When God provides, He provides the best! Learn how to receive God’s best for you by acting in faith at His direction.
Transcription
Carlie: Did you know that the Lord has more for you. He has more resources for you, He has more abundance for you. He has more for your family, more for your friends, more in every area of your life. So, stay tuned to find out more about supernatural abundance.
Announcer: Why live a normal life, when you could be living the abundant life. Welcome to the abundant life program, with Ashley and Carlie Terradez.
Ashley: Hello, and welcome to abundant life. We’re so glad you’re with us today, in the lounge. My name is Ashley Terradez, and this is my wife Carlie, and we’re talking about God’s supernatural provision in your life.
Did you know that God has paid for you to have supernatural provision in every area of your life, praise God. Grace has paid for it already, and now it’s our job by faith, to receive it. And we’ve been looking at different stories in the Bible, including our personal testimonies about how we have received increase from God, supernatural abundance from God.
And we’re excited to share these truths with you, because we believe these will help you receive God’s supernatural abundance. Amen.
So, today we’re looking at the story in John 2. This is actually the first miracle Jesus ever performed, and this is in a wedding, and it’s when Jesus turned the water into wine. So, Carlie, have you got that story there, you can read it to us?
Carlie: Yeah, absolutely.
Ashley: [crosstalk] Bible, John 2, follow along.
Carlie: So. John 2, verse 1, it says, “On the third day.” That’s a good time. Everything changes on the third day.
Ashley: The third day is a good day.
Carlie: I’m just saying, right. “There was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there. Both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me?” Sometimes I feel like that. Anyway. “What does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” That’s good advice.
Six water pots made of stone were sitting there, used for ceremonial cleansing by the Jews, containing 20 to 30 gallons each. Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” And they filled them to the brim.”
He said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. And when the master of the feast tasted the water that had been turned into wine, and didn’t know where it had come from, though the servants who drew the water knew, the master of the feast called the bridegroom, and he said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and after men have drunk freely, then the poor wine is served. But you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and He revealed his glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
Ashley: Well, that’s a great story. There’s a few things we’re going to pick out of this story to show you. This is a story of God’s supernatural provision. There was a crisis, there was a lack, if you like. There was a lack of wine, and this is God’s supernatural provision in action right here.
So, a few things. We can just go through this, and pick out a few things I think are key, that apply to us today. First of all, the very first thing I want to pick out, before we go any further, because this is so important. This was the first miracle that Jesus did. But you know what? This was the first miracle, and this was after He was filled with Holy Spirit. Did you know that Jesus did not do one miracle, or one sign before He was filled with the Holy Spirit. And this is interesting, because wine is often used as a picture of the Holy Spirit.
Carlie: Mm-hmm (affirmative). The new wine.
Ashley: Yeah. So, it’s very important to know this. And this is… The hidden message here, if you like, is talking about the Holy Spirit. Jesus did not do one sign, did not operate in the power of God, until He was filled with the Holy Spirit. After He was filled with the Holy Spirit, then he performed miracles, signs and wonders.
Carlie: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Ashley: So we need… If Jesus needed the Holy Spirit in order to follow God, we certainly do too. And we make no apology at Terradez Ministries, in telling you that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is for today, and it’s for every believer.
Carlie: Yeah.
Ashley: We are born again, praise God. And then we are baptized in the Holy Spirit. And it’s a separate experience. Now, it can happen at once. You can get born again, and then seconds afterwards be filled with the Holy Spirit.
And that’s what happened to me. I gave my life to Jesus when I was 16 years old, and just a few minutes later, right in my kitchen, I received the Holy Spirit, and I had a supernatural experience with the Holy Spirit. I didn’t even know that you could have a supernatural experience, but I did. And I was filled with the Holy Spirit. And I didn’t get my prayer language until a few months later, because I didn’t understand. No-one told me about praying in tongues, but I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, right after I was born again. But it’s definitely a separate experience. There’s 20 times in Acts, where people are born again, and then filled with the Holy Spirit.
Carlie: Yes.
Ashley: So, the infilling of the Holy Spirit is a separate experience. Yes, when you’re born again, you do receive the spirit of Christ. You do receive everything in that package. But when you’re baptized in the Holy Spirit, one way of looking at it is, it’s like, you get the Holy Spirit when you’re born again, but when you’re baptized in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit gets you. There’s that separate experience of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. And for Jesus, He had that separate experience. The Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove. The voice of God came out of heaven and said, “This is my son, in whom I am well pleased.” And then, from that moment onwards, He moved in the power of God.
