More Reflections on the Water Turned into Wine

“Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he 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, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” (John 2:6-10, ESV)

After initially posting my first article on the verses 1-5 of the second chapter of John’s Gospel, where this account is found, I’ve since been reflecting on it and had some things pointed out to me by the same friend who inspired me to write that first post, showing me just how deeply prophetic this action of Christ’s at the wedding truly was. We simply must reflect some more on it.

When the wine ran out people didn’t go on with the emotional hype as usual. There was a lack. There was a need, and Mary was honest about the spiritually poor condition (so to speak) of the fact that the gathering lacked wine. She doesn’t continue on with the celebration as if nothing is wrong, nor does she make excuses concerning why the wine ran out or why enough may not have been prepared. She realized the need and goes straight to the source–Jesus Christ, her earthly son. This took a tremendous amount of confidence and humility of her to ask–because as we learned in the last post on this–providing the wine and any other thing was the groom’s responsibility and not that of any of the guests–of which Jesus was one.

When you come to Jesus with your need not hiding or covering anything up, be ready for Him to speak and do exactly what he says. Follow His instructions. He said to get the vessels and fill them with water. HERE is where the lesson is…

What kind of vessels were they? They were the ceremonial vessels used in the Jewish synagogue for ritual or ceremonial cleansing, and they were dry, and empty. The vessels that were designed and used to wash iniquity and impurity lacked water, and thus were not fulfilling their purpose. The Church and our pulpits today lack a true fresh right now Word from God, and because the pulpit is anorexic the Church is sick because there is no washing with the water of the Word. The vessels designed to WASH or bring purification themselves lacked the pure water.

Fill your life with the word of God. Devour the Bible in your personal life, not just for study, blogging or preaching, but just fill up on it. Then out of that, you will fill your ministry with the Word and fresh revelation.

The wedding lacked wine, but the vessels designed to cleanse from sin lacked water.

When you get filled with the Word, there will be cleansing from sin, and revival can then break out. But we often times want to go straight to the wine, but first you must ALWAYS be filled with the word, and cleansed. How can there be joy if there is no cleansing or forgiveness? How can there be washing or cleansing if there is no water in the very ministries designed to bring cleansing from impurity? In this account, the vessels, the instruments–representing the ministry or the ministers designed for cleansing–were dry and empty.

Jesus instructed to fill them with water (or fill em with the Word) and draw out of that which it is filled with, and it had now turned into the fresh new thing. This is what happens when we fill up on the Word of God–joy and anointing of the Holy Spirit will flow from our lives and be manifested. This is Jesus’ “little secret” for bringing new wine or revival. I use the term ‘little secret’ kinda loosely when I really mean to say ‘forgotten or neglected truth’ because it’s plain, but many still don’t seem to know it.

Jesus’ solution is that the vessels He desires to use–they can be people, or ministries, etc…be filled with the fresh revelation of the Word. And only when you draw from that fresh filling–not with a pseudo-superficial emotional filling–but a real genuine soaking in the WORD, then what you draw out will be an aged matured product that produces fruit–fruit matured and pressed, that produces joy, the wine of the Holy Spirit.

Isn’t it interesting that there was no wine, but there was also no water where there should have been water–in the Church, in the pulpit. Jesus’ first instructions were not immediately wine, it was filling [the Church] with water, or filling those vessels first.

Saving the Best Wine For Last

The master of the feast in this account remarked that the best wine had been saved for last. I believe personally that this is a picture of the Church, that in the early form as documented in Acts chapter 2, there was an outpouring of the Spirit that birthed and sustained the Church, but that right before The Wedding of the Lamb, the best wine will have been poured out and the Church will have made herself ready. Revelation 19:6-8 states how the great multitude is gathered and clothed in white linen representing the righteous acts of the saints. There will be no possible way to be so clothed except for the power of the wine of the Holy Spirit poured out on a people cleansed and washed by the power of the Word of God. Joel 2:28-32 gives us a glimpse of that:

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.”And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.” For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.”

