179-Is Your Storehouse New or Old?#
179-Is your storehouse filled with new things or old ones?
(JP Text Group - Ren Wei Compilation)
The topic we are sharing today is whether your storehouse is filled with new things or old ones.
Matthew 13:51-52:
Jesus said, "Have you understood all these things?" They said to Him, "Yes." He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."
Let us begin with a prayer:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise You! Thank You for preparing this opportunity for us to worship and praise You together; we offer our gratitude to You! As a new week begins, Lord Jesus, may You personally supply us from above, and may the Holy Spirit open our hearts so that we may live under the guidance of the Holy Spirit every day. We completely entrust today’s gathering to You, and bless every brother and sister who comes to seek You today. We pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!
After Jesus spoke seven parables, He made a final summary, saying, "Do you understand all these things?" Jesus spoke many parables about the kingdom of heaven, such as the kingdom of heaven being like a good pearl, the kingdom of heaven being like a net, and the parable of good soil... After Jesus finished all these, He asked those who were listening, "Do you understand all these things?" The disciples said they understood. To be honest, they did not really understand. Jesus spoke so much, and the disciples themselves did not comprehend. Jesus finally said, "Every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."
There is a special term here: scribe. The "scribe" was a very important position in the Old Testament. If we understand what a "scribe" is, we will understand why many people today live in a mixed environment of law and grace, or why some people know the Lord is good but cannot live it out; they understand that God is a blessing God, but do not see blessings in their lives. This is where the problem lies.
Let us first understand who the "scribes" are. The "scribes" were Jewish religious officials who often associated with Jewish kings, prophets, and priests, which are the three major holy offices in the Old Testament. They were not part of these holy offices but were a very special group of people. The work of the "scribes" is somewhat similar to that of "Sima Qian" in China, mainly recording historical events.
However, the scribes did not record the entire history of Israel; besides recording history, they had another important task: studying the Law of Moses. These people were well-versed in the Law of Moses, and they diligently read, wrote, and copied the Scriptures. The accuracy of the Bible we read today is inseparable from the efforts of the scribes.
The scribes of the Old Testament were very devout; throughout their lives, they did nothing else but copy the Scriptures. In the past, unlike our current printing technology, they engraved the scriptures on parchment with a knife. If they made a mistake in a word or punctuation, the entire parchment would be rendered useless, and they would have to start over. Especially when they reached the name "Yahweh," they would change their pen or knife, bathe, change clothes, and kneel down to write the name "Yahweh." Therefore, to this day, the original text of the Bible rarely contains errors; the Hebrew and Greek texts have not been erroneous, which is inseparable from the piety of the scribes.
Many ancient manuscripts of the Bible have been passed down, and when someone made a mistake while copying the Scriptures, the requirement was to throw it away. Some people thought it was a pity to throw it away for a punctuation mistake, so they kept it, which is the reason for the existence of different versions today.
The scribes were very familiar with the Scriptures. In the Old Testament, there was a man named Ezra, who in Ezra 7:6 said, "This Ezra came up from Babylon, and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his requests, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him."
The scripture says he was very knowledgeable about the Law of Moses. He was different from us; to this day, we still cannot memorize the entire Law of Moses! But they were basically very familiar with the Law of Moses and could recite it fluently. They were an impressive group of people. The first five books of the Old Testament are the Law of Moses, which record the history of "who begat whom." How tedious is that! But they could memorize it.
These people were wise and well-versed in the Law of Moses. The work of the scribes was very sacred, and their status in the Jewish nation at that time was very esteemed, above others. With such status, they gradually deviated from the truth because being respected for a long time made them prone to pride once they did not receive revelation from God.
This is not only true for the scribes; it applies to everyone, including those in power. If there are always people praising you around, gradually, that person will become arrogant and may forget what they were originally meant to do. So, in the end, these people gradually deviated from the right path, loved vanity, and liked to show off in front of others. They added human traditions to God's law, became pedantic, adhered to the letter of the law, considered themselves righteous, and sometimes even misinterpreted the law.
For example, later the scribes and Pharisees stipulated that the Israelites should do no work on the Sabbath, which was originally stated in the law, but the scribes and Pharisees added the rule that "you should not walk more than two miles." What could the people do? They could only obey. The scribes understood the Scriptures and the Law of Moses, so the people had to comply. On the Sabbath, the people did not walk more than two miles, but these guys were not restricted by this.
