Sunday Message - Pastor Andrew Damazio (June 18, 2017) | Life Bible Church

That's a miracle in itself. I had some friends

that moved to Seattle from Virginia. And they're

here during the winter. Just wait until the summer.

It's the best right here in the summer. It's

always sunny. It's awesome. And last week, she

was like, it's mid -June. And it is still pouring

rain. You guys lied to me. No, we promise it's

going to get better. So I really need God to

come through on my behalf. And give us some sun.

But what a great day. And once again, all the

fathers, thank you for being here. Hope you're

celebrated today. Spiritual fathers, actual fathers,

in any realm that you father or lead, thank you

for doing so. I think this world needs a lot

more good fathers, not less. And so thank you

for everything that you've been doing that is

never seen and possibly never thanked. I know

it sounds as cheesy as it is, but God knows and

God sees everything that you do and you're a

part of and that you lead. And so continue to

do so. Continue to lead and be faithful. And

God's going to continue to bless you. Amen? Well,

it's such an honor to be here today with you

guys. Last time I was here, I was a freshman

in college. Last time I was here. So that was

a long time ago. A lot longer than I want to

admit. It's such an honor to be here today with

Pastor Brad and Jenny and their family. I was

actually born in Eugene. I don't know if you

guys know that. So I'm kind of back home, I guess.

I've been born in Eugene, lived here until I

was four. Then my dad, I went back to Portland.

So I love the Ducks and hate the Beavers. So

if you're a Beaver fan, there's a great church

down the road for you. And they would love to

have you. And if you're a Washington State Cougar

fan, there's no church for you. Just kidding.

We love all teams. Amen. Hey, do you have your

Bible this morning? If you have your Bible with

you, I hope you do. I believe we'll have it on

the screen for you. I was kind of going back

and forth on our drive down here yesterday. My

wife is here, obviously, Julia. Next month, we've

been married for six years. Next month. We're

making it. We got two kids. We have an almost

four -year -old son named Cruz and a two -year

-old daughter named Quinn. And they are highly

unsaved. So please pray for them. They need Jesus

really, really bad, especially my son. That child

needs some prayer. But we love them. They're

with my parents up in Portland today. So we left

them and came down alone. So it's a great Father's

Day for me. I love my kids, but I love free time

as well. Everybody said amen. John chapter 2.

John 2 · chapter mention

If you have a Bible today, go with me to John

John 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2. If you don't have a Bible, why don't

you just go to the lost and found and steal someone

else's? Because apparently they don't need it.

I'm just kidding. I'm not promoting stealing

in the house of God. John chapter 2. It's an

John 2 · chapter mention

amazing story about Jesus. I think it's a wise

thing that we talk about Jesus every Sunday and

focus on him. And I think this is one of my favorite

stories in the Gospels, and I'm going to do my

very best to unpack it. It says this in John

John 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2. We're going to read from the NLT version.

I don't know what version you have, but this

is the NLT version. It says this. The next day,

there was a wedding celebration in the village

of Cana of Galilee, and Jesus' mother was there.

And Jesus and his disciples were also invited

to the celebration. The wine supply ran out during

the festivities, so Jesus' mother came and found

him and said, they have no more wine. Dear woman,

that's not our problem. Only Jesus can call his

mom dear woman. The rest of us are dying. Dear

woman, that is not my problem. Jesus replied,

very interesting phrase, which we'll get to at

the end of the message today, my time has not

yet come. But his mother told the servants, just

do whatever he tells you. I love that mom. She

just ignores everything Jesus says. Just do what

he says. Standing by were six stone water jars,

six stone water jars used for Jewish ceremonial

washing. Each of them could hold 20 to 30 gallons.

Jesus told the servants, fill the jars with water.

When the jars have been filled, he said, now

go and dip some out and take it to the master

of ceremonies. So the servants followed his instructions.

When the master of ceremonies tasted the water

that was now wine, not knowing where it had come

from, though the servants obviously knew, he

called the bridegroom over. And he said, a host

always serves the best wine first. He said, then

when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings

out the least expensive wine last. But you have

got the best until now. This miraculous sign

at Cana in Galilee was Jesus' first. revealing

of his glory. This is the first time he reveals

who he is. And his disciples believed in him.

