Accepting Something New

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0:00Good morning again. In case you don't know my name, my name is Joel and I serve as pastor here at New Creation. We're in a sermon series on the book of Luke, the gospel of Luke. We're in the fifth chapter. I'm preaching from Luke 5, verses 27 through 39. It's difficult to let go of something, something cherished, something that you have had for a long time. How many people in here, raise your hand, have something in your closet that other people have told you you should get rid of? It should be about everybody, or two hands maybe. There's always some reason to hang on to something, right? I still might, I still might use it. It's perfectly good. It's still good. I heard that so much growing up. I'd be like, especially with my dad, I'd be like, dad just throw it away.

0:55Hey, it's good. It's still good. I have a pair of shoes in my closet that are older than my daughters. I can't wear them when it's wet outside because the soles are completely cracked. I mean, from end to end, the footbed is worn through. My socks get sopping wet if it's wet outside and I wear them. They're also torn on the top. But I really like them, and I can't find anything else like them. So they're still there. It makes sense. I mean, old shoes, for example, they're more comfortable than new shoes, right? It takes a while for new shoes to feel comfortable on your feet. The old shoes fit just right. Plus, things we've had for a while usually have some kind of meaning to us, some kind of attachment, some association from our past, a memory. We're attached. There's a little bit of us in that thing, at least we think, and so we don't want to give it up. Well, listen, here's why I'm saying this. Jesus came to give us new life, full of meaning, full of joy, full of fulfillment.

2:04But when we are attached to our old way of living, what Jesus offers can be confusing or even unappealing. We see both sides of this in today's passage. People who have learned to let go and are receiving what Jesus has to offer, and people who are holding on fast to the old and who are standing on the outside looking in, not receiving what Jesus has. They're confused. They're resisting what Jesus has to say because they're holding on to the past.

2:40Turn with me to Luke chapter 5. Let's find out what God has for us today. Let's receive what he has for us. This is God's word. Just like God himself, it is true, it's reliable, and it's immensely valuable for us today. Luke chapter 5, verses 27 through 39. After this, he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, follow me. And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Jesus answered them, those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. And they said to him, the disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink. Jesus said to them, can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. He also told them a parable, no one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins.

4:31If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one, after drinking old wine, desires new, for he says, the old is good. Pray with me. Lord Jesus, you tell us that you and your word have power to change us. And that's what we need, Lord. We need to be changed under your influence. There is no influence that we would rather be under that we should be under than yours. Would you please, as your word goes forth today, make it bear fruit, make it land onto soft soil for each person today.

5:25Help us to receive and take away exactly what you have for us. And most of all, reveal yourself to us more, and help us to treasure you more, Jesus. We pray this in your name. Amen. Today my sermon's titled, Accepting Something New. Here's the big point. Jesus fulfills all who leave behind old patterns of living. Jesus fulfills all who leave behind old patterns of living. Now, if you weren't here last week, I preached this same passage last week, but I preached from verses 27 through 32, the first part of the passage. Now we're going to pick up the second half. Last week, the Pharisees were all bent out of shape. And we just, we just read that today, just now, because Jesus was hanging out with all the people that they tried to stay away from. The tax collectors, people who had robbed their own people on behalf of the Roman government. But Jesus said, look, Pharisees, of course I'm with them.

6:35Sick people need a doctor. The Pharisees had it all wrong. You're not made righteous by keeping away from the bad people. We're all bad people. We are only made righteous by coming to the righteous one in repentance and in faith. He cleanses us and he puts us to use. Jesus challenged them on a new perspective on what it means to be set apart. But they don't stop and think about what Jesus said. They just move on to another complaint. You ever been in an argument and the other person makes a really good point and you don't want to yield any ground, so you just say, yeah, well, what about this other thing? Anybody ever do that? That's what the Pharisees do. They don't want to yield any ground.

7:32Jesus has just made an excellent point and they just move on. Yeah, well, what about this other thing, Jesus? So let's talk about that. The complaint about the party. Verses 33 through 35. First, it was a complaint about the company that Jesus keeps. Now it's a complaint about the practices of his disciples, the practices of the people that follow him. Verse 33. The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink. Now let me give you some context.

8:07Fasting was a common and highly regarded practice in Judaism. It was very significant. It was also part of the social fabric. People fasted in preparation for the annual ceremonies, of which there were several throughout the year. They fasted during times of mourning. When a Jewish person took a vow, it was confirmed with a fast. The Pharisees fasted twice a week on behalf of the whole nation. And by the way, they let everyone know that they did it as well. The days that they were fasting, everybody knew.