This account details what those ‘last days’ will look like, however, Peter referenced that in Acts 2:17-21, but refers to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as being evidence of the last days already being up on us. It’s been the last days already for almost 2000 years (see Are We Living in The Last Days?). It’s probably little to no secret to any historian or student of Church history the Church started with an explosion, and then went into a significant spiritual dark age, and for the last few hundred years has been gradually having forgotten truths restored to it ever since the great Reformation. We are getting nearer and nearer to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, subsequent to the return of Christ the Bridegroom. He is and has been saving the best wine for last.

If Jesus is going to purify us to present us to Himself ready for that day, then that means in these last days the Lord is going to also confront us more and more because He loves us and longs to be with us. The purpose of tribulation on the earth will not be specifically to yank His Bride from it to avoid that hour, but to prepare and further purify Her for the Wedding. This is also how I read the book of Revelation–through the Apostle John’s perspective–the friend of the Bridegroom whom Jesus’ loved. I read it through a Bridal Paradigm, and see the Bridegroom coming back in full force ready to finally obtain His Bride He longs for.

If we don’t get a good grasp of the dealings of the Lord now we will become offended at Him and His work when He comes with the water of His Word and begins to put us under the microscope and also allow us to go through intense persecution we’ve not previously known because He just wants to be with us, and have us prepared for it.

Are you ready for the fresh outpouring that’s breaking out and coming?

Peruvian Pedestrian Wipers?

Well it’s that time of year. I’m not talking about people celebrating the birth of Jesus, putting up Christmas tress or giving and receiving gifts. I’m talking about everybody trying to rip me off, over charge me, give me counterfeit money in my change, or sell me something I don’t need just because I’m a gringo and they believe I have money.

I’m certain the motto of many Peruvian panhandlers is “You’ve got money, we’ve got pockets.” It doesn’t even matter what they’re selling, sometimes it seems when I walk by and they notice, they thrust their attention on me with more aggression than all the other passers by. One time in my neighborhood, I was walking in a certain direction and beginning to outpace a man in front of me. When he noticed me, he suddenly asked me for 5 soles, which is their currency and five would be equivalent to about $1.60 US. I’ve had guys come up to me trying to persuade me to buy brooms, maps, necklaces they’ve made.

In fact the necklace thing always puzzles me b/c I’ll be walking Park Kennedy, a real tourist/gringo hotspot where I’ll run into people speaking English or just plain are evidently from North America or Europe. And these necklace sellers are there and think that just b/c I made eye contact for a nano second, that that gives them the invitation to follow me for a block not taking my ignoring them and repeating “NO” as an answer.

I understand this is how some of them make their living, and some are pretty desperate and make like 12 soles a day. Others aren’t desperate and just simply know there’s money to be made off of tourists, so they make necklaces and try convincing people who don’t spend enough time in Peru to know that they are supposedly made in Cusco. Or that they are not worth the price being asked. Like I’ve said, I’m not trying to judge or mock b/c it’s a different culture and none of us are better than another, but I really would like to teach people that getting in my face is not a good sales tactic.

Anyway, today as I went to the gas station I live nearest to in order to buy a sandwich, drink and coffee creamer, I was approached by a man with a stack of windshield wipers trying to sell them to people there. I think he failed to notice I walked there, but I thought it was a creative thing to sell. He’d probably make a killing in Canada if they were winter resistant, or the Netherlands, where it rains five days per week. But in a country where it doesn’t really rain, I’m not sure.

That’s all for today!

What makes drunk people believe they are quiet?

So yesterday I sent Gregg Montella 180 alpaca scarves through FedEx. It was supposed to be 200, but that’s all I could fit in two boxes to keep it from going over 30 kilos. Gregg contacted me a week or two ago asking if I’d do this, and then when I agreed he wired me the money and covered his expenses nicely. This of course is what I was referring to in my previous post entitled “200 Alpaca Scarves.”

