PROPHETIC WORD: FILL IT TO THE BRIM!
I hear the Lord say, "The stage is set!"
The Father has been preparing and planning a season of overflow for His Bride!
Soon, you will catch the wave and soar! Hold tight right now because I hear a new sound on the horizon! God is setting the stage for an epic reveal!
When the stage is set in a theater, the lights go down, and the audience prepares for a performance. When used as an idiom, it means the conditions are made right for something to happen or the right kind of environment has been created for a unique situation to follow.
In Biblical times, we might say the stage was set after Jesus emerged from the wilderness after 40 days of testing. He went and recruited His first five disciples, then they traveled together to the Wedding at Cana.
Miracle season was about to start. The stage was set.
Jesus stepped into public ministry in John 2. His first recorded "sign" was a private miracle between a select group of people, but the stage was set for a new order. Life would never be the same. Jesus took six stone jars and, working with some servants, turned water into wine.
Here's the beauty of Jesus Christ – even though He was God in the flesh, He was still a man with human hesitations. Sometimes, we all need someone to push us into purpose. Mary was that person for Jesus.
The Holy Spirit will play this role in your life.
John 2:3-5
On the third day, a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."
"Woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied. "My hour has not yet come."
His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
DO WHAT JESUS SAYS
Prophetically, the Lord is bringing our attention to this story today for a few reasons, one of which is that God wants to help the wine flow again in your life. He wants you to experience JOY, celebration, laughter and true peace!
Father God wants His people to step into the overflow, and the Lord might initially give some instructions that seem rather strange. Follow them anyway. Do exactly what the Lord says.
The Wedding at Cana is a familiar Bible story, but hidden between the verses is actually a process that was carried out by the servants.
Let’s dig a little deeper!
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus told the servants: "Fill the jars with water," so they filled them to the brim (John 2:6-7).
In the days of Jesus, weddings were a huge deal and often lasted for a week.
Servants did what they were told. Since there wasn't a water faucet in the house or easy access to water, the servants likely went to the edge of town and drew water from a well. According to some historians, the stone jars they carried weighed about 190 pounds while empty!
Clearly, this was a mighty undertaking!
Jesus told the servants to "fill the jars with water," and the servants FILLED THEM TO THE BRIM! They made the choice to do a complete work.
Putting water in these jars was no easy task. The servants would have repeatedly gone through the same motions until approximately 120-180 gallons of water were added to the stone jars. This is key because God loves when we put our FAITH in action! We have to participate in the miracle and get to work, following the instructions and giving it our very best.
God is really big on repetition.
Your greatest breakthrough will come through a repeated action.
Do it again. And again. And again.
The servants put in sweat equity without knowing the final results.
Some Bible historians believe that it took hours just to fill the jugs up to the brim.
Although the wine brought joy to the bride, groom and wedding attendees — the miracle revealed Jesus’ power to the disciples and that was the main point. Most likely, the servants also became believers, too!
The Wedding at Cana set the stage for how the disciples would someday spread the gospel through the supernatural outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Back at the wedding, the servants added the water to the six purification jars and then the Potter went to work. We don't know at what point Jesus transformed the water into wine because CHRIST JUST DOES THINGS. We don’t always know the when or the how.
All we know is that….
Jesus told the servants: "Fill the jars with water," so they filled them to the brim.
Then Jesus told them: "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet" (John 2:7-8).
FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS
Being a servant of Jesus requires hard work but it’s definitely FULFILLING. We have to do our best each and every day. We have to listen to exactly what God says. We must stay rooted in Colossians 3:23, which reminds us, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as if working for the Lord, not for human masters."
After all, you are serving Jesus Christ and what He asks you to do is the most important.
One of my favorite things about Scripture is remembering how Jesus loves to partner with His people to advance the Kingdom of God. We live in a world that wants immediate results, but the Kingdom works vastly differently. There are procedures and processes.
To go up, we must go down.
We have to decrease so that God can increase.
We have to be last to be first.
The Wedding at Cana was the first recorded miracle of our Lord and one of the seven "signs" John noted in his gospel. Signs are miracles to a greater degree. There's always a lesson to be learned in a sign, and God often does the supernatural to ensure we understand a more significant Kingdom principle. The deity of Christ is revealed.
Signs are intended to prove that Jesus is the Messiah. The wine symbolizes the transforming work of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
Studying Jesus' first sign is important because it sets the standard for how Christ works even today. The first sign was private on purpose. Jesus is very intentional about timing and how He reveals His power.
God rarely displays His power through fireworks and dazzling displays of showmanship. He’s big on choosing to work wonders through the mundane and ordinary. Oftentimes, He even goes against our expectations.
Jesus’ first miracle was right in line with His character. He didn’t draw any attention to self so that the bride and groom could enjoy their special night. If we assume God will always do things in flashy ways, we’ll be greatly disappointed.
He can and does work marvels through what’s already available.
Jesus took what was already there at the wedding — stone jars and water — and did the impossible.
A sign authenticates the Lord Jesus through an unusual circumstance that defies nature. There’s always a purpose behind the sign. This week, your homework is to study all seven signs in the Gospel of John. The Father will meet you there.
John 2:11
“What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him” (John 2:11).
ENCOURAGEMENT
I hear the heartbeat of the Lord speaking over His weary ones who feel sad in spirit and hopeless. Hang tight and do not give up!
We have entered a season of COMEBACKS.
You have a bountiful harvest ahead, and now is the time to stay focused on the task at hand.
Some of you are taking a significant leap of faith right now and following the Lord into the unknown even without knowing the final result. You must stay TETHERED to Jesus Christ. Wait for His instructions and follow them exactly. God is quite capable of taking what’s normal, like water, and supernaturally turning it into wine. He knows what you need and He is going to work wonders in the very ordinary and mundane.
Jesus does things that simply do not make sense to human wisdom.
The Lord says to be brave and follow Him with willful obedience as you navigate through new terrain together.
God has heard your cries. Your heartache, hope deferred and long periods of isolation reached Heaven. God is going to send you a new tribe of people in the coming months! There is a monumental breakthrough on the horizon!
September is always a special time on the Lord’s prophetic calendar and many of you are entering a very special time period.
Here’s how to prepare….
It's essential to let go and make room for the new! God will come through in such a way that you will see His hand at work in your life.
There will even be an overflow of CREATIVE MIRACLES.
The glory of Christ will be revealed, but first, you must be a servant and "filled to the brim" – giving Jesus your very best every day.
Again, you'll have to put in the work, but as you follow the instructions, the overflow of wine will start. The Lord saves the best wine for last!
Don't give up the first time.
Or the second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth time.
Keep following the instructions because, eventually, the water will turn to wine! There will be a transformation that you actually see with your own eyes!
The stage is set for some of you to step into your calling with full authority. The Father wants you to participate in the miracle actively, and it will require you to put in the effort.
The enemy wants God's people to get stuck, but the Lord is coming to shake things up again! He's going to loosen the fog and cloudiness hovering above His people. Jesus will bring CLARITY.
All you have to do is yield.
God will take care of you as long as you seek His help.
JOHN 2:1-10
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and 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 and 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.”
