From the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster we present Let the Bible Speak. It's good to have you join us today as we spend time around the Word of God, preaching Christ in all his fullness to men and women in all their need. My great Redeemer's praise! My great Redeemer's praise! Their glories hall, my God and King. Their triumphs hall, their triumphs hall, their triumphs hall, their triumphs hall, their triumphs hall. Assist me to proclaim, Assist me to proclaim, To spread throughout the earth abroad The honors of thy name, The honors of thy name, Jesus our sorrow in the sliver's years. His life, and health, and peace, His life, and health, and peace, His life, and health, and peace. He breaks apart all cancer and sin, He sets the prisoner free. He sets the prisoner free. His blood can make the finest cream. His blood avails for me. His blood avails for me. His blood avails for me. Well, can I bid you a warm word of welcome to this Let the Bible Speak TV recording. It's good to have the witness of God's Word in these dark and perilous days. In fact, Peter said he'd rather have the Word of God than that experience of the Mount of Transfiguration because so secure the Word of God is. And it's to God's word that I want to read here together from John chapter two. John chapter two, verses one to 11. And there in God's word we read, and the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee. And the mother of Jesus was there. And both Jesus was called and his disciples to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus said unto him, they have no wine. Jesus said unto her, woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. His mother said unto the servants, whatsoever he said unto you, do it. And there were set there six water pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus said unto them, fill the water pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he said unto them, draw out now and bear onto the governor of the feast. And they bear it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was, but the servants which drew the water knew, the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, and said unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine, and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse, but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory, and his disciples believed on him. Let's seek the Lord together in a word of prayer. Our Father in heaven, how we thank thee for the word of God. And we thank the Lord that it has been tried seven times and has come forth more pure than silver. We thank the Lord that these words are the words of everlasting life, and Lord, a firm foundation for our faith and practice. We pray, Lord, you'll bless us as we come now to consider thy word. that, Lord, it will have that renewing work in our mind, that, Lord, it will come and bring captive every thought and every imagination under the mind of Christ, that, Lord, Christ may be seen in us, the hope of glory, and having his power and his way with us. Lord, bless us here around thy word this day. And may the power of God's word have that sanctifying influence within us, for we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. As we begin to this passage of Scripture, we find the Lord Jesus Christ coming to the wedding feast of Cana. In fact, the wedding feast was now in full swing. This young couple now having committed themselves together in holy matrimony, the townsfolk here of Cana would have now paraded this young couple through its streets to their new home that this young bridegroom had been preparing for the past year. And in this young couple arriving at their new home in Cana, at the end of this wedding service, instead of finding it to be the end of their celebrations, they rather found it to be its beginning. And in Christ arriving here at this wedding feast on the third day, we find that it was now in full swing. In fact, wedding feasts in Bible times, they lasted up to a whole week. And Christ arriving here on the third day or in the middle of their celebrations, He arrived in the midst of their joy. Indeed, I'm sure that most Father of the Brides today are glad to know that this is one custom that is finally faded away. Bad enough to pay for one day of celebration, but imagine paying for a whole week. Well, let me let the Father of the Brides into a little secret. Back in Bible times, it was the groom who paid for the celebrations and not the Father of the Bride. But Christ arriving here on the third day of this particular celebration, Christ was lending his divine seal of approval on this institution. Deliberately coming out of his way to go to this wedding to perform his first miracle, Christ was saying at the wedding feast of Cana that marriage is a divine, honorable estate. One that has the blessing of God upon it, and the approval of its creator. And your marriage, rather than being a burden, it is a blessing. Being created by God and approved by His Son, God has meant that marriage is to be a blessing for mankind. The Apostle Peter, taking up his pen in 1 Peter 3 and verse 7, he wrote, Likewise ye husbands, dwell with him according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not behindered. Peter here describes marriage as a grace of life. And marriage, rather than being a constraint, it is a grace. A grace where God brings two lives together to help each other, to encourage each other, and to lift each other up. Why? so that society as a whole may benefit from the truth that two are better than one. