| Luke 5:36-38 – 08 January 2018 |
Then He spoke a parable to them: “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved.
NKJV
These are very familiar verses to many of us, and they have been the source of some beautiful messages. Today we are going to see them in the light of the new year because the Holy Spirit is inviting us to see the new and wonderful thing He is doing as we fix our feet firmly into 2018. God is moving in your life and He is birthing something heavenly and new!
See this year as a new season & a gift from God. The past year may have been a difficult one for you, with many challenges, but you made it through! You are alive and well, and still standing! You are on the brink of the greatest season in your life. There is a heavenly appointing and anointing being released into you for this season and this time, something bigger than you ever planned. God says to you: “This new year is going to be unlike any other you have known. I am pouring out My Spirit and empowering you to set the captives free. I am bringing you into total freedom, and leading you into your destiny. But you cannot build this new year on the foundations of the past or see it through the eyes of disappointment, failures, or worldly things that do not last. Keep your eyes on Me precious child. Let Me pour out My Spirit upon you and fill you with the new Wine. The ever changing, ever moving, ever cleansing power of My Spirit will give you a different perception, new eyes to see. He will captivate your heart and show you My glory. This year, just fill yourself with My love and My Word, and make the daily choice to trust in Me. There is a new thing arising and as you look, you will see.”
God is doing a new thing. Isaiah 43 verses 18 & 19 say “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?” There is a new grace, a new ministry, a new glory already released for you in the heavenly realms and we are meant to look for it, expect it and see it manifested in our lives. The more we focus on yesterday and the things that did not go well, the more we keep those things in our lives. (This is why we may be seeing certain challenges recurring year after year.) Today you can choose to disconnect from those things of the past, and to connect to the new thing God wants to bring to you. Stop thinking about them, talking about them, remembering them! As you look upwards and ahead, there is something precious and powerful taking shape. It is the new thing God is doing in and through you.
Live this year as the new wine skin you are! You are the new wine skin Abba God wants to overflow His Spirit through. Maybe you are still waiting to be made into a “new wine skin” to experience the heavenly new wine. But the Word of God tells us that we have already been made new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” There was a divine exchange the moment we received salvation through Jesus and we became everything He is. This is the good news – we are new creatures in Christ! Everything that you struggled with died with Him (Galatians 2:20) and it is time to live a powerful life in Him. He has made all things new! When Holy Spirit fills us, He transforms everything. We become new wine skins filled with new wine, hallelujah! You and I were never meant to live a half baked, tired, mundane life dear friend. We were meant to live as the heavenly citizens we are, releasing God’s glory on the earth.
New wine skins walk through life in partnership with God. Take your eyes off the issues of this life and fix them on the One above. This life is meant to be lived in partnership with God, Jesus, and the blessed Holy Spirit. If you could see yourself through the eyes of heaven, you would see a powerful, praise filled house of dynamite, busting up the darkness and exploding glory wherever you go. You are Abba’s joy and delight, His chosen treasure, His pearl of great price. He gave everything to make you His own! Now live in the knowledge of your value to Him, and the huge potential He placed in you. God has only good plans for you (Jeremiah 29:11) and open skies where you can fly high, as high and as far as you will trust the Holy Spirit to take you to. This year is going to be good. It is taking shape before you, as you expect the best from God and see it begin to happen before you. Hallelujah! You are a beautiful, glory- filled, powerful wine skin and Abba God is with you and for you!
