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June 8, 2021 8:00 am
Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. Fabrics already. The new fabric take my boss can do. That's called the old covenant. This is called the new receipt you can't put a price and is in some religious system. You can't do it is impossible.
One is based on human works. The other is based on the grace of God. You can't mix them effigies same joining of today on this additional fellowship in the world. Pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry officials about the church located in Metairie, Louisiana that's going Pastor Bill Gebhardt now is once again he shows us how God's word.
Our world with me to Matthew chapter 6 Matthew chapter 6 you may wondered how how come John the Baptist disciples are also fasting and praying.
Please understand this a lot of John the Baptist disciples did know much about Jesus. Some people when Jeep member of Jesus is baptized by John and Johnson, behold the Lamb of God, it takes away the sins of the world. If you were there that day you would know that John right now is nowhere to be fun is in prison.
His voice is still he's now in prison waiting to be beheaded. So many of his disciples. These were Jews and whatnot baptized by John and you're all excited that Messiah is coming.
Not sure yet even who Jesus is but they're going to do the good religious things at the top by Judaism by the scribes and Pharisees. The best example I can think of this in acts chapter 19 in a missionary journey. They wanted to. Some guys all the way in Greece and when they run into them.
They say John, have you received the Holy Spirit and the guys I love the response we never even heard of the Holy Spirit when you know what you're talking about, so they should wait and what baptism were you baptized in a St. John's bed, Bobby going to pass over something that baptized by John and then went back to Greece and going about Jesus member there's no media they're not writing you listen on the radio, hereby Jesus watch them on TV text about Jesus. Nothing's going on like that then you know Jesus was so they end up receiving Christ way later, all the way in acts 19 so there practicing religion well when you get that Matthew six, the sermon on the Mount, Jesus wants to speak and notice how he starts. He said beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them. That's Jesus definition religion you want to know what is definition. Religion is there – practice your righteousness before men, so they can see what you're doing whatever it is he said beware of that he said he said otherwise you will have no reward with her father is in heaven. God's as the religion is a work like that true religion doesn't work like that is not to be noticed by people. Jesus is so when you give to the poor do not sign the trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may be honored by men it not interesting, let's help the poor got $100 or to help the poor, bump, bump, I got 100 bucks for what you see the poor going to get this would never do that would and someone makes a donation. He put his name on a window or pew. We never do that. I see you don't do this be noticed by men. That's what Jesus says. Then he says in verse five when you pray you not to be like the hypocrites they love to stand and pray in the synagogues on the street corners so they may be seen by men.
I said don't do that. He said I said in verse six but you, when you pray going to your inner room, close the door and pray to your fathers and singling your father who sees in secret will reward you any snow. What's this for seven and when you are praying please do not use meaningless repetition of the Gentiles do, and then Jesus is when your public maker prayers short and sweet and so he says please do not use meaningless repetition. Previously, our father who art in heaven, and when we do 2000 years of our father who art in heaven.
This is how Jesus taught us to pray. Are you kidding he said don't praying repetitious prayers. We soreness would be that when that's the church that's how incurably religious. We are this just pray I'm in some of the disciplines. Think about this. It's amazing in order to do penance for your sin, they make you say, 27, our fathers say it over and over and over again and then your sins covered really, how would anybody possibly believe that is not done he says in verse 16 whenever you fast, he said, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their parents so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting true a say to you, they have their reward in full. Pharisees were known on Mondays and Thursdays to get some charcoal and put on the cheeks and run their eyes and probably get there worse close and then walk around. Sorta like this how you don't move him fasting your root godly man, Jesus is very upset by that. This is ridiculous. It's like you don't even understand what a fast is about. If you think of all the fast of the Old Testament. There are many day fast several days fast weeks passed 40 day fast one fast.
Guess how many fast in the Old Testament are commanded by God for us.
One in Leviticus, the day of atonement, the day Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, the nation is the fast, why we are fasting about what our sin, remember that they're going to carry away our sin for another year. Fasting in the Old Testament is always linked to grieving and morning when you're grieving and morning the whole idea of a fast, by the way, and then America's culture is a little gimmick you want to fast for health reasons. Go ahead, but please don't try to combine health reasons with spiritual reasons. The fast of the Bible has nothing to do with how healthy it is for you to fast you want to fast, go ahead. You want faster health go head but don't make it like it spiritual because your fasting that's as bad as what the religious people are doing you fast, because the circumstances of your life are so greedy is so burdensome, so heavy that you don't want to be distracted about anything except prayer to God. You want to eat. Have someone you love very very much fighting for the life in intensive care and get some is not can walk up things and you want to go have dinner, you're not going aria. No one does. Why I'm focused on one thing here life of this person. That's what fasting is. That's what fasting supposedly it's not magical it's not mystical if none of those things. It's a preoccupation with God without distraction. That's what he says you have to do now. We go back to Luke, Jesus says you cannot make the attendance of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them. Can you know he knows the law of the Jewish rabbis had written laws and this makes sense. The Jewish rabbi said it's illegal to faster the wedding. No fasting at weddings.
