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At Sandals Church, our vision is to be real with ourselves, God and others. This channel features sermons and teaching from Pastor Matt Brown and other members of the Sandals Church preaching team. You can find sermon notes, videos and more content at http://sandalschurch.com/watch
What is it like to encounter Jesus? To encounter Him in His grace, in His love, and in His truth. You see, there's probably no more important part of your day or life than you and I encountering Jesus. But how does this happen? You see, we started a new series today working through the Gospel of John, looking at real people who had encounters with Jesus. With their lives, with their questions, with their concerns, they all came to Him, and through a series of a conversation, through a series of what John says were signs and miracles. They were radically changed and transformed. Now, I said, we're going through John's Gospel, and what's unique about this Gospel out of the four is that He structures His whole story of Jesus around these seven signs, seven miracles, and also seven I am statements. I am the bread of life. I am the light of the world. He says, I am the good shepherd. I am the way, and etc. And out of all of these statements and signs, they are birthed out of what I said are encounters with Him. People like you and I, meeting Jesus. Now, these people are like you and me, even though we read them in stories. They know what it's like to overreact, they know what it's like to lose sleep. These people know what it's like to carry anxiety, to worry. You see, I'm talking to you about your adult child who's now 28, but you still kind of worry about them as if they're still 18. I'm talking to you about the new hire at the office who's getting all the attention from the upper management team. It's got you a little bit worried now about your position. I'm talking to you some of you about that investment that you just recently made that's now kept you up, and I think it about if it was a wise decision. I'm talking to some of you about the medical diagnosis that has your whole future now in jeopardy. I'm even talking to the young ones in the room who have their whole life ahead of them yet are still paralyzed at the very thought of what they should do next with. You see, all that to say this series encountering Jesus is not just a series for us to have an intellectual exercise about the signs of Jesus did and the things he said he was. We're not here for that. We're here for much more because this series has everything to do with your day job, with your finances, with your eldest child, with your singleness, with the dissatisfaction in your marriage and in your relationships. You see this series encountering Jesus has everything to do with the actual events of your actual life in the actual world. Who is Jesus? And how can I encounter him? Encounter him not just in the sacred spaces of like a church service, but encounter him in the hearing now in the complexities of my life. Encounter him in the racing of my mind and the pit of disappointment that comes every now and then or just encounter him in the haunting, ongoing reality that this is just how my life goes. We want to encounter him in those kinds of moments too. And that's what this series is all about. And to do so, we're going to choose somewhat familiar passages in John's Gospel so that if you are someone who maybe identifies as a Christian or doesn't, you would be somewhat familiar with these stories. And yet at the same time, we realize that in these encounters, Jesus will do things and say things that still leave us asking, what did He mean when He said that? First and foremost on the docket today is when Jesus was at a wedding party of all things and He turned water into wine. Now, I don't know about you, but imagine for a second if you were Jesus. It's kind of a wild thing to think about. What's the first thing you would do to announce to the world who you are and what you've come to do? Would you find yourself like Jesus at a party making extra wine for people who are already lit? Is that what you would do first? And that's what the translation will say in a second. We'll read it. It's already lit. Is that what you would do first? I mean, surely there are more pressing issues in the world to deal with. People are dead, people are hungry, people are blind, people can't hear. Out of all the things that Jesus can do, He decides first and foremost He's going to make wine at a party. Now, for someone who was 21, believing that life and my life in the world was primarily about working hard and just having a good time on the weekend, I rejected Jesus on the basis that I wanted to have a good time and do Me. And then I come across this story and I realized that's not a good reason to reject Jesus. So, for those of you who are skeptical about what to do with Jesus because you want to just do you and enjoy life, you cannot reject Jesus on that basis. Because He made wine out of party. Surely there are reasons that you may be are bothered by Christianity and Jesus but the reason that you just want to have a good life can't be one of them. Why? Because He made wine first as a revelation about who He is and what He's come to do. And so what does it look like to encounter this kind of Jesus? Let's find out together as we read from John 2. So I'm going to ask if you are willing and able that you would stand with me for the redeedance of God's word. John says this is the first of Jesus's sign. So we'll read the text together then I'll pray for us. John writes this on the third day, a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus's mother was there and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus's mother said to him, they have no more wine. Woman, why do you involve me? