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The New Wine: Introduction

The New Wine
A Message of Hope--An Invitation to Draw Near
By Rose Murdock
 

In this book about the story of the water made wine we’re going to look at Jesus, but we’re also going to look at Mary, the servants, the Governor of the feast, the wedding guests, the bridegroom and the disciples. Each of these persons carries a message that reveals some insightful truths. I pray that you open your heart to receive all that the Lord desires to show you from this beautiful passage of scripture.
 

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Part I
The Preparation
Faith, Hope & Love

Chapter 1: The Disciples
Chapter 2: Those with the Need
Chapter 3: Mary
Chapter 4: Jesus
Chapter 5: The Servants

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New Wine  Intro   Part 1  Ch 1   Ch 2   Ch 3   Ch 4   Ch 5    Part 2  Ch 6   Ch 7   Ch 8   Ch 9

Chapter 1
The Disciples

1: And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
2: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
3: And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
4: Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee?  mine hour is not yet come.
5: His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
6: And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
7: Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
8: and he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast.  And they bare it.
9: 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.
10: And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, than that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
11: This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

John 2:1-11

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The New Wine: Chapter 1, The Disciples

The comment that His disciples believed after this miracle was performed got my attention. Many teachers in the church have emphasized believing first and then seeing. If you believe that you receive, then you’ll have it. (Mark 11:24). If you believe in Jesus, then you’ll be saved. But what about after He does a miracle? What do you do after you see a miracle? If you are a true disciple then your submissive, seeking heart will cause you to believe after you see miracles. This is a completely different attitude from the skeptics who make excuses or rationalize away the miracles that He does.

Without faith you’re blinded to the miracles God has already done in your life. It’s not always about faith to change things in the future, but faith to see what God’s doing right now, and has already done, in your life. You need faith to see and perceive what God is doing right in front of you. This kind of faith is found in the heart of a true disciple

The disciples were already called His disciples at the wedding so they at least had identified with Him in that way. They were His followers, His students. They had chosen to learn from Him and accepted Him as their Teacher, at the very least. Their thinking was contrary to those in the second half of John Chapter 2. The moneychangers in the temple challenged Jesus’ authority and wanted to see a sign from Him as evidence that He had the authority to drive them out like He did.

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The New Wine: Chapter 1, The Disciples

Contrary to the heart of the disciples, the moneychangers wanted to see a sign first as proof of Jesus’ authority. The disciples already recognized that Jesus carried a word of authority. They were seeking the truth and believed that Jesus was sent from God to bring them truth. The moneychangers were not interested in truth. People often don’t seek the truth because they’re afraid they might find it. Because if you find the truth, and admit it’s the truth, then it may require you to change. The moneychangers weren’t going to change anything except money—and that to their advantage. It’s human nature to look for the most gain with the least amount of pain. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing as long as the truth is not compromised. But if you compromise or reject the truth in order to keep things the way you like them then you will lose the ability to recognize truth when you see it. You will be deceived and won’t even know it. You will doubt the Spirit of God when He presents Himself to you. You may look for ‘a sign’ that it really is God and then become skeptical when He gives it to you.

The moneychangers appeared to be performing a service for God. And they may have started out with a sincere motive. You can start off with a genuine desire to serve God but beware of the temptation to try and contain it, control it or use it to promote your own interests. When you become very skilled at something be careful to remain humble and remember where your talents came from. If you have too much pride in what you’re doing then when God wants to make a change you won’t recognize it. In fact, you may even rebel against it. Stay in an attitude of continually seeking God, seeking His ways and His Kingdom and seeking the truth. I believe the moneychangers may have started out in service to God but then forgot their original purpose for

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The New Wine: Chapter 1, The Disciples

No disciple is above falling prey to deception. We must remain humble. Disguised harmful thoughts will tell you that you have arrived at a level in your spiritual walk where you are not in danger of falling to deception. But if you embrace that way of thinking then you fall right into the clutches of deception. As a disciple you will always need to follow Jesus. He doesn’t just want to point you in the right direction; He wants to lead you. He doesn’t just tell you the way He is the way! The disciples were followers of Jesus. They weren’t perfect, but they were sincere. And that’s the heart of a true disciple.

What we see about the disciples in this story is that they were with Jesus, witnessed a miracle and believed in Him. There is a very simple, yet powerful, message here. When you hang out with Jesus and remain in His presence you will see miracles, but not if you hang out with a skeptical, critical or rebellious attitude.

