Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
August 24, 1986
"Kick Off" Sunday
New Wine - Whoopie!
Mark 2:21-22, King James Version
A recent Christianity Today magazine did a feature on the New Age movement. New Age is a pop religion in California - it will probably be in West Lafayette in 25 years. New Age focuses on the future, positive thinking, global unity. The Christianity Today article blasted it as heresy.
The next issue had an interesting letter to the editor. Dr. John Chrisci wrote that the New Age religion is what Christianity should be all about, but isn't. The New Age movement is forward-looking, positive and uplifting. Christians, on the other hand, tend to focus on negatives, grovel in sin and guilt, and look back to the past. Dr. Chrisci concluded:
The put-down has gone far enough. People are hungry for Christ's more abundant life. We have brought the New Age movement on ourselves.
I believe Dr. Chrisci is making a good point. People often associate Christianity with:
We are living examples of Murphy's Law: If there's a way to be punished by God, I'll experience it. If anything can go wrong in my life, it will. Our favorite verse is Psalm 22:6 - "I am a worm, and not a man. A reproach of men, and despised by people."
I am exaggerating. Somewhat. But I do believe that Christians tend to be too negative and too inward-looking. We are like the lungfish. During a drought they dig a hole in the mud and curl up in it. They live off the stored up fluid in their bodies. And then their muscle. If the drought continues long enough, the lungfish feeds on itself until it is dead. Too many Christians are feeding on themselves. They feel bad about feeling good. Jesus would not be impressed. If his ministry had one characteristic, it was joy. Don't call yourself a Christian unless you have experienced that joy, on a regular basis.
To stress this point in today's passage, Jesus gives two mini-parables. He had just been criticized for not being religious enough - meaning he was too positive in his approach to God. He first parable is verse 21 - "No man sews a piece of new cloth on an old garment." The reason is obvious - the new piece has not yet been shrunk (they used cotton, not nylon). By sewing on the new piece, then washing the garment, the patch will shrink and pull away, making an even bigger hole.
Jesus meant one main thing by this. The new is incompatible with the old. They cannot co-exist. The one point has several possible applications. Jesus is saying Christianity must pull away from the Jewish system. Believers must pull away from their old way of life. If it tears you down, pull away from it. As a Christian, pull away from negativism. Application for our church: don't be afraid to try new things. We tend to be hidebound, doing same things over and over. This leads to extinction.
The second parable is in verse 22 - "No man puts new wine into old bottles." Right away I have to tell you that Jews in those days did not use bottles like we do. They were too expensive. So they used wineskins instead which were usually made from a sheep's stomach. A friend of mine bought one on a trip to Africa. It was a genuine Moroccan wineskin. He put water in it and found the bag sweat, when kept the contents cool. But the water tasted terrible, like it had been regurgitated. The biggest problem with wineskins is if you don't use them. They dry out and crack. Then you put new wine in. New wine hasn't fully fermented yet. To explain what happens, consider what Celeste did at the Big Wheel department store. She pushed her shopping cart straight off the curb. A two-liter Pepsi bottle bounced out and hit the pavement and literally exploded. It kept on spewing soft drink all over her husband. The girls thought it was funny. Their father did not.
The first parable meant the new is incompatible with the old. This second one means the new is not only incompatible, it is explosive. There's no way the old can contain it. True Christianity cannot be locked into old, tired restrictions. It insists on breaking out. Wherever there is true Christianity, there should be excitement. And power. The best evidence of the power is in changed lives. If your life hasn't changed much, or is at a standstill now, you are not experiencing true Christianity. But you can.
First, focus on some essential facts:
1. Jesus has come, and he shows us the way to God. His teaching is new and exciting. Measure your life against it.
2. Jesus has set up a Kingdom. Not fully evident yet, but the groundwork is done. The good news is not just that your sins are forgiven. The meaning of Jesus' ministry is that God has invaded hostile territory. He is on the offensive and the church should be on the front line.
3. Jesus can change your life. This is the evidence the Kingdom is present. Anyone in Christ is a new creation. It is not based on our own power, but on the spiritual power given us by God.
After focusing on these facts, take action:
1. Break out of old patterns. This may mean being converted and accepting Christ. After you are saved, it may mean putting aside self-hate. If negative influences exist, leave them behind, whether they are habits or people. To break out of old patterns, leave your past in the past. Do not relive old mistakes.
2. Focus on the new. Search God's Word for guidance. Renew your mind to think in a more positive pattern. (Norman Vincent Peale made this into a whole gospel. It is not. But it is a necessary element of the gospel.) Train your mind to be positive, think positively of others, be positive about what God can do in your life.
3. Hang around positive people. Also, do your best to encourage others.
These truths apply to churches as well as people. Churches tend to get into ruts, the "same old thing". Our focus easily becomes attached to programs rather than people. What turns churches around? New people. We need to invite them, welcome them, and incorporate them.
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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