Title: Making Time Summary: Jesus time was precious, he had three years of ministry. He optimized his time not by “finding time,” but by “making time” for others to share in their life and joy, and to help with even small personal problems. In this way the glory of God was manifest even in the smaller deeds of kindness. We also will glorify God when we take time for even the smaller deeds of kindness Function: To motivate Christians to prioritize their time in order to maximize it for people above things and self. This is how they can glorify God Text: John 2:1-11 Scripture Reading: 1 John 3:16-19 Intro: 1. Time of the Mad Atom This is the age Of the half-read page. And the quick hash And the mad dash. The bright night With the nerves tight The plane hop With the brief stop. The lamp tan In short span. The Big Shot In a good spot And the brain strain The heart pain. And the cat naps Till the spring snaps -- And the fun's done! - Reprinted from The Saturday Evening Post, 1949, 2. When you have a lot to do, it is hard to find time 3. (John 2:1-11) Jesus did not find any time, he made the time for others I. So he could share in their lives (v.1-3) A. Have you ever felt a in a crunch for time? 1. Some of your jobs and careers have crunch periods a. Teachers - crunch week, last week of school b. Some of you had near impossible deadlines 2. Become preoccupied with it a. May lost sleep worrying b. Not time for leisurely things, that irresponsible 3. Question: What if you had three years to save the world? a. Not from nuclear catastrophe b. But from themselves - try to get them to change life c. What if world not think they need to be saved? d. Would you take time for parties and such? B. With all on Jesus, plate, he found time to share life with others 1. Jewish weddings were not a one day affair a. Better to call it a festival b. Lasted for days 2. Isn’t this a waste of precious time? a. He is on a limited time schedule b. There is so much to do 3. What a successful self-starter man with a plan like? a. We picture a person full of energy, drive and purpose b. Busy man with a big job(s) to do c. Can’t be bothered with little things C. ILL: Movie-Kevin can Wait - Angel came with message from God 1. Man dreamed - would he be missionary, Christian talk show host, or a preacher of a large, famous church? 2. Focused on these big dreams, overlooked several people a. man in park who wished he had ride to church b. woman who needed a bite to eat c. Kevin, the quiet mechanic who visited church 3. His message from the Angel? - Minister to Kevin - Slow down and see people, not scenery 4. It’s like driving down the road a. Why do we drive? In a hurry. b. It looks a lot different on foot - You don’t see scenery - See individual trees, with knots, leaves, etc. c. Don’t notice much unless you slow down D. Jesus made a lifestyle of going slow. 1. This not an isolated incident a. He didn’t see “interuptions” but opportunities b. Woman at the well - Hung around for awhile c. Nicodemus - Took time to talk to him under cover d. The children - Stopped to blessed them even when the disciples objected 2. Jesus covered more ground by going slower 3. Important compenent of Christian faith - share life II. So he could help with even the small problems (v. 4-10) A. ILL: Remember my brother’s wedding - Eureka Springs 1. Not enough food, sent wedding planner to store for more 2. Ran out of some items - kind of embarassing a. No big deal - plenty of restraunts in Eureka b. There was dinner out 3. Came back with more food, problem solved B. Not sure we can appreciate the hosts predicament 1. Much worse than running out today 2. Wedding guests travel from far away a. Totally at the mercy of their host b. Host’s duty to provide 3. Didn’t have 7-11 or 24 hour Walmart at Cana a. If ran out, the guests would just have to go without b. They have to go without for several days? c. What an insult 4. To fall down as host was a serious dihonor a. Could have been bad between in-laws b. Name would have been mud in the community c. Would say he didn’t care enough to plan C. So mary tries to get Jesus to help 1. Wasn’t going to do anything a. What to me and you, a Hebrew idiom - It’s not my problem b. My time/hour has not yet come - This was not part of his plan - There are bigger miracles to manifest God 2. Even though it not his time, he made time 3. Each water pot about 20 - 30 gallons a. 180 gallons of wine! b. More than enough for a wedding festival 4. One and only comment about the wine a. Alcoholic or not - misses the point b. This not a justification for drunkeness 1. Drunkeness clearly condemened 2. Jews looked down on drunkeness c. In that part of world, wine a regular table drink d. Not going to dwell on this D. John uses this as Jesus’ first miracle 1. More dramatic miracles recorded first in other Gospels a. Luke 4:35 - Cast out a demon b. Mark 1:29ff - Spent the day healing various people c. Matt 8:3 - Heals a leper 2. But John records this less dramatic miracle a. So different a. Not a healing b. Hardly anyone knew about this miracle 3. Why? John’s Gospel starts with relationship a. This story reveals relational character of Jesus b. He took time to help with “small” problems - Leads to next point III. So he could glorify God (v. 11) A. Notice how Jesus glorifies God 1. Didn’t begin with something like Lazaraus from the dead 2. This a small, insignificant miracle 3. But it was through this small thing that God was glorified B. Wasn’t just the miracle, but the kindness behind it 1. Jesus could have lectured the host about being ill prepared 2. He could have made a big production of the miracle a. He would have demonstrated his power b. Would have also humiliated the host anyway 3. 1:14 - We beheld his glory a. They saw a small glimpse of his power b. They saw a great deal of his love and kindness in this small miracle C. ILL: We care campaign 1. Ready to help those in need 2. Did some counseling for troubled people 3. They came and found group of Christians who loved them 4. ___ baptisms by _________________ D. Doesn’t take earth shattering miracle to manifest God’s glory 1. All it takes it making time for others 2. All it takes is the kindness of God 3. Small things often make bigger impact than the big ones Concl: 1. What we see in Jesus in one word - Sensitivity - This caused him to “make time” for others - He slowed down and spent time with people at weddings - Even took time to help them in small problems 2. An insensitive Christian will have hard time glorifying God 3. Jesus found the time to come to this earth as a man a. He wants you to give your time, your life to him b. Invitation - If he were to come back now, are you ready? 4. In the meantime, he calls Christians to be kind and sensitive Questions for Small Group Discussion