Everything we're going to need
tonight is in our handouts, including the scriptures that we'll be
looking into our text. And I want to begin by declaring
a title. As you noticed under the Gospel
according to Matthew, you'll notice in parentheses, putting
away the old. Before we begin further than
that, this is one of the most difficult things that all of
God's children must go through. And that is putting away the
old, the old ways, the things that we've grown up learning,
what we thought religion was all about. And it takes God the
Holy Spirit to teach us these things and to guide us in putting
these things away. Don Fortner wrote this in regards
to the passage that we are going to look at. He said, as I read
this passage of Holy Scriptures, my heart responds to this display
of our Savior's wisdom, goodness, and power is what a wonderful
Savior. I am certain that Matthew was
inspired, writes Don, by God the Holy Spirit to record these
events as he did, without any interpretive comment, so that
we might see in these things something of the grandeur, the
greatness, and the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, the man of
whom Matthew speaks, the man who said and did these things
described in this passage is God. and this great God-man is
our Savior. His name is called Wonderful
because everything about Him is wonderful. In verse 14 of
Matthew chapter 9 we read these words, Then came to him the disciples
of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy
disciples fast not? Now I can picture myself doing
that very same thing. Why do we do certain things here
at Rescue, but in San Diego they don't? Or over in Marysville
they don't? I got an answer for you right
off the bat, before we even get to the rest of it. We do things
the way God has us doing them, because that's His purpose. Folks,
I'm going to tell you something. God has purposed our path. And nothing is going to stray
us from that path. We are walking right now. When
people call me up and they apologize, John, I'm sorry I can't be here
tonight. Brother Mike Loveless did this
very thing tonight. Him and his wife have something
involving their family that's keeping them from coming tonight.
That's fine. And he owes me no apology. This is exactly where God would
have him. I've had people talk to me and
say, you know, I just, I'm sorry, I can't come up there anymore.
I've got this going. I've got that. You know what?
You don't need to apologize to me. You're right where God would
have you. I guarantee you that if the Lord
wants somebody here in this building, he's going to bring them. I guarantee
you that if the Lord wants somebody to listen in to His Word on the
internet as we're doing right now, He's going to bring them
to that point. Why do I know this? Because there
are no yays and nays with God. God is yay and amen. That is black and white. That's
all there is to it. There are no maybes. There's
no myths, there's no possibilities. Our God rules all things and
He has purposed all that is. And I accept that. And the more
I grow in this world, the more I grow in grace and in the knowledge
of Him. Not in my grace, but in His grace
to me. And in the knowledge of Him,
the more I learn how everything is done by our Lord. Everything
is purposed by Him for the good of His people. John the Baptist, back in our
handout, mid-page of main page one. John the Baptist had been
put in prison. These disciples of his knew the
Messiah had come. Yet they had not the full revelation
of the fulfillment of all things in Christ. The fastings here
referred to are not the public fasts enjoined by the Law of
Moses or in the writings of the Old Testament, but the private
fasts, which were enjoined by John to his disciples and by
the Pharisees to theirs. or of which were according to
the traditions of the elders of their own appointing. They
were attached to John and particularly imitated him in this part of
his walk. In Luke 18, verse 10 through
12, we are given an account of these personal fastings that
were not of the Mosaic law, but of men. Two men went up into
the temple to pray. the one a Pharisee and the other
a publican. Now you know the story now. It's
at the table there. The Pharisee stood and prayed
thus to himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as other men
are extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. And
then he says this. He says, I fast twice in a week. Now that was not part of God's
law. These are laws that men made
up trying to be religious. trying to do things the way they
thought things should be done instead of the way God has put
things to do for us. He says, I fast twice in the
week. I give tithes of all that I possess. Page two. This may
serve as to illustrate and to prove the frequency of the Jewish
fastings. They had come up with fastings
for all kinds of things. They had come up with fastings
to show how religious they were. Luke's account presents a possibility
that this question, this question these disciples came with, was
put to the disciples of John by the Pharisees. which is here
put by the disciples of John, it would seem that John's disciples
were instigated to this by the Pharisees who sought to sow discord
between them and to bring Christ and his disciples into contempt
with them. I can just picture it in my mind.
