 So Mark chapter 2 let's begin reading together here and Mark chapter 2 at Verse 13 I'll begin verse 13. We're gonna have a as I normally do an introduction Lay some things down remind you of a couple of things point some things out then move into our site We're gonna be looking at at really what would be two separate studies in a way We're gonna be looking first at verse 13 to verse 17 then verses 18 through 22 and there are actually two two studies I could have taken just each one for one week, but I don't want to be in mark for the next ten years and so We'll look at verse 13 at verse 13 He then he went out again by the sea and all the multitude came to him and he taught them Now as we've been going through the gospel of Mark, we've noticed that Jesus has a very solid teaching ministry I've been emphasizing the fact that he had a teaching ministry and as we've gone through the the book up to this point We've seen that Jesus took every opportunity that he had in order to proclaim his message We saw that he would preach and that he would teach all who would gather to hear him And and that has been the central theme of the gospel and I'll remind you of a few things at this point Mark tells us that after John was in prison that Jesus came to Galilee and he said he came to Galilee Preaching the gospel in mark 115. It says the time is fulfilled the kingdom of God is at hand repent and Believe in the gospel later mark tells us that What Jesus did in the city of Capernaum in in mark 121? It says immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and he taught We've seen how Peter looked for and found him and said to him Everybody is looking for you in mark 138 to this Jesus responded by saying let us go into the next towns That I may preach there also because for this purpose. I have come for it for this purpose I have come for it. You see Jesus was sent from heaven to bring a message a message That's called the message of grace and forgiveness. We speak of it as being the gospel Now why do we need a message of grace and freedom? Why do we need a gospel? Well? The Bible makes it very plain that human beings are in need of salvation We had just seen how that the paralytic brought to Jesus was in need of forgiveness of sins His greatest need was to be set free from the depth of grief that he was suffering And it wasn't that he was suffering grief because he couldn't walk it was suffering grief because of his sin and That's the consistent declaration of Scripture that man is a sinner and man needs forgiveness And the book of Romans in chapter 3 Paul was writing this in verses 9 through 12 He said all people whether Jews or Gentiles are under the power of sin as the scriptures say no one is righteous No, not even one no one is truly wise no one is seeking God all have turned away and all have become useless in Romans 3 23 he went on to say everyone has sinned we all fall short of God's glorious standard You see what many have failed to realize is that there is a consequence for sin and it's not just physical death It also includes a spiritual death Romans 6 23 says the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord and The writer of Hebrews in chapter 9 verse 27 tells us it's it is appointed and demanded I once and after this judgment And so we have offended a holy and mighty God But even though we have done so God has made a way for us Romans 5 8 tells us God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died For us in the most famous scripture in in the Bible I was in New Testament at least is John 3 16 God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son That whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life Why do I emphasize The importance of preaching and teaching Well in John 5 24 it says very truly I tell you whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me as Eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life Teaching and preaching is God's method of bringing his message to a lost world. That's why in Romans 10 13 and 14 everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed and how will they believe in him whom they have not heard And how will they hear? without a preacher Somebody said many churches today would not tolerate for two Sundays strong biblical preaching that confronts their doctrinal error refutes it lays conviction of sin on the people or exhorts them to holy obedience They would replace such a preacher with teachers who feed their desires and tickle their ears They want something sensational entertaining self-benefiting ego building Something that feels good and produces a pleasant sensation For the sake of such a feeling they will gladly exchange the truth for fables myths and stories And that's the condition of the church today You see Jesus has been preaching and he's been teaching and those who are hearing him are astonished He's been revealing his authority. We've seen this through works of power. He's cast out demons. He's performed healings He even cleansed the leper and When Jesus cleansed the leper we we noted what motivated him to do so it said in in mark 141 that Jesus was moved with compassion and cleansed him It was also compassion that motivated Jesus to heal a paralyzed man and in his case Jesus not only healed him, but also forgave him of his sins and I pointed this out last time in pronouncing forgiveness Jesus was actually claiming to be God in the flesh in the book of Daniel in chapter 9 verse 9 It says to the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness For we have rebelled against him to the Lord our God belongs forgiveness and Jesus went so far as to forgive this man of his sins now his forgiveness gave us insight into what our God is Really like the Bible teaches us that our God is merciful That word merciful means to to be disposed to pedio fenders unwilling to punish for injuries in Psalm 86 verse 5 it says for you Lord are good ready to forgive abundant in mercy to all those who call upon you and So his entire ministry dealt with this one basic human need to be forgiven