God Who Transforms
(Exodus 15:22-27, John 2:6-11)

Israel’s church in the desert began with experiences of holistic blessings where bitter water was sweetened and people pitch tents in the Oasis of Elim.

1. The piece of wood that sweetened the bitter water of Marah
1) The bitter water of one’s heart
① The bitter water of sins and inequities
② The bitter water of anxieties and fear
③ The bitter water of hatred and anger
④ The bitter water of frustration, despair, and depression
2) The piece of wood, the atonement on the cross
① The forgiveness of sins and inequities
② The transformation of anxiety and fear into the presence of the Holy Spirit
③ The transformation of hatred and anger into the healing of one’s disease in the heart
④ The transformation of despair into the hopes in the resurrection on the cross

2. Jesus who transformed water into wine
- Living with the Lord is like throwing a feast.
The wine that makes the feast enjoyable fell short.
1) Wine is of good fragrance ? life lost good fragrance, love, joy, and peace.
2) Wine is sweet ? gentle and humble character.
3) It makes one get drunk ?the fullness of the Holy Spirit and the joy in heaven.
4) It makes one joyful ? be glad and thankful.
- The grace of atonement on the cross transforms a life like plain water into wine.

3. The gospel and transformation
- The Lord who sweetens bitter water and transforms plain water into wine at the feast
1) The transformation of guilt into righteous peace
2) The transformation of life with inequities into a holy one and the coming of the Holy Spirit
3) The mind and body being freed from diseases and stress
4) The transformation of a life with failure and poverty through curses into the blessings and prosperity of Abraham
5) The assurance of hope in the kingdom of heaven

The moment our faith is degraded into religious refinement, formalities, or rituals, churches become a dried desert. People shall experience wondrous transformation where bitter water is sweetened and plain water turns into wine. Faith must come with experiences of getting drunk with the wine in the kingdom of heaven.