I appreciate so much you sharing with us mainline.
That's right up my alley now.
I was going to have a running pit there for a moment,
and I thought I'd calm down and scare you all to death.
If you have your Bibles, turn to Luke chapter 5.
Luke chapter 5.
When God does new things, we don't always like it.
We have a patterned way about us.
We kind of like to keep things the way we're familiar with.
God often makes moves that do not follow our patterns,
and that can be upsetting.
Well, let me be honest with you.
God's not concerned about upsetting us.
He's upset folks before.
He taught bringing large crowds in,
and four men brought a paralyzed man
through the roof of the home in which Jesus was speaking,
and he healed that man.
And that didn't follow with some people's pattern,
so they accused him of blasphemy.
When he spoke of fasting,
he didn't say it the way the church leaders wanted him to say it,
and they said that he was misleading.
When he grabbed a handful of grain
out of the corner of a field,
which the corners were to be left
for those who were passing by
as well as for the poor,
but he happened to do it on the Sabbath.
They accused him of breaking the Sabbath
because there was work
running his hand through the head of a week.
When he healed the man with the withered hand,
he healed him on the Sabbath.
That was considered work.
That upset people.
When he reached out to Levi,
the tax collector,
and when he ate with Levi,
the tax collector,
and therefore the thief,
and I sometimes still feel that way,
but anyway,
the tax collector,
and ate with him and his friends,
it didn't fall with people's expectations.
And they called him out
because he was eating with sinners.
He don't mind upsetting us.
And instead of getting punch drunk
from all the fingers being pointed at him,
Christ responded with some stories.
I want to look at a couple of those today.
It's found in Luke chapter 5,
verse 33,
and it says this,
and he said to them,
the disciples of John fast often
and offer prayers.
And so do the disciples of the Pharisees,
but yours eat and drink.
And Jesus said to them,
can you make wedding guests fast
while the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come
when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they'll fast in those days.
In other words,
what he was saying here is this,
you fast when you're waiting on God to do something.
When you ask for God's intervention,
when you are in need,
when you have a strong sense,
when you need a strong sense of his presence,
you fast in those times.
The disciples,
however,
were not waiting on Christ to intervene.
Christ was already intervening.
As Jesus said so often,
the kingdom of God was at hand.
He was right there with them.
They were not in need.
He was providing for them.
They felt a very strong sense of his presence.
He was standing there.
It was not time to fast.
It was time to feast
because the kingdom of God was at hand.
That's exactly what Jesus is saying.
He goes on to say in verse 36,
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'll tear the new
and the piece from the new
will not match the old.
And 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.
But new wine must be put
into fresh wine skins.
And no one after drinking old wine
desires new
for he says the old is good.
He began by comparing his arrival
and his ministry to a wedding.
One thing I love about the teachings
of Jesus, the master teacher,
is he always met people
where they were
and spoke to them
in a language that they understood.
They were an agrarian people
so therefore he spoke a lot of fields
and of harvest.
They also celebrated weddings
and made a big deal out of it.
And they also mourned at funerals
and they became social events
just like they do in our culture today.
Except their customs were different
than our culture today.
And therefore there needs to be
some explanation.
Because in our day
the most anticipated moment
is when those doors swing open
in the back
and that beautiful bride
comes down that aisle.
That moment is what all little girls
dream of
and they come down that aisle
and everybody sees them
standing looking at them
amazed by the beauty
that they see.
Well, it was different then.
In that custom
the bridegroom came
to claim his bride
and then take her
to the wedding.
And it was an anticipated moment.
It was
the wait for him was
people waiting for him
was so intense
waiting to see
when he would come.
And sometimes he came late
and they would anticipate
that much more.
And Jesus told story after story
about that whole event
and what that meant.
And once that groom came
the anticipation was over
and the celebration began
and I mean celebrate
they did.
A wedding in Jesus' day
lasted a week.
As a man
with two girls
I'm thankful today
and taxed
traditional feasts
were ignored
and the whole community
participated.
It was a celebration
like none other.
So when Jesus uses
a wedding as an example
what he's saying is
don't miss out
on what God's doing.
He's telling them
God is incarnate.
