God and Pleasure

Father, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us.

For some of us, these are very familiar stories.

For others, maybe they're new to us, Father.

But for each of us, Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit would come deep within us

and write these stories in the command center of our lives

so that they affect our memories, our imagination, our will, and how we live our lives.

And all this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

Please be seated.

Don't you think that if people had to follow what the Bible says about same-sex attraction,

that you're condemning same-sex attracted people to a life of loneliness?

The reason I say this is, well, first of all, believe it or not,

the scripture text that we have here today actually speaks very powerfully into this.

Some friends of mine and some friends of yours,

the church that they attended for many years,

is just beginning to go through potential denominational battles

over whether the church should provide marriage ceremonies for those who are same-sex attracted

so that a man can marry a man or a woman could marry a woman.

And one of the very moving arguments that was made as they're starting to look at this

is don't you think it's the case?

That why is it, you know, heterosexual people, they can potentially marry another person,

but for those who are same-sex attracted and if God doesn't heal them or change that in them after prayer,

aren't you condemning them to a life of loneliness?

Like, isn't it a matter of, I mean, how can you do that?

And if we're honest, this is a very powerful thing

because who amongst us wants to condemn anybody to loneliness?

And in fact, if our heart breaks even maybe at hearing something like this,

that this might be the case or the possibility.

So believe it or not, the text that we looked at, that I read just a few moments ago,

actually has something very powerful and formative to say about this.

So it'd be a great help to me.

You can see it's going to be the story of Jesus turning water into wine.

One of the things that we might be doing most Sundays when we preach on John

is if there's a good piece of artwork to go along with the story,

I'm going to put some of the artwork up on the screen

so that our eyes can also sort of enter in.

It helps us just enter in.

And so, by the way, if you folks, if you read ahead and see where I'm going,

I'd love it if you send me suggestions for the artwork, by the way.

That would be a great help.

Can't promise I'll always use it, but I'd love the suggestions.

So if you turn in your Bibles to John 2, verses 1 to 11,

John 2:1–11

John 2, 1 to 11, let's look at this first story,

the story of Jesus turning water into wine.

And here's how it goes.

On the third day, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee.

Just sort of pause here for a second before we go any further.

On the third day, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee.

You might remember that...

So John wrote a book, right?

So books have structures.

You know, they have ways that the author decided to write the book.

And the way that John is written, there's the first 18 verses

are sort of this big philosophical, almost mystical, theological,

cosmos view of Jesus and the gospel and what's going on.

And those are like the first 18 verses.

And it's all written in very simple English and simple Greek.

And then in verse 19, all of a sudden, it plunges into the world of history,

the world of time and space, the world that we're in right now ourselves.

And when this begins here on the third day,

John is going to keep reminding us as the gospel goes on

that he's now talking about something that happened to real people in a real time,

in a real culture, in a real place.

And it's just one of those...

We're going to see more aspects of it where John keeps saying,

this is something that happened.

You might think it's incredible.

You might not believe it.

You might not believe it.

But I'm bearing witness that this is what happened.

This is what took place.

So verse 1 again of chapter 2.

On the third day, there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee.

And the mother of Jesus was there.

And just sort of pause.

This is another very significant thing.

In the other three gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke,

they all have...

Well, actually, Mark doesn't.

But Matthew and Luke, of course, have the story of the birth of Jesus.

And it's very interesting how John chooses to write, right?

So he has this...

You know, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.

You know, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

All these big, big, big ideas.

And then he comes into history with John the Baptist.

And now, like, how can you...

Is Jesus human?

I mean, that's a good question to ask.

And yet, you know, human beings have moms.

We have dads.

That's human beings, right?

Joseph's not mentioned.

It's believed by most people that Joseph must have died.

Quite a few years before this.

But it's just one of these...

You're going to see many other things here in the story

that just emphasize the fact that Jesus is human,

that it's in real time and a real place,

talking about things that really happen.

So, verse 2 again.

Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.

When the wine ran out,

the mother of Jesus said to him,

they have no wine.

It probably means that Jesus' mom was related to the people

whose wedding it was.

In other words, Jesus had cousins.

And he had aunts and uncles,

because he's human.

Verse 4.