Once someone saw the scribes and Pharisees walking more than two miles and asked, "Teacher, why did you exceed two miles?" But these scribes said, "When did you see my feet walk more than two miles?" It turned out they were riding in a carriage. They imposed the law on the people but did not follow it themselves. This is why Jesus once said to them, "Woe to you, hypocrites and scribes!" This is the reason; they added many things to the law and misinterpreted it, oppressing their brothers. Today, it is the same; it is precisely those who understand the law who become obstacles to grace.
Matthew 23:1-7:
Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.'"
By the time of Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees had become corrupted; they liked high positions and enjoyed flattery from others. But Jesus said, "Whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works." The behavior of these people was very poor. We can see that those who truly live under the law may say nice things, but their actions are very poor.
What kind of people live under the law today? Two types: one is those who understand the Scriptures and live under the law; the other is those who do not believe in the Lord. Unbelievers also live under the law, but they live under their own law, the law of conscience. So many people speak very well, but they cannot do it; these people are living under the law.
The Lord Jesus is not like this. The Lord Jesus said, "Do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren." Jesus was a person who taught by example and is our model. When we see Jesus speaking about the parables of the kingdom of heaven, He used very practical things, including many miracles He performed throughout His life. These were actually Jesus’ full understanding of God's words, and He lived out God's words.
In John 1, it says, "The Word became flesh," referring to Jesus. Jesus is the "Word." When people saw Jesus, they knew that He was God. Today, Jesus does not want us to imitate the scribes; He wants us to imitate Him. We are not here to give others a set of rules; we are not telling others how perfect the Law of Moses is and then asking them to obey it. We want to bring life to others, just like Jesus; we want to provide real help to others, not just lofty words and slogans—anyone can shout slogans! The problem is to genuinely solve people's problems.
Jesus went to many places, and what He brought to people was always help. He healed the sick, cast out demons, cared for the sick, loved His disciples, trained His disciples, and taught them with many parables of the kingdom of heaven. At that time, the disciples did not understand the kingdom of heaven, so Jesus used many parables to tell them what the kingdom of heaven was like.
Today, these parables are also for us, helping us understand that the kingdom of heaven is indeed a wonderful place, and we should set our sights there. Jesus also tells us that there will be many problems in the end times, but we will not lose hope in this world; we do not need to be discouraged because the Lord Jesus is our hope. He will surely return for the final judgment and lead us into a new heaven and a new earth; this is the significance of Jesus speaking about the parables of the kingdom of heaven.
Facts also prove that those who followed Jesus, like Peter, John, James, and Matthew, had poor backgrounds and behaviors in the past, but after following Jesus, their lives were transformed. Today, when we say we want others to believe in Jesus, we must first let their lives be transformed. When we evangelize, we actually want to bring Jesus to them so that their lives and families can be transformed, giving them hope—not hope on earth, but hope in heaven.
Jesus changed many lives, but He was not like the Pharisees and scribes. The Pharisees and scribes gave people the law. When the people had problems, for example, if someone had a skin disease and went to the high priest, the high priest would say, "Based on your situation, you need to be isolated; you cannot live with your family; you must go to the isolation area and stay for a week before coming back to see me." The high priest did not heal the sick; he had no ability to do so; he isolated people and judged them according to the law.
Jesus was not like this; when Jesus encountered these problems, He directly brought healing to people. Today, we are not disciples of Moses; we are disciples of Jesus. In the later stages, the Pharisees and scribes would say, "You are disciples of Jesus; we are disciples of Moses." In teaching the law, they acknowledged that they were disciples of Moses.
In the New Testament, there are many people who are also true scribes. What they did is similar to what the scribes of the Old Testament did. For example, Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke, Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark, and Matthew wrote the Gospel of Matthew. These Scriptures were recorded by them; they did what the Old Testament scribes did, but they were not Old Testament scribes; they were New Testament scribes. In the New Testament, they are no longer called "scribes" but "disciples of the kingdom of heaven."
"Every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven," who instructs the scribes? When the scribes received Jesus' teachings, they began to become disciples of the kingdom of heaven. In fact, the term "disciples of the kingdom" is a relatively new designation, representing a new identity. What qualities should disciples of the kingdom possess? First, they should have the same status as the Old Testament scribes, and then they should be very familiar with the Scriptures, taking the Scriptures as their authority. The later part mentions another matter; the scripture says, "like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."