8:45Jesus calls them out about that later. Fasting is called for by God, but to the Pharisees, it had become something of a social code. It was a signal to other people about how seriously you took your faith. That's what it had become to that. To this group, it had become that. A signal, a code. This is how religious I am, because I fast all this time. Now we can relate to this, right? Let's just admit it. Our culture has codes in it as well. The Christian culture that we end, it is still the dominant religious point of view in our country, in our time.

9:30We have our own codes that we use to signal to other people. The Jesus fish on our cars, saying have a blessed day instead of have a nice day, saying Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays. Little signals. Sometimes even things that God tells us to do, like spend time in his word and pray. They get twisted into signals by our hearts about how righteous we are compared to somebody else. Now we know from other passages of scripture that Jesus fasted sometimes. He did. But evidently, it wasn't as often or as consistently as they thought he should be doing. And so, even worse, he's leading other people astray. That's the real problem. Jesus, you're teaching your disciples bad practices. His disciples aren't following traditions. They're not keeping the code, the unwritten code.

10:40In other words, Jesus, you and your crew don't do what religious people are supposed to do. How can we take you seriously when your followers don't take their faith seriously? That's the accusation. Now, in response, notice this. Jesus doesn't critique the practice of fasting. He points to the purpose of fasting. Verse 34, can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom was with them? Weddings in the ancient Near East, in this time, were a huge deal. An even bigger deal than in our culture. We think we spend a lot of money on weddings. They probably spent more. That's not an endorsement of our current wedding industry, by the way. I'm just stating the facts. They were community celebrations that lasted days and days and days, up to a week. They were full of food and wine and dancing, music. They were feasts. They were feasts. No one, no one would be abstaining from eating and drinking at a wedding feast. No one. And not just because it was good food and good wine and you didn't want to abstain because it was delicious. You didn't abstain because celebrating is an expression of honoring the people that are getting married. It's a way of celebrating. It's a way of approving, of giving honor to them. It's approving of the wedding and what is happening.

12:18To abstain, to fast during a wedding, would be highly offensive. It would be a public act of scorning the couple that are getting married, of saying, I don't approve of that. It would be radical and highly offensive to fast during a wedding. Now, here's what Jesus is saying, okay? The whole purpose of fasting is to seek the Lord. His presence, His will, His blessing. To fast is to wait on Him in faith, especially asking Him to redeem His people through His anointed one. In the scripture reading, we heard this prophecy, as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

13:11When the Jewish people would fast, they would consider a verse like this and they would be asking God. Their fasting would be an outward expression of asking God, fulfill your promises to us, God. Send us your deliverer. Keep your word to us. Deliver us. Jesus is saying, hello, that's me. I'm the one that you've been praying for. I'm the bridegroom. While I'm with you, there's no need to fast. The wedding celebration, it's like a little preview of the wedding celebration is happening with Jesus and His disciples. Fasting is crazy. This is the time for a feast. The bridegroom is with you. To abstain is to say, I don't really think that you are who you say you are, Jesus. I don't think there's anything here to celebrate. I'm still praying and waiting for God to send the right one to come. The Pharisees were so busy keeping their rituals, they had forgotten the meaning behind it all. They were only going through the motions rather than actually seeking God. Jesus says, you've missed it. You've missed the purpose of fasting and you don't recognize who I am. If you did, you'd be feasting and not fasting. So church, here's a little mini takeaway for us right here in this passage, at this point in the passage. Remember this, the goal is to be with Jesus, to draw near to Him.

14:46Sometimes we forget that. The goal of all of our religious life, all the things that we do, is to draw near to Jesus. It's good to remember that because otherwise we get things confused. Here's an analogy for you. Suppose I was in a different line of work. Suppose the work that I was in sent me overseas to work in a different continent for nine months. And I was working there and soon I wanted Nikki and Cadence and Bree to come visit me. But plane tickets were really, really expensive. So I take a second job so that I can earn some money to buy them plane tickets. I work and I work and I work. I buy them the plane tickets. I save up enough. They arrive. The day has come.