The Pharisees going to these... Now, we're religious people.
We fast all the time. And you folks have been fasting
just as well as we have. I can see how religious you are.
But look at this guy over here. See the wedge that they... I
can imagine the wedge that they were trying to drive between
the Lord Jesus, His disciples, and the disciples of John. These disparities who sought
to sow discord between them and to bring Christ into disciples
with them. Listen to these words here. Why
do we, they said, and the Pharisees, now why would they include the
Pharisees? Fast often, but the disciples fast not. For no other
reason than to cause a rift. Why do you and yours not follow
this work? Why are you allowed to feast
and make merry? Again, I quote from Don Fortner,
while there is much in their behavior that is reprehensible,
speaking of what they were just trying to do and what we just
pointed out, it must be acknowledged, writes Don, that these disciples
of John did behave with integrity. They did not murmur and gossip
like the scribes and the Pharisees. They had a problem that greatly
concerned them. But rather than sitting around
in a stew talking about it, they came directly to the master with
it. One of their number must have
said, whoa, wait a minute, brethren. If we've got a problem with what
appears to be a matter of grave error, there must be some explanation
for it. Let's go talk to the master.
Don writes this, he says, much evil could be avoided if men
and women would behave like this. Like the Pharisees, these men
proclaimed their own goodness. In Proverbs 20, verse 6, we read
these words, most men will proclaim everyone his own goodness. Boy, we are quick to do that,
aren't we? Most men will proclaim everyone his own goodness. but a faithful man who can find. They judged their brethren by
the yardstick of their own rules. Fasting was one of the customs
of the Pharisees, a custom they had accepted as a required display
of godliness. because they did not see the
disciples fasting, they presumed that they did not fast at all,
and they appear to have cast a slur upon the Lord Jesus because
of the presumed bad conduct of his disciples. However, however,
neither Matthew, Mark, nor Luke indicated that the Lord Jesus
was angry or upset with these men. The fact is, that fact is
instructive as it is comforting. The word states here, for he
knoweth our frame. He remembereth that we are dust. That's in Psalms 103.14. Our God and Savior is He of whom
it is written, He delighteth in mercy. That's in Micah 7.18. May God lead us. You see how
I chose that psalm this evening of the Lord to teach us His ways,
to guide our paths? May God lead us in grace to imitate
His Son, page 3. Listen to these words from Ephesians
4.32-5.2, and be ye kind one to another. Paul instructing
the Ephesians to be like Christ. Be ye kind one to another. Tenderhearted. That means compassionate. That means to understand the
in meekness, the trouble. that whichever one you're dealing
with is going through the same troubles that you go through,
the same things that you need forgiveness for, you need to
be tender-hearted to those around you, forgiving one another as
it says next. Even as God, listen to this,
for Christ's sake, not because of anything of you, not for anything
you have done, not for any goodness, any way you have walked, but
for Christ's sake, have forgiven you. Folks, we've been forgiven
for His sake. Because Christ, because of His
love for His people, God has forgiven us. Be ye therefore
followers, it says, of God as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us,
and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to
God for a sweet-smelling Savior. Lord, help us not to presume
anything evil concerning your saints. We should never presume
that we know what goes on in the heart of another. We should
never presume that we know what another person's private life
is like. Folks, I'm preaching to myself
here. This is John talking to John. This is me thinking of
the Lord's Word and hoping that He'll apply it to me. Lord, teach
me this. Teach me not to judge others.
God's people are His people, not ours. His servants are His
servants, not ours. They stand or fall before Him. We must not set ourselves up
as judges over others. Listen to these words. One man
esteemeth one day above another, and another esteemeth every day.
Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. Romans 14.4
And then in Romans 14.14 we read this. Paul says, I know and am
persuaded by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself. That's what I was talking about
earlier. Our God does all things right, folks. Everything. But to him that esteemeth anything
to be unclean, to him it is unclean. I once made a comment on what
I saw as an error in my brethren. A mistake the apostles had committed
in choosing Matthias as the twelfth apostle. And I was rightly corrected
that God does all things right. What he had allowed those men
to do was right. What he allowed in the discussions
between Job and his friends was right. You remember when his
friends came to him and they railed on God, they railed on
him, they railed on everything about how this trouble that had
come upon Job was something that he had done. And God was punishing
him for it. Was God right in allowing them
to do that? Absolutely He is right. All things
our Lord does is right. He allowed Jonah. What He allowed
in Jonah, running from the Lord, was right. Was it a mistake when
Peter took his eyes off of Christ and looked upon the boisterous
waters? Was that a mistake? It was a fearsome lesson, but
no mistake. How thankful we can be that our
Savior's grace is immutable, unchangeable, indestructible,
and effectual. He who gives no indication of
anger towards John's disciples for their evil presumptions is
our great God. who will never charge his own
with sin. Did you catch that? He will never
charge his own, his people, for sin. Blessed is the man to whom
the Lord will not impute sin. Is that not what we read in Romans
4 verse 8? Having pardoned us of all our
transgressions through the blood of Christ, our God beholds no
evil in His people." Isn't that wonderful? I know folks, I know
it's hard for us to believe. Page 4. I know it's hard for
us to see that, especially when we look in the mirror. But folks, this is the way God
sees us. Roger and I were talking earlier,
he's lost a little bit of weight. And he looks good. He looks good. You can see it on him. He doesn't
think so. But brother, God looks upon you
as perfect. You've been perfected. I've been
perfected. My beautiful wife, who doesn't
need any more beauty, has been perfected. Has been perfected
in our Savior. You folks have been perfected
in the one offering, by the one offering of our Savior, the Lord
Jesus, we have been perfected forever. All of our sins have
been purged by the blood of Jesus. What a gracious thing. And top
of page four, in those days and in that time, saith the Lord,
the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall
be none. and the sins of Judah, and they
shall not be found. For I, I, saith the Lord, will
pardon them whom I reserve." That's Jeremiah 50, 20. Rather,
he beholds us in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as perfect,
complete, and holy. If He beholds all His people
this way, how much more we ought to do so to others. If God looks
upon you, my wife, as perfect, I should be looking upon you
exactly that, exactly that way. If you're looking upon me, you
should be seeing me as perfect as my Savior. I know, I know,
you see me. I know it's hard. And trust me,
folks, it really is hard. After I'm dead and gone, if she's
still around, she can tell you all about how hard it truly is. Yeah, well, no, just keep it
a secret. Folks. Folks. Oh, how much trouble. Oh, how much sorrow. how much
less sorrow we would have if we would just try to look upon
others as Christ looks upon us. In lowliness of mind let each
esteem other better than themselves is what Paul writes to the Philippians
in 2 chapter 2 verse 3. What a wonder that in Matthew
9, 15, the Lord Jesus graciously and tenderly identifies himself
with his disciples. And Jesus said unto them, can
the children of the bride chamber mourn as long as the bridegroom
is with them? But the days will come when the
bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they
fast. Rather than getting into a dispute
with those men about a matter of insignificance, our Lord sees
the opportunity to identify himself with us in one of the most tender,
intimate, and suggestive ways imaginable. He calls himself
the Bridegroom. John's disciples could not have
missed the significance of that. He that hath the bride is the
bridegroom, writes John in chapter 329. And he goes on to say, but
the friend of the bridegroom which standeth and heareth him
rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. This
my joy therefore is fulfilled. John had just heard the words
of the Lord. It was true that His disciples were not known
to fast. Here the Lord Jesus comes to
their defense and explains why that was the case. In Bible times,
marriages were arranged as the marriage of the Lord Jesus Christ
was arranged. The marriage was arranged and
the bride was chosen by God the Father in eternal election. The bride chosen is the church,
the elect of God. Listen to Ephesians 5, 25-27. Husbands, love your wives even
as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it that
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water
by the word. that he might present it to himself
a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle. Now remember,
we're talking about husbands, love your wives, even as Christ
also loved the church. These are the things the Lord
did for the church, because he loved his bride. That he might
present himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or
any such thing, but that it should be holy. and without blemish. This is the bride of Christ.