When mentioning a householder, what comes to mind? We think of "the head of the family." He is the householder, able to bring out many things from his storehouse. The "householder" here is somewhat different from our Chinese term "家主." In the region of Israel, "householder" means someone very wealthy, able to bring much help to others, and able to frequently provide both old and new things. Therefore, Jesus is not saying that today, as New Testament scribes, we have nothing; it is not like that. We can bring many things from the kingdom of heaven to others; we are very wealthy.
"Disciples of the kingdom" is a title that comes after the seven parables. Jesus deliberately asked them, "Do you understand all these things?" The meaning of Jesus is simple: you must understand for yourself before you can teach others. Some things we must experience ourselves before we can comfort others. For example, Peter denied Jesus three times, but when he was accepted by Jesus again, when Jesus came to find him, he finally stood up. This way, he would not casually draw conclusions about others, even if someone now says, "I no longer believe in Jesus." Peter would not give up on him because Jesus had not given up on Peter. This is what we call "gifts."
In the past, when we had physical illnesses, after Jesus healed us, we usually understood this area better than others, or we understood it more clearly. If this person pursues gifts, God will grant him the gift of healing. A few days ago, I met a sister who had lupus, a disease that can be deadly. This sister was very young, and after falling ill, she weighed only sixty pounds. During a prayer, the brothers and sisters introduced Jesus to her. After she came to know God, her illness was completely healed.
After being healed, she now has a burden; when she sees someone else sick, she always comforts them, saying not to worry, that it is not a problem. Why does she have this confidence? Because she understands healing better than others. When Jesus taught the parables of the kingdom, He said, "Do you understand what I am saying? If you understand, then you can teach others. If you understand, then you can explain it to others." Just like today, I can only share with you if I understand this passage.
When we teach others, we must first have something inside us. Usually, we say, "If you want to give someone a glass of water, you must first have a bucket of water. If you only have a glass of water and give it away, you will have nothing left." For us, God's words are the same; we must first recognize the beauty of Jesus before we tell others. Only when you understand can you teach others. "Receiving instruction" and "becoming disciples of the kingdom" are connected; one who cannot first receive instruction cannot supply others.
So we often say, "We must first receive before we can give to others." Receiving is crucial. If we do not have the truth inside us, what we give out will just be our own experiences, encounters, and thoughts. Unless we understand the truth of Jesus Christ today, the truth and wisdom of Jesus, what we give to others will be the truth and wisdom of Jesus.
In fact, many of us are constantly giving to others, even those who do not believe in the Lord. For example, if a guest comes to your home, a good friend who says their home is a mess, what should you do? Even if you do not believe in Jesus, you would comfort them, telling them: "It's okay..."
What you give them is your experience or principles you have seen on TV or elsewhere, but this may not necessarily help them. If today we understand the wisdom of Jesus Christ, understand the truth of Jesus Christ, and directly give Jesus to them, their problems will surely be solved. This is also the reason I have seen many families change over the past few years. I understand that as long as they know Jesus and receive His words, their families will surely be transformed; Jesus has that ability. If we want to help others in truth, we must first equip ourselves in truth; otherwise, we cannot supply others.
Next, Jesus said: disciples of the kingdom are like a householder who is familiar with his house and brings out things from his storehouse to supply others. The "storehouse" that Jesus refers to is a warehouse; in the original Greek, another word is used: "treasure." A warehouse is a place to store treasures. Anyone who can be called a "householder" will have a warehouse.
In ancient Israel, anyone who could be called a "householder" must have a warehouse, a place to store treasures. In a sense, this is a prerequisite for becoming a householder. Why can he become a householder? Because he has stored many treasures in the warehouse, he fills the warehouse with various things.
Jesus uses this metaphor to tell us: every householder does one thing, which is to find ways to fill his warehouse so that he can take out things to share with family and servants at any time. Since you are a head of the family, you have many servants and family members, and everything needed in the house comes from him. He needs to have a warehouse so that when family members have needs, he can take things out for them. I also believe that today, as parents, we have the same mindset. When my family has needs, can I take things out for them? When a child needs food, the parent takes out food for them; when a child needs to go to school, the parent arranges school for them. This is also a way of providing. But today, as disciples of the kingdom, our mission is even greater.
