Mark 2:18-22
18Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?"
19Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
21"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins."
timeout.
intercession is like my long lost love. I used to intercede so much. I saw so much fruit. But now, i feel like an old-retired athlete who can only look at his 'glory-days' (ironic, yeh?). I feel like an old widower (to clear up vocab.. that's a man who lost his wife.. not a man who died and made his wife a widow).
i've missed it so much. since summer at ignite, I have seldom interceded for friends this semester. I feel bad, because I know that God wants to do a lot of work, and I know that He would love for me to ask Him favors.. but for some reason, I haven't been disciplined in my intercession. I've been focusing on myself a lot - which is not inherently a bad thing - but an effect has been 'possible loss of blessing for others'.
recently, I have begun to intercede again. I find joy in partnering with God through intercession. I've really missed this kind of joy. It's so deep, and it confirms my role as an intercessor. I'm lovin' it.
now, back to the wineskins.
old wineskin: spiritual disciplines because of duty and tradition
new wineskin: spiritual disciplines to seek intimacy
Jesus came with a new agenda. At a wedding, the main action of celebration is feasting. If you decide not to eat, you decide to not celebrate the wedding. When you make this kind of decision, you are putting your tradition and duty of discipline above intimacy. It's Mary and Martha. It's a problem; and that's why Jesus addressed it. Jesus came with a new agenda: He came to celebrate with us.
But, 'the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.' When Jesus departed, up to heaven, it was time to fast. We knew fasting was a way to seek out God and His blessing (which sounds controversial to some.. but it's biblical), because the Spirit taught us and Matthew recorded it.
Second of all, the Father likes what you're doing, it pleases Him, and he rewards you. The reward is a promise.
This shouldn't be controversial because one of the requirements of the promise is that you do it for intimacy with God. This protects people from fasting in order to gain reward from God - because under THOSE conditions, a reward is not promised. No controversy. Honest heart = blessing.
The Cloth is really the same story. The only emphasis in the cloth that is different from the wineskin is that the new cloth can pull away from the old cloth, and it's a bad thing. It's because the new cloth was not treated properly. The idea is that the old cloth was treated and being used correctly (it used to be proper to fast out of duty/tradition alone - as if it were a law). However, the new cloth needs to be treated in order to be used properly, and this treatment is the inclusion of 'the motivation of intimacy' - this is the new law. Even if you are fasting out of discipline, you are keeping the discipline because you know that God will eventually meet you in the secret place. If you have completely lost sight of this, if you are fasting only because the law requires it, it serves almost no purpose to God (except that it shows obedience to authority).
18Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?"
19Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.
21"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins."
timeout.
intercession is like my long lost love. I used to intercede so much. I saw so much fruit. But now, i feel like an old-retired athlete who can only look at his 'glory-days' (ironic, yeh?). I feel like an old widower (to clear up vocab.. that's a man who lost his wife.. not a man who died and made his wife a widow).
i've missed it so much. since summer at ignite, I have seldom interceded for friends this semester. I feel bad, because I know that God wants to do a lot of work, and I know that He would love for me to ask Him favors.. but for some reason, I haven't been disciplined in my intercession. I've been focusing on myself a lot - which is not inherently a bad thing - but an effect has been 'possible loss of blessing for others'.
recently, I have begun to intercede again. I find joy in partnering with God through intercession. I've really missed this kind of joy. It's so deep, and it confirms my role as an intercessor. I'm lovin' it.
now, back to the wineskins.
old wineskin: spiritual disciplines because of duty and tradition
new wineskin: spiritual disciplines to seek intimacy
Jesus came with a new agenda. At a wedding, the main action of celebration is feasting. If you decide not to eat, you decide to not celebrate the wedding. When you make this kind of decision, you are putting your tradition and duty of discipline above intimacy. It's Mary and Martha. It's a problem; and that's why Jesus addressed it. Jesus came with a new agenda: He came to celebrate with us.
But, 'the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.' When Jesus departed, up to heaven, it was time to fast. We knew fasting was a way to seek out God and His blessing (which sounds controversial to some.. but it's biblical), because the Spirit taught us and Matthew recorded it.
- 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Second of all, the Father likes what you're doing, it pleases Him, and he rewards you. The reward is a promise.
This shouldn't be controversial because one of the requirements of the promise is that you do it for intimacy with God. This protects people from fasting in order to gain reward from God - because under THOSE conditions, a reward is not promised. No controversy. Honest heart = blessing.
The Cloth is really the same story. The only emphasis in the cloth that is different from the wineskin is that the new cloth can pull away from the old cloth, and it's a bad thing. It's because the new cloth was not treated properly. The idea is that the old cloth was treated and being used correctly (it used to be proper to fast out of duty/tradition alone - as if it were a law). However, the new cloth needs to be treated in order to be used properly, and this treatment is the inclusion of 'the motivation of intimacy' - this is the new law. Even if you are fasting out of discipline, you are keeping the discipline because you know that God will eventually meet you in the secret place. If you have completely lost sight of this, if you are fasting only because the law requires it, it serves almost no purpose to God (except that it shows obedience to authority).
