In as much as we love to hold on to the year/decade, that was, it is not the wise. The old has gone, and the new has come! We embrace all that God has lined up to prepare His Bride for His imminent return. We must continue to evolve as an individual and as a Church family. Nonetheless, our biblical message is unchanged - Christ as Saviour, Healer, Baptizer, and King. We are called to save souls and help people grow in the Lord. We win them for Jesus and make them disciples of Christ. By the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, the zeal of the Lord will help us.
New Year, a new decade! Listen to this, due to expected population growth in Carlingford-Telopea-Dundas-Parramatta and neighboring suburbs; the NSW government permanently shut down the CARLINGFORD RAILWAY LINE (slide of old Telopea) to make way to the construction of the new transportation system – the Parramatta Light Rail.
At 1:15 am this morning, in Clyde station, the last and final passenger services to and from the Carlingford Railway line marked the end of a 135-year-old train line that opened in 1885. From today and until 2023, the line is now serviced by bus route 535 to and from Parramatta. Even with the best intention and the best of conditions, some residents believed that the change is not needed. Some residents of Telopea and Carlingford recalled the fond memories they had with the stations from when they were little children. Some were teary as they spoke in cameras. Change is always difficult. Change affects the physical as well as the mind, the heart, and the soul, and the spirit of a person.
You don't change something just for the sake of it. You must have a compelling reason to embrace and welcome change – to ditch the old in favor of the new. Well, Jesus ditches the old ways of coming to God, in favor of the new. And He did not apologize for doing so, nor did he asked permission or approval from people who were stuck with the old ways.
In Jesus's time, everyone was expected to fast, and when they fast, the ambiance and countenance must be that of sorrow and sadness. Jesus implied, “that’s what you used to do, but not anymore!” Did he not rock the boat of the Jews and the Pharisees with his response? Jesus says: "you don't put a sad face when the bridegroom is here! When the bridegroom is no longer here, then that is the right time to fast. In the Presence of Jesus, sorrow and sadness go away. In the presence of Jesus, grief and sadness are replaced by fullness of joy. And so, after Jesus ascended in heaven, when the church fasted, sorrow was not present (Acts 13:2–3; 14:23; 27:1–38). But, celebration and intimacy with God!
It is often difficult, if not impossible, to put new things into old ways.
When it comes to matters of His Kingdom, Jesus used two examples to describe the INCOMPATIBILITY OF THE OLD way and the new way.
Lk 5:36–39 And He was also giving them an illustration: No one having torn a patch from a garment new and fresh in quality and use, puts it upon an old worn-out garment. Otherwise, he will both tear the new clothing, and the patch from the new garment will not match the old, worn-out one. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”
Mk 2:22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.”
Mt 9:17 Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
The old garment and the new piece of garment have nothing in common. To patch the old with a new piece of garment will not do much good. The new will not help the old because the rest of the clothing still has the quality of the old and crumbled thread. More importantly, the old will tear the new apart.
Winemaking has always been a major industry in Syria-Palestine. They understand the mechanics of growing and keeping their winemaking business. They know that every drop of a fine wine brings profit and so, they had to preserve, store, and transport the wine with the best container possible. And nothing beats the wineskins to do the job. Wineskins are a skin of animals like goats that are sewn together to hold the wine. When a new wine is placed into a new wineskin, the wineskin expands/stretch to its limits as a reaction to the fermentation process that is taking place in the wine. Mark 2:22 and Mat. 9:17 says the wisest thing to do is to put the "new wine into new wineskins.”
The GOSPEL OF JESUS IS THE NEW WINE. It must be placed into new wineskins.
No winemaker in his right mind will dare put new wine into old wineskins. The new wine will not adjust to the form of the old wineskin. It will continue to ferment. And, because old wineskins have been stretched to capacity and had reached its full limits. By this time, it had shrunk. It is brittle and no longer able to expand. It has lost its elasticity and flexibility. It cannot accommodate and hold the nature of new and fresh wine. The old wineskin will not able to withstand the pressure. It will eventually burst when it reached its breaking point, and it will! When it does, it's not going to be a win-win situation. You lost the wine from leaking/spilling, and you have a ruined, broken wineskin. Both have become useless!