For example, if someone has a physical illness, what can we give them? Telling them, "Go to the hospital!" is not what you are giving them. What we should give is Jesus, allowing Jesus to solve their problems. If someone has issues in family relationships or marriage, what do we give them? We cannot say, "Don't worry! Just endure; life is only a few decades." That method does not work; we need to give them Jesus, allowing Jesus to repair their problems. This is what we should provide to others.
Including myself, as someone who preaches the grace of Jesus Christ, I first tell others: Jesus can solve this problem; God has prepared something better for you.
For us, becoming disciples of the kingdom means we must first have a very rich warehouse. Where is our warehouse? You see, Jesus Christ has given us everything in the kingdom of heaven; all spiritual resources from heaven are given to us, allowing us to use the resources of the kingdom of heaven to help others. So our warehouse should be understood as "all spiritual resources from heaven," or "Jesus is my support, my warehouse."
When we give to others, we must remember to give them Jesus. If we give anything else, it may help, but it may also have significant side effects unless we give them Jesus, allowing Jesus to personally solve their problems.
There is something very interesting: when we give to others, we can better share with them. Therefore, Jesus is very concerned about whether there is anything in the disciples' warehouses. For more than three years, Jesus did not let the disciples do too much; He did not rush them to go out and preach the gospel. Instead, Jesus spent more than three years teaching them, allowing them to store things in their minds, filling their warehouses with spiritual things. When the Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost, these people went out and provided what the scribes, Pharisees, and high priests could never give.
Listening to the word is also important. Which is more important, the word or the gifts? In fact, they are equally important; neither can be lacking. In comparison, we should first have the word, and then understand the word before using these gifts. For example, speaking in tongues, prophesying, and healing are all gifts. When we have the word, it becomes very simple to apply these gifts.
Why did Jesus not directly give them the Holy Spirit? Wouldn't that be easier? Jesus did not do this. For three and a half years, Jesus only gave them the word. Jesus acted in front of them while they watched. Jesus continuously taught and acted, and the disciples kept watching for more than three years. Until the Holy Spirit came to fill them, they remembered the words Jesus had spoken in the past and then possessed the same power as Jesus.
In the later stages, how great was the disciples' power? The Bible records that a man was waiting by the roadside for Peter to pass by; when Peter's shadow fell on him, he was healed. Many people were transformed, which is inseparable from the words Jesus taught the disciples over three and a half years. Therefore, Jesus said, first fill the warehouse.
The scripture says, "like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old." What do the new and old things refer to? Many people think the new and old things refer to two types of things, either new or old. In fact, it is not like that. The new and old things in the original Greek refer to one kind of thing.
This one kind of thing, some people take out as old, while others take it out as new. This is precisely the mystery of the words Jesus spoke. From the text itself, it refers to the same thing; it is both old and new. It is both new and old. The things in the warehouse should all be old, but after this person takes them out, they become new. At the right time, taking out the appropriate things for the right person makes it new for the recipient.
In this sense, this Bible is old, but it is also new. In the past, they also read this Bible, but they could not draw out this new meaning. Two thousand years later, this Bible is still new for future generations because it is timeless, but it is indeed an old thing. This is what Jesus wants to tell us: the new and old things. Today, Jesus did not invent something new; He provided a new interpretation of God's words, returning to the original way God wanted to give to us.
For example, entering the kingdom of heaven is the same; the scribes and Pharisees required people to strive to obey the Law of Moses. This is also a method of entering the kingdom of heaven, but they used an old method. Jesus also allows people to enter the kingdom of heaven; Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." Jesus did not tell people to strive to obey the law but to believe in Him, believe that Jesus fulfilled all the laws of the Old Testament for you.
Today you can walk a path that you have not completed, and this is the mystery of Jesus' words. It is both new and old. The new method can please God, and the new method does not conflict with the old method at all. In other words, our method of entering the kingdom of heaven must also comply with the law; it is just that in the past, people relied on themselves to obey it and ultimately found themselves failing.
Jesus came; He fulfilled all the laws for us. As long as you believe that Jesus has fulfilled them, Jesus will give you what He has fulfilled. Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross; He shed blood for our sins and gave us His "righteousness." This is a new path, but it also conforms to the old path. This is the new and old things.
What we need to do today is very simple: accept everything Jesus Christ did on the cross; you can receive it simply by faith. Therefore, for us, entering the kingdom of heaven has become a new thing. It is not like in the past, where no matter how hard we tried, we could not reach it. Now it is easy to obtain; this is what we call the new and old things.