And Jesus said to her,

Woman,

what does this have to do with me?

My hour has not yet come.

And the language is,

it's not a put-down of his mom,

but it's a distancing language.

It's a polite way of speaking,

but it sort of is a bit of a shocking thing,

because usually a son would refer to his mother,

and there'd be some adjectives added to the word woman

to show closeness.

So it's a bit of a distancing language from his mom.

And in verse 5,

his mother said to the servants,

Do whatever he tells you.

Now, verse 6.

Now, there were six stone water jars there

for the Jewish rites of purification,

each holding 20 or 30 gallons.

And as I said,

that probably averages out to about 200 bottles of wine.

In fact,

I actually went looking for an image of a human being

standing with 200 bottles of wine,

but I couldn't find one.

And I don't have 200 bottles of wine,

so I couldn't take a picture of me standing with them.

And if I did have 200 bottles of wine,

you'd probably wonder about me.

But that's another.

I don't.

So I guess it'd be worse if I had 200 empties.

But anyway, verse 6.

Now, there were six stone water jars there

for the Jewish rites of purification,

each holding 20 or 30 gallons,

200 bottles of wine.

Jesus said to the servants,

Fill the jars with water.

And the servants filled them up to the brim.

And Jesus said to them,

Now, draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.

So they took it.

When the master of the feast tasted the water,

now become wine,

and did not know where it came from,

though the servants who had drawn the water knew,

the master of the feast called the bridegroom

and said to him,

Everyone serves the good wine first,

but when the people have drunk freely,

then the poor wine.

But you have kept the good wine until now.

Now, there's the first of his signs.

Jesus did it, Cana in Galilee.

Notice, John's making a claim.

This is a sign.

It's not just a miracle.

It's a sign.

Jesus did this.

He did it in a place called Cana,

in a place called Galilee,

and manifested his glory,

and his disciples believed in him.

So here's the first thing about this story

to see what's going on,

because we might not just quite grasp the full,

I mean, we don't grasp the significance.

If you could put up the first point,

that would be great.

Here's the first thing,

and we don't maybe notice it in the flow of the story,

but the fact of the matter is,

is that, I don't know,

probably some of us can give witness to miracles.

I have some things that I think I could say

were probably a miracle,

God acting miraculously to do something

that shouldn't have been able to happen.

But when that happens,

I pray to God

and ask him to work a miracle,

which God might or might not do.

I mean, God hears my prayer.

Sometimes he says yes.

Sometimes he says no.

Sometimes he says not yet.

But I pray to God

and ask God to work a miracle,

which he might or might not do.

But Jesus willed the miracle.

He just willed it.

He doesn't say a prayer.

He doesn't say any words.

He doesn't touch the water.

He doesn't do a religious ceremony.

In fact, if you think about it for a second,

maybe Mary was saying to Jesus,

Jesus, you're very religious.

They've run out of wine.

Do something.

And Jesus would do the typical religious thing.

He'd take up a collection.

Sorry, that joke didn't work as well

as I thought it would.

But anyway, I mean,

that's one of those,

you realize that,

whoa, that's right.

Jesus just willed it.

And then the other thing about it

is that the story

is emphasizing

that it's a real miracle.

Like if some of you are wondering,

well, George,

like, no, but the story emphasizes

it's a real miracle.

Like you look back at it

for a second here.

Jesus is,

if you look back in verse 3,

verse 3,

the wine runs out.

Jesus discovers

that the wines run out

when Mary tells him this.

And then in verse 4,

he says,

well, what am I,

you know,

my time's not come.

And Mary just says

to the servants,

do whatever he tells you.

There's no implication there

that Mary expects Jesus

to do a miracle.

In fact,

at the end of the story,

it basically is saying

that Jesus,

up until this point in time,

has never performed a miracle.

miracle.

And we don't know,

obviously,

what was going through Mary's.

John's just recorded

what Mary's actually told Jesus,

but I don't know,

maybe he just,

maybe she was thinking

he's just really competent.

He's always managed

to work things out

and help people

from embarrassing situations,

and he'll figure something out.

And then you notice here,

verse 6,

there's stone water jars.

It's not like there's clay

or something that,

you know,

is going to be keeping

lots of wine in them.

And they're there

for the rights of purification.

