The other day I had the opportunity to talk with a couple of great young men
- About their understanding of the Christian life
- I was trying to get them to articulate
- How their faith influenced their lives
- Day to day
- I wanted them to tell me as best they could
- How their faith influenced the way they made decisions
- The way it influenced their relationships and actions and decisions
I don’t know if you have given it much thought
- But those questions are important
- They form our faith framework
- Around which we organize our lives
- The trouble with many of us
- Is that our faith is in one box
- And our daily lives are in another
- Or maybe we carry our faith with us
- But only use it on Sunday mornings
I want to look at some Scriptures and ponder this issue
- Having an understanding of your worldview or faith framework
- Can help you see
- What is important
- And what is not
- Much clearer
- It also might show where our lives don’t match up with our faith
Well, my conversation with these guys stumbled along
- As they searched to verbalize answers to these questions
- So I turned to some verses
- And asked them to consider what they meant to them
- We started with Matt 9:16-17
Matt 9:16-17
16 And who would patch an old garment with unshrunk cloth? For the patch shrinks and pulls away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger hole than before. 17 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. The old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. That way both the wine and the wineskins are preserved."
NLT
Patches on an old garment?
- Old and new wineskins?
- What does that have to do with the things we are discussing here?
- Well, we used to be old wineskins
- We were what we had become as those who did not know Christ
- We were full of old wine
- The wine of the world
- The ways of the world were what fill us up
- It was what we held inside
- But then we met Christ somewhere along the way
- And He made us new wineskins
- To hold a new wine
- Not the wine of the world
- But a new wine of Heaven
- The wine Jesus said He would drink new with us in Heaven
- If we tried to put the new wine in an old wineskin
- What would happen?
- Yep, we would have a big rupture
- And lose both the skin and the wine
- That is why we have to become new creatures
- When we come to Christ
- The old cannot hold the Spirit and the new life
- He puts in us
- He makes a new skin to hold the new life and Spirit
What kind of wineskin are you?
Turn to Ephesians 2:10
Eph 2:10
10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
NLT
-
- We are a masterpiece
- Not just any masterpiece
- But God’s masterpiece
- He created us anew in Christ Jesus
- New, a new wineskin
- Not a reconditioned or retread wineskin
- But a brand spanking new one
- We are not junk either
- We are His masterpiece
- Not a make over Oprah-style
- But new work of excellent quality
- Reflect His glory
- Look around and see what God has done
- Of course if you look at the outside only
- You might miss the beauty and perfection of God’s work
- He works inside, in the heart
- And He did this so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago
- We were made new for a purpose
- For His purpose
- A purpose He established long before we knew Him
- When we were still old wineskins full of the world’s wine
- Did you realize you are a masterpiece made for a purpose
Look at 1 Cor 2:12-13
- And see what kind of wine he has put in us
1 Cor 2:12-13
12 And God has actually given us his Spirit (not the world’s spirit) so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
NLT John 8:12
- He has given us His Spirit
- Not the world’s spirit
- Not the ways of the world
- But His Spirit,
- Even Himself
- So we can know truth and purpose
- His truth and His purpose
- And when we receive Him
- We can know the wonderful things God has freely given us
- What are some of those things?