This is the one I spoke of just a moment ago, those who are perfected
in Him. The children of the bride chamber,
the friends of the bridegroom, are God's servants, all true
gospel preachers. In those days of old, the center
of attention in a wedding was not the bride, but the bridegroom. Boy, we sure have it backwards
today, don't we? I'll tell you what, if we would follow the
ways of the biblical days, weddings would be a whole lot less expensive
in our world. When it was left to John Reeves
to go have a wedding, we went to Reno. Oates, sorry. She still had some things that
were really nice about it, and you did agree to go, so. Folks,
our Lord Jesus, page 5, is our Bridegroom. He's our Bridegroom. 1 Corinthians
1.31 tells us this, that according as it is written, He that glorieth,
let him glory in the Lord. We glory in our Bridegroom. We
glory in the One who takes care of us, the One who provides for
us, the One who is wed to us from eternity past. We give Him
all the attention and adulation. What the bridegroom is to the
bride, the Lord Jesus Christ is to every sinner who trusts
Him. He loves us with deep, everlasting,
unchangeable love. He has taken us into a union
with Himself. By His death, with the shedding
of His blood as our substitute, all our debts are paid. He supplies all our needs. He
sympathizes with us in all of our troubles. He bears all of
our sins and our horrible thoughts and our acts of unfaithfulness
to Him. With this Bridegroom, there is
no putting away the Bride and all the glory that He has received
from His Father. He is given to His bride, the
Church, the Lamb's wife. Listen to these words from His
own lips. John 17 5, And now, O Father,
glorify Thou me with Thine own self, with the glory which I
had with Thee before the world was. That's all the glory, folks. All glory. That's what He said.
Glorify Thou me, O Father. with the glory I had with thee
before the world was. And then he says in John 17,
22, and the glory which thou gavest me I have given, who? Them. Them. You and I. We have
all glory. And that glory is in the Lord
Jesus himself. I have given them that they may
be one even as we are one. We read in Revelation 19 verse
7 through 8, Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him.
This is the marriage feast, foes, for the marriage of the Lamb
is come, and his wife hath made herself ready, and to her was
granted that she should be arrayed. Glorified in fine linen. That's the linen that Christ
robes us in, and that's the robes of His righteousness. His righteousness,
is it not perfect in every way? Well, we're robed in His righteousness. We are arrayed in fine linen,
clean and white. For the fine linen is the righteousness
of the saints. What is our righteousness? It's
the righteousness of Christ. Oh, I'm so thankful that we have
His and that He's not sitting around waiting for us to exercise
our decisions or something of our own will, something of our
own rags. Charles Spurgeon wrote this about
Matthew 9,15. He is the bridegroom who came
to woo and to win his bride. Those who followed him were the
guests, the bridegroom's best men in attendance. It was for
them to rejoice while the bridegroom headed their company. For sorrow
is not suitable for wedding feasts. Our Lord is that bridegroom of
whom Solomon sang in the Song of Songs, and we who enjoy his
fellowship are one with him in his joy. Why should we fast while
He is near? Can we allow little things to
kill our great joy? Can we, in consistency with reason
and in harmony with respect of our Lord, mourn as long as the
Bridegroom is with us? Page 6. But Jesus was to go,
He says Himself. The Bridegroom shall be taken
from them was His words. Here, first he speaks, goes on
Charles Spurgeon, about his death. Did his disciples note the warning
word when their beloved was gone? They would have fasting enough. How true was this? Sorrows crowded
in upon them when he was gone. It is the same with us. Our Lord
is our joy. His presence makes our banquet. His absence is our fast. black and bitter. All ritualistic
fasting is the husk. The reality of fasting, goes
on Charles Spurgeon to say, is known only to the child of the
bride chamber, when his Lord is no more with him. This is
fasting indeed, as some of us know full well. There is no wedding
without a bridegroom, no delight without Jesus. In his presence
is fullness of joy, in his absence is death of misery. Let but the
heart rest in his love, and it desires nothing more. Take away
a sense of his love from the soul, and it is dark, empty,
and nigh unto death. In Matthew 9, verses 16 and 17,
mid-page 6, our Lord Jesus wonderfully shows himself to be a tender
master, and he teaches us how to deal with young disciples.