We'll end here. And after the wedding, he went

to Capernaum for a few days with his mother,

his brothers, and his disciples. If you're taking

notes today, if you're going to write a few things

down, which I challenge you to do so, hopefully

you can write some things down and ponder them

even after today or this week. And my title for

today's talk is A Father's Love. Due to Father's

Day, I just want to talk about a father's love.

And we're going to unpack and kind of go through

this story a bit. And then we'll land somewhere

when it has to do with our Heavenly Father. Let's

pray as we dive into this amazing passage. Father,

I thank you for your word. For this amazing story.

Father, I pray that you'd illuminate it. God,

you'd open up our eyes. And Father, those that

walked in discouraged today, that you'd lift

their head. Those that are just needing a word

from you, God, I pray that your spirit would

begin to impart to them. And encounter them and

experience them today, God. We love you so much.

Open this word to us, God. Let us see you more

clearly today. Let us leave this room different

than we walked in. Everybody set? Amen. As I

said, I've been married for almost six years

next month. And I remember our first year of

marriage. If you can go back to that. I don't

know how long it's been for you. But I remember

our first year of marriage. It wasn't the easiest

first year of marriage. And because I'm a very

strong personality and my wife is a very strong

personality, she's Italian and from New York.

So she's crazy. So I remember our first year

of marriage, we were like, how is this going

to work? We got to figure out how to communicate

to each other. And I'm very strong -willed and

she's very strong -willed. And so I, as you've

noticed by now, I'm a very outward, extroverted

person. I love people. If you want to discipline

me, don't spake me. Just put me alone. Like that's

how I was disciplined when I was a kid. I didn't

get spakings very often unless I was really bad.

I just got to put my room alone. And after five

minutes, I was so repentant. I was so sorry about

anything I did and did not do. I was sorry for.

I hate being alone. I don't know why. I don't

like being alone. I always like people. And so

I thought my wife always liked being around people

as well. So throughout our first year of marriage,

I'll be on the couch and the door would knock.

And she's like, babe, who's that? Like, I don't

know. But I knew because I text them to come

over. I'd be like, I don't know who it is. And

then like, she opened the door. It's like two

of my college friends, which therefore they're

poor and they're hungry. They're like, hey, we're

here to hang out. And she's like, babe, why are

they here? I'm like, I don't know. I'm winking

at them behind the wall. So then five minutes

later, more people come over. So after a few

months later, my wife was like, you have to tell

me when people are coming. This isn't going to

work. You have to tell me when friends are coming

over. I'm like, I thought you loved people too.

She's like, I do. Not in my home every single

day, all of the time. I'm like, it's news to

me. Took me a while to figure out. I remember

my 21st birthday. My mom, who has been here,

I'm sure many of you know, who is a gem. My mom

is so funny. And she has bad OCD. If you don't

know, bad OCD. So my 21st birthday, my mom goes,

can I host your 21st birthday party at our house?

I was like, she's like, I'll pay for all the

food. We'll host everything here. I'm like, I

am in. Like, absolutely. So she goes, well, how

many people are coming? I was like, oh, mom,

like 20 tops. 20 tops, mom. She said, okay, because

I'm going to buy a certain amount of food. I

go, mom, just 20 tops. God is my witness. An

hour into this party, there's well over 100 people

in my parents' home. All of which are like my

friends are in college basketball, so they're

eating every single item in my parents' house.

No lie. My friends are going through their kitchen,

going through my mom's fridge. They're in the

garage going through that fridge. They're eating

leftover food from last week because they ate

everything else. No lie. It was like locusts

in the book of numbers just coming to my parents'

house and eating everything. As God is my witness,

my mom starts crying halfway through this party.

Yeah, I know, I'm a bad son, okay, I'm sorry.

My mom starts crying. And everybody's like, what's

wrong? She's like, I'm a better party planner

than this. I would have bought more food. It's

Andrew's fault. He told me 20 people were coming.

He told me there wasn't gonna be this many people.

I would have bought more food. I'm a way better

party planner. Please don't look down upon me.

Like, she is so beside herself that all my friends

are like, there's no more food here. This is

a bad party. And my mom, my mom is so mad at

me. And all my friends were like, you're a jerk.

Go to the store and buy us more food. Your mom

planned this party for you. My birthday party

went so south so quick because all the food was

gone. Today in John chapter 2, we're reading

John 2 · chapter mention

a party that went really wrong really quick.

