it says on the third day.
48:37
Why do you think John sought to include that? We're moving on from John the
48:43
Baptist. Why does it have to be said that it's on the third day? He's foreshadowing, foretelling the greatest miracle in the history of the world.
48:54
How do I know that I serve the true and living God? And how can I say with certainty that believing the biblical ethic on sexuality and all matters.
49:05
How do I know that I'm right? Who am I to say something like that? Remember John Roberts said to the court, who are you to say?
49:14
Well who's anybody to say? Well I'll tell you this. We serve one who was buried and on the third day rose from the dead.
49:26
I'll take his word at anything he tells me to do. He's the trustworthy source.
49:32
He proves it by rising from the dead. So on the third day is beginning to foreshadow that ultimate miracle and here we have the first.
49:43
There was a wedding at Cana. What is the nature of a wedding in the ancient
49:49
Near East? Well first of all, Cana is a town of probably 500 people. It's very insignificant.
49:56
But every Jewish wedding had a few things in common. A wedding would involve first of all, a betrothal.
50:05
Remember how Joseph and Mary were betrothed to be married? So the
50:11
Jewish wedding actually had two phases. Being betrothed, which is like engagement, was the first part of initiating that marriage.
50:20
But then there would be a period of time, usually about a year, where the groom would go off and prepare a place for the bride.
50:30
Sound like John 14? I go and prepare a place for you? The idea is the groom is going to be the provider.
50:38
He is going to be the protector. He is going to be the head of the household and establish a home. So he must go.
50:45
And he would usually build it on to the side of his father's home, or sometimes the in -law home.
50:52
Or sometimes he'd build his own house from scratch. Depends on how good of a builder he is. But it was his job to prepare the place.
51:01
And then after about a year, he would come back. They wouldn't know the exact day or hour.
51:07
But there were usually hints and indications. She's expecting it. But one day, maybe in the middle of the night, he comes with the bridal party and he arrives.
51:17
And behold, the groom has come. And the marriage then is consummated. There is this great feast.
51:24
Not like our weddings, which are maybe like four hours and you're ready to go home. These feasts would last for days.
51:34
Now, think about the imagery here. The man, the groom, has to show himself a man.
51:41
He has to go and be prepared to be the head of a household. He has to build the house.
51:48
He has to make preparation. So imagine if he hasn't prepared for the wedding.
51:56
They've run out of wine. That's humiliating to him.
52:01
Keep reading in verse 2. Jesus was at this wedding with his disciples.
52:08
When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine.
52:16
Now, the point of the text here is to set that in perspective. Is that a big deal?
52:23
Well, it's not the same as blindness or the paralytic at the pool of Bethesda.
52:30
It's not Lazarus who is dead for four days. It's only a social concern, right?
52:40
It's going to be humiliating to him, but you know what? They'll get over it, kind of thing. Maybe it's not that big a deal.
52:48
But follow as the text unfolds. Jesus answers her, woman, what does this have to do with me?
52:58
My hour has not yet come. Now Mary is asking a question.
53:05
She's saying, Jesus, will you make this right? Is she expecting a miracle?
53:11
I don't know, and I'm not convinced that she is. I mean, think about it. She's known
53:16
Jesus, lived with him for 30 years. It's likely that Joseph is dead at this point, because at the cross, a few years later,
53:27
Jesus treats her as a widow. Woman, behold your son. Son, behold your mother. Likely Joseph is gone.
53:36
But here's what she knows. Anytime she's ever come to Jesus with a problem, she has found him to be the perfect answer to the problem.
53:47
He is perfectly competent in everything that's ever been asked of him, right?
53:53
He's the perfect human. He's sinless. He'll make a way. And Mary just knows that because she's seen it all her life.
54:01
She's probably just saying, Jesus, help. I need some help here. But Jesus' answer is very interesting.
54:10
How does he respond to her? Anybody troubled by this? Woman. Not exactly mommy, mother.
54:20
Now, it's not degrading to her. It's not rude, but it's also not endearing.
54:28
It is the word woman. Why would Jesus speak that way to his mother?
54:34
He needs to make the point that he is not going to operate on her prerogative.
