Samuel Rodriguez - Terrific Tension
The next day, there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there. And Jesus and his disciples were likewise invited to the celebration. The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus' mother told him, they have no more wine. John 2:4, here comes terrific tension. John 2:4. This is his momma, now. He goes, "Dear woman," first of all, that's your momma. If I called my momma a woman like that, I wouldn't be up here to testify about it. "Dear woman," he says. That's not our problem. Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come". But his mother told the servants, "Do whatever he tells you". You missed it. No. Mom looks at Jesus, they ran outta wine, do something about it. Jesus says, "It's not my time. I'm not doing anything about it". Mary says, "Yeah, whatever. Guys, get ready. He's about to tell you to do something".
That really happened. But the mother told the servants, "Do whatever he tells you". Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonies. Each could hold 20 to 30 gallons. And Jesus told the servants, he just finished saying he wasn't gonna do it. He just said, I'm not doing it, mom. And all of a sudden, John 2:7, Jesus told the servants, "All right, fill the jars with water". When the jars had been filled, he said, "Now, dip some out and take it to the master of ceremonies". So the servants followed his instructions. When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from, though of course the servants knew, he called the bridegroom over. "A host will always serve the best wine first, then when everyone has a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best for now".
The best for last. This miraculous sign, the first miracle of Jesus, ladies and gentlemen, right here it is. His first miracle was in a wedding ceremony, and his disciples believed in him. Lemme begin with the first point. The God that never changes has the power to change everything. I will repeat that for the hearing-impaired. The God that never changes has the power to change everything. And I will repeat that one more time, 'cause we're, the God that never changes has the power to change everything. This is the story of God changing water into wine, we must begin discussing change. The first question I have to ask here is how many people here do well with changes? How many do well? How many do okay? When things change, you're all right, you can handle it.
How many have a difficult time with change? If you do, raise your hands. The majority of you. The iconic rockstar, back from the last century, David Bowie, he had a song called "Changes". We live in a world of constant change. Everything literally seems to be changing. Yet, in the midst of unbridled, unparalleled, unprecedented change, permit me to share with you a powerful constant in a world full of variables. God never changes.
Listen, for you in this auditorium, in Los Angeles, and those streaming around the world, seasons may change, but God never changes. Technology may change, but God never changes. Ideologies and social constructs may change, but God never changes. The occupant of the White House may change, but God never changes. Relationships may change, but God never changes. The hair on your head may change, but God never changes. The balance in your bank account may change, but God never changes. Your relationship status may change, but God never changes. The people around you may change, but God never changes. The thoughts in your mind may change, but God never changes. "I am the Lord. I do not change", Malachi 3:6. James 1:17. "Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow".
Now, with that being said, it is important to note the following, that we do live in a world where influencers, politicians, sports figures, governmental officials, truly believe, driven by the real culprit, the enemy of light, that they have the power to wake up in the morning and make radical changes. Let me explain, as a church, that finishes every service with the following declaration, hey, new season. Let's do one thing together. We not only believe in change, we demand change. However, the problem of our day and age lies embedded in a global movement of change out of alignment with the word and the will of God. In other words, very powerful forces believe, help me, Lord Jesus, today, that they have the power and the authority to change whatever they want, even the truth's definitions, institutions, and realities ordained, anointed, and established by God Almighty.
But permit me today to speak directly into this atmosphere of deconstructionism, of anarchy, of chaos, relativism, and the idea that forces under the influence can emerge and do away with absolutely everything they want, and nothing can stop them. Let me give you the antidote, here it is. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8. What does that mean? I don't care what force, what government authority, I don't care what emerges saying we no longer believe that's real, we no longer believe that's truth. Jesus never changes. You can't change Jesus. You don't have the power to change what Jesus did on the cross, you can't change the shedding of the blood, you can't change the fact that the tomb is still empty. You can't change the fact that the Holy Spirit is still moving upon the face of the earth. You can't change the father, you can't change the Son, and you cannot change the Holy Spirit.
