Brent Barnett
Luke 5:36-39 says, “And He was also telling them a parable: ‘No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, “The old is good enough.”‘”
Jesus’ ministry came at a time when Judaism had been severely perverted into an outrageous system of rule keeping with self-righteous teachers presiding as rulers over the people of Israel. Rather than look at how the Old Testament foretold of Christ’s coming and sacrifice, they ignored what had come in the person of Christ in exchange for what had been. The Pharisees and many of the Jews had become enslaved to a thinking process that loved the old ways. Now, there is nothing wrong with being nostalgic or reflecting upon the past, but it becomes wrong when it controls us to the extent that we are unable to put it out of our minds. The Jews were so consumed with Moses and the Law that they could not recognize God Himself in their midst. Though they wanted a Messiah, they wanted it their way. They wanted a Messiah Who would bring back the glory days of an earthly kingdom as it had been under David and Solomon. They wanted the past, and because they thought that the old was good enough, they missed the future which was right before their very eyes. They were satisfied with the old wine, and their clouded view of the past led them to miss the new wine in Jesus which was far better.
In order for them to receive the new wine, they needed to realize that they would have to lay aside their system of self-righteous Law-keeping. Jesus preached a message of forgiveness, healing, grace, and life. He didn’t come to set up an earthly empire, but He came to demonstrate His eternal power and overcome the world. He didn’t come to show that Law-keeping was the way to eternal life, but He Himself fulfilled the Law because no man could do it (Romans 3:23, 8:4). The Law brought condemnation and showed man his inability to keep it (Galatians 3:24). Jesus came to bring life, and life to the full (John 10:10).
Old wineskins were fitting for the old wine. The Law did its job, and it did it well (Romans 7:12). But its job was to point people to the cross and to Christ, Who had come in the flesh. If new wine was available in Jesus, then it made no sense to put it into old wineskins which would break as soon as the wine was poured in. The Law had done its job, and the new wine needed new wineskins. The new wine of forgiveness in Christ needs to go in the new wineskin of grace. We were under law, but now we are under grace (Romans 6:14). The old covenant is over, and the new covenant has been established. Christ is the centerpiece and the focus. We must drink of Him (John 7:37).
If we find ourselves still trying to earn our way into God’s favor, we need to lay aside the old and receive the grace and forgiveness of Christ. If we are attempting to manipulate God into giving us what we want in life, we need to stop drinking of the old wine and simply receive the blessings which He graciously gives as He knows best.
Trying to do things on our own strength apart from Christ is like pouring wine into a leaky wineskin. It will never work. Do we want to be full in Christ? Do we want to experience the promised abundant life? Life to the full is found in abandoning the old wine, taking hold of the new wineskin by faith in Christ, and allowing Him to fill us and empower us as He pours the new wine of His grace into our hearts.
Signing for God brings you Billy Krahl bringing the Bible to life. Click HERE for a complete study guide version.
Billy Krahl delivers this powerful message. To watch with audio and teaching guide click HERE.
Every day deaf Christians live their life not knowing how powerful their testimony is. In your world there are no words, only actions,signs so to speak, that reveal to those how watch and see, what it really means to be a Christian. We all know the phrase, “words are cheap”, but to the non hearing world that is far from true. Every word, every meaning is sent with motion, with feeling, with a purpose and it delivers more than just a word. It delivers the impact of life and all of its emotions. Signing 4 God is here just for that reason.
God knows how alone you often feel being in a hearing world. He knows how much it takes to not become angry at those who ignore you, those who pass you off as another “one of those people”. Know in your heart that Jesus is always there for you, always ready to stand for you and He never, ever, forgets you.
Of all the deaf in this country alone, only about 2 percent are Christians, and more than 80% have never heard the name of Jesus, or anything about Him. So in the next few weeks, be watching, as we begin an outreach series; “Preaching to Deaf Ears with Signs and Wonders”
There will be videos to watch, tracts to download and print and much much more.
Preached on 6-8-2008
To see the entire sermon with study guide click HERE
This sermon was preached June 15th 2008
And pah! Jari Saavalainen’s sermon (first time ever on the Internet) is now available It is entitled “The Deaf Shall Know the Truth.” on the SGDF website Be sure and visit them and show your support.
Here is a quote from the SGDF website along with a link to one of the many sermons which we will be bringing you in the next couple of days.
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Welcome to Deaf Sermons!
This is a portal on
the web that aims to spread the Gospel to the deaf around the world, by
providing opportunities to view the word of God 24 hours a day 7 days a
week. Deaf Sermons site, by the ministry of Sovereign Grace Deaf Fellowship
(SGDF), provides you the opportunity to experience sermons in American
Sign Language of Deaf Pastors/Preachers that holds to the doctrines of
grace, with a Gospel Message given to them by God. Take the opportunity
to view and listen to the distinguished deaf pastors, preachers and
teachers featured. We invite you to visit often, so that you, too, can
become a recipient of the many blessings in store.
Deaf-friendly sermon videos!
The unique
feature of the Sovereign Grace Deaf Fellowship’s sermons is the fact
that you can see two screens at the same time; one screen is for
PowerPoint presentation and the other screen is for sermon in ASL. It
is as if you are there in real life!
Click HERE to watch one of these great messages from God.
“Through Deaf Eyes” is a PBS Home Video. It explores over 200 years of Deaf life in America and presents a broad range of perspectives on what it means to be deaf. The film is propelled by the stories of people, both eminent and ordinary, and shed light on events that shape Deaf lives: the creation of schools for deaf students; the debate about American Sign Language; the campaign for a deaf-friendly telphone, the TTY; the fight for a deaf president at Gallaudet University.
Bringing in a Deaf cinematic lens to the film are 6 artistc works by Deaf media artist. Poignant, sometimes humorous or jarring, these films draw in the artists’ own lives and cover subjects that confront not only deaf Americans, but all Americans. But the core of the film remains the larger story of a hidden and complex culture in America-a story of conflicts and prejudice that reaches the heart of what it means to be human.
I would recommend anyone that considers working with any language and culture group to watch this video. Growing up with Deaf people have helped me to “see” life from a unique prespective that still impacts my life today.
“They are facing not a theory but a condition, for they are first, last, and all the time the people of the eye.” George Veditz, President of
The National Association fo the Deaf 1910
