Declaring the Blessing

Old Wine, New Wine, New Wine Skins

Old wine can be poured into new wineskins, but not the other way around.

The scripture reads: “He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old one; otherwise they will  tear both, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new [fermenting] wine will [expand and] burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.”Luke 5:36-39

Why can we not pour new wine into old wineskins?

The wine ferments as it is stored in the wine-skins, releasing carbon dioxide. The fermentation process causes the wine-skin to expand constantly and stretches it causing it to lose its elasticity eventually and become hard. New wine has only begun its fermentation process therefore it will release greater pressure on the old wine-skin causing it to burst.

Old Wine Can Be Poured Into New Wineskins

And no-one after drinking old wine immediately desires new wine, for he says, the old is good or better. -  Luke 5:39 

When we pour old wine into new skins it doesn’t make a difference to the wine-skin. I believe God is saying that He is making us into new skins. Not to carry new wine, but to carry the anointing of OLD. He is the Ancient of Days.

I kept looking Until the thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days (God) took His seat - Daniel 7:9

Even from eternity I am He, And there is no one who can rescue from My hand; I act,and who can revoke or reverse it. - Isaiah 43:13

God existed before time was created. He is from eternity.

In Genesis 1, God created time; He separated the light from darkness. The light was called ‘day’ and the darkness “night’

 He is preparing His people as new wineskins to carry His Glory as of OLD. He is doing a new work in the earth but it is His eternal principles,or spiritual laws, and GLORY remain the same from eternity to eternity. He is preparing his body as new-skins to carry the weight of His Glory.

I believe the OLD WINE referred to in Luke 5:39 is the work of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit. And we need to become like new wineskins ready to receive the work that God has purposed and planned for us from old by the Holy Spirit.

How do we become like new wineskins?

If there are old ways of thinking that are not in line with the Word of God or is based on human traditions, it can hinder the work of God. The Ancient of Days is ever establishing His work in the earth.

• Remain available to hear from Him.
• We need to learn to recognise when it is His voice when He speaks to us.
• Be obedient to His voice and direction He gives us.
• Remain spiritually tuned in to what God is doing.
• Fasting is one way to exercise and build spiritual sensitivity to God.

 Summary

We need to remain faithful, available, teachable, spiritually aware, and obedient to God to retain the elasticity of our wineskins and receive all that Father God has purposed for us to have in Christ Jesus. God is preparing us to carry His Presence into all areas of our lives, like a new wine-skin to carry the old wine of God’s glory, power and purpose. Amen.

 Submitted by Shannon Vermeulen