So, like I said, if Jesus needed the Holy Spirit to do miracles, and to live out the Christian life, we certainly do too. And if you’re trying to live the Christian life without the Holy Spirit, it’s not difficult, it’s impossible. The Christian life is impossible to live, without God living it through you. And the Holy Spirit is going to live the Christian life through you.
I look at it like this. A Christian living without the Holy Spirit is like a car without gas.
Carlie: Right.
Ashley: I mean, it’s pretty useless. You could shelter in it, I guess, and you could play the radio until the batteries runs out.
Carlie: But it’s not going to fulfill its purpose.
Ashley: Until you put gas in that car, that car is not going to do what it was designed to do. Until we’re filled with the Holy Spirit, we’re not going to be able to do what we’ve been designed to do. So, if you’re not filled with the Holy Spirit, I would recommend that you look into that, praise God. You can call our prayer line, you can email us. We have resources available on our website that you can get, but you go ahead, and find out about the infilling of the Holy Spirit. And it’s very simple. You can do it right now. All you’ve got to do is ask God. Say, “God, please fill me with your Holy Spirit.” And that’s it. Just take it by faith.
Carlie: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Ashley: And you know, some people feel something in the natural, they have an experience. Some people don’t. It doesn’t matter. The fact is, that if you’ve asked God to be filled with His Holy Spirit, He’s going to fill you with your Holy Spirit, because if you’re born again today, if you’ve given your life to Jesus, you qualify for the filling of the Holy Spirit.
Carlie: [inaudible].
Ashley: And God wants to fill you with His Holy Spirit, more than you want to be filled. So that’s a type of a side issue today, a side topic, because we’re talking about the supernatural increase of God. But I couldn’t help but bring this up, because I feel there’s people watching today, and they need to know this.
Carlie: Yeah.
Ashley: The reason why you’re frustrated, the reason why you’re not seeing the promises of God activated in your life, the reason why you feel like you’re spinning your wheels, and you’re trying to live this Christian life, and it’s frustrating, is because you’re not filled with the Holy Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit infill you, and live His life through you.
Carlie: Yeah.
Ashley: The life of being a Christian isn’t trying to do something, it’s just resting, and letting God do it through you.
Carlie: Yeah.
Ashley: And the Holy Spirit wants to live in you, and indwell you, and live his life through you strong. Amen?
Carlie: Yeah. And actually, if you would like to have our further teaching on that, it’s included in our teaching series called Everyday Faith.
Ashley: Everyday Faith. There’s a whole teaching. I think it’s three or four parts on the Holy Spirit.
Carlie: Yeah.
Ashley: How to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. How to pray in your prayer language, and things like that. That would really help you. And it’s not over complicated. It’s a very simple thing.
Carlie: It’s very simple.
Ashley: You can be filled with God’s Holy Spirit today, and you could start living the victorious life in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Carlie: Amen.
Ashley: That’s the first point I want to bring up.
Carlie: Amen.
Ashley: The next thing is, if we go down here, this was a real crisis. In these times, if you’ve run out of wine at a wedding, it was a bad deal. This wasn’t just like a luxury item, they had a few bottles of wine knocking around. This was like a big deal. Weddings went on for days. If they run out of wine, it brought shame to the family. It was a disaster, basically, if a wedding run out wine.
Carlie: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Ashley: So, when they run out of wine here, it’s interesting. Jesus’ mother turned to Him, and said, “You know, they’ve run out of wine.” And Jesus said, “What does this have to do concerning me. My hour has not yet come.” But Mary, knowing the deal, she knew who Jesus was at this point. She said, “Whatever He says, you do it.” And this is good advice, isn’t it? You know what, whatever God tells you to do, do it. Obey God, and leave all the consequences to Him. We have a whole Bible here, full of promises, full of words, we need to look into, and just obey.
Just run with them. You don’t have to understand it all. You don’t have to work it all out. In fact, most of the things in the kingdom of God do not make sense to our natural minds. So don’t try and logic Him out. Don’t try and work it all out, and plan it all out. Just go with it. Just obey God, and leave all the consequences to Him. And this is exactly what Mary said here. She said, “You know, whatever Jesus tells you to do, you do it.” Amen that good advice.
