Fresh Wineskins

I'd like to begin by reading from 1 Corinthians chapter 12, beginning at verse 7. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. To one is given, through the Spirit, the utterance of wisdom. To another, the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit.

To another, faith by the same Spirit. To another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit. To another, the working of miracles.

To another, prophecy. To another, the ability to distinguish between spirits. To another, various kinds of tongues.

To another, the interpretation of tongues. All these are inspired by one in the same Spirit who apportions to each one individually as he wills. What we have here is a description of the life of God moving in the church at Corinth.

And to remember that the church at Corinth, that congregation, was without a doubt the most immature of all the congregations listed in the New Testament. It was torn by divisions, strife, excesses of every kind, and yet these people enjoyed the moving of the life of God in their midst beyond anything that we here have ever seen. Where is that power now? John chapter 14, verse 12.

Truly, truly, I say to you, Jesus is speaking. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do. And greater works than these will he do because I go to the Father.

What are the works that Jesus does? Jesus goes forth in the power of the Spirit of his Father to people who are bound to their own sins, and to their fears, and to their egos, and to their preoccupation with their material security, and he sets them free. And the promise is that he who believes in me, she who believes in me, will do the works that I do. And again the question, if we're at all honest, is where is that light? Where is that power? Here.

And the answer has to be that the light of the Spirit of God hasn't diminished in the slightest from the day that Jesus was here in flesh and blood. The new wine of the Holy Ghost, the new wine of the Kingdom of God hasn't in any way become stale. It's just as strong and just as mighty.

The problem is the wineskins. It's not where is the wine of God, where are wineskins that can contain the new wine? From Luke chapter 5, Jesus again is speaking, and no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.

But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. As Jesus went about preaching and healing, he met with two kinds of response, basically. The positive, the negative.

The negative was the old wineskins, the people who had all the answers. The positive response was the fresh wineskins, the people who were open and teachable and receptive. Now the old wineskins came in different varieties.

There were, of course, the scribes and Pharisees, who knew their scriptures inside out. They had an answer for everything. There was nothing that Jesus could teach them because they already knew.

And if Jesus tried to teach them something that they did not know, he had to be wrong. Then, of course, there were the people who would be comparable to the middle class and blue-collar church types. They weren't that much into scriptures, but they went to church, and they observed the proper religious holidays.

And they had clear, strong opinions on everything. So there was nothing Jesus could teach them. And if Jesus tried to teach them something that didn't coincide with their opinions, he was wrong.

Then there were the streetwise cynics, like the other thief on the cross. If you're the Christ, save yourself and us. The cynics, streetwise, see the whole world in only two categories.

They're the conmen and the suckers, and everybody is one or the other. And so if Jesus tries to teach them something, they already know. And if it's something different from what they think they know, he's wrong.

Now, at first, the old wineskins were indifferent to Jesus. But as time passed, he became annoying, began to irritate them. They were offended.

And this offense increased until it became their great pleasure to see to it that he got nailed to the cross. On the other hand, there were very few of them, but there were fresh wineskins. People who were like children, who were open and receptive.

Peter, Levi the tax collector, Mary Magdalene, Simon the Zealot. And the thing about these people was that they would accept correction from him. And they, like children, drank in what he said, and they were open to his rebukes, and they conformed their lives to the things he taught them.

So he kept filling these fresh wineskins with the new wine of the kingdom of God, continuously. And we see this, as we read, for instance, in Luke 9. He called the twelve together, gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. And sent them out to preach the kingdom and to heal.

And Luke 10. After this, the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come. And he said to them, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

Pray, therefore, the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way, behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. He's putting fresh wine into these fresh wineskins.

Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you, heal the sick in it, and say to them, the kingdom of God has come near to you. And Jesus continued to put fresh wine into these fresh wineskins, on and on, teaching them, rebuking them. Where is your faith? Come on.

All the time, leading them on and helping them right up to Calvary. He laid down his life on the cross, opened the door to the kingdom of heaven for the whole human race. Came forth from his tomb and continued to fill these wineskins with the new wine of the kingdom for forty more days.

Reading in Acts, to them, the fresh wineskins. He presented himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking of the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he said, you have heard from me.

For John baptized with water, but before many days you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. And as we know, that's exactly what happened. The Spirit was poured out upon them, the fresh wine, the new wine of the kingdom of God came upon them to overflowing.

