How to be a New Wineskin

A Kingdom generation of those younger and older is rising as a Christ Centered Movement to be the influence of culture and reveal the glory of God. 

This Kingdom Generation is made of those that are given to change, adjustment, and development in order to carry the freshness of what God is doing.  Matt 9 shares the importance of “new wineskins” that can carry new wine.  Of course, there is understanding that Jesus is speaking of how the Old Covenant cannot carry what the New Covenant will bring and so a new vessel will be needed.  So the Church/Eccelesia will be established as what will carry the wine of the Holy Spirit in the earth.  We can also have application for each of us to be those that are willing to be new wineskins to carry fresh wine in this moment of history.  We cannot be stuck in old ways and old expressions that have become dry and brittle.  A Kingdom Generation is to be flexible and change oriented so we are able to be agents the Spirit works through in effective ways. 

The Kingdom of God is not stagnant or static.  The Kingdom is kinetic and flowing.  Ezekiel speaks of it as a river increasingly getting deeper and wider.  Change is always happening in that kind of growth.  Revelation 22 speaks of a river flowing/moving.  The nature of the Kingdom is that it continually causes everything to change and adjust to the permanence of who God is and His unchanging ways (Hebrews 12:26-28).  Because God never changes all other things of the Kingdom must adjust to Him and this is an ongoing process of setting in place what is to remain and what is to be done away with.  New wineskins are continually needed as the Spirit works in ways that are deeper and wider than in days, years, or decades past. 

We need to be those that understand how to be a new wineskin as we are those that desire to participate with what the Spirit is doing now.  I will cover what I see is needed to be a new wineskin below, but first, let’s see how Jesus explained the nature of the Kingdom and how that needs to be the nature of a Kingdom Generation.

Matthew 13 is a jammed packed chapter of scripture as Jesus shares parables to communicate the nature of His Kingdom.  The Sower, The Mustard Seed, The Leaven, The Wheat and Tares all convey elements of His Kingdom and also how those of His Kingdom are to be of the same nature.  The parable of the sower speaks of how the Kingdom is GROWING.  The mustard seed shows us the Kingdom starts small and seems insignificant, but it INCREASES until it is the dominate plant of the garden.  The leaven explains how the Kingdom is always EXPANDING until everything is affected by it.  The wheat and tares reveals how there is MATURING in the Kingdom so things come to its full benefit and usefulness while that which is not of the Kingdom is removed.  Each of these areas:

•                GROWING

•                INCREASING

•                EXPANDING

•                MATURING

are all the nature of Christ's Kingdom and they are to be the experience we are walking.  We must have the generations growing in Christ, growing in relationships, growing in revelation.  We must be those that are increasing our understanding, our skills, our effectiveness.  Both young and old must be expanding their reach, their influence, their input into what is around them.  We must be those that are maturing as a Christ Centered Movement and in the application of His ways.  As people of His Kingdom, we must be moving into His desires and unlocking His glories more and more. 

To continue in our work to reveal His glories and to influence all things with His ways, we have to understand a few important aspects of being a new wineskin.  This will enable us to carry now what is needed to have the greatest measure of influence and impact.

To be a new wineskin, we must obtain the following:

• New Revelation – this is a foundational place of change.  A new wineskin will begin at a new revelation.  We need the “logos”, written Word of God, to birth “rhema”, the Spirit revealed word, in our lives so it is applied in the things around us. 
• New Understanding – understanding is what happens as new revelation becomes a part of who we are and what we do. 
• New Strategy – a plan to step forward in living out a new understanding. 
• New Action – a strategy must have feet put to it so faith is in action.  There must be new ways of doing things that happen.
• New Passion – something is ignited in us from new actions that reveal the fresh work of the Spirit. 

A new revelation is to take us on a journey into new understanding, new strategies, new actions and new passion that is a fresh expression of God and His Kingdom in the earth.  God is calling for new wineskins because new wine is being released.  Those younger and older together in a synergistic way are to be part of His move as a new wineskin.  We are to be growing, increasing, expanding, and maturing through our relationship with Him and His Word (logos) that births new revelation and leads to a new wineskin.