Welcome to LAFUMC

715 Diamond Drive, Los Alamos, NM

505-662-6277

Sermons

THE BEST IS YET TO COME!
GOSPEL SCRIPTURE TEXT: JOHN 2:1-11
DR. DAVE RING, PASTOR

LOS ALAMOS 1ST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 15, 2007

SCRIPTURE TEXT: 1On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, 2and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine." 4"Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come." 5His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 6Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. 7Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim. 8Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so, 9and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now." 11This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.

MESSAGE: It's difficult for any preacher to deliver a good sermon on the first Sunday after Easter - for two obvious reasons. One is the simple fact that there are considerably fewer people to preach to. Preachers are ultimately human. A better audience elicits a better sermon from most of us. I can psych myself up to overcome that problem; I just imagine that those folks who've told me over the past year, "I won't be there Sunday in body, but I'll be with you in spirit" are all really here today. The second difficulty with preaching a good sermon on the Sunday after Easter is the theme of the prior Sunday. I mean - how can you possibly top the Resurrection?
One of the great promises of Holy Scripture, however, is that God already has plans to "top" even the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus is coming back - and the sequel will be even better than the original. "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now." Today - and tomorrow, not yesterday, are God's greatest interests. With our Lord, the best that He has to offer is always now - and beyond, for tomorrow becomes now when it arrives.

Humanity, on the other hand, is largely past oriented. Sociologists tell us that senior citizens regard the decade when they were in their 40's as the best years of their lives. Middle-aged people hark back nostalgically to their 30's. Young adults remember their teens as their most exciting years. Teenagers look back to their childhood days. In any given sampling of people, regardless of culture or ethnicity, less than 15% are what could be termed "future oriented."

The same is true regarding the Christian life for most. Virtually every Christian looks back with great excitement to the time of their conversion -- be it a particular day or a particular period of time. Most churchgoers can remember a tremendous church of which they were a part -- or a great preacher who stirred their souls. "Remember Rev. Wills back in the late 60's? Boy, there'll never be another like him!" For old-timers who've stayed in one particular church, there are always the glory days of yore. Remember when we used to have to put chairs in the aisles in the old sanctuary? Remember the women's bazaars we used to have, when everyone got together to sew doilies? Looking back - remembering -- the past -- is a major preoccupation for most of us.

The Israelites, God's people before Christ, loved to recall their past glories. Remember the days of Moses, they would say. Look how God led us in the time of Joshua -- never again will He perform such miracles. Let's celebrate the past -- let's recall God's mighty acts to our forefathers, they often said. But one day God, through the great prophet Isaiah, said something that brought them up short. "Forget the former things!" said God, in Isaiah 43:18. "Do not dwell on the past!" I am going to do a new thing, said God, and it will be greater than anything I've ever done before. Isaiah's prophecy was fulfilled -- in Jesus Christ.

Jesus, in the midst of His disciples, told them He was about to leave the earth. "Don't go!" they cried. But Jesus said, "I've got to go -- so that I can send you something new, and even greater, from God -- the Holy Spirit!" "With the Spirit," said Jesus, "You'll do greater things than even I've done."

With God, the past is never important. Now -- and tomorrow -- are God's priorities. God always saves His best till now. And tomorrow, God's best becomes even better! Jesus, right now, is making up a batch of new wine for His followers -- the like of which has never before been tasted, no matter how delicious the last drink seemed.

I want to rapidly offer three thoughts to you on how to best savor the good wine -- the new wine -- of Jesus Christ. First, the Christian life, the Christian faith -- for individuals and for entire churches -- is a growth process. Jesus spoke of the necessity of a "new birth" among those who would follow Him. That's absolutely right -- and then, a newborn Christian must begin to grow. You can't stay a babe in the faith -- new birth is only a starting point. Just as it took most of us a decade or more to learn how to read well, we shouldn't expect to be able to understand, nor experience, all of God's marvelous grace at the time of conversion. Paul the apostle talked about Christians moving from milk to solid food. The Biblical disciples are our examples on this. They grew slowly in their faith. They had setbacks and disappointments. They couldn't heal the epileptic boy. Peter denied Jesus; Thomas doubted the Resurrection. But none of them stopped in their growth. They returned to their source - Jesus -- for renewal, and they pressed on. And it got better for them. Not easier, for they certainly faced a mountain of opposition. But their strength of faith grew, day by day and step by step. With each new day, God's latest batch of wine became the best yet for them. Those who would follow Jesus, then and now, must be growth oriented --and future directed.

Second, don't make the mistake of thinking that God is hiding or delaying His best from you. God never causes any man or woman to struggle without good reason. Every phase of Christian growth -- for an individual Christian or for an entire congregation, is an important rite of passage that can't be skipped over. Two decades ago, at the same time my then-3 year old daughter thought she was ready for a two-wheeled bicycle, my 6 and 9 year old sons were certain they should have motorcycles. But I'd have been a very foolish father to have given them what they weren't mature enough to handle. When children aren't developmentally ready for a new experience, they can badly hurt themselves.

The same is true with God's new wine. It's powerful, heady stuff. In fact, at Pentecost, a lot of folks thought what God had just poured out on His followers --the Holy Spirit -- was fermented grape wine, not something spiritual. The apostles seemed almost drunk from God's power pouring into them so quickly they could barely absorb it.

Do you recall the immaturity of the disciples in their early days with Jesus -- when they got so easily angered at even minor opposition that they said, "Lord, let us call fire down upon them?" Back then, giving them the Holy Spirit would have been a mistake -- they wouldn't have used it to God's glory. But they grew, and eventually, they were ready. When a Christian -- when a church -- when you are ready to drink more of God's new wine, He won't hold it back. When you've proven faithful in small things, God will put you in charge of greater things. Paul admonished young Timothy, "Stir up God's gifts that are already within you." As you do, God will reveal more, provide more, empower more.
Third, God's best is always yet to come. The banquet master at the wedding feast of Cana thought what Jesus had just made was the best wine he'd ever tasted. And if a second batch had been needed, I'll bet Jesus would have made that lot even better. And we're only talking about grape wine here -- that banquet master at Cana hadn't yet tasted any of God's spiritual wine!

The point is this -- no Christian, no church is ever at a point of completion -- at least not in this world. Whatever God has done, or is doing, in your life -- there's more! No Christian, having sampled God's new wine -- and having seen it improve day by day -- can ever really be content to stop. "Whoa, God! That's enough! I'm satisfied. I don't want to go any farther with Jesus." Those would be foolish words, indeed, coming from the lips of any who would claim to know Jesus. Whether you're 9 or 90, a new believer this morning or an old saint of many decades' standing, God's got something better for you today -- and still better tomorrow. God's got more, new, exciting, challenging, better today for us -- for Los Alamos First United Methodist Church -- and for the whole world. And God's very best is yet to come!

Easter Sunday, last week, was a great one for me! God blessed me in countless ways! But this Sunday is a better one! I believe that I'm a better preacher today than I was last week. And I believe that my best sermons are yet to be delivered! I believe that Los Alamos First's greatest days as a church are now -- and yet ahead! I believe that God's greatest works yet performed in our world are happening today -- as thousands come to know Him this morning, worldwide. And I believe He'll be doing ever greater works tomorrow! And finally, I believe that God's best for each of you is now -- and yet to come!

Let us pray: "O God, I thank You that, for every person here this morning, and for Los Alamos First United Methodist Church as a congregation, You're saving Your best till now -- and beyond. Open us, O Lord, to ever receive the best that Almighty God has to offer. Amen."

Back to Church Sermons Table of Contents