And they went forth in the power and the life of that wine to accomplish the purposes of the Lord. The works that he did, they did also. And greater works than these, because Jesus had now gone to the Father.

Now Jesus hasn't changed, nor has the Spirit changed. The wine is the same as it was then. Our problem is that all of us, with no exceptions here, far, far more resemble the old wineskins than the fresh.

It's hard for us to imagine ourselves this way, we can see it in each other so much more easily. But we are extremely opinionated and hard, and we feel we have so many answers already. And we know what's wrong with everything and everybody.

Some of us are like the scribes and Pharisees, we know our Bibles. And we understand, we have the answers, and if Jesus tries to tell us something different from what we think we know, he's wrong. Wait a minute, Lord, what do you mean, turn the other key? I mean, that's okay in the Sermon on the Mount, but here in Detroit, 1983? And some of us are like the middle class, blue-collar church types, we don't get so heavy into Scriptures, but we have opinions about everything.

And if Jesus tries to teach us something that runs contrary to our opinions, he's got to be wrong. What do you mean, forgive your enemies, pray for those who hate you and despise you, and do good to them? What do you mean, Lord, pull out the eye that offends and have a single heart? That may be fine back then in the Sermon on the Mount, but not in Detroit, 1983. And some of us are streetwise cynics, cynical.

What do you mean, Lord, despair of no man? That guy over there is a deadbeat, he's never going to change, I know his type. But here's the good news. The good news is that we can, today, before we leave this room, become fresh wineskins.

We don't have to be rigid, hard, brittle, self-opinionated, self-righteous wineskins all our lives, we can change. And we can do it now. To be fresh wineskins instead of the brittle and hard type involves three very, very simple things.

Fresh wineskins are continuously learning from Jesus. Secondly, fresh wineskins are continuously trusting, not themselves, but Jesus. And finally, fresh wineskins continuously do what he says, not make promises and have good intentions, but they do it.

First of all, the fresh wineskins are continuously learning. Reading from Luke, Chapter 10. Now, as they went on their way, he entered a village, and a woman named Martha received him into her house.

And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went to him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.

But the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, you're anxious and troubled about many things. One thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion which shall not be taken from her.

Now, Mary and Martha were both followers of Jesus. He loved them dearly, both of them. But on that particular day, Martha was behaving like an old wineskin and Mary like a new.

It was Martha's house. And she was honored to have Jesus as her guest. And she wanted to provide a really good meal for him and for everybody else who would come.

And so she's back there in the kitchen. We're going to have hors d'oeuvres and we're going to have French onion soup. The only thing is I can't get it together, my dumb sister Mary sitting in the living room.

Finally, she can't take it anymore. She goes in there and chews Jesus out. Lord, doesn't it bother you that my sister leaves me to serve alone? Martha, Martha, talking to us.

You're anxious and troubled about many things. One thing is needful. I didn't come to your house for you to feed me.

I came to feed you. I came to give you a living bread and here you are fussing and fuming about what you're going to give me. I have something for you.

Please, Martha, be still, settle down. Come on, sit down here with Mary and let me share some wonderful things from the Father's kingdom with you. When it's over, when we're finished, go out in the kitchen and open a can of beans.

Get out the hot dogs and we'll have a good time. We are so often, you know, the same way as Martha. What this comes down to is I have something more important to do.

That's all very nice, Jesus teaching, people sitting there listening, but I got something more important to do. And it often is something for the kingdom. I got something that really counts.

And as long as we have that mentality, we're old wineskins, we're incapable of receiving the life of God. Look back on your own life and you will see those times when you were flooded with light were those times when you were teachable. And then after a while we got filled up.

We thought we had it all and now we're trying to tell everybody else and we no longer listen. We can read scriptures like Martha or like Mary. To read scriptures like Martha, you're reading away here.

Oh, you got one chapter down, another coming and all the time. Oh, where are we going to get the chopped liver? Where are we going to get the cheese for the onion soup? You finish the third chapter and you don't know what you read. Mary reads the scripture.

Lord, I don't understand that. I don't know if I can do it. Show me what that means.

Help me to do it. And she's maybe fussing and worrying, but she's worrying about the thing that counts. Show me what this means.