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow." You see, Christ coming to this wedding and performing his first miracle, he was making a statement that marriage is an honorable estate. And can I encourage you today, though society at large looks at marriage as an archaic institution that hurts families and oppresses women, It's a blessed institution. Because when two sinners saved by grace come together and deny themselves and seek to love one another as Christ loved the church, then the institution of marriage is a blessed thing. When one is sick, the other will be its helper. When one is lonely, the other will seek to be their companion. When the other is discouraged, The other will seek to be their helpmate. God has brought two people together to encourage and to strengthen one another. In fact, I think of Manoah. Manoah getting discouraged, seeing the fire of God coming and consuming his offering. Manoah thought that God was going to strike him down, thinking that he was going to die. What did Manoah's wife do? Manoah's wife encouraged her husband. She told him in Judges chapter 13, if the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands. Neither would he have showed us all these things. Nor would, as at this time, have told us such things as these." In other words, when one of them was discouraged, the other one lifted them up. Two were better than one together. And can I encourage you, though it is often true, a marriage is a piece of cake. It's easy, it just takes a few minutes of time, but marriage is a sentence. Remember, marriage is a divine institution. It has the Lord's blessing upon it. The Lord has brought two people together to help each other, to create a stable home and an environment, to raise a family under the fear and nurture of God, that they may be a blessing to society. You see, when God created Adam and saw his need for companionship, he didn't stop in creating the woman. He went on to create the institution of marriage to fulfill their joy. And Christ, seeing its usefulness, he came and blessed this institution by his presence at the wedding of Cana. And for a few moments, I want us to consider this wedding, this wedding at Cana. And he knows, first of all, there was a problem. There was a problem in this wedding because in John chapter two and verse three we read, and when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus said unto him, they have no wine. The groom was responsible for taking care of all the guests. And for wine to run out, it would have been a huge embarrassment for him. The whole fact of the celebration was to prove to his in-laws that he was able to support their daughter. And now running out of wine at this wedding feast, it would have damaged his reputation. His father-in-law would have looked at him in suspicion, always questioning him. it would have brought great shame and disgrace to him. And Mary having compassion on this young man and being deeply moved towards him, we find that her love and her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ had drove her to her son, to lay the problem at his feet. And this teaches us that though we may have Christ in the midst of our lives, it does not mean that we're immune to problems. It does not mean that a Christian will not run into problems in his life. He would administer having compassion, and a young bride leading up to her wedding day, seeing how nervous she was, he told the best man during the rehearsal, that when it came to the reading of scripture, could he read 1 John chapter four and verse 18? There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear. That week, the best man spent every day reading that passage of scripture, seeking to get it perfect in his pronunciation. And when the wedding day finally came, the nerves getting the better of him, instead of reading 1 John chapter 4 in verse 18 that says, there is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear. He read John chapter four in the verse 18. For thou hast had five husbands, and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband. And how often is that not true in life? No matter how careful you are, no matter how deliberate and how disciplined you may be in your processing and how disciplined you may be in your life, Problems will arise, just like on a wedding day, where a bride has spent all her time planning that day, spent thousands of hours for 12 hours. Yet problems come. Sometimes the ring doesn't get on to the groom's finger. Because he's embarrassed and feeling the pressure, his finger has swollen. Sometimes things are forgotten on the wedding day. And so it is in life. No matter how much care you take, God will allow problems to come. And can I advise you from the counsel of God's word, follow the example of Mary. When problems arise, turn to the Son of God. Believe that there is power and grace with your Savior, that he can come. and his power can support you in the midst of problems. In fact, you think here, this was his first miracle. Mary had never seen a miracle except for the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, Mary here, to jump to such a conclusion, it really speaks volumes of her faith. In other words, experiencing that wonderful conception with the