John Gray - Fresh Start: Do Date
Give me wisdom to say exactly what you have put on my heart to say, nothing more, and certainly nothing less. This is my prayer. In your name Jesus, I pray, amen. Amen.
I want you to, I want you to go to John chapter 2. John chapter two, and I'm reading from the new King James version. I was at lunch today with some wonderful people that I just had a chance to meet. And, our server, a young lady, I wasn't sure, but she looked like she might be having a baby, and I say I wasn't sure because I messed up once, and that's what you don't do. I was with my wife in the store, and I went up to a lady and said congratulations, and she said for what, I said for the baby, she was like congratulations to you. And I was like, oh for real? So I learned to never assume.
Some people just might be struggling like me. And you ain't having no baby, you just look like you are. So, I threw a little question out there and I said do you have any children? She said, no, but I'm expecting. I said wonderful, praise God. And, I'm looking at her, and, you know, my wife, we've had two, so I'm looking at her stomach and I'm thinking she's about four months, maybe five months, she was like, yeah, I'm eight months, I'm due any day now. And I was like, wow, that's awesome. It looks like one thing, it looks like you're in one place in the development and actually you're further along than people can see. Oh my goodness.
If you're watching this on your phone and driving you better pull over, I'm just telling you right now. You gonna mess around and bump somebody else's car. So just pull over to the rest stop, and get this word. But I wanna give you this scripture, I want you to remember this story, I'm gonna give you the scripture, and then I'm gonna give you my title. In John chapter two, we find these words. First verse, on the third day there was a wedding in Cana. I was studying it, and I went, cause I really wanna make sure that I rightfully dividing the word, I've always said Cana, but the actual word is Cana. 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. Jesus said to her, woman, which is funny to me that clearly they're from the suburbs, this, that's why I know Mary was not a black woman, because as soon as he said woman he woulda got popped in the mouth if it had been a sister. So clearly they're European, and so, Jesus don't say that, you want a time out Mr. Jesus? So he says woman, what does your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, just ignore him altogether, just thank you for your opinion, goes to the servants and says whatever he says to do, whatever he says to you, do it. Whatever he says to you, do it. Somebody say do it.
Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing 20 or 30 gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, fill the water pots with water and they filled them up to the brim, and he said to them draw some out now and take it to the master of the feast, and they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine and did not know where it came from but the servants who had drawn the water knew. The master of the feast had called the bridegroom and he said to him, every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have drunk well, or well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now. This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee and manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him.
And I wanna talk to you, grabbing the scripture where Mary says to the servants, whatever he says to you, do it, and I wanna talk to you from the subject heading do date. DO, DATE, holler at your boy. Somebody say do date. This scripture is so significant for a number of reasons. And let me tell you the first thing. When we find Jesus in the book of John, which is a synoptic Gospel, there are things in the book of John that you don't find in Matthew, Mark, or Luke, this story is one of them. And in this passage, we find Jesus at a wedding feast. And, something bad is happening.
In this culture, Middle Eastern, Jewish culture, to run out of wine in a wedding feast was a problem, it was a cultural problem, it was a social problem. It was dishonorable. It could bring shame to the family for a long period of time. This was not just something to do because the party needed an extra level of turn up. This was bad. And so Mary understood the significance of what could happen if they ran out of wine. Culturally, they could become pariahs, in their community they would be dishonored, it was a stain that the family would have to live with for who knows how long.
And so Mary says to her baby boy, you know they ran out of wine. And she didn't say anything else. She didn't even ask him anything. But he knew where she was going. It's like come on ma, oh come on, I'm just chilling, I been here, we been, you know, doing everything, everything was good. She's like, I said they ran out of wine. Now why is Mary giving out instructions at somebody else's wedding? That's the first thing. So we theologians believe that this was the wedding of a family member, a close family member, because if it was not, Mary would not have needed to do this, this was not her place. So she saw my family's in trouble, we need a miracle.
Freeze, point number one, if your family's in trouble and you need a miracle, you better to talk to Jesus. A mild smattering of applause pervaded the church. I'm gonna say it again because I think it bears repeating because we're so quick to go to counselors and to other providers of care, and that's great, and I believe counseling has its place, and I believe doctors have their place, and I believe family therapists have their place, and I believe professionals who have attained to the highest levels of academia have their place, but where they end is where Jesus begins, and every now and then our families need Dr. Jesus.
There are some things nobody else can help you with, and you better have a relationship with Jesus that is not formal or perfunctory, there was no type of chill in what Mary asked. She immediately said, Jesus they don't have no wine. She didn't go to him, oh son of my vows, son of my youth, child of my teenage revelation, whilst thou doeth mother a favor. She had such a level of relationship that all she needed to do was just say what it was.
And some of us have been prolonging the miracle cause we keep running around the bush. We keep going around the real problem, and we're talking about all these other things, and Jesus is like, can you just tell me what it really is? I got three over there. Cause you know, no, no, no, no, it's all right, I don't ever want anybody to feel obligated to respond, I just get excited, and this is just kind of my, you know, way of doing. Lotta hand movements, it's kind of, you know, so forgive me. Because I get excited, you understand what I'm saying?
So, she said they don't have any wine. And, Jesus was like, but it's really not my time yet, I just need to kind of chill. And Mary's like no it's your do date. It's time for you to do what you were created to do. I just felt something break in this atmosphere. Does anybody believe in the spirit? It's your do date. You've been in, don't try it. Don't even think about it. Don't even worry about it. But now God is saying do it, do it. You were created for it. You have the power for it. You have the anointing for it, you have the skillset for it, you have the gifts for it, and I've got the reserves, I've got the backup, I've got the resource, I've got all that. If you've got faith to speak it, I've got the resource to bring it to pass. It's time for you to start doing the thing you were created to do. It's your do date.