In other words,

there's stone jars

which are there

just to be used for water.

That's why they're there.

They're not used

for 53 different things.

They're just used for water.

And there's lots of it.

200 bottles of wine.

There's lots and lots of it.

And then Jesus just says

in verse 7,

fill the jars with water.

And then Jesus

doesn't touch the jars.

He doesn't bring the water.

He doesn't do any type of trick.

And then they even mentioned

that they filled them

to the brim.

In other words,

it isn't as if they said,

well,

they filled it

and they left like six inches

and then maybe

while everybody was

looking away,

Jesus had a couple

of really good bottles of wine,

like fortified wine,

and he poured it in

and it was able to blend up

so that it sort of

looked like weak wine.

No,

they emphasized

that it was filled

right up to the brim.

And then he says,

now draw some out

and take it to the master

of the feast.

And the implication is

is that when the servant

does this,

once again,

Jesus hasn't touched it,

that the servant

would have just looked

and it would have just

looked like water to him.

And in fact,

then it goes,

so they took it,

verse nine,

and when the master

of the feast

tasted the water

now become wine

and did not know

where it came from,

the master of the feast,

just skipping down,

called the bridegroom

and said to him,

verse 10,

everyone serves

the good wine first

and when people

have drunk freely

then the poor wine,

but you have kept

the good wine until now.

So the implication is

is that somewhere between

the person taking the ladle,

leaving the stone jars

and coming to the master

of the feast

that both the wine

and the water

and the jars

and the water

and the ladle

both had become wine

and because it's good wine

it means it really

tastes like good wine.

A lot of wine

in those days

was greatly watered down.

So whether it was

both cheap wine,

highly watered down,

which is what the master

of the feast

was expecting,

they said it tastes

like really good wine

so it couldn't have

been watered down.

Like the text emphasizes

that it's a miracle

and Jesus just wills it.

Jesus just wills it.

So some of you

might say

how is this possible?

I don't know if you're here

as a visitor

or maybe you've just

come out of curiosity

or you're maybe on a bit

of a religious quest

or a spiritual quest

and one of the things

that you might not know

is that there's whole legions

of Christian churches

in the first world

that don't believe

that miracles happened.

That they would just

interpret this as

I don't know what

they would interpret it as

as a sign of

the incoming of the kingdom

or just how

I mean they'd have

different ways of trying

but they don't actually

believe it's a miracle

but John has clearly

organized the story

to say this is a miracle

and it actually happened.

And so some of you

might say very reasonably

how on earth

could something like

that happen?

And how's it possible?

So here just before

I'm going to give you

three little things

about this

and here's the first thing.

One of the things

in some ways

I could validly say

that I don't

in Canada

I don't believe in God.

Some of you

who maybe came here

visiting from a

Pentecostal church

said I knew I shouldn't

come to an Anglican service

the minister doesn't

believe in God.

What I mean is

that probably

if I was to ask

the majority of Canadians

what they mean by God

I don't believe that

God exists

the way they describe God.

And I'm starting

it's starting to

dawn on me

that maybe what I have

to do when I talk

to Canadians

is saying

you know I don't believe

in the Canadian God

I only believe

in the God

that Jesus reveals.

I only believe

in the God

that Jesus reveals.

And in fact

if you go back

that's what John

says in his prologue.

In fact

in John

in those

you go back

and you look

in those verses

what John says

is that Jesus

is the exegesis

of God.

He's the one

who makes God

clear

and understandable

to people

the real God

not the

not the

not the idols

not the abstract gods

not the gods

of the philosophers

but the real God

who actually does exist

that Jesus

is going to make

this God known.

He's introducing God.

And so

I think increasingly

that what I have to say

to people

is that I don't believe

in God

as Canadians understand

but I believe

in the God

who's revealed

in Jesus.

And what

the God

who's revealed

in Jesus

what he's revealing

about God

is remember

how the

John's gospel

begins very famously

in the beginning

was the word

and the word

was with God

and the word

was God

he was in the beginning

with God

all things were made

through him

and without him

nothing was made

that was made

in him was life

and the life

was the light of men

that's how

it's introduced.

So if you could put up

the next point

here's what I would say

the second thing

is that

what Bible teaches

what Jesus

is introducing

us to God

is he's introducing

us to the fact

that God

created matter

out of nothing.