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, do whatever he tells you. Nearby stood six stone water jars. The kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing. Each holding from 20 to 30 gallons, Jesus said to the servants, fill the jars with water so that they filled them to the brim. Then He told them, now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. They did so. And the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where he had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. He then called the bridegroom aside and said to them, everyone brings out the choice wine first. And then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink. But you have saved the best till now. What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory and his disciples believed in him. This is God's word. Let's pray together. Spirit of God, as we have gathered today, we welcome you and ask that you would gather with us too. God, would you make us sensitive and attentive to your presence now as we hear your words spoken? We ask that you would open up our minds, our hearts, and our whole selves to receive all that you have for us. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Thank you so much. You guys can be seated. One thing I know about weddings, as you probably know too, is that something always goes wrong? I've been to a lot of them over the course of my life. I've had the great privilege as a pastor officiating them. And this is just something that we know happens. Oftentimes, especially if I'm about to officiate, I will put my hand on the groom, I'll have them breath and say, hey man, you could be okay. This is a beautiful day. This is a good thing that's happening. And something's not going to go right. But that's okay, because we're here. And usually they look at me as if that did not come for them, but I say it anyways. Something always goes wrong. We know this. No matter how well you plan for a wedding, how many details you got, something goes wrong. And in this passage today, we're at a wedding and there is a crisis. There's no more wine. Now, John being the master storyteller that he is says, first, on the third day, on the third day, did you catch that? Which for his readers at the time would have signified something important. Why? Because we know God does something special on the third day. So it's as if he's signifying that what Jesus did at this wedding is foreshadowing what would eventually happen when Jesus out of a grave and from death came out on the third day. It's foreshadowing something significant for us. It's a sign, John says. But he's telling us that on the third day, at this wedding, the wine ran out. Now, why is that important? Why is this a problem? We got to understand in this day and age weddings typically could have gone for an entire week, seven days, seven days of a party. That's a long wedding. Some of us think we have gone through long weddings. This is a long celebration. This is a party. This is a long one. And I love that we find Jesus at this party. Because I don't know what like picture you have of Jesus in your mind, but in my mind, I got a Jesus that prayed and party. That's how I view him. He knew how to do both. Which is somewhat of a contradiction to the kind of stalic views we have of Jesus. Like we got levitating Jesus, you know, we got thin frail Jesus. The Jesus would like that gold plate behind his head, right? But as you read scripture carefully, you come to see that Jesus knew how to celebrate with people. He knew how to squeeze the most out of life, which would make sense if he is indeed the author of life. He knew how to have a good time. And we're told that he is the disciples and his mom are all at this wedding. And on third day, there's a crisis. The wine is all gone. Now this is a relational crisis, right? Because someone's in charge, somebody, whether it's a wedding planner or your aunt who is overzealous and tries to do all the things and then forgets the most important thing like the wine, someone's got a blind for this. Is it the master of the banquet, is it the groom, is it the bride, this is a relational crisis. This is also a social crisis. The wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. This is a village of scholars believe had maybe a hundred people in it. And at this wedding, everyone in the village, plus the loners who kind of snuck in or all their hair. This is a social crisis. This is not something that happened in secret. People would have known. The word would have gotten out. That wedding sucked. They ran out of wine on the third day. This is a social dilemma. It's also an economic one because who's got the money at that moment to fork it over and pay for wine for four more extra days. This is the major thing. But here's what I want us to consider. A single encounter with Jesus can turn any crisis into a moment of transformation. And that's what we see happening here. As you take in this word, I want to take just a quick moment to invite you to consider financially supporting us here at Sandal's Church. You can do so by going to donate.sc. And I want you to know that your contributions allow us at Sandal's Church to continue to bring the hope and message of Jesus to the world all around us to people just like you who are connecting with us online. For now, let's get back into the message. Surely this is an embarrassing moment. For sure. Imagine you're at a wedding and you're at the table. You're looking at the car that's got your table number on the table. And you're just waiting by the grace of God that your number