New Wine Old Wine

"No man also having drunk old wine straightway desires the new; for he says, the old is better." Luke 5:39

I had breakfast with some old guys today. Eventually their talk centered around how stupid this younger generation is because they do not do what we did and they do not adhere to what we believe. I had to leave. It gets tiresome to hear this kind of talk.

Then this verse came to my mind and I understood that those who drank the old wine have no taste or appetite for anything but the old wine. For those of you in the Bible belt this verse is not talking about wine. It's talking about old ideas and old traditions and old ways of thinking. It is hard for those who grew up in an older generation to agree with or to understand this modern generation. And this can be dangerous to the old folks.

"And no man puts new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish." Luke 5:37

Something bad happens when we try to force new ideas onto an older generation. It is more than they can handle. They cannot even begin to comprehend new ideas. And the danger is that a breach will develop between the generations that is not easily mended. God has to do something in the older saints to allow something fresh and new to unfold. This takes a miracle of God, not psychology.

"But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved." Luke 5:38

Pray for the first generation saints, that they may be flexible enough to go with what God is doing today and not spend their time fretting over the differences between their success and this generation's potential.

BTW, you are welcome for the three point sermon.