And according to God's word, there are other things that will never change. God's word never changes. Psalm 33:11. "The council of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to our generations. His word is timeless, and his promises are everlasting". Matthew 24:35. "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away". Pass away. There are things that will never change.
And I discovered this past week that, on our platforms including pray.com, and I want you all to download that app, it's the world's most downloaded faith app. Pray.com. This church ministry is highly featured on pray.com, and I discovered this past week with a conversation that we have an incredible amount, not just lay people, but pastors around the world that follow this ministry, and we are honored and blessed and humbled by it, so I wanna remind pastors and leaders around the world that our stages may change, but the Word of God never changes. That our seats and our carpeting may change, but the Word of God never changes. That the way we dress in order to connect with the next generation may change, but the Word of God never changes. And the number-one problem we have, lemme speak about America, is not the loud proponent of lies.
The number-one problem we have in America are the silent prophets of truth. In other words, when pastors stand up on Sunday mornings and preach the truth, then this nation will be saved. And so, things change but there are things that never change. Change, point number two, can be triggered by the spirit of expectancy. Let me break this down. They ran out of wine. Repeat after me, "They ran out of wine". Some of you know, some of you have experienced that experience first-hand. Mary, I could tell by the way you look on Sunday mornings sometimes. Mary, not just, not this campus, L.A. Mary, especially L.A. Mary, help us, Jesus. Mary, the mother of Jesus, looks at Jesus and tells him to do something. He literally looked at his mother and said, "It's not my time".
I wanna break this down for you. Maybe, you've never heard this before, possibly you haven't. The response of Jesus is the clear indication that when Mary was demanding from Jesus, what she was demanding, ooh, was not for Jesus to go to the nearest Raley's, Bel-Air, Safeway, or even WalMart or Target, and pick up some happy juice. Mary wasn't saying they ran out of wine, go to the nearest store and get some happy juice. No. Mary was telling Jesus, go ahead. Show us your glory. Go ahead. Perform a miracle. Go ahead, show these people who you really are. Go ahead, do what no one else can do. How do we know that, how can we biblically substantiate that? How can we go beyond a hypothesis or even a supposition and solidify this as a matter of biblical truth? We know this because of the response of Jesus. His response was the following. My time hasn't come yet. If Mary was asking him to go to the nearest Raley's and pick up some wine, he never would've said, "My time hasn't come yet". His response affirms the fact that what Mary was asking him was, show us your glory. Show us what you got.
Now, you need to put this in perspective. Until this moment, up to this moment, Jesus was not showing anyone the glory. There were no miracles recorded that we know of, up to this moment. Oh, you're gonna get this in a second. His response was the following, "My time has not come yet". In other words, Isaiah 60:22: "At the right time I, the Lord, will make it happen". Wait a moment. Jesus looks at his mom and says, "Woman, it's not my time yet". It's not my time to start performing miracles. It's not my time. It's not my time to start showing people my father's glory. It's not my time to reveal to everyone around me that I am the Son of Man, the Son of God, the Messiah, the conqueror, and the word made flesh. Jesus looks at Mary and tells her, "It's not my time yet". And what did Mary do next? Mary ignored, supposedly, the words of Jesus and told the people around them, "Get ready. He's about to do something".
You missed it. Mary says, "Do something. Go ahead. Show us your power. Show us your glory. I know you can do something. Do something". Jesus says, "Now, it's not my time yet. I don't feel it's my time yet. I don't think it's my time yet. I just don't feel it right now. I don't feel it right now. I'm just not feeling it". And Mary looks at him and says, "Whatever. Hey, guys. I need you to get ready. He's about to do something". No, he's about to do something. Now, it may look like a contradiction, but it was actually an affirmation. In order to understand why Mary said what she said, you gotta go back 30 years. 30 years prior, an angel of the Lord visited the same Mary in Luke 1. And said, the Lord, the Messiah, will be born out of you. Don't be afraid, you have found favor with God. You will become pregnant, Luke 1:31. You will give birth to a son. You will name him Jesus. He will be a great man. He will be called the son of the Most High. The Lord will give him the throne of his ancestor, David.
