Sermon Central
-
God's Greatest Desires For Our Lives Series
Contributed by Rick Crandall on Jun 23, 2019 (message contributor)
Summary: 1. Jesus wants to be our constant companion (vs. 1-2). 2. Jesus wants to be our finest friend (vs. 2). 3. Jesus wants us to be confident in His care (vs. 3-4). 4. Jesus wants us to point other people to Him (vs. 3-5). 5. Jesus wants us to follow Him to the fullest (vs. 6-10).
God's Greatest Desires for Our Lives
The Gospel of John
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - May 4, 2016
(Revised June 23, 2019)
*Think about how many miracles Jesus performed. In John 20:30-31, the Apostle John tells us that:
30. . . truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book;
31. but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
*John 21:25 tells us that "there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written."
*Jesus did an astounding number of miracles while He was here on earth. But counting the Lord's resurrection, there are only 39 separate miracles of Jesus mentioned in the four Gospels. John's Gospel includes only 11 of these miracles, and 8 of those are found only here in John. (1)
*Tonight, we will focus on the very first of the Lord's miracles. And it may seem like a strange miracle to us. It may even seem like a frivolous miracle to us. But Christ's first miracle shows us some of God's greatest desires for our lives.
1. FIRST: JESUS WANTS TO BE OUR CONSTANT COMPANION.
*Verses 1-2 remind us that God wants to have a close, personal relationship with us:
1. On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
2. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
*Jesus went to a wedding. And one of the great lessons from this wedding is that the Lord wants to be close to us. We might think that with all of the important things Jesus had to do, He would be way too busy to take time out for a wedding. But Jesus took the time to go to this wedding because He truly cares for people. In fact, He wants to be our constant companion.
*Jesus wants to be close to us every moment of every day. It's a great thing to be here at church tonight, but this story reminds us that God doesn't just want to meet with us at church. Jesus wasn't at the Temple in these verses. He was at someone's home for a wedding.
*King Duncan told about a little boy who had a Sunday School lesson on this wedding miracle. After class that day, his daddy asked, "Well, what did you learn from that story?" The little boy thought for a moment and replied, "If you're having a wedding, make sure that Jesus is there." That was a great answer! Jesus Christ should be invited to every wedding. (2)
*And it's good to notice that this was a happy occasion. Talking about the miraculous signs in this Gospel, John Phillips noted that the first sign was at a wedding, one of life's gladdest hours. And in John 11, one of the Lord's last miracles was at Lazarus' grave, one of life's saddest hours. (3)
*This fact reminds us that in good times or bad, happy or sad, Jesus wants to be close to us. The Lord wants to be close to us on our Mondays, Tuesdays, and every day of our lives.
*Jesus doesn't just drop in for the special occasions. He has a personal interest in our day-to-day lives. He is a full-time God, so He wants to have a full-time relationship with us. And if Jesus is our Lord and Savior, He is always near, even living in our hearts.
2. JESUS CHRIST WANTS TO BE OUR CONSTANT COMPANION. HE ALSO WANTS TO BE OUR FINEST FRIEND.
*In vs. 2 Jesus was "invited" or "called" to the wedding. The Lord wasn't at this wedding as a preacher to perform the ceremony. He was there as a friend and invited guest.
*Friends are a wonderful gift from God, people we can trust, people who are there for us, stand by us, help us every way they can, and simply enjoy being with us. Thank God for the good friends He has given to us. But we also need to know that one reason why God gives us earthly friends is to help us understand the kind of relationship He wants to have with us.
*Friendship with God is a key part of Christian life. Proverbs 18:24 tells us that there is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother, and that is Jesus Christ! He wants to be our Best Friend! As Jesus said in John 15:13, "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