So how can miracles

happen?

Well because if you

have a God

who does exist

who created matter

out of nothing

he can change

one kind of matter

into another.

That's not a hard

thing for him.

If you can make

matter out of nothing

it's nothing

for him

I almost put that up

it's nothing

for him

to take

some matter

which he was

the inventor

of it

and turn that

matter into

a different

type of matter

turn water

into wine.

You see

and

so some of you

might say

okay George

are you saying

then that this

whole miracle

story depends

upon the God

that Jesus

is introducing

actually being

the God

who exists

and I would

say yes

in fact

I'm going to

double down

on it.

I'm going to

make it so

that the

choice is

actually seen

far more starkly.

If you could

put up the next

point that would

be great.

Oh sorry

there's a new

piece.

Go back there

a second there.

We're having

two pieces of

artwork.

The other one

I mean it sort

of looked like

it wasn't a

party did it?

I mean just

you know that

earlier piece

of artwork

it was as if

I don't know

it was as if

it was a wedding

and the bride

and groom

didn't like

each other

and they didn't

like their

family

and the two

families didn't

like each other

this is probably

more what it

looked like.

I mean maybe

it was.

I mean we've

all maybe we've

been to weddings

like that where

nobody likes

each other

and it's just

like really

interminable.

But you know

most of us hope

that if we had

a wedding I

mean I would

hope with my

kids that if

there's a wedding

that it looks

maybe a bit

more like that.

Anyway next

point Andrew

sorry only God

created all

things and

only the same

God who's

created all

things can

sustain his

creation

keep it in

existence

and only the

same God

who's created

all things

and sustains

all things

can reveal

himself.

If such a

God exists

who can create

all things

and sustain

all things

then I can't

reveal him

only he can

reveal himself

and only the

same God

can act

to redeem

his fallen

human creatures.

So what do we

see in this

story?

It's actually

quite an amazing

story.

what is being

seen in this

story is

that Jesus

wills

the changing

of one type

of matter

into another

type of

matter.

He's revealing

that he's

God.

Come to

reveal

God

himself

and reveal

the way the

world really

does work.

How

things really

exist.

Just,

you know,

just this

whole thing

about God

being the

creator of

all things,

just,

it's a whole

other sermon

but just very

briefly,

the choice

is never

between having

faith and

believing in

science.

faith.

That's

never the

choice.

People might

say that's

the choice

but it's

not the

choice.

The choice

is never

between science

and faith.

The choice

is between

two different

philosophies

to understand

the science.

And in

one type

of philosophy

to understand

the science,

what ultimately

exists is a

what?

Just matter,

just energy,

just time,

just chance.

Just how

matter and

energy works

because of

the way

matter and

energy is.

And the

other philosophy,

the only rival

in all the

world is the

Christian story,

is in the

beginning was

the word,

and the word

was with

God,

and the word

was God,

he was in

the beginning

with God,

all things

were made

through him,

and without

him nothing

was made

that was

made.

That's the

only option

to the

philosophy,

that there's

only time

and chance.

And in

that understanding,

it's a

who that is

created and

designed all

things.

Now,

just,

we're going

to move

on with

this.

Just,

here's the

thing,

this is,

you know,

one of the

things I pray

every week as

I'm working on

my sermon,

I pray that God

will speak to my

heart.

Like,

this isn't just

something where I

could come up

with some really

cool ideas and

share it with

you.

And the way

that God really

spoke to my

heart,

this has been a

constant,

this has been a

big issue in

my life,

especially,

I've become more

conscious of it as a

big issue in my

life over the last

few years.

But,

you know what,

if this story is

true,

then the world is

different than most

people understand and

believe.

If this is true,

if there really is a

God who does exist,

who created all things

and sustained all

things and contained

water into wine,

then the fact of the

matter is,

is that one of the

besetting problems I

have is it's easy for

me to slip into

living my life as if,

as if God is small

and everything else

is big.

But if this story is

true,

then I need to call

out to God and ask

him to work in my

life so that I start

to understand that God

is big and everything

I face is small.

Everything I face is

small because the God

who does exist creates

planets, changes human

history and changes

human lives.