by God There's a man that some of you may be familiar with at least his name his name is Carl Menenger He was a psychiatrist and he has what are called the manager clinics and Carl Menenger said this he said if I could convince the patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven 75% of them could walk out the next day The greatest need that we have is a sense forgiveness and Forgiveness is the result of repenting forgiveness is a result of humbling asking God to forgive us and God is ready to forgive and God is merciful and if we've received forgiveness Forgiveness is also given to others who have sinned against us Because that demonstrates that we understand what forgiveness really is So at this point People are beginning to follow this young carpenter turned preacher his message his miracles drawing people to investigate Just who he might be He wasn't simply a carpenter turned rabbi. He was God's son and he was teaching words of God in John 7 16 Jesus said my teaching is not my own it comes from him who sent me and Beginning people are now beginning to see this for themselves You see those who are genuine followers of Christ have a desire a desire to hear what he has to say For the modern follower of Christ that means that we love here in the Bible taught in John 847 It says he who belongs to God hears what God says the reason you don't hear is you don't belong to God And so that's why in the life of a Christian Personal time reading the Bible is so important. It demonstrates that we know the Lord Now some people say, you know, I'd love to be able to spend time personally in the Bible But I really don't read or don't read that well Well, thank God for modern technology because we have various ways we can hear the Bible read to us I remember a man in our fellowship many years ago now who told me he said, you know Pastor you you encourage us to read the Bible and all he says, but he says I don't read He says I never learned to he said I'm I am functionally illiterate I and this is a man who was a construction worker and all he had his own business He did very well And I asked him how was it that you're able to do the work that you do and he says well He says I simply have somebody with me driving with me all the time He says so when I get to a general area, I know I'm supposed to go because I know the directions I'll say did you notice a sign that says sunset or whatever and the guys? Oh, yeah, it was to and he says That's how I do it. He says I've never admitted to anybody that I can't read. He says, but I can't I can't read And I said well, you know what one of the things I would encourage you to do I said is to listen to it you can listen on at that time listen on tape I said you can listen to the word of God read and you can memorize Obviously have a mind that's able to do that. I said or you might want to humble yourself and have your wife read to you I said whatever Whatever you need to get the word of God into you and if you're hungry for the word of God Then you're gonna make every effort to be able to do that So what we do is to pick up our Bibles and reread it We won't always understand everything, but we should do the things that we understand That's why we go to Bible studies so we can intense services to to be taught that's why God put teachers in the body of Christ and That's what the importance of the word of God is is it feeds our soul So as we're here looking at this passage We're seeing that Jesus has been preaching and teaching, but he's also calling people to himself And here we have in verse 14 that he passed by and he saw Levi And we saw Levi because he had a cool pair of pants on it's really but he passed by and he saw Levi the son of alpheus Seating at the tax office and he said to him follow me so he arose and followed him and So Jesus is leaving the city of Capernaum me and as he's doing so he encounters a man He's a tax collector here. He is referred to as Levi now as this comment during that day He actually had two names. We know him really better by Matthew You see him calling himself Matthew in chapter 9 of the gospel of Matthew But when you read your Bible, you're gonna notice that there are some of the men that you become familiar with who who actually are Known by two names at least two names. You have Simon Peter You have James and John who are called Boanergis, which means son of sons of thunder you have Thomas who's referred to as dynamos meaning the twin you have Paul who is later known as Saul He was before known as Saul so there are a number of people with different names And so Levi is also Matthew and So here here he is he's in the city of Capernaum when you're looking at a map of Israel Capernaum was the largest city in the north. It was situated on the sea and still is on the Sea of Galilee It was located on a very busy ancient highway and it was on it was a major trade route So Matthew Levi What was was what was called at that time a public in a tax collector? Now let me give you a little background so you can understand what's going to take place in just a moment The Jews could buy franchises that entitled them to impose taxes on citizens as well as travelers They would collect what are called toll taxes or import duties boat docking fees Business license fees a variety of the fees and taxes. That's what they did they would collect them and on a busy route such as the one that that Matthew was on business would be constant and very lucrative Rome had set certain quotas that she expected to receive through taxes But anything that was above the minimum fee was kept by the tax collector most likely He would assess taxes by whim which resulted him becoming very wealthy and As a tax collector Because he was wealthy and becoming wealthy on the backs of the Jewish citizen citizenry. He was deeply despised He gathered taxes and because he did they thought he was what would be called an apostate They certainly thought he was a traitor and in in society. He was classed with liars and thieves and he was barred from synagogues Now Matthew