NEW WINE & WINESKINS     

Matthew 9:16-17
          "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.  Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." (NIV)

“New Wine” in the Bible speaks of the fullness and outpouring of the Lord's blessings, particularly in harvest time.

An old wineskin is suitable only for the old wine.  It cannot be made suitable for new wine.  It cannot be refurbished or reconditioned.

The new wine requires a new wineskin.

Lord, we need a new wineskin suitable for Your new wine.  

Luke 5:39  And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, `The old is better.'" (NIV)

In the parable account in Luke, Jesus teaches also that men consistently reject the new wine, preferring the old wine.

And yet the Lord’s blessing for today is in the new wine.  The old wine is from a previous blessing and harvest, and over time it has become altered and more suitable to men’s tastes than when it was the fresh new wine/blessing from the Lord.  When it was the fresh new blessing from the Lord, it also was rejected in favor of what was then the preferable old wine.
 
Today's  Old Wineskin Church cannot hold Jesus' New Wine . . . .  and it cannot be made a suitable vessel.  Today’s Church is suitable only for that which has gone before and been altered through time to be desirable to the tastes of men. Jesus breathes new life into individual men, He does not resuscitate men's institutions and religions.

So now we need to get truthful and personal. 
That's how Jesus works -- "Who do you say that I AM?" (Matt 16:15)

And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. Matt 16:17



 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.   Matt 3:10

Hard teaching and challenge:
First challenge--

It's one thing to say, "That church over there is an old wineskin.  They've lost the presence,  power and Lordship of Jesus Christ and have become run and shaped by the programs of man and are man-centered.  That church is Ichabod."
It's a difficult step, however, to honestly acknowledge that that is the condition of my church. 
But, that is the condition of the institution of the "christian" church today, universally.
You can get a true perspective and understanding on this only from the Lord.

 

On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”
From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” John 6:60-65

Next challenge--

If you have been active in, part of, and at least partly comfortable in an Old Wineskin Church, you are not fit, yourself, for new wine. 
Good News -- Jesus, the Lord, is waiting to make you new and suitable for His new wine.

The first step is repentance for having departed from worshiping Jesus and instead following men, their programs and doctrines; as well as having walked in your own wisdom and self-determination.  He will give you eyes to see and ears to hear the truth of the wrong ways, teachings, and motivations of the churches today, and the sin in you. 

The process will likely involve as much unlearning as learning in order to truly come to know God and His ways, and to walk with Him and abide in Him.

You can come to a new place of reliance on Him for everything, and find peace as you no longer walk in the flesh.