Now let me tell you the significance of why this miracle at this moment in Jesus' life and ministry, and the significance of it. Now I wanna do some teaching, I want you to grab some notes if you can because I believe these things are going to help you as you develop in your walk with Christ, is that all right? The first you need to understand is that wine is a covenant drink. Which is why he didn't say, let's get some kool aid, this is the new kool aid in my blood, you know? It was wine. He didn't get any other beverage, wine is a covenant beverage, somebody say covenant.
So, a wedding is a covenant relationship, and so Jesus performs his first earthly miracle at a covenant celebration. This is important because he is the new covenant walking. He is the new wine. And what he was saying is that all the wine y'all been drinking is good, but if you really want the good stuff, come see me. Come spend time with me. I've got a vintage you've never had, it's smooth to the taste, and it heals you on the inside, and it won't leave you with a hangover. I feel the Holy Ghost. Jesus said, you've tried everything else. You've tried everyone else. You've tried that relationship, you've tried him, her, them, that, those, but he said, come see me, come taste and see that the Lord is good.
Even the place where the miracle took place, this city, Cana, or this region, Cana of Galilee, Cana means place of reeds, REEDS, place of reeds, Galilee means circuit, very important. Place of reeds, circuit, now why is that important here? Because when God established his covenant relationship with Israel, pastor Nick you just talked about what happened at the Red Sea, but if you study the Red Sea is actually the sea of reeds. And so, here at the sea of reeds, now the 10 plagues that happened in Egypt was God dealing with the Egyptians, but when he opened up that sea, that was a covenant sign to the believers.
So the first time they encountered the Father was at the Red Sea. The first time in the New Testament we encounter Jesus is at the place of reeds. So we've got the sea of reeds, and you cross over, now you've got the place of reeds, and we cross over again from the old covenant to the new covenant but there's still a marriage between the old and the new. Because he's the same today, yesterday, and forever more. And so there is a harmony in the Gospels from the old covenant to the new covenant, and a new covenant is civilized by the blood of Jesus, which he declared drink this wine for it is the new covenant in my blood.
So he did a miracle to let people know you thought that was good in the Old Testament, watch what I'm about to do with this new covenant. And so there is a parallel, symbiotic relationship between these two different covenants. And then we find Jesus in Galilee, which means circuits, say circuit. Circuit, or a circle. How many of us have ever just been going in? You thought you got free. Only to find out you are right back where you started. You thought you were delivered from that. Only to wake up and that thing was still right there. Literally right there. You need to go, I got to go to work. Ever woke up next to the thing you're stuck in? Somebody, when you laugh like that, you giving all your business away.
Now wine was a big deal in wedding feasts. Now I need you to understand something, and this is very important, I don't ever wanna impune the character of Jesus or dishonor him because Jesus was not a bartender. I need you to understand that there's nothing in the character of Jesus that would cause me to believe that he would create alcoholic fermented beverage to cause people to become more drunk. It's not in his character. It would be against the rabbinical priesthood that he came from, and as a high priest he couldn't even drink something that would intoxicate him because it would impair his judgment.
This is important because too many young believers will take this scripture and think it's cool to turn up. But let me help you to understand that Jesus is not giving us permission to get drunk. He's giving us permission to get free. Praise break, five seconds just. What Jesus did in this moment was so profound.
So let's break it down. Jesus says ma, it's not time yet. She said, servants, whatever he tells you to do, do it, let me speak to parents for a second because when you study scripture you need to understand two things about Jesus, he was fully God, but he was also fully man. And the Bible says, in Luke 2:52, that he grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and men, and it also said he learned obedience by the things that he suffered. Which means there were times when his mother had to correct him.
Now I need you to understand it like, but he was perfect, yeah, perfection from the place of sin, but as a human you still have to grow, you need people to teach you. So parents, don't you ever abdicate the throne of responsibility because you have a gifted child or a smart child or something in your mind says, well, you know, they can learn it on their own, that's why God gave them to you, don't ever minimize your influence over your children, they are your children, God gave them to you.
Stop listening to the lie of the devil that you're not a good father, you're not a good mother. If God wanted them to have different parents, he would have gave them different parents, so that means whatever they need you've got it. Here's what's striking. Jesus submitted to his mother because in the earth, as the mother, she still had authority. And I love how Mary used her authority. She was like, you know, they don't have no wine, and he's like, I don't feel like it's my time. She's like so go ahead and do what he tells you. What she just did, what she did is took authority.
I'm gonna need you to go ahead and do what I ask you to do here, don't get fresh in front of all these people. I know you walk on water and all that, I know, I had a cold and you told me I was healed, I appreciate that, but I'm still mama, don't make me set it off in Galilee, don't me act up in front of these people, hear Jesus? Yes ma'am. So as soon as that transaction took place he was like y'all get some waterpots. Anybody got some waterpots? It went from it's not my time to yes ma'am. Somebody get some water, I need some water, that's all I need is some water.
Now here's what's funny, he was making wine, but he didn't ask for grapes. That's why I got on purple, see you don't even know, see. Got on my purple, cause this is by look of the grapes, no anyway. Why wouldn't he ask for grapes? Well, he's about to do a creative miracle, so he actually doesn't need grapes, he just needs water and some darkness.