Now, some of you

might say,

okay, George,

that's all very,

very, very, very

interesting.

But you hooked us at

the beginning by

talking about people

who are same-sex

attracted and whether

the Bible, if the

Bible is to believe

God is condemning

those who are same-sex

attracted to a life of

loneliness because

they're not allowed to

marry.

And George, did you

just sort of do that

like a bit of a cheesy

type of thing to get

our attention and now

you're going to just

ignore it and hope we

forgot how you began?

Not at all.

Not that I'm opposed to

being cheesy sometimes.

But, well, let's think

about this story for a

second because it

actually has something

which does directly

connect to this and

about the issues of

holiness.

One of the things that

this story shows is

that religion is

usually wrong.

Why is religion

usually wrong?

Okay, if you could put

up the next point,

Andrew, think about it

for a second.

If it was up to

religion, Jesus would

have turned the wine

into water.

Now, why are you

saying, some of you

might say, no, no.

Actually, I mean, the

story could have gone

very differently.

Couldn't you just think

about it?

If there's a whole pile

of really holy people,

whether they were, you

know, think about it

for a second.

Sean Turner did a

great sermon a couple

of weeks ago talking

about how the normal

way that we think

about things in the

world and religion is

that, you know, first

you have a time of

purification, then you

have a time of

illumination, then you

finally have union with

God, and the Bible

completely rejects that.

And you think about it

for a second.

In fact, when I was

looking for some of the

artwork, I was trying to

look for the source from

it.

It was a Christian

source about holiness,

and every picture of the

people who were

pursuing holiness looked

as if they had almost

looked as if they'd been

starving themselves for the

last 15 years of their

lives.

I mean, they made skinny

people look fat.

They looked completely and

utterly emaciated, and

they looked as if they had

diarrhea and were eating

prunes.

They looked really

ascetic.

But if you think about it

for a second, that's not

just how many Christians

portray holy people.

That's how Muslims

portray holy people.

That's how Buddhists

portray holy people.

That's how Hindus portray

holy people.

And that's how most of our

friends who hate religion

portray holy people, because

they think, do I really want

to look like I'm living on a

diet of prunes, and I've just

smelled a bad smell?

No.

What we want to do is watch

football and call up, could you

bring down more chips and more

beer?

Like, compared to looking like

that and watching a football

game with some chips and beer, a lot

of people in our culture say, I'm

choosing the chips and beer.

And then, of course, they do the

yoga and the Pilates and diet and

all that stuff to try to keep

their slim physique.

But that's a separate matter.

So you could easily see that if

religious people were giving

Jesus advice about how to work

this, it would go like this.

Mary comes to Jesus and says,

Jesus, there's a problem.

They've run out of wine.

And Jesus says, I know.

I turned all the wine into water.

And the religious people would be

very satisfied.

Yes, because, of course, real

holiness means to be very

ascetic, is to deny yourself.

That's what real holiness is.

But Jesus, could you put up the

picture?

Jesus, I mean, that's not a really

great picture.

One of you folks, maybe later on,

will want to draw a better picture

or paint a better picture, and we

can use it next time we preach on

this.

It's a party.

Jesus turned the water into wine.

And Jesus is introducing God.

And he's introducing God as the

source of pleasure and joy.

If you could put up the next point,

it's all I've done is just quoted

Psalm 16, verse 11.

Psalms 16:11

You make known to me the path of

life.

In your presence there is fullness

of joy.

At your right hand are pleasures

forevermore.

You, the psalmist, is speaking to God.

And in fact, if you go back and see

Psalm 16, it's the culmination, it's

the end of the psalm.

It's the high point of the psalm.

It's the whole psalm is moving to this

declaration by the person who comes to

realize who is God.

God makes known to me the path of life.

God, in your presence, there is fullness

joy.

God, in your presence, are pleasures

forevermore.

This is the true God.

This is the real God.

This is the God that Jesus reveals.

And it's really interesting, as we'll see

in a moment, this is the first sign.

This is the foundation sign.

This is the ABC sign.

This is the beginning grammar sign.

This is the way that God, that himself, in

the person of his son, wants to introduce

himself to human beings by his first

miracle.

That, folks, you got it all wrong.

The devil did not create joy.

