(as we continue to celebrate the Jewish New Year Rosh Hashanah….and we pray for our nation to be remade into the image God wants for it….)
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins.
For the old skins would burst from the pressure,
spilling the wine and ruining the skins.
New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”
(Matthew 9:17 NLT)
Have you ever realized you or your kids had outgrown a pair of shoes or a favorite pair of jeans? Suddenly, it seems, the things you used to wear regularly just didn’t fit anymore. It was time to replace them with something new (or at least “new to you.”). You couldn’t keep wearing what doesn’t physically fit, just as you can’t keep “wearing” spiritual things that don’t fit any more. At certain times in life, God calls us to a new place – his “New Wine.” Chuck Pierce said, “The NEW can be something that has never been before, or a better quality of what you have been developing, accomplishing, and embracing.”* Either way, it’s new to you.
So, what is “New Wine?”
“New wine” is definitely not about getting drunk; the Bible is very clear that drunkenness and even “strong drink” are not what God wants for us. “New Wine” is a Biblical metaphor for something new in God’s abundance. When we embrace Holy Spirit’s “New Wine” within us we are embracing a new intimacy with God that gives us joy. Instead, a harvest of God’s new wine generally comes after a time of waiting, sorrow and/or hardship – much as physical wine comes after a harvest time and then a period of fermentation or crushing. Usually, in our day, an older, aged wine is more valuable. But, while the Bible values wisdom and old age, the Biblical metaphor of “New Wine” isn’t about time as much as it is about Holy Spirit’s work within us. But God’s new wine also comes with new instructions and directions for our lives, even miracles, signs and wonders. The empowerment of Holy Spirit brings more and more of God’s abundance into our lives.
No matter what physical wine you have, it has to be held in some type of container. There are seasons in our lives when God needs to create new “wineskins” within us to hold the spiritual “New Wine” he has for us. The spiritual containers or practices that worked in the past may not work for new things. They may need to be replaced entirely, which can be a rather unsettling process. In the same article, Chuck Pierce says, “You will have to let go to grab hold. We live by crossing, or transitioning, from faith to faith, strength to strength, and glory to glory. Transition is the process of going from one place to another place. This can be intellectually, emotionally, and by making choices that reflect our faith.”*We are always called to go where God is leading.
Some animals like hermit crabs grow out of their former shell and then have to find or grow a new one. Some of these animals are actually shell-less for a time – wandering around their environment without the protection of their hard shell. When we are allowing God to clean up our insides and create new wineskins, we may feel a bit like those unprotected hermit crabs – everything within us is exposed to the Light of Christ. But, we can trust God’s Light to shine on us in a loving, gentle way and help us do the housecleaning necessary. Letting God remove unforgiveness, bitterness, anger, hurt, and sinful habits is not necessarily easy, but it has such rich rewards. Imagine God wanting to put new spiritual wine into a messed up, dirty, worn out wineskin!! No! Instead, he creates within us beautiful, strong, clean and holy places that hold Holy Spirit’s New Wine.
We must move forward in faith, allowing God to create new wineskins within us so we hold the fullness of the spiritual wine of this season of life.
Holy Spirit,
Thank you for always calling us on to a more abundant life. Thank you for guiding us into all truths, especially truths about ourselves that you point out to us. Thank you for the “New Wine” you want to place within us so that we can have what we need for this season of life. Thank you that you want to make “New Wineskins” in our spirits so we can hold all that you have for us. Help us surrender to your sweet voice that calls us to repentance and healing. Help us to allow you to form within us the new wineskins we need. And then fill us with the abundance of your new wine. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
“A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow!” (John 10:10 TPT)
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…” (John 16:13 NRSV)
“And who would pour fresh, new wine into an old wineskin? Eventually the wine will ferment and make the wineskin burst, losing everything—the wine is spilled and the wineskin ruined. Instead, new wine is always poured into a new wineskin so that both are preserved.” (Matthew 9:17 TPT)
“And you don’t put your wine in cracked bottles.” (Matthew 9:17 MSG)
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” – Jesus (John 8:12 NRSV)
“If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7 NRSV)
In the crushing
In the pressing
You are making new wine
In the soil
I now surrender
You are breaking new ground
So I yield to You into Your careful hand
When I trust You I don’t need to understand
Make me Your vessel
Make me an offering
Make me whatever You want me to be
I came here with nothing
But all You have given me
Jesus bring new wine out of me
In the crushing
In the pressing
You are making new wine
In the soil
I now surrender
You are breaking new ground
You are breaking new ground
‘Cause where there is new wine
There is new power
There is new freedom
And the Kingdom is here
I lay down my old flames
To carry Your new fire today
So, I say make me Your vessel
Make me an offering
Make me whatever You want me to be
I came here with nothing
But all You have given me
Jesus, bring new wine out of me, Jesus
Jesus, bring new wine out of me
Jesus, bring new wine out of me
Songwriters: Brooke Ligertwood
New Wine lyrics © 2017, Hillsong Music Publishing Australia
*Chuck Pierce article: https://www.elijahlist.com/words/display_word.html?ID=26763
For more on the Biblical understanding of wine:
(adapted from a post published January 26, 2022)