Sermon Tone Analysis

God's Greatest Desires for Our Lives

The Gospel of John

John 2:1-11

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - May 4, 2016

(Revised June 23, 2019)

*Think about how many miracles Jesus performed.

In John 20:30-31, the Apostle John tells us that:

30. . .

truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;

31.

but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

*John 21:25 tells us that "there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written."

*Jesus did an astounding number of miracles while He was here on earth.

But counting the Lord's resurrection, there are only 39 separate miracles of Jesus mentioned in the four Gospels.

John's Gospel includes only 11 of these miracles, and 8 of those are found only here in John.

(1)

*Tonight, we will focus on the very first of the Lord's miracles.

And it may seem like a strange miracle to us.

It may even seem like a frivolous miracle to us.

But Christ's first miracle shows us some of God's greatest desires for our lives.

1. FIRST: JESUS WANTS TO BE OUR CONSTANT COMPANION.

*Verses 1-2 remind us that God wants to have a close, personal relationship with us:

1.

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.

2. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.

*Jesus went to a wedding.

And one of the great lessons from this wedding is that the Lord wants to be close to us.

We might think that with all of the important things Jesus had to do, He would be way too busy to take time out for a wedding.

But Jesus took the time to go to this wedding because He truly cares for people.

In fact, He wants to be our constant companion.

*Jesus wants to be close to us every moment of every day.

It's a great thing to be here at church tonight, but this story reminds us that God doesn't just want to meet with us at church.

Jesus wasn't at the Temple in these verses.

He was at someone's home for a wedding.

*King Duncan told about a little boy who had a Sunday School lesson on this wedding miracle.

After class that day, his daddy asked, "Well, what did you learn from that story?"

The little boy thought for a moment and replied, "If you're having a wedding, make sure that Jesus is there."

That was a great answer!

Jesus Christ should be invited to every wedding.

(2)

*And it's good to notice that this was a happy occasion.

Talking about the miraculous signs in this Gospel, John Phillips noted that the first sign was at a wedding, one of life's gladdest hours.

And in John 11, one of the Lord's last miracles was at Lazarus' grave, one of life's saddest hours.

(3)

*This fact reminds us that in good times or bad, happy or sad, Jesus wants to be close to us.

The Lord wants to be close to us on our Mondays, Tuesdays, and every day of our lives.

*Jesus doesn't just drop in for the special occasions.

He has a personal interest in our day-to-day lives.

He is a full-time God, so He wants to have a full-time relationship with us.

And if Jesus is our Lord and Savior, He is always near, even living in our hearts.

2. JESUS CHRIST WANTS TO BE OUR CONSTANT COMPANION.

HE ALSO WANTS TO BE OUR FINEST FRIEND.

*In vs. 2 Jesus was "invited" or "called" to the wedding.

The Lord wasn't at this wedding as a preacher to perform the ceremony.

He was there as a friend and invited guest.

*Friends are a wonderful gift from God, people we can trust, people who are there for us, stand by us, help us every way they can, and simply enjoy being with us.

Thank God for the good friends He has given to us.

But we also need to know that one reason why God gives us earthly friends is to help us understand the kind of relationship He wants to have with us.

*Friendship with God is a key part of Christian life.

Proverbs 18:24 tells us that there is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother, and that is Jesus Christ!

He wants to be our Best Friend!

As Jesus said in John 15:13, "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

*Back in 2002, controversy hit the graduation ceremony for the Hollidaysburg Area High School in central Pennsylvania.

A young lady named Shannon Wray was chosen to give the salutatorian speech.

The school asked Shannon to speak about the past, including how friendships helped her get through high school.

Shannon is a committed Christian, and she felt that she could not give the speech without talking about her best friend, Jesus Christ.

*Unfortunately, the school administrators tried to censor that part of her speech.

But Shannon had good legal backing from the Liberty Counsel, and she was able to talk about our Best Friend.

*Here is part of what Shannon said about the Lord: "He, even more so than the people I love, has been there every day, never forcing me to do anything, but always encouraging me to stretch my limits and strive for the best He has to offer.

His name is Jesus; He is my greatest friend."

*Shannon went on to say, "It is because of Him that I have achieved and succeeded.

And no matter how much knowledge Hollidaysburg High has bestowed upon me, I would know nothing if I didn't know Him." (4)

*Jesus Christ wants to be our best friend.

But it's crucial to understand that the Lord comes into our lives through our invitation.

Jesus Christ isn't a wedding crasher.

In vs. 2 Jesus was "invited" or "called" to the wedding.

*And yes, Jesus should be invited to every wedding!

But that's not all.

Jesus should be invited to be in on every part of our lives.

The Lord surely wants to have a close relationship with everyone, but He won't force His way in.

*Jesus put it this way in Revelation 3:20: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."

In the New Living Translation, Jesus says, "I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends."

*Jesus wants to be our best friend, but we have to open the door and invite Him into our lives.

We also have to draw closer to Him.

Thank God we can get closer to God! James 4:8 gives this promise to us as Christians: "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."

3. JESUS WANTS TO BE OUR FINEST FRIEND.

HE ALSO WANTS US TO BE CONFIDENT IN HIS CARE.

*The Lord wants us to be fully confident that He loves us enough to meet all our needs in life.

Verse 3 says: "And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, 'They have no wine.'''

*The wedding hosts ran out of wine, and that reminds us of one of our big problems: We run out.

We are always running out of stuff.

We run out of strength, or money, or health.

We run out of ideas, patience and time.

*They ran out of wine at this wedding, but Jesus met their need, and He wants to meet our needs too!

That's why in Philippians 4:19, Paul could say, "My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

*Now sometimes it may seem like the Lord doesn't really care about us.

At first glance, it doesn't seem like Jesus cared when they ran out of wine.

Verses 3-4 say:

3.

And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine.''

4. Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.''

*One thing to understand here is that in those days, calling your mother "woman" was not at all disrespectful as it sometimes is today.

Today's equivalent would be to call her "Lady."

(5)

*On top of that, one of the Ten Commandments is "Honor thy father and thy mother," and nobody ever kept the Commandments better than Jesus Christ!

In fact, Jesus is the only person who ever kept them all, so we know He wasn't being disrespectful to His mother.