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When "Not Enough" Becomes "More Than Enough"
24 Plays24 days ago
John 2:1-11
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction: Metaphors of Insufficiency
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Maybe your strength is running out at the end of a school year.
00:00:06
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Or God forbid, maybe it's the fried chicken running out at the end of the potluck on Sunday mornings here. Most of y'all know what it feels like when you think to yourself, this may not be enough.
The Wedding Crisis: Running Out of Wine
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Now imagine, if you will, a wedding that's happening. It's a once in a lifetime celebration. The whole town is there. Your friends are there, family is there, people from out of town, everybody gathered.
00:00:34
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Joy is in the air and then all of a sudden, the wine has run out. It's not just an inconvenience, it's a deep embarrassment.
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A failure that would linger well beyond the days when the wedding has ended.
Jesus' Quiet Intervention: A New Beginning
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But right there in that moment, in that quiet desperation, in that rising tension,
00:00:59
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Jesus ah steps in. Not with some big parade, not with a fog machine, with drums or cymbals clanging, not pointing to himself, but a very quiet power.
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What he does in that moment, brothers and sisters, is he reveals something that we all need to see, something that we're going to see today and in our passage. When he shows up what feels insufficient or what feels like it's not enough, it's not the end of the story. It's just the beginning when Jesus is involved.
00:01:41
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John doesn't start today, by the way, with a sermon. He starts with a shortage.
Cultural Context: Honor and Shame at Weddings
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So let's step into this this wedding scene and watch how it all unfolds.
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Read with me John 2, beginning in verse One, and says now there the next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee.
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Jesus' mother was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. The wine supply ran out during the festivities, and so Jesus' mother told him they have no more wine.
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Dear woman, that's not our problem, Jesus replied. My time has not yet come. But his mother told the servants, do whatever he tells you.
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Let's pause right there. So here's the scene. There's a Jewish wedding going on. Unlike the weddings of today, the Jewish wedding would go on sometimes for a week.
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Can you imagine that? A wedding celebration for an entire week. Everybody's there from the town. Everybody's been waiting for this couple to get married. The food, the preparations, wine, all intricate details that play into this wedding.
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And then a real need emerges. Not life or death, I don't want you to think that, but it's it's a real need. It's a deeply personal need.
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It's one of social significance. The Jewish culture was a honor-shame culture, meaning everything balanced on one side or the other of either honor or shame.
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If you ran out of wine during your wedding, brothers and sisters, that would be very shameful. Shameful for the bride, shameful for her parents, shameful for the groom and his parents.
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Now, we don't we're not told here in the Scripture exactly what time during that celebration that the the wine ran out. But I want you to know it's a big deal. you're taking notes just right, it's a big deal.
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This a big deal. Now, notice what Mary does.
Mary's Faith: Presenting the Problem to Jesus
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She brings the need to Jesus. I like that, right? Hey, the wine has run out. It's very...
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quick, it's very short, she just describes the problem. Jesus hears the problem. She doesn't try to solve it. She simply presents it right to him. Now Jesus says, translation may say, woman.
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Woman, what does this have to do with me?
00:04:14
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Woman in this time was like saying, um like bam, like we would say ma'am these days, right? It's the same word that Jesus says when he's on the cross and and John and Mary are down there.
00:04:26
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And he says, hey, John, behold your mother. And he says to Mary, a woman, behold your son, right? And it's that point it says after Jesus has passed that John takes care of Mary. It's the same word he uses here. He says, woman, my time has not yet come.
00:04:42
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It might sound first that this is a distant response, as if Jesus is somehow dismissing the need, but he's not. He's redefining and I want you to see it here. He lifts their eyes or her eyes from this immediate problem, the wine is running out, to this ultimate purpose.
Miracle's Meaning: Glory and Purpose Beyond Celebration
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right My hour has not yet come points to a time when he's going to on the cross, where his glory will be fully revealed.
00:05:07
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But even here, even in this wedding, even at this moment when the wine is running out, Jesus is moving. He's acting. Now, the best part, mothers, I want you to pay attention because this something that Mary does that maybe you guys could pick up on.