The devil did not create pleasure.

You know, in fact, what this text is

telling us is that, amongst other things,

is that God created a world where wine

could be invented and enjoyed.

Sin created drunkenness and alcoholism.

God didn't create drunkenness and alcoholism.

Sin created that.

But he made a world where there's pleasure

and where there's joy.

So how does this affect this whole issue

of the same-sex marriage?

You see, the fact of the matter is,

is that in our hearts of hearts,

we expect that to be really religious,

we expect, you see, there's a big part of us

that expects that God is the one who takes

away joy, that God is the one who takes

away pleasure, that really, really, God

would love me far more if I was about 50 pounds

lighter and I looked really emaciated

and I fasted four times a week and I hardly

got any sleep because I was up praying all the

time and I was wearing rags because I gave

all of my money away and if I was doing that,

then God would really love me a lot more

and in my heart of hearts, that's what I believe.

And so in my heart of hearts, when it comes

to issues of holiness, we think, yes,

that person's worries about somebody is

completely and utterly correct.

God takes pleasure away.

He takes joy away.

And this God who takes pleasure away and he

takes joy away, yes, he allows some people

to get married and now God's not allowing that

person to get married and all they're going

to be stuck with is a life of loneliness and

water, a life of no pleasure whatsoever.

Because that's what God is like.

And that's why it's so important for all of us.

It's what why might God suggest that we have

to tithe?

Well, at the end of the day, God doesn't like

you enjoying your money.

He doesn't want you to ever have pleasure.

You know, why is it that God wants you to

go to church?

Well, because he wants to ruin your Sundays.

He wants to ruin your weekends.

He takes your pleasures away from you.

Why do you want to read God's word?

Well, because it's boring and God wants to

bore you and he wants to tell you irrelevant

things and impossible things to accomplish.

Why?

Because in our heart of hearts, we worry that

God is like that.

We worry that he is not the one whose path

will lead us to life.

And that in his presence, there is the

fullness of joy and in his right hand, there

are pleasures forevermore.

And we don't believe in our heart of hearts

that the same God who created all things and

understands why things are created and

understands where our pleasure buttons and our

joy buttons are, that the same God who created

all things is also the one who has now come to

redeem us, to bring us back to the God in whose

presence there is a fullness of joy and at

right whose right hand is pleasures forevermore.

That in fact, in the new heaven and the new earth,

when Jesus comes a second time and there's the

judgment of the living and the dead and there's

the new heaven and the new earth, that the rumor

of a sniff of a distant smell of the pleasures of the

new heaven and the new earth would so overwhelm us, it

would destroy our minds and our bodies and our wills.

Because in the new heaven and the new earth, there will be joy and

pleasures that this fallen mortal body right now cannot

possibly enjoy without being unmade.

And when Jesus comes a second time and there is the, there is the

judging of the living and the dead and God says, come into my

kingdom, my well-beloved son, George, you are clothed in the

righteousness of Christ.

The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world has taken away

your sin.

The time has come.

The shadow lands are far gone.

You now will have your resurrection body come into this new heaven and

this new earth.

You will be like my son, Jesus, in terms of his resurrected body.

And I will enter into an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

And so my brothers and sisters, my friends, my seekers, so will you.

So will you.

Now some of you might say, George, um, well, but just, just one other thing.

I was, yeah, I have a few minutes.

Just one more thing before going.

See, the way to understand this story amongst other things is this.

So the, the guy who's organizing the wine, uh, the master of the ceremony, he

knows how life works.

He knows you blow your wad on a couple of good bottles of wine you have right at

first, and then you just keep getting cheaper and cheaper, and then you add

water, and it gets more and more watered down as, as the celebration goes on for

two or three days.

So you can well imagine that the guy who's organizing the wedding, he doesn't

know what's going on.

He doesn't know that the wine's run out.

He sees the servant coming with some wine to taste, and you can just picture him

going, oh, gosh, I have to taste this?

It's probably going to be really bad.

Like, this isn't a very rich couple?

And he's sort of bracing himself to, to drink something, and he takes, and he takes a sip,

and there'd probably be the look of shock on his face.

And then he takes a second sip, and it would be, wow, is this ever a good wine?

