with celebration and say, Take out the Old and Bring in the new !

This is the same thing that Jesus did when He began His ministry

and I'll be talking about it right after we go to God in Prayer:

"Our Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your Word for in it we find

the power unto Salvation in Your Son, our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Bless this morning's message to all who will hear and through it

may that one who has not accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord,

be led to do it today, and it is in Jesus name that we pray, amen."

When Jesus Christ began His Ministry He was immediately challenged

by the religious leaders of His day. God had made the Jews His

chosen people and made a covenant with them. Some of their ranks

were called by God to minister to them. People like Abraham, who

became the father of Faith, Moses, who presented the Law, Samuel,

the prophet who was chosen to ordain first Saul and then David as

the first two Kings of Israel but now the Scribes, Sadducees,

Pharisees, Rabbis and Priests were at the forefront and along with

their people were waiting for the Messiah, the Anointed One Of God

who many believed would lead Israel back to its glory days when

King David was on the Throne. They believed that God's messiah

would be active in Politics and not Spiritual matters and from the

day that Jesus read Isaiah's Prophesy in the Synagogue and said He

was the fulfillment of it the Religious leaders opposed Him.

By the way, if you ever want to read a short story on the history

of God's dealings with Israel up to Jesus Christ, read the 7th

Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. It presents a sermon preached

by Stephen, one of the first Deacons in the early Church.

In second chapter of Mark's Gospel we find the difference between

the legalistic system that the Religious leaders followed and the

Kingdom of God that Jesus was ushering in.

Beginning in verse 13, the Religious leaders began to criticize

Jesus for associating with tax collectors whom they considered

sinners. Jesus rebukes them by saying He came to minister to

sinners and not the righteous. Then in verses 21 and 22, in

answer to a question why Jesus and His Disciples did not observe

the ritual of Fasting, our Lord answered their question by showing

how different their legalistic system was compared to the Kingdom

of God in two Illustrations. First concerning sewing new cloth on

an old garment and second trying to pour new wine into old

wineskin. In the first case the garment would rip and in the

second the wineskin would burst. The object lesson meant that any

effort to mix the Kingdom of God with their old legalistic system

would fail as the legalistic system depended on works and the

Kingdom of God was based on Faith alone in Jesus Christ.

If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your personal

 Savior and Lord, we encourage you to do it today. Let

us know of your decision so we can rejoice with you  !

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