gets called next. It's like table 41. Yes, let's get up. And then the host gets on the mic. It says, we're out of food. We're out of food. As soon as you get up, you go get it. Or you're on the dance floor. And your song comes on and you're about to bless everyone with your two steps. Music just cuts out. Music is run out. Or you're looking at the cake size compared to how many guests are invited and you start to do the math, like how big is my slice going to be. These are the questions I have when I'm out of weddings, right? The cake runs out. That's an embarrassing problem. But here's the universal principle that I think comes out of this story. It's this wine. Remember in the scriptures is a picture in a symbol of celebration of joy and of life. And so here's what we first need to hear. That in your life, the wine always runs out. In life, the wine always runs out. The reality of our lives, of our joys, of our happiness, our celebrations, they all tend to have an expiration date, don't they? And deep down inside, all of us know that no matter how hard we try, and no matter how much we enjoy of it, it simply doesn't last. The wine always runs out. The wine in our relationships run out. The wine of our health tends to run out. Maybe in your work right now, what you once enjoyed doing, it's all gone and the wine is running out. The wine of success begins to run out. The wine of your marriage has maybe run out. What was once sparked with joy, with excitement, with optimism has just now run out. As we age, the strength, the wine of our strength begins to just run out. We look at the politics in our country today, that for sure, the wine for sure has run out. And maybe just even on a personal level, emotionally for you, the wine has run out in your life. The wine of success was once kind of optimism and a sense of like a spark, a joy kind of a brevity to life. It's just now been replaced with a kind of sorrow, with a kind of despair. The wine has run out. I want all of us to ask ourselves this question, where in your life is the wine running out? Where? Think about it. And do you have enough courage to name it for what it is, and to hold it before God? Let's say the wine has run out here. And then secondly, how do you respond in that moment? Is it to go looking for another kind of wine? We're all good at doing that. Notice Mary's response. She says her in verse three, when the wine was gone, Jesus, his mother's said to him, they have no more wine. Now, all week long, I've been trying to understand why she's bringing this to Jesus. Like is she externally processing with Jesus? Like she just had that kind of relationship. Like, I can't believe it. The wine is out. Man, this is wild. Jesus. Is she like experiencing some kind of second hand embarrassment for these people? Like, can you believe it? Jesus, the wine is out. It's day three. We got four left. This is bad, Jesus. Like, I'm not sure about the relationship Mary had with his mother, but I know about the relationship I have with my wife, right? So when Ashley says the trash is full, she's not just externally processing with me, right? Because at home, I am the director of voice management. And so that's cold for me to begin my shift. Take out the trash and in the name of Jesus, put another bag in, right? And the name, that's a word for someone today. Jesus's name, put another bag in. But you see, perhaps Mary knows something about Jesus. I mean, after all she gave birth to him and Angel spoke to her. She knows. So she's coming to her sound like Jesus. I know you. You can fix this. We're not sure, right? But then you get Jesus's response. Woman, why do you involve me? Now, that's what we got a pause for a second. Because this is the problem with the Bible. Often times, and yes, the pastor just said, this is the problem with the Bible. Because often times we don't hear tones. So you read that and you're like, well, Jesus, that's a bit harsh. Come up for your mama like that. But you got to remember in the later moments of John's gospel, when Jesus is hanging on the cross, his mother again, Mary is there. And he says to her, woman, behold your son. She's weeping over him being crucified like this. He's pointing to his disciple, John, and saying, this is now your new family. So I think there's a tender moment here. Regardless of what we make of this mysterious interaction, here's what we come to see. Essentially, at worst she's given a no. At best this is some kind of mysterious divine. Maybe. Which is the problem with a lot of our encounters with God, isn't it? We don't know what to make of them. And if he says no, how do we respond? Oh, this didn't work. I'm out. God said no. Church ain't working. Groups not working. Serving's not working. Reading isn't working. But notice Mary. After this interesting statement from Jesus, she turns to the servants that says, do whatever he tells you. These five words when you think about it are the essence of the Christian life, aren't they not? Do whatever he tells you. What does it mean to be a Christian? Do whatever he tells you. You see, Mary, despite the no, is still obeying and trusting that Jesus will in fact do something, even though she doesn't know what it is. This is the crux of what it means to encounter God, to be puzzled. If you're confused, maybe you're exactly where you should be. And still continue to trust. We're told the servants fill up the jars to the brim, then it's scooped out and it turns to wine, and the master of the banquet is overwhelmed by this. Which, if we just pause for a second, reminds me that this is what faith is. Faith is trusty. That even a no from God is abundantly more than a yes from the world. Even when you can't see it, even