To have the attitude of a disciple means that you’ve accepted Him as the One who speaks with the authority of the Father Himself, and you receive what He says as the ultimate truth and then you practice what He says. When you have that kind of faith in Him then your expectancy will continue to grow and increase because your eyes are opened to the miracles that He does.

Jesus did many miracles that the skeptics didn’t acknowledge or even appear to notice. They were blinded. They reasoned and rationalized away the many miracles that Jesus did. Yet they continually asked Him to do them. They challenged Him to prove Himself. It was like they were putting the responsibility for their faith on Jesus. They wanted Him to bare the responsibility of convincing them that He was the Son of God. And it had to meet their intellectual standard.

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The New Wine: Chapter 1, The Disciples

In John chapter 6 we see Jesus miraculously feeding 5000 people with a little boy’s lunch of five barley loaves and two small fishes. It was an awesome miracle. But the very next day the people found Jesus on the other side of the lake and came to Him asking Him what God required of them. His answer was for them to believe in whom He has sent. And their response was, "…What sign (miracle, wonderwork) will You perform then, so that we may see it and believe…" (John 6:30 Amplified Bible).

Apparently, they had forgotten the miracle of just the day before! In fact, wasn’t that miracle the reason they had followed Him across the lake? Jesus told them what the problem was. They had followed Him, not because they saw the miracles, but because He fed them. (John 6:26). This consuming attitude will cause you to miss the miracles that Jesus does even if they’re right in front of your eyes. You will quickly become blinded to what you have already seen or even experienced. The miracles He does will not increase your expectancy and hope for the future like it did the disciples. Before the conversation was over many of those who had previously followed Him quit following Him. Do you seek Jesus just because of what He can do for you? Just because you think He will sustain you so you can keep living how you’ve been living? Or do you seek Him because you really want to follow Him? I’ll bet that those who followed Him across the lake hadn’t packed their bags. I’m sure they hadn’t decided to leave all and follow 

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The New Wine: Chapter 1, The Disciples

We see in Matthew chapter 13 Jesus’ disciples asking Him why He spoke to the multitude in parables. (Matthew 13:10-17). He told them that it has been given to His disciples to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. He said He spoke to the multitude in parables because ‘…having the power of seeing, they do not see; and having the power of hearing, they do not hear…’ (Matthew 13:13, Amplified Bible). He went on to explain that their heart had grown fat and dull and that their ears were dull and they had closed their eyes. The responsibility was up to the people. Jesus came to them to bring them the truth, but it was up to them to not harden their heart, not to close their ears and eyes and to receive what He had to say. He told the disciples that their eyes were blessed because they saw and their ears were blessed because they heard. When your day of visitation arrives and the Lord is present to open your eyes and ears, you must not close them if you want the truth!

Was Jesus being cruel by speaking to the multitude in parables? Was He purposely trying to keep God from them? No. He was trying to raise a desire for truth in their heart. He was trying to get them to ask the question, "What does He mean? What is He talking about?" He was trying to spark a seeking heart in the people because only a heart that seeks after God is going to find Him! He was truly playing the part of the mediator that God had sent Him to fulfil—trying to reach even those who had no desire for God. Those who didn’t know where the path

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The New Wine: Chapter 1, The Disciples

A disciple is not after his own agenda. Jesus said He came not to do His own will but the will of
His Father. (John 6:38). This is also the path we are to walk. The path of the Father’s will. It helps to remember that God sees the big picture. He sees more than we do. He knows more than we do. And we need to let Him direct our lives. God might not make us ‘happy’ all the time but He never makes mistakes. You can trust His judgment. You need to trust His judgment. He sees the big picture.

In the story of the water made wine we don’t read much about the disciples. The only thing we read about them is that they were called to the wedding and that afterwards they believed. This lack of discussion about the disciples tells us something. Sometimes we talk too much about ourselves. God does a miracle and we fill it with talk about what we did and how we believed and how we persevered and what we went through. We don’t talk enough about what God did! Let’s get back to giving credit where credit is due. Let’s talk instead of His great wonders and His great mercy! Let’s worship and praise!

To be a true disciple of Jesus means that you have a sincere heart that seeks the truth from Him. It means you follow Him rather than trying to lead. And one attribute of a disciple is the believing response to the miracles He does. Do you believe after you see the works of God, or are you skeptical? Do you even see His miracles or are you blinded to them? Do you rationalize them away? Do you continually ask God to prove Himself or do you accept His authority in your life? The first powerful point in this beautiful story of the water made wine is to look at your own heart and decide to have the heart of a true disciple of Jesus Christ. Ask God to open your heart, ears and eyes to the Lord, and don’t close them once He does!

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