WHAT IS A WINESKIN
Practically speaking, a wineskin is a leather bottle used for holding wine. A "new" wineskin gives fermenting wine room to expand. But when a wineskin gets old, it becomes brittle & inflexible ... thus no longer useful. That's why Jesus said, "No one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skin, the wine will be wasted, and the wineskin will be ruined." (Luke 5:37)
Across today's western church, when we pray for awakening and/or revival, we are pleading with God to pour out HIS new wine into OUR old wineskin!
There have been times throughout history when God has been gracious, to an extent, to do that. There have been great moves of The Spirit, even though the Church was increasingly becoming an old wineskin. But the results, unfortunately, have been tragic.
The best example, I believe, is The Welsh Revival of the early 1900s. About 125 years ago, awakening & revival swept through the small nation of Wales. It is recorded as one of the greatest moves of God is world history. The Spirit moved from country-to-country, transforming the entire nation. It's recorded that people just walking down the street would be hit by the power of Holy Spirit, fall to their knees, and start confessing Jesus as Lord. Every part of Welsh society was affected ... drunkenness disappeared & crime became non-existent. There were cities in Wales that reported there were no unsaved people remaining!
Those who have studied revival, me being one, love to talk about The Welsh Revival! But, unfortunately, few are willing to admit the condition of Wales today. One would assume that a movement of God like the one that took place in Wales would result in a permanent change in a nation ... that for generations to come, people would continue to talk about the great revival that swept across their country. But that has NOT happened.
While the Welsh Revival was an outpouring of NEW wine, the Welsh Church proved to be a OLD wineskin! It's legalistic, man-made structure quickly quenched the results of revival. If you visit Wales today, you will find one of the least Christian countries in Europe. Many estimate that only about 5% of the Welsh people today are born-again. New Age, witchcraft, and Islam are rapidly growing. It's tragic, but most of the modern-day population of Wales say that they have never even heard of The Welsh Revival! Those who DO claim to have any knowledge of it, think of it as a "legalistic movement" that happened back when the nation was weak & lacking direction. Unfortunately, the old wineskin was ill-prepared to hold the new wine, thus the wine was wasted and the wineskin was ruined.
God DOES NOT want that to happen again! He is calling us t prepare a NEW wineskin ... one that will righty hold AND STEWARD His new wine. That's why He said, "New wine MUST BE poured into new wineskins."
New wine ... a fresh outpouring of God's Glory ... IS COMING; but a new wineskin must rise up in this hour to hold it! That new wineskin, I believe, will only be found in the restoration of the Acts 2 Church!
Across today's western church, when we pray for awakening and/or revival, we are pleading with God to pour out HIS new wine into OUR old wineskin!
There have been times throughout history when God has been gracious, to an extent, to do that. There have been great moves of The Spirit, even though the Church was increasingly becoming an old wineskin. But the results, unfortunately, have been tragic.
The best example, I believe, is The Welsh Revival of the early 1900s. About 125 years ago, awakening & revival swept through the small nation of Wales. It is recorded as one of the greatest moves of God is world history. The Spirit moved from country-to-country, transforming the entire nation. It's recorded that people just walking down the street would be hit by the power of Holy Spirit, fall to their knees, and start confessing Jesus as Lord. Every part of Welsh society was affected ... drunkenness disappeared & crime became non-existent. There were cities in Wales that reported there were no unsaved people remaining!
Those who have studied revival, me being one, love to talk about The Welsh Revival! But, unfortunately, few are willing to admit the condition of Wales today. One would assume that a movement of God like the one that took place in Wales would result in a permanent change in a nation ... that for generations to come, people would continue to talk about the great revival that swept across their country. But that has NOT happened.
While the Welsh Revival was an outpouring of NEW wine, the Welsh Church proved to be a OLD wineskin! It's legalistic, man-made structure quickly quenched the results of revival. If you visit Wales today, you will find one of the least Christian countries in Europe. Many estimate that only about 5% of the Welsh people today are born-again. New Age, witchcraft, and Islam are rapidly growing. It's tragic, but most of the modern-day population of Wales say that they have never even heard of The Welsh Revival! Those who DO claim to have any knowledge of it, think of it as a "legalistic movement" that happened back when the nation was weak & lacking direction. Unfortunately, the old wineskin was ill-prepared to hold the new wine, thus the wine was wasted and the wineskin was ruined.
God DOES NOT want that to happen again! He is calling us t prepare a NEW wineskin ... one that will righty hold AND STEWARD His new wine. That's why He said, "New wine MUST BE poured into new wineskins."
New wine ... a fresh outpouring of God's Glory ... IS COMING; but a new wineskin must rise up in this hour to hold it! That new wineskin, I believe, will only be found in the restoration of the Acts 2 Church!
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