The Faith Walk

Guest (Male): Today, with Jonathan Evans.

Jonathan Evans: We had Jesus turning water into wine at our wedding. It was a wedding we will never forget. They experienced a miracle of Jesus at their wedding. I need you to understand how in the world did they experience this miracle? How in the world would they experience Jesus turn water into wine and their emptiness becoming filled and their lack becoming lavish? How in the world would they experience this?

Guest (Male): You're listening to the Faith Walk with Jonathan Evans. In a moment, Jonathan will continue today's message. But first, to thank you for your support of this ministry, Jonathan has two gifts for you. The first is the audio series that you're currently hearing called All Eyes on Jesus, helping you refocus on the one who changes everything. The second part of this gift is a book by Dr. Tony Evans called The Power of Jesus Names. Discover how the names of Jesus reveal his character, his purpose, and his power in your life today. How can knowing him more deeply transform your faith?

I'll tell you more about these later in today's program, or you can call right now at 1-800-800-3222 or visit tonyevans.org to learn more. Now, let's get started with Jonathan's message, a wedding you'll never forget.

Jonathan Evans: Can you imagine being the bride and the bridegroom at this wedding? You can imagine 10 years, 20 years after the wedding that in their photo album and in their wedding scrapbook, they would say this is a wedding we'll never forget. We had Jesus turning water into wine at our wedding. It was a wedding we will never forget. They experienced a miracle of Jesus at their wedding. I need you to understand how in the world did they experience this miracle? How in the world would they experience a wedding they never forget? How in the world would they experience Jesus turn water into wine and their emptiness becoming filled and their lack becoming lavish?

How in the world would they experience this? Let me tell you what they did. They invited Jesus to their wedding. If they don't invite Jesus to the wedding, they're stuck with their lack. If they don't invite Jesus to the wedding, they're stuck with their emptiness. If they don't invite Jesus to the wedding, they're stuck with the reality that they have just run out. A lot of people talk about their lack, but the question is, have you ever invited Jesus? I know that there's areas where you may lack in resources, you may lack in your marriage, you may lack at the job, you may lack in different areas of your life, whether it's wisdom or understanding or discernment or energy or passion.

But the question is not just about the lack. My question would be, have you invited Jesus? Because without Jesus being at the wedding, they would just be stuck with the lack. Okay. I'm glad that the paralytic found Jesus. I'm glad that the woman with the blood issue found Jesus. I'm glad that Jairus, the official of the synagogue, went and invited Jesus to his daughter because the miracles would come to and through Jesus Christ. So if you have lack in your life, you need to do something that they did at this wedding and send Jesus an invite.

Many people get married and they send out a lot of invitations. But a lot of married couples forget about a primary invitation they need to send out. So they invite everybody and forget the main guest. And then they wonder why they experienced so much lack. And instead of it being a wedding they'll never forget, it's a wedding they want to forget. Because they didn't invite the main guest. Too many married couples come to the altar and get married at church, but leave Jesus at the altar when they go on the honeymoon. And immediately, we experience lack in our life because our life did not have an invitation to the one who can actually pour in where we need to be filled.

Jesus makes sin and him an invitation very easy. He makes it easier than chat GPT. He makes it easier than Gronk. He makes it easier than Boxer. He makes it easier than text or email. He makes it easier than dropping a DM. In order to send Jesus an invitation, all you got to do is open up your mouth and pray. And the Bible says pray without ceasing. That means when you leave, you pray. When you come in, you pray. When you drive, you pray. When you come and go, you pray. When you wake up in the morning, you pray.

When you go to bed, you pray. Prayer doesn't have to be a formal thing. It just needs to be an ongoing thing. He has made it easy for us because by his work, he has shattered the dividing walls and removed the veil, making it to where you can go all the way into the holies of holies and talk directly to God to tell him what you need and how you're hurting and what's going on. So if it's that easy to invite the King of Kings who can turn water into wine and give you a life that you never forget as it relates to your testimony of him, then why wouldn't we pray?