Holy Spirit created that new thing within her, that virgin birth. She was able to conclude that this is the Messiah. This Messiah will have the power of God. His grace will come into the midst of our problem-filled lives and give us the support that we need. And can I ask you, when those problems come, don't run to your in-laws, run to God. Run and seek Him to come and to protect you. and provide you by his grace. And he was another example in John chapter six, Christ seeking to test his disciples to see where they would go in the midst of problems. He allowed this situation to arise where 5,000 people would have no food to sustain them. And Christ allowing the situation to arise and asking them in John chapter six in verse five, when shall we buy bread that these may eat? He goes on to say in verse six, And this he said to prove him, for he himself knew what he would do. And what did Andrew do? Andrew, believing there was power with Christ, He brought that young lad to the Savior. And he said, there is a lad here which had five barley loaves and two small fishes. Andrew's faith in the power of Christ brought that problem to the Savior. And can I counsel you, believer, when problems arise, let your faith drive you to the feet of Christ. Believe that there's power and grace with him to support you in the midst of those problems. It was also known that there was a problem here at this wedding, but there was also power here at this wedding. Because Mary coming on to the Lord Jesus Christ and revealing on to him this problem of no wine, we then read in John chapter 2, that Christ turned the water into wine. In fact, this was a great and stupendous miracle. In fact, there in verse six, he says that these water pots of stone, they contain two or three firskens a piece. In other words, each pot contains 60 liters of water. Well, my car, which is the Jeep, it is a 60 liter tank. Most average cars have a 40 liter tank. So you imagine six Jeeps here lined up. And with one word of Christ, he turned those six tanks of water into wine. In other words, Christ's power was more than enough for the problem. Christ stepping in at love, and Christ seeing the faith of his mother, he came into that situation and turned that water to wine. A man and woman listening on here today, remember when problems come, there's always power of the Lord. The Lord will never leave you nor forsake you. In fact, the Lord allowed that problem to arise, that he can manifest his power within your life. In fact, you remember that miracle on the day of resurrection. There was the ladies heading up to the tomb, and they were full of anxiety. They recognized there was a problem. There was the great stone. And there was no way with their strength and resources were they going to be able to move that stone. And yet when they arrived at the situation, and when God manifested his power, what happened? The stone rolled away. And you remember, Christ did not need the stone to roll away for him to leave the tomb. In fact, later on when he met the disciples in the upper room, it is deliberately stated in the Gospel of John that the doors were locked. And yet Christ was able to access that room. In other words, Christ here only demonstrated this power for the benefit of those ladies. To show to them that the power and the love of God is always available to his servants. And child of God, recognize that truth. The power of God is at hand. It only takes a Joshua, it only takes a Caleb, a man full of faith, whether you be 80 years of age, If you go out in faith and trust in that you're God, God will slay those sons of Anak, those giants. The power of God will be manifested in your life. Do so often. If we adopt the mentality that we so often adopt in life, that our problems are beneath the Savior's interest and care. They're too little for Christ to stoop down and to intervene and to show His power and grace when our lives are weak. Imagine that mentality was adopted here by Mary. Mary could have said, yes, it's going to embarrass Him. But in a few years' time, people will forget that that young lad ran out of wine at his wedding feast. And she could have belittled the whole situation and said, this is too small of a detail for the Lord's care. But Mary knew the heart of her son. Mary knew not only was there power with God, she also knew how her son was more than willing to help in the smallest situation. In fact, he wanted to be acknowledged in the smallest situation. that he can manifest his power. And Mary, adopting such an attitude, she came to the Lord in faith and asked him to intervene. And child of God, can I ask you, whether that problem is great or whether that problem is small, adopt the heart of Mary. Believe that your God loves intervening in the smallest detail of your life. In fact, we now find Christ being displeased with the disciples for this very fact. The mother of Salem's hearts being filled with love and concern for the children, they brought them to the Savior's feet. The disciples thinking these children were beneath or too small for the Lord's interest. They rebuked them and held them back. And yet we find that the Lord chastised them and told them to suffer not, the little children, but let them come unto him, for such is the kingdom of God. We find that Christ was displeased, that they believed that Christ was not interested in the hearts of these little children. See, child