54:40
So any Catholics that draw capital from this, that this is how you should go to Mary to get to Jesus, it makes absolutely no sense from this text whatsoever.
54:50
Larger point, he's saying I operate on my father's prerogative. The timetable of God's choosing.
54:58
And then it leaves the question here, well, what is Jesus going to do? Is this really a big enough deal that the father's plan from before the history of the world, when
55:11
Jesus and the Father and the Spirit were in the eternal counsel of God from eternity past, this moment was planned.
55:19
Is marriage, is a social concern like this really the place to do his first ever miracle?
55:33
Well, we just read the text. We know the answer. The answer was yes. And that's what's being drawn out by this conversation.
55:42
It's not to denigrate Mary. He honors her. But he shows that this is
55:48
God's plan from before the foundation of the world. And the mother says, do whatever he tells you.
55:56
And right away in verse 6, we move on to the second point. The miracle takes place.
56:05
So the first point, you know what, I'm going to pause. I forgot to say some very important things.
56:12
The first point is that marriage matters. Marriage matters.
56:19
And Jesus honors marriage by choosing to do the miracle here. There's a few things that are affirmed in what just happened.
56:27
In fact, let me say six things quickly. Number one, regarding gender.
56:35
God created humankind, male and female. Male and female he made them.
56:43
And he said, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Rule and subdue it together. Differences between men and women are part of God's design.
56:55
And in this wedding, Jesus affirms the gender binary, a man and a woman, as he says in Matthew 18, affirming
57:03
Genesis from the very beginning as it was created, a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.
57:15
There's complementarity in that. The two becoming one. Think about this.
57:20
Everybody in this room has a complete circulatory system. Complete.
57:28
You have a complete respiratory system. You have a complete skeletal system.
57:34
You have half a reproductive system. Meaning as a system, the ability to reproduce, you can only contribute half of what is needed.
57:46
This is not rocket science. It should be easy for us to affirm. But it's pointed.
57:52
God made gender differences such that a male is dependent on a female to reproduce and vice versa.
58:02
God's beautiful design of gender and sexual intimacy then given in marriage according to this design.
58:11
Secondly, marriage is between one man and one woman.
58:17
It is the loving, lifelong union of a man and a woman and this is the only proper context for sexual intimacy.
58:26
Marriage is the best and most stable context for this union resulting in pregnancies and for everything the newly born boy and girl need to grow up to become a healthy man or woman.
58:41
Strong and stable families are the building blocks for strong and stable societies.
58:47
All expression of homosexual behavior is expressly designated in scripture as sin.
58:55
Unequivocally. Because it's contrary to God's design. Third, this needs to be said.
59:03
A husband is the head of his wife and should display sacrificial loving headship in the home.
59:17
In the marriage. Being accountable to God who is his head and the head over the home.
59:29
It's not oppressive to affirm the headship of men in the home. It is patriarchal.
59:36
It is not oppressive. It is God's design. Furthermore, men ought to act like men.
59:47
And some will say, well that's a very misogynistic thing to say. Take up your argument with the
59:53
Apostle Paul. Because in 1 Corinthians 16 -13 I learned it as a lad in the
01:00:00
King James. Like this. Quit ye like men. Be strong.
01:00:08
In other words, act like a man. Be strong. Now that passage in 1
01:00:13
Corinthians is addressed to men and to women. All of us need to be standing with a wartime footing.
01:00:22
Realizing we have an enemy who like a prowling lion is seeking someone to devour.
01:00:27
All of us must stand firm. But there is a particularly masculine aspect to going to war.
01:00:36
Amen? Uriah the mighty man was put on the front line. Not a woman.
01:00:42
In fact, when Barak was feeling particularly scared of battle, he went to Deborah and said, you come with me.
01:00:50
And she said, I'll go with you, but it will be to your shame. For God will deliver your enemy into the hand of a woman.
01:00:59
And so it was that Jael crushed the head of the enemy with a tent peg to indicate that God was judging
01:01:08
Barak for not as a man stepping up to lead. It was inglorious.
01:01:17
Men need to step up and fight at the front end of the battle. It is particularly the role of men to go to the front and be the first to take the arrow, to take the sword, to fight for what's true and what's right.
