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Engage: The Holy Spirit (Part 1)
Pentecost marks the beginning of a new era for people who are learning to love and following Jesus. It's the day in which the church remembers and celebrates the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on all believers. We celebrate Pentecost today and use it as an opportunity to launch a brand new series entitled "Engage!". For the next weeks we will be learning and discovering the wonder, goodness, purpose and power of the Holy Spirit. Visit the online study guide for today's message: http://bible.us/e/waq
The Gospel of John 2 Vs 13-25
Chapter 2 Verse 13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand...its interesting to me and I don't believe it to be insignificant that John says here “the Passover of the Jews.” The Passover was not initiated by that name. Turn over to Exodus Chapter 11... Pick it up in verse 9 of chapter 11 and read through verse 14 of chapter 12. And so you see there in the institution of the Passover feast it was instituted as “the Lord's Passover.” But back over here in John Chapter 2, it has become the “Passover of the Jews.” And that is entirely what religion does...subtly but surely the convocation to the Lord, the dedication to the Lord, the emphasis on the Lord God, becomes emphasis on man...twisted...so very twisted. But Jesus came to set right so many wrongs. To remove the vail of religion between man and God and show the Way the Truth and the Life. We must guard our own hearts and walks so that they do not center on ourselves but rather they are keenly focused on Jesus, His righteousness, His worthiness, and His reign over our lives. If you're feeling condemned...if you're feeling that you're not good enough...then friend you have changed the Lord's Passover to the Passover of You, a subtle change but detrimental to your walk none-the-less. God's grace is sufficient for you...the Bible says to look not to your own righteousness but to cling to the righteousness of Jesus who has once and for all cleansed you and joined you to God the Father...so worship...cast off the depression and accept God's love...cast off the condemnation and accept God's grace... Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Its always “up to Jerusalem” never down. And that is true of any decision that you make to come to God's holy city...The bible says that God dwells in Israel...and so when you say ok God, not me...you...I give you my life, I give you my marriage, I give you my career, I give you reign over even this one little decision, then understand, you are stepping up! You are rising up! But know the truth, you can say you are going up to Jerusalem, you can plan to go up to Jerusalem, but unless you actually go up to Jerusalem, you have not risen up! You have not stepped up! And so when you give something over to the Lord, give it to Him! God I give you my career, but then you groan and complain and wish you worked somewhere else! God I give you my marriage but then you so often find yourself grumbling against your wife or talking under your breath against your husband...You have given God NOTHING! God wants to use you right there, right then, every day and He will if you would simply let Him. And so don't just agree, don't just say yes God I give it You, rise up! So here's the scene, Jesus, heading towards Jerusalem at the onset of the Passover...Verse 14, And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. To the Jew, the temple was the center of purity and worship. It also symbolized the nation's peculiar relationship with God...what other nation could say that they possessed the temple in which God Himself dwells. But today, Jehovah Himself walked into His own temple and what He found must have broken His heart...he saw once again, His people being abused... You see, per the law that we just read back in Exodus, each family was to bring their own offering...a male lamb of its first year without blemish...but entrepreneurs, business men in their quest for profit, had made a deal with the religious leaders...”hey, let us be the ones who approve the offerings when they are brought for sacrifice...but no doubt we'll find a blemish and under the authority of the temple priests we'll reject the offering and sell to them a pre-screened animal...one that has already been found to be without blemish...and when we do, we'll slip some change into the temple offering... And also the bible says there were money changers and what that meant is those same entrepreneurs said “hey lets make our own money and call it temple currency...and when people show us their offerings and we find that blemish... Not only will we sell them our perfect offering at a premium price of course because its pre-screened and all, but then we'll ask them to kindly use temple currency...and when they do not have temple currency we'll exchange their currency for ours...you know...at a small profit... And also the annual tax to be paid to the temple of half a shekel...should it be paid with money that bears the emblem of submission to an earthly king? To the carnal man, to the flesh this almost sounds logical doesn't it? You know make a buck...But the truth is this is exactly what the traditions of men have done to a person simply seeking Jesus. Greed, position, and power have become the instruments of control just as they were in Jesus' time in the temple. Religion is all just a trip laid out by man to control the people and gather riches for the religious elite. Jesus said, my burden is light, my yoke is easy, my commandments, they are not burdensome...The bible says, come directly to God as we have one mediator that forever lives to make intercession between God and man and that is the Messiah Jesus Christ. No one else. You don't need me, you don't need anyone, you have direct and immediate access to God the Father, to a real relationship with Him, through Jesus Christ. The bible says if God is for me then who can be against me. If God is with us, then what can man do to us? And so we yield to the Holy Spirit not the busted religious. Jesus just emancipates (frees) this whole situation. Malachi prophesied 400 years before Jesus came on the scene writing in