September 4, 2005 pm
SUPERNATURAL LESSONS FROM A WEDDING
John 2:1-11
Dr. Neil B. Wiseman tells the story of an Appalachian preacher who took the four words from verse 3 and preached an entire sermon out them. He made a comparison of “They have no more…” to today’s church and the lack of supernatural power in our ministries. He said that today’s church has no more wine, no more back-up plans, no more morality, no more faith, no more expectancy and no more miracles. We are weak, impotent, desolate and divided because we have forsaken the divine elements that makes the Church what it is supposed to be. He goes on to say this: “The supernatural is as necessary to the Church as oxygen is necessary for human life. We die without either!”
What a tremendous statement to make about today’s church ministries. Now I am not making judgment on the Church of today, but it seems to me that it only makes sense that we need to rediscover the supernatural power that makes the difference in our life and in the lives of those we minister to- both in the church and in our community.
This past week we saw approximately 160 people attend our pig roast. This is a great testament of your faith in action. I am very proud of the way many of our people take up the mantle of Christ and serve without complaining or compromising. Thanks to you something happened. And I believe this is a foretaste of what God wants to do through us to bring Christ into people’s lives. And to do so, we need the power of the Holy Spirit working through us.
Tonight, I want to share seven ways that we can reclaim the Holy Spirit power for our selves and our church. It has been always my desire that we serve and reach others. But even more importantly, it has been always my desire that we live and breath the Holy Spirit’s power in our daily living.
1. Cultivate a closeness with Christ.
The Apostle Paul said that he wanted to know Christ. In order for us to get to know someone we need to study who they are and how they think.
As a junior higher I was intrigued with Napoleon Bonaparte. I read a variety of books about him and his reign as emperor of France. I was intrigued with the likes of Daniel Boone, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and so on. So I studied them through biographies and encyclopedias.
I would hope that we are intrigued with the life of Jesus. If we claim to know Jesus as Savior and want to understand the supernatural then we will be into the Word and study His life.
We need to do more than cultivate a closeness with Christ.
2. Practice unquestioned obedience.
To emulate Christ calls for us to be obedient to Him- even when it seems bizarre. There is something about this wedding that interests me: The servants were told by Mary to do whatever he says. And so they did. As crazy as it seemed, they did what they were told.
3. Expect results.
Not just any results but overgenerous results. Jesus didn’t give them flavored water. They got the real thing. And furthermore, it was the very best.
God will never reward our faith with second rate or second best. He provides more than we can handle. Low expectancy often produces low results. But isn’t it wonderful when we are blessed with high results in spite of our lack of faith.
When we prepared for our first pig roast four years ago I was not expecting the turnout we got. I couldn’t believe what happened.
What we learn is that the results are in God’s hands. And that is where our faith belongs as well.
4. Know that God will honor your best efforts.
“If you do your best God will do the rest.” We have often heard this stated but do we really understand what this means?
I was sharing with the Sunday School class this morning that when we put forth our best effort in the name of Christ this becomes our living sacrifice. If I as a roofer do my utmost best for the glory of the Lord, then that work becomes a living sacrifice. If I as a preacher put forth my best for the glory of the Lord, then that sermon, or visit or meeting becomes a living sacrifice.
If you as a bank teller, or you as a student or you as construction worker puts forth your best for the glory of God, your work becomes a living sacrifice.
This is how God blesses our work: when we do our best He infuses it with the power of the Holy Spirit.
So if you love someone in the name of Christ and serve them the best that you know how, then know that God will honor your efforts by empowering you supernaturally.
5. Utilize what you already have.
Sometimes we can get caught up poor mouthing in ministry because of what we don’t have. But if we take and utilize what God has already provided for us then we will see the supernatural power of God take over.
It is easy to see that we need a fellowship hall to minister. But yet we must never let the lack of something keep us from doing anything. True supernatural ministry works outside of the boundaries. True supernatural ministry takes place in spite of what we have or don’t have.
In fact, I have seen too often too many churches get the dream fellowship hall and they become lazy. Their ministry becomes maintaining the fellowship. They lose sight of why it was built in the first place.
We must take full advantage of what we have, where we are located and the gifts we already possess. Instead of coveting others and other church ministry our eyes must be fixed on Jesus.
6. Stretch your comfort zone.
When we fix our eyes on Jesus and believe in the supernatural we will see our comfort zone stretched. We will no longer be afraid of taking risks.
I believe that part of the problem with slow rescue in New Orleans was the very fact there were some people who were afraid of taking risks. But suffice for us now as Christians, we must answer for the reasons we are afraid of taking risks.
It takes courage to step out into new ministry territory. It takes bravery to confront sin our personal life or in those we minister to. Risk-taking is not nearly so risky if we understand the work of the Holy Spirit and the necessity of us being obedient.
But God does not leave us out there blowing in the breeze. He gives us the room to grow and calls on us to trust Him.
Do the words in Ephesians 1:17 do anything for us? Paul prays that the Ephesian church would receive the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that they would know Christ better.
It is my belief that as we more fully comprehend the whole concept of supernatural ministry and understand that we can have the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that we will be greater risk-takers for the glory of Christ. Then we will not be afraid of the future or afraid of obstacles to ministry.
This calls for us to something dynamic here tonight.
7. Re-think how the Holy Spirit can impact your life and our church.
Let me ask you this. If you were going shopping and you had a $100 in your checking account how would that affect your risk in buying things you need? But if you had a $1 million in your account would you shop differently?
My point is not to literally use a $100 as though it were a million but realize that power we have behind us and within us through the Holy Spirit far exceeds anything we can realize or understand. Too often we minister as though we were paupers rather than children of the King. It’s time for us to realize our true citizenship is not of this world.
In closing,
The most superb pastors, the finest congregations or the most generous budgets cannot replace the supernatural in ministry. Jesus helps us to see the supernatural in a very simple way. He fills empty clay pots with water. Water: a simply commodity that we all need. But out of those clay pots comes something very supernatural: wine. The water was not the best in the arid land. In fact, the wine that came forth was very common. They mixed wine and water in order to make the water more tasteful.
But the process was uncommon. There was no time to gather the wine, crush it, put it into wineskins, store it, and then mix it with water.
Jesus miraculously turned the water into the best tasting wine. This miracle proves to us that there is a supernatural power beyond our selves for ministry.
Notice the result in verse 11. Jesus revealed his glory. His followers probably had no idea what they were really getting into when they chose to follow him. They were not going to simply learn new things about life. The result? They put their faith in him. Now things were going to be different.