00:05:22
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She states the need and then she just leaves it. You notice Jesus' a response. He says, what does this have to do with me? My time has not come. She doesn't argue with him. She doesn't ask for a big explanation.
00:05:35
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She just leaves it. And his mother says to the servants, do whatever he tells you to do. It's simple. It's direct. It's instructive. She doesn't demand an explanation. She simply distrusts.
00:05:49
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Here's the problem. Jesus, you handle it But Jesus is never driven by urgency alone. Just because his mother says we're running out of wine, does he feel like he has to act?
00:06:02
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He's on a different timetable, if you haven't noticed, by the way. Oftentimes you might be praying for something and you're asking for an answer for something immediate, and and that answer may come in some time.
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He's on a different timetable. He's on a divine timetable. He has a divine purpose. And oftentimes I put for me, this looks like a delay. And I get frustrated. Lord, why aren't you answering this the way I want you to answer it in the time I want you to answer it?
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I know I'm not alone.
00:06:33
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But he still meets the need, Jesus does, as we read on here. But he does so in such a way that points to something further, something bigger that's going on. This miracle is not just about saving the day or saving the celebration.
00:06:46
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It's a sign that points to something greater that's about to come. You'll notice in your handout I provided you a list of all the signs and miracles that John provides.
00:06:58
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You'll remember our John purpose statement in John 20, 30. know All these signs are recorded so that you might know that Jesus is the Son of God and through him that you'll have eternal life. right It's just these signs. There are many more signs that recorded, but John is recording these ones that I've provided you there for your study this week.
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So he's pointing to something greater than just saving the day. He's pointing to a time when his death and resurrection will accomplish much greater works. So thought about that this week.
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When this past week has God showed up for me? When has he answered a prayer for me? When has he provided something for me? Did I remember him in that moment?
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Or were you praying for something and he didn't show up this week?
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Because the temptation, brothers and sisters, is that at that point, we want to jump right in and say, let me let me take care of this for you, God. Let me handle this for you, Lord. I know you're not answering me in the time I want it. let me Let me step in and take control.
00:08:10
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Mary shows us another way to handle this type of situation. She simply brings it to Jesus and she trusts him to obey.
Encouragement: Trust and Obedience over Understanding
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So here's what I want you to write down first in your notes.
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Where I don't have enough, where I don't have enough, I'm gonna bring it to Jesus. Where I don't have enough in my life, where I think there's some insufficiency in my life, I'm gonna bring it to Jesus.
00:08:41
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Some of you are carrying those needs right now. Quiet ones, personal ones, health issues, marital issues, job issues. question isn't whether or not Jesus sees that need. Let me let you in on a secret. He already knows it.
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He's just waiting for you to recognize it. He's waiting for you to trust him enough to hand that over to him. So the question for you today is, will you begin to do that? Will you take that next step? Will you take that first step of obedience?
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Will you begin trusting Jesus in this one small thing?
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Because often what he asks from you and I is to take that step of obedience first. He doesn't explain it first. He doesn't give you clarity in that situation first. He just says, obey.
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This is what happens here in verse 6 and
Ordinary to Extraordinary: Faith in Action
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on. Read with me.
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Standing nearby were six stone water jars used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold 20 to 30 gallons, and Jesus told the servants, fill the jars with water.
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When the jars had been filled, he said, now dip some out and take it to the master of the ceremonies. And the servants followed his instructions.
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Six stone jars, common jars, ordinary jars, unremarkable jars, used for ritual washing. Yet these ordinary vessels become something extraordinary in this miracle.
00:10:14
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He tells the servants, now go and fill the jars with water. No explanation. No preview. He doesn't say fill water and I'm going to turn it into wine. You notice that? He just says, just fill it with water.
00:10:29
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And says they obey him fully. Not halfway. Not cautiously. Matter of fact, your translation probably says they filled it to the brim. If you're somebody who highlight or underline, you might want to underline that or highlight that.
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Just in the column of your Bible, write interesting detail.
00:10:49
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Why does the author put that in there? Why is that important? Well, we're going to see in just a second. Now he says to them, now draw out some and take it to the master of the feast. Somewhere between the filling and the pouring, everything changes.
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Water becomes wine. Quietly, completely. He chooses the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary.