We're reading about a story in John chapter 2

John 2 · chapter mention

about a wedding. And the Bible says a few days

into this wedding, some translations say the

third day in, that the wine is gone. Now, for

me and you, we could just easily read over this,

and you know what? It's frustrating. The alcohol's

gone, and the wine's gone. It's whatever. Keep

on going. No, when you understand the biblical

context of what this would have meant, it was

a catastrophe. This is a massive deal for the

wine to run out. This is the worst thing to ever

happen to a wedding. Because you and I think

of a wedding. Two, three, four hours maybe if

it's a longer wedding. In ancient day, in ancient

text, a wedding would last from one week to four

weeks long. It was a festivities. That's why

the Bible calls it that. It was a party. And

actually when it comes to weddings, it wasn't

the family hosting the wedding. It was the village

hosting the wedding. So villages, one of our

families, their kids are getting married. Our

village is going to host this wedding. So they'd

invite all the other villages to come around

and celebrate this village with this couple.

And so when this party would go wrong, it wasn't

just the family's fault, it was the village's

fault. And the Bible says the wine runs out and

the mom comes to Jesus and says, hey, the wine

ran out. And everybody would have been so upset,

so frustrated. Because we have to understand

this morning that wine in ancient text wasn't

just alcohol. Wine represented life and joy.

That's what alcohol, this specific wine represented.

Life and joy. So when wine ran out of this party,

what really ran out was life and joy. So when

they would come to Jesus or come to the bridegroom

or come to the family and go, there's no more

life and no more joy in this party. That's what

they're saying. This party's over. Just like

my house times 20. This party's over. There's

no more life and there's no more joy. And then

Jesus proceeds in this amazing miracle, which

we'll get to in a little bit. And then he says

this very interesting phrase, take the wine or

the water that enters the wine and take it to

the master of ceremonies. Not to the bride, not

to the family, not to someone in charge, but

to the master of ceremonies. Now, if you've heard

the word MC, like to MC, that's where master

of ceremonies comes from, to MC. Learn something

new every day, people. Master of ceremonies,

the MC. This man's job. was to coordinate the

party. He was the wedding coordinator. He'd make

sure the alcohol was good, make sure people were

having fun, make sure the music's going, make

sure everybody's mingling. He was the party host.

And so really for the wine that went out was

his fault because he didn't orchestrate the party

right. And I just find it so powerful that Jesus

says, when you get the wine or the water that

turns into wine, take it to that man because

it's technically his fault that it's run out.

And then the man drinks the wine and says, this

is the. best wine of the entire party. And obviously

he would have found out eventually that Jesus

did this miracle because they all found out who

he was at this moment. I asked the question this

morning, why of all miracles did Jesus choose

this one to be first? No one's dying. It's not

an important thing. He's not raising a child

from the dead. He's not raising Lazarus. He's

not walking on water. He's not feeding the 5

,000. Of all of the miracles, think about it.

In the narrative of human history, God says,

I'm going to put flesh on, come down to earth.

And this is going to be the first moment I tell

people who I am. Of all of the miracles, he says,

I'm going to bring wine back to a party. This

will be my first miracle. Jesus, let's wait for

someone to die. That's way better. You talk to

a marketing manager. Jesus, this isn't really

the first thing that we're going to do. It's

not that cool. Let's wait until a bigger miracle,

Jesus, to show the world that you're God. He

says, no, I'm going to show people I'm God through

resurrecting a party. No, what Jesus is saying

is I'm going to show everyone that I resurrect

life in joy. So what happens is this is my first

point I want to talk about this morning. When

you allow anyone else to be the master of your

ceremonies, your life and your joy will run out.

See, every single one of us, we have a party

that's going on. It's called your life. It's

called your relationship in this world and this

human experience and this human narrative. You

have a party and it's called your life. And every

one of us, no matter how old, how young, how

saved, how on your journey with Jesus you are,

you have a master of ceremonies over your life.

Everyone has one. You choose one. Everyone does.

Now, I know most of us will say, oh, it's Jesus.

I believe you, but let's unpack that a bit. My

question is this. When life is overwhelming,

how do you get out? Your first mental thing.

Well, I just, I'm going to work more. Man, life

is so crazy right now. I'm really down on myself.