Carlie: Amen. The other thing I think is really interesting, in verse 6, it says, “There are six water pots made of stone, that were sitting there used for ceremonial cleansing by the Jews.” I don’t think that this was any coincidence, that these just happened to be the pots that were laying around that Jesus picked. Because everything that Jesus does is intentional. It’s interesting to me, that the very pots that the Jewish culture used for ceremonial cleansing, to be cleansed, Jesus decided to use those for His very first miracle.
Ashley: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Carlie: It was like He was saying, “I’m the new covenant.” Right?
Ashley: Amen.
Carlie: I’m the only one that can really make you clean. If you want to be cleansed from sin permanently, it’s only going to be through a relationship with me. This is the new wine. This is my blood. This is the only way. My blood is the only way that you can be permanently cleansed.
Ashley: Yeah.
Carlie: And so I don’t think there was any coincidence that He performed His first miracle in the ceremonial cleansing water jars that the Jews used.
Ashley: Right. That’s a good point. And you know, actually, the only forgiveness of sins was always through the blood of Jesus. Even in the Old Testament, when they sacrificed animals, that was actually only a picture of what was to come. The shedding of blood from animals never forgave sins. It was just a picture, and what happened was, in the Old Testament was, people put their faith in what was going to happen on the cross, and what Jesus was going to do. It was Jesus’ blood that forgave sins.
Carlie: It was a permanent sacrifice.
Ashley: It wasn’t a permanent sacrifice, it was a picture of what was going to happen in the future. They were putting their faith in the future and the cross. And then now, we put our faith in the past on the cross. But the blood of Jesus, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, is the only forgiveness of sins. And praise God, He took on our sin. 2 Corinthians 5:21, He actually took on our sin, became sin for us, even though He knew no sin. He became sin for us at the cross. He experienced the consequence of sin for us. For you and for me. He experienced the consequence of that sin, on the cross. And therefore, we took His righteousness. He took our sin, and we took His righteousness. It’s the great exchange. It’s the Gospel. Praise God. And now, we’re righteous because of Jesus.
Carlie: Yeah.
Ashley: And we don’t have to do anything, or perform anything to be righteous. You’re as righteous now… If you’ve accepted Jesus, you’re as righteous now as you’re ever going to be.
Carlie: That means you qualify for abundance.
Ashley: You qualify for abundance. You are worthy to be wealthy.
Carlie: Amen.
Ashley: You’re worthy to be wealthy because now you’ve taken on Jesus’ righteousness. You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. It’s not your righteousness anymore, it’s Jesus’. You own Jesus’ righteousness. He’s given it to you as a gift, and you don’t earn it. You just accept it as a free gift, and say, “Thank you Lord.” And now, if you’re saying, “I’m not worthy to receive abundance.” Or, “I’m not worthy to hear from God, I’m not worthy to receive from God.” You’re questioning Jesus’ righteousness, not your righteousness, you’re questioning Jesus’ righteousness. He took your righteousness, you took His righteousness. And your righteousness was sin, and he took that, and you take His righteousness which is perfection. Praise God. So you are worthy to be wealthy, you’re worthy to receive abundance.
Carlie: Yeah. And again, it’s no coincidence, this [inaudible] and shadow. This picture of the cross that we’re talking about here, happened on the third day. It was on the third day that Jesus rose again. He was in the grave, but on the third day, everything changed. Three days changes everything. I’m just saying.
Ashley: It’s neat isn’t it? Isn’t that neat?
Carlie: It’s a neat picture.
Ashley: So, here’s the picture. They had these water pots there that they used for ceremonial washing, they were out of wine, and Jesus… He comes along and He tells them what to do. He says, “Grab these water pots and fill them with water.” Now, the thing is, is often, we’re waiting for things to happen. We ask God to just supply our needs, and we’re waiting for things to happen spectacularly, supernaturally, to the point where we don’t have to do anything. We just sit back. And I’ve been guilty of this, when we first started going to Bible college back 10 or 11 years ago, I thought, “God’s going to supply our needs so supernaturally, it’s going to be spectacular.” People are just going to give checks to us, and we’re never going to have to work, or put our hands to anything. That is usually not the case.