God, you know, our pleasures and our joys, they're disordered.

They need to be healed by God.

But friends, brothers and sisters, you know, if this afternoon you get a spectacular piece

of firm tofu, and that's what turns your crank, be grateful.

Say, God, thank you so much for making this.

You know, if it's a piece of nice big steak, a mousse steak, and you get to slice into it

with your fork and knife and put it in your mouth, and don't feel guilty.

Say, oh, God, thank you so much.

There is a world where there are pleasures like this.

Now, some of you might push back and say, George, okay, you say that, and that's good,

and I know your time's almost run out, but George, I don't know if that's, if, I don't

know if you've really been fair to the Bible stories there, because, George, the very next

story that takes place is Jesus driving people out of the market.

Now, George, I know maybe you're going to tell me there's something different culturally

about that, but generally, George, I love going to markets.

Like, markets are often fun.

Like, George, have you ever been to some of the markets, like in Halifax, on the waterfront,

and you go in there, and there's all these really great foods, and there's great things

to buy, and people are relaxed, and, you know, the water's there, and, you know, George,

have you been to the market on a really good day here in Ottawa, and, yeah, I know there

can be, you know, it can be a bit crowded and all that, but, you know, there's just a

sense of life and bustle, and Jesus goes and ruins it all.

Like, George, are you being consistent with what you say?

Well, let's look.

Let's look at what goes on here very briefly in closing.

It's a page, it's verse 13.

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and the temple

he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons and money changers sitting there,

and making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple with the sheep and oxen,

and he poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables, and he told those

who sold the pigeons, take these things away, do not make my father's house a house of trade.

His disciples remembered that it was written, zeal for your house will consume me.

So, is Jesus here taking away fun?

No, he's introducing God in another way.

He's introducing God in another way.

That's a pretty amazing picture up there, eh?

There's Jesus over there with his whip.

He's introducing God in a different way.

Andrew, if you could put up the next point.

Remember that in last week, we talked about how the way that God begins to introduce himself

is by having Jesus be described as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

And here we see the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

He drives out all who keep pagans from coming to him.

See, because that's what's going on here in the story,

is that when Herod made his temple,

one of the things is that after the Babylonian,

after Jerusalem was destroyed in the 500s BCs,

the Jewish people were scattered.

And one of the byproducts of that is that many people who are pagans

started to become enchanted with the idea, with the God of Israel.

And they became God-fearers.

And for many of them, they didn't want to go the full distance of becoming Jews.

Let me just be honest.

If at my age, I want to become Jewish, I had to be circumcised.

I would think really long and hard about that.

Like, beyond long and hard.

In fact, if there was a God-fearer option,

that's what I would choose.

I know I'm not very holy, not very ascetic.

I just said I like beef and all that stuff.

But I would choose the non-circumcised route for me.

And so when Herod rebuilds the temple,

mindful of all of the Jewish scriptures,

the Old Testament scriptures,

that God wants the nations to come and worship them,

that the pagans are to know worship them,

he creates this whole area as part of the temple grounds,

but not the temple itself,

where pagans could come and pray.

They can't enter the actual temple building itself,

but they could come to pray.

And that's what was completely and utterly filled with animals

and money changers.

The pagans couldn't come to pray.

And so what we see here isn't that Jesus is a killjoy,

but we see that the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world

drives out all who keep pagans from coming to him.

We see the loving heart of God.

It's why, you know, in a couple of weeks' time,

we're going to say Jeremy and Kendra,

who left our congregation to be missionaries in Zambia,

they're with us today,

but we're going to have early March.

We're going to have more times for us to spend about it.

But why do they leave here to go to Zambia?

Why?

Well, because there's Zambians that God wants to come

into a personal knowledge of himself.

Why is it that maybe in February,

we're going to bring in somebody and their family

who are going to go plant a church in Jerusalem?

Because God has people in Jerusalem

who he wants to have know Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

Why is it that we have sent out people to Asia and Central Asia?

Because there are people in those countries

that God wants to have come to a saving knowledge of himself.

Why is it that we have a ministry on campus?

It's because there are university students

that God wants to have know Jesus.

Why are we thinking of starting another congregation in Kanata

or Sunday evening?

Because God has more people in this city

that he wants to have come to him.

