NEW WINE IN A NEW
WINESKIN (PART II)
As established in PART I
sometimes early this year, we saw that many people who made resolutions upon
resolutions every New Year to live a changed life from sin and sinful habits
hardly enter into the reality of that new life in Christ. We also saw that people who desire new results but don’t want to
sincerely change their old behavior and lifestyle might not have their lives
changed. We can hardly get new things until our methodology and mindset for
change is changed. We cannot live the new-life of Christ until we are
born-again. It is a DELUSION as
established in PART 1 of this article for us to live above sin and sinful
habits by just a mere New Year resolution that is not even backed by the power
of the Holy Ghost. The dictum of
"NEW YEAR, NEW RESOLUTION" in order to live a NEW LIFE is nothing but
an ILLUSION if it is NOT BACKED by the POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST. Here we
are in a new month (September) which is usually called the "MBER
MONTH". How far have we gone in the keeping of our New Year resolutions
made earlier this year? In this article, we shall be looking at the old and new wineskin; the old and new
wine; and how the new wine can settle in and upon a new wineskin.
The Wine Skin: The truth remains that Christians and none Christians are
wineskin/bottles that don’t exist in a vacuum. No human being on earth exists
in a vacuum. It points out that everyone can either be occupied by the
old-vessel life (Old Man) or the new-vessel life (New Man). It is scripturally
proven that man’s body is a temple where the Holy Ghost ought to dwell (1 Cor.
3:16, 6:19). But it is obvious that the temple in which the Holy Spirit is
expected to dwell is being occupied by evil/unholy spirit. The wineskin is
obviously pointing us to terms like bottle, temple, container, vessel, jar,
pot, etc which is the human body or the flesh. As humans, we are wineskins which can either be new or be old in
nature. A man perpetually living in sin is an old wineskin, while a man who
has received Jesus Christ as His Lord and savior is a new wineskin.
What are the parameters prior to Mark 2: 21- 22, to identify those
who are old wineskin. In Mark 2:16, the bible says that “And
when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they
said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans
and sinners?” From this passage, the old wineskin Jesus was referring
to when he heard them was the Pharisees and scribes. The Pharisees and scribes
are religious people who have form of godliness but deny the power thereof. They
don’t associate with sinners even though they too are sinners. They claim to be
saved, but secretly living deliberately and consistently in sin. These are
people who assumed that they can be saved by their works and the law. They are
people who are so proud and high-minded to respond to the call of salvation.
They give credit and kudos to their much fasting and prayer as a means to
securing their salvation, when in fact, they are empty in the inside. These are
people who appear righteous outside but are very terrible on the inside. These
are people who are zealous, yet their zeal is without adequate knowledge. These
categories of people keep learning from Jesus through hearing messages of great
preachers but have never taken the yoke of Jesus to learn of Him.
The old wineskin manifests their activities in works. They are
summarized in Galatians 5:19-21 when the bible says, “Now the works of the flesh are
evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish
ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and
the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past,
that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”Are
you manifesting these above listed works comfortably and yet you claim to be
born again? There is a call to repent, replace and rest in God. That is, to
repent (change) your ways, replace your old wineskin to that of a new wineskin
and then to rest (trust) in God all your life. The life of Pharisee and scribe
shows the old wineskin nature. The bible confirms who they are when it says
that “Woe
to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the
cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind
Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of
them may be clean also.” (Matthew 23:25-26). In reality, the new wine cannot be accommodated into an old wineskin.
You cannot be hiding under “new year new life” while you still live in
perpetual sin. God has not
called us unto “new-year new-life”. I owe to the view that this ‘New Year, New
Life’ is a strategy from the pit of hell to cage people in their old wineskin
life, which accommodates the old wine, so that the new wine will not settle in
and upon them.
If there is an old wineskin, then, there should be a new wineskin.
Ideally, to put fresh wine into an old wineskin, however, is asking for
trouble. The old wineskin has assumed a definite shape and is no longer
pliable. It is fixed and somewhat brittle. While old wineskin manifests its activities
in works, the new wineskin manifest its activities in fruit. The new
wineskins are those who have received Jesus as their Lord and personal savior.
They are those who are led by the spirit of God. The book of Galatians 5:22-23
highlights the pointers for those who are the new wineskins when it is says “But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”To
become a new wineskin, one just needs to repent. “And saying, Repent (think
differently; change your mind, regretting your sins and changing your
conduct)…” (Matt. 3:2a,AMP). The new wineskin connotes the new life in
Christ (the bride, the Church, the body of Christ)
The New Wine and the
Old Wine: In the bible, the new wine is generally
appropriated to the Holy Spirit. The New Wine is that freshness of life release
to a man by the Holy Ghost for explosive and unusual exploit. It is that new
result on a man’s life that is influenced by the Spirit of God. The New Wine is
the presence and power of the Holy Ghost that comes in and upon a man’s life.
