ABUNDANT LIFE VISION
THE NEW WINE. Luke 5:33-39
One day some people said to Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?” [34]Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. [35]But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.” [36]Then Jesus gave them this illustration: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment. [37]“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. [38]New wine must be stored in new wineskins. [39]But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.” NLT.

God gives room for continuity and infact he is the God of continuity. There is no end in him, he lives forever and his signature in the lives of people is forever. As a result, he does not limit his operation to one individual or a particular era. Exodus 3:16: “Now go and call together all the elders of Israel. Tell them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me. He told me, “I have been watching closely, and I see how the Egyptians are treating you. NLT. However, the bible describes God as the Potter who an do as he likes with the day and with what he is moulding. Jeremiah 18:1-6: The lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, [2]“Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” [3]So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. [4]But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. [5]Then the lord gave me this message: [6]“O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. NLT.

He proved this when he brought in the wild branch (the gentiles) into his family alongside the nation of Israel. Romans 11:12-18: Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it. [13]I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this, [14]for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them. [15]For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead! [16]And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too. [17]But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. [18]But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root. NLT.

God in ensuring continuity can make room for things that were not previously captured in the former things. This is where our text comes in. Jesus came into the world to establish a new system but for it to be effective, the old must be put away to make room for the new. There need to be a total overhaul just as the Potter has the right to totally change his design if he deems fit. This is what our Lord Jesus Christ did with his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. He brought about a new system of worship whereby people will have an intimate relationship with God. John 4:23-24: But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. [24]For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” NLT.

The new wine is a new way of worship championed by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit who connects us with God. It is founded on faith in Jesus Christ and confession that he is Lord that brings about the gift of salvation which is not a function of our works but the grace of God. Ephesians 2:8-9: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. [9]Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. NLT.

Therefore, if you are yet to receive the new wine, I urge you to do so by confessing Jesus as your Lord and saviour when you say this prayer; Dear Jesus, I believe that you died for my sins and you resurrected on the third day by the power of God, please forgive my sins and write my name in the book of life and I will serve you forever. Amen. If you have recited the prayer, I congratulate you and I urge you to join a bible believing church as you begin your journey in Christ.

God bless you.

Splendid gospel, thank you holy spirit