Why wouldn't we talk to him? Okay, this couple sent Jesus an invite. And you know what Jesus did? He came to the wedding. This means that Jesus is not a recluse in heaven that doesn't operate in the normal affairs of human life. Some people won't call on them because they think they're too small for them or their situation won't matter to them. That is not the case. All through the Scriptures, Jesus would be in places everybody else thought he shouldn't be. He would tell Zacchaeus, come down from that tree. I'm staying at your house. He would be sitting with sinners and the Pharisees would say, why in the world would you be with these people?

But Jesus would be in places a lot of times you would think that he wouldn't be because Jesus is not a heavenly recluse. He operates in the normal affairs of human life. So whatever your affairs are, whatever you're going through and dealing with, I beseech you therefore, brethren, to call on Jesus because he can take your lack and turn it into lavishness. That that is what he is able to do and they did something smart. They sent Jesus an invitation. And he accepts those invitation and he comes for his people. The question I had was, how did they know to send Jesus an invite?

This is prior to Jesus becoming famous. This is his first miracle. This is prior to crowds following him and people knowing all about him and his fame growing in the land. This is prior to that and Jesus is from Nazareth and this wedding is in Cana, a small town. So how in the world would the bridegroom even know I need Jesus at my wedding? John chapter 1 we're already in two. Just go up to John chapter one and I want to read verse 47 through 49. It says Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and he said to him, behold an Israelite indeed in whom there is no deceit.

Nathanael said to him, how do you know me? Jesus answered and said to him, before Philip called you when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered him, rabbi, you are the son of God. You are the king of Israel. Okay, let me just say it this way. Jesus saw Nathanael and he said, man, that's a good dude right there. Nathanael said, how you know me? Jesus said, I saw you under the fig tree. Nathanael said, oh, you're the son of God. Y'all got that? That's what happened right there. There was a relationship getting built between Nathanael and Jesus.

Okay, now turn to John 21:2. John 21:2 says this. Simon Peter and Thomas Thomas called Didymus and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee. And Nathanael of Cana in Galilee. And Nathanael of Cana in Galilee. Where's Nathanael from? In Galilee. It tell you where he from. This is a small town. He's from Cana. The wedding in Cana. Jesus from Nazareth. Nathanael just had a relationship in John chapter 1 with Jesus where he called Jesus the son of God and the son of God said, I see you, Nathanael, and they built a relationship. The bridegroom, because of a small town atmosphere of Cana, knew Nathanael.

Nathanael told the bridegroom about Jesus. The bridegroom said, well, I need to invite him to my wedding then. So the reason why Jesus got invited to the wedding is because of a relationship Nathanael had with Jesus that the bridegroom didn't have yet. Or y'all don't get it? I want to know how many people are sending an invitation to Jesus because of your relationship with him. I want to know, do people look at your life and see your relationship with Jesus and figure they better send them an invite? The sad reality today is we got thousands of people that are go to church, but all of their friends don't send Jesus an invite because you don't send them an invite.

They don't see them in your life. They don't figure they need them in theirs. There was a relationship between Nathanael and the bridegroom that gave the bridegroom the insight that I need to invite Jesus to my wedding. You have a job to do, saints, that's much greater than sit in church. You should have a relationship with Jesus to the degree that your stylist says, I need to send Jesus an invite. That your barber says, I need to send Jesus an invite. That your coworker says, I need to send Jesus an invite. It should be obvious from the saints that are in church who are not satisfied with just being in church, but being the church.

We it has to go beyond just our conversation with Jesus because Nathanael's relationship to the bridegroom and Jesus would be the go-between for the bridegroom's miracle. That we may be in our lack of relationship with Jesus postponing or stopping somebody else's miracle from Jesus. And here the bridegroom made that invite. He had a relationship with Nathanael. And let me tell you what happened in verse 3. It says when the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, they have no wine. Okay, let me help you. In the Bible days, weddings were a big deal.