Malachi chapter 3 verse 1 says “The Lord will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold He is coming.” And so, there in John Chapter 2 verse 15 When He had made a whip of chords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise! I love the fact that John records Jesus making a weapon of sorts and then forcefully driving out the fakers. Those antibodies that were poisoning the holy temple. He didn't walk in and say, hey you guys, try to leave today...hey you guys if its ok with you, and it doesn't cause a scene, can you guys take your business elsewhere... How many things do you and I wrestle with in our flesh and we say well I'll try, or well I'd like to change but it would just cause too much of a problem or a scene...know what...the truth is, you don't really want to change. You have eased into a comfort of using people, getting what you want, and although you know its wrong and you maybe even don't like it, you leave the users in the temple. And you know what that does? That drives you to keep Jesus at arm's length. Oh you know the christianese lingo but when it comes to it, you don't have a desire to spend time with the Lord, you don't have a passion for His word...and in a way, you may even wonder why... THAT is why the bible calls the enemy a deceiver. You are deceived and lulled into a spiritual and mental pit and your temple is full of covetousness.... But Malachi says, The Lord will suddenly come to His temple...will you not give your life to Jesus today...Jesus will bring His weapon, His double-edged sword, if you allow Him to, and He will surgically remove all it is that so easily ensnares you, the bible says. There is freedom in Jesus, there is victory in the Lord...but the decision is yours...what have you allowed in your temple? Are you ready and willing for Jesus to drive it out? I love that John records that Jesus said to those who sold doves...Get out! The dove is a symbol of peace, a symbol of restoration, a symbol of the Holy Spirit....but none of those things are found in a life lived in the flesh...the religion of the day and the enticements of this world will promise peace peace but swiftly they bring destruction. (1 Thes 5:3) It is only Jesus Himself, no room for anything else, Jesus Himself that is able to set us free! Verse 17, Then His disciples remembered that it was written, Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up! What a great pattern, His disciples remembered the scripture found in Psalm 69...how, because they knew it! The more I know of the Bible man the more I see God at work. Things happen every day and we ascribe the events to “hey thats just life” well no its not...Colossians 1:17 says that by Him and through him and for Him, ALL things consist...so no its not just life, God is at work and we miss it because we don't know what He has said...hey I'll do this, and I'm going to show you that...well when this happens and that comes about, if we haven't prepared our eyes to see and our ears to hear, then man...ripped off. A great pattern shown here by John. They know the scripture, they know God's word and then when it comes to pass, they see it and God gets glory! Verse 18, So the Jews answered and said to Him, what sign do You show to us, since you do these things? Pretty interesting here that the Jews answer to Jesus is not an attack, not a full frontal assault to stop Him from destroying their profit...simply an answer. Why? We read that Jesus was meek and lowly and we get this mind picture I believe that is incorrect...because understand we also read that Jesus was mighty and in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col 2:9) and so I believe Jesus was noone to trifle with...why bring 100 soldiers to take one man? Verses 19 – 22 Again we see His disciples paying close attention to His word and then when the fulfillment of what He has spoken comes to pass, they see it. They catch it and the result is that it builds their faith! Verses 23 – 25 And so many believed but John here again informing his readers of Jesus' deity, tells us that Jesus discerned their hearts and did not trust them. He could see that their belief was surface level and not real... An unknown author once said, “Man's affections may be stirred, man's intelligence informed, man's conscience convicted, but still, God cannot trust him...man in the flesh is simply condemned...only a new creation avails before God. Man must be born again... And that is exactly what we will look at next week. One last thing I want to show you before we part...an interesting comparison of the first part of chp2 and the second. Actually, a striking contrast. In the wedding we have a festive gathering, in the temple a scene of divine judgement. To the wedding, Jesus was invited, into the temple He came suddenly on His own initiative. At the wedding, He used men...in the temple, He emptied it Himself. At the wedding, He was commended, in the temple, He was challenged. His sign at the wedding was symbolic of His death, His sign at the temple was symbolic of His coming...at the wedding John says there in verse 11 that He displayed His glory, in the temple, John says there in verse 17 that He displayed His zeal... You see, now is the time for you to turn to Jesus. The bible says that today is the day of salvation, because just as we see the pattern here, so strikingly, there is coming a day where the day of salvation will be passed and the day of separation will arrive. Yes I'm talking about the end of the age, because the bible foretells of that day, the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord, but I'm also talking about today. Tomorrow is promised to noone. The bible speaks of a man who takes security in what he has and it calls him a fool because even on that very day his life will be required of him. Jesus desires to show you His glory, use you, give you true life, set you free! But He must be invited and there must be a wedding...next week we'll spend some time talking about what it means to be born again...but suffice it to say for today, give your all to Jesus, and He has promised, He will form in you a new heart, a new nature, and a new hope...and you will partake of the free gift of salvation in Christ Jesus!