Carlie: And that actually isn’t even demonstrated in the Gospels, because they’re fishermen, they’re carpenters. Paul was tent making.
Ashley: Yeah. They put their hands to things.
Carlie: They still did something naturally.
Ashley: See Deuteronomy 8:18. Deuteronomy 8:18 it says, “Remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the power to get wealth.” God gives us the power to get wealth. We have to put our hands to something to get that wealth. We have to do something. Now, we’re not making it happen, God’s already made up His mind. He’s already prospered us. He’s already made us prosperous in the spirit. We’ve already had Jesus’ riches. We’d have Jesus’ prosperity. Just like we have Jesus’ righteousness, 2 Corinthians 5:21, just like we have Jesus’ health and healing. We also have Jesus’ riches. We have Jesus’ prosperity. 2 Corinthians 8, and 9 talks about that, 2 Corinthians 8:9. We have Jesus’ riches. So, we already have them, we’re not making it happen. We have to put our hand to something by faith to appropriate it.
And right here, Jesus told the people, “Fill those water pots up.” You see, God needs something in the natural to put His super to. He asks for natural obedience to put his super to. We looked at this in previous lessons with the widow and the oil, 2 Corinthians 4. She got her oil pot, and she got some empty vessels, and she poured out her natural oil pot, and with God’s supernatural super on it, her natural, and God’s super, it became a supernatural increase story.
It’s the same with the feeding of the 5,000. They just had a few loaves and a few fish, Jesus put his super to their natural offering of a few loaves and a few fish. He blessed them, and those few loaves and few fish fed thousands of people. And there was 12 baskets of leftovers.
And it’s the same here, with the water into the wine. Jesus told them, “Fill these water pots up with water.” Water is not wine. Water does not turn into wine.
Carlie: Right.
Ashley: This is a supernatural miracle, but there was some natural obedience that had to go ahead of time.
Carlie: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Ashley: God flow through a natural vessel. And this was a natural vessel. These water pots were the natural vessel. Jesus said to them, “Fill these water pots with oil.” And listen to this, the servant.
Carlie: With water.
Ashley: With water I mean. I oil [inaudible]. With water. And these servants filled them to the brim. They filled these water pots to the brim.
Carlie: Very heavy.
Ashley: They would have been heavy, and they filled them to the brim. They didn’t have to. They could have filled one pot. And they could have filled it half full. No, they filled it to the brim. So, they will determine the size of the harvest.
Carlie: You know, it’s interesting to me, but I think when you take a huge pot like that… I’m just imagining being there, and filling one of those jars with water, and filling it to the brim of water. And as you’re carrying it to the master of the feast there. It’s at the brim. It’s sloshing round. You can see the water sloshing out.
Ashley: Right.
Carlie: Right, because it’s filled to the brim. It’s running over, right there. And so, the whole time, you’re walking toward the master of the feast thinking, “I don’t know why I’m carrying this big jar of water.” It’s sloshing, it’s hitting me in the face. It’s probably going down my shirt some, right? And all the time you know, you can see, it’s water. It’s water in there. But the only reason you’re doing it is because He said so.
Ashley: Yeah.
Carlie: It’s because He said so. That was an act of faith. That takes some faith, to be able to pick that up, and carry it, feel and sense it falling all over you. You can see it’s water, and yet, because He said so, you’re taking it to the master of the feast. They didn’t know that it was going to turn into wine. They’re thinking, “We could be embarrassed here, we could be shamed here.”
Ashley: They could be fired.
Carlie: We could be kicked out here.
Ashley: They were the servants, and this was the master of ceremonies, so they could have been fired by presenting the water, and the drinking water, they could have been fired. “We asked for wine, not water.” They could have been fired, so yeah, this was an act of faith.
Carlie: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Ashley: They were taking Jesus’ words and acting on them by faith. And just like a previous program, we talked about Simon getting a large catch of fish. He acted on faith. Jesus told him, “Cast your net on the other side.” And he acted… Simon acted by faith. “Yes Lord, I’ll do it.” “No Lord.” Is an oxymoron. So when God tells you to do something, it should always be “Yes Lord.” Even if you can’t work it out logically. And right here, you know these servants couldn’t work this out logically, how is this water going to turn into wine? They had never seen this before. There was no recipe this. This was just a pure act of faith.
Carlie: And Jesus didn’t have any history of miracles. They couldn’t have said, “Oh, but this is because of Jesus.”
