Hidden Treasure | Part 2

The big idea

If you follow Jesus partially, you will miss Jesus completely — He wants to give you brand new wine, not patch up the old life you already have.

Jesus doesn't come to make your old life slightly better; He comes to let the old die so something brand new can live in you. The real danger isn't rejecting Jesus outright but settling for a partial, patched-together faith that leaves the best He has for you untouched.

Point 1 of 7

Pastor Daniel explains that the word parable relates to 'parallel' — a story that runs alongside a complicated truth to make it understandable. He notes Jesus used parables most often when the Pharisees questioned why He operated so differently than they expected.

Point 2 of 7

Working through Luke 5:27-28, Pastor Daniel points out that Levi left everything to follow Jesus, and that tax collectors were among the most despised people of the day. Jesus building His inner circle from society's rejects proved that the invitation to discipleship was never about qualifying yourself first.

Point 3 of 7

He unpacks Jesus' answer to the Pharisees' complaint about eating with 'such bad people' — healthy people don't need a doctor, sick people do. Pastor Daniel says this makes Christianity the most inclusive faith in the world because the only entry requirement is admitting you're broken and need to repent.

Point 4 of 7

Pastor Daniel describes how the Pharisees expanded a once-a-year fast into a twice-weekly public performance, painting their faces pale to look holy. He warns that we do the same when we treat Bible reading, church attendance, or giving as a scorecard for God's approval rather than gifts we get to enjoy.

Point 5 of 7

He walks through Jesus' twin illustrations, explaining that mixing old, already-shrunk fabric with unshrunk new cloth destroys both, and that new wine placed in a brittle old wineskin will burst it. He connects this to people who want a little bit of Jesus mixed with the life they already have, like an 'Oprah Winfrey faith.'

Point 6 of 7

Pastor Daniel ties Jesus' first miracle, turning water into wine, to this parable, showing Jesus was foreshadowing that He Himself is the better, new thing replacing the old covenant of trying to be good enough. He says grace is the new standard we now live under.

Point 7 of 7

He uses the 1985 New Coke story, where blind taste tests proved New Coke was preferred, yet public outrage killed it in seventy-four days, to illustrate humanity's built-in aversion to change. He applies this to Luke 5:39 and to his own story of resisting God's prompting to trust Him with money for six months before finally surrendering.

Take it into your week

Pastor Daniel frames the choice as whether we'll finally become new wineskins or keep protecting the parts of our hearts we've marked off-limits.