Whether you have experienced miracles, signs, and wonders is often connected to whether you believe in miracles, signs, and wonders for today. Understanding and moving in the supernatural realm requires that we operate in faith. Faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ means that we believe in what he says. It does not depend on our personal experience or understanding; depending upon intellectual understanding and or personal experience is not faith. Recall Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Faith is believing in the unseen realm before it can be manifested in the physical realm. Especially in the spiritual realm, you get what you believe for!

Miracles, Signs, and Wonders occur every day.

How can one say that because they have not experienced miracles, signs, and wonders, they must not occur anymore? I have never seen a tiger in the wild, yet I believe they exist. My point is that just because you have not seen a certifiable miracle doesn’t mean they don’t exist. 

 Recent surveys show that over 31 percent of the world’s population are Christians; that is 2.3 billion Christians out of 7.3 billion people. Believe me when I say that miracles, signs, and wonders occur daily throughout the world, from the remotest villages to the major cities.

Jesus said in John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” How does the Father draw people to Jesus? As I mentioned in my last post, the Father draws people to Jesus in three ways.

1. Some come because of the prophecies of the Old Testament.
2. Some come because they believe in the promises Jesus makes.
3. Some come because they see the miracles, signs, and wonders Jesus performs.

Miracles, signs, and wonders are proofs that Jesus can be trusted! Because no one could do these things but the Lord.

Jesus’ Preparation for Ministry

Before Jesus performed His first miracle, we see that Jesus went through a series of steps of preparation. 

1. We see in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist, God speaks over Jesus, “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”, then Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness In Luke 4. 
2. While in the wilderness, He is tempted by the devil for 40 days and finally rebukes Satan three times using the scriptures. It is then Jesus moves in power after the wilderness experience. 
3. At this point, Jesus proclaims His mission in Luke 4:18-19, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

Not all of us must go through this same series of events as Jesus did, but we all share in the ministry of Jesus, which is to go into all the world proclaiming His gospel of hope, healing, and wholeness.

The First Miracle, Turning Water into Wine.

The first of seven miracles in the Gospel of John is the turning of water to wine which is found in John 2:1-12. 

1 “On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.” The fact that Jesus chose a wedding to perform His first miracle speaks to the value God has placed on the institution of marriage. Not marriage as simply a legal institution, but a spiritual commitment to love, honor and obey for both husband and wife.

Notice that Jesus’ family was already at the wedding and that Jesus and His disciples were invited. Apparently, this was a family event.

3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” 4 Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” Some have thought that the reference to Mary as “woman” was disrespectful, but in fact, it was appropriate for the times and culture. Jesus uses the same term when speaking to His mother from the cross in John 19:26, “When Jesus, therefore, saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”

When Jesus said, “My hour has not yet come.” to His mother, He was saying; I will do it in my own time. Always remember that we don’t tell Jesus what to do, He is Lord and Savior, and we serve Him in a special way as friends.

Mary’s response to the servants is instructive for all of us today; 5 His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” Instead of trying to understand how, why, and when, simply do it. So many miss God’s best because we try to reason with God instead of trusting and obeying; with God, all things are possible. While all things are possible, it doesn’t mean that all things will be easy; however, we can trust Jesus to anoint and empower us to accomplish what He has set out for us to do.

6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. That was about 120-180 gallons of water. Our God is the God of abundance, Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” There is no shortage of supply, power, and authority in heaven; it is by faith we bring it into today’s world.

8 And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now! The practice at weddings was to provide the good wine at the beginning of the reception and the inferior wine towards the end when everyone had drunk their fill. However, Jesus turns the table around by providing the best wine at the end of the reception. Jesus turns good into better. Turning that much water into wine, wow, that was some wedding party!

Moses turned water into blood in Exodus, which was symbolic of sacrifice and the Law; Jesus turned water into wine, which was symbolic of Grace and the “better Covenant.”

11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.” Why did the Apostle John choose this event at the wedding to illustrate Jesus’ first miracle? And what does it mean to “manifest His glory.”  