We both underestimated the cost, size, and hassle it would be, but I was happy to help for the nice blessing he was giving me for my effort, and the fact he was paying for it himself, otherwise I would not usually do any kind of favor like this for someone.

I recorded a podcast with him and S.J. Hill this week. I’ve recorded at least one with each of them before, but this was the first time with them both together. Oh man, never has any of our podcast recordings been fraught with so much difficulty of both the technical nature or with keeping a connection on the internet! Maybe the one I did on alcohol with Dan Slavin “back in the day” comes close.

First, the lack of privacy or a good place free from noise poses a problem for me when I’m recording them in my room over Skype, since I’ve got a door with a huge crack at the top, effectively NOT stopping any noise from the kitchen or living room from traveling to my room. So, my bedroom is far from a recording studio. Living in a house with concrete walls doesn’t help keep noise from traveling and echoing either. So to remedy this problem I asked each of the two flatmates who were home if they could keep noise down or not use the kettle that whistles, or the microwave, etc…for a two hour period, to which I was met with a stunning response from one guy who’s and nationality and anything else to identify him will be left out so I avoid trashing or gossiping about anybody on my blog.

He told me he doesn’t care about anything I’m doing in my room and will do as he pleases because he’s mad at what I did to him on the weekend. What did I do? Well, at 1am when he was having some kind of drinking party with the guy across the hall from my room, I asked them to keep it down or go somewhere else, to which they went to his room and got louder. Since his room’s window is adjacent to my room’s window, it was impossible to sleep through the noise. So I texted the landlady, after 1am, 2am, and then my final text was at 3:30 am. I don’t think he was doing it spitefully, but just his judgment was impaired and he genuinely didn’t think he was being loud. At that time she and her mother came upstairs (they live below us) and decided it was necessary to have a shouting match from the staircase to his room. Part of me regretted texting her about the noise, but I really thought I’d get to sleep earlier than if I just waited for this mini-party to finish.

They had a huge blow up, and the family we all rent these rooms from don’t really like him and he thinks they’re crazy as well, so the Spanish competition they were having to see who could be the nastiest with their words, as much as I understood, was right down the hall from my door. It was around 5:30 am that this shouting match was taking place, and was way too much excitement for me to fall asleep right away after hearing. Lo and behold, sunlight was coming up before I finally did.

So, this flatmate was referring to these events, that he somehow deems it my fault he had the altercation with the landlady. He told me I was a snitch (or at least the word for it in French) and that if I had a problem I should have spoken to him directly. Apparently he was too drunk to remember that I did and it only made things worse. And that’s what I’ve done the other times he parties it up–but nothing happens, so I “snitched” to the landlord because I’d like to sleep! I have a bigger room and pay more than this guy, so I’d like to be able to sleep. Fair enough I think. But of course, he insists, as many drunks with their judgment impaired, that he was not making that much noise and I should have tolerated it.

So to spite me he made all the noise he felt like while I was recording, and the casual listener won’t notice these problems. But the other unavoidable problem, our internet connection. We had problems with Gregg and SJ hearing me consistently; we had Gregg get disconnected because apparently the power went out at his place in North Carolina. So we finished the latter part today, and couldn’t get Gregg in our conference call for some reason. *Sigh*

At any rate, I don’t blame the devil for technological problems, but we were talking about a subject matter that I think is real important: holiness and happiness–and we all knew many people need to hear it, so it wouldn’t surprise me if some of the problems were spiritual resistance to what we were doing. At any rate, that’s the latest.

And boy am I glad to be rid of the alpaca scarves.

Fire On Your Head Episode 53: Do Happiness and Holiness Mix?

This week we’re privileged to have back on the podcast author and speaker S.J. Hill, and world traveler Gregg Montella for some serious sacred cow killing.

What is the difference between fearing God and being afraid of Him? Do accountability relationships/groups really produce desired results, such as holiness? What does the Bible really mean when it teaches about ‘death to self’?