Why weddings are celebratory. I mean you did when you think of when you think was the deep time of morning.
For some people have been weddings and some of the family members and that there they're struggling to celebrate I got that. But the point of it is it's a time of celebration.
The mood of a group of people at a wedding in the mood of the group of people at a funeral are completely different. See those are completely different moods in the rabbi said you cannot notice what Jesus says, Jesus says, look, you cannot make the attendance of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom's are no remember this the point of the fast is I don't want distracted by anything I wanted simply pray and be as close to God as I can. Through my morning and through my grieving in these difficult circumstances. Now here's Jesus point. The reason my disciple stone path, don't fast is this. You're saying I fast so I get close to God my disciples are right here in what my disciples want to touch God. They touch me see him with them on the grill there happy for me. See, there's no fasting with my disciples.
What would my disciples fast on the broom.
This is a wedding. Then he says something very insightful and prophetic.
He says in verse 35. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them and they will fast in those days. That word taken away is a really interesting word to word is a pair and it means when a when he is snatched violently and suddenly away.
Jesus only knows what's coming.
Use of this can be a day wanted to take me away beat me and mock me and mail me to across my disciples of fasting go faster and they did. I believe clearly in the wind believe that once Jesus was resurrected from the dead. He appeared to them right. Do you remember one of the things he wanted to do with them. Let's eat.
Let's eat whiny telnet.
I believe there fasting and I believe he wants to save the fast is over, guys. I'm raising the dead. The fast any longer. The victory has been one no longer in time for fasting this time of victory Jesus as though fast enough time is right, so that all that gets us to the point where he wants to teach than the principle that I've come up with for today. The incompatibility of his gospel with anything in religion. He says he was telling them a parable. Here's his first one he says 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 goal, not marketing, Matthew talk about this to. They all say the same thing but Jesus point is an interesting point. He said if I have a one piece that I'm wearing over top of me like they got the worst and outer garment and said I got a hornet writer. I wonder somebody here to not get a new piece of fabric, and I do so in an right here. Couple things.
First is you think you'd notice it was zoning. You have an old garment.
You put a new piece of fabric. Anyone notice that of course is a Jesus. And secondly, though he says the new fabric if you so in nice and tight there. Once you wash it and dried the new fabric will shrink your fabrics already shrunk the new fabric will shrink and guess what to do.
You just tear away from your fabric seat. That's what he did not understand what he saying you can't take me on my gospel, and you can sell me back in the Judaism you can do it, you can't. That's called the old covenant. This is called the new covenant. You see, you can't put Christ and his gospel in some religious system.
You can't do it is impossible. One is based on human works. The other is based on the grace of God. You can't mix them.
That's what Jesus is saying he's not done. He then says and no one puts into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spelled out in the skin to be ruined. But the new wine must be put in fresh wineskins. While what he's talking about. Here's the fermenting process yet to get grapes and interning grape juice, and then you start what is the fermenting process and the yeast in it transforms the sugar into what alcohol what's the byproduct carbon dioxide which carbon dioxide experience.
Now how did they carry the wind around. They carried him running goat skins and sheepskins whenever they would slaughter a goat or sheep. They would cut the head off. Usually right behind the head, even neck. They would take out they got all the skin off David so all the links together.
She could carry it see slow the torso together and use the neck that put a time on the neck and in using neck to pour the wine now whenever you put fresh grape juice into a hell of a say, a goat or sheep. It's fresh. The goat and sheep are fresh. They been freshly killed. Their skin is very pliable and so when carbon dioxide occurs in expand and the Jews were so good that they could see one by its expansion know how old it was now what if you have a role skin five-year-old 10-year-old skin it's brittle, it's hard not to put new wine into it in a new one begins to expand what happens. Tears of skin and all the wine runs out you don't have anyone. Jesus said you can't put new wine in old skins what you mean you can't put me into the old skin of Judaism. You can't put me into any religious system you can. This is a new wine for new skin. Is it that's the point I'm trying to make. You can't put me or my gospel, and anything else but he wasn't done. He then says in verse 39 and no one after drinking old wine wishes for new free, says he will once good enough.
That's a sobering point for me. Hope it is for you. We here's what Jesus is telling us it's really hard to convert religious people. It's really hard. Tax collectors are easy. The homeless are easy prisoners and a prisoner easy but when you're trying to convert a deeply religious person, you're in trouble because they like the old whiny own old wineskin and they said that's good enough for me to. That's the stumbling block of the gospel of Jesus Christ is this is an easy this is an easy talking to a religious person about the grace of God is difficult for them to seek and sometimes what they want to do is all safe will WANT to believe what you're saying but I want to keep all my religiosity and add Jesus to it and what the word of God says is you can do that you can add Jesus.
It doesn't work that way he said it will never work in a be exactly like putting new wine in old skin really putting another piece of new sup fabric on an old garment in middle terror, nothing will work that way. I want to illustrate that. Now I want to go with me to Galatians 1.