knew he would he would suffer this and yet he determined to become a tax collector anyway And he became very rich, but he was also very hated by the people But for him material wealth outweighed acceptance by people He was willing to be an outcast to achieve the goal that he desired And as I was reading that and thinking about that I thought that's interesting because that strength and determination is Self-centered and materialistic as it was that that strength and determination served him well in ministry Since he was used to being rejected. He was well prepared for what was going to happen to him You know, I've seen that in Over the years they saw it in my own case being a being a hippie kid in the society back then Really disliked as a society Disliked hippies and so people like me were willing to be rejected by the society for the thing we believed in I think it still happens to this day and Matthew was no different Matthew chose an occupation that was hated by other people He chose it because for him the goal of becoming rich was more important than having relationships with people and As a result Matthew was rejected He was rejected by the society that he lived in but though people had rejected Matthew Jesus didn't and So notice in verse 14 that Jesus stopped at his toll booth and he simply said to him follow me Now we've already seen how Jesus said the same thing to Peter James Andrew and John he now commands Matthew to become one of his men Now I can't help but wonder how Matthew felt about this command they're in front of a good amount of people Jesus speaks to him and tells him follow me and he knew who Jesus was this isn't a chance encounter. He was aware Jesus was living in ministry in the city Matthew 413 tells us that Capernaum had become his ministry headquarters We know that Jesus taught in the city and performed many miracles in Capernaum in mark 134 It said he healed many who were sick with various diseases cast out many demons He didn't allow the demons to speak because they knew him again. He had recently cleansed the leper He healed a paralytic and mark 128 says immediately as famous spread throughout all the region around Galilee The entire city was aware of him and that would include this man Matthew a tax collector Now when Matthew saw him He saw a compassionate rabbi But when Jesus looked at Matthew, he saw something else When Jesus looked at Matthew, he saw a lonely unfulfilled sin filled outcast Matthew was like that paralyzed man He was someone in need of forgiveness. He was someone in need of healing and It's very obvious that Matthew was tired of his empty life He needed something deeper than what he had and In a moment he left it all behind Luke 5 28 tells us he left all rose up and followed him and Matthew became a full-time follower of Jesus Christ He left everything behind in order to fall after him Everything that he once thought would fulfill him was immediately left behind and that reminds me of what the Apostle Paul once wrote in Philippians 3 7 and 8 Paul said whatever was to my profit. I now consider loss For the sake of Christ. What is more? I Consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for whose sake I have lost all things I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ Everything I have here is going to perish. I would prefer the eternal Matthew was that way Paul was that way believers are that way and In leaving his job behind he knew that he'd never return to it His sin was connected to his profession and he could no longer Extort money any longer and he's now going to trust the Lord to provide for his needs and he gives it up And he begins to follow him now in verse 15 it happened as He was dining in Levi's house That many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and his disciples for there were many and they followed him And so Matthew put together a banquet. He was going to honor Jesus. He invited the outcasts of society It must have been a large home because many showed up for the meal It says in verse 15 that there were many tax collectors and sinners and notice it says they followed him Well, this kind of thing would later become a charge against Jesus all these people following him Because in Matthew 11 19 Jesus said the son of man came eating and drinking They say look a glutton and a wine biber a friend of tax collectors and sinners It's been said show me a man's friends and I'll show you the man Well Matthew had many associates and they came to hear Jesus these outcasts of society Or the only ones who had relationship with him and as they listened to Jesus one by one They began to believe him and one by one they became followers of Christ and this dinner party became an outreach With many coming to faith in Christ They had a chance not only to see him but to hear him speak and there at the table They had a chance to to ask him questions and listen to his answers and that's taking place now as that's taking place notice Verse 16 when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eating with the tax collectors and sinners they said to his disciples How is it that he eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners and so they're watching this See not everyone was pleased that Christ would spend time with these sinners The Pharisees had seen what happened with Matthew and apparently they had followed Jesus when Jesus went to Matthew's house But notice what they did. I want to show you something very quickly here in verse 16 notice in verse 16 How it says they said to his disciples. How is it that he eats with tax collectors and sinners in? Luke 5 30 it says their scribes and the Pharisees complained against his disciples Saying why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? Well They attacked Jesus But they also attacked his men That's because a disciple becomes like his teacher in Luke 640 the students not above his teacher But everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher That's one good reason by the way to be careful Who you allow to influence your way of