01:01:37
Sadly in our culture, it seems like women fight stronger than men sometimes. But we need to step up.
01:01:44
Men. What does it say then to women? Number four, a wife should submit to her husband and should display joyful respect and help in marriage.
01:01:55
That's not demeaning. That's honoring the beauty of God's design.
01:02:02
Women should act like women. It is good to be a woman.
01:02:09
And particularly in motherhood. This is a good gift from God.
01:02:14
Women should not be looking for opportunities to separate from their children as much as possible, but rather should delight in their role that God has uniquely given them.
01:02:27
Number five, this is important, as marriage is a gift from God, singleness can also be a gift from God.
01:02:38
First Corinthians 7, Matthew 19. There are some who are given a gift of singleness in order to be singularly devoted to the work of Christ.
01:02:51
It is up to God's will if a person is married or not, and it should not be a source of shame in the life of a single.
01:03:00
Marriage is not the ultimate end for which we are created. Whatever station
01:03:05
God has called you to, delight in the God who has called you there. Amen? Lastly, the ultimate point of marriage is the picture of the relationship between Christ and the church, which will be consummated when the church,
01:03:23
Christ's bride, will be united to Jesus in glory, at which point marriage will cease to exist in its earthly form.
01:03:31
We will be like the angels. Now, recognize, church, there is never an individual marriage between Christ and an individual as the bride.
01:03:43
That bride metaphor is the church. You want to scare men out of the church real quick?
01:03:49
Start telling them that they're going to marry Christ. It's like the worst thing you could possibly say.
01:03:54
The Bible doesn't say that. The metaphor is Christ has a bride, this people, and he is the head.
01:04:02
We're submitting to him. He will come and rescue us and take us to be with him in heaven. That's the imagery.
01:04:08
And that's what marriage points to, ultimately, the love of Christ for the church. So those things need to be affirmed.
01:04:16
I just felt like as we're going through this miracle, we needed to stop and say some really important things about marriage.
01:04:27
Those things that are unpopular in the culture, they are the hope of the very culture that's devolving around us.
01:04:36
And church, we're the ones that have that truth to give. If we don't say it, who will?
01:04:43
We must boldly and clearly tell the full counsel of God. So now, in verses 6 -8, we just have a couple more things to say.
01:04:50
In 6 -8, the nature of the miracle. I want you to see that it's a creative miracle, displaying that Christ is the creator.
01:05:02
There were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding 20 or 30 gallons.
01:05:11
I'm no mathematician, but I think that's 120 to 180 gallons of wine.
01:05:20
I picture that as being pretty much the whole milk section at Shoprite. 180 gallons.
01:05:27
That's a lot of wine. Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars with water, and they filled them up to the brim, and he said to them, now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.
01:05:38
So they took it. Notice that in this miracle, Jesus makes wine without the ordinary necessities of dirt and a vine and the sun, and all the natural function that would give rise to a grape that would then be crushed and fermented.
01:06:04
All of that is bypassed, and in an instant, water becomes wine.
01:06:10
You know what that tells me? He's the maker that does that all the time. He's the maker.
01:06:16
He's displaying his deity by making wine. Psalm 104 says, you cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for the man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart.
01:06:34
It's God who makes things grow, and Jesus, without fanfare, simply changes water to wine.
01:06:43
He is the maker of Psalm 104. Incidentally, Paul will pick up on that in the first chapter of Hebrews, when he's declaring the deity of Christ, he will use
01:06:53
Psalm 104 to declare that Christ is the creator of everything. He makes wine.
01:07:00
I think it also pictures his blood that will be spilled for us. He uses this wine miracle as the first.
01:07:06
Now, lastly, notice that he does this subtly and without fanfare, so that most people at the wedding didn't see it happen.
01:07:20
Look at it. It says, when the master of the feast tasted the water, now become wine, he did not know where it came from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.
01:07:32
Mark that. The master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine.
01:07:42
But you have kept the good wine until now. And he marvels at this.
01:07:49
He's not marveling at a sign, because he doesn't know it was the water changed to wine.
