August's Sermons

Church Period: The Second Sunday After Epiphany
Sermon Title: Jesus Makes Wonderful Changes
Sermon Date: January 19, 1986
Rev. August Hauptman
Sermon Text: John 2:1-11

Dear Christian friends:

I want you to think about yourself, your life, for a moment this morning. Think! What needs changing in your life? What do you not like about yourself? Perhaps you need more faith. Maybe you need more love. Or, perhaps you need more joy in Jesus. I am sure that if we all examine our lives, our thoughts, our relationships and our deeds we will think of some things in us that need changing.

But so often we seem helpless to make these changes and improvements in our lives and be the beautiful people that God wants us to be. Our text for today shows us that Jesus can help us change. It shows that Jesus makes real, important changes in our lives.

JESUS MAKES WONDERFUL CHANGES

Jesus made a wonderful change at Cana of Galilee.

There was a real need in Cana of Galilee. At the wedding feast the wine was almost gone. Wine was very important for a wedding celebration at that time. In those days a wedding celebration was expected to continue one week! But if the wine was all gone, the people had to go home before the week ended. That would be embarrassing for the newly married couple.

Jesus changed that embarrassing situation for the newly married couple. He showed His love and power. He changed about 30 gallons of water to wine! And this was not poor wine, but the "best". Jesus made a wonderful change in water. (vv. 6-10)

Jesus' miracle had a strong influence on His 12 disciples. We read in our text, "Jesus did this first miracle in Cana of Galilee, and showed His glory; and His discipled believed on Him." (v. 11) If before the disciples did not believe that Jesus was the Christ, they believed it now. If they had weak faith before, that had strong faith now. Jesus made a wonderful change in His disciples. He changed them from no faith to faith!

Here we see that Jesus changed water to wine. That was a wonderful change, but not His most wonderful change. However, His changing water to wine leads us on to think about His most surprising, most wonderful, special change! What is that? That is His changing Himself from death to life! He died on the cross and then became alive again and arose from death on Easter morning. And this wonderful change guarantees to us victory over sin and death. (1 Corinthians 15:20-28)

Really, because Jesus changed Himself from death to life, He can make wonderful changes in us and in our world!

The first wonderful change that Jesus makes in us is the same change He made in His first disciples. He changes us from no faith to faith, or from weak faith to strong faith, or from strong faith to stronger faith. Jesus does this change in our hearts when we attend to His Word which shows to us His death on the cross and His arising from death on Easter morning for our salvation. (Romans 10:5-17) "Faith comes by hearing; hearing God's Word." And after Jesus changes us from no faith to faith He makes other wonderful changes in us!

Through His gift of faith He brings us back to God to be His own dear children forever. The Bible guarantees this to us! It says, "He has freed us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of His own dear Son: in whom we have redemption through the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1:13-14)

And in connection with this new faith-relationship with God, Jesus begins to change our lives also. We begin to become new persons and to live for Jesus, to serve Him and please Him. The Bible says, "The love of Christ constrains (pulls) us... He (Jesus) died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live for themselves, but live for Him which died for them and rose again... If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are new." (1 Corinthians 5:14-17)

Jesus never stops making wonderful changes in our lives. Because we are His disciples He is continually changing the water of our lives into excellent wine. He stays close to us through His Word and the Holy Supper, that we continually are changing from no faith to faith, from selfishness to love, from despair to hope. He even helps us learn good lessons from our mistakes and failures. He also makes the evil that touches our lives become a blessing! After every storm He shows us His rainbow, so that we can sing with joy while weeping:

Nearer my God to Thee,
Nearer to Thee;
Even though it be a cross
That leadeth me:
Still all my song shall be,
Nearer, my God to Thee,
Nearer to Thee."

And we should not forget prayer. Jesus makes wonderful changes for us in answer to our prayers. When we feel the need for change let us go to Him in prayer. He Himself commands us to pray in every time of need and He promises to hear and answer our prayers: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened for you." (Luke 11:9)

The last and most wonderful change that Jesus will make for us is when we die. He will transform us through death from this life here on earth into the larger life in heaven. And then on the Last Day, when He comes again in glory, He will raise up our dead bodies (the dust and ashes), and change them to become the same as His own glorious body! Jesus, same as at the wedding, "saves the best wine until the last." (v.10) St. Paul writes, "Our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: He shall change our vile body to become the same as His glorious body." (Philippians 3:20-21)

Today we are glad, with the bride and groom in our text, that Jesus changed the water to wine. It reminds us that Jesus has made and continues to make wonderful changes in us and in our lives. Thank Him! And look to Him to continue to make the wonderful changes that we need!

Amen.