No man putteth a piece of new cloth into an old garment, for
that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment.
and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into
old bottles else the bottle break and the wine runneth out and
the bottles perisheth. But they put new wine into new
bottles and both are preserved. In 1 John 2, verses 12-14, the
Lord inspired John to address the family of God as little children,
young men, and fathers. And I read you these words, I
write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven.
This is talking about God's people. This is talking about the family
of God. The bride of the groom. I write unto you, little children,
because your sins are forgiven you for His namesake. I write unto you, fathers, because
ye have known Him that is from the beginning. I write unto you,
young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto
you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have
written unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from
the beginning. I have written unto you, young
men, because ye are strong, and the Word of God abideth in you,
and ye have overcome the wicked one." Page 7. Little children
are not to be dealt with as young men, nor should fathers be dealt
with as little children. Yet sometimes those who should
be fathers are still just little children and must be dealt with
as such. Listen to Hebrews 5, verses 12-14, For when for the time ye ought
to be teachers, ye have need that one teacheth you again,
which be the first principles of the oracles of God. Now I
want to stop there for a moment. One of the most wondrous qualities
that I have found in all of God's people is their desire to be taught
over and over and over and over again. Especially God's preachers. Open to be taught over and over
and over again. That's what that's talking about
there. And are become such as have need of milk. and not strong
meat. For everyone that uses milk is
unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But strong
meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by
reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good
and evil. Just as a seamstress would never
put a new piece of cloth into an old pair of trousers to patch
them, so we must not expect from babes the maturity of fathers,
and must not put them in the place of fathers." That's what
the Lord was doing here. These disciples were still babes
in Christ, just as all of the Lord's disciples were, just as
you and I are until the day the Lord takes us out of this world.