thinking? Their problem was with Jesus, but instead of speaking to him They spoke with his men now. Why is that? Because if you want to undermine somebody All you need to do is speak about them to the ones who respect them the most If you want to destroy your work cast doubt on the leader If you want to undermine someone's trust in their teacher and if you can You can undermine the ministry of that teacher on many occasions What is said about the teacher is not true The damage has been done You can't take back your words no matter how sorry you may be later for saying them There are so many false accusations today. It's almost it's it's normal. You see them all the time You see it on the news You see him you see him on Facebook social the various social media platforms where things are said that aren't true And once those words come out you can say I'm sorry for the rest of your life But the only thing a lot of people will ever remember is the lie that was said and If you can undermine a man's credibility the way you can do that best is by calling into question that man to those Who love them the most and that's what they were doing. They wanted to undermine the ministry of Christ So rather than first specifically speaking to Jesus and say why are you doing this and getting an honest answer from him? They speak to the disciples and they said why is your master doing this? Why would you do that to undermine Jesus in order to make him look bad? Why is he eating with these sinners? Why is he eating with these publicans? Why is he doing this and and so the disciples are put in the defensive? It's they're they're going to have to respond, but the Lord Jesus is there listening carefully to what's taking place you see sometimes people take an actual Joy in undermining other people Human nature being what it is loves to believe an evil report over a good report That's why you never see good news or hardly ever see good news on the news Plain took off in Los Angeles today flew across to New York landed safely next today. They don't say that They'll say a plane took off and 15 people died because people are addicted to the bad news In Proverbs 18 verse 18, it says the words of a gossip are like choice morsels. They go down to the inmost parts and often because friendships are Because of friendships, it's easy to decide with the one that you know the best If your friend tells you something it must be true, right and Proverbs 18 verse 17 It says the first one to plead his cause seems right until his neighbor comes and examines him So the first piece person who comes to you they always seem right until their cross examined But that's not how believers are to live you see the result of Casting unfair doubt will always be division and then again in Proverbs 16 verse 8 It says a perverse man so striped a whisperer separates the best of friends and that's what the Pharisees are doing the casting doubt to steal hearts and divide away from Jesus Christ now in Verse 16 again, it says how is it that he eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners? Let me point something out that perhaps you don't know or many of you do I'll say it anyway When you eat and drink with somebody especially during that day, but to this day It's the same eating and drinking was more than simply sharing a meal It was symbolic of friendship. It was symbolic of acceptance So you go to a restaurant We'll say you'll go to a Mexican restaurant which I want to do and you sit down at the table And what do they do? What does the waiter do waiters do? The server do They bring salsa, right? Isn't that great? Anyway I shouldn't go this way because I'm hungry And they'll bring the chips And what do you do while you grab your chip and you dip it my wife's always saying no double dipping but I don't care And you dip That's what you do So you're with your wife husband you're with your kids you're with friends Your friends at that table you can have six people around the table and all of them taken a chip all Reaching into the same bowl all reaching into the same dip and and and salsa does it bother you? No not at all Why why doesn't it bother you because if you think about it the double dipping thing that's real because you bit in You got saliva you put it in there. Don't be double dipping. They get gross out But do you throw the salsa away? I don't I just kind of move it a little bit And keep dipping why is that? Because these are my friends Right. This is my family No big deal But if there's a table next to me and strangers are eating there and they get up and leave the salsa I don't walk over there and pick up their salsa saying there's plenty here and I don't bring it back Why not because they're not my friends. They're not my acquaintances. See what you what you really have when you're eating is not simply Meeting a physical need, you know for for food. It's it's a fellowship. It's an acceptance and that's what the problem was here So it wasn't just that jesus is having a meal with these people And they they would have a bowl and they would have a Peter-like bread like pita bread and they would have their their excuse me They're the dip that they would have and they were dipping in the bowl And so as they were doing that the Pharisees who followed christ to this house are looking and watching and they're saying how is it that he does that because sitting down at meal and and Sharing bowl and sharing the meal with them was a high sign of acceptance and relationship And these people were highly offended by that. How could he be doing that with these kinds of people? We're Pharisees You see the Pharisees were used to rejecting these kinds of people when you look at the origin of the name Pharisee The word Pharisee means a separated one The separated ones and early in the history as they first began They were really a response to the to the hellenization or the grecianizing of the jews When i antiochus epiphanies had come in and brought in the greek kind of philosophy and all and the worldview of the greeks It began to infiltrate