15:32They bring in their suitcases. They walk in the rental house that I have. They put their suitcases down and they say, all right, let's go see the town. Let's go out to eat. And I say, sorry guys, I got the second job. I got to go off to work. Now imagine you're them, you know, how would you respond to that point? I thought you wanted to see us. What? You're going to your second job? The whole point of the second job was to bring them to me, was so that they would come. If I go off to work that second job, it's like, what are you doing? You've gotten things all out of order here. The people that you have been waiting for, that you worked and tried to earn enough money so that they would come, are here now. Don't go off to that job. Spend time with them. I'm not trying to say that we work for God to come to us. That's where the analogy breaks down. But Jesus was there with them and they're still fasting. The one that they should have been praying for, waiting for, with all of their practices has arrived and they're fasting. They've missed it. The purpose of all of our devotional practices, all of the things that God calls us to, praying, reading the Bible, coming to church, fellowshipping with other believers. Yes, even fasting. All of those things are meant to draw us closer to God. That's why Jesus said, if you abide in me, you will bear much fruit.

17:07If you abide in me. There is no true spirituality without our Savior. Ask God to direct your attention to him. Ask him to shake you out of habits, maybe even good habits, things that you started doing because you wanted to draw near to God, but they've lost that meaning for you. Remember why you're doing them so that you can draw near to God? Don't be like the Pharisees and miss Jesus. Now let's talk about the parable. This parable is kind of the linchpin of the whole text. Jesus hears the two complaints and he knows what's going on with the Pharisees. They're seeing things from the wrong point of view. So he tells a parable. The first part of the parable is about clothing. Verse 36, no one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. He says, if he does, he will tear the new and the piece from the new will not match the old. Okay, so far so good. Pretty self-explanatory, right? Why ruin a new piece of clothing in order to repair one that's already worn out in a bunch of places? The second part is about wine. Verse 37, no one puts new wine into old wine skins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled and the skins will be destroyed. This one you may not really understand. Back at that time, wine was fermented and it was stored in animal skins. Animal skins that had been cleaned, sewn together, they were now pouches. They didn't have Ziploc bags and, you know, things that we can get. So they used animal skins.

18:53When they were new, they were pliable. They were flexible, which is necessary because as wine ferments, it expands a little bit. Once the wine skin got old, it got brittle. It got hard. It no longer was flexible. It was only good now for storing water. It wouldn't need to be flexible to store water. But you couldn't put new wine in it or else it would expand, it would break the skins, and everything would be destroyed. These two things are examples of when the old is incompatible with the new. They don't go together. If you want the new thing, you have to be willing to discard the old thing. A new garment is not material to patch an old garment. How silly that would be to buy something and then cut it out and put it onto a shirt that's already been in your closet for 15 years and probably should just be thrown away. A new garment is a replacement. New wine must be put into fresh wine skins. Here's the challenge that Jesus is making to the Pharisees and to us today.

20:05Here's the thing that we need to pay attention to. He says, the new life that I offer, it's incompatible with your old life. You have to be willing to discard your old way of thinking and living in order to accept what I bring to you. They think being set apart and righteous comes from staying away from bad people. Jesus says, nope. That's not right. The set apart ones are all sinners who repent and put their faith in me. They think that taking your faith more seriously means empty rituals and traditions. Jesus says, wrong again. Real spirituality is about centering your life on me. Now, Jesus is giving us the same challenge. If we're going to get anything out of this, we have to see ourselves in the Pharisees. You have to be willing to admit that we make the same mistake.

21:05We have our own conventional wisdom, our own beliefs about life and ourselves. And these things direct how we think and how we act. And at many times, these run counter to the ways of Jesus and to the kingdom of God. In fact, I would say most of the time they run counter. If we want the new life that Jesus offers, we have to be willing to discard old ways of thinking and acting and adopt his truth. New wine must be put into fresh wineskins. If we're going to accept the new life that he offers, we need to accept the truth that he offers us as well. The point of view that he offers us as well. The reality that he offers us.

21:54And get rid of the old ways that we have that we like to cling to. I was considering this this week and I asked my family a question at dinner time. That's right. I crowdsourced some of my sermon. I'm not ashamed of that. I didn't give him any context. I just asked them this question. I said, what is something about your thinking or acting that has to change when you follow Jesus? What about your thinking and acting has to change when you follow Jesus?

22:26They were dying to know, why are you asking us this? But I wouldn't tell them. We had a great conversation. Parents, this may be a great question to ask your kids around the dinner table. Spouses, you can ask one another this question if your kids are out of the home or you don't have kids. Here's some of the things that they said. Kind of condensed, I'm condensing thoughts into approximate sentences. Here's one. You don't have to, you have to give up control of your life.