I don't like my life. So I'm going to work more.

Your job is your master of ceremonies. I'm stuck.

I'm bored in my relationship with God, family,

friends. I don't like where I am. So I'm going

to start a new investment. Oh, so a new investment

or a new money expansion in your world. That

is now the master of your ceremonies. I think

we automatically want to say it's Jesus, but

let's unpack that a little bit. Because I think

often we believe it's Jesus, but we function

like it's not. We mentally believe it's Jesus.

We want to say that, but in practicality, when

it comes to our daily life, Jesus is not the

master of our ceremonies. Psalms in the message

version says this, and I love it. It says he

is the heir to our soul. So I can pitch it this

way to you. When life sucks the air out of you,

how do you get it back? When life squeezes you

and air is sucked out of your life and sucked

out of your soul, the way that you put air back

into your life, that is the answer to who is

the master of your ceremonies. That is the answer

in itself. When I need to breathe and I need

life to start over and I need a fresh day, how

do I get life back into my sails? That is the

master. That is the leader. That is the master

of your ceremonies. And what Jesus is saying

is, if you were anyone else but me, Be the master

of your party. Your life and your joy will run

out. You see, this is what happens. John chapter

John 2 · chapter mention

2, we're reading today. If you flip over to John

John 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3, there's a story about Nicodemus. Back

in the day, we used to call him Nick at night.

Church jokes, people. I have them all day. John

3. Nick at night comes, who is a Sadducee. He's

a Pharisee. He's a religious leader. And Jesus

has the audacity to say, you're not born again.

Do you know how offensive that would have been

to a man that did everything he could to be holy

by the age of 12? And Jesus says, you're not

a part of me. And then you flip over to John

John 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4, and we encounter a desperate housewife

with the woman at the well. Right? She's had

multiple husbands and now Jesus encounters her

and then she leaves her water pot and that whole

story. I obviously know that John 2, 3, 4 is

in numerical order. I actually think it's in

spiritual order. What I mean is this. Every single

one of us are going to have a John 2 in your

life. At some point, if you haven't had it yet,

you're probably four. For the rest of us, you

have a moment. This is not what I thought it

was going to be. I thought life would be more

full. I thought marriage would be better. I thought

kids would love me more. I thought money would

fulfill me. I thought that job was going to be

everything. Every single one of us at some point

in your life are going to have a John 2 of life

and joy is running out. So when you have that

moment, you're either going to be a John 3 or

a John 4. Let me explain it. John 3 is a man

who is trying to fix himself by being religious.

I pray more. I fast more. I memorize the entire

Bible, the first five books back then, the Pentateuch.

By the age of 12, I was holy. What is he doing?

I'm going to complete myself by being holy. John

John 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4 is a woman who's trying to complete

herself by the world. By men, by money, by relationships.

So what's happening is, if you ever feel void

like John 2, either you would try to fix it yourself

like Nicodemus, or you would try to have the

world fix it like John 4. So what God is saying

is, when you have life and joy run out, are you

going to fix it or is the world going to fix

it? And both are going to fail you. You can never

fix the hole in your heart. You can never fix

the void that you feel. No matter how many days

you pray, read, fast, go to church, that is never

going to fix the issue that's really in the soul

of your heart. You cannot be so religious you

perfect yourself. You can never do it. You can't

tithe yourself to wholeness. You can't give yourself

away to wholeness. You can't worship yourself.

It is Jesus and Jesus alone that comes and fills.

So you can't be religious. And then if, you're

like, well, I would never do that. I know better.

Oh, so you think money's going to do it. So we

become John 4. Well, it's money. It's relationships.

It's new cars. It's new homes. It's new positions.

It's new relationships in the world that we live

in. What are we doing? We all have a John 2 and

we're trying to fix it ourselves. And so this

is why I think it's so powerful that this is

the first miracle that Jesus does, saying, no,

there is a party that's gone wrong, and it's

called the world. And if you let anybody else

be the master of your ceremonies, your life and

your joy is going to run out. So I'm going to

show the master of ceremonies that I'm really

the master of ceremonies. And I bring the best

wine. I bring the best party. I bring the most

life. I bring the most joy. I bring the most

fulfillment. I bring everything that you need.