of God, if we want to know the power of God's grace in our life, in order to recognize that there will be problems, But our God is interested even in the smallest of those problems. He wants us to come by prayer and to cast our cares before him, for he careth for you. In fact, in 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 7, when he says, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you, that all is in the absolute sense. It means every type of problem. No matter how small it may be, we must cast it before the Lord. In fact, the hymn writer wrote, does Jesus care when my heart is pained too deeply for mirth or song? As the burdens press and the cares distress and the day grows weary and long. And what does he go on to say? Oh yes, he cares. I know he cares. His heart is touched with my grief. When the days are weary and the long nights dreary, I know that my Savior cares. What a wonderful truth it is. Not only is God powerful enough to intervene in your problem, but God is interested enough. God so loved the world that he gave us his only begotten Son, that Christ stood into our sin-filled humanity to come down to meet our sin problem and to show grace and love to us. But it was also there was a problem here at this marriage, and there was power here at this marriage. But it was also there was a purpose here in this marriage. Because when Christ turned this water into wine, we read in verse 11 that his disciples believed on him. In other words, when Christ did this miracle, it revealed to the disciples He was truly the Son of God. You see, the miracles of Scripture are not done for our amusement, but rather they are done for His authentication. They are done to prove that He is truly the Son of God. If he was a man and he was adamant, that he could explain away all the miracles of Scripture to prove that Jesus Christ was just a man like us and wasn't the Son of God. But each time he did so in trying to explain away the supernatural nature of the miracles, he seemed to make the miracles bigger and bigger on each occasion. In fact, on one occasion when he sought to explain away the miracle of Christ walking on water, he said only looked to the disciples that he walked on water. In fact, at that stage, Christ was just walking along the shoreline, just in four inches of water. He really wasn't doing anything supernatural at all. And when a young lad overheard that, he said, whoa, that's an even bigger miracle than I first thought. Because you just said that Christ was able to make a fishing boat float in four inches of water. And you know, you cannot remove the miraculous from Scripture. Because Scripture is the record of the Son of God. God did truly step down from heaven and dwelt amongst us. He was full of glory and of truth. And being so, we find that throughout his life, he demonstrated he was God by many, many miracles. In fact, the word miracle here is a Greek word which means sign. When you go to the gospel of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, you find that predominantly the word for miracle is dunamis, of power. But John here using this different Greek word, simeon, which means sign, he was saying that Christ was doing this miracle to point the disciples to this truth, that he was the creator God. In fact, one commentator wrote, the only reason why the water turned into wine is because the water blushed when it recognized that it was standing in the presence of deity. And can I ask you today, do you recognize today that Jesus Christ truly was the Son of God? Do you recognize that that man that is recorded in those first four books of the gospel was God of very God? The God of all of his love for you and all of his care for you. He came down to this sinful world to bear away your sin and to give you life and pardon and peace in the wonderful provision of his blood. I wonder today, will your face go red as this wine with embarrassment? Will you recognize that this man that we have read off at the Feast of Galilee, he truly was the Son of God. He was God here manifest on earth to take away the sins of the world. Oh, what a wonderful truth for us to embrace. Not only has God created the institution of marriage for the embeddement of society, but God appeared here to show his love and power to mankind. that in the midst of even the greatest problems, such as the problem of sin, His power is able to cancel its greatest debt. Oh, I trust and pray that your faith like Mary will lead you to the power of Christ, that you will trust in Him, that He is the Son of God. Let's seek the Lord together in a word of prayer. Our Father in heaven, we thank Thee for the record of Scripture. We thank Thee, Lord, that it has been proved time and time again that this man of Galilee, he was the Son of God. We thank the Lord that he came to be our covenant head, to fulfill all the precepts of the law, that we may have a right standing with thee. Oh, Lord, may you impress this truth upon us, that we have a standing with thee in Christ, and may it be impressed upon us that Christ cares, and that we are to live a life of faith like Mary, bringing all our problems to him. For we ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for spending some time with us today around the Word of God. For further information visit our website at ltbs.tv. We look forward to joining with you next time as we seek to let the Bible speak once again.