And the angel just prophesied unto Mary, in other words, for 30 years, Mary has waited for Jesus to show the glory. For 30 years, Mary sat with the promise, for 30 years, Mary lived with the spirit of, I can't wait till everyone knows what I already know. She was waiting for 30 years, and in that wedding, Mary basically said, that's it. I'm done waiting. I've been waiting for 30 years, for everyone to know what I already know. So she says, get ready, make room, Jesus is about to do something amazing. I'm here to tell you, there's a group of people that have enough faith to say, Jesus is about to do something amazing. Does anyone here believe that in your family, Jesus is about to do something amazing? No, I need to, I sense the Lord, does anyone here believe, I dare you to tell people that you love, tell the people around you, get ready. Jesus is about to do something amazing.
I don't care if they say it's not the right time, Jesus is about to do something amazing. The spirit of expectancy. She unleashed Jesus, it looks like Jesus acquised. I would even argue that Mary placed a demand on the anointing that Jesus carried. Matter of fact, Jesus is the anointed one. He doesn't just have an anointing, he is the anointing. In other words, I'm not leaving here. You're gonna do a miracle. No, you missed it. It's not the only time in scripture where Jesus went, like, you know, I don't really feel like it right now, and all of a sudden, like, the Lebanese woman, "Hey, I'm not going anywhere until you give me my miracle". And then Jesus said, "You know what? It's not in my calendar, it's not in my agenda, according to my schedule, you're not in line for one, but your spirit is provoking me to show..."
I need someone in Sacramento, someone around the world, that has a spirit of expectancy so great that you say, I don't care if I am on the agenda or not, as for me and my house, Jesus is about to show up and do something amazing. Somebody praise like Jesus is about to show up. Somebody, lift up your hands like you know that he's about to show up. Lift up your hands. It's not about the time, it's about the need. Y'all missed that. Mary placed a demand on the anointing upon Jesus, it's not about the time, it's about the need. When the need becomes desperate, time is no longer the primary motivator. God's timing will never be a lid on his children's needs. Y'all missed it. We don't serve the God that says, I'm not gonna supply your need 'cause it's not your time yet. I'm not gonna save your children 'cause it's not your time yet. I'm not gonna heal your body 'cause it's not your time yet. The moment you create a spirit of expectancy, God shows you his glory.
Am I preaching to anyone here this morning? Is anybody desperate enough, is anyone here desperate enough to look at the people around you and say, get ready. Jesus is about to do something amazing. With your hands raised. In other words, you may think it's not your time, but I have the spirit of expectation that you are about to show us your glory. Therefore, my spirit of expectation has the power to prompt you to show us your glory. Jeremiah 33:3, if you call upon me, I will show you what you have never seen before. It never says, if it's in my perfect schedule. Raise your hands and repeat after me, I'm ready for your miracle. I'm ready for the breakthrough. I'm ready for the overflow. I'm ready for you to show us your glory. I sense God, if Mary would've backed off, that miracle never would've happened. But Mary persisted, insisted, she made room for Jesus to show him his glory, and that's what God is telling you today.
Rise up with the spirit, just like Mary, a spirit of expectancy, what are you expecting? He literally said, I'm not doing it. Not my time. And she looked at him like this, and went, whatever. Guys, get ready. He's about to do something. What kind of faith is that? And you may say, so, it looks like Mary contradicts... No, no. What if Jesus, with great intentionality, did it on purpose? What if it was a setup? What if I'm not gonna show my glory until somebody places a demand on the anointing that I carry and the anointing that I am. I believe we're about to see churches in America where people don't come to church, just to hear a good sermon and get a good massage. We're about to place a demand on the anointing of the man and the glory of God that you walk out with your miracle, you walk out with your breakthrough.