And this is showing the missionary loving heart of God.

So just sort of wrapping this up,

if you could put up the next point, please.

Oh, sorry.

Just while that point stays up there,

listen to what Jesus says after this,

he clears the temple.

Verse 18,

The Jews said to Jesus,

what sign do you show us for doing these things?

And Jesus said,

destroy this temple,

and in three days I will raise it up.

The Jewish leader said then,

basically full of scorn,

listen, Jesus,

46 years this work's been going on,

it's still not built,

you're going to raise it up in three days?

Like baloney.

But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body.

And when therefore he was raised from the dead,

his disciples remembered that he had said this,

and they believed that the scriptures

and the word that Jesus had spoken.

The temple is where in Jesus' day,

I went to meet with God.

Jesus is revealing that he is now where I go

to meet with God.

Next point.

The temple in Jesus' day

is where I needed to go

and offer the necessary sacrifice

so that I could be near to God.

Jesus is the once for all sacrifice

provided by God himself

so that I can live at home

in God's presence into eternity.

See, that's why it's so significant

that he says,

he's first introduced in John 1

as the Lamb of God

who takes away the sin of the world.

The implication is that God himself

is providing a once for all means

by which we can be made right with him

if we receive it by faith.

And it's not just that Jesus does this

to make us right with God,

but Jesus is also where we go to meet with God.

He is both God's means

to make us right with him

and it's where we go to meet with God.

The final point, please.

And the resurrection of Jesus

is the game changer.

Jesus says it's the final sign.

If you go through and you read John's Gospel,

you're going to see that he keeps emphasizing

different signs that introduce God,

that point to God in very powerful ways.

Jesus reveals that the final sign

is his resurrection from the dead.

It vindicates who he is.

It vindicates the outrageous claim

that he is where human beings

can now go to meet with God,

that he is the one

who introduces God correctly.

It vindicates that he is, in fact,

the Lamb of God

who takes away the sin of the world.

And it vindicates

that he can still make people

like you and me right with him.

That for people like you and me,

living in Ottawa in 2018,

no matter how it is

that it seems that the culture is going,

that we can meet with Jesus,

we can be reconciled with God,

and as we go through our daily life,

we should not think that God is small

and that Ottawa is big,

Hollywood is big,

Trudeau is big,

Trump is big,

Apple is big,

secularism is big.

No, God is big.

He creates planets,

he holds them in his hands,

he changes human history,

he changes human hearts.

And I'm introduced

to be reconciled to God,

to live at home with God,

and live my day-to-day life

knowing that God is big,

and everything I face is small.

Please stand.

Just before I pray in closing,

just remind you that,

remember this,

one of the things

which is so wonderful

about the story of Jesus

throwing out the money changers

is that it's the Lamb of God

who takes away the sin of the world,

and he's the one

removing the barriers

so that pagans can come to know him.

If you have not given your life to Jesus,

he wants to know you.

He's not waiting for you

to lose weight.

He's not waiting for you

to become more ascetic.

He's not waiting for you

to become more holy.

He's the one

who's dealt with all

that keeps us far from God.

He's dealt with all of that,

and he longs for you

to bend the knee

and to call out to him

and say,

Jesus,

may you be for me

the Lamb of God

who takes away my sin.

May you be for me

the one

who makes me right with God.

May you be the one

by whom I can walk

and follow

and live my days

learning from you.

May you be the one

who is my Savior and my Lord.

There is no time better than today

to make such a call

and cry out to God.

Let's bow our heads in prayer.

Father,

we thank you for Jesus.

Father,

we confess before you

that we should know better,

but we slip into

thinking bad things about you,

wrong things about you,

untruths about you.

Father,

we slip into that so easily.

We project our hard-heartedness

onto you,

our anger-drivenness

onto you,

our lack of love

onto you,

our chaotic desires.

Father,

we put those on you,

but Father,

make us disciples of Jesus

who are gripped by the gospel

and are learning to know

who you are

as you've revealed yourself

through Jesus.

Father,

help us

to know you

through Jesus

and learn to live

knowing that you are

a big God,

bigger than our problems,

and freed up

to live for your glory.

Father,

we ask these things

in the name of Jesus,

your Son

and our Savior.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.