It is the infilling of the Holy Ghost for generational explosion. Usually, the
bible juxtaposes wine with the Holy Ghost. The bible confirms this
juxtaposition when it says “And be not be drunk with wine, wherein in
excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).Similarly,
Jesus was trying to reveal the mystery of the old wine with that of the new
wine in his first miracle at the wedding in Cana. It was to point out the
truism that the old wine is incapable of satisfying the hunger of a man in his
pursuit for God. It was Jesus’ invitation to the wedding that salvaged that
wedding ceremony. Here comes a problem, the wine ran out. His mother noticed
that and then she ran to Him (Jesus) for solution. “Jesus saith unto them, Fill the
WATERPOTS with water. And they FILLED THEM UP to the brim. And he saith unto
them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare
[it].” John 2:7-8 KJV).The water pot here connotes the wineskin or
bottles or jars. To me, I can liken the water to be the Word; which is Jesus
Christ Himself. Jesus is the living water. John
3:5a says “…Except a man be born of water and [of] the Spirit, he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God” In another place when Jesus was discussing
with the Samaritan Woman, the bible confirms that “But whosoever drinketh of the
water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give
him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life, John
4:14 KJV). Jesus is the living water that when a man (water pot) is
indwelled with can be ready for the Holy Ghost to be drawn from Him. Unless the water pot is filled with
water, the new wine cannot be drawn from it. Wow, what does this teach us?
It teaches that unless a life (old
wineskin) is born of again, it is impossible for the Holy Spirit (new wine) fruits
to be drawn from him. Jesus further settled this matter when he said, “He
that BELIEVETH on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow
rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that
believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet [given]; because
that Jesus was not yet glorified.) John 7:38-39” KJV). To me, I can be
justified to say that “JESUS is a gift to SINNERS, whereas, the
HOLY SPIRIT is a gift to the SAINTS” Someone is confused! What I meant
is this; a sinner receives first the gift of Jesus into his or her life. After becoming
a saint (Christian), he doesn’t need the gift of Jesus any more but should
desire to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost upon His life. It is
impossible for a sinner (old wineskin) to be filled with the new wine (Holy
Ghost) without first becoming a new wineskin (Saint) by receiving the water of
life (Jesus Christ) into his or her life. Though, the new wine is often
been referred to the Holy Spirit, it may also be referred to the era of GRACE AND TRUTH that came by Jesus
Christ as against the old wine which is the LAW that was given by Moses. The old wine is nothing but the shadow
of the things to come as against the new wine which is the substance (reality).
Scripturally speaking, the SPIRIT of
Christianity is new. In the bible, there are several pointers to juxtapose
the old wine with that of the new wine. The former is the “the letter;” the
later is “the spirit.” The old wine was a “ministration of death;” the new wine
is a “ministration of life”. The spirit of Christianity is new in the sense
that we now have a set up of a new
kingdom; publishes a new law, gives us a new commandment which is love;
introduces us into a New Jerusalem. The Temple (spiritual temple), Altar,
Sacrifice, Incense, Priesthood, Worship, relationship, Song, Mediator Covenant,
The Spirit, The gospel, Phraseology, Symbolism, and The way into the Holiest
are all new. Since everything in Christianity is new, we must ourselves be new;
we must be “born again.” There must be the passage from death to life. The life
we live in the flesh must be a new life."Old things must pass away;
all things must become new." The bible says “Therefore if any man [be] in
Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things
are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17”Until
we are new creatures (new wineskins), the Holy Spirit (New Wine) cannot settle
upon us, to bring us into the realities of these above highlighted SPIRIT of
Christianity that is new.
New wine settling upon
a new wineskin
Do you desire to live in freshness? Do you desire to get new
results? Do you desire power and progress in your spiritual life? Do you desire
a correct walk with God? Do you want complete help from the life of religion
and emptiness? The answer can only be in
the New Wine. You need the new wine! As established before now, the new
wine can only come upon us if we are new creatures (new wineskins). The
emphasis of Jesus in Mark 2:22b: “but new wine is to be put in new (fresh)
wineskins” shows how it is only on new creation beings that the New Wine can
settle upon. The possibility for you to being a witness for Jesus
Christ is reliance on the extent at which this new wine has settled upon your
life. Doing kingdom exploits is facilitated much faster when the new wine fills
your life. As already established, the new wine is generally the symbol of the
Holy Ghost. Also, I said that the Holy Ghost does not settle on lives that are
living under the old life, but the new created life. He (Holy Ghost) can only
settle upon the lives of believers and not unbeliever. Whereas, Jesus came to save sinners, the Holy Ghost came to settle on
the saints. For one to be a saint (Christian; New Wineskin), one need to be
saved by Jesus Christ. It is possible as new wineskin to still be
operating with the old wine. It is barely impossible to do both the possible
and impossible without the new wine settling upon your life. Our willingness to come emptied in order to
be filled by Jesus Christ with this New Wine guarantee our kingdom progress and
exploit. The testimony of the Governor to the bridegroom during the wedding
at Cana testifies that the wine was referred to the Holy Ghost. The bible says, “And
saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth GOOD WINE; and when
men have WELL DRUNK, then that which is worse: [but] thou hast kept the GOOD
WINE UNTIL NOW” John 2:10 KJV). We saw how the old wine got finished.