Ashley: Right.
Carlie: Just think about this for a minute. This is the first miracle that Jesus performed. It wasn’t like, “We’re 10 miracles in by this point, and He’s got a reputation going on.” No, they really had to… This is a huge step of faith for people. Some guy… They know there’s something special about him, but they don’t really know, He hasn’t really done anything, and He’s asking them to do something that doesn’t make any logical sense whatsoever. With their natural eyes, they’ve got some natural unbelief going on, because they can see it’s water sloshing around in the pot. This is a big deal when you look into it.
Ashley: It really is. And they had to take this by faith. And that’s why 2 Corinthians, I believe it’s 5, talks about how we walk by faith and not by sight. And often God will have us do things, that if we try and walk by sight, we’re going to miss it. We’re not going to be able to understand it. We’re not going to be able to go there. We have to walk by faith. And when we walk by faith, we’ll see the results. We’ll see the supernatural abundant results when we walk by faith.
Carlie: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Ashley: This has happened to me personally in my life so many times, when God has told me to do something, as I say, that makes no sense. But by walking by faith, praise God, He causes my faith to come into line, and He’ll actually provide for us supernaturally, because now we’re over in the realm of faith. We’re living off of His supply, rather than our supply. You know, Philippians 4:19, Paul puts it this way in Philippians 4:19, he says, “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory.” Not according to your job, not according to your bank account, not according to your country’s economy, but according to His riches in glory.
And that takes faith. When we let God supply our needs… God was going to supply your needs better than you can supply your needs.
Carlie: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Ashley: He wants to supply your needs better than you can. And He is a loving father, and He knows how to look after His kids. And that’s exactly what’s going on here. He’s going to look after these people’s needs right here. They weren’t starving, this wasn’t like a life or death situation. But it was important, and God got involved, and God activated supernatural provision through this miracle, in order to save the day, if you like. In order for people to receive His abundance, and receive His miracle.
Carlie: Then it’s interesting, actually, I think this is one of the most understated miracles that Jesus ever performed. It wasn’t a big show. It’s not like when He was walking around, and He’s healing people, and He’s raising the dead, and blind eyes are opening. Some of the miracles that Jesus performed attract huge multitudes. You could see, when someone is raised from the dead, when the lame start walking, and leaping.
Ashley: [crosstalk] caused riots. I mean, when he healed the blind man [crosstalk].
Carlie: The word gets out doesn’t it?
Ashley: Yeah.
Carlie: But this one is almost like, it was quiet. The guests at the wedding, they knew nothing about it. The only people that knew what was really going on, were the people in that close circle of disciples.
Ashley: Even the master of ceremonies, it says right here, even the master of ceremonies didn’t know what was going on.
Carlie: He didn’t know.
Ashley: Only the servants knew what was going on. It was almost like a humble miracle.
Carlie: It is.
Ashley: But only the servants knew what was going on. And the master of ceremonies, he didn’t even know what was going on. He just tasted it, and thought, “They’ve just saved the best wine until last.”
Carlie: And I wonder what… What is the purpose of this miracle in the first place, because it wasn’t spectacular. It was nice that everyone at the wedding didn’t run out of wine, okay. But look in this verse here, it says, in verse 11, “This is the first of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and He revealed His glory.” The purpose of this miracle was two-fold. To reveal the glory of Jesus, but look at this, “And His disciples believed in Him.” The purpose of this miracle was really a test of faith.
Ashley: Yeah.
Carlie: This was, “Are you going to believe me? This is who I am.” And it like a quiet miracle, if you can have one. It was a supernatural, but not spectacular.
Ashley: That’s right.
Carlie: And through that, through that first miracle, what that did was, that rose up faith in His disciples around Him, that they might believe in Him. How many miracles have happened in your life, when you look and you can say, “I know that God saved me there. I know that God healed me there. I know that God provided for me there. I know that it was God that opened that door of opportunity.” When we look back… I know it’s true for me. When I look back in my life, there’s been some big miracles, but there’s been thousands of miracles that were understated.
Ashley: Right.
Carlie: And it’s those times… I can look back… When I’m in a crisis, honestly, I’m looking back and I’m like… I’m rehearsing all of those things that God has done for me. I’m looking back saying, “You know what? God provided for me back then, and He’s going to provide for me now.”