01:07:57
Now, when you picture the miracle, wouldn't you assume that Jesus would do it more like a party trick?
01:08:06
Like, everybody, come here. Fill these up with wine. I'm sorry, fill it up with water.
01:08:12
So you fill the jars with water, and everybody's looking in to make sure, yeah, yeah, it's water. Taste it, it's water.
01:08:18
And then all of a sudden, Jesus would say, boom, wine! And it would just become wine.
01:08:25
That would be very dramatic. And everybody at the party would know that Jesus performed a miracle.
01:08:34
But that's not what the text says. It says they didn't know. Only the servants knew.
01:08:43
You see, if Jesus did a party trick, and everybody there saw it, then they might believe and have reason and evidence to believe that Jesus is the
01:08:53
Christ. But guess what? You weren't there, and you weren't there, and I wasn't there.
01:08:58
So how is this assigned to us who weren't there? It was the intention, and it's here in the text, that only the servants knew.
01:09:07
In order that, the miracle becomes a testimony. So imagine, you are drinking
01:09:17
Garden of Eden wine. You're the master of the ceremony.
01:09:22
And after this, days have gone by, you still can't get over how good that wine tasted.
01:09:30
Can you imagine? This is wine untainted by the curse. The ground will bring forth thistles.
01:09:37
Everything is tainted. It's not as pure as the Garden of Eden. But this wine came straight from the maker.
01:09:45
And the master of the ceremony knows, I have never tasted anything like that. I can't get my mind off of it.
01:09:53
And along comes a servant who saw what happened. And he says,
01:09:59
Master, at the wedding, I saw something I want to tell you about.
01:10:05
I saw Jesus change the water into wine.
01:10:14
It was a miracle. I saw it. And this testimony from a mere servant is the ground for the master's faith.
01:10:26
And that church can be passed on again and again and again. The witness was the servant.
01:10:33
His eyewitness testimony recorded for us. But the power, the power of this witness is in the word.
01:10:43
It becomes a testimony. Faith comes by hearing. Hearing by the word of Christ.
01:10:48
And so this morning, we read the story of water becoming wine.
01:10:58
And some people will hear this and say, impossible. It's a myth.
01:11:03
It's a legend. I don't believe it. But others will hear of the one who turns water into wine, and they will believe.
01:11:13
The sign is not just for these who saw it, these servants, but it becomes a testimony to go out to all the ends of the earth.
01:11:21
That's the nature of the sign. This first of signs, it says in verse 11, Jesus did it,
01:11:28
Cana, and manifested his glory. So, in closing, the application of this, there are competing worldviews in America right now.
01:11:44
There is a postmodern man -centered ethic that a person defines their own reality and this becomes an entire worldview, metaphysical, hoping for the future, imagining a utopia, and pushing hard for it.
01:12:02
On the other hand, you have the revelation of Jesus Christ and his word, and these two worldviews are colliding right now, head on.
01:12:14
We must understand that we stand upon the testimony of Jesus Christ who never changes.
01:12:21
He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He said it in the Garden of Eden. He made them male and female.
01:12:30
He affirmed it in Matthew 19 when questioned about divorce, and here in this miracle, he underscores that he's still the same
01:12:40
God. He doesn't change. He cannot change. He cannot lie.
01:12:47
And you, church, must have the backbone to stand upon the word and upon the testimony like Isaiah in chapter 8, to the testimony, and declare the whole counsel of God, the truth.
01:13:04
This is the only hope for our culture. If they don't hear it from us, they will be led astray by the lie, and the lie will result in the mutilation of children, the destruction of families, children being raised in abominable situations, perhaps with three moms or four dads.
01:13:33
There will be a continued breakdown of family unless the church stands up for marriage and declares that God is the same as he was in the
01:13:44
Garden of Eden when he created marriage in the first place. So that's what we say to the culture, but here's what
01:13:51
I want to say to you, men, married men, you need to love your wife as Christ loved the church.
01:14:00
You need to sacrifice for her. You need to take the hit for her. You need to be on the front line for her.
01:14:06
You need to listen to her. To lay down your life for her means that you are willing to do the hard thing.