They would celebrate for 7 days. They they would celebrate for a long time. Not only were weddings a big deal, but wine was a big deal. Wine was a big deal because wine wasn't just about drinking wine. Wine had some symbolism to it. Wine meant joy to them. Wine meant a prosperity to them. Wine meant abundance to them. Wine meant security to them. So when the wine ran out at the wedding, it was actually disgrace and an embarrassment because that was the bridegroom telling the bride that because this wine hasn't ran out, your security will not run out.

Because this wine hasn't not ran out, I can give you abundance and that won't run out. Your security won't run out. Your your prosperity won't run out. Your joy won't run out. So the in-laws would look at the bridegroom crazy if the wine ran out because that meant everything the wine represented would run out for their daughter. So for them, they were like, oops, the wine ran out. And Mary said, there's no more wine. Now I need you to understand based on the definition of of the wine um I got three girls. One day, far from now there are going to be some young dudes that think they got swag.

They can come into my house with swag. They can have a beard. They can have a sleeve. You know my girl They can pull up in something. They can have shades. They can have a eight pack. I don't care about none of that because I know that that wine can run out. And if Jesus ain't there that means all that other stuff don't matter.

Guest (Male): More of the Faith Walk with Pastor Jonathan Evans in a moment. When life leaves you feeling spiritually dry, pressured by culture or unsure of your purpose, all eyes on Jesus will help you refocus on the one who changes everything. Today, with a gift to support the ministry of the Urban Alternative, Jonathan wants to give you a copy of his eight-part audio series All Eyes on Jesus. What could happen if you fixed your eyes on Jesus in every area of your life? Also included with your gift is a book by Dr. Tony Evans The Power of Jesus Names.

Discover how the names of Jesus reveal his character, his purpose, and his power in your life today. Both the book The Power of Jesus Names and the eight-part audio series All Eyes on Jesus are a gift for you to thank you, to show our appreciation for your continued support. It is listeners like you who make this program possible. Our 24-hour resource request line is open at 1-800-800-3222. Let one of our team members help you. 1-800-800-3222 or get all the details at tonyevans.org. How can knowing him more deeply transform your faith? Now, let's get back to Jonathan with the rest of today's message.

Jonathan Evans: I know that that wine can run out. And if Jesus ain't there that means all that other stuff don't matter. So I'm going to open up that Bible and sit them down at that kitchen table. And first Peter 3 and Ephesians 5 and Titus 2, we going to run around the Scriptures and I going to find out what they know about Jesus. Because you can't just come in with worldly wine. You got to come in as a finisher and the only finisher I know is Jesus Christ. I want to know, do you have him? Because when things are lacking, if you have him, things don't have to stop.

In their culture, wedding and wine was like a movie without popcorn. It it was like a birthday with no cake. It was like a wedding with no reception. It was like going to a concert and there ain't no band. It's like somebody inviting you to play basketball and they ain't got no goal. I thought we would just dribble. Dribble? I'm trying to hoop. That's how it was for them in their culture. Can you imagine them being at the reception and going Mary's mom, Jesus, there's no wine. No wine. Everything would stop. You like, that's not just their culture.

That's my house. Yeah, I know some of y'all. Yeah, not just they Now let me say something since I'm talking about wine. Let me talk about drinking for a second. We in parentheses right now, parenthetical. I'll come back to the message in just a second. The Bible does not condemn the drinking of wine. The Bible says do not be drunk with wine, but be filled by the spirit. To be drunk is idolatry because now you have have gotten yourself under the control of another spirit. That's why they call them spirits. You are no longer under the control of the Holy Spirit.

You're under the control of something else. So God sees that as you choosing another God because only God is supposed to have control. There is no condemnation for someone who's drinking wine. It's only getting drunk with wine. That is the problem. You say look at y'all. Some of y'all like, oh, he just set me free. I So that's not the problem because if Jesus was turning water into wine and the Bible says God doesn't tempt, he evidently wasn't tempting the people to sin, which means it must not be. You say, well, what about hard liquor?