Disciples of the kingdom did not invent anything new; everything they have is also recorded in the Old Testament Scriptures, as well as some past things. But today, we do not rely on obeying the law; we rely on Jesus. Jesus hopes that we will live out the old things in a new way.
The Old Testament also tells us to have good behavior, and the New Testament also tells us to have good behavior. How can we obtain this strength? The Old Testament tells us that we must first forgive others; otherwise, our heavenly Father will not forgive us. We cannot forgive, and we must do so on the surface. In the New Testament, Jesus tells us to think about how Jesus forgave us, so we have the strength to forgive others. Both are forgiveness, but the methods are different. This is how it becomes new when giving to others.
Jesus hopes that today, when we read the Old Testament, we can read out God's grace and discover the real help the Old Testament provides us. The same Bible, in different eras, for different groups of people, we should bring out different supplies. This may seem old, but in reality, it is new. So how do we view the Old Testament today? We view it through grace; we look at the Old Testament through God's grace, taking out new and old things from His storehouse. This is how Jesus preached.
Matthew 7:28-29: When Jesus had finished these sayings, the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
The things Jesus taught did not deviate from the law, but after the people heard it, they felt that what Jesus said was different from what their scribes taught them; it was like one having authority. This authority can bring help to others. Today, when people hear the message of grace, some testify, saying:
"I find that what you preach is a bit different from what our pastor preaches."
I asked him, "What do you feel after hearing it?"
He said, "Of course, this message can build me up."
Because what we tell others is the authority of Jesus Christ, the power of Jesus Christ, the grace of Jesus Christ, just like Jesus.
When Jesus preached, the people heard and said that Jesus was not like their scribes, giving them rules and regulations to follow. Jesus preached as one having authority, issuing commands and making things very simple. Jesus did it simply as well. This is what we need to understand today: there is still a difference between scribes and disciples of the kingdom.
Why is what Jesus preached not like their scribes? Using our terminology today: Jesus was always innovating, but He did not abolish the past; He explained the Scriptures in a way that the scribes did not understand. We want to think about this question: the scripture says "new and old things," so what is new? What is old?
I have checked some materials; some people explain "new and old things" as referring to the Old and New Testament Scriptures. In fact, this explanation is not entirely correct, but it is not wrong either. When Jesus spoke these words, the New Testament Scriptures had not yet been written, so at that time, it certainly did not refer to the Old and New Testament Scriptures. Of course, today it can be said to refer to the Old and New Testament Scriptures.
From the context, in John 1:17, it says, "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." Before Jesus came, the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees were the Law of Moses. After Jesus came, He no longer taught people the Law of Moses; He taught people grace and truth. This is the new and old things.
Before Jesus came, all the scribes and Jews lived under the law; after Jesus came, He brought grace and truth. In the past, they relied on the law for justification and ultimately failed. Jesus came and told us that those who believe in the Son have eternal life, and those who believe in what He did on the cross can obtain eternal life. This is God's free gift of grace. Jesus came to teach people, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
These are things that the past scribes could never think of; we can call this new or "God's grace." Jesus understood all of this. The old things refer to "the law of the Old Testament," which cannot justify people. Some people accept the Old Testament law and also accept what Jesus taught; these are the most struggling people, and we call such people "mixed people."
Today, such churches are the most numerous in China; they are half grace and half law. They sometimes tell you: you have been justified, God's grace is upon you; at other times, they tell you: you must do good deeds to receive God's blessings. Such teachings are a mixture of new and old things. They are accustomed to observing the rituals of the Old Testament law while simultaneously believing in the doctrine of "justification by faith" through Jesus Christ on the cross.
Today, many times we are influenced by this concept. For example, when I say, "Let's pray," everyone unconsciously closes their eyes and bows their heads. This becomes something we must do, but the Bible never says, "You must pray with your eyes closed and your head bowed."
We mix these traditional things in; new believers do not understand, and they see others doing it, so they imitate. When Jesus preached, He never said that prayer must be done with closed eyes. Some people say, "Closing our eyes can keep our thoughts from wandering." In fact, if your thoughts want to wander, closing your eyes will not stop them. Some people even close their eyes to pray, and their thoughts wander even faster. So the key is to know to whom you are praying.