Make sure to listen to this podcast, and if you’re struggling with overcoming habitual sin, then you definitely don’t want to miss out on this one. Don’t forget to check out SJ’s site: http://www.sjhill.com

Blessings and Merry Christmas! This week’s intro: “Only You Make Me Happy” by Krystal Meyers

Listen to this episode

Download this episode (right click and save)

Please visit our site at www.fireonyourhead.com, or consider subscribing to us in the iTunes store, listed as “Fire On Your Head Podcast”, where you will also have access to many other teachings from our conferences.

200 Alpaca Scarves

Well, I’ve decided to get back into the habit of blogging.  No I’m not talking about writing the type of meditative Scripture-based articles that I’ve been continuing to maintain here and on www.fireonyourhead.org alike.   But some stuff happens down here in Peru, where I live and serve as a missionary for those of you reading who may never have known, or you did and forgot.

I realize that the difference in culture from Canada to Peru is far greater than the cultural divide between my home country and The Netherlands ever was.  So I’m going to get back in the habit of blogging, to at least write short snippets.  Not daily, but hopefully I can keep caught up with it weekly with short entries of two or three paragraphs, nothing too heavy.

So much stuff happens, it’s ridiculous.  Like living in a huge house in Peru with a landlady who sets her alarm to come upstairs between 1:30 am and 2am to turn the WiFi router off because she believes that it needs to be turned off for at least four hours per day in order not to overheat.  Yes, I realize how ridiculous that sounds, especially since Google searching didn’t turn up any results of the number of casualties per year of Peruvians who’ve died from router explosions.  The idea that some Peruvian lady could get a good whole night’s sleep uninterrupted but refuses to be persuaded that it’s not necessary to do so, is quite humorous (but really annoying too).  I emailed home to tell my dad, since the house is bound to burn down now since the WiFi router has been on for almost two years now.

Everyday I see and hear such silly nonsense from living in a third world culture that would make for good blogging.  Did you know cold Coke is bad for your throat?  Did you know that if you’re cold, eat chocolate?  I grew up in Canada, and somehow failed to ever learn that one.

Again, to be clear, I’m not mocking people or the culture, because I’m not better than them and they are not better than me.  But, I’m sure I can blog some of my cultural shockings and frustrations as a harmless and creative way to cope.

I think I fell out of ‘journal’ type of blogging after quite a while because of several factors–social networking like Facebook and having almost everybody and anybody who cares to follow my life on there.  Plus, it’s easier to upload my pictures of missionary life there instead of on wordpress or blogspot.  For those of you who won’t be clicking on either hyperlink, I post Just Your Average Revolutionary on both sites since I can’t make up my mind which site I’d rather use since they’ve both got features the other doesn’t (WordPress’ more professional ’site’ look, and Blogger’s ease of use and the fact that’s the one I started and more people know that link).

The other factor is podcasting.  If you’ve never checked out Fire On Your Head, then allow me to say in one thought, that that thing has taken on a world of its own.  A lot of people listen and check it out.  In each episode as of late, I usually take 5-10 minutes to make an intro before each interview with different guests now, in order to share awesome or silly things going in my life and ministry.  So since I’ve developed these other avenues to shine my personality through, I’ve kinda left blogging behind, and the stats for my readership declined steadily in the advent of those things anyway, so I felt maybe blogging was no longer in vogue.

Then I realized I was missing out on the main thing journal-blogging provided me–an outlet; a way to cope with some frustrations and channel them into humor or just plain pensive writings that make ME feel better by writing them.  So whether few or many people will read this blog, I’m going to pick up the habit again.   Besides, it’s pretty hard to write enough in Facebook status updates or FieryCanadian tweats.

As for the 200 alpaca scarves: that’s another story, so you’ll have to keep posted if you want to know more!