The Gospel of John 2 Vs 1-12
Chp 2 verse 1...On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee...You know there was a wedding on the third day, but not only in Cana of Galilee, but also at a borrowed tomb near Calvary...The resurrection!...Jesus' triumph over the grave, over death, over sin, and the end of our separation from God...the beginning of our oneness with God clothed in the righteousness of Jesus...the death of our old spouse, the law, and our marriage as Paul calls it with God Himself...(Romans 7) And here Jesus will turn water into wine...so significantly symbolic of our watered-down, sinful hearts being made pure by the blood of Christ...remember, Jesus took the cup, blessed it and gave it to His disciples saying take, drink for this is My blood which is the new covenant, shed for the sins of the world... So On the third day there was a wedding (indeed there was) in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “they have no wine.” The Bible refers to Mary as the mother of Jesus...placing the proper influence on Jesus. Twice in the Book of John, Jesus will refer to Mary as “woman” signifying His preeminence, His deity...understand if He had said “mother” He would have accentuated His humanity, His human position under Mary...but that is not found in the pages of scripture. The bible says of Mary, blessed are you among women, not blessed are you above women...I say this because it is tragic how man has developed the religion known as Mariolotry. The worship of Mary as a goddess. How heartbreaking it is that man has ascribed divine attributes to Mary that the bible does not...that Jesus, does not... And so there in verse 4, Jesus said to her, 'Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” I don't believe Jesus' response was harsh. For Jesus to call Mary “woman” is not a harsh put down...recall when Jesus was on the cross and He looked down at Mary and John and said “woman, behold your son.” Same word, and I believe spoken in the same way...with grace, love and truth. And Jesus says to her “what does your concern have to do with Me.” I believe this to not be a rebuke of Mary but rather a statement to her of two things, two truths...first, I know the situation at hand, and second, it must by out of My will that I act, not yours or any other man's. And then He says, “My hour has not yet come.” Seven times in this book, John will speak of Jesus' hour...His reason for coming...many times the pharisees sought to take Him but the book records, it was not yet His hour...and then finally in John 17 Jesus prays, Father, the hour has come... Seven times...the number of perfection, leading to the hour in which Jesus once again restored perfection...The hour of Christ's humiliation, His humbling...His dying on the cross because of the will of man...making Himself subject to the will of man...but not now...not today Mary, that day, that hour is coming, but please do not tell me what I must do, I will willingly, of my own accord, do what I must do to save you and you and you and you...and no doubt He surveyed the crowd as He mentions His hour to come.... And so Mary, I believe understanding well what Jesus is saying here lovingly to her, in verse 5 says to the servants, Whatever He says to you, do it!” and leaves the entire situation in Jesus' hands... Verses 6 – 8 I love this because Jesus was the one to work the miracle, yet it was the servants who were the ones that seemingly did everything. They filled the water pots, they drew some out, they took it to the master of the feast. There was no exhibition of divine power...Jesus did not wave His hand or touch the water or stand and pray, He simply called the servants to service and when they obeyed, a miracle happened. I love that because it was seemingly all humans at work, yet the result is divine. And there's more here. John records for us that the number of the water pots was 6. That is significant because 6 throughout the Bible is the number of man... Man was created on the 6th day...man labors 6 days only...the 6th commandment is man shall not murder man... And so here there are six water pots and John tells us that they are “according to the manner of purification of the Jews” which means they were religious instruments and get this...they're empty. How do we know that? Because Jesus says, fill em with water. And so we have man, in his religiousity, empty and useless. But Jesus says “fill them.” I love that! Paul, the most religious man that ever lived, yet so empty and angry...but Jesus Himself, comes to Paul and says “I want to use you” and the result...Paul says “I am filled with the fullness of God!” And so man, empty with useless religion, Jesus commands fill them with water...in the bible water is a symbol of God's Word...husbands wash your wives daily in the water of the word...THIS IS SO SIGNIFICANT!!! What is the cure for useless religion, the Word of God! Jesus said to the faithful church, the church in Philadelphia, in Revelation chapter 3, “I have set before you an open door and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept my word, and have not denied My name. Because you have kept my command to preserve, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world...” Psalm 118:8, the smack dab middle of the bible says, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in man.” The water of the word is able to