Fountain of Life Church
1/2/22 - New Wine for the New Year
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Matthew 2NKJV
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Matthew 9:16–17 NKJV 16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. 17 Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”One of John’s disciples has asked Jesus about fastingHis reply explains that there is a time for fasting, and other ritualsAnd a time notHe then goes on with these examples, which communicate so much more about the Christian LifeOld Wineskins are not for New WineWineskins - bottles, were made of leatherthis would stretch and expand as the wine fermentedputting pressure on the wineskinsnew leather would be able to accommodate the wine - so that both were goodOld Wineskins still had valuethey could be used for water, juice, or other things that would not ferment.They cold last a long timeBut if they were used again for new wine, they would burstthen both the wine, and the wineskins were wastedThe Gospel, the New life in Christ is the New wineThe New Life Cannot be Contained in Old RitualsThe Christian Life cannot be contained on the sacrifice and rituals of the levitical priesthoodWhen Christians try to live as Christians and get caught up in legalism and ritual, it is like putting the new wine in old bottlesThe joy and freedom we have in Christ puts pressure on the legalistic ways, and works based salvationthe person is miserable -they do not fulfill the salvation by works, and they do not enjoy the abundant life in the spiritboth are wastedGalatians 5:1 NKJV 1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.The New Life Cannot Be contained in Old LifestyleMany people become Christians, and then try to live the same way they did beforePart of Salvation is repentanceThe Wine represents the new Spirit that is in youthey Skin is your life, the body that you live inThis new Spirit is from God, and is Holy -Colossians 3:9–10 NKJV 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,So many Christians, or at least so called - become comfortable in their church “clubs”, and resort back to the same way of livingusing their freedom as a cloak for sin,. instead of an escape from its judgementPeople who do this are miserable in their ChristianityThe Spirit puts pressure on the flesh, so that there is no joy or fun in the old waysand the guilt of sin, and its judgement puts pressure on the Spirit, so there is no joy in salvationeventually comes the breakdown, and both are wastedThis is an easy trap to fall into:When salvation is new, there is great joy, freedom, and lifeEventually, troubles come, like weeds in the gardenthese are true to all people - we still live in a broken worldpressure of life, fears, temptations, doubts, hardshipsHow will you respondMany people turn back to the old wine - or the old ways to cope with these “pressures”they make many excusesfinding ways to “justify” their actionsBut, they are miserable, under pressure, and the wine “spirit” is wasted on them, and so is their efforts at changePeople running a race all run - but one wins the prizePaul tells us to run like we want to obtain! Finish your courseThe New Life Cannot Be Contained in Old AttitudesA good many Christians come to Christ and have no problems with past sinful lifestyleseither they have overcome those temptations, or perhaps they were living wholesome lifestyles before - although apart from ChristYet, so many of these folks, immediately turn back to their old “attitudes” whenever they are “tried” or temptedWhat do you do when people disappoint you? Offend you? Disagree with you? Hurt your feelings? Etc.?Matthew 5:43–46 NKJV 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?The Old “skin” loves the people who love me, and hates my enemythe New skin loves my enemy alsothis is easy to preach - harder to doWhen someone curses you, do you run and get some old wine for your skin?So many pseudo Christians miss it here -They have become Christians - so calledthey don’t curse anymorethey don’t drink, smoke or use drugsthey don’t cheat on their spouses, or fornicatethey even show up in church and giveBut, after a short time of joy in their Christian walk, they fill the new bottle of life in Christ, witht he old wine of bad attitudes,of rudeness, hatred, unforgiveness, and selfishnessthis leads to a miserable Christian life - decieved by self serving, and never knowingt he fullness of joy that is in the new skinIts a New Year, Lets dump the old wineskinsNew years is a good time for evaluationBoth individually and corporatelyas we enter 2022, lets review ourselves - according to 2 Cor. 13:5Be certain that this new Spirit - New Life, He has given us, is still in the New Lifestyle He intended for it!Let’s look like Him, and walk like Him Matthew 9:16–17NKJV
Galatians 5:1NKJV
Colossians 3:9–10NKJV
Matthew 5:43–46NKJV
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