Journals @ Awaken This HeartThe musings of Pastor Corey Gibson on leadership, ministry and life.

For months now, all I’ve been listening to on my ipod & computer is my friend, Christian Lewis’ song entitled “If It’s Alright”… there’s a line in the song/chorus that says “If It’s Alright, can I drink of your wine” – Ugh, this has been eating at me each time I hear this song. To simply drink of His [Christ] wine. To gain nourishment from His blood… to take in His Spirit. Oh to thirst for something more valuable and satisfying.

Wine = Holy Spirit, Blood [Nourishment of Life], Power/Presence, Healing Agent [Lk 10:30–37, 1Tim 5:23]

Today, God is pushing the envelope when it comes to our wineskins. We have desired a fresh move of God, but we never prepared ourselves to change our wineskin [body, mind and heart]. Jesus warns the crowd about this in a story concerning their own hearts…

Matthew 9:17 – Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Mark 2:22 – 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.”

Luke 5:37-39 – 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.’

I prayed several weeks ago for some friends of mine… that God would release Revival and Fresh Wine upon them & their youth ministry… I realized that I wasn’t just praying for God to do something new on top of their old heart/life, but that God would alter their hearts to receive His new wineskin in this season of life. God is not in the business of releasing himself onto people who are not seeking him. Luke added something that the other two writers didn’t… 

39 ‘And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new; for he says, ‘The old is better.’ This new wine is not for those who want to do a little wine-tasting, but for the ones willing to embrace this new acquired taste [change] – going through the process. The new wine may not be as smooth to the tongue, and as finely aged as old wine.  But it is alive, and you can’t contain it in old wineskins.

For those of us who are looking for God to pour himself out in our life, ministry, family or work – we must FIRST seek to change our reservoir [body, mind and heart]. Often times, we burst open with of our own depravity leaving us wounded – trying to add God to our weak wineskin (lives). We can’t add a little Jesus to our issues/old lives and not expect total life change. Jesus wants to give himself to you… the new you. So that may take him working intricately inside your life – doing surgery to the areas that needs repairing. His surgical tools [Bible, Holy Spirit, Other Believers, etc] will prove to not only make your life new, but it will also make it strong to withstand His overflowing wine! Then we will be able to drink our fill of His wine enjoying every drop.

Are you in the Waiting Room waiting for Surgery? What process, if any, is the Lord taking you on so His wine can overflow?