Love: The More Excellent Way, part 2

“How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!” Song of Solomon 4:10b

“And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:2

We began in our previous article with this verse from the Song of Solomon to establish our premise for these series of articles on the love of God flowing through the believer. The context surrounding that verse establishes that the Bridegroom, Christ, is speaking to His Bride, the Church stating we have ‘captivated His heart’ (verse 9). Our worship and adoration–and just simply our obedience to come follow Him and be in awe and reverent fear of Him–does something in his heart. He gets some type of satisfaction from our worshipful, fasted lifestyles that He doesn’t get in another way.

We also began in the last post to elaborate on the fact the wine speaks of the best this life has to offer and not sinful or guilty pleasures. Since most oftentimes wine is associated with the Holy Spirit, we’re then assuming that the Spirit being poured out is a good thing, BUT a foundational starting point for this love walk we’re going on. So allow me to show you another part of this journey, of just what happens when the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

^“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:17-21, emphasis mine)

As we established in our previous article by looking at 1 Corinthians 12, 13, and 14 to show that the gifts of the Spirit are foundational–but love is the more excellent, and the greater way–then it makes sense also that one of the evidences of a born again believer truly being filled with the Holy Spirit, is going to be love. If we are operating in all manner of gifts of the Spirit, but have not love, then it is pointless and we are nothing (see 1 Cor 13:1-2). If we are constantly, and regularly being filled with the Holy Spirit on an ongoing basis, then it won’t just be evidenced by speaking in tongues, prophecies, psalms, hymns and so on, but we will also be submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Dare I say it: the REAL evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit, is love for one another–not at the expense of the gifts such as tongues, but on top of it, including the gifts. How do I know this? Well, I could post too large a list of Scriptures dealing with commandments to love, but let me focus on a few things that tie into our Bridal paradigm specifically, and the direction I’m going in with this series of articles:

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. (1 John 4:19-20, emphasis mine)

We must remember a few things about the Apostle John: he had a revelation of the love of God which obviously would affect his perspective. He referred to himself in his gospel account as the one Jesus loved. In the end of that Gospel, he said that if all the works Jesus did were recorded, the world would not be able to contain the books (John 21:25). Therefore, what we have written in our Scripture canon does not contain any wasted pages. All of it is divinely arranged to be there for a reason. John lived to be a ripe old age and it’s commonly held by many that he wrote this and his other two epistles towards the very end of his life, even after he wrote The Revelation he received while exiled on the island of Patmos. It is for this reason then, we can reasonably interpret the book of Revelation through the lens of the LOVE of God he had, and when one does, we see the matter of the coming of the Lord in a whole different light than just stuff that belongs in Left Behind fiction books–but one of a marriage finally coming to realization. The book is a revelation of the Bridegroom–lovesick for His Bride–coming back to finally marry her. John had that revelation, but I digress a little from where I’m going with this.

If John took the time to write these 5 chapters, then this stuff MUST be some of the most important things he felt worth sharing with the recipient of this letter, and the Church. Therefore, if at the ripe old age of 90 or maybe even 100 this was what he had to say after decades of intimate relationship with The Bridegroom–after decades of public ministry– then it’s wise of us to take seriously, and meditate and ponder things from his perspective. We need the perspective of the one who knew his identity in the Bride of Christ, and knew himself as the one Jesus loved.

How do I know this whole “wine of the Spirit and being filled, speaking to one another, and submitting to one another” thing ties into this whole Bridal paradigm? Because the rest of the chapter goes on to say so:

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. (Eph 5:22-24)

Sometimes I really hate the chapter breaks and title headers the publishers of our Bible translations put in there, because the original manuscripts were not broken down into chapters and verses, and certainly didn’t have subject headings like most of our Bibles say. I’m only mentioning that because even though they’re helpful for finding specific passages and parables, when reading they sometimes inadvertently give the reader the impression new topics are starting. However, this is a part of the same flow of thought the author had. Jesus taught in complete subjects, even if the English Standard Version I’m reading this from breaks things down into seemingly different topics, when the apostles and epistle writers wrote in entire concepts. Let’s keep reading:

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (Eph. 5:25-33, emphasis mine)

