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No More Patch Work! The Kingdom Key of Old & New

READ | Matthew 5:14-17

“...I will give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the

garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; and they will be called trees

of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, and God will be glorified

(Isaiah 61:3).” Seamstresses make a lot of money repairing old clothes: letting them out here and taking them in there. They add patches to holes in the elbows of sweaters or the knees of pants. They stitch up tears and replace old buttons. In Jesus’ parable, God is not calling us to patch up our old garments. God desires to give us new garments.

We are so used to recycling plastic, repairing cars, reupholstering furniture, renewing contracts, and reviving plants that it is often challenging for us to embrace the idea of something new. Even though it may be a better use of our resources to buy something new, our attachment to the old causes us to keep investing in improving it. Old has nothing to do with age; it is about efficiency and excellence. It is time to get rid of all that is old, worn, obsolete, and unproductive so that we can be relevant and effective.

In today’s text, God is offering an exchange. To receive the garment of praise, we must let go of the spirit of heaviness. Many of us attempt to mix the garment of praise and the spirit of heaviness. That just does not work. They cannot coexist. One replaces the others. For us to be new there are some old ways of being, seeing, thinking, speaking, and behaving that we must get rid of forever. During this time of consecration, take inventory of the physical and metaphysical garments that you wear.


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