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The jars were ordinary, cleansing jars, but he uses these to transform, pointing to something bigger, a bigger miracle that's going to happen.
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Now I put in my notes here, I'm sure the servants didn't understand everything completely. I'm sure they didn't say, well, you know what, we have better jars in the back, golden ones with diamonds on it.
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Jesus, are you sure you just want six? Why don't we get eight? Why don't we get ten? They didn't do any of that. They simply just obeyed.
00:11:55
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The power is his, the obedience is ours. The next thing I want you to write down is just this. By the way, when I write notes, it's notes that I write to myself during the week, and I'm just sharing it with you, hoping that it makes sense to you.
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You're going to write down, my role is to fill the jar. Period. my job My role is to fill the jar.
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Jesus will do the rest.
00:12:24
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I put daily faithfulness sometimes. You know, you're reading of your Bible, you're getting up early, you're praying, you're serving, you're showing up here. You're cleaning the church, you're printing the bulletins, you're setting out all the things that need to happen so that we can worship here. Sometimes, brothers and sisters, that fills feels just like filling up the jars with water.
00:12:44
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Pretty ordinary. But I want to know that those ordinary things that you do in every day, Jesus turns those ordinary things, those ordinary little steps of obedience into something much greater.
00:12:58
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I put some of you here today are probably waiting for some clarity on something that's going on in your life before you obey. But I want you to know it doesn't work that way.
00:13:11
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Quite often, the Lord gives you clarity after you obey. not the other way around. So fill the jar. Take that step.
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Trust Him with the outcome.
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Now here's why it's so important that we do this. You'll see Jesus works with this kind of step-by-step obedience in our lives. He's not just going to fix the problem. He's going to reveal something much greater. Look with me here in verse 9 and following.
00:13:39
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It says, Now when the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now Not knowing where it had come from, though of course the servants knew, he called it the bride group or the bridegroom over.
00:13:53
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The host always serves the best wine last. He said, then everyone has already had a lot to drink and he brings out the less expensive wine, but you, on the other hand, have kept the best wine until now.
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This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. and his disciples believed in him.
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It's not just wine that that that he converts, right? It's the best wine. It's not just enough, it's more than enough.
Abundant Provision: Faith vs. Societal Resistance
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It's a picture of abundance here.
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Why didn't we highlight and circle the word brim earlier? Because brothers and sisters, that's what we think God will provide. If he would just give us enough to the brim, we'd be happy.
00:14:46
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But Jesus says, that's not how I operate. I operate in abundance. I overflow that. I pour it out graciously. I pour out mercy. I don't operate with the bare minimum.
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I'm generous. I'm excellent. You notice it says this is the first of his signs.
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Wasn't the last of his signs. He did a lot of signs, by the way. All of these signs pointed to something greater. It's his glory. It's not just a solution. It's a revelation. He's revealing his glory, his identity, his authority.
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And the beauty of it, brothers and sisters, look to what happens at the very end of verse 11.
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The the disciples what? They believed.
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The sign points beyond this little miracle here. Which, by the way, I'm sure if you were there at the party and you were a servant, you would have been astonished.
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How in the world could he have taken wine and turned or taken water and turned it into wine? But that's just a small miracle. It's pointing to something bigger. It's pointing to who Jesus is and what he can do for you and for me. It's a picture of abundance.
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It's a picture of all his promises to restore. And the blessings that he wants to pour out in your life and my life are not just to the brim, but they're overflowing. I'll just put a note to myself.
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I'm sure there were people at the wedding who drank that wine and never knew where it came from. They never knew the source.
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But others knew. Others saw and they believed.
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It's the same in our society today. People will come into some knowledge of who Jesus is and they'll just turn away.
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That's not for me.
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ah I talked to somebody a couple weeks ago and I said, hey, you ought to come to our church. Kind of some new things going on over there at First Baptist Church. They were like, like this face, church.
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And thought, wow, a visceral response to church. Brothers sisters, that's who you're walking life with out there in in the culture. People who are adamantly against God.
00:17:22
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But if they only knew the personal relationship that they could have with him and how it would transform everything, that it would take that stuff that we think we're so lacking in and he would make it so abundant.
