“Through the Looking Glass” The Kingdom of Heaven as seen through the parables of Jesus
“For now we see through a glass…” – I Cor. 13:12
“Stre-e-e-etch!”
Patches & Wineskins: Mark 2:21-22
21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined.
No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”
NEW PATCH ON OLD GARMENT: CHANGE IN NEW FABRIC WOULD PULL AWAY FROM UNCHANGING OLD FABRIC.
NEW WINE IN OLD WINESKIN: CHANGE IN NEW WINE WOULD BURST THE UNCHANGING OLD SKIN.
CONTEXT: Jesus asked about why his disciples were not fasting and John the Baptist’s were… he explained that there will be phases of God’s work on earth that will elicit fasting and this was not one of those. The ritual will flow with the dynamics of the work.
GOD’S WORK ON EARTH IS A CREATION IN PROGRESS.
- THE “BLUEPRINT” EXISTED BEFORE CREATION
- THE FALL
- THE LAW
- OLD COVENANT
- JESUS (NEW COVENANT)
- THE HOLY SPIRIT
- THE CHURCH
- THE SECOND COMING
CREATION IN PROGRESS IS IN CONSTANT CHANGE.
GOD’S PEOPLE ARE A CREATION IN PROGRESS.
II Corinthians 4:16 inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
II Corinthians 3:18 we… are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory…
Philippians 1:6 he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day
of Christ Jesus.
GOD’S FAITHFUL PEOPLE ARE IN CONSTANT CHANGE.
IF WE STOP BEING CREATED, WE STOP BEING HIS KINGDOM.
II Peter 1:5-9 5 …make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness,
knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance,
godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess
these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in
your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and
blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
BECAUSE GOD CONTINUES “DOING A NEW THING,”
WE MUST STRE-E-E-TCH
I Corinthians 9 22-23 I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel…
“Whoever has ears, let them hear.” – Matthew 11:15