Luke 5
Vs. 29-35
“Levi (Matthew) gave a great banquet
for Him at his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others
who were reclining at the table with them. 30 The
Pharisees and their scribes [seeing those with whom He was
associating] began murmuring in discontent to His disciples, asking,
“Why are you eating and drinking with the tax collectors and sinners [including
non-observant Jews]?” 31 And Jesus replied to
them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician,
but [only] those who are sick. 32 I did not come
to call the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to
repent], but sinners to repentance [to change their old way of
thinking, to turn from sin and to seek God and His righteousness].”
33 Then
they said to Him, “The disciples of John [the Baptist] often practice fasting
and offer prayers [of special petition], and so do the disciples of
the Pharisees; but Yours eat and drink.”34 Jesus said to
them, “Can you make the wedding guests of the bridegroom fast while he is
with them? 35 But days [for mourning] will come
when the bridegroom is [forcefully] taken away from them. They will
fast in those days.”
Jesus
was questioned by the Pharisees and teachers of the law that had already tasted
the old wine, about why His disciples were not fasting. It was good enough for them, and made them feel good. They were
used to it and could not imagine anything better than what they had or the experience
they had, so they tried to "corner HIM" so to speak. They
attempted to place human expectations on Him based on their old models, which
He would not accept.
Prayer:
- Lord,
help me to let go of my past experiences that will stop change from taking
place in me, according to Your plans.
Vs. 26-39
”He also
told them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new
garment and puts it on an old one; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the
piece from the new will not match the old.37 And no one puts
new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new [fermenting] wine
will [expand and] burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the
skins will be ruined. 38 But new wine must be put into
fresh wineskins.39 And no one, after drinking old wine,
wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is fine.’”
Wine
is made from crushing grapes and releasing
the juices. Then the juice is fermented, so that it converts to alcohol.
This process of fermentation releases gases as the chemical process
occurs. This process takes time, and while it is happening, there needs
to be a place for the gases to go. New wine kept in new wineskins would stretch
and not break whereas the old wineskins would break.
Vs. 37
"And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new [fermenting] wine
will [expand and] burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the
skins will be ruined."
I
see the “New Wine” as the Holy Spirit and His operations - fermenting change
that the old forms or ways things have been set could not contain.
Prayers
- Dear Lord, let your Holy Spirit and Your complete gospel do a total and full work of change in my life and my home.
- Make my life have impact on the lives of people and nations you have attached to my life.
- Help me Lord, not to listen to teachings that are a form of “yeast” which is out to alter the full and true gospel and the works of the Holy Spirit in my life.
- Part of the works of the Holy Spirit is to remove any works of the flesh remaining in our lives - “yeasts”. Lord, please hasten the evacuation process in my life.
- New wineskins were always required to preserve the sweetness of the juice because they are free from residual yeast.
- Make my life free of “residual yeast” Lord, so that my life - my new wineskin - will be able to preserve Your Word and be totally effective.
... burst the skins and it will be spilled out...
The full gospel is to be preserved and spread around without being
contaminated. The Holy Spirit must be allowed to carry out His works. I see us
as people who are fortunate and have been given the opportunity to preserve the
“New Wine” for as long as possible. Take His Word as it is delivered to us; do
not contaminate it. Spread it and allow the Holy Spirit a free flow.
Prayers
- Lord, help me not to disappoint You, nor delay Your work, nor
terminate the work which you have started and You have called me to be a
part of
- It is only by the help of the Holy Spirit that we can break all
barriers to spread the gospel. Let us ask for His help.
- Lord, let Your sacrifice at the Cross of Calvary
not be wasted on account of my life.
WE HAVE NO POWER OF OUR OWN
WE
HAVE NO POWER OF OUR OWN
HOLY
SPIRIT, WE LOOK UNTO YOU, HELP US
WE
HAVE NO POWER OF OUR OWN