cleanse our hearts, our homes, our land and yet so many find it so difficult to devote a portion of each day to its study. Is there anything more important? If we believe these things that God has said, is there anything more important? We seek success through hard work, but we attain power, position and a greater portion...and then realize, this is not success...We seek joy through our hobbies, interests and addictions...just to one day realize, this is not joy...it is the water of the word that washes our hearts and lives clean so that we may live free through knowledge and intimacy with God...is there anything more important? And so Jesus commands the servants to draw out the water...you see, draw the water out through the living of your own lives...and take it to the streets! Verse 9 And so the water was made wine...and it is profound that when the master of the feast tasted it, he did not know where it came from...but the servants did. Not Mary, not the disciples, but the servants as Jesus Himself begins His ministry of miracles with an act of service. In Mark 10:45, Jesus said, “I did not come to be served, but to serve and to give My life as ransom for many.” And just before saying this Jesus had called His disciples close and had told them, “If any of you desire to be great, be the servant of all.” (That's found in Mark 9:35) The Lord is nearest to those engaged in humble service...and those that pattern their life as service to others are surely rewarded for turning their backs on pride and honor. We read in Amos 3:7, “The Lord God will reveal His secrets unto His servants.” Arthur Pink once wrote, “Those who occupy the position of authority are not taken into the Lord's secrets. Those who wish to be in a place like the “ruler of the feast” do not discern the thoughts of Christ. But those who humble themselves to take the servant position, who place themselves at Christ's disposal, are the ones who share His counsels.” Verse 10 The master of the feast says here, “every man” and truly what he goes on to say illustrates the ways of man...bring out the best first and save the worst for later. Just like sin...the bible says that sin is pleasurable for a season but the end is destruction....but the ways of God are opposite. The pattern of God is increasing joy...increasing wisdom...look at the pattern...wilderness then the promised land...cross then the crown...sorrow may last for the night, joy in the morning. Sin and the flesh wears you down, but God grows you up. Proverbs 4:18 says, “The path of the just is as the shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day!” Verses 11 – 12 What a wonderful message even within the first recorded miracle of Jesus. The note written to the lost and the weary that the wine, the substance of man will indeed run out...this earth is passing away and we read in Revelation 14:18 when there will come a day, an angel will thrust a sharp sickle into the vine of the earth and throw it into the winepress of the wrath of God... But there is hope as God through His prophet Isaiah proclaims “I your God will trade you beauty for ashes and fine oil of joy for mourning”...when the wine of men, the substance of man fails, Jesus is able to provide the good wine... He is able to satisfy the longing of your soul...He is able to quench the thirst of your heart...He is able to place a song in your heart that not even the angels can sing...the song of Redemption! What must you do? What price do you pay? Repent. And place your trust in Jesus friend. Whosever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. All that come to Me, Jesus said, I will in no way turn away... ...bring your thirst, bring your burdens, bring your needs...and bring an offering, yourself... Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst...and most assuredly I say, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” What is hindering you? Come...today. Religiousity? Your demands and commands maybe like we saw today from Mary? The servants who had obeyed the orders of Jesus, they knew. God is calling you unto Himself, answer the call quickly...It is high time for the watered-down walk to die and for you to be joined to God in oneness... ...And next week we will take a look at the work of Jesus in your heart as He turns over the tables of forgery, drives out the thieves and cleanses the temple...exactly as He desires to do in your heart, so that you might be FREE!
John 2:23-3:21 "God So Loved the World"
Morning sermon by Dr. Joshua Moon on the Gospel of John.
John 2:23-3:21 "The Sovereignty of the Spirit"
Morning sermon by Dr. Joshua Moon on the Gospel of John.
John 2:23-3:21 "Born Again"
Morning sermon by Dr. Joshua Moon on the Gospel of John.
John 2:13-22 "Zeal for His House"
Morning sermon by Dr. Joshua Moon on the Gospel of John.
John 2:1-11 "The First Sign"
Morning sermon by Dr. Joshua Moon on the Gospel of John.
Real Temple Judaism (Jesus meets Israel)
After his public debut at a wedding, the first sign of Jesus was rather subtle (though glorious). Now Jesus will reveal himself at the epicenter of Jewish life -- the temple (and he shakes up the place!) What was Jesus doing there? Why did good Jews like the disciples accept it?
Wedding Wine
The first sign (or miracle) by Jesus recorded in the Gospel of John seems out of place until we see that it points toward the final goal of His ministry.
