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Luke 5:36-39 – Then He
(Jesus) spoke a parable to them: “No one puts a piece from a new garment
on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that
was taken out of the new does not match the old. And no one puts new
wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins
and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be
put into new wineskins, and both are
preserved. And no one,
having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is
better’.”
This Scripture is one that
has troubled the minds of many religious folks for centuries. It’s not
much different today. The religious crowd is still finding fault with
those who have committed their lives to Christ and desire to follow
after Him. They refuse to come out of their old way of doing things,
and by doing this, they grieve the Holy Spirit of God and cause His
presence to be limited in their midst. They
feel satisfied with the old,
and therefore, they are like rocks that have been set in cement. They
are immovable and not willing to change.
True converts are becoming
discouraged and frustrated with the body of Christ, because the life
flow of God’s Spirit is no longer being manifested in their midst. Many
are coming out of the dead, dry denominations and religions offered to
society today because they are tired of going through the motions,
performing the same routines, singing the same old hymns, and hearing
lifeless sermons from preachers who don’t have a clue who Jesus really
is. I believe we can learn much from the parables of Jesus if we will
open our spiritual ears to hear what He is saying.
Most of us fully understand
the concept of putting a new patch on an old garment. If a new patch is
sown onto an old pair of jeans, it will ruin those jeans. When the jeans
are washed, the new patch will shrink and cause a tearing to take
place. The whole purpose of sewing the patch onto the jeans in the
first place will be completely negated, because the individual did not
follow the proper procedure to complete the task in an effective manner.
This is what I see taking
place in the body of Christ today. When pastors and leaders begin to
allow the “new” to come into their midst, there’s a tearing in the body
of Christ, because many of the people in their congregations do not want
the new. They want to continue doing things the way they have done them
for the last 50 years. This can cause much division and strife between
the congregation and the leadership if the people are not willing to
change. And sometimes, when this type of thing happens, there is a good
possibility that the church could split. Those who want the “new” will
stay, and those who want the “old” will find themselves another place to
fellowship.
Jesus continues His parable
by stating, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins, because if they do
the wineskin will burst.”
In ancient times, before wine
bottles were invented, wine was stored in wineskins made of animal hide
or gut. After a wineskin had been used, it would become brittle and
hardened. It would no longer have the elasticity within its structure
to be of any further use for the wine fermenting process. A new
wineskin would be needed in order to preserve the new wine. The old
wineskin would break under the pressure of the fermenting wine, because
it no longer had the ability to be stretched or enlarged. The new
wineskin, on the other hand, is elastic and stretches its container very
effectively when the fermenting of the wine takes place.
The church of Jesus Christ
must be flexible and willing to be stretched and enlarged by the power
of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus made this statement:
“New wine must be put into new wineskins”. There is no other way.
Those who continue to say, “The old way is better,” are still using old
wineskins. They are locked solidly into tradition and will therefore
place themselves in a position that will keep the move of God from
coming to their church, because the old wineskin cannot hold the new
wine.
If we go back and take a look
at church history from 1500 A.D. to 1800 A.D., we find men like Martin
Luther and John Wesley who did not intend to start new religions or
denominations when they began to receive revelation from God. Their
preaching stirred up the religious crowd, because it caused them to have
to identify with truths that were not made known to them up to that
point in time. They didn’t want the existing structure of the church to
change. Therefore, the intentions of Martin Luther and John Wesley were
not attained. Instead, new denominations were raised up because many of
those who heard their message were not willing to allow transformation
to take place in their midst.
The church must allow the
Lord to bring fresh revelation and truth that will set us free from
deception, religious thinking, and the traditions of men. I believe
that the Lord wants to saturate His people in the new wine of His
presence. It’s time to lay aside the old wineskin and replace it with
the new.
Are we ready for the
transition, or will we be content to continue in our old pattern of
doing things? Are we willing to let go of the old and lay hold on the
new? Are we willing to let go of familiarity and lay hold of those
things that are not familiar to us? It’s our choice.
Let’s pray and seek the Lord
regarding our future. Let’s ask Him to help us to make the right
decision so that He may be glorified in our midst. |