in the minds of the hebrus and so the Pharisees rose up in opposition They called them the separated ones and they wanted to be those who firmly held to the traditions of israel And and they they were the they were real heroic figures at one time But they had their beliefs had been kind of Hardened into a rejection And so when they saw these people doing certain things they had rules and regulations They'd get upset over it and say how can you be doing that because we follow the tradition of the elders And you should not be with these sinners. Why because we are the Pharisees. We are the separated ones We separate from these kinds of people. We don't welcome them Well in this line of questioning The hearts are exposed They considered themselves righteous better than others. They were not really sinners And so what happened is this kind of thinking had had resulted in a lack of compassion And so as this is taking place verse 17 when jesus heard it He said to them hey those who are well have no need of a physician But those who are sick i didn't come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance He heard it and he responded he wasn't eating with them Because he had sin in common with them. He was righteous He observed the law. He was undefiled by sin. He wasn't in dangerous stumbling in sin He was there to rescue the laws and that's something Pharisees had neglected And so to deal with the situation he he said two things based basically one he points out That only truly sick people will ever visit a doctor And so unless you understand your own condition he's saying i can't help you In psalm 51 5 behold i was shaped in inequity and in sin did my mother conceive me In proverbs 20 verse 9 who can say i've made my heart clean i am pure from sin I'll have sin and fall short of the glory of god John westley once said i am fallen short of the glory of god my whole heart is altogether corrupt and abominable And consequently my whole life being an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit And so everybody needs to recognize first and foremost that we're sinners and you Pharisees are sinners too he was saying And two he challenged their understanding of scripture In matthew 9 13 matthew includes the phrase go and learn this When he when he said go and learn this is a rabbinic saying it means you don't know what you should know You don't know god You're ignorant of god you're ignorant of his nature is what he was saying Because true faith is often revealed in compassion hosea 6 verse 6 says i desire mercy not sacrifice the knowledge of god more than burnt offerings So a person who is cold towards others has yet to understand Their own sinful nature And they fail to understand the depth of the grace and kindness of god And so jesus spoke to them and said you just don't understand And he said i didn't come to call the self righteous But those who know they need help That's very similar to what he said of another tax collector a man by the name of zekias He said to him in luke 19 verse 10 the son of man has come to seek and save that which was lost And so he made it very clear the reason i'm here with these people Isn't because i have sin in common with them It's because i'm willing to go wherever they are to reach them so they can go to heaven and be forgiven And the fruit was already demonstrated it said and these people had followed him And the second thing i better move into this In verse 18 This leads to a question the disciples of john And of the Pharisees were fasting they came and said to him Why do the disciples of john and of the Pharisees fast but your disciples do not fast Jesus said to them can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them And then they will fast in those days no one sews a piece of untrunk cloth on an old garment or else The new piece pulls away from the old And the tear is made worse 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 new wine new wineskins Now these disciples of john were those who were yet to give their allegiance to jesus not every disciple of john followed christ immediately But over time The other group that's being spoken of were the disciples of the Pharisees And they rejected christ But both groups were taught to seek righteousness and and avoid sin It and it appears that that both groups were disturbed by jesus's association with sinners So the questions asked why did the disciples of john and the Pharisees fast and yours don't Jewish ritual religion Taught that disciples were to fast twice a week They believed that fasting in this fashion would be an evidence of righteousness And so what had happened is the external religious ritual had become a badge of godliness So fasting twice a week was then a special evidence of sincere religion It was an evidence of denying fleshly appetites and putting the kingdom of god first Jesus used this practice as an example of what became self righteousness in luke 18 versus 10 through 12 When he said two men went up to the temple to pray when a Pharisee the other tax collector The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself God, I thank you that i'm not like other men extortioners unjust adulterers or even as this tax collector I fast twice a week. I give tides of all that I possess so it became a standard of righteousness And so they're asking why do Pharisees? Why did john's disciples fast but yours don't and so the answer in verse 19 Can the friend friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom's with them Well, jesus spoke of mourning. Why would he say what can the friends of the bridegroom mourn? Well, then the bible fasting often represents humility and mourning Psalm 35 13 I humbled my soul with fasting So jesus was saying this is not a time of sorrow. It's a time of joy. It's actually like a wedding You see the friends of the bridegroom are the groom's best friends. They're in charge of all the festivities So being with christ should be joyful Being a follower of jesus isn't supposed to be depressing but joyful Of all people We christians