The promise
that the law
proclaimed
and the law
made known
the need of
has now come.
God's incarnate
in the flesh before you.
Don't miss this opportunity.
Quit looking
for something else.
The anticipation
is no more.
God does his
greatest work
in new
and different ways.
Even in the Old Testament
the prophet Isaiah
spoke of anticipating
God's new ways.
Isaiah chapter 43
18 and 9
says remember
not the former things
nor consider the things
of old.
Behold I'm doing
a new thing
now it springs forth
do you not
perceive it?
So what I'm saying
is Jesus was definitely
a new thing
but Jesus is not
the only new thing
that God has ever done.
He has done
new things all along.
I mean think
just from the garments
that God provided
for a covering
for Adam and Eve
in their sinful shame
in the garden
to the calling
and the covenant
of Abraham.
God's always
doing a new thing.
From the burning bush
life changing
experience
of the deliverer
Moses.
Remember that bush
was burning
but it was not
consumed.
Amazing sight.
to that wonderful
charge that he gave
to Joshua
who replaced
Moses
and he told him
be strong
and courageous
as you enter
into the land
that you are to conquer
that I promised you.
Be strong.
Be courageous.
God's always
doing a new thing.
From the greatest
strength of the
kingdom of David
to the sad
dissolving
of a nation
after Solomon.
God's always
doing a new thing.
From the fish's mouth
that spit out
Jonah
to the fiery
chariot
that Elijah
took home.
God's always
doing a new thing.
From a virgin birth
of the Savior
to the disciples
feasting
while others
with Jesus
while others
were fasting.
God's always
doing a new thing.
From the wind
of the Holy Spirit
of God
in Acts chapter 2
to the personal salvation
that every true Christian
has experienced.
God is always
doing a new thing
and that new thing
that he's still
doing today
that he wants
to do in our lives
may not fall
into our pattern
of expectation.
So let me give you
some advice.
First is this.
When God moves
celebrate him.
when God moves
celebrate him
don't miss
the celebration
of his indwelling
presence
in your life.
The Pharisees
and the Sadducees
are standing around
all grim
because the focus
is not on them
and their ways
and that was a change
but they were focused
instead on Christ
and his work
and Jesus
compared that
in two stories.
the first story
that he told
was about patches.
Now I know
some things
about patches
because when I was
growing up
there were three types
of clothing.
There were church clothes
there were school clothes
and there were play clothes.
Now
church clothes
were highly starched
and very uncomfortable.
Okay.
Apparently
it is a sin
to worship
in comfort.
School clothes
were better
but they were comfortable
and they were new.
And then play clothes
were worn out
school clothes.
Church clothes
don't get worn out
praise God.
Church clothes
are kind of like
those clothes
the Hebrews wore
in the desert
for 40 years
that never wore out
you know.
You just outgrow it.
You don't
you don't wear it out.
And if you're
the youngest
of three boys
which I am
play clothes
are primarily
hand-me-downs
because the only way
you get new school clothes
is to outgrow the old
or
to wear a hole
in the knee
of the jeans.
By the way
there was a day
that you didn't
pay extra
to have holes
in your jeans.
And that if you
had a hole
in your knee
of your jeans
you were embarrassed
by it.
Now
I think I'm
just going to
cut up my jeans
and wear them
next Sunday.
Therefore
in order to make
that tear
more discreet
mama would
iron on a patch
that was always
a different color
than the jeans
she was putting them on.
It stood out
like a sore thumb
but it covered
that ghastly hole
but everybody knew
you had patched
jeans on.
Jesus knew
about patched
garments.
He came up simple
and his clothes
got worn
and when there's
a hole
his mother
would have
sewn a patch
of cloth
on that.
However
one thing
she would
never do
is
put a
sew in
an unshrunk
patch
of cloth
because if you
take a new
piece of cloth
that has not
shrunk yet
and place it
on old
clothes
when it's
washed
that new
fabric
will shrink
and it will
pull against
the old
fabric
where it
had been
sewn in
and that
will rip
as well.
Your problem
would not
be solved.
It wouldn't
fix it.
