Sunday Morning IBC. 8/11/2013. Luke 6.

Luke 6:17-26. The Sermon on the Plain: Part I.
Pastor Nam Park.

What do these newly chosen 12 disciples need to know the most? The basics.

Luke 6:17 Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured. 19 And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all.

The Beatitudes

20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.22 Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. 23 Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. 24 But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. 25 Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.

v. 17 "stood on a level place"

This is not exactly the Sermon on the mount but instead is the Sermon on "a level place."

v. 20 "turning His gaze toward His disciples"

This message was meant for the disciples but was given in the presence of others that were considering to become followers.

Here in Luke the Sermon is written in the 2nd person (more personal) while the Sermon on the Mount in the Book of Matthew is written in the 3rd person.

v. 20 “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God."

Poor isn't the opposite of wealthy. Poor here is the opposite of the PROUD. Don't lose hope, the best is yet to come.

v.21a "Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied." 

All believers will hunger for something. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Their hunger will be fully satiated one day. Their hope will finally be realized.

v.21b "Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh."

Just plain crying. Weeping associated with painful injustice. Lack of protection of the good.

v. 22 "Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man."

This is social rejection. By the time Luke is written, some were kicked out of the synagogues. Their names cast down as evil.

This passage isn't about suffering for the sake of suffering, but rather suffering for the sake of Christ. These early Christians were living in an era where claiming to BE a Christian would bring about a world of hurt.

"There are two days in my calendar. This day and THAT Day."

- Martin Luther.

Pay attention, that day is WORTH IT.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

WARNINGS.

v. 24 But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. 

- If you are too satisfied with wealth in this life, your life is stamped: "paid in full." Rather, learn to long after the Lord and do not fall short by forgetting to do the things of the Lord.

v. 25 Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 

v. 26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.

- Yet be weary that if ALL men love you, be sure that they do not misunderstand the gospel. The gospel is meant to be offensive if understood properly.

Immediately after selecting them, Jesus instructs the 12 about the comforts of THAT day, for the difficulties of THIS day. "THAT" day will be the comfort you need when "THIS" day goes wrong. Seek the Lord and care about what happens in THAT day, so that we might live for him today.

Sunday Morning IBC. 8/4/2013. Luke 6.

Luke 6:12-19. The Calling of the Twelve.
Pastor Nam Park.

What is unique in the calling of these 12 men is the ordinary nature of each of these individuals. What kind of men and women does God use? Super Spiritual or Good Humored... In His excellent wisdom, wouldn't God chose the extraordinary? In truth, the Lord chooses those that are made of clay; very flawed but AVAILABLE and ORDINARY human beings.

There will always be someone better than you. Yet the encouragement is that the church is made up of flawed human beings. God has chosen you, not because you are good at any one thing, but He CHOSE you. God uses ordinary individuals to EXTRAORDINARY ends.

It's not about special at one thing, but us being SPECIAL TO HIM.

Your Grace is more than sufficient, to take away our sins... to sanctify us... to help us to know that we are much esteemed in the eyes of the Lord, not because we are extra-ordinary, but because though we are ordinary, we are willing to submit to the God who can accomplish all things and can glorify Himself in clay vessels. 
Teach us how to appreciate the ordinary ones among us and to be available to do great things, not because we are great, but because our Savior is. Amen.

Luke 6:12 It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles: 14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; 15 and Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Luke 4:18 
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,

19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus had described His ministry; He was calling the lowly, the uncouth. 
Yet think, what's the best way to start a cult? A: Start with rich people.
Does Jesus choose rich people? He chooses a tax collector at most who then decides to leave tax collecting. Most of them are country folk; fishermen; simpletons. Not the kind that you would think would change the world. He chose people that were faithful, that would display His glory.

Before big decisions, Jesus spends time in prayer. Possibly 10 hours, in prayer for the choosing of the 12 disciples.

Luke 6:12 It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. 

In God's humanity, we see His intense commitment to prayer, in order to be clear to God's will. 
John 8:28 So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”

And the right 12 were selected. Even Judas Iscariot was not a mistake.

John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
- The idea that we don't live prayerfully upon the Father; it should bother our conscious that we are not whole heartedly devoted to prayer.
We try to depend upon our "vast" intellect, yet we are ordinary people. We are not better than anybody, but God has chosen us and EXPECTS of us to DEPEND solely on Him. There is no greater human being that has ever walked the planet than Jesus Christ; and how did He approach one of the big decisions of His ministry? A: An all-night prayer vigil. He went off on His own to pray, all night. To know what His Father's will would be.

Term Disciple: A Student. Not just followers would would show up at a class. Invested not just for a time period but they were investing their lives. At least 70 but the number is probably in the hundreds. 

The "calling" here is a literal, verbal calling.
And he "chose" in the sense of election. Jesus CHOSE them according to the Father's good will. 

