Do You Love Me?

Do you love me?

I. Weddings

a. My wife

i. Do you love me?

ii. Had you ever been in love before?

1. She had respected intelligence

2. She had admired courage

3. She had been captivated by looks

4. but with me, well how else do you explain it?

b. Cana made me think of Tevya from Fiddler on the Roof

i. Preparing for Hodel’s wedding

ii. Asks Golde, “do you love me?”

iii. Her answers

1. “Do I what?”

2. For twenty-five years I’ve washed your clothes

Cooked your meals, cleaned your house

Given you children, milked the cow

After twenty-five years, why talk about love right now?

3. Do I love him?

For twenty-five years I’ve lived with him

Fought him, starved with him

Twenty-five years my bed is his

If that’s not love, what is?

4. Him elated

5. Her stunned

Transition: Golde makes a good point here: we should recognize love by its actions. Tevya didn’t need to ask her, all he had to do was to open his eyes. Yet, here we sit on this Sunday morning, and I’m sure many of you are asking God this very question, “Do you love me?” Like Tevya, we need only open our eyes to see the answer.

II. Wedding at Cana

a. Jewish history

i. Messianic Feast

1. Joel 3:18, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.”

2. Isaiah 25:6-8, “And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.”

ii. Heaven, according to the OT, is an infinite kegger!

b. What did Jesus do here?

i. Gave a gift to the couple

ii. Though rebuking her for asking, obeyed his mother

iii. 6x20 or 30 = 120 – 180 GALLONS of high quality wine!

iv. Sounds like OT Heaven on earth don’t it!

Transition: Jesus, God the Son, loves us. There is no question about this. He laid down His life for us, He gave us wisdom, and He showed some people a glimpse of heaven at a small wedding in Cana. The symbolism of marriage is often used in the Bible. Let’s look at Isaiah 62:1-5 for a second.

III. God loves us

a. Marriage shows God’s pride in us AND His value of us

b. God is restoring His lost one

c. He is lifting Israel up from the ashes of despair and desolation

d. He rejoices in His chosen as a groom rejoices over his bride

Transition: This imagery isn’t limited to this scripture. You will find it throughout the Old Testament, and even hints of it in the New Testament. Song of Solomon, the book which precedes Isaiah, is some of the most beautiful love poetry about young couple ever written, and it is entirely about us and our God. Song of Solomon 6:3 tells us that “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.” Clearly, God the Father loves us. He cherishes us, and wants only the best for us. Finally, there is the Holy Spirit.

IV. The Holy Spirit loves us

a. 1 Cor 12:1-11 Gifts of the Spirit

i. Wisdom

ii. Knowledge

iii. Faith

iv. Healing

v. Miracle power

vi. Prophecy

vii. Distinguishing of Spirits

viii. Tongues

ix. Interpretation of tongues

b. These gifts empower us

c. They are a source of Change in our lives

d. They allow us to serve God better

Transition: God, the Holy Spirit, loves us too. Clearly, like Tevya, when we open our eyes, we see that God has shown His love for us in many forms. We don’t really need to ask the question, “Do you love me?” We already know the answer. But, there is a question to be answered. That question is, “Do you love me,” and it is asked by God.

V. Do you love God?

a. Matt 25:31-40, “"When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, ’Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.’ "Then those ’sheep’ are going to say, ’Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ’I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me--you did it to me.’”