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weekly sermon 11-7-10 All Patched Up
Last week we went on a fishing trip, learning what to fish for an what bait to use while we were fishing. To follow along in the footsteps of Christ, we see one thing from last week and that is that we are to fish. This week I want us to notice what type of fish we are to be catching.
This message is actually a two part message that will be meshed together into one. I am meshing these two messages for a reason, which we will discover at the end of this message. Both messages have a significance to one another by a single strand, so let us dive in and comb through the strands to understand what it is we are talking about.
Grab your Bible and turn with me, if you will, to Luke 5:17, "One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord's healing power was strongly with Jesus. (18)Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to push through the crowd to Jesus, (19)but they couldn't reach him. So they went up to the roof, took off some tiles, and lowered the sick man down into the crowd, still on his mat, right in front of Jesus. (20)Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, "Son, your sins are forgiven." (21)"Who does this man think he is?" the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to each other. "This is blasphemy! Who but God can forgive sins?" (22)Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, "Why do you think this is blasphemy? (23)Is it easier to say, `Your sins are forgiven' or `Get up and walk'? (24)I will prove that I, the Son of Man, have the authority on earth to forgive sins." Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, "Stand up, take your mat, and go on home, because you are healed!" (25)And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped to his feet, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. (26)Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe. And they praised God, saying over and over again, "We have seen amazing things today." (27)Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax-collection booth. "Come, be my disciple!" Jesus said to him. (28)So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. (29)Soon Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi's fellow tax collectors and other guests were there. (30)But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus' disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with such scum?" (31)Jesus answered them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor, sick people do. (32)I have come to call sinners to turn from their sins, not to spend my time with those who think they are already good enough." (33)The religious leaders complained that Jesus' disciples were feasting instead of fasting. "John the Baptist's disciples always fast and pray," they declared, "and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are yours always feasting?" (34)Jesus asked, "Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? (35)Someday he will be taken away from them, and then they will fast." (36)Then Jesus gave them this illustration: "No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be torn, and the patch wouldn't even match the old garment. (37)And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. The new wine would burst the old skins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. (38)New wine must be put into new wineskins. (39)But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the fresh and the new. `The old is better,' they say."
I started where I started, with this message, for a specific reason. I want us to notice that when Jesus came to teach, the teachers of the law came from every town around in multitudes. I started here because I wanted us to notice that when take our footsteps with Christ, we will have folks come against us trying to prove that we do not know what we are teaching. I want us to also notice one other thing. The very next very starts out with, "and the Lord's healing power was strongly with Jesus". Notice that when many come against us, the Lord's power is strong within us.
I only started at this verse the show us what will happen when we start our ministry of helping others, that of evil coming against us, and how much power we will have when that evil does come against us. We MUST understand that we ONLY have this power IF we are truly doing the will of God and not our own will.
Now that we have this understanding let us get into the true part of this message.
We have already seen, through our studies in Luke, the great things that Jesus has done and the affect it has had upon the folks of the earth. Here, once again, we see a man that has something wrong with him and Jesus heals him. Here we could, obviously, see the faith that those men had and that Jesus healed him because of such a strong faith. If we had the faith of one ounce of faith compared to what these men had, to try to get into a crowded building of multitudes, climbing to a roof, removing tiles and lowering the mat right in front of Jesus, then just think of the wonders that could be bestowed upon us by our most gracious Father.
What I really want us to notice is what happened when Jesus did heal the man. Jesus told the man his sins had been forgiven and immediately He was ridiculed by the teachers of the law for "thinking" He had the power to forgive sin. This is the same way that we will be ridiculed for trying to spread the name of Jesus, or the Good News. Many teachers will try to turn us from what we know to be God, to things that are not of God.
Jesus asked a question that was a ground breaking question in the help with the footsteps that we are to walk in. Jesus asked which was easier, to say your sins are forgiven or that you are healed. Back in Biblical days it was easier to believe that someone could be healed from sin verses being forgiven of sin, whereas today it is seems that folks believe that they can be forgiven of sin easier than being healed. Is it not the same God that does both and can do one as easily as the other. Jesus then went on to prove that He was truly the Son of God by telling the man he was healed, healing him and the man walking away praising God for the healing. Notice what Jesus was trying to show the teachers of the law. Jesus was showing the men the power of God, NOT that He could heal or even forgive sin. Once we start our walk in Christ, we will also have the power of God in us, because, just as we heard, Jesus gives us the power to do what He did and do it greater. Does this mean that we can forgive sin? NO! It means that we have the power from God and that God works through us to the men. Jesus showed us here that it has nothing to do with us, but the power of God working through us. This is something I am really wanting us to know here, it is NOT by our works, but by the work of God through us.