At the end, in John 16, it records that Jesus walked to the Garden of Gethsemane, and at that time, they sang hymns and prayed as they walked. In the end, Jesus prayed to the Father while walking. We certainly do not believe that Jesus prayed with His eyes closed while walking; wouldn't He fall into a ditch? Jesus must have been praying with His eyes open. This is new. But it does not seem new; many of our concepts need to be updated. The old things have not changed; they have just been renewed.
Jesus abolished the generational grievances with His precious blood on the cross, wiping out the accusations and regulations written in the law that attack us and hinder us. Jesus fulfilled the law; this matter has been completed, and we cannot complete it. Therefore, we do not need to rely on keeping the law to receive God's blessings.
But this very issue has become something many people teach today: "You must keep the law; you must keep the Ten Commandments; if you do not keep them, God will not be pleased with you, will not bless you, and will not hear your prayers." Originally, you should give others something new, but now you are giving them something old. Jesus did not come to abolish the law; He gave us a higher law, which we call the highest law, known as "the law of love," also called "the law of the Spirit."
It is not about using the old Testament rules to constrain people because this cannot constrain people. We tell others: do not do this, do not do that; they may not be able to do it. The Jews lived under the law for 1500 years, and they all failed. Jesus came and no longer used this method to make people live because it was a failure. Jesus allowed people to live in a new way, which is to live by Him.
Because no one is justified by the works of the law; in other words, today, no one's actions are perfect; they will always violate the law. If we must return to the old law system, then indeed, you will often be under a curse. This also explains why many people who believe in Jesus always have problems; it is because they pull themselves back under the law. Because under the law, there is a characteristic: when you cannot keep it, curses will appear.
Unbelievers live entirely under the law; when they encounter illness, they cannot blame others. At most, they say, "This is my fate; there is nothing I can do!" But our lives are not here; our lives are not under the law; we are in Jesus Christ, who says He can turn everything around. People will always violate the law and sin; in Adam, people cannot escape sin and the curse of death unless they are not under the law. How can one not be under the law? There is only one way to go—believe in Jesus.
Acts 13:38-39:
Therefore, let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
In the past, the Israelites lived under this system, under the Law of Moses, and ultimately failed. We all hope our lives are blessed, but how many are truly blessed? Unless you understand the grace of Jesus Christ. Today, there are still too few people who understand grace; many people only know grace but do not understand it. This is why Jesus said, "Do you understand all these things I have spoken?" Jesus did not ask if they had heard; many people heard but did not understand.
For us, a person who truly understands grace will be like Paul, who ultimately said of himself, "I have learned to be content in whatever state I am, whether in abundance or in need, whether in hunger or in fullness, whether in prosperity or adversity." Today, I can say I slightly understand Paul's meaning; truly, I can only say I slightly understand it. I have experienced abundance, poverty, hunger...
I have experienced all these, but what I can do now is: regardless of what kind of environment I face, whether poor or rich, whether in a good environment or a bad one, whether with few people or many, I can face it calmly. Today, whether I preach to three people or three thousand or thirty thousand, it is the same. This is what Paul meant; if you understand grace, you can overcome all things.
Many people say, "I cannot eat in a place by the roadside; that would diminish my status." In fact, for me, it does not matter; any place is fine because we are not here for these things. What are we here for? The grace of Jesus Christ is upon us; regardless of the environment, we have the peace of Jesus within us.
This is what people long for. Solomon also said at the end: "There is a grievous evil under the sun: laboring and not enjoying the fruits of one's labor." Those who labor cannot enjoy their labor; what they labor for is enjoyed by others. They cannot enjoy it; this is a grievous evil. But God does not want us to live in such a grievous state; He wants us to live in His peace and joy.
The scribe contains both the law of the Old Testament and the grace of Jesus, and he struggles with which way to live. He cannot fully believe in God's free grace because he feels it is too simple, and he is reluctant to let go of the Old Testament law. He is sometimes new and sometimes old.
To avoid this, Jesus told them another parable, saying that no one puts new cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and the tear is made worse; nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break; the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. The scribe is precisely this kind of person; he wants to obtain the new but is reluctant to let go of the old, and in the end, he gets neither.
We have people like this around us. They desperately want to receive God's grace, but they cannot give up their traditional thoughts. Such people often say, "Forget it; it's better not to believe." Such people are in the majority; they are like this in everything. For example, if they have an illness and want to pray, they think: God's free grace is for me; He can heal me; after praying, they think: I have sinned recently. Am I weak again? They begin to doubt God. This situation is where both the new and old things are within them, sometimes new and sometimes old.