Why 12? They were deliberately chosen to be stewards of God's new covenant promises, parallel to the 12 tribes in the old covenant. Ordinary, sufficient to change an entire world; the extraordinary, accomplished by ordinary men.
"Jesus never set up an organization. These 12 men represent the total of his ministrative machinery. Some of them were clearly outstanding men but on the whole they seemed to have been no more than average. Most have left very little mark on church history. Jesus preferred to work THEN as NOW, through perfectly ordinary people." - Leon Morris, NT commentator.
God is the one that choose to use them.

Term Apostle: Sent out ones. General title for a commissioned messenger.

Simon Peter (leader): The rock. Greatly flawed but greatly used. It's the security of God that allows a sinner like Peter to fall and then to get back up again.
Andrew: Known for seeking out Christ and bringing those he loved to Christ; he soon shares the news with his brother Simon.
James: Sons of Zebedee (Thunder). Half brother of Jesus. Writer of the New Testament Epistle. 
John: Sons of Zebedee (Thunder). Beloved disciple.

Philip (leader): The "bean" counter. Practical but always Christ-centered.
Bartholomew/Nathaniel: Prejudiced to say, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?"
Matthew/Levi: Tax Collector. An unlikely follower but not ashamed of Jesus. He invites other tax collectors to come meet Christ in his home. He recognized value in Christ.
Thomas: Curiously faithful. John 11:16 Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”

James (leader): Not much known. Took gospel to Egypt and crucified.
Simon the Zealot: Not much known. Zealot was a political group that rebelled against Roman authority. Extremist group.
Judas/Thaddeus: He thought less of himself. Shouldn't others also know that Jesus is the Christ... this should not only be revealed to them, but to the world. He's usually seen with a club in his hand at the last supper because he was clubbed to death.
John 14:22 Judas (not Iscariot) *said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?”
Judas Iscariot: Betrayed Jesus.

In the last supper, the other disciples couldn't tell Judas Iscariot apart from themselves. This should be a warning to us.
If you think that you possess more than the church already has, you are mistaken.

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;

1 Corinthians 1:26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 
- Be encouraged, don't fear that you are special to the world, but rather be encouraged that you are SPECIAL to the Lord. That should be more than sufficient. Give him your absolute allegiance and availability because that's all He asks of you.

"God can achieve His purpose either through the absence of human power and resources or the abandonment of reliance upon them. All through history God has chosen to use Nobodies because their unusual dependence on Him made possible the unique display of His power and grace. He chose to use Somebodies only when they renounced dependence upon their natural abilities and resources."
Oswald Chambers

We are nobodies, which makes us perfect as emissaries of the gospel.

Sunday Morning IBC. 7/28/2013. Luke 6.

Luke 6:1-11. The Lord of the Sabbath.
Pastor Nam Park.

As a physician, Luke is writing his gospel in an order that presents a certain argument, not necessarily in chronological order. The argument of: Who Jesus Christ is.
Luke 1:3 it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus;

Luke appropriately arranges two narratives on Sabbath keeping. 
Is Jesus a Sabbath keeper?
Jesus is here trying to teach that it's not about formulating convictions yourself and making others follow your convictions. Rather, it's about grace and truth.
John 1:17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

Luke 6:1 Now it happened that He was passing through some grainfields on a Sabbath; and His disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating the grain. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why do you do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 3 And Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him, 4 how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the consecrated bread which is not lawful for any to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?” 5 And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

6 On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. 7 The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him. 8 But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” And he got up and came forward. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?” 10 After looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored. 11 But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.

Not just keeping the external show, but remembering the mercy that was extended to us through the grace of Jesus Christ. We are to exemplify Christ by living with grace and truth.

Luke 6:2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why do you do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 
- "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" Yet, there is provision that you can eat from your neighbor's farm.
Deuteronomy 23:24-25 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, then you may eat grapes until you are fully satisfied, but you shall not put any in your basket.

25 “When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, then you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not wield a sickle in your neighbor’s standing grain.

- Farmer Brown should have an understanding that God has provided all food and thus, is able to share with others as they are in the field. 

The problem was eating/working on the Sabbath.
God rested on the Sabbath, not because He was tired, but it was to be an example to us. The Sabbath was a consecrated day; set-apart unto the Lord.

Personal convictions are good. Yet when you place your convictions upon someone else, the concept of Grace vanishes. This is what the pharisees were doing, placing their laws and convictions upon others.
"picking the heads of grain" - YOU ARE REAPING!?!?
"rubbing them in their hands"  - YOU ARE THRESHING!?!?
"and eating the grain." - YOU ARE PREPARING FOOD!?!?
2 Timothy 3:4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.