when you don't know how it's coming, a no from God will always, always be abundantly far more than even a yes from the world. This is what it's like to encounter Jesus. And the master of the banquet, surprisingly, he doesn't know where it came from. The servants did, John says. And he runs to the groom like, yo, usually, like, I got to tell you this wine is phenomenal that I just tasted. And usually you bring out the cheap stuff last because everyone's too drunk to even tell the difference, but you save the best for now. This is amazing. Or his reaction is more about the waste of the situation. Like, why would you wait so long to bring the best stuff until the end? These people can't even enjoy and appreciate how good this wine is because they're too lit. This is a waste of good stuff. Here's the answer to that because this is exactly what God is like. God's goodness towards us, you guys, is always abundant. And it is always overflowing and over the top and get this. It is even given to people who don't even know how to appreciate it. Who don't know how to taste it for what it is. Like how much grace has God shown you? How much grace has he shown me? How much forgiveness has he offered us? It feels like a waste. But that's how God is. His goodness is abundant. And listen, his goodness is not based on your own goodness. He's not like you and I. Well, we approach people. If you're good to me, I'll be good to you. That's not how God is. This is a picture of how abundant God is with his generosity towards the whole world. And so if this encounter is showing us anything that's this, that God is not a stingy God, he's over the top. And it's not just the wine that was the best that he provided, right? It's that it was so much of it. If my math is mathen, which it kind of is, the six jars, six large jars used for ceremonial washing. So these are big tubs that Jews would have used as part of their ritual practice to wash themselves to be reminded of the sin in their life that they needed to be cleansed from. We're told there's six of them, about 20 of 30 gallons. You do that math. That's about 120 to 180 gallons of water for a wedding that probably had max 100 people. So he in this moment, Jesus made the equivalent of 700 to 800 extra bottles of wine. Now again, if my math is mathen, I'm not building rockets here. I'm just teaching the Bible. That's basically, oh, what's the math? Eight extra bottles of wine for everyone person on top of what they already had. That's a good way. You know, like if you came in like, is this open bar? Yes. You got your answer of front. And here's the principle. Here's what we need to consider that yes, in life, in your life, in my life, the wine always runs out. But in Jesus, there is a wine that never comes back. There's a wine that never runs out. There was a wine that constantly continues to go with ever flowing. Now, what are we to make of this? What does that actually mean? Because here's how I would help us to understand this. There are earthly realities, earthly pleasures that every single person, whether you love God or don't get to enjoy. And those earthly pleasures are meant to be signs pointing towards, pointing us towards deeper spiritual truths about who God is. Listen to this song for just a moment as it explains how God blesses people through the physical world. Psalm 104, he makes grass grow for the cattle. We need cattle to eat good grass because we like our burgers. And plants for people to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth. Listen to this verse. Let me all like this one too much. Wine that gladdens human hearts. Oil to make their faces shine and bread that sustains their hearts. God's blessings, his abundant over the top goodness, the wine that never runs out, pours through physical creation and is meant to be assigned to us that ultimately points us back to who he is. And the kind of God that he is. Moreover, you get this prophecy in Joel where it says that in that day the mountains will drip new wine. And the hills will flow with milk and the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the Lord's house and will water the valley of Acacias. What a picture. And so in this moment, at this wedding Jesus, miracle is both fulfilling that prophecy from Joel and foreshadowing what is to come. And what his followers could come to expect from Jesus. And so if you're wondering, what is it like to encounter Jesus? It is to an experience a life full of unending joy. That's what he comes to offer us. And the Bible, when you think about it, is a book, a collection of scriptures that begins and ends with a wedding. Doesn't it? Genesis, you go all the way back to the beginning. God the Father walks down his daughter, Eve, through the aisle, offering her to Adam. Adam sees his beautiful bride. He rubs in a song. This is bone of my bone flesh my flesh. You fast forward all the way to the end of the scriptures and the book of Revelation. And what we think about what happens at the end? What's the war like? What's all the masculine? What's going to happen? How has God get a judge the world? You know how it ends? It ends with a wedding party where we're feasting and celebrating. And the end of the world seems to be not just an ending to something we once knew, but the beginning of something that we have always longed for. You're asking what it's like to encounter Jesus? It is to have a life flowing with unending joy. Why would the most important book begin with a wedding and end with a wedding because God cares deeply about weddings? A beautiful sign of who he is. The life he's come to bring, the celebration he's come to bring, and the joy that he offers you. Why would we say no to this kind of joy? Why