Well if you at the bar taking shots, you probably got a goal. Hard liquor falls under the same category. It's about drunkenness. It's not about the type. However say preach too soon. Somebody preach. However Paul says everything that's permissible is not necessarily beneficial. Then he also says I do all things for the sake of the gospel. So if I'm Pastor Jay and you I got a young Christian and they see me at the bar I may not be sinning, but I may mess them up. And because the gospel goes first and is the anchor of the reason why I do what I do, it may not be sin, but it is not beneficial to trip up somebody else just to get a drink.

We are not called to live at a standard that says just don't sin. You're called to live at a standard that says for the sake of the gospel. And for the sake of the gospel, that determines. There there may be some things you do in private that you don't do in public because you know it's for the sake of the gospel. Both of them may not be sin, but one is a better choice for the sake of the gospel. So I need you to understand that just because it's not sin, that's not your focus. Your focus is gospel.

And how am I representing the gospel? So I set you free-ish. So Jesus here is not tempting. He's turning the water into wine and Mary just lets him know Jesus they ain't got no wine because this is a big deal. They have no wine. Now in our culture okay, in their culture they would have known that they ran out. But they didn't want to speak about it. No one really wants to speak about their lack especially when it's embarrassing. They just wanted to just go away. They don't want to talk about something they know about that they're lacking especially when it's embarrassing to do so.

But Mary did it for them. So they probably, if it's American culture, could have looked at Mary like a hater. Like, stop putting my business out there. If I didn't tell them, why would you tell them? Like, this is not for you to do. It's for me to do. So Mary could be viewed as a hater. But if it wasn't for Mary, they would have got no miracle. Some of us are getting mad at people that are the conduit of our miracle just because we didn't want to say nothing. It's not everybody. Mary was someone that was invited.

Mary was someone that was invited. In other words, everybody shouldn't speak about it, but there are people in your life you invited. How you going to get mad at the people you invited? Do we not want accountability that much? That we will invite somebody and when they speak, we think they a hater. If it wasn't for Mary, they would have had to deal with their embarrassment and their lack and they wouldn't have had an experience with Jesus. So if they speak don't be mad. You could have spoken. You didn't. And Jesus moved on the invitation.

Well, actually Jesus had kind of an interesting response. Jesus said Mary said, hey, they ain't got no wine. Jesus said, woman, what they got to do with us? My hour has not yet come. Now, I do not suggest we we don't we don't talk to our mothers that way. In their culture, it was a little bit different where this wouldn't have been viewed as disrespectful. Matter of fact, at chapter 19 verse 26, he calls her woman again when he tells her, hey, John is going to be your son. John, this is going to be your mother when he's being crucified and saying that's who's going to take care of you.

He calls her woman again. In their culture, it wasn't disrespectful, but it was also to show that there was a switch and a change in the relationship between Jesus and his mother. That her title, now that he's starting his messianic journey to let everybody know who he is, her title is not greater than his title. You may be mama, but I'm Messiah. You going to have to submit to me now like everybody else. Well, it's a different playing field now and you need to make sure you understand that no matter how high up you go and no matter what your title is, your title better never be higher than his title.

Guest (Male): That was Pastor Jonathan Evans. Before you go today, I want to remind you that we have a couple of gifts for you, an eight-part audio series All Eyes on Jesus and a book The Power of Jesus Names. How can knowing him more deeply transform your faith through Dr. Evans' book The Power of Jesus Names? You'll discover how the name of Jesus reveals his character, his purpose, and his power in your life today. We are also including Jonathan Evans' All Eyes on Jesus audio series, helping you refocus on the one who changes everything. Discover how to deepen your faith, stand firm in difficult times, and live with confidence in God's calling.

What could happen if you fixed your eyes on Jesus in every area of your life? Both resources are a gift to you to thank you for your donation to help support the ministry of the Urban Alternative. It's our way of showing appreciation for the continuous support of listeners like you who make this program possible. Call 1-800-800-3222 anytime or get all the details online at tonyevans.org. Again, that's tonyevans.org or you can call our 24-hour resource request line at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our team members help you. That's 1-800-800-3222. Thank you for listening to the Faith Walk with Jonathan Evans.

The Faith Walk is produced as a part of the Urban Alternative, a ministry of Dr. Tony Evans.