You cannot pour the new message of the gospel into the old container of the law. To mix law and grace is to cause confusion and destroy both. Mixing the Old and New Covenant leads to religious confusion. When we speak of the Law, we mean legalism. Legalism does not respect grace. Legalism does not exercise love. Legalism is a bondage of the mind that is married to a way of thinking that allows no room for Christian maturity that Jesus wrote in Luke 6:27-36:
(v27) But to you who are listening, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, (28) bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (29) If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shift from them. (30) Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. (31) Do to others as you would have them do to you. (32) If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. (33) And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. (34) And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. (35) But love your enemies, do good to them and lend to them without expecting anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High because he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. (36) Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
This year, let us put the gospel of Christ into new wineskins. Remove it from our container of legalism and put it into a container of love and grace.
This year, let us let stop drinking the “old wine.” Let us teach ourselves to desire the new. It is not going to be automatic.
(v39) And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’
YOU AND I MUST UNDERSTAND THAT OUR EXPERIENCES IN LIFE DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY TEACH US TO BE BETTER IN A PARTICULAR AREA OF LIFE. BUT EVALUATED EXPERIENCE DO. Take a look at this. Based on evaluated experience by the NSW Transport Department. They anticipated that by 2026, around 28,000 people are expected to use Parramatta Light Rail every day. They also estimated that there'd be 130,000 people will be living within walking distance of light rail stops. Why Change a 135 train system that still works? (SLIDE OF THE LINE)
Frequent 'turn-up-and-go' services and better connections between Carlingford, Parramatta CBD, and the Westmead Precinct, will cut the current 30 minutes interval between services around every 7.5 minutes.
Commuters traveling to the Sydney CBD will be able to change at the Parramatta Interchange and access regular express trains to the city, without having to change trains at Clyde.
Replacing the T6 Carlingford train line with light rail will enable Carlingford residents and workers to get to the Parramatta CBD in just under 20 minutes. We expect to see vibrant emotions from commuters when the new light rail opens in 2023. The (show slide of new station) route will link Parramatta’s CBD and train station to the Westmead Precinct, Cumberland Precinct, the Bankwest Stadium, the Camellia Town Centre, the new Powerhouse Museum and Riverside Theatres, the private and social housing redevelopment at Telopea, Rosehill Gardens Racecourse and three Western Sydney University campuses. Exciting times ahead to communities around these areas.
I ENCOURAGE YOU TO EVALUATE YOUR LIFE EXPERIENCES IN 2019 AND make the necessary change. Money matters, relationship matters, professional, work ethics, etc. spiritual. Have you been knocked down last year? If so, why and what contributes to that experience? Poor choices, wrong decisions, selfish desires, whatever the case may be. 2020 is your best year to make the change! And by the way, you are not the only one who is making doing that. CLG is doing the same thing. We have evaluated 2019 and have made changes in a lot of things. IN 2020, OUR THEME IS NEW WINE INTO NEW WINESKIN.
Just as the old Carlingford train line will not be able to cope with the new demands of the times, we Christians cannot hold onto old wineskins. We must put the new wineskin of Christ's gospel that redeemed us. We can do this by putting on the mindset of a victor, not that of a victim, a new way of living, a new way of loving God and loving people. We must evaluate our experiences of victories and failures, strength, and weaknesses and make the necessary changes in 2020. Paul said, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." (Phil 4:13). The grace of God and the Presence of the Holy Spirit will help you ditch the old so you can embrace the new.
CHANGE IS NOT SOMETHING WE SHOULD FEAR. IT IS SOMETHING WE SHOULD EMBRACE. FOR GOD SAYS: “FORGET THE FORMER THINGS; DO NOT DWELL ON THE PAST. SEE, I AM DOING A NEW THING! NOW IT SPRINGS UP; DO YOU NOT PERCEIVE IT? I AM MAKING A NEW WAY IN THE WILDERNESS AND STREAMS IN THE WASTELAND. ISAIAH 43:18-19
IN YOUR WASTELAND IS WHERE YOU’LL SEE GOD BRINGS OUT STREAMS OF LIVING WATER. TIMES OF REFRESHING IS COMING. A BREEZE OF FRESH WIND IS ON ITS WAY! “GOD IS NOT HUMAN THAT HE SHOULD LIE, NOT A HUMAN BEING THAT HE SHOULD CHANGE HIS MIND. DOES HE SPEAK AND THEN NOT ACT? DOES HE PROMISE AND NOT FULFILL? (NUMBERS 23:19). “YOUR BEGINNINGS WILL SEEM HUMBLE, SO PROSPEROUS WILL YOUR FUTURE BE.” (JOB 8:7)