And I find it so powerful. The Bible says it

is the third day that Jesus shows up. The third

day. Why? Because the way that you are trying

to live might work for a few days. It might work

for a few years. It might work for a few seasons.

But eventually, if it's not Jesus, it's going

to hit rock bottom. It's going to run out. It's

not going to be everything you thought. It's

not going to pan out how you want it. It's going

to go south. Why? Because he is the master of

our ceremonies. He is the leader of our party.

He is the life. He is the joy. He is the fulfillment.

He is everything that we're looking for, but

we have to choose him. Isn't it fascinating?

We read it. The Bible says he was invited to

the party. See, you have to understand, Jesus

is not a bully. He's not rude. He enjoys being

invited. So my question to you today is how often

do you invite Jesus into your circumstances?

Invite him into your board meeting. Invite him

into your marriage. Invite him into your family.

Invite him into the crisis you're experiencing.

Invite him into the battle that you don't know

how to win. God wants to be invited. Hey, Jesus,

I'm on this way to this board meeting and I don't

know what to do. God, would you come with me

to this board meeting? Jesus, there's a problem

in my home with my kids. I don't know how to

fix it. Jesus, would you enter my home? Would

you enter my life? Because I don't know how to

fix it. Because, Jesus, you're the master of

my ceremonies. So I'm inviting you. And then

Jesus says this powerful phrase. He says, Mom,

it's not my time yet. Do you need a half hour?

Do you need an hour? You're nervous? Need a pep

talk? You hungry? What do you mean it's not your

time yet? You see, what Jesus is saying is, Mom,

there is a party that's gone wrong, but it's

not just this party. It's the party of the world.

And Mom, I am going to fix it, but Mom, I don't

think you understand what I have to do to fix

it. You see, mom, you think there's this little

problem with the wine running out, and that's

a big deal, and I'm going to fix it. I really

am, mom. But you don't understand. In order for

me to give life back to the world, I have to

give mine up. Mom, in order for me to give joy

back to this world, I have to give mine up. So

what Jesus is saying is, oh, there is a party

that's gone wrong. There is a situation in the

world that I have to fix, but I came to make

a way to fix it. And I don't know, Mom, if you

understand what I have to do to fix it. You see,

when you go to the book of Genesis chapter 2,

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

when man, Genesis 2 and 3, man was created and

man fell. From that day on, we have been trying

to get back to the Garden of Eden. Just process

me for a little bit. We had divine, uninterrupted

communion with God. The Bible says, I love it,

he walked in the cool of the day with God. Face

to face like he would talk to a friend. That

was our beginning. That was the plan. And then

we ruined it as man. And now from that moment

on, all the way until right now, God has been

trying to get us back to that moment, to face

-to -face, uninterrupted relationship with him.

So we get out of the book of Genesis and we have

the Garden of Eden. We fall out of the book of

Genesis. Then we start having judges to be with

us and talk to God on our behalf. And that doesn't

go well. So then they ask for a king. And then

Saul's our first king. And that goes really south.

So then we get David. And then before we know

it, we're making sacrifices with bulls and goats

and altars. And now all the Old Testament, we're

making all these sacrifices to cleanse ourselves

and make us right with God and apologize to God.

So that isn't going how God isn't thinking because

no matter how much they are sacrificing, they

weren't really changing. Our relationship with

God wasn't getting better. So then Jesus says,

all the bulls and goats and all the altars and

all the judges, all the kings, it's not really

working. It's not bringing the people close enough

to be the way that I want. So I'm going to send

a better sacrifice. The bulls and goats is not

cutting it. So I'm going to send the ultimate

sacrifice. I'm going to send the ultimate avenue

to bring man back to me. So I'm going to put

flesh on and I'm going to send my son. To die

on a cross. And then the Bible says this, which

is so powerful. It's one of my favorite parts

of the whole Bible. When Jesus hung on the cross,

it says, it is finished. And then the Bible says

this. And then the veil was torn. That's so important.

We have to understand this thing because this

is what Jesus is doing. What he's saying is,

we think of like a veil, like a wedding veil,

like a small veil. No, in ancient texts, if you

do your history, a veil was five feet thick and

20 feet high. That's a veil. I mean, that is

huge. It's five feet by 20 feet. In every synagogue

or every temple, there was a veil. And one man,

one time a year, could open up the veil. go behind

and be in God's presence for an hour and then

come back out. One man, one time a year, could

go behind the veil for all of mankind or all

of his friends, bring all the names and all the

petitions to God for an hour and then come back

out. And then, hear me, watch, this is so important.