It could not satisfy the congregation who were expectant. The old wine was
inadequate and insufficient to meet the people who came for that occasion. But
when there is need for more wine to fill the already waiting host and
dignitaries, Mary approached Jesus to lament the exhaustiveness of the wine. There are certain steps to being filled with
this new wine from the wedding that took place at Cana: The first thing
that Mary did was to acknowledge that the wine had finished. Until we first
acknowledge that our old wine (life of religious activities, etc) should be
done with and that it cannot sustain us, hardly would God fill our hearts with
His Spirit. The bible says, “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the
love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto
us” Romans 5:5 (KJV). When you still boost in your past exploit for
God, it is proof that your wine has finished. Being busy working for God
without walking with Him is a proof that your wine has finished. The
instruction of Mary to the servants was for them to do whatever Jesus commands
of them to do. Obedience to the instructions of God is the second step to being filled
with the new wine. Jesus commanded his disciples to fill the water pots
will water and draw out of it. Christians are water pot. We need to fill our hearts with
God’s Word, and soonest, the wine will be drawn from our lives.
The expectation of heaven is that our lives be filled with the Holy
Spirit. For us to be presented to the world as useable and useful vessels, we
must avail ourselves in order to be anointed with the Holy Ghost and Power. For
Jesus Christ did not operate without the Holy Ghost and Power. The bible says
that “How
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went
about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was
with him” Acts 10:38. If
Jesus could not live His life time without the Holy Ghost, how can we now want
to live our lives without being filled with the New Wine (Holy Ghost).It does not matter what the beginning of
this year had been in our lives, if only we come to Jesus to fill us, the story
about our lives will change. The rulers when they tasted of the new wine
from the water pot became gladdened and marveled. They asked; what manner of
wine is this? People can be so gladdened with our lives when they draw from our
lives positively.
The Apostles could not witness for Jesus until they were filled
with this new wine. It was an instruction Jesus Himself had to give them before
he ascended into the heavens. Exploit
for God is impracticable without the power of the Holy Ghost. Salvation is
the needed ticket to being filled with the New Wine (Holy Ghost). Cornelius was
not filled with this new one until him and his household believed in Jesus. The
bible says, “While Peter yet spake these
words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the
circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter,
because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
Acts 10:44-45
Are you empty? Is your life lacking freshness? Is your marriage
suffering from ups and downs? Is your spiritual life suffering from
fresh-lessness? Are you already backsliding in faith? Are you caged in secret
sin and addiction? There is possibility in Jesus to put all things in order.
Come to Him and He will not only give you the gift of Himself but also the gift
of the Holy Spirit (New Wine). Today, being 5th of September, 2019
(My Birthday Commemoration), I desire to present this write up as a GUIDE POST for us to be ACTIVATED BY GOD into another SPIRITUAL LEVEL. In this new Month
(September), God is desirous that we be a New Wine Skin filled with the New
Wine. Our struggles come to an end when the New Wine fills our lives. It is
Only IN JESUS THAT WE CAN FIND OUR REST.
Jesus’ invitation to you is to have rest. When Jesus gives an invitation,
He expects that you honour the invitation. The first invitation Jesus gives
isan invitation for rest. The Bible says, “COME UNTO ME, all [ye] that labour and are
heavy laden, and I WILL GIVE YOU REST.” Matthew 11:28. Another
invitation Jesus gives is the invitation to be filled with the New Wine. The
bible confirms this when it says, “In the last day, that great [day] of the
feast, JESUS STOOD AND CRIED, saying, If any man thirst, LET HIM COME UNTO ME,
AND DRINK. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly
shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of THE SPIRIT, which they
that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet [given];
because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) John 7:37-39. Jesus has now
been glorified and He is throwing two kinds of invitations: that of Rest and
that of the Holy Ghost. You need both if you must make progress and exploit on
the surface of the earth. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, don’t camp in the
old wine (sin) by giving seemingly good excuses. These excuses are inconsequential
on the day called “The Lord’s Day”. To recap what I wrote before now, know that
Jesus came to save sinners whereas the
Holy Ghost infilling came to settle on the saints. That is to say that “JESUS
is a gift to SINNERS, whereas, the HOLY SPIRIT is a gift to the SAINTS” For
you to be a saint (Christian; New Wineskin), you need to be saved by Jesus
Christ. You can find this article and others in
www.samsonodanial.wordpress.comand wwww.lifesprinciples.blogspot.com.
God Bless us all.
Written and Edited
by
Samson O. Daniel
07065752517
