Old Wine or New?

Luke 5:37-39

 ³⁷ ‘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. ³⁸ But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. ³⁹ And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better’.

When we move towards Jesus and accept His new way of life, it comes at a cost. He tells us to count the cost when following Him. You see we can’t live the old life and accept the new as the analogy states above. When we try to put new things into our old mindsets, it bursts. This story reminds me of the Israelites when they were rescued from Egypt. They wanted out of slavery and wanted a new life. However, when things didn’t look the way, they were accustomed to, or when it became uncomfortable, they complained and wanted to go back to the old way. Because the old way was better in their mind. When they left Egypt, they left physically, but they didn’t leave mentally. It’s interesting, as humans or maybe just me, I thought that when I left the old way and started following Jesus, that my life would look so different than it did. I thought everything would come easy, and that I would walk the blessed life with all the access and the doors just opening for me. What I didn’t understand was that I walked into my new relationship with Him with my old mindset. I entered a relationship that I wanted to control and dictate out of my own security. But that’s not how authentic relationships work. I appreciate that there is grace given, because we don’t start our walk with a whole new mind. The Bible tells us to renew our minds, but when we don’t renew our minds and keep the old mindsets over time, then are we really building a new relationship, or trying to conform someone into who we want them to be according to us? Authentic relationships develop as you spend time together, teach each other, and grow with one another.

Jesus took the pain of my past, but I didn’t allow Him to deposit His character, or desires within me. I wanted the quick fix. I wanted my life to run smoothly, I thought the ‘Old Wine’ was better, because I knew how to operate in that old way and it worked. But it only worked because I was striving, manipulating, giving myself over to lesser things. It wasn’t until I really spent time in the Word and with Holy Spirit that I realized I needed a whole identity shift. I lived in my guilt, shame, and other issues for my whole life and didn’t even realize what they were until I started setting myself aside and listening to Holy Spirit. He began building the ‘New Wineskin’ within me. He started showing me who I was in Him. He began to remove my desire to hide within myself for self-protection. He started showing me that I operated out of a place of fear, because I had been hurt in the past and I didn’t want to walk through that anymore, I built up a fortress around myself and was self-seeking. Even though I was a follower of Christ, I still followed my own ways trying to get Him to conform to my world. I invited Him in and wanted to bring Him along in my journey and wanted His blessings, but I didn’t understand what His blessings looked like. Because to me, it seemed like a lot of work. I liked who I was but didn’t at the same time. I wanted to change and looked at self-help books to learn mantras and positive affirmations that I thought would change me, and I didn’t look to the only one who brings true change, health and healing. I have learned that this is not an easy feat. It’s easier to learn the mantras and I don’t necessarily believe they don’t work. However, as I’ve grown to understand Jesus and God more, I also know and understand that there are counterfeits (demonic) that will try to step in and move things. This is another topic that we will tackle in time as it’s heavy.

However, I understand that many people are looking for freedom within themselves and the circumstances they have walked through, but all the self-help tools that I gained along the way only kept me within myself and my selfish empire. They didn’t point me to true freedom. When we hear the things in the Bible about giving Jesus our burdens as his yoke is easy and is burden is light (Matt 11:28-30), I didn’t understand what any of that meant. I thought okay, I would say the words but didn’t really give anything to Him to carry. I continued to carry it because I didn’t trust Him, nor did I understand what that even meant. I think we are living in times where people are looking for truth, and the church hasn’t done a great job of setting themselves apart as a Holy people serving Jesus or others. But we’ve allowed ourselves to become more like the Pharisees in Jesus’ day who are the correct ones, and the ones who are favored and everyone else is beneath us. But that is where we got it wrong. Jesus didn’t come to build an empire for people to isolate or exclude anyone, but he came to serve. His mission was to show all who the Father really is. The loving, kind, Holy, God who desires a relationship with His children. For those of us who call ourselves Christians, my desire is to encourage us to look at who we are really following. If we aren’t serving Jesus and becoming more like Him, than we are serving the ruler of the air, Satan. That may sound harsh, but that is the true reality. Christianity today doesn’t want to hear the truth, but the truth is the only thing that sets us free. We need to really examine our hearts, and ask ourselves every day, who do I look more like today? Jesus, or the world? When God chose the Israelites, He told them that He was setting them apart from the world to be His. We should not look like the world. If we are growing in our relationship with Christ, then our desires should not be for the old wine but allowing Him to build a new wineskin in us so that we can hold the new wine that He desires to deposit in us.

Every season carries something. What season are you finding yourself in right now? It may be that you are still drinking old wine, maybe you are allowing Him to create a new wineskin for you, and He is preparing you to carry the new wine, or maybe you have new wine. My encouragement to leave you with is to examine where you’re at, and talk to Holy Spirit if you don’t know if there is something you should be doing in this season to prepare you for the next season. His desire is for us to continually be growing with Him. Praying for you. Blessings.

Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray that you would speak to the hearts of everyone who reads these words and provide your loving guidance of where they find themselves. I pray that you will put such a conviction in their hearts to desire the new wine in this next season. That you would call them to a new place of relationship with You. Father, You desire to know us and walk with us and not just look to You to solve our problems, or bend to our wills. I pray that You would put such a holy desire within each heart to be consecrated for You. I thank You that you desire for us to be with You and You won’t turn down a heart that seeks you. Amen.