Listen
Jesus didn't
come
to patch
the existing
religious
systems.
He didn't
come to fix
parts of the
law.
Jesus came
to fulfill
the law.
Jesus came
to supersede
the law
and to bring
victory
where defeat
had been.
Think about
it this way.
What did
the law
do to
these men?
What had
it done
to Paul?
Paul said
that all
of his
effort to
fulfill
the law
he counts
as lost
now compared
to knowing
Christ Jesus.
It was a
hindrance to
him as a
matter of
fact.
He placed
his confidence
in the
accomplishments
that he
had done
and therefore
he held
off putting
his faith
in Christ
because he
thought he
was enough
because those
things that
looked religious
and right
seemed to
be sufficient
because they
made him
feel good.
They didn't
save him.
Only Christ
saves.
The law
didn't make
him better.
Instead of
pointing the
need of
Christ out
to him,
it instead
filled him
with pride
or possibly
guilt.
these
Pharisees
and Sadducees
who knew
the law
so very
well had
to know
as well
they could
never
fulfill it.
Had to
deal with
that.
So what
do you do
with that?
You well
up with
pride.
Hopefully
pride will
cover up
your
imperfections.
Hopefully
somehow you
can hide
what you
don't get
right if
you're
pride enough.
Have you
ever been
to Dairy
Queen and
got one
of those
dipped ice
cream cones
where they
dip it in?
I mean it
is nearly
magical.
It looks
so good.
It is
soft serve
ice cream
with a
hardened
chocolate shell
over it.
And even
if the ice
cream is
melting away
on the
inside,
that chocolate
shell is
strong
until you
take a
bite.
That's the
biggest trap
they've ever
made out of
ice cream
because it'll
make the
biggest mess
because once
you bite
through that
hardened
shell,
what you'll
find is
oftentimes a
soft mess
and it all
just crumbles
in your hand.
When I think
of pride and
the way
scripture
describes pride,
that's what I
always think
of is a
dipped ice
cream cone
because it
looks so
good.
But when
you really
bite into
it and get
into the
meat of
it,
it'll fall
in your
lap and
mess.
Matter of
fact,
scripture
says pride
comes before
a fall,
a haughty
spirit before
destruction.
And the
reality is
once Jesus
took a
bite into
their pride,
it crumbled.
When Christ
came and
turned the
tables,
not only
physically but
spiritually,
on all these
guys that had
invested their
time and
their effort
and pride
into it,
they were
crumbling
because we
don't like
new things.
We like to
know what's
coming,
we like it
the way we
like it,
even when it
comes from
God.
But Jesus
came to
turn the
table of the
law and to
bring refreshment
where drought
had been.
And when God
moves,
don't fight
it.
Celebrate
him.
Second thing
is this,
when God
moves,
be refreshed.
Because Jesus
is not a
patch.
Jesus is
restoration.
He's not a
swallow that
does not
satisfy.
Jesus comes
to refresh,
bring new,
make whole.
And he
speaks of
the wineskin.
Now the
wineskin was
made from the
skin of a goat.
They would
take the skin
of a goat and
they would
clean it and
they would
prepare it and
they would
cut it and
then they
would sew it
into a pouch
and they
would place
fresh squeezed
juice into
that pouch.
And that
skin,
because it
was new,
when it was
used,
it had
elasticity in
it.
And that
elasticity allowed
that wine to
ferment and as
it fermented,
it would
expand.
The wine skin
would expand as
well.
if you
place fresh
juice into
an old
wineskin,
when it
fermented and
expanded,
the wineskin
would burst
and the
drink would
be lost.
He gives
that illustration
because Jesus
didn't come to
fit into our
system.
He didn't
come to fit
into their
system,
but Jesus
didn't come to
fit into our
system either.
He came to
make things
new.
all things
new.
When God
moves,
throw out
the old.
Arthur
Blessed is an
interesting
character.
Arthur
Blessed is a
man who got a
burden to
carry the
cross of
Christ across
the world.
He did a
lot of it
starting, I
believe, in
the 70s
and in the
80s.
And in
1989, he
made news
because he
carried the
cross of
Christ, or
cross that
symbolized that
one, from
California to
Washington, D.C.,
across the
country.