Luke 3:3 And Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him, 4 how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the consecrated bread which is not lawful for any to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?” 
- Implied that everyone knows this story. The 12 pieces of breads is placed there next to God's presence, one for each tribe. Reminder that our sustenance comes from God. Every Sabbath it is replaced. Scripture doesn't condemn David here. 
- Jesus thus implies that there are moments when human need should supersede legalistic tendencies. To say to others that we have something that YOU CAN'T HAVE is incompatible with the grace God shows us.

Matthew 12:6 But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.
- The Lord desires a contrite heart from those that believe.

Micah 6:6 

With what shall I come to the Lord

And bow myself before the God on high?

Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings,

With yearling calves?

7 Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams,

In ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts,

The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He has told you, O man, what is good;

And what does the Lord require of you

But to do justice, to love kindness,

And to walk humbly with your God?
- The Lord doesn't take delight in burnt offerings. God desires us to walk humbly, to walk justly. The scriptures say that our relation to the Lord should be of such value that it affects the way we interact with other men.

Listen, when David needed help, we didn't keep ritual and have him die.

Luke 6:5 And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
- "Son of Man" is what Christ uses to refer to Himself. A Messianic title. AKA: "the Lord is more significant than the Sabbath."

We are natural legalist. We judge others by the doing or the not doing. And we can easily miss the entire point of the grace of God in our lives. In our homes, in our churches, in our evangelism. Make the grace of God evident in your interactions.

It is not about keeping ritual keeping. More important is the Son of Man.
The Lord however keeps ritual of the Sabbath and goes to the Synagogue.
If love is lacking, usually you still play the part. That is natural because we are legalist at heart.

Luke 6:6 On another Sabbath He entered the synagogue and was teaching; and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. 
- Luke emphasizes that the hand was the RIGHT hand. "Withered" like a dying plant.
This is an opportunity of grace and compassion.
Is Jesus capable? YES.
Is Jesus willing? YES.

Luke 6:7 The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse Him. 
- These pharisees are watching Jesus out of the corner of their eye, to see if they healed on the Sabbath. They wanted to catch Him in the act of healing. Would He break the Sabbath?

Jesus then puts the man in the center.
Public and clear.

Luke 6:8 But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” And he got up and came forward. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?” 10 After looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored. 11 But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.
- Controversial b/c Peter's mother-in-law was DEATHLY ill; casting out of the demon is URGENT and essential. However, mundane stuff was not included else this healing would be considered work. They would cast judgement.

Normally, we try not to do bad. Yet when we have opportunity, we should take it to do GOOD.
The grace of God should influence us to have compassion on ALL, including the Samaritans... etc.
As a Christian, there should be a pricking of your conscience to help a brother in need.

Helping was NOT a neutral act. Not helping would be a sin here.

James 4:17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Luke connects the character of the new man (new wine in the old wine skin). 
In Luke's account, it looks like Jesus passively looks around. 
Yet in the parallel passage:
Mark 3:5 After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.
- They made Jesus angry. That they didn't have concern for their brother and his hand.

The Pharisees were filled with mindless rage because Jesus masterfully healed in such a way that they couldn't convict Him of healing.

Teach us that mandate to live with truth and graciousness, to affect this world for great things. That we would leave the impression of Jesus Christ with those we interact with. May it never be said that we were not loving and gracious. May we not force the grace of God into old wine skins of legalism and ritual. Let us be like our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Sunday Morning IBC. 7/21/2013. Philippians 1:1-8.

Philippians 1:1-8. Paul gives Thanks.
Pastor David Yu.

Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, 5 in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. 8 For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 1:3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 
- Paul gives thanks that they've remembered his ministry.

Philippians 1:4 always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, 
- Paul offers thanks OFTEN and with GREAT JOY.

3 John 1:4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.

- What moves us to joy?

Fellowship: A sharing in common.

Paul is joyful because they are partners in the gospel.

Philippians 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. 

- Paul is convinced that the Philippians will persevere to finish what God had started in them. Paul did not have to be anxious over the church at Philippi. God is the one most interested in completing the work.

Paul cultivated deep affection from doing ministry together with these Philippian believers, It was the participation together; spending time in the trenches, sharing the gospel.

Philippians 1:8 For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 

- The affection that Paul has stems from Jesus Christ.

What do we give thanks for?  Is it aligned with what Paul gives thanks for?

Sunday Morning IBC. 7/14/2013. 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7

1 Thessalonians 1:6-7

Pastor Lance Roberts; Czech Rep.

1 Thessalonians 1:6 You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

Background: Written to encourage the Thessalonians believers in the face of persecution.

The church in Thessalonica received the word, showing that they were the elect.

And after receiving the word, these believers were changed.

When the gospel is received by faith, it produces 2 Fruits.

1st Fruit: Receiving the gospel changes the desires of your heart. 

Brings your heart into conformity with Christ.

