Unexpected - Gospel. Deep Six - March 22, 2015 MESSAGE SUMMARY. Opening

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1 Deep Six - March 22, 2015 MESSAGE SUMMARY Every preacher's dream is to see the truth he preaches lived out in the lives of those he preaches to and certainly this is as it should be. This dream is rooted in our Heavenly Father's desire that there would never be unlived truth in the lives of His people. The "Deep Six" is dedicated to the purpose of helping the people of our church go deeper with the truth they hear on Sundays throughout the other six days of the week. As you work your way through the "Deep Six" you will notice there are now two parts: the "Message Summary" section and the "Discuss Together" section. Daily Devotion materials will now be separate from the Deep Six. Daily Devotions for Monday through Saturday of each week will be available on the home page of the church website on a daily basis under the heading "Daily Devotions." They will also be available along with the Deep Six in printed form at the church by Wednesday of each week.we hope the Deep Six and Daily Devotion materials will assist each of us in some way as we seek to live out the truth of God's word on a daily basis. Unexpected - Gospel Opening We have been looking at Luke 5 - one chapter - over the past few weeks and today we finish up. We have talked about the idea of spending one day with Jesus and most of us have a notion of what that would be like. But it is almost as if he tries to say and do that exact opposite of what we would expect. In just a casual review of the New Testament we might think that Jesus had an ax to grind and that he went out of his way to tick off the religious establishment. That's Luke 5 and in our passage today, Jesus pointedly teaches the religious leaders how his message opposes theirs (the new way Jesus was teaching was a new way of grace, good news, the Gospel). If you have looked ahead you know there are two illustrations Jesus gives that will help us see what it is that is underneath his teaching and this is what we will focus on today. Luke 5:33 says, "One day some people said to Jesus, 'John the Baptist s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?' The religious leaders are asking Jesus why it is they are fasting but he and his merry men are feasting? Here's a little background on fasting. It was an outward religious practice that could be displayed to show everyone they were on board with religious things. In Israel's early days fasting was a once a year thing. After the "exile" it involved four days a year. By the time of Christ the system the Pharisees followed required fasting twice a week on Mondays and Fridays. Jesus is not fasting and they want to know why the tradition is not being observed by him and his

2 disciples. Luke 5:34 says, "Jesus responded, Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not." This was not the answer the religious leaders wanted to hear from Jesus. Luke 5:35 says, "But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. Jesus points out the obvious to them. He does not deny feasting but rather he defends it. Jesus is now ready to point out an all important truth. It is one of the most difficult truths to get - both then and today. This truth is often incompatible with how people are trying to come to Christ. 1 - Incompatible Beliefs Luke 5:36 says, "Then Jesus gave them this illustration: No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn t even match the old garment." Here is what Jesus is saying: feasting and not fasting is not an accident on my part but rather on purpose. I am doing something new and it is incompatible with the old acceptable ways. You cannot take what I am doing and what I am teaching and blend it together with what you do and teach. Romans 11:6 says, "And since it is through God s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God s grace would not be what it really is free and undeserved." This is the message Jesus gave over and over. Put the old garment away and embrace the new garment. Salvation is given and not gotten. Salvation is not through devotion and commitment. Fasting and prayer will not bring you grace. Not all beliefs are equal. You cannot combine the old with the new. It is in the fiber of our being to earn, to measure up, to be worthy. If you try to blend the old with the new, you will miss out on the beauty of what God is doing that is new. Recently our family went for dinner at the home of a Lebanese family. We talked to the kids ahead of time about being on their best behavior. When we arrived there was a spread of great food, authentic lebanese food. Our gracious hostess immediately spoke to the kids and offered them chicken nuggets. Everything in me wanted them to just go with the spread but I couldn't do anything about it. And so they had both. The test came on the drive home when we talked about our favorite food of the evening. Nobody said it was the frozen chicken nuggets. You may want to earn what can be only given but when you do this your are picking chicken nuggets. Sometimes this is all we know. But it's time to get it: salvation is not earned, it is a gift of grace that we receive. It is absolutely not about following rules and observing religious practices.

3 2 - A New Way to Live Luke 5:37-38 says, And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. 38New wine must be stored in new wineskins. We are talking about goat skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins because the fermenting process stretches the new wineskin. An old wineskin has already been stretched and could not withstand being stretched a second time. That's why new wine would burst the old wineskin. So, new wine is not compatible with old wineskins. And that's the simple point of the illustration: the old and the new are not compatible. Luke 5:39 says, "But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. The old is just fine, they say. Here's the problem: those who are stuck in the old way, fasting and earning their way spritually, say the old is just fine. Your system of beliefs trap you and you don't know it. You are stuck in the mentality that if you don't measure up, you are out. You think that if you don't live right, God is leaving. It does seem like a good motivational tool. But understanding that salvation is by grace and is a gift is the key to living fully for God. Perhaps you are one who came intitially just to check things out. And now you are here today having decided you want more but you think what you have been getting can just be added into what you've had. You think you can keep using the old while adding in the new. You really need to understand grace. Romans 8:35A says, "Can anything ever separate us from Christ s love?" What does it take for God to leave? Romans 8:35B-36 says, "Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?" Just because things go south does not mean God is giving up on us. Romans 8:37 says, "No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us." This is the New Testament's answer to the fear that if I don't measure up, God's leaving. ~ The answer for insecurity - it is clearly stated in our Romans passage. Have you ever had a kid who is a runner and needs to be handcuffed to you. We recently visited Washington, DC and went to the Smithsonian Institute. I'm thinking we got to see the "Hope Diamond." The room is packed body to body and I'm holding on to a certain child of mine who's

