on November 1, 2012
Luke 5:36-39 – He told them this parable: "No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, `The old is better.' "
Jesus told this parable to describe the challenge of the Gospel. People tend to grow comfortable in their religious persuasions, like clothing they’ve worn and “broken in.” If the old garment gets torn or worn through, we might be prone to try to prolong its usefulness by sewing a patch over the hole. Our Lord makes the point that you don’t obtain your patch from a NEW garment to sew on the old one. There are two major problems with that solution: 1) You would ruin the NEW garment, and, 2) The NEW cloth will not match the OLD. Jesus has come bringing an entirely NEW garment for righteousness! The OLD garment was THE LAW! The Pharisees were very comfortable in the OLD garment, but it was flawed! The Law could not justify anyone! It was only good for pointing out sin and leaving the sinner guilty and condemned. People could only be deemed righteous if they kept the Law in its ENTIRETY! James 2:10 – “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” Galatians 3:10-12 – All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." Christ Jesus did not just come with some new cloth to patch the OLD garment! He came with a new garment of righteousness by faith! Romans 3:19-22 – Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
In Biblical times goatskins were used to hold wine. As the fresh grape juice fermented, the wine would expand, and the new wineskin would stretch. But a used skin, already stretched, would break if new wine was poured into it. Jesus brought a newness that could not be confined within the old skin of religion and law. People were attracted by many of Jesus’s teachings and they tried to fit them into their religious traditions which were like OLD wineskins. Those OLD skins could not contain the NEW wine that was fermenting in them! Ephesians 2:14,15 – “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace…” 2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Romans 8:3,4 – For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
Thursday: Meet together with at least 1 or 2 other believers to enter the Throne Room of Grace.
Friday:
- Thank God for providing us with NEW garments of righteousness – not just patches for the OLD!
- Pray for the Good News families of the week: Allen Grandin (Jr.), Christina Griesch (Derek,Alisha), Ryan Hackett (Sara Fellows – fiancee)
Saturday: Praise God that we may have this garment of righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ!
Sunday:
- Give thanks to God for the NEW wine of His Spirit and the NEW wineskin – faith in Christ Jesus!
- Partner with us in “In Touch” Prayer meeting at the close of Worship Service.
Monday: Pray that others may receive God’s NEW garment and His NEW wine in the person of Christ.
Tuesday: Celebrate that Christianity is not a RELIGION but a RELATIONSHIP with the Son of God!
Wednesday: Praise God that this RELATIONSHIP is one that unites us with Him and His people forever!
Prayer Challenge: Remember that you are not coming to an unapproachable mountain that booms with thunderous judgment and terror. You are coming before One who is eager to meet with you and understands your heart. You are coming to Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God! You come to thousands of angels joyfully assembled, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new and BETTER covenant… – Hebrews 12:18-24.