Wine? You did all that through Wine?

In the culture that we live in, bars have changed in that they are more refined now then they may have been in the past. By refined, I mean that you put on your business attire, get seated at a table, and a menu is then handed to you of every alcoholic beverage that you can think of, complete with a waiter who is dressed to impress who will serve you for the evening.

The bars of 2020 have gone up- scale in order to adopt to the changes within society. I guess we can say “out with the old and in with the new” in this case. That does not have to be a bad thing though, right? After all, Jesus also understood the importance of adjusting in order to suit to the culture that he was in. Let’s consider the wedding that he attended as an example.

“ Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water”. When the jars had been filled, he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions. When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from ( though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over. “ A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now !” ( John 2:6-10 NLT”)

The Jewish culture understood the importance of wine; the production of it, and the manner in which it was even stored. Wine was nothing to be played with, so Jesus implemented this understanding and used it to translate what He wanted to say in a way that the people that he was talking to would comprehended by using parables that included the wine press, grapes, wine skins, and turning water into wine.

Let us now consider what Jesus had to say about wineskins.

“ And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins”.

In the case of the wedding, Jesus was called out of the comfort of obscurity. He was around a lot of people and was not allowed the time to prepare beforehand, but he had to depend on what was already on the inside of Him because God had already prepared Him in private. Jesus had to depend on His anointing and not elegant words to preform a task that only God could help him with. He tried to negate this moment but was not allowed to. What was in Him was being pulled on as a testament to Who His father was and Who had really sent Him. Sometimes being called out and sent can be uncomfortable, but God has already prepared you in private for what HE will cause you to do publicly. Trust the Holy Ghost and follow His lead!

Anointing requires renewal. What would God look like filling a dirty vase with clean water and then putting fresh flowers into it? The dirty vase would take away from the beautiful appeal of the fresh flowers and the dirty vase would also make the clean water dirty. Some pieces of yourself have to be renewed in order to operate in the anointing that God gives you in a manner that is pure in His eyesight. Pouring new anointing into a vessel that can be easily swayed to go back to a lifestyle that God has called them from can cause others to stumble. God has to much invested in us all to allow us to remain in the state that He found us in.

Lord, I give you permission to use me in any arena for your glory. I pray to not live a life of fear, but one that is purpose driven in You. Lord, Have your way in me. Clean me up so that I do not stumble and so that I do not cause those that are attached to me, in You, to stumble. God, I want to be a pure example of what it looks like to serve you. Help me in this Lord by the power of the Holy Ghost. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Recommended Reading: “ Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy spirit from me.” (Psalm 51:10-11 KJV)

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