would we say no to this? Listen to even how Jesus himself describes this experience in John 7. He's at this religious festival. You see he did both. He got good balance. He goes to the wedding, but also goes to church, right? He's at this festival. Both followers are there and skeptics are there. And it says, on the last day Jesus gets up and announces something important about this festival. And he says this. Jesus stood with a loud voice and said, let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. You see Jesus is trying to get us to see that as you receive his invitation to come to him, there is a soul-level dryness that he offers water for. That can begin to bring life and refreshment in a way that we as humans have all longed for. This is the ongoing work of God's Spirit and presence in our life. This can happen at any moment as we encounter him. God, I need living water. Water that satisfies my thirst. And when I look at this incredible first story, this wedding, I see that abundant love and abundant grace of God just at work. And I love that this is the first miracle. Why? Because it blows our categories wide open about who Jesus is. I got all the things he could be doing. He could tell his mom, I'm tired. I got blind Bartimaus on Tuesday. I'm going to see Lazarus. I'm going to need all the energy I can get. I got a Zoom call with 4,000 people who are hungry. They didn't pack a lunch. He is not stingy. He is over the top. And he is willing to make the best stuff. Not just enough so we all sip it. That's good. Our communion juice right at Sanos. He's making a wild abundant amount for something that feels so inconsequential. Yet he's offering us abundance. You see, here's how I think we can begin to experience this. Because if Mary can bring this request to Jesus, what's keeping you from bringing anything to him? So let's ask that question. How do we experience this? First, you need to do this. We need to invite Jesus into the seemingly insignificant parts of our lives. Again, if Mary can go to him for more wine, what is keeping you and I from going to him for anything else in our life that we deemed too insignificant? This is not important to him. I can't possibly bother God with this. Listen, you are not a burden to God. Every aspect of your life he wants to be involved with. So ask him, go to him. Whatever it is, how big, how small we tend to avoid him with the big stuff and avoid him with the small thing. What is wrong with us as humans? Go to him with everything. Everything. Mary's got the confidence to say, son, we need wine. And I know you. Go to him. With the parts of your life that you just feel like are too insignificant. Go to him and say, Jesus, would you make me new wine? Make me new wine. The second way that I think we experience this is this. Listen, now we embrace that Jesus' miracles often happen through our obedience. Think back to the story real fast for just a second. The servants fill these jars up. Six of them. Thirty gallons each. They don't have hoses. There's no tools. There's no technology. Think about this process for just a moment. They had to find a well. Carry a large pot to that well. Draw the water out of the well into the pot. Carry it back to the jar. Pour it into the jar. Go back to the well. Draw water out. Fill it in the pot. Go back to the jar. Pour it in the jar. This is tiresome work. This takes a long time. This is ordinary work. This is physical labor. This is mundane activity. But then it says, when the jars were filled to the brim, then the miracle came. You see, many of us want new wine like a magic trick. God just make me new wine, please. But oftentimes our participation and our obedience is how God wants to bring about the transformation. He wants us to be involved with the miracle. Your obedience has a role to play in his miracles in your life. This is how it happens. Listen to Paul's words later on in Philippians 2. He tries to picture for us this jewel truth that God is at work and that we are following him. He says, therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed not only in my presence, but much more in my absence. He's riding to this church in Philippi that he has planted. He says, continue. This is a scary verse. Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Why thought I was already saved? God, what do I do? He says continue to work it out. Now this is coming from the saying guy who said salvation comes by grace through faith alone. But he sees that salvation is not just a one and done thing, but it's an ongoing work of transformation. This is why I often don't use the phrase, am I saved or you not saved? That's not helpful. I am still being saved, y'all. Until I'm dead and raised, God still got work to do. So I don't like these categories, believe or unbelievers. Sometimes it's, I think it's a little bit trickier than that. Like bring your unsafe friends to church. Well, how do you know where they are in their life? That's another conversation. But I think there's something mysterious that work that God is doing through people that we have to be open to. Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For listen to this phrase, it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purposes. He's at work in you. Your obedience, God's transforming. Your obedience, God is saving. Your obedience, God is bringing new wine through the water you pour in. Let's make it plain. Some of your marriages, the wine has been gone for a minute. And though most of us would prefer Amazon two day shipping, let's fix it. What you need to consider is counseling. Five, six times. How many times it takes and to consider yourself as you go to counseling, you know what you're doing? You're pouring water into that jar. Some of you you want this radical encounter with God in which he just fixes all your bad habits. Like God, you see what I do. I hate doing this. I continually go back to it. This is so toxic in my life. I'm addicted to this. Whatever it is. And you just want a miracle on the spot. And sometimes listen, that might come. But the more traditional way that things happen is over time. As you learn to confess sin, as you learn to get care, as you learn to involve and equip yourself with practices of self control over time. You know what you're doing? You're pouring water into that jar. Some of you right now are so spiritually dry, you can't imagine praying every day this week or opening scripture every day of this week or continuing to give yourself to God's family and community. And you just want him to just automatically flood your life with his life. Like that one song just to hit again. Like we need a new oceans, right? It's a reference for all the old heads in here. But maybe you need to give yourself just to the regular practice of being still before God and his loving presence. Opening your Bible, taking in scripture and saying, God, would you speak to me as I read and listen to you now? And every time you do that, you're pouring water into the jar. The ordinary physical work of just sitting there and releasing the control of the time and the expectations you have into the loving presence of God can transform you. And each time you're adding a little bit more water, a little bit more water. You see every time we go to church, every time we gather together, every time we worship, every time we take communion, every time we sing together. Every time that we offer someone a word of hope, every time that we share the gospel with people who desperately need the good news, we're pouring water into the jar. And as we add water to that jar, we do so obediently, we do so expectantly and we in this moment embrace the mundane work of filling that jar so that we can position ourselves to see water turned in to wine. As God mysteriously, over time and his wisdom, his power, his providence begins to work in all of us and before you know it, you're drinking new wine. And this whole time, what have you been doing? You've been doing the ordinary, slow work of just putting water in the jar. Now we got to remember as we close, that this whole event is a sign. Because if you read this story and you think to yourself, well Jesus knows how to keep a party going, that's kind of true, but that's not the main point. Remember, the gospel of John is a book of signs, it's structured around these key events. This is the first of his signs where he glorified himself. You see, this event is to point to three years later when it appeared that Jesus on the cross died. And in that moment, it looked as if the wine in his life had run out. You think about a man like this, he is the most important individual to ever walk this earth. There is no human being greater than Jesus. Just historically speaking, and then to imagine in a moment, over a betrayal, over a false accusation, over a corrupt justice system, he's crucified and dead. The wine in his life appeared to run out. But the new and I know the story. John reminds us, on that third day, he rose with power. And the wine of his life began to flow again. The wine of his salvation began to flow and flood into every aspect of life. That's what this is all about. That salvation. And so when the wine is running out in your life, where do you typically go, though? We run to other things. We go looking for another kind of wine that we think will satisfy us, missing that what he offers is what our souls ultimately need. More money will not satisfy you, another job will not be the wine you need, another degree won't be it, another sexual experience that you think is the one you actually need, won't be it, another car, another house. Another TV show to binge. None of that is the wine you need to satisfy you. There is but one wine and one wine giver who can ultimately satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts. And on the cross, when he died, it looked as if it was all gone. He rose. And now it is flooding into the world again. And we can experience every day of our lives. And so as we prepare ourselves to take communion in this moment, I want you to be thinking about a few questions first, where in your life has the wine run out? And maybe for you, this is your moment of salvation to acknowledge that you have gone to every other wine in the world to try to satisfy you. Come to the wine giver. Come to the wine maker today. And taste what he offers you. Taste what he offers you. The second thing I want you to be thinking about is we answer into communion and your campus pastors, if you're out of campus, will lead you. If you're watching online, I want to encourage you just to actually identify this in the chat. Where in your life, where in your life do you need to begin to fill up the jars with water? Like in other words, where are the simple things you need to begin to do again? What are those things? Then ask that God would help you. That God would help you to fill the jars. And you would trust in Him so that new wine could come. Let's pray that into our lives. And we Father, we thank you for your word today, God. And we thank you that in your love you gave to us Jesus. Jesus, you make new wine. When we come to you now, both with a posture of confession ready to acknowledge where we have chosen other wines and also with a desire to be transformed by what you offer us. The wine in our lives is running out, God, but would you make something new in us? We pray these things in your name. Amen.