Teach me, Lord. We can pray like Martha or we can pray like Mary. Dear Lord, here goes Martha.

Dear Lord, bless Uncle Ned and Aunt Susie and all the missionaries. And Mary forgot to bring the tablecloth back from the laundromat. Whereas Mary, Lord, I don't even know how to pray.

Teach me. Help me. I don't know where to begin.

I don't know what to do. Show me. This is the number one need in our lives.

To open ourselves to become children who are teachable again. Some of us can look back on a time when we were teachable. And those were the periods when we had tremendous life.

And then we matured and became sick, dry, dull, crusty wineskins that can't contain whole the new wine of the kingdom of God. Secondly, fresh wineskins trust Jesus, not themselves. The old wineskins are continuously putting their confidence in themselves and finding some kind of self-worth by comparing themselves with all the dummies around them.

Luke chapter 18. He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. Two men went up to the temple to pray.

One a Pharisee, the other the tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. Prayed with himself.

Really to himself. God, I thank thee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week.

I give tithes of all that I get. But the tax collector standing afar off would not even lift up his eyes to heaven but beat his breast saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.

He who believes in me, the works that I do, shall he do also. Believes in me. In me.

The focus is on Jesus. But the tendency in our lives is continuously to get it on ourselves. And put our confidence in who we are and what we are and what we've accomplished and what we know.

The faith has to be in him. Lord God, help me again to humble myself and become a child and get under that yoke and learn from you who are meek and lowly of heart, that I might find rest for my souls, that I might learn what I need. Jesus promises so many things, but we don't even hear the promise if we don't keep trusting him.

Keep looking to him. Hearing what he's saying. I will provide for you.

I will protect you. I will guide you. I will give you the power that you need.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go. I will guide you with my eye, but you've got to trust me. And finally, fresh wineskins.

Do. Old wineskins. Promise.

From Matthew chapter 21. What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, Son, go work in the vineyard today.

And he answered, I will not. But afterward he repented and went. He went to the second and said the same.

He answered, I go, sir, but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father? The older brother of the prodigal son neither trusted his father nor really did the father's will. He trusted himself.

All these years I've served you, never transgressed one of your commands. You never did anything for me. Not even a paddy calf, not even a kid.

But this son of yours comes home who wasted your living. Never calls his father, father. Here comes the prodigal.

The prodigal comes home broken, putting his trust not in himself. What does he have to trust in? But in the father's goodness. I'm not worthy to be called your son.

Father, I've sinned against you and against heaven. Treat me as one of your higher servants. Father welcomes him.

Puts a ring on his finger, keeps the best robe, kills the paddy calf. They celebrate. But it's due.

He who believes in me, the works that I do, shall he do also. The order is learn, trust, do. I learn that the Lord wants me to enter into a prayer life beyond any I've ever had.

I trust that he will give me the power to do this. Now I start to pray. I don't read any more books.

I don't go to any more seminars on it. Go to all the seminars you like, but start to pray. Do it.

I learn that God wants me to forgive this person whom I've never really in my heart truly forgiven. Now I trust that he's going to give me the power to do that. And now I sit down and write the letter.

Pick up the phone and make the call. Or go and see them. I forgive.

I learn that the Lord wants me to speak with boldness his word and his name. I trust that he's going to give me the power to do it. Now I open my mouth and start to speak.

I learn that the Lord wants me to lay my hands on the sick. Now I trust that he'll give me the power. Has to come from him.

Now I start to do it. He who believes in me, the works that I do, shall he do also. Greater works than these shall she do, he do, because I go to the Father.

The new wine of the Spirit of God, the new wine of God's kingdom is as alive now as ever. The problem is the wineskins. And the call of the Lord upon each of us today is to repent.

And become fresh wineskins. We are being called to stop playing the role of Martha and go out there and sit at Jesus' feet with Mary and learn. We are being called to stop playing the role of the Pharisee and get down there with a publican and trust Jesus.

And we are being called to stop playing the role of the brother who forever says I go and never goes. And get out there with a brother who for all his fussing and fuming goes to the vineyard where he's told. If we will begin today, this hour, to repent exactly at the place where we are now and open our hearts and humble ourselves and become as children, babes, he will fill us today with the new wine of his kingdom, the life of his Spirit.

And we will go forth from this place to do his will in power.