Joel 2:23 Be glad
then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given
you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the
rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first [month].
Everything about God is progressive, he is always moving
forward, he is always building, he is always outdoing himself.
John 2:1-10:
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother
was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Woman,[a] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not
yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for
ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they
filled them to the brim.
8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of
the banquet.”
They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had
been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the
servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10
and said, “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.”
Jesus Miracle ministry begins with a miracle that seemed
like it was no big deal, it was no life and death situation, but it quickly
progressed to opening blind eyes, making the lame to walk, casting out devils,
feeding the multitudes.
Haggai 2:9 The glory
of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of
hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.
The word impossible was not a part of Jesus’ vocabulary.
Matthew 19:26 But
Jesus beheld [them], and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with
God all things are possible.
Mark 9:23 Jesus said
unto him, If thou canst believe, all things [are] possible to him that believeth.
We look and we see impossible conditions: darkness,
confusion, hopelessness, perversion, corruption, and we view them as
impossible, but Jesus looks and he sees a perfect opportunity for a miracle, a
perfect backdrop for a display of His glory. Many times what looks like a breakdown,
is just a setup for a breakthrough.
No wine at the wedding: Embarrassing, the reputation of the
groom was at stake. The people wanted wine, but there was no more wine in their
cups, in the pitchers, or in the kitchen. There was a need, a desire, and an
impossible situation. Then Jesus takes the case.
In Mark 5:23 Then there was the case of Jairus the ruler of
the synagogue, whose little girl was at the point of death: Jesus heads for
Jairus home to heal her. A messenger interrupts them, “trouble the master no
longer, thy daughter is dead.”
Now the stage is set: The devil plays the guilt trip - why
didn’t I come sooner, why did I let my pride stand in the way, I should have
listened to my wife. Greif begins to take its grip on his mind - My baby girl
is dead, only 12 yrs. Old. Then Anger tries to poison his mind - she might have
made it if that woman hadn’t stopped Jesus, now she’s healed and my daughters
dead. And despair tries to steal his future - He was my last hope: I heard how
he turned the water into wine, and healed the nobleman’s son and delivered the
demoniac, but my daughter is not sick, nor demonized she is dead.
Then Jesus Words penetrate his thoughts, “Fear not only
believe.”
The house is filled with mourning, weeping and wailing,
death is hanging in the air. Man sees darkness, hopelessness, grief, sorrow,
pain. Jesus sees the perfect backdrop for a manifestation of the glory of God:
“Little girl I say unto thee arise!”
What a mighty God!
Some might say, “We have seen him turn water into wine, feed
multitudes, give sight to the blind, walk on water, cast out devils and raise
the dead. Surely we have seen him at his best, surely we have seen the greatest
manifestation of his power and glory.”
No He’s bigger than that! The best is yet to come! Tell the
devil, you ain’t seen nothing yet!
One day, news came to Jesus: “He whom thou lovest is sick.”
Upon his arrival Lazarus has been dead four days. The stone
has been rolled in front of the tomb. The stone speaks of finality of the
situation: it’s over, it’s beyond help, the condition is incurable, and the
problem is irreversible.
If you would have come earlier, you could have healed him,
we believe you could have kept him from dying, but now it’s over. Isn’t it
amazing how we limit God. You can do this but not that, You have the power to
stop something from happening, but you can’t turn it around. My friend that’s
where we’re wrong, this whole Bible, from the front to the back, is a book
about turnarounds.
The sisters said, “Your too late.”
Jesus said, “Take away the stone! Lazarus come forth! Loose
him and let him go!”
We are seeing today a society that is out of control. America
is no longer a Christian nation. Every day, we are hearing of how God is being
rejected and removed from our schools, our Holidays, and our churches. Christmas
is a time for parades, and celebrations, but Christ is left out. Easter is a
time for egg hunts, and rabbits, and dinners, and parties; but the resurrection
is forgotten!
We are seeing the spirit of perversion and worldliness, not just
creeping into our churches and hiding in our pews, but filling our pulpits and
preaching their perverted self-serving gospel that is leading people into lust,
and covetousness and greed.
Jeremiah spoke of a similar time in Israel’s history:
Jeremiah 5:31 The
prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my
people love [to have it] so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
Another scripture clearly defines the spirit of this
generation:
Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto
them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light
for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
We don’t have to search far to be able to see and hear
what’s happening in the world. We can see how terrible it has become, we can
get depressed, go into hiding, cover our heads, and say it’s hopeless. Or we
can look in the Word of God and see that our best days are ahead of us. Devil
you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! God is just getting wound up.
The devil may that think he’s winning, but he’s thought that
before:
When he had all the children killed by pharaoh to try to
keep Gods promise from being fulfilled, but God put his promise in Pharaohs
house, and let him raise him.
When the children of Israel were trapped at the red sea
entangled in the wilderness, the Egyptian army behind them. But God turned the
red sea into a highway!
When the three Hebrew children were thrown into the fire bound, and the enemy turned up the heat, they praised God and their bindings were destroyed by the fire, but they were unharmed!
Yes, the devil is working hard, and yes we see the evil and
the wickedness and the perversion, but don’t switch off your faith just yet: God
is up to something big! “You sir, have saved the best for last!”
Let the devil paint the darkest, saddest, most perverse and
corrupt picture of hopelessness, despair, and sin that he has ever painted. And
God will turn it into a back drop for the greatest display of His glory this
world has ever seen!
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