The reason that the first miracle took place at a wedding was three-fold:

1. The miracle helped solidify those disciples who believed in Jesus to see that He was truly sent from God. 
2. The conversion of water into wine is a scientific impossibility. Speaking as a former chemistry teacher, the formula for water is H₂O, whereas the formula for alcohol is C₂H₅OH; not only that, but wines also contain acids, sugars, and phenolic compounds; this was a creative miracle. Only God can create something from nothing.
3. Miracles manifest the glory of the Lord; what does it mean to glorify the Lord? How do we glorify the Lord today? The word “glory” comes from the Greek “Doxa,” which is where we get the word doxology, which is defined as “An expression of praise to God, especially a short hymn sung as part of a Christian worship service.” Therefore, glorifying the Lord means that when we come into His presence, all we want to do is praise, honor, and worship Him, the God of all creation! It is an overwhelming desire to bow down before Him. 

Bringing Glory to the Lord

So how do we glorify the Lord in everyday practical terms? We glorify the Lord every time we obey Him, through the Word or the Spirit. The reformer Martin Luther once said, “God made the world out of nothing. It is only when we become nothing that God can make something out of us.” It is easy to believe that God made the entire universe out of nothing without any help from anyone or anything else. However, we often struggle with the idea that God can accomplish something great in our lives without our help. It requires faith in Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit to believe that the Lord has already equipped us to fulfill every task He puts before us. 

We want to believe that God needs our talents or our personalities to accomplish His work. The truth is, we have nothing outside of Him! The Apostle Paul poses the question in 1 Corinthians 4:7, “…And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? Whatever you and I possess by way of ability or opportunity is a direct gift from God. “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.” (John 3:27). Jesus said, “…I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). Every time we obey the Lord in our words, attitudes, and deeds we glorify Him. Our lives are the witness that God is and is a rewarder of those who honor and seek Him.

Closing

12 After this, He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.” This verse makes it clear that Jesus had brothers and sisters as well as disciples. Some like to believe in the tradition that Jesus was the only child of Mary, but apparently, that was not the case. “Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” (Matthew 13:55-56).

As Believers of Christ, we are always challenged to pursue the truth found in the Scriptures and lay aside those traditions and practices that don’t align with the Bible. If we are not careful, the traditions of man can entangle us in legalism and performance and prevent us from experiencing the fullness of the freedom that Jesus purchased for us. As the Apostle Paul points out to us in Colossians 2:8, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”

The emphasis of these seven statements:

Jesus uses the “I AM” phrase, which identifies Himself as God! The significance of the words “I am” can be found in the book of Exodus when God revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush encounter. The Lord gave Moses his assignment to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, and Moses protested at first because he looked at his own insignificance. It is then the Lord promised that he would be with Moses and that the Israelites would believe that God sent Moses. Exodus 3:14, “And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.” When the Lord said, “I Am,” He was saying, “I am” the ever-existent one, meaning the Lord has no beginning and no end. So, when Jesus used the “I AM” format, He was indicating that He was the Christ or Messiah. The Son of God!

The seventh “I AM” statement in the book of John is, “I am the true vine.” (John 15:1, 5) In this statement by Jesus, He gives us clear instruction on how to live the Christian life successfully. Also, remember that in the previous chapter, John 14, Jesus speaks about the Helper or the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. We are to be led and directed by the Holy Spirit of God, and being led by the Holy Spirit means we must be in a relationship with Him. That is the sense of the word abide or abiding; it is a relational term as we will see in a moment.

Jesus begins His discourse by describing His relationship with the Father. This can sound confusing until we remember that the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is a mystery we accept by faith, and the three are one!

“I AM the True Vine.”

1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Jesus clearly reveals His deity in this verse. We can also see that Jesus uses the metaphor of a vineyard and vineyard owner to illustrate the relationship that every Believer must have with the Lord.

2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” The fruit represents our words and deeds as we live our everyday lives representing our God. The Apostle Paul describes the fruit of Christian living in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” This is not just a good memory verse, but the actual working out of a Spirit-led Christian. Notice that the word Spirit in the verse is a capital “S” spirit. This means these traits and characteristics belong to the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit will always operate this way. So, when faced with a decision on how to react or respond to a situation in life, do it as the Holy Spirit would want you to, with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Here Jesus is speaking to His followers and their acceptance of who He is, the Savior, Messiah, or Christ. They believed His words and signs; we are blessed in that we have His words, and we have the witness of His Holy Spirit living in us. They had not received the Holy Spirit, for the Spirit would not be released until Jesus was resurrected and returned to heaven.