When Jesus dies on the cross, that barrier is

torn. That barrier that was keeping everyone

out, But one man could go in. God's saying, this

isn't working for me. This barrier, this veil,

this whole me and them on opposite sides is not

working for me. So I'm going to send one man,

Jesus, to go behind the veil and tear it so that

now there is divine communion with me and my

people. There's no more. Brick and mortar and

building. Hebrews and Romans says that now we

are the house of God and his spirit resides in

us. Did you know 187 times Jesus called God Father?

187 times. Did you know that there's only one

time in the entire Bible, maybe you're smarter

than me and you can find it, one time he didn't

call him Father and he called him God? It was

on the cross. We said, my God, my God, why have

you forsaken me? That is the only time in the

entire Gospels that Jesus called him God instead

of Father. You know why? Because in this moment,

he was saying, Father, I'm going to give up calling

you Father one time so that the people I'm dying

for can call you Father for all time. You see,

God, I... I'm going to call you God one time

so that the people I'm dying for can call you

Father for the rest of history. You see, you

have to understand that the Son of God became

the Son of Man so that the sons of man can become

the sons of God. So what Jesus is doing in this

story is there is a party. And I think it's so

important that we understand there was six water

pots. Six. Not five. Not three. Six. There's

something very important in the Bible called

numerology or the study of numbers. Number of

two is unity. Number three is the trinity. Number

five is the number of grace. Isn't the number

six is the number of man? Do you know what number

seven is? The number of perfection. You know

what Jesus is saying? Grab six water pots because

man has failed you. The way that you've tried

to get to me has failed you. So you grab six

water pots, and then this is his first miracle.

So in three and a half years from now, I'm going

to become the seventh water pot. I'm going to

become the seventh perfection. and completion

of this life. And I'm going to become the master

of your ceremonies. And now from now on, if you

will commune with me and you have a relationship

with me, your life and your joy will never run

out. And that is why John 4, he says there is

a river that is everlasting and it will flow

from you and it will never end. What he's saying

is when you understand that I have come to rip

the veil and I want to meet with you face to

face, there's no more veil, there's no more brick

and mortar. Not me. and you. And I want to have

divine and intimate communion and relationship

with you. You see, that's why I love we are not

Catholicism. We don't have to go to a booth and

look through a little slat with our father. We

actually get to look at his face and talk to

him face to face. We don't have to go to some

altar somewhere or go look at a statue. God came

in flesh so that we can look at his face and

talk to him and interact with him and be with

him. What Jesus is saying is, you are going to

have a John. to, but I've come to fix it. You're

going to have a moment when life is not what

you thought. But good news, I have come to give

you life and life more abundantly. And this is

where I want to end today. And this is why I

said all of what I said to land here. Then Jesus

takes the water and tells him, takes the water,

dip it, turns the wine. And then there's this

important phrase that I think is so profound.

The Bible says the disciples believed in him.

Didn't they already? This isn't them for the

first time. They already knew he was Jesus. They

already knew he was God in human flesh. But the

Bible says they believed in him. You see. Salvation

is not a one -time occurrence. Now, one time

when you make that prayer, you go from being

outside of God to in God. In that moment. I believe

in that. But I actually believe our salvation

prayer is not a one -time prayer. It's a daily

prayer. That God is saving us. Every single day

we are being saved. We are being renewed. We

are being redeemed. We are being made whole.

And once again, the disciples are saying, I believe

again. Now that I've seen this, I believe once

again. And this miracle now sheds a light and

has a whole new encounter with Jesus and his

disciples. And this is where I want to land today.

And this is why I titled it A Father's Love,

because this is what I want you to get today.

The Hebrew people always viewed God as a far

and distant deity, God on a throne, holy, and

you can't touch him. And if you do anything wrong,

you're going to die. And what God is saying is,

I don't want you just to view me as a king to

a people. I want you to view me as a bride to

a bridegroom. This is what's happening in the

story. Jesus is saying is, I've come to make

a different relationship. than you have never

imagined. Okay, how do you think God wants to

relate to us? Like a bride to a bridegroom? Well,

I thought he was like this big king on a tower

and he was way up on his throne and we were just

supposed to be in always fear and reverent and

he was God and he is holy. No, he is all that.