22:57God is in charge now. That's good. That's hard, right? Our old way of thinking is I'm in charge. I make my, I make the calls about what I do, how I spend my money, so on and so forth. All right. Here's another one. Don't hold grudges or get revenge, but pray for your enemies. Hmm. That sticks in our craw. We love a good grudge. How about this one? I'm not always right, and I should put others ahead of myself. It is really hard to acknowledge that you're not always right. Here's one. I love this one. People say you have to be pretty, but God says the inside is what matters. Don't seek glory and attention for yourself because all the glory belongs to God.

24:01And then the last one that I put up here, I have a new source of identity and a reason to always have hope. Those who are going on the women's retreat will be looking at identity a whole lot because that's, that's the theme. Finding our identity in Christ instead of other roles, other things, other people, abilities. Friends, what are you holding on to? What beliefs do you hold dear that run counter to the word of God? Do you even know the answer to that question? Ask God to show you, and then when he shows you, ask him for help so that you can lay them down because you will need help. I need help.

24:53Remember, the Pharisees rejected Jesus's truth because their own point of view got them something, right? It got them influence. It got them respect. It got them feelings of competency, of value. That's why they held on to these things. They got something from their old point of view. They didn't want to give it up. It was too costly. They were good at following the rules, and they liked that people considered them righteous. They could walk around the marketplaces and be treated with a lot of respect. They liked their whole system that they had come up with. They didn't like Jesus tearing it down. Guess what? When we come across something in God's word that runs counter to our own conventional wisdom, our old ways of thinking and acting, it's going to feel costly to us to. It's going to feel hard. We're going to resist it. That's the nature of things. That's the old self dying in us. We need God's help to accept God's truth because that is the way to accept the new life that Jesus offers. And friends, he will help us. This is not a matter of willpower. He will help us with this. Praise God indeed. This is the call that we have from Proverbs. A call that God himself will help us.

26:30Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. That is so hard. In all your ways, all of them, not some of them, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths. Ultimately, what God is calling us to do is to rely on him rather than rely on ourselves. And that includes his truth, his perspective, and not our own. And that is such a sweet relief. It's freedom to be released from ways of thinking and acting that don't give us life, that don't really meet us. If all of this sounds too costly, too hard for you, look again at the passage. Look at the contrast between these two groups of people. The Pharisees, they're important, they're influential men, they have a lot of respect in the culture, in society, but they're grumpy. They're bitter.

27:34They're suspicious of Jesus's mercy. They call for a fast when they should be feasting. Jesus is talking about them when he says, no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says the old is good. That's the Pharisees. That's the Pharisees. The old is good. They're stuck in their mindset and they're outside the party. Meanwhile, inside the house are Jesus's people, which now include tax collectors, notorious people, people with no outside respect, people who had done horrible things, but they've repented. They've come to Jesus. They were outcasts and now they are celebrating with their Savior. They're feasting. Friends, which group do you want to be a part of? The grumpy people who have no feast and who despise the eating and drinking or the people who have turned to Jesus, who have found relief in him and who are celebrating with him. Jesus came to call sinners to repent and he came that his joy might be in us and that our joy may be complete. I think he chose the images in this parable to remind us of that joy. It's not, it's new wine that he offers us. It's not new vinegar.

29:08Vinegar tastes disgusting. Some of you all know what I'm talking about. It's new wine, not new vinegar. It's a new garment. It's a garment of salvation that he clothes, that he clothes us with. When we respond to him in repentance and faith, we see that he has set his love on us. He has brought us into his house and he has set us a place at his banqueting table and a wedding is where we're headed. That's the goal. That's where we're headed with surety, with a promise that we'll never be broken. The church is his bride and he is the groom. And when we see him face to face, my friends, the feasting will never ever end. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, thank you for coming to give us joy, to deliver us from the points of view, from the ways of thinking and acting that just grind us down, make us bitter, deprive us of life. And yet, Lord, we hold on to them so tightly sometimes.

30:24Please pry our hands off of them. Lord, the new wineskins are hard to accept. Sometimes the things that you say rub us the wrong way. The truth that you offer, Lord, it hurts because the old self really wants things to be our way. Lord, remind us that there is life and feasting and joy on the other side of letting go of the old. Will you please help us to do that? Thank you that through your spirit, it is not just a matter of will, but you help us in this. Lord, fill us with your new wine, the new life that you offer us. Give us joy and help us to look forward in faith to the wedding day.

31:19Jesus, we pray this in your name. Amen.