are filled with the deep peace and joy because we're going to heaven our lives are not tied to the things of earth We're pilgrims we're moving to a new home and that came through jesus christ And if there's anything that we ought to be today it ought to be filled with joy and I understand the circumstances we're living in But this earth is not our home We're just passing through We do the best that we can to not only live not just survive but also to bring people with us. That's what we do But we have a relationship with god in in romans 5 10 and 11 It says if if if when we were enemies we were reconciled to god by the death of his son Much more being reconciled. We shall be saved by his life and not only so But we also join in god through our lord jesus christ by whom we we have now received the atonement We should have the joy of the lord. It's our strength He says in verse 20 the bridegroom will be taken that word taken is in a greek tense. That means violently taken Then they're going to have the time to mourn. He's saying i'm going to be taken. I'm going to be violently put to death That's what peter said in acts 223 when speaking of him The apostle said in him being him being delivered by the determinant counsel and foreknowledge of god He said you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified in slain These disciples of john needed to understand who jesus is their loyalty To john was getting in their way of being saved through faith in christ john's disciples needed to follow christ because john's purpose in pointing christ out has been fulfilled and now he says in verse 21 No one sows a piece of untrunk cloth on an old garment Not only does it tear the old fabric, but luke tells us the color doesn't match So there comes a time when attempting to patch up something is foolish Jesus's ministry wasn't intended to somehow repair Phariseeism The gospel of grace and forgiveness Can't be blended with religious legalism in verse 22 no one puts new wine into old wineskins because The fermentation process in the old wineskin will cause the skin to burst The religious traditionalism of the Pharisee cannot contain the power of grace this weekend a couple days ago K smith pastor chucks wife died Perhaps you already know some of you already know maybe all of you for all i know k smith some of you haven't an awareness of the calvary chapel history and traditions that we hold And maybe that means nothing to you k smith died after all the jesus movement as as was um As was lived out in the calvary chapel ministries in the earlier days When god began to move here in the united states and began to To reach the youth God did it through various means of course he always does But one significant member of that Movement was a man by the name of chuck smith the pastor of calvary chapel goes to mesa My pastor for many years Chuck went home to be with the lord several years ago now, but his beloved wife k Went home to be with the lord just this week this last week k is really the one that influenced her husband chuck many of you know that perhaps some of you don't She and chuck used to go right by um pch and huntington beach on main i believe is main street And they would sit in a car when the hippie kids would walk by Huntington beach was the beach that i used to go to that was the place i'd hitchhike to and During the summer i spent a lot of time there and got skin cancer through that Used to go to the beach all the time And we would go to huntington. That's where we went by the pier and k and chuck would pull up in their car And chuck would just watch the dirty hippie surfers come walking by And under his breath or out loud to his wife He would say those stinking kids ought to take a bath and get a job They need to put shoes on He'd get all mad Then he'd turn and he'd look at his beloved wife k and she'd be crying And she'd be praying for these kids She would be praying for the kids And it's often pastor chuck's heart Towards these lost hippie Kids that were everything that his generation hated k did that And it was through k's prayers and influence that pastor chuck softened towards reaching Young people And it was his method of reaching us. He he actually broke the mold he He didn't always wear a A suit and jacket when he taught he He would sit on a on a stool. He'd hold the bible in his hand and He'd wear his turtleneck and he thought he had long hair at one time because it actually touched his collar He thought it was a hippie. I first encountered pastor chuck when I was 20 and he was 43 years old and he would just talk with that That beautiful voice of his About the love of god the goodness of god the forgiveness of god And it broke down barriers First time I went into a Calvary Chapel ministry. I went in barefooted I went in as a hippie kid I've been drinking smoking pot went to church I wasn't kicked out I was accepted my sin never was but as a person I was And it impressed me it impressed me Because the church that I would have normally attended would have gone to church Would not have allowed that had I walked in in the condition that I was in To the church I at one time attended they would have escorted me right out Or there's no way that you walk in barefooted. Are you kidding in church? No, of course not But there there were 200 kids and then more sitting in pews just like this barefoot Kind of grimy because a lot of kids would go surfing and go to the beach And then right from the beach would come to the evening bible study And so you'd be in there with all these kids And I can still remember Chuck talking about how kids were putting their toes in the Communion cup holders and I I remember my toe got stuck in that myself And I remember thinking about that because I didn't wear shoes You may find this interesting maybe not sunday mornings I I never wore shoes on sunday mornings when this church began. I didn't wear shoes I I didn't wear shoes for a long time. My mom said, you know, I'm tired of seeing your feet Put some shoes on that's how come I started wearing shoes