Matthew  9_14-17      New Wine in New Wineskins

Rev. David Holwick  ZN

First Baptist Church

Ledgewood, New Jersey                            

December 30, 2001

Matthew 9:14-17


NEW WINE IN NEW WINESKINS



  I. What gets their interest?

      A. Maybe not what you think...


         Rev. Claunch recently heard of a survey that asked teenage girls

            what interested them most.

         "I sat smugly and said, 'I know that.  It's boys,'" he recalled.

            He found out he was decidedly wrong.

         The majority of teenage girls answered that witchcraft

            interested them most.

         The fastest growing religion among teenagers is Wicca (the

            religion of witchcraft).


         One pro-witchcraft website said one reason interest has risen

            was television shows like, "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,"

               "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer," and "Charmed."

         Though none of them portray witchcraft as it truly is, the

            website said they at least created interest.

         The recent Harry Potter phenomenon is another example of this

            trend.

         The occult is shown as fun, powerful and interesting.

                                                                   #22050


         Harry Potter reflects a wider movement known as the New Age.

         After Christianity Today ran an article which criticized the

            New Age movement, Dr. John Chrisci wrote a letter to them.

         He said 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.

                                                                   #22049


II. Negative religion.

      A. Religion always struggles with balancing positive and negative.

          1) Negative usually wins.

          2) Our passage in Matthew begins with disciples of John the

                Baptist approaching Jesus.

              a) John was a great example for Baptists - no drinking,

                    no smoking, grasshoppers for lunch.  No nonsense.

              b) He looked a lot like Bin Laden.

              c) His followers wanted to know why Jesus wasn't like

                    Bin Laden.


      B. A matter of fasting.

          1) Specifically, John's disciples wanted to know why all the

                religious people fasted, but Jesus and his group didn't.

          2) Jesus answered that fasting is for sad people, and his

                followers should be happy because he is with them.


      C. Followers of Jesus should be positive.

          1) Sadly, often we are not.

              a) Jerry Falwell got a "down arrow" from Newsweek this

                    week.

              b) Even Christian publications are noting how the current

                    generation is turning from church.

              c) 8 percent of Protestants have dropped out altogether

                    in past decade.

          2) Maybe we are not understanding Jesus correctly.


III. Jesus rocks.

      A. While everyone else fasts, he parties.

          1) Two short parables press the point home.


      B. The New is incompatible with old.

          1) New patches on old garments.

              a) The cotton shrank and pulled away from old material.

              b) New belongs on new, old on old.

          2) Jesus can't be patched on old religious systems.

              a) This is why true Christianity doesn't mix well.

              b) It is grace faith, not legalistic faith.

              c) It shouldn't be bound by old traditions.

                  1> Only by bound by Word of God, which isn't as rigid

                        as many think.


      C. The New is explosive.

          1) New wine in old wineskins.


               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.

               Gas-filled liquid in a brittle container can have

                  interesting effects...

               Like this Pepsi bottle I am shaking...

                                                [adapted from old sermon]

          2) The old can't contain the new without bursting.

              a) Jesus-faith should be filled with excitement.

              b) It cannot fit in old worn-out structures.


          3) New Wine needs new wineskins.

              a) New wineskins are flexible and strong.

              b) They can handle the fizz.


IV. If Jesus talked about wineskins today...

      A. He would tell Christians to be filled with excitement.

          1) There is joy in knowing Jesus.

          2) Christian faith is positive and life-affirming.

          3) If it seems boring, find someone who is excited and learn

                their secret.


      B. He would tell us to discard what is brittle.

          1) If something is not working, dump it.

              a) Our Sunday School classes have changed study materials

                    even after using them for a decade.

                 If it doesn't work, discard it.

              b) Find out what does work.

                  1> Personal devotions, etc.

          2) Break old relationships, anything that drags you down.


      C. He would tell the Church to be flexible.

          1) His audience knew he was talking about Jewish faith.

              a) He could just as well be talking about the church today.

          2) Churches need to distinguish between God's commands and

                our own traditions.

              a) Traditions can change.  They must change.

              b) Example: Christmas Eve service.

                    Very traditional.

                    I even have a chart that checks off the carols.

                    Some said later we should liven it up...

                       Dramatic readings.

                       Perhaps a skit.

                       Maybe some praise music.

              c) National Public Radio and spot on new worship music.

                  1> Praise music is sweeping the country.

                  2> Interviewed some who insist on old hymns.

                  3> But spiritual content is more important than style.


              d) C. K. Chesterton on innovation:


                 "Conservatism is based upon the idea that if you

                     leave things alone, you leave them as they are.

                  But you do not.

                  If you leave a thing alone, you leave it to a torrent

                     of changes.


                  If you leave a white (fence) post alone, it will soon

                     be a black post.

                  If you particularly want it to be white, you must be

                     always painting it again.

                  Briefly, if you want the old white post, you must have

                     a new white post."

                                                                   #22025


  V. Are you open to change in the new year?

      A. It requires a new attitude.

      B. It requires a decision.

      C. It requires effort.



=========================================================================

SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:


#22025  "Chesterton On Conservatism And Change," by C. K. Chesterton,

           Leadership Journal; http://www.christianitytoday.com/bcl/~

           features/ pastors/articles/le-9l2-9l2022.html; Spring 1999.


#22049  Christianity Today, modified from old sermon by Rev. David

           Holwick.


#22050  "What Happens When Almighty God Calls Your House?" by Doy Cave,

           http:www.baptistpress.com.


These and 20,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,

absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html

=========================================================================


HOLWICK'S COLLECTION        Number: 5208

SOURCE: http://www.gospelcom.net/mw/flexbl.htm

TITLE: Discipleship Character Qualities - Flexibility

AUTHOR: Dr. David Schroeder

DATE: 27-Jan-2000


ILLUSTRATION:

This lesson uses the imagery of wineskins and wine.  Because wine speaks

of life, vitality, transformation, it is often a symbol of the Holy

Spirit in Scripture.  What is Jesus saying here?  Simply this - what you

are receiving when you receive the kingdom is so new and dynamic that

none of your old receptacles, none of your old structure and forms, are

able to contain it.


Wineskins, of course, are made of leather, and new leather is very

pliable.  Old leather is rigid and cracks easily.  Jesus was saying that

the kingdom is always in fermentation.  In grape juice or other organic

material, fermentation is a chemical reaction that causes expansion,

which is why the cork on a wine bottle pops when first opened.  If

unfermented or "new" wine is poured into an old, rigid, inflexible

wineskin and then ferments, there will be an explosion.  Fermentation

demands flexibility or "soft skins."


Jesus was teaching here that people who want the new wine of the kingdom

of God must be flexible.  Kingdom life is too dynamic to be contained by

rigid skins that it cannot shape.  God's kingdom will not settle into

the shape of any earthly mold.  The absolutely essential quality we need

for this new life-changing gift is flexibility.  Because church

structures and dogmas can be quite rigid, it is often difficult for

religious people to change.  But Jesus said that if you are going to be

a kingdom person, you must not expect to be able to use the "old

wineskins" of your former life.




Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick

Created with the Freeware Edition of HelpNDoc: Easily create Help documents