CHANGE INSIDE

Matthew 9:14, 16 “Then John’s disciples came and asked him,’ How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?’ v.16 ‘No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.’ ”

The Scene: A patch, like the one mentioned in verse 16 above, representing the hiding of the darkness of man’s soul/mind; the patch may cover the sinful places (of the heart) but they’re still there.

The Gospel calls all men to repentance; a call to change on the inside, a heart change, not works of the Law. Matthew 9:16  describes the Pharisees’ fleshly efforts to appear as being good and righteous by only obeying the Law. But, Jesus sees past the exterior to the sinner’s heart. God looks at peoples’ motives behind their “good deeds”. He knows the “why” about the acts people perform.  Eventually, the weakness in the sinner’s fabric (the temporary patch) will again grow beyond the patch and expose the inner darkness of someone’s heart. So, a call to Jesus’ name is a call to replace the whole fabric (heart) with a new creation. This process begins because of God’s mercy (for the guilty) and grace (for a new beginning) inside the human heart and soul when  given totally to God through repentance and renewal.

Matthew 9:17 ” Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”Luke 5:36  Jesus Christ told His disciples, “The patch from the new will not match the old.” A new dispensation had arrived in the nation of Israel, indeed the entire world, regarding the need for everyone to be born-again through faith in His birth, atoning death, and bodily resurrection.

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Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures quoted are NIV

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5-62 HEART ISSUES