A New Wine for a New Bottle by Pastor Faith Oyedepo

Author: Pastor Faith Oyedepo

Topic: A New Wine for a New Bottle

Dear Reader,

Happy Prosperous New Year! You are welcome back to Family Forum. 2016 is gone; a new year has just begun for you. You shall never have a better last year in Jesus’ name! The Word of God says: Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.  Behold! I will do a new thing (Isaiah 43:18-19).

Forget about all your past failure, prayerlessness, weaknesses, spiritual laziness, etc. This New Year, you need to position yourself for new things and as you do so, the new things of God will not pass you by.

To begin the New Year, this month, we shall be looking at a very vital topic: “A New Wine for A New Bottle”

We shall start by looking at the parable of Jesus to His disciples. I know that you are very familiar with this passage of the scriptures: And He spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.  And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better (Luke 5:36-39). I want you to take note of that word must. It is a task that must be done.

So, each time Jesus comes around to teach a parable, what He is doing is to paint a picture to you and I, who are students in His school. When we understand those pictures, we will be able to retain them in our memory and apply them in our daily lives.

This parable happens to be one of the pictures that Jesus painted for His disciples during His earthly ministry. I believe this picture is going to help you and I, a great deal, in our walk with God.  The question before you today is: How prepared are you for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ? I don’t know how you are preparing, because even though Jesus Christ is coming soon, there are certain things that must be done before He does. You and I have a duty to get ourselves ready for His second coming. In the parable above, Jesus tells us that no man who wants to repair an old garment or clothe, goes to look for a piece from a new material and joins it, thinking or expecting that the old material is going to last him a long time before it tears again.

Secondly, you will discover that no matter the level of your smartness in trying to mend the old clothes with the new piece, they don’t go together; there is always a difference. The thread will still show, no matter the colour you use. The shape of the new clothe will also be so evident when you put it on that you don’t need anybody to tell you that you have used a new piece of clothe to amend an old one. Have you ever seen a man that wore a cloth that is mended this way? It speaks for itself, doesn’t it?

When the garment is old, the best thing you can do is to get a new one to replace it. Jesus goes on to say in Luke 5:37 that: In the same way, no one who wants to apply wisdom, puts a new wine inside an old bottle. In other words, just like you do not use a new piece of clothe to amend an old one and expect the old one to be strong as the new one, no wise man looks for new wine and puts it in an old bottle. The Bible tells us that if a man does that, he is endangering the life of the bottle, as well as the content.

What Does The New Wine Stand For?

“The new wine” in this context, does not necessarily refer to the wine that man drinks. No! The new wine in this parable is referring to the new move of God for His people. It stands for the new plan and purpose of God for a generation. It also implies the vessels that will be used as containers and channels by God to carry out His plans and purposes for this end-time.

Time and again, we have been told and have heard people say, “Oh! Jesus is coming back.” But something very important Jesus made clear in this parable is that: for anyone to be a partaker, a channel or a vessel that God is going to use this end-time in His new move for this generation, such individual must be ready to change from an old bottle to new one.

Now, look at verse 38 of that Scripture; it says: but new wine must be put into new bottles. We, as members of the body of Christ, have enjoyed the old wine of God. We have enjoyed several moves of God and several phases of God’s plans and purposes for His people. God is at the verge of beginning a new move all together, and He will lay hands on the people He is going to use as channels or vessels for this new move. However, they have a duty of making themselves new bottles to be able to contain the new move of God for our days. The Bible says that when you make a mistake of putting the new wine into old bottles, you destroy the bottles. In other words, you destroy the vessels and also waste the wine therein.

If men, by their wisdom, wouldn’t want a natural and earthly wine to be wasted or the earthly bottle to burst, God isn’t going to act that way. God isn’t going to make a mistake of pouring the new wine into old bottles!

In case you have never given your life to Jesus, that means you are not born again and there is no way you can be a part of God’s new move for this end-time. If you are ready to be born again, please say this prayer: Dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins and cleanse me with Your Blood. Deliver me from sin and satan to serve the living God. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom.

If you prayed this simple prayer, you are now a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21).

Congratulations! You are now born again! All-round rest and peace are guaranteed you, in Jesus’ Name. Call or write, and share your testimonies with me through contact@faithoyedepo.org, pstfaithoyedepo@gmail.com; OR 07026385437 and 08141320204.

For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building A Successful Home and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).