01:14:15
Stop waiting on her to fix your marriage. You lead. You step up and you get in the word and you go first.
01:14:25
You be the man. Act the man. Rebuild your marriage because your family depends on it.
01:14:31
She depends on it. Your children, if you have children, depend on it. This country depends on godly families, and men, you must lead.
01:14:41
Women, submit lovingly. Submit and respect your husband.
01:14:49
Do not demean him. Do not mock him. Do not withhold your body from him.
01:14:58
Do not dishonor him in the presence of other women. Gossip and jokes about your husband aren't funny.
01:15:08
I thank god that I have a wife that honors and respects her husband, and I pray that I could be a husband that sacrifices for her the way
01:15:18
Christ sacrificed for the church. Let this be the marriages of Cornerstone Church. To the singles
01:15:25
I say, you are honored and valued. You are not less. You are in the center of god's will as he has it for you.
01:15:34
If you desire to marry, this is good. This desire is good. And I'm going to pray in just a minute that the lord will create marriages in this church.
01:15:43
And children from that, families, your singleness is a gift as long as you have it.
01:15:53
Use that time. Use that time, women, to become beautiful. Not outwardly, however important that is, but inwardly.
01:16:03
The beauty of a quiet spirit, a heart that's fully devoted. Become that kind of woman that will attract the kind of man you would want to marry.
01:16:11
And men, you need to prepare a home for a bride. Start now. Become a man. Grow up.
01:16:17
Be done with the video games. Be done with childish things.
01:16:24
Work. Become a man. Go take the lead. And then you'll find a wife who wants to follow you.
01:16:34
This is how it works. It's how it's worked for 6 ,000 years. It doesn't change no matter what the world says.
01:16:40
So let's pray. Father God, we want to pray this morning, especially for marriages.
01:16:46
There is a class offered called Marriage Matters and if there's any that are struggling in their marriage,
01:16:53
I pray that they would work at that marriage through this class. Lord, we pray for the marriages, however good they are, that you would make them stronger this morning.
01:17:03
Build up the marriages to represent you well. Let us be like a shining city on the hill.
01:17:11
That the world would see our families being provoked to jealousy. It would be a godly jealousy that they would then come and join us as we seek to be like you.
01:17:24
Build the marriages of this church and those who listen. Lord, we want to pray especially for those who are single and desire to be married.
01:17:37
He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord. We pray, Lord, that you would bring together as husband and wife, godly men and women.
01:17:50
Bring spouses to those who desire to be married. Let these marriages be built on the rock
01:17:57
Christ Jesus. Be honored in it. Delight in it. As Jesus delighted in the wedding at Cana.
01:18:08
Lord, we want to pray for the singles in this church that they would be confident in who they are in you.
01:18:15
And know that they are included in the church which is the bride of Christ as they await the coming of the king.
01:18:23
Keep their hearts at perfect peace and remind them of your perfect love for them.
01:18:32
Thank you, Lord, for this church of which we belong. Thank you for marriage.
01:18:39
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. The Father's road the earth
01:19:32
A holy city built by God's own hand
01:19:43
A place where peace and justice reign We will stand as children of the promise
01:19:54
We will fix our eyes on ourselves
01:20:01
Reward till the race is finished and the work is done
01:20:11
By faith and not by self Profits all today
01:20:26
Longed for Messiah Good and Peace With the power to break the chains of sin and death
01:20:39
And rise triumphant from the grave The church was called to go
01:20:50
Of the Spirit to the
01:20:56
Lord To deliver captives
01:21:02
And to preach good news In every corner of the earth
01:21:11
We will stand as children of the promise
01:21:17
We will fix our eyes on Him, our soul
01:21:23
Reward till the race is finished and the work is done
01:21:33
By faith and not By faith a mountain shall be moved
01:21:48
And the power of the gospel shall prevail For we know in Christ all things are possible
01:22:02
For our root call upon His name We will stand as children of the promise
01:22:12
We will fix our eyes on Him, our soul
01:22:18
Reward till the race is finished and the work is done
01:22:28
By faith and not by self Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy to the only
01:22:48
God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, dominion and authority before all time and now and forever.