00:17:34
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I think they would just line up for weeks to meet him.
Recognizing God's Provision: Gratitude in Life
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me ask you this. This past week, where have you seen God providing in your life?
00:17:49
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You know, praying this morning. We have this beautiful little prayer room as soon as you come into church. I feel like it's hardly ever used. I'm the only one in there, and I'll move something in there to see if anybody else comes in and moves it back.
00:18:03
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I'm not going to tell you what it is because it's my secret. I'm just in there. But I was praying this morning in there. You know, I thought just, Lord, all the things that you have provided this week.
00:18:13
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You know, Kim and I were able to go to Wimberley for a couple days. I thank the Lord that we had a truck and that the truck worked because it was kind of steep in some areas. And I thought, who in their right mind would drive a place like this with a regular car?
00:18:26
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But was so thankful for the provision of just a truck. You guys were like, oh, we've had trucks for generations.
00:18:36
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Are you thankful for that? That he shows up and in the most ordinary of situations in your life?
00:18:44
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So what do we do with this today? What do we do with what he shows us about himself? if he If he really is the Messiah, if he really has come to save, and he really is somebody who can transform your life from the ordinary into something extraordinary, what do we do with this?
00:19:06
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How do we live this out this week?
Advice: Trusting Jesus with Insufficiencies
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Well, the first thing I put is stop trying to fix everything. For you fixers, I'm looking at you right now. You type A people.
00:19:19
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I say that lovingly because I'm a type A person. Stop trying to fix everything. He's not asking you to fix it. He's not asking you to figure figure it all out.
00:19:31
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Don't have to have all the answers up front.
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He's asking you to just identify one place in your life where you're holding back right now. Maybe it's a conversation you've been avoiding to have. Maybe it's a step of forgiveness that you've been resisting.
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Maybe you've been resisting this.
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You know what? Monday, I'm going to get in God's Word.
00:20:01
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How about later today, this afternoon, you go home and get in God's
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Maybe it's serving or giving or stepping into something God has already made super clear. I circled on my notes, stop asking for more clarity. He's giving you all the clarity you need. He's asking for obedience.
00:20:20
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Trust him. Step out. Here's the challenge this week, three things.
Challenge: Naming and Trusting Insufficiencies
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The first thing I want you to do is name it. Think about something in your life where you feel like, I don't have enough.
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It's insufficient.
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Name that. Write it down.
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Be honest with God.
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Lord, this is where I've been holding back in my walk with you.
00:20:50
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Second, act on it. you've got to name it, act on it. Take one specific step this week. Not someday, not later, not tomorrow.
00:21:03
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Someday this week, say, I'm going to make that call. I'm going to open my Bible. I'm going offer that forgiveness. I'm going to take that step. No matter how small it is. Maybe it's simply, you know what, I'm going to come back next Sunday.
00:21:17
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Maybe I'm get here an hour earlier and check out Bible study class. Which, by the way, they're fantastic here if you haven't been sitting in one.
00:21:25
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Third, you're going to trust God with it. That means you're going to release the outcome. By the way, I left this third because it's the hardest to do. Many of us can think about something where we've been holding back.
00:21:41
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Some of us will even be courageous enough to step out and take some action on it. But the toughest one is to trust God with the outcome. You're not responsible for the result. Let me say that again. You are not responsible for the result.
00:21:55
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Your role is to simply fill the jar. Just fill it. You're responsible for obedience only. You fill the jar, Jesus does the transforming, period.
00:22:10
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Matter of fact, next time going to preach this, I'm going to just do one line at the beginning. You fill the jar, Jesus does the transforming.
00:22:20
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You may not see it right away, brothers and sisters, but somewhere between that obedience and his timing, he's going to start doing that miracle in your life. that miracle that only he can do.
00:22:32
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No one else can turn water into wine. They can't.
00:22:41
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Let's put, he still does this today, by the way. This is not something that happened 2,000 years ago at a Jewish wedding. He still steps into the ordinary parts of your life today. He still meets needs today.
00:22:55
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He still transforms the situations in your life today.
Transformation: Trust in Everyday Life
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He still reveals himself to you today. He only asks that you would call out to him in obedience and trust him.