Jesus hopes that we will either take out the old, fully knowing that you cannot, and let go; this is also a good thing. Or fully embrace the new; since new wine must be put into new wineskins, if the old garment is torn, throw it away and put on a new garment. God hopes that we will either live entirely under grace or entirely under the law; we must not mix grace and law; otherwise, we will have no faith and will often doubt God.
For the scribe, receiving instruction to become a disciple of the kingdom is very painful. Their psychology is very conflicted. Today, many people struggle after accepting Jesus; they do not know how to choose. They feel grace is good, but everyone else observes the law; should they just throw it away? This is their problem.
Jesus does not want us to abolish the Old Testament law; He gives us a higher law—the "supreme law," also known as "the law of love." Love fulfills the law, and this new and old does not conflict; rather, it is better than the old. The new things refer to grace, which is not something Jesus Christ invented. The blessings we receive are not something Jesus invented. These blessings originally existed within the law.
Deuteronomy 28 records many blessings; these blessings exist, but people want to obtain them under conditions. People must obey all of God's commandments to receive them. When we find that no matter how hard we try, we cannot obey, we give up. Jesus came and said, "I have fulfilled all the laws for you; the blessings I have already obtained, I give to you." We call this "grace freely given."
Acts 13:38-39:
Therefore, let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
This means that today, if you want to receive God's blessings, you can do so simply by believing in Him. Today, many people still ask me, "Teacher Ren, what else must I do for God to heal me?" I tell them: do nothing; just believe in Him. This includes family and marriage relationships; if you believe that God can change them, He can change them.
Through declarations, many things change. If your child is disobedient, you may not seem to do anything to him; you just bless him daily in the name of Jesus Christ, declaring: you are gentle, joyful, filled with wisdom, and obedient. You will find that later, the child becomes obedient. For us, this is the best way to live entirely under grace. Do not declare and then require the child to do this or that.
James 2:8: The scripture says, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." If you fulfill this supreme law, you do well.
The supreme law is the law of love, which gives life. We can see that today, the Holy Spirit is within us, personally guiding the saints. In some matters, we do not know why, but we just feel it should be this way. The Holy Spirit will guide you, saying, "Yes! This is correct." One day, when some bad things arise, the Holy Spirit will tell you not to do this; He will guide us from within, and we will know that some things we no longer want to do because there is something better; He will allow you to live a better life.
In the past, we often scolded others, but now the Holy Spirit says you should bless him; life is continuously renewed by the Holy Spirit. If today you continue to receive the Old Testament Jewish message, your life will be like the Jews; you will often see your unworthiness and filthiness, leading to discouragement and despair. Those who live in such an environment will often be sick because they are living under a curse. Jesus hopes we live in His grace.
John 10:10: The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Jesus came that they may have life and have it more abundantly.
I do not wish to give you a set of theories; I hope to bring you life. Today, we live under grace, not under the Old Testament law, not relying on ourselves, but relying on Jesus Christ to renew us and change us, and our lives are being renewed in this way.
Only by continuously receiving, just as Jesus said: first let our warehouses be filled with things; what you are filled with is what you give to others. If you are filled with the law, you will certainly condemn others; if you are filled with grace, you can rest assured that what you bring to your friends and children will be grace. You will find that because of your words, the people around you change, relationships ease, and many relationships are repaired.
This is something Christians living under grace need to understand. First, let grace fill yourself, and then you can give it out; testimonies will naturally arise. In a family, when the order is correct, you start receiving grace from above and pass it down; the same goes for below. When you give grace to your children, what they express will also be grace. If you constantly point out their faults, they will treat other children the same way; this is the transmission of grace. God hopes we receive His grace and live out His grace.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You! You do not want us to be like the scribes of the Old Testament, living under rules, unable to bring life to others. But Jesus, You came; You do not want us to become theologians but hope we become people who can bring life to others. We are willing to receive Your grace from You, continuously receiving Your grace and supply, and then let us become channels of this grace, able to help more people.
We are willing to preach Jesus Christ through whom more lives can be transformed, so that those living in illness and pain can hear the message of Jesus Christ and be transformed, because we believe this is what You, Jesus Christ, personally do. We also wish that the families of the brothers and sisters listening today can be transformed. First, let Your grace fill our warehouses, and then let us bring out new things to others, giving them the grace of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah! We pray in the name of our Lord Jesus, Amen!