Desire to Change: Want to Imitate.

1 Thessalonians 1:6 You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit

- A new believer will begin to become imitators of others that love Christ, and ultimately imitators of Christ. Paul suggests that believers imitate them as far as they imitated Christ.

- When you become good at imitating (aka fake flowers), the imitation is almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
- We don't need a cool logo, we need a message. That message is the gospel.

Our goal as Christians is not to be "cool," but rather to be Christ-like. The world isn't captivated by externals, but instead it is captivated by changed hearts.

Desire to Change: Willing to Suffer.
Willing to endure persecution for Christ. Expect Persecution.
Acts 14:22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”
1 Peter 2:21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps
- As believers, we should be surprised when we don't experience pressure to deny Christ.

Desire to Change: Producing a Joy that is fueled by God Himself.
Don't confuse JOY with happiness.
Going through persecution helps us cultivate joy. 
Our joy is not tied to circumstances but instead is rooted in God. Thus, persecution cannot rob us of our joy.

2nd Fruit: It makes you an example for others to follow.
Do others at church see you as an example to follow?
Your life might be the only gospel that others see.

Evening Service. 7/7/2013.

Comments from Nam.

Ephesians 5:22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 24 But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), 3 so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.

4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

5 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; 6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7 With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.

- Sanctify the things that you do, your occupation, as unto the Lord. 

Sunday Morning IBC. 7/7/2013. Luke 5.

Luke 5:33-29. The Joy of the New.
Pastor Nam Park.

At the heart of this: What are the characteristics of this new relationship with the Savior.

Luke 5:33 And they said to Him, “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same, but Yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? 35 But the days will come; and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” 36 And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is good enough.’”

Prayer: Pray for our hearts, protecting us from putting on the forms of religion without having Godliness at the core of it; without faith in Jesus Christ at the center of what we do and believe. Remind us of how great God is. And that the greatest victory and the greatest blessing by way of the Gospel is that we have YOU (Lord). More than rescue from sin and damnation, we have the living God. Teach us to live with JOY on display for ALL TO SEE.

Anyone seeing Jesus interacting with sinners. Shouldn't these people be mourning over their sinfulness?
Looking at Jesus' disciples: Is it alright for them to be so joyful in their new-found salvation? Is the Christian faith different from other religions in its joyfulness?
A: Completely, undeniably, we should be a joyful people.

They are questioning: What is unique about your (partying/joyful) expression of faith in the Lord, vs. our faith (fasting and offering prayers) in the Lord?

Fasting: Putting aside something as delightful as eating (God's good magnificence) to show commitment to prayer; denying self to this delight.
Yet fasting and prayers were becoming something of merit.

The willingness to sacrifice and fast doesn't multiply effectiveness of prayer.
True Fast: Renouncing sin and turning to the Lord for Salvation.

If I declared that you had to do something, like read the Gospels everyday for the rest of your life. It could have started off good, but our Works-Righteousness natural takes that and says "See, I'm doing it, so I'm better than most." This now is a mark of us being "super-spiritual," a form of pride.
Matthew 6:16 “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

John's disciples: Sacrifice
Pharisees: Suffer
Jesus' disciples: Party. Teacher, is this okay?

- Jesus' Response to them:
Luke 5:34 And Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you?
- Jesus hints that it just doesn't make sense for the disciples to sacrifice and suffer.
- The ENTIRE point of being saved, having your sins forgiven... is for you to discover the joy of finding the Savior.

Luke 5:35 But the days will come; and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days."
- It is never normal for the groom to be taken away. Rather, guests usually leave after the wedding. When Jesus is taken away, you won't have to teach the disciples to fast, it will be automatic. A natural fasting will ensue. They will lose appetite. The one that brought them joy is now gone.

There should be no other people as joyful as redeemed Christians. Forgiven. Full of rejoicing.

The more the spirit influences your life, the more joy.
Q: How can you tell a Christian is growing?
A: By increasing evidence of fruit of the Spirit.

Ruins both. 
Luke 5:36 And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. 
- We don't deserve a new chance, but Christ gives it to us.

The Prodigal Son.
We don't have a 2nd class citizenship. We are adopted. We are His Sons.
We are embraced: "My son is found!" Restoration to full sonship.
Why bring the old works-mentality to this amazing faith in Christ, established in His work and His work alone.

Luke 5:39 And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is good enough.’”
- Jesus' point is that if you love the old, you don't wish to look at the new. Example: Those that love the works mentality don't look to think about his need for the NEW.
The new isn't always better than the old. But here, the new (the gospel) is most definitely better than the old (works mentality).

Celebrate with the bridgegroom. Give thanks for His victory and grace. God is good, period... Not IF you do X, Y, and Z. God is good, PERIOD. And no one of us should have more joy, than those of us who understand the new covenant reality, in Him.