4 trying to go the other way. All the effort expended at making sure I didn't lose him resulted in missing the beauty of the diamond. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. This reality is where our security comes from. We are absolutely and totally secure in Christ. We are afraid that if we are absolutely secure we will go live however we want. 1 John 4:19 says, "We love Him because He first loved us (NKJV)." ~ The motivation for Living Fully - it is clearly stated in our 1 John passage. God's love motivates us to live for him, not the fear that we will lose him if we do not measure up. If you spend your life afraid, you will throw up your hands in exasperation. Jesus was feasting and not fasting on purpose. The spiritual life you aspire to will not come through fasting and praying so that you measure up and earn it. As long as we try to blend the old and the new we will be frustrated. Closing Maybe you are here today and saying, "I can't do it." You are right, you can't do it. But then again you don't have to. It is the gift of grace. Maybe you here today and you are ready. I want to give you the opportunity to respond to God's grace. With heads bowed and eyes closed, settle back and consider what God is saying. This is the moment for responding to God's invitation. Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, it shall be to you as salvation." When one is ready for grace, God begins with the heart. Prayer is telling God you need forgiveness and that you trust Christ for it. Dear God, You know everything about me: my sin, my faults, my secrets. I confess my sin. I trust Christ alone for forgiveness. Thank you Lord for your grace. Help me to live fully for you. In Jesus' name, Amen! Discuss Together If you haven't had a chance to watch the video of Sunday's message you can go online and do that. The message summary is a great way to review the message. The message highlights below pinpoint the truths that call for a response from us. These highlights provide a focus for talking together with others about what is being said and how you can respond to them.

5 Message Highlights We might think that Jesus had an ax to grind and that he went out of his way to tick off the religious establishment. That's Luke 5 and in our passage today, Jesus pointedly teaches the religious leaders how his message opposes theirs (the new way Jesus was teaching was a new way of grace, good news, the Gospel). Here is what Jesus is saying: feasting and not fasting is not an accident on my part but rather on purpose. I am doing something new and it is incompatible with the old acceptable ways. You cannot take what I am doing and what I am teaching and blend it together with what you do and teach. Salvation is given and not gotten. Salvation is not through devotion and commitment. Fasting and prayer will not bring you grace. Not all beliefs are equal. You cannot combine the old with the new. You may want to earn what can be only given but when you do this your are picking chicken nuggets. Sometimes this is all we know. But it's time to get it: salvation is not earned, it is a gift of grace that we receive. It is absolutely not about following rules and observing religious practices. Here's the problem: those who are stuck in the old way, fasting and earning their way spritually, say the old is just fine. Your system of beliefs trap you and you don't know it. You are stuck in the mentality that if you don't measure up, you are out. You think that if you don't live right, God is leaving. Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. This reality is where our security comes from. We are absolutely and totally secure in Christ. We are afraid that if we are absolutely secure we will go live however we want. God's love motivates us to live for him, not the fear that we will lose him if we do not measure up. If you spend your life afraid, you will throw up your hands in exasperation. Jesus was feasting and not fasting on purpose. The spiritual life you aspire to will not come through fasting and praying so that you measure up and earn it. As long as we try to blend the old and the new we will be frustrated. When one is ready for grace, God begins with the heart. Prayer is telling God you need forgiveness and that you trust Christ for it.us Scripture You will find the Scriptures below from the message and additional ones that go with each part of the message. Take the time to look up and read over as many as you have time for. You can bring questions, insights, or testimony of how God is using His Word in your life to your small group or other settings in which you have opportunity to share with others.

6 Opening Scriptures: Sermon - Luke 5:33-35; Additional Matthew 15:12-13; 2 Corinthians 3:2-6 First Point Scriptures: Sermon - Luke 5:36; Romans 11:6; Additional Ezekiel 11:17-20; Mark 7:13-15, 20-23; Luke 12:1-3; Hebrews 8:7-13 Second Point Scriptures: Sermon - Luke 5:37-39; Romans 8:35, 37; 1 John 4:19; Additional Luke 22:14-20; Hebrews 10:19-23; Colossians 2:16-19; Luke 6:46-49; James 1:21-27 Conclusion Scriptures: Additional Matthew 23:29-39; Revelation 21:5-7; Hebrews 13:20-21 Questions The six questions below are for your personal use initially and for use with others in your small group or other settings in which you have opportunity to share with others. It is hoped that they will provide practical interaction with this week's considerations. Question # 1 Can you recall a time when a family holiday tradation was not upheld and what the reactions were? Question # 2 Can you think of a viewpoint (values, politics, social issues, religious doctrines, etc.) held by someone you know that is totally incompatible with yours? Question # 3 How would you explain the illustrations of the garments and the wineskins in one simple, central point? Question # 4 Do you know of viewpoints on salvation other than "eternal security" and what is your understanding of them? Question # 5 What do you find significant about the 1 John 4:19 statement that God first loved us? Question # 6 What is your story of receiving grace and forgiveness through Christ? Devotions for 6 days

7 Daily Devotions for Monday through Saturday of each week will be available on the home page of the church website on a daily basis under the heading "Daily Devotions." They will also be available in printed form at the church by Wednesday of each week.