We are babes in Christ. So we must not expect from babes
the maturity of fathers and must not put them in the place of
fathers. If we do, we are sure to regret
it. Just as a winemaker would never put new wine in an old
bottle lest it burst, so we must not impose upon young converts
the rigid discipline that we ought to impose upon ourselves
lest we do them great harm. We must not impose upon men but
they are not able to bear. And we must never neglect the
doctrines of the gospel. We must never fail to teach the
ordinance of the gospel. We must take care to train young
believers in the way of Christ. But as he is patient with us,
Lord, help us to be patient with his children. Again, I quote
from our dear brother Don Fortner. where he says, this parabolic
statement given by our Savior also demonstrate the folly of
a man in substituting anything and everything for the real work
of grace and true godliness. Throughout history, in every
part of the world, it is ever the trait of fallen man to attempt
to gain favor with God by doing something. In his proud, self-righteous righteousness, man will readily
fast, give alms, attend church, perform disciplined religious
duties, reform his life, and make great sacrifices in hope
of attaining salvation by his own works. He sews the new cloth
of religion into the old garment of nature, and he puts the new
wine of religion in the old bottle of nature, but seeking righteousness
by their own works. They will not submit to or trust
Christ for the whole of their acceptance with God. Our Lord
also says this in his word, he says, a little leavened ruined
the whole lump. That makes their religion both
foolish and harmful. The old creature is only dressed
up in a new form, but no transformation has taken place. There has been
no regeneration, no work of grace in the soul. Robert Hawker wrote
this about that. He said, Jesus makes use of two
beautiful similitudes to show the folly of it. The new cloth
put into the old garment and the new wine into the old bottles,
neither of which can receive into union what is altogether
the reverse of themselves. The strength of the new cloth
will only tend to rent the old, and the old dried skins of the
bottles must burst if the new fermenting wine is put into them. In like manner, the new robe
of Jesus' righteousness cannot be joined to patch up our filthy
rags, neither can the new wine of the gospel be received into
the old. Unrenewed skin of nature. But
when the Holy Ghost hath by regeneration made all things new, and Christ's
righteousness is received as the new robe of salvation, and
the blood of Christ is the wine that maketh glad the heart of
man, both then are preserved and blessed. My title tonight
is Putting Away the Old. putting away the old nature of
jealousy and wondering about others. Let's worry about ourselves.
Let's worry about the log that is in our own eye before we try
to pluck the thorn out of the eyes of others. In John 10, no,
I'm sorry, mid-page of page eight, I thought as I first read these
words, how gracious and long-suffering my Lord is with me. I was thinking
about how He was being long-suffering with those men that had come
to Him, John's disciples. But folks, the Lord suffers no more for
me. I'm pausing because I want you
to think about that. I want you to think about how
the Lord suffered for us. He suffered for us on that cross
2,000 years ago. His suffering for all his bride
was finished upon that cross. The work of our salvation was
finished. He suffers the world. the carnal
men of this world, when it talks about He is long-suffering to
usward, that's not talking about long-suffering because of us.
He's long-suffering to usward. He's long-suffering for the 40
years that John walked this earth so that the day would come of
His love and of His power when He would call John out of that
darkness and to each the same of you. He's long-suffering to
the world for our sakes, to us. He puts up with the sinfulness
of this world that is unpaid for, the sins that people must
answer for in this world for our sakes. Because the day must
come. It must come when He must go
through Samaria. He suffers the world of men in
this world, but only because there are still those who are
to be His bride yet to come. In John 10, verses 14-16, we
read these words, I am the Good Shepherd, saith the Lord. He
says, I am the Good Shepherd, and know My sheep. He's always
known us. He's known us from the day our
names were written on His breastplate. The breastplate of the Lamb who
was slain before the world began. I forget where it is now, but it
talks about in God's Word where the name of God's people is inscribed. Inscribed in his palms of his
hands. The very palms that were nailed
to the cross. He says, I know and have known
of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even
so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep and
other sheep I have, which are not of this fold. Them also I
must bring, and they shall." I'm talking about bringing a
message to the folks there in Madisonville. I've been talking
about it a little bit with Pastor Gene. Folks, the word of the Lord is
not yea and nay. That means maybe or maybe not.
Our Lord's word is yea and amen. That means there are shalls.
What are words that reflect yea and amen? Shall. I must, it says. There's that
word must. That's a yea and amen. I must
bring and they shall hear. That's a yea and amen. They shall
hear my voice and there shall, there's that word again. Another
yea and amen. Be one fold and one shepherd. Our Lord is long suffering for
our sakes. He's loving suffering with the
world so that all of His fold shall come to Him He must bring
and they shall hear His voice and they shall be one fold and
one shepherd. That one fold are the Bride of
Christ, the Son of the Living God, Sovereign Lord of all that
is or will be. He is on His throne this very
minute working all things for the good of those that love Him,
them who are called according to His purpose. We put away the
old because He has made us new. His word says this, ye must be
born again.