Because my mom said I'm tired of it because we had bible studies in houses and sunday morning was a house And I wore sandals and I would kick my sandals off and just cross my feet Sit in a chair and give a bible study. That's how this church began It wasn't anything like this in terms of what we have now. It was a house a house study I'd wear a t-shirt. I'd wear jeans. I'd I was still a hippie when this when the church began Where did I get the idea that you could actually love god And not wear shoes the grace of god A pastor like chuck pastor's wife like k I still remember when My wife marie and I were in israel. It's 1983 and And marie was sitting next to k smith and pastor chuck and I was sitting across from one another Chuck and I were very much alike and marie and k were very much alike I still remember marie sitting next to k and we were in a place It's called the antonio fortress and is a it's an area that you can sit and wait for people to come After visiting and all and so going down and seeing the site and and chuck was right here He is is with our within our length arm length of me And marie's sitting with her shoulder on k And they're talking and marie's turning and she's facing k and they're You know women touch each other when they're talking they're touching each other And and chuck was very to himself chuck was a very to himself guy a lot of people don't know that about him is And so am I so I was just sitting there I wasn't even looking at him and he wasn't looking at me We weren't talking at all because neither one of us wanted to so just And marie's going And then chuck turns and looks at me so dave how's it going and so we started talking that's that was our relationship We became very close. My wife was brought on to a board the in the calvary chapels They have what they call the pastor's wives board Represents the 1800 or so calvary chapels throughout the world marie was on that board for over 30 years of k over 30 years Loved k very deeply And she went home to be with the lord It was her influence on her husband That helped chuck to become known as a man of compassion and grace The way it was my wife's influence on me To break a hard heart And make it willing to to tear up Which I never did For the longest time It's the new wine Of the holy spirit It's the grace and the compassion of god That changes lives Not the rules and not the regulations and then you need to do this and if you do that you're bad We already know that Instinctively we already know that we're sinners Very few people would argue and say they're perfect very few Most would say well, I know I'm not perfect most will say that Well, the Pharisees were very good at And setting up rules and regulations to make sure you remembered all the time what you were Jesus on the other hand. He said I've come to bring new wine and put it into new wine skins The wine of the holy spirit A brand new work of god That will set you free from the bondage that you live in Religious traditionalism Doesn't have the power of grace Because what jesus was was teaching was that the phariseic order was not right It was built on external self-righteous and and foundational traditional Judaism to the extreme And it was pointing out that the disciples of john needed to remember What john's ministry was all about He had come to to prepare people for for the messiah to follow jesus and and he was pointing out that It's time to open to the work of god the work that god will do through jesus in you You need to accept whatever new thing god wants to do by his grace. These are the things that he does There's so many of us if we would have stayed in the traditionalism that we were taught would We'd never have been saved for one thing and never been used the way we are now It requires the power of the holy spirit and the grace of god That's what it requires And I I think that's even churches today are going back to the traditionalism and that to be concerns me greatly There's such an effort to get people to sit in church to get people in the pews That unfortunately there are some Who are willing to change the gospel message To the degree that people don't hear That there is a need To repent from your sin. There is a need to ask god for forgiveness. There is a need To receive that forgiveness because that's what makes you walk and that's what makes you sleep and praise god And that comes through the power of the holy spirit by the grace of god And these people are saying how come you guys don't fast The way that the Pharisees do and the way john taught us to do why Because I've come to bring you joy There'll be a time for mourning. I will be violently taken away jesus was saying And yes, when you see that christ is crucified that draws tears to the eyes of those who loved him But it it's sorrow is going to be overwhelmed by the joy because three days later jesus rises from the dead and the joy is unspeakable For the one that we have trusted in is alive. He's not dead And this comes through the teaching and preaching of the word of god It doesn't come through trying to convince people that everything's going to be okay without god It isn't going to be okay without god But with god all things are possible with god. I can't have joy with god. I do have forgiveness with god I do have a life that really matters with god. I have what jesus called the abundant life Why because he forgave me. He loved me. He gave himself for me. He changed me. He's blessed me Why wouldn't I have joy and that comes through jesus christ and that's how it comes That's the way it's supposed to come And so religious traditionalism never does fill you it never does satisfy you It never gives you that that sense of peace and joy and he says and that's why he says the bridegroom is here And it's a time for joy And christ is with us It's a it's a time for joy Be careful that you don't get traditionalized Be careful that you don't become an old wine skin Be careful That you don't do This where people say I just can't understand how those kids do that that tells me we're