Remember, we love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), and Christ has sought out His Bride since before the foundation of the world. He is talking here of presenting His Bride to Himself at the marriage of the Lamb. Christ cherishes the Church. She’s His own Body. He nourishes her. Christ ‘left’ His Father, in the eternal heavenly realm, to come down to our earth that He may gather His Bride to bring her where He Himself is. He cried out on the cross “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46) as he bore the sin of His Bride so as to make her pure and spotless before God. As Jesus was feeling that weight of sin, He was experiencing separation from God for the only time in all of eternity. It was at this time that 2 Corinthians 5:21 occurred, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Now, if we have truly been born from above, and filled with the Holy Spirit, we’re going to respect Christ the way the wife is to respect her husband. So if we respect Christ, out of the response we have towards Him as he loves us, then we will not do anything to hurt His Bride that we’re apart of. We will lay our life down for one another. We will speak encouragement, not gossip. We will submit to one another, preferring the other as better than ourselves.

Let’s submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, for He finds that to be better than wine.

“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13

The Wedding at Cana: Why Did Jesus REALLY Make the Wine?

“On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 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.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:1-5)

I’d like to take you on a bit of a journey to see something totally fascinating in Scripture that I had never seen before until recently when a missionary-friend laboring in Mexico posted some comments on a status update of mine on Facebook. I think this ties in perfectly with my series lately on “Love, The More Excellent Way” but is more like a footnote, as opposed to an actual entry in that series, and I will post the second part in the next week or two.

This revelation pertains to both the love of God, and the ‘wine’ we’ve been talking about, and we have already been meditating on and studying how “love is better than wine.” (SoS 1:2, 4:10).

If we read from Genesis to Revelation, Scripture begins with a wedding, ends with a wedding, and all through out The Bible the Kingdom of heaven is likened to a wedding; God’s desired relationship and covenant with His people Israel in the Old Testament, and The Church included in the New Testament–it’s always likened to a marriage covenant. We see books like Hosea, Ruth, and Song of Solomon really exemplifying this in the OT. In the New Testament, we read Jesus and Paul talking about the mystery of marriage being about Christ and us His Bride–the Church. Parables of Jesus’ point to this as well (check out Matthew 22:1-14 – the wedding feast, and Matthew 25:1-13 the ten virgins, for further mediation on this). Revelation, the final book shows a multitudinous crowd rejoicing because it’s time for the marriage supper, and the Bride has made herself ready–grown in maturity through this process of love, devotion, and obedience (see Rev 19:6-8).

I’m convinced that the Song of Solomon is one of the most fascinating, profound, and beautiful books of the entire Scripture canon, and this short book of eight chapters is relevant to all Christians, everywhere and in every generation. Whether you read it allegorically or not, it’s a key that helps unlock much of the rest of the Word of God and the ‘mysteries’ contained therein only make sense through the lens of the Love of God.

When Jesus was at the wedding in Cana (John 2:1-12) and they ran out of wine, His mother came to Him and addresses the issue. And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” (v. 4) For years, we have been taught and thought that it refers to it not having been Jesus’ time for public ministry. Others have taught this refers to Jesus’ work on the Cross that He is referring to in some kind of abstract kind of way. Both views and others like it are impossible.

Jesus stated that He only did what He saw his Father doing and whatever the Father does, the Son does (John 5:19). If it was not time for Jesus to have performed a miracle and He did it anyways, He would have been doing something outside the time and will of God. In that very moment, He would have sinned, but we know this was not so of the sinless lamb of God. No, Jesus knew no iniquity. Therefore, He could not have been referring to it not being the time for His public ministry.

What did He really mean?