I want us to notice what happened when Jesus told the man to take up his bed and walk. It says that EVERYONE had great wonder and awe and praised God, saying they had seen amazing things there that day. I bring this up because, it does not say that everyone except the teachers of the law, it states that everyone praised God. When we walk in the footsteps of Christ, He will take action on folks that come against us and turn them to understand who and what God is and is really doing.
The next thing we see is Jesus having a party with a tax collector, named Levi, who we would later come to know as Matthew. The teachers of the law again came at Jesus, wanting to know why He would associate with such scum as the tax collectors. When did this become against the law? The teachers of the law KNEW their own laws. They were attempting to trap Jesus into slipping up with them so they could prove He was merely a man and not God in the flesh. Jesus, again, made another statement that would become a well known message to the world. Jesus said that He came to turn sinners from their sins because healthy folks did not need doctors, sick people did. Jesus was laying out the real reason we are sent and what the true walk in the footsteps are to be, bringing the lost back to the flock. There are many folks that are living a life of sin and destruction and it is our duty, working with Christ, to turn these folks into folks for God.
When the teachers of the law could not make Jesus slip up, they tried to catch Jesus in another manner. They asked Him why it was that His mean could feast and party when everyone else fasted and prayed. Jesus said, do wedding folks fast when with the groom. Why did Jesus pose this question? Jesus was trying to make the teachers of the law understand that He was the groom and the church was the bride. Jesus wanted them to know and see that He was truly God in the flesh. These folks just could not get it in their heads who Jesus really was.
Lastly, Jesus gave the teachers of the law a parable. The parable that Jesus used is one of using new rags to patch old garments or put new wine in old wineskins. What is it that this parable truly means? Why is it that Jesus compared something old to something new in both scenarios?
Both parables mean the same thing and that is of law and religion. Law can not mix with religion and Jesus was trying to show this when He was sewing one piece of garment onto another or when the wineskins broke with the new wine. One hold firm when the other one comes in contact with it. Jesus was showing that the teachers laws could not mix with the laws of God. He was showing that folks could not turn to God's law unless they had change in their lives because they would not like the new and would say that the old was better. Why is it that folks would say the old is better?
Folks do not like change. Folks want to have their cake and eat it too. This one statement, that Jesus made, is one of the reasons there is so much controversy over the Bible. Folks want to pick and choose what it is they like from both the Bible and the laws. We can not have both worlds. We must turn from the old and embrace the new. Jesus was showing them the way that God had intended things to be and not what was perceived by laws of man. When folks are satisfied with something, it is hard to attempt to sell them something else that they believe to be the same. Folks believed that the law they were living by was of God, and they were, but God was now showing them the new covenant that He was giving by sending His Son to come and die so that we could live.
Let us wrap this message up in a nutshell. Two words, evil and power. We must remember both of these in our walk in the footsteps of Christ. Why must we remember these words? Once we finally give our all to Christ and obey the will of God, we will be confronted with evil or folks that want to turn us from the real will of God. Once we understand that evil will come against us, we must also understand that the power of God will be more powerful than the evil. How is it that a little boy named David was able to kill a fully equipt giant with a small sling shot? How was it that a man named Samson was able to kill a fully staffed army with the jaw bone of a donkey? In both instances evil forces were against them and the full power of God was with them to defeat those evil forces.
We are simply living in a time of good verses evil. When we completely give our lives over to God and turn from the evil ways we once lived, we will be engulfed with the power that God will use, through us, to get His will done.
Are you willing to walk in the footsteps of Christ, the way we were designed to be? Are you willing to face the evil forces that will come against you? Are you ready to be embodied with the power of Christ and God, to perform His will? If you have never turned your life over to Christ and you would like to learn how, all you have to do to get started is say a simple prayer with me.
Say this simple prayer with me, Dear Lord, I want you to be the Lord over my life, forgive me of my sins, and give me the gift of everlasting life. Amen.
If you have said this simple prayer, then we believe that you have received salvation. We would love to rejoice with you, so please drop us a note, in our link, to let us know and confess Jesus before man, so that we may send you a few things that we hope will help you in your new Christian walk.
With Love in Christ, Pastor Stone
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