But the way that God leads is not just on a throne,

it's through relationship. You say, I love the

God that we serve because he doesn't lead through

a scepter, he leads through a towel. He leads

by serving. He leads by loving. And what Jesus

is saying is this. I've come in human flesh to

give you a new experience with God. See, it's

not only one man and one veil. No, that's not

going to happen anymore. Now, it's not a veil.

It's a name. And it's Jesus. So what he's saying

is you can experience Jesus in the car. The same

way the priest experienced Jesus behind the veil.

So that means when you're on a run and you're

saying the name of Jesus, what are you doing?

You're stepping behind the veil. Because now

you don't have to go to a temple and go to a

veil. You say a name and you breathe in and out

and you say his name. And then he joins you on

your run where you're doing the dishes, where

you're taking your kids to school. It is now

everywhere I go, I'm breathing in God. I'm encountering

God. I can meet with my father face to face.

I know I love Sundays and church is so important.

But once I get theologically off that, this is

not a church. This is a building. When we gather,

it becomes a church. So that means in your car,

it becomes the church. While you're on a run,

while you're doing the dishes, while you're with

your husband, while you're on a date, while you're

doing laundry. I hate laundry. But as you're

actually folding, you can actually start, Jesus,

I love you so much. God, thank you so much for

my family. Thank you so much for that job. I

hate my boss so much, but thank you for my job.

I'm thankful that you are so faithful to me.

What are you doing? You're stepping in and out

of the veil. You're stepping in and out of his

presence. And every time you breathe in and out,

you are asking Jesus, be the master of my ceremonies.

Take over my life. Take over my family. God,

without you, my life and my joy is going to run

out. Jesus, you are my life. You are my joy.

Everything I am, everything I need is found in

you. Jesus, would you have a John 2 wedding day

experience? With me every single day. You see,

I have to understand that this is a father's

love. Saying, I want to be with my people so

bad. And this veil and this whole one man, one

year name and all this stuff, I'm going to erase

all of that. And then you're going to be found

in Jesus, in my son. I don't know your relationship

with your father, good, bad, or indifferent.

But this father loves you so much that he bankrupt

his own family. It's not like he had 17 sons.

He's like, ah, you're it, go ahead. Eeny, meeny,

miny, moe, your turn, go. He had one. One. And

he sent him so that he could have a divine communion

relationship and face -to -face love relationship

with you. And my fear and my concern and what

makes me sad is so many Christians are not living

this. They're living Nicodemus. They're living

John 4. Oh, they love Jesus and they love God

and are thankful their sins are gone. No, God

didn't just come to erase all of your sins. That's

a big part of the cross. He actually came to

have a relationship and communion with us. A

father's love like no other happens in this story.

Today I want to land here because I want this

message to stir a new perspective of Jesus. And

the perspective of our Father. That he did everything

he could and the band can join me. Because he

wanted to break every barrier between you and

him. You see, when the veil was torn, I actually...

believe it wasn't just letting God out, it was

letting man in. It wasn't just saying, hi Stephanie.

Are you going to make me sound super spiritual?

Okay. Are you still, are you single? Are you

dating someone? You are? Anybody want to date

Stephanie? Anybody want? Just kidding. I'm just

kidding. You see, I do think that we need to

view God as a king. That he is holy. That he

is perfect. That he is on a throne. I believe

all of that. But then why does Jesus say, I want

to call you friend? If I could submit to you,

and if I'm wrong, Pastor Brad is right, and I'm

wrong. But I actually think we need to not only

view God as your king, but as your friend. The

Bible says he wants to talk to us face to face

like a friend. This morning, I want to do my

very best to unpack to you that this is such

an amazing story of a father's love. Sending

his son to make a way that we can now have uninterrupted

divine relationship with him. Everywhere. At

all times. Isaiah says, he is as close as the

mention of his name. That means freedom is one

name drop away. Wholeness is one name drop away.

Fulfillment is one name drop away. That when

you start saying that name, your heavenly father

starts swooping in. And filling every hole and

every gap and every crack. And you start having

this new perspective. If you read the Gospels,

how many times the Bible says, and they believed.