We are new wineskins
- Filled with His Spirit
- So we can do what He purposed for us long ago
- This allows us to know what God has given us freely
Not only did God make us masterpieces and give us His Spirit
- He changed our environment
- Think of it
- Where did we dwell before Christ
- We were in the world and filled with the spirit of this world
- We were worldly in every way
- Then Jesus came into our lives
- And everything changed
- Even if we are unaware of the changes
- Look at John 8: 12
12 Jesus said to the people, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life."
NLT
- He gave us light
- He is our light
- If we follow Him
- We won’t go around stumbling
- Like people who live in darkness
- We won’t be living lives filled with darkness
- We won’t go around doing the deeds of darkness
- You know what they are
- Those things you won’t want other people to find out you did
- We live in the light
- We are in fact filled with light
- And are light to those around us
- They can experience Christ’s light by being around us
- We are to witness to the light
- Witness to Christ’s mighty work in us
- The problem is we often live
- Just like those who live in darkness
- We act just like the rest of the rats and roaches
- That inhabit the dark places
- We don’t enjoy what God has given us
- And miss out on the pure wonder of seeing with eyes made wide open by His Spirit
We are warned to be careful how we live
- Look at 2 Cor 6:14-18
2 Cor 6:14-18
14 Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can goodness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? 15 What harmony can there be between Christ and the Devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? 16 And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:
"I will live in them
and walk among them.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
17 Therefore, come out from them
and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord.
Don’t touch their filthy things,
and I will welcome you.
18 And I will be your Father,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty."
NLT
- Here we are called the temple of God
- And we are called to live like people of light
- Now that doesn’t mean we are not to interact with those who are in darkness
- No, it means we are to remain those who live like new wineskins
- In an old wine world
- We deal with them
- But we tell of the renewal possible in Christ
- Rather than allowing them to try to get us to fill up on old wine
- We tell them the good news
- And live in peace with them
- We try to do those good deeds God planned for us
- Many of them are to help unbelievers
- See what God does and
- How God is
- Through His work in and through us
- How can us be in the world and of it?
But we often keep trying to be successful in this world
- The same way those outside Christ try
- We put our sights on money, possessions
- Position and popularity
- Or on Sex or drugs or having the good life
- We pursue what the world says is valuable and worthy
- But remember the world is in darkness
- They can’t see what God has shown us
- They don’t see beyond today
- And have no clue to what is real
- Jesus warned us not to fall into the trap of chasing the world’s dreams
- But to remember in the reality there is only one thing necessary
- Look at Matt 16:24-27
Matt 16:24-27
"If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. 26 And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?
NLT
- What has real value?
- To give up our lives for Him
- To live for Him under His direction
- Doing what He prepared for us to do long ago
- To live in the light
- Not as the world lives
Romans 12:1-2 tells us how to live that way
- Turn there and read with me
Rom 12:1-2
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.
NLT
- We need to be transformed
- We need to be continually made into a new person
- Into the image of Christ
- Someday we will be just like He is now
- God is working in us
- Transforming us day by day
- Decision by decision
- Act of obedience by act of obedience
- Until we are completely Christ-like
- Our part is to present ourselves to God
- Say here I am
- Put ourselves on the altar as a sacrifice for Him to do with as He wants
- Just like a doctor can’t operate to save a person’s life
- Until they come and allow him to cut
- So God won’t transform you
- Until you willing come and present yourself to Him
- When you do
- Wonderful things happen
- You start to see and understand
- What God has given you
- You understand how He wants you to live
- You begin to see what pleases Him
- You start to realize His purpose for you
- You start to experience Him in all His glory
- How can we be living sacrifices?
The rest of the good news is
- That He will not fail to finish the work
- He will finish the masterpiece He started in you
- He will see the project through to the last detail
- Look at Phil 1:6
Phil 1:6
6 And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.
NLT
I want you to ponder this a lot
- I want you to read these verses
- And pray about what God would have you understand
- About them
- I want you to see what God is asking you to do and be
- He wants you to understand
- That faith is suppose to be your way of live
- Every day
- Day in and day out
- He wants you to understand
- That the reason you live today is to serve Him
- To know Him and to make Him known
Last week, Mike asked us to commit to make friends with an unchurched or unsaved person or family in the next 6 months
- The goal would be to become their friends
- And be the holy influence
- That would lead them to want to know
- What God has done in you
- That they need in their lives
- You can’t do that if you live just like they do
- Value just the same things they do
- They don’t want more of what they already have
- That hasn’t brought peace or hope to them
- No, they need and want
- Though they might not know it yet
- Christ and His light and life
- We are to take it to them
- By living like what we have been made to be
- New wineskins
- Filled with new wine-
- The Spirit of God
Prayer
Invitation