old I just can't understand. Yeah, you can You did it yourself Your parents hated you too Because you were a jerk just like I was you thought you knew everything My old man my old man didn't know anything. How could he know anything? He was an old man, right? And then one day you realized that that old man knew an awful lot I just didn't respect him enough to listen to what he'd learned But we who are older now In many ways we need to just get out of the way so the spirit can work in the young But we are older now Can also show them The path that really does work The path of life that comes to christ We need to be careful that we don't try to make the younger generation A mere copy of the older because god has a fresh thing he wants to do with the young people What we need to do is help them in their joy to discover what god wants for them As long as they stay centered on god's word And on the power of his holy spirit as long as jesus remains a center That's the biggest thing I may not agree with everything god knows they don't that I see today. I think No, if they love the lord they love his word They walk in his spirit and they're reaching a generation that understands their language god bless them May they continue to do so Because when I was saved as young man The older generation said of me and people like me You guys are hopeless, but jesus christ said no I give hope And I will change you he always has and he always will Because he is the god who changes the lives of sinners. He does it by his spirit He does it by his love. He does it by his compassion. He does it Because he gave himself for us. What a savior What a blessed savior we have in jesus And our father we bless you and we thank you and we lift up the family of k And the sorrow that many are feeling at at the home going even though they all were prepared in many ways lord It still touches our hearts to know That she is no longer with us but lord She's with you and not only with you but she's with her husband Whom she loves so deeply and so faithfully for so many years I just pray for that family. I also pray for us this church Father I pray that there would be a renewed hunger in my own heart a hunger in our hearts That to just walk with you and to walk in your spirit to to know your word and and lord to to reach people with your message I pray for a revival to spring out in us and awakening within us Lord because it's easy for us in the midst of all of this that we go through to lose heart Lord, you're the one who raises up one and puts down the other we trust you And we know you're doing what is right even though we might not see it at this moment So I pray lord for for us a church. I pray for the church. I pray for this nation And I pray father that we would do that which is right in your sight I especially pray that we might have our hearts open to what the spirit wants to do in us now May we not be old wineskins father may your new wine of your spirit May he move within us And even as our eyes are closed our heads are bowed perhaps there's some right now in this room We need to get right with the lord And you know it I want to pray for you. I can't see you online. I know there are a number of countries Viewing right now. I can't see you. I can't obviously see those who are here in the overflow But I can't see those are in this room And if you have need for prayer and you need to get right with the lord I'd like to pray for you would you raise your hand and let me pray for you right where you're at Father you see these hands now that are going up throughout this room lord You know the exact reason why people would raise their hands I ask that you would reach down now and touch them lord and that by your holy spirit You would just right now just move in them And lord whatever it may be that needs to be removed that you would remove it whatever needs to be placed in there That you would place it and right now lord we open our hearts to you and we receive from you and we will live for you Father I pray that you would just do your work in them And I thank you lord and I bless you. Thank you lord You can put your hands down And one last thing the spirit of the lord put on my heart this weekend as our eyes are closed and our heads remain bowed As i'm reading through mark i'm seeing that jesus healed a lot He healed a lot And the lord spoke to my heart and said you ought to pray for the people in your church right now who are Who are ill who are there who are not feeling well and and I do believe in a god who heals The bible doesn't teach that he stopped And so if there's anybody here right now and i'm not asking for a production. We're not doing anything odd It's just what the church does do and I haven't done for a while I just want to pray for those who may be maybe sick who may be ill right now I want to pray for you and if you need prayer you're not well Would you stand up right now before I close and let me pray for you Right where you're at if you're if you're not well just stand up Father you see these people who are standing right now lord Jesus we read we're reading your gospel how you heal the sick Lord you heal I ask in jesus name lord that you would reach down to touch these that were saying god be merciful to me I ask that you you buy your spirit right now father would touch these who are standing And father heal them Heal them lord You know the condition that they're dealing with you and they know together So lord we just simply ask in in faith in prayer we ask for your word tells us you have not because you ask not Well lord we're asking I ask that you would touch them And that you would miraculously do a work in them as they stand in faith saying god be merciful to me Lord you've done it in the past why not now So I pray that you would reach and touch them now lord as they stand before you And by faith we thank you lord in advance And bless you thank you lord You can you can sit down And jesus as we're about to close now. I just ask that you continue to move in us use us for your glory in your name Amen