It was the Jewish custom for the groom’s father to have worked out with the family of the bride the details concerning the wedding arrangement, including the date of the actual ceremony. The Bridegroom would go to his father’s house and build a place for himself and his bride to live, usually attached to his father’s house. Remember, Jesus told His disciples–probably when their understanding hadn’t yet been opened to the fact He was viewing them as His collective Bride: “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:3) The Bridegroom would not know when the day was, but sometime after building the house, the father would then tell him “go, it’s time.” Jesus also told us regarding His return, “concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” (Matt 24:36, Mark 13:32)

At that appointed time, the groom and his friends would leave his home and proceed to the home of the bride, where the marriage ceremony was conducted, often at night. Usually a servant was sent first some time ahead of the bridegroom, to ‘pave the way’ and awaken the bride and the virgins. Since the servant would not know which one was the bride, she would sleep in her wedding dress since the wedding ceremony would customarily be at night, and she more than likely would be awakened from sleep for it. After this the entire wedding party returned to the groom’s home for a celebratory feast. This engagement process could last any number of months, possibly a year or more if the bridegroom was preparing their place in a far distance away to travel to, and return from. As mentioned, many of Jesus’ parables or teachings regarding His return to the earth used wedding and marriage imagery they would be familiar with.

Why does this really matter?

It was also the Bridegroom’s responsibility to prepare enough wine for the reception and celebration of His own wedding. When Jesus was stating that His time had not come and what did that have to do with Him, he was saying: “It is not time for me to prepare the wine of my own wedding yet.” Jesus went ahead and did the miracle because it was the Father’s timing for him at that moment to perform that miracle. Why? Because Jesus had to give just one more little glimpse that he is a lovesick Lover looking to prepare and present to Himself a pure and spotless Bride one in whom HE makes pure by washing her with His Word!

Remember Jesus’ disciples for a moment: these guys ran with Jesus, and at one point in Luke’s Gospel after Christ’s resurrection, it says He opened the Scriptures to them and open their eyes to understand, and they ‘recognized Him’. (Ch. 24:31-32) Of course you are gonna have a group of single guys, or gals, adults or married folks who in hearing they actually don’t unless understanding has been opened to who they are as His beloved. Of course they are going to be dull in hearing and totally misinterpret Scripture! We should not be surprised in any way at the reactions of the disciples had to some of the things Jesus told them and the crowds prior to this moment in their lives. Hence the reason we need to be washed with the Word, and have our mind renewed (Rom 12:1-2).

The reason this matters, is because it was and is all a part of The Plan. The Gospel is the ultimate love story. God loved you before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4). He didn’t wait to see how you’d turn out before He decided to love you. He, in the form of a man on the cross, died to make a way for you to be included in His Bride, while you were yet dead in your sins (Col 2:13). Not only that, He made Himself vulnerable to your rejecting of His gift of eternal life, and relationship with Him, before you even entered the earth. “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (Eph 2:4-5) Before you even had a chance to make a commitment to Him or to reject Him, and spend eternity separated from Him, He loved you and desired you. Before you even committed any sin that led to His sacrifice even being necessary. Ultimately, He died before His Bride even knew about it and that that was the plan.

There’s coming a time, a consummation of the ages, where The Wedding Feast will finally take place–and for the joy set before Him who endured the cross, despising its shame (Heb 12:2), Christ who died that you may be able to know Him and spend eternity with him–will finally get to. It’s up to you to decide if you want to be a part of that, since He’s done His part and is waiting…

Fire On Your Head Episode 52: As You Go, Heal the Sick!

We continue our discussion on healing, and this time focus on doing it outside the four walls of the church. What did Jesus tell us to preach as we go and heal the sick? Joel Crumpton shares with us Scripturally how to minister healing. If you desire to be used of God to heal the sick and manifest the kingdom of God, then you will enjoy this simple and practical—yet testimony loaded discussion.

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Check out Joel’s article on the Fire On Your Head blog, Healing for the Follower of Jesus – Why and When?

For more studies on the subject of Biblical divine healing, visit our Fire On Your Head blog for many more articles to stir you up.

Please visit our site at www.fireonyourhead.com, or consider subscribing to us in the iTunes store, listed as “Fire On Your Head Podcast”, where you will also have access to many other teachings from our conferences.