Stand with me... you are standing. So if you've been waiting for a long time, 30 years. 30 years. She said, that's, what, that's it. Nah, enough is enough. Show us your glory. If you've been waiting for a long time, if you've been praying for your breakthrough or miracle, if you've been fasting for your breakthrough or miracle, if you've been fighting for your breakthrough or miracle, I need you to rise up today and do exactly what Mary did. Speak to the people, notice, the modus operandi here, tell the people closest to you to get ready. Tell the people closest to you, get ready. Tell them, get ready. Mary never told the people around them, she never said, there's a possibility that God may show up. She never said that. Mary never said, if you guys fast and pray, hopefully God will show up. Mary never said, I sure wish God will show up.
Mary looked at the people around 'em and said, "Y'all need to get ready. Jesus is about to do something". With your hands raised, Jesus is about to show up. Get ready. I know this is gonna sound weird to some, but I believe it by faith through Christ, and this is substantiated in the book. Get ready, Jesus is about to save your entire family. Somebody should just praise just out of that. Jesus is about to turn things around. Jesus is about to supply your needs and give you more than enough. Jesus is about to change your water into wine. Jesus is about to give you joy, unspeakable joy. Somebody shout like you know that Jesus is about to do something amazing.
As you stand with me, so he did. This is a fascinating story, terrific tension. So he did. Once the people got ready, what did Jesus do? He could've walked out and said, "Woman, I told you I wasn't ready". But he didn't. The Psalmist said, the God that we serve will never leave his children hungry. God will never forsake his children when they are in need. So Jesus said, all right, I'm doing this, all right. First miracle, here we go. First miracle. Let's do this. So he changed this, of course, my team was so good and good stewards that they bought the cheapest possible wine possible in the market, because they wanna be very good stewards. Good stuff, definitely, yes. I don't think they took a trip to Napa. Pretty sure they didn't, thank you, pastor Armando, and the team. So he converted this into this.
As you stand with me, I know you're standing, but. I wanna give you a deep thought here, you don't have to graduate from Stanford or uc Davis to be fully aware of the following. Water is not wine. Water can be naturally found in a creek, a stream, a river, the sea, mountaintops, flowing down. Wine, on the other hand, requires a process, water does not. Water is a natural chemical substance, technically-speaking, by the way, technically, from a scientific standpoint, faith and science in this church, water is not an element, technically. An element is just one atom. There's two of them, so because of that, it's technically a chemical substance. Sorry for being so anal about these things, but. And the truth shall set you free.
It's natural. It's a natural chemical substance, and in order to have wine, you first need to have a vineyard, the vineyard is the place where the grapes grow on the vine, and the grapes are harvested, subsequently, the grapes are pressed, the juice is separated from the grape skin. It's a process. Fermentation and so forth. Jesus changes water into wine, here it comes. He changes something that does not require a process, into something that does require a process. You missed it. In other words, our God is not just a God of the process. He is the process. There are things in life that do take time, but the God that we serve, he transcends, he can break in and out of the space/time continuum in such a way, and he can make something happen just like that. Our God is the God that can change water into wine.
Raise your hands, because here's the word of the Lord. If God can make wine out of water, he can make heaven out of your hell. I'm gonna say that one more time. If he can make wine out of water, he can make heaven out of your hell. If God can make wine out of water, he can make a breakthrough out of your brokenness. If God can make wine out of water, he can create a future out of your past. All right, I'm done, I'm just gonna, I have a final question for you. This has nothing to do with this. I've heard so many pastors and preachers say, look, wine is not water at all. They are totally unrelated. He changed the complete nature of things. They are completely unrelated. One has nothing to do with the other.
Oh my goodness. And God wants to do the same thing in your life. You don't have to have anything, because he can do just, oh, that's beautiful from an inspirational standpoint, but biblically incorrect. Because how many of y'all know that wine is 85% water? If you didn't, Google it. Wine is 85% water. Jesus could've done this, Jesus could've said, "I don't need the jars full of water. Here's just the wine". But they gave him something to work with. I'm done, I'm gonna walk away. Some of y'all want the miracle and the breakthrough without giving God anything to work with. That entitlement mentality is not in alignment with the Word of God. You need to give him something to work with, and you say, Pastor Sam, what are you talking about? Give him your contaminated water, and he will give you the greatest wine. If you got that, raise your hands.