Ashley: Amen. That’s right
Carlie: This is a faith raising miracle of the unspectacular kind.
Ashley: That’s really good. Amen. You know, God’s a humble God. And it’s amazing when we think about it. This is the creator of the universe, and yet at times… When Jesus walked on the road, people didn’t even recognize him. Jesus did miracles, and people didn’t recognize him. Jesus… The voice of God came out of heaven, and said, “This is my son who I am well pleased. My beloved son.” And they said, “Well, maybe it’s thunder.” Sometimes God is so humble, it’s almost like you have to seek Him out to find Him. And he’s not, like we said, He doesn’t present him spectacularly very often. He’s usually very humble, and He’ll do things in a humble way. And right here, this was a humble miracle, because like you said, no-one else knew about it apart from the servants. Even the master of ceremonies didn’t know about it. But it reveal God’s glory. It showed God’s glory, and like you said, it really really confirmed to the disciples they had made a good decision in following Him.
Carlie: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Ashley: Because it really showed, you know, “Look at this, this is a miracle.”
Carlie: It was powerful.
Ashley: This is a powerful miracle. And this is a miracle, it’s gone from water into wine. So, they filled the water pots up by faith, they took it to the master of ceremonies by faith. The master of ceremonies’ reaction is very interesting. This in John 2, verse 9, it says, “When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, he did not know where it came from.” So he didn’t know about the miracle, but the servants that drew it out obviously knew, they’re the ones that filled it up with water. And the master of the feast called the bridegroom, and he said, “Listen.” This is verse 10. He said to him, “Every man at the wedding begins with the good wine, and then when the guests are well drunk…” So, basically when the guests have had too much to drink and they’re a little bit tipsy, they don’t know the difference between a good wine, and a bad wine. Then they bring out the cheap wine. They bring out the cheap stuff.
Carlie: So, he’s kind of complimenting the bridegroom, who really knew nothing about it.
Ashley: He knew nothing about it either. He said, “But you have saved the best until now.” This is God’s pattern. He saves the best until last. I’m telling you, God is a God who… He doesn’t serve desert first.
Carlie: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Ashley: He saves the best until last. And praise God, you can be sure your best times are ahead still. I believe there’s people watching, I believe this is a word from God for you. You think it’s too late, you think the hour is too late. I’m in a deserted place, the hour is too late. I’m here to tell you, God saves the best until last.
Carlie: Amen.
Ashley: I don’t care if you’re 80 years old, I don’t care if you’re 90 years old, God’s got a future for you, and He’s got better plans. Your latter end are going to be more glorious than the beginning.
Carlie: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Ashley: He’s going to do things with you in your last few decades, better than you’ve ever had before. Praise God. We could tell story after story. Dr. Lester S, he didn’t even start in the power of God until he was 70 years old. Colonel Sanders, KFC, Kentucky Fried Chicken, he didn’t fry any chicken until he was 70 years old.
Carlie: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Ashley: I’m here to tell you, there’s people…
Carlie: Moses, he didn’t get going until he was 80.
Ashley: Moses. Exactly. There’s people watching today that… You’re disqualifying yourself because you think that you’re too old. God saves the best until last. And I’m telling you, God has got things to do with you. He’s saved His best until last in your life. And if you’ll turn and believe Him, He’s going to bring out the best wine in your life. And He’s going to bring out the best times in your life, and you’re going to have better times at the end of your life, your latter days will be more glorious than your former days, than your beginnings. Praise God. So that’s a word for you.
And this is what happened here. He said, “You know what? You saved the best wine until last.” It’s a compliment to Jesus. He doesn’t just do a miracle to barely get by. He does a miracle of abundance. This was a miracle of not just…
Carlie: Excellence.
Ashley: Of excellence, and abundance. Not just an abundance of wine, but of excellence. You see, God can provide for us better than we can provide for ourselves. God is El Shaddai, not El Cheapo. And He does the best.
You know, the other miracles we was looking at in previous lessons, the feeding of the 5,000. There was an abundance. The oil pouring out, there was an abundance. With the… What other miracles we looked at? The nets, the catch of fish when Simon… There was an abundance. God doesn’t do things just to get by, God doesn’t just give you enough, He gives you more than enough. 2 Corinthians 9 and 8, we’ve looked at this verse. It talks about how He’s going to make all grace abound towards you. That you have an all sufficiency in all things. And, have an abundance for every good work.
