The Best Comes Last

Wine symbol of joy in scripture

Jdg 9:13 And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?

Ps 104:15And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.

Pr 31:6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.

Ec 10:19 A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things.

- Yet so often we are like the marriage feast

- Jn 2:3 “They have no wine”

- What does Solomon say about joy?

Ecc. 2:1-11 (TLB)

Ec 2:1-11I said to myself, “Come now, be merry; enjoy yourself to the full.” But I found that this, too, was futile. For it is silly to be laughing all the time; what good does it do? So after a lot of thinking, I decided to try the road of drink, while still holding steadily to my course of seeking wisdom. Next I changed my course again and followed the path of folly, so that I could experience the only happiness most men have throughout their lives. Then I tried to find fulfillment by inaugurating a great public works program: homes, vineyards, gardens, parks, and orchards for myself, and reservoirs to hold the water to irrigate my plantations. Next I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born within my household. I also bred great herds and flocks, more than any of the kings before me. I collected silver and gold as taxes from many kings and provinces. In the cultural arts, I organized men’s and women’s choirs and orchestras. And then there were my many beautiful concubines. So I became greater than any of the kings in Jerusalem before me, and with it all I remained clear-eyed, so that I could evaluate all these things. Anything I wanted I took and did not restrain myself from any joy. I even found great pleasure in hard work. This pleasure was, indeed, my only reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had tried, it was all so useless, a chasing of the wind, and there was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.

- His Word reflects the motto that Jerry Lewis has on his dressing room wall

There are three things that are real

• God,

• Human folly,

• Laughter.

- Since the first two are beyond our comprehension we must do what we can with the third.

- Jn 2: 3 They have no wine

A disturbed and deeply troubled individual went to a psychiatrist to relieve his anxiety. He awoke melancholy every morning, and he went to bed in the evening deeply depressed. His day was marked by darkness and clouds. He couldn’t find relief for this anxiety. In his desperate condition, he decided to seek the counsel of a medical doctor. The psychiatrist listened to him for almost an hour. Finally, he leaned toward his patient and said to him, “yyo know, there’s a local show at a theater. I understand a new Italian clown has come into our city, and he’s leaving ‘em in the aisles. He’s getting rave reviews from critics. Maybe he is the one that will bring back your happiness. Why don’t you go see this professional clown and laugh your troubles away?”

With a hangdog expression, the patient muttered, “Doctor, I am that clown.”-

- My wine has come to an end

- My joy is gone

- All that is left is empty forms &

ceremonies

- Like the water pots

- Like Mary take the emptiness to Jesus

- Tell him I have no wine

- v.4 Shares the Lord’s heart to us

- My response - To be like Mary

- Lk. 2:19 - When the shepherds spoke

- She kept all these things, and

pondered them in her heart

- Lk 2:51 - His mother kept all these

saying sin her heart

- My response Jn 2:5 Whatsoever he

saith unto you, do it

Jn 2:7 Fill

— Women at the well Jn 4:14

- Ps 37:4 - Delight thyself

- Ps 16: 11 - Thou wilt show me

- Neh 8:10 - The joy of the Lord

v. 8 - Draw out

- No wine(joy) until drawn

- No sweetness until drawn

- No change until drawn

- Now take it to the governor - ruler

- Now take it to the heart

- Applied and proven good – Tasted

- Life will not work any other way

- v. 10

- Thou hast kept the good until last

THE BEST COMES LAST

-At the end of the week is the weekend

- At the end of dinner is desert

- At the end of the day is rest

- At the end of the year is Christmas

1. In Creation the best came last

- A sad condition in v. 2 Ge 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

- 1st step to improvement was calling

forth light

- A fuller revelation of the ruin

- At last the the best came last - MAN

2. In the Revelation of God to Man

— The best came last

- Through sin came the revelation of the

Gospel of truth

- For generations dim, obscure,

incomplete

- At last the best came

- The glory of God — JESUS

3. In Christ’s Life

— The best came last

- Man of sorrows, Acquainted with

grief

- Misunderstood by his own

- Hated by many

- the cross, the agony, the shame

- At last the best came last

— RESURRECTION

4. In the Unbeliever

– The best came last

- Bitterness of repentance - followed by

sweetness of forgiveness

- The sadness of conviction is followed

by the gladness of conversion

- Not death & hell but life

- Get low we have no wine

5. In My Christian Life

- Cross bearing is followed by crown

wearing

- Disowned by the world and owned by

the LORD

- The best comes last

- No more sorrow - No more pain

- No more tears - No more death

- We need to do v. 5

Whatsoever he satih unot you, do it

Then discover v. 11Jn 2:11This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.