He was
interviewed, and
I vaguely
remember him
being on
television.
Since that
time, he has
carried that
cross across
43,000 miles
and 324
nations, island
groups, and
territories by
his own
testimony.
Now, Arthur's
an individual.
He's
charismatic, and
he ran for
president in
1976 and
didn't do very
well.
I imagine I
don't agree with
Arthur on a
whole lot of
things, but I
like what R.T.
Kendall said
about him as I
was studying for
this sermon.
Arthur was in a
meeting with 39
other men in
Phoenix, Arizona
years ago.
It was a prayer
meeting, and they
were praying for
revival.
And they went
around that circle
with those 40 men
in that circle, each
one of them
praying.
The first one
prayed for God to
bring revival.
The second one
prayed that God
would bring revival.
The third one
prayed that God
would bring revival.
And Arthur
blessed was number
seven in that
list.
And Arthur
prayed that God
would bring revival.
And after he
prayed, he did
something that was
absolutely scandalous.
He opened his
eyes, and he
looked up while
those other men
were praying.
And when Arthur
looked up, he
looked out the
window.
And he saw a
restaurant across
the street.
And he walked
out.
Walked across the
street to the
restaurant.
When he walked in
the restaurant, he
announced as he
entered the door,
does anybody here
want to be saved?
And the waitress
said, I do.
He went to the
waitress and he
said, I do.
He said, the
church across the
street, do they
ever come here?
She said, they do.
She said, do you
ever see any other
members?
She said, yes.
He said, have you
ever been to that
church?
She said, no.
She said, I see the
members on Sunday
at lunch.
She said, have they
ever talked to you
about Jesus?
She said, no.
He said, how many, how
long have you been
working here?
And she said, many
years.
Arthur led her to
Christ.
And then he walked
back across the
street.
The prayer meeting
was still going on.
And he announced,
stop your praying.
God's answered your
prayer.
It's time to share
Christ.
I thank God this
morning in a restaurant
across the street,
don't you?
But yet you know and I
know there is.
There is there all
around us.
Don't ever try to get
God to fit inside your
expectations.
limitations.
Don't ever try to get
God to fit inside your
limitations.
Don't ever try to get
God to fit inside your
way of life.
Give your life.
Give your life to Jesus
and throw out the old.
Let's quit mourning over
who we are or who we're
not and become what God
wants us to be.
Let's quit trying to
patch our lives with a
little bit of Jesus and
putting on, instead put on
the new self in Christ.
Let's quit pouring God
into our own worn out
ways and start afresh with
him.
Maybe by just walking
across the street.
So when Kierkegaard was a
19th century Danish
theologian and he wrote a
parable about ducks.
He said there was a little
town of ducks and every
Sunday the ducks waddled
out of their houses and
waddled down Main Street to
their church.
They waddled into the
sanctuary and squat in
their proper pews.
The duck choir waddled in and
took its place.
Then the duck minister came
forward and opened the duck
Bible because even ducks have
their own version of
scripture.
And he read it.
And he said, ducks, God has
given you wings.
And with these wings you can
fly.
And the duck said, amen.
Amen.
And he said, with these wings you
can mount up and soar like
eagles.
And the duck said, he said, no
walls can confirm you, confine
you.
And the duck said, no fences can
hold you.
And the duck said, you have
wings.
And the duck said, God's given
you wings and you can fly like
birds.
And all the ducks said, with
enthusiasm together, amen.
And then they all waddled home.
Hey folks, let's don't waddle no
more.
Let's don't waddle anymore.
Let's trust God to do something
new.
Not just in us, but in us.
And may he be honored and
glorified by our obedience.
With every head bowed and every
eye closed, if you're here this
morning and you've never asked the
Lord Jesus to come into your heart
and life and to save you, I want
you to know the greatest
opportunity that you'll ever have in
this life is to give your heart and
life to the Lord Jesus Christ.
And if you'll tell him today that
you are sorry for the sins that
you've done, the wrong that you've
committed.
know, the only that you have the
Allah I get.
He heard that early, he was
good.
That's that much more
highlighted.
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