And they believed. It wasn't that they were unbelieving

before. It's that every miracle and every scenario,

they were seeing God in a new way. Seeing Jesus

in a new way. And they kept believing over and

over and over and over and over. Miracle after

miracle. Scenario after scenario. I believe again.

I believe he is God again. I believe he is God

in flesh again. I believe that's who he is again.

God actually wants to show you a new perspective,

a new relationship with him. Can we stand to

our feet? I'm going to pray and then... If you

wouldn't mind, would you mind just close your

eyes and bow your head and just give me a moment?

I know you're thinking about Father's Day lunch

and want to beat the crowd and want to go see

the cars and whatever it might be, but would

you just give me a few moments just between me,

you, and God that you just close your eyes and

shut your spirit in and maybe shut everybody

else out and just give me a few moments. I want

to pray for those that if you'd be so bold, and

I'm not saying... You're unsaved or you don't

know God. Maybe you very well love God, know

God, serve God, worship God, that you're saved,

that you're a believer, you're a follower of

Jesus. But you would say, I am John 3 or John

4. I actually sometimes think I'm good with God

because I'm good. I've been saved for so long.

I give, I serve, I tithe, I lead a small group,

I show up at church every weekend, I never miss.

I actually tend to think I kind of deserve. part

of the cross because I'm a good person. I've

done a lot and I actually have kind of become

Nicodemus. I feel religious. I feel like I tend

to do that too much. Maybe you're like John 4

that maybe it's not a religious thing. It's a

world thing. It's money, relationships, cars,

homes, business endeavors, money, whatever it

might be that you are trying to find your fulfillment

in one of those two areas. And today you would

acknowledge between you and God that I want to

choose Jesus as the master of my ceremonies again.

I know I think it in my mind, but in reality,

he's not. If that's you today and you'd be so

bold across this place, would you just put your

hand up saying, I would like to invite Jesus

to be the master of my ceremonies again? Because

if I'm real honest, he's not. I find it other

ways. I look for other ways. When I'm down, I

do other things or I try other avenues. But if

I'm really, really honest with myself, man, Jesus

is not. He's not the master of my ceremonies.

He's not the first place I go. He's not the first

person I see. He's not the name that I seek.

He's just not. I wish he was more, but he's not.

Awesome. Put your hands out. The second group

I want to pray for is this, that you would once

again be so bold to say, I do not know Jesus

to the way that you're describing. It's a far,

it's a distant. I mean, I love him. I'm so thankful

that the cross is mine. I'm so thankful that

heaven is my reward. I'm thankful I love Jesus,

but I do not have that love relationship like

a bride to a bridegroom. It's more of like a

holy king distant. I just try to be in awe and

reverence and fear. I just try my best, but it

is not this. Jesus is my best friend. He's the

lover of my soul. He's a bride to a bridegroom,

and I want to know Jesus in a new way. in a profound

and a more intimate way. If that's you, would

you put your hand up? Say, man, that's me. I

want to know Jesus in a new way because I've

never thought or encountered Jesus in that way

before. It's always been a God to a king and

on a throne, but I want to know him as friend.

I want to know him as bride and bridegroom. Awesome,

let's pray. I'm going to hand the mic back over

to Pastor Brad. Father, I thank you right now

for every single person that lifted their hand.

God, we are so thankful that you are. the master

of our ceremonies. You are everything that we

need. You are everything that we are looking

for. God, you are the life. You are the joy.

You are the fulfillment. God, when life goes

away, when life goes south, God, you are everything

that we need. God, for those that need to redirect

that, God, those that need to re -choose you,

God, collectively, we re -choose you today, God.

Be the leader of our life. Be the leader of our

party. God, we want life and joy to be full and

abundant and overflowing in our life, God. And

it comes. from you. And God, I pray for those

that maybe don't know you the way they want to

know you. God, they want to step closer. They

want to know you closer. God, I pray that you

would swoop in. God, you would fill. God, you

would encounter them in a new way today. God,

like a friend. God, to a face -to -face, like

a bridegroom. God, that you would step in and

encounter them and know them in a new way. God,

I thank you for everybody today that we are loved

by a Father. In your name I pray. Everybody set.

If you are interested in hearing other podcasts

or contacting Life Bible Church, go to www .lifebiblechurch

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