New Wineskins

New Wineskins

This Sunday at CDC, we had our own Elder and Chairman Poh Keat give us the message in New Wineskins from the passage of Luke 5.

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. Luke 5:37-38

His message was centred on CHANGE, and indeed, we need to understand that our world changes everyday, with God orchestrating and directing history, everything in line with His good and perfect will. Hence, we need to constantly open ourselves to God to see what He is doing, and how we can join Him in His Creative work.

Firstly, the C in CHANGE stands for Christ. Jesus Christ was a radical, and His teachings shook the foundations of the Jewish religion as all the Jews knew it. Rabbis and Pharisees quoted extensively “It is written…” but Jesus proclaimed “I say to you….” He touched lepers and healed them. He conversed with not only with a Samaritan, but a Samaritan woman, and a sinful one at that. He mixed with tax collectors and sinners. Others judged him as a drunkard and a glutton. He brought powerful change to an old, rigid establishment, teaching people that love and mercy was more important than following all the letters of the law. If we are in Christ Jesus, we are a new creation, for it is no longer we that live on our own, but Christ that lives in us. We need to realize that, and learn to live for Christ, and not just for ourselves.

Secondly, the H in CHANGE stands for Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes and goes like the wind. No one knows where He is coming from or where He is going. The world goes after natural things, selfishness, ambition, money and personal glory. However, the mind of the Spirit seeks to honor God. We need to learn to listen to that small, quiet voice of the Holy Spirit, and be careful not to quench the Holy Spirit by persisting in our own sinful ways.

Thirdly, the A in CHANGE stands for Anxiety. Great men and women of God throughout history experienced great anxiety when they were asked to move out of their comfort zones and go forth in faith. Abraham, Moses, Gideon, David, and the Lord’s disciples all felt anxiety as they stepped out to follow God. However, they trusted in God for strength and deliverance, and leaned upon Him. Today, perhaps some of us may be feeling anxious as we set on a new job, a new opportunity, or a new home. We would do well to learn to “Cast our cares upon the Lord, for He cares for us.”

Fourthly, the N in CHANGE stands for New. Our wonderful God of limitless creativity and beauty makes everything new, just as our church theme for the year quotes from Revelation “I am making everything new…..” The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, and His mercies are new every morning. His grace is new every morning, and we see God’s goodness in new, marvelous ways every day.

Fifthly, the G in CHANGE stands for Growth. Just as we are destined to move from glory to glory as we are in Christ, we are destined to move to new areas of ministry and influence all according to God’s wonderful timing.

Finally, the E in CHANGE stands for Example

A most powerful example of CHANGE is Joseph, who moved from trustworthy son of his father Jacob, to trustworthy servant of Potiphar, to trustworthy head of prisoners and finally, trustworthy Prime Minister of all Egypt, all in God’s perfect timing. Furthermore, Elder Poh Keat shared the incredible story of his friend, Julian, a top Christian partner in KPMG UK who was called by God to leave his occupation and start his own internet business. In faith, he set out on this new venture, but just shortly after, the dotcom bubble burst…. He had promised that both he and his wife would not receive a salary until the company became financially stable, and because of that, they received no salary for 3 years. One third of the time, they lived off their savings. The second third, they re-mortgaged their home. The final third, with nothing left, they scraped through miraculously, sometimes finding money slipped under a door, and during one month, receiving a tax refund for over-deduction from KPMG. However, through this time, their prayer life strengthened immensely, and they instituted a prayer meeting at work every day involving all employees. Today, with God’s blessing, the business has boomed and is seen as a role model for others to follow

May the Lord enlarge our territories and lead us to new, fresh, exciting destinies as we serve Him together.

God bless,

Jason