God wants to supply your needs. Where there is lack, God wants to supply your needs in a way, not just that it’s going to fill your lack, but it’s also going to give you more than enough, so you can extra to give away.
Carlie: God wasn’t just supplying the needs.
Ashley: No, no.
Carlie: He was supplying their wants as well.
Ashley: He supplied their wants, as well as their needs. That’s what God wants. A loving father, what loves to give things to His children. If I was just to buy my children things they needed for Christmas.
Carlie: They’d get socks and underwear.
Ashley: They’d get socks and underwear and a tube of toothpaste and a new toothbrush.
Carlie: Right.
Ashley: No, we give them what they want. And we’re made in God’s image. His character is very similar to our, or our character is similar to His, I should say. We’re made in His image.
Carlie: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Ashley: And God loves to treat His kids well. God loves to bless His kids. God loves to bless us because He loves us. And we’re blessed to be a blessing. But ultimately, He loves us, and He loves to bless us. And He loved these people, and He wanted to bless them. Praise God. He blessed them with the best wine, and there was an abundance, and an excellence in this miracle.
So you can be sure, if you trust God for your supply. If you all God to supply your need according to his riches, rather than trying to make it happen yourself, you can be sure that God’s going to supply your needs in supernatural way. And He’s going to give you the best, and there’s going to be an abundance of the best. Praise God. Ain’t that neat? Amen.
Carlie: Amen. It’s for everyone.
Ashley: It’s for everyone. God is good. So, this is just another example of God’s supernatural abundance. Praise God. They obeyed God, they followed His instructions, and they went ahead and filled the pots up to full, they determined their own harvest. And then they went ahead and did exactly what God told them to do, what Jesus told them to do. And it worked out. We need to obey God. Praise God, and leave all the consequences to Him, because He’s only got good for us. Amen. Isn’t that a neat story?
So we’re out of time. Let me pray for you before we go. Father God, I thank you for everyone listening, and watching today. I thank you, Lord, that your heart is to supply our needs with abundance and excellence. I thank you Lord, that you save the best until last. I thank you Lord, that our best days are ahead. I thank you Lord, the best is yet to come.
Carlie: Amen.
Ashley: I think you Lord, that you only have good for us. You have the best for us. And I thank you Lord, as our loving father, we can trust you that you’re going to give us the best. And you’re going to, not only fulfill our needs, but you’re going to fulfill our wants. You’re a great dad Lord. You’re a great father, and we love you today, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Carlie: Amen.
Ashley: Ain’t God good? Well, thanks for being with us today. It’s been a pleasure to have you with us. We’ll be back real soon, but until next time, and remember, don’t just live a normal life, when God wants you to live the abundant life. We’ll be back next time.
Announcer: To order your copy of this teaching, visit our website. TerradezMinistries.com.
Ashley: Did you know God wants to give you the best? This is just one lesson in a series. We’re talking about God’s supernatural provision in your life. And I want you to get the whole set of teachings, because it’s going to really help you understand, and therefore be able to receive God’s supernatural blessing in your life. God’s got an abundance for you. He’s got excellence for you. He wants to supply your wants, not just your needs. So go ahead. The instructions are on the screen. Get this teaching series, it’s really going to bless you. And you can experience God’s abundance today.
Announcer: Download your free copy of Ashley and Carlie’s teaching notes at our website. TerradezMinistries.com.
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Coming up next on the Abundant Life Program.
Carlie: One of the ways abundance comes to us is through promotion.
Ashley: Amen.
Carlie: And that promotion comes from understanding that we have the favor of God in our life, and walking in integrity.
Ashley: Amen.
Carlie: And being honorable to that position.
Ashley: Amen. It really is. And God can promote you beyond your education, God can promote you beyond your experience, God can promote you supernaturally with speed, and there’s the thing, God can promote you without having to push anyone else down.
Carlie: Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Ashley: You know, the world’s way of doing it is push other people down.
Carlie: Tread on others to get to the top.
Ashley: Tread on others to climb to the top. But God’s way of doing it is, become the greatest servant. And one thing that Joseph did here is, he became the greatest servant. He served his people. Even though he was in charge, he served his people.
Announcer: Join us next time for the Abundant Life Program with Ashley and Carlie Terradez.