If there was one religion on earth that Jesus and his gospel should be able to mesh with, don't you think you be Judaism. I mean, of all the religions do you think I'd be the one that's closest Jesus is Jewish. He's their Messiah is the patient sitting there, but he does so the whole letter of Galatians is written because of this principle whenever Paul went to Galatia.
It's a barbarian area in central Turkey. He let a whole bunch of people to Christ whenever he left a group of people called Judaizers followed Paul in the Galatia and here's what they told the Galatians they didn't want to put the Galatians under Jewish law. They didn't do that is what they said book Paul told you about Jesus and his death on the cross and that's all fine, but he missed out on with the one most important point. If you're going to be saved, if you go to heaven. You need to believe in Jesus and all your males have to be circumcised because circumcision is the sign of the covenant you see the metal were telling it. You have to be circumcised if you going to be right with God. So Paul writes Galatians. It's his most emotional letter. He's angry, mad, upset the whole time is writing just one look at a couple verses look at chapter 1 verse six pulses. This I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel. Now that's the first thing he says they change the gospel religion always got to religion always told you, you need to believe in Jesus but there's something you have to do posit that's a different gospel to get it big change the gospel to watch your Sony says, which is really not another only.
There are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ, he said, but even if we are an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached you, let him be accursed. That's eternally damned. He said even if an angel came and told you, you need to believe in Jesus and be circumcised. He said I would pray that he would be eternally damned because he's distorted the gospel. You don't realize it but he just killed grace, he just killed and destroy the grace of God's grace is God's gift is unmerited favor as an offering.
When using ID to believe in Jesus and I need to be circumcised. You've now made salvation a human work. Now it's up to you. You get circuit look you believe in Jesus and your circumcised to go to heaven.
You believe in Jesus and you're not circumcised you're not going to heaven. See that's just religion pulses, that's terrible. Don't buy into that chapter 3 of Galatians. The first couple verses, he says you always Galatians, who has bewitched you before whose eyes was Jesus Christ he said was publicly portrayed as crucified. How did you let someone convince you I was clear on the gospel with you. This is the only thing I want you to find out from you. Did you receive the spirit of God by works of the law or by the hearing of faith look you you put your trust in Christ to receive the Holy Spirit of God, and now you going to go back and be circumcised. He's not done chapter 5 verse one he says it was for freedom that Christ set us free. Therefore keep standing firm and do not subject yourself again to the yoke of slavery. That's the religious gospel. He says behold I Paul say to you that if you receive circumcision.
Christ will be of no benefit to you at all. You can't do it.
You can't mix new wine in old wineskin. You can sew on the new fabric on the old skin you can put in one little work like circumcision and then say we just bring in the center will be of no value to you what all is that I testify again to every man who receive circumcision, that if you do that you are under obligation you gotta keep the whole and no one can do that Jesus Christ is incompatible with any religion in the world and so was his gospel, Darrell Bock, the Greek scholar says the passage also warns against syncretism between Christianity and any other religion or syncretism were possible. One would think Judaism would be the best candidate Judaism was older works of the same God shared the same open the Messiah. Pray for the same deliverance. Jesus made it clear that although he is the fulfillment of the promise a new way he brings is not ever to be mixed with the old.
If Christianity cannot be mixed with Judaism, its closest cousin, then certainly it cannot be mixed with anything else available in the world's cafeteria religions. If you try to do so, you'll destroy both, he said.
We also learned that religious people resist change, even change directed by God message this morning. I just want to think of the implications don't everything for a moment in your own life or the life of anyone else you can mix Jesus Christ and his gospel with anything that's religious because once you mix it with religion destroy the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Spring father. We live in a world so often will become a synchronistic as it can, and it'll say to us I go. I believe in what you say about Jesus and these can be my Savior but I want to practice my religion because that will give me the addition that I need to be justified before God.
I pray if anyone thinks that way in the room, let them look in the Scriptures for themselves.
You just cannot do it. We are saved by the grace of God. It's a free gift.
We can receive that gift we be born again into the family of God by putting our trust and faith in Christ in his finished work on the cross. Father, we cannot mix that with any that's the warning abuses Christ and I pray the bathroom on the radio ministry of fellowship in the world. If you ever missed one of our broadcast or maybe you just like to listen to the message one more time. Remember, you can Google a great website called in one place.com that's one place.com and you can listen the fellowship and the word online at that website you will find on today's broadcast but also many of her previous audio program, had Fellowship in the Word. We are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make his broadcast possible with all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help with radio ministry continuous broadcast on this radio station by supporting us monthly with just a one-time gift support for ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word. 4600 Clearview Pkwy., Metairie, LA 7006 if you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format that is is a sermon, the pastor will delivered during a Sunday morning service of fellowship monitored visit our website FVC Nola.org that FVC and of LA.O RG at our website you will find hundreds of pastoral sermon you can browse through our sermon archives defined sermon series you're looking for or you can search by title. Once you find the message you are looking for.
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