4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” Here, we see the importance of “abiding” or being in relationship with the Lord. We can’t be just Sunday morning Christians; we must act out our faith every day in all circumstances of life. We must be aware that we belong to Jesus and that we represent the Lord every moment of the day. The only way to be successful in Christ is to have these three elements as part of our lifestyle: prayer, fellowship with Believers, and of course, reading and meditating upon the Word of God, the Bible. 

Prayer must be seen as a dialogue. A dialogue means having a conversation with the Lord. You speak, and He hears, then you wait to hear Him speak, and you listen. Too many simply pray to the Lord and never wait to hear what He has to say. Communication is the heart of relationship. 

Fellowship means that your trusted friends are other proven Christians who will help you grow in your relationship with Jesus. The Bible tells us that we are in the world, but we are not of the world. This means that our worldview must change from a humanistic mindset to a biblical mindset. It is essential to be in a Bible-believing, Christ-centered, Spirit-led church and involved in your local church. Hebrews 10:24, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” All of this means that we must learn to choose our friends and not let our friends choose us. You may have to break unhealthy relationships with people in the world as well as with so called “Christians” who are truly wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15)! The Bible warns us about making friends with the world, 2 Corinthians 6:14, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”This verse is often used in the context of marriage, but actually applies to all kinds of relationships.

Bible study, reading, and meditation must become a way of life. The Word of God is essential to learning about the character and nature of our Lord. 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Bible is God-breathed; what a powerful statement. Some have described the Bible as God’s Love letter to us! I encourage you to make the study of His Word a priority in your life. The object is not to become a theologian but a lover of Jesus! It is not about how much you know about the Bible but how much of the Bible you have applied to your life. Start in the New Testament, for that is our covenant; even 5 minutes a day is better than nothing.

Now back to our main scripture in John 15.

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. The key idea is that we must stay connected to Jesus in order to fulfill His plans and purposes in our lives. Many Christians do things for the Lord when the Lord wants you to work with Him, not for Him. Many do good deeds of Christian work and ministry, which is a good thing as long as you don’t neglect the God deeds Jesus has called you to. The spiritual work God has called you to cannot be done apart from Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. Several years ago, I had several very tall trees on my property that were being strangled by heavy growths of vines. At first, I wondered how to get the vines that were near the top of the trees off. I didn’t have a ladder high enough. I am sure you have guessed what I did, to kill off the vines. I had to sever where they were attached on the ground. Once I cut the vines off at the root, the viny growth on the trees began to wither and die, and in short order, I got rid of the vine problem.

Now my trees are happy, and I’m happy! The point of the story is that if you cut the vines off from the source the vine withers and dies. The opposite is also true if the vines are connected to the source, the vines will live. This is what Jesus was talking about when He said, “I am the true vine.” We must be connected to the “True Vine,” Jesus, to live. When I use the term live in this sense, I don’t mean just to get by, but to thrive because we are spiritually empowered! (The Lesson of the Withered Fig Tree – Mark 11:20)

7 If you abide in Me, and My words (rhema) abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” In this verse the phrase “My words” is from the Greek “My rhema” and a rhema word is the spoken word which is confirmed by the scriptures. This means that the Lord will speak to us through the Holy Spirit, and you will know its truthfulness because it is supported by scripture, again reinforcing the importance of knowing the Bible. Listen to what Jesus said in John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

Jesus’ purpose was to honor the Father; therefore, if we are in Jesus, we only do those things that honor the Father. We enable His life to flow in and through us by attaching ourselves to Christ. Then we cannot help but bear fruit that will honor the Father. 

Conclusion

The Lord only wants the best for you, but you must do things His way. Remember Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” The meaning is clear; you cannot fool God; He is able to determine the motives of your heart. The writer Samuel Smiles wrote, “Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny!” The Lord has a destiny for you, but you must do it His way! He loves you and wants you to experience the fullness of His love.