“And he gave them this illustration: “No one rips up a new garment to make patches for an old, worn-out one. If you tear up the new to make a patch for the old, it will not match the old garment. And who pours new wine into an old wineskin? If someone did, the old wineskin would burst and the new wine would be lost. New wine must always be poured into new wineskins. Yet you say, ‘The old ways are better,’ and you refuse to even taste the new that I bring.””
– Luke 5:36-39
The Lord has been so good here in Asia for me. Not only have I been able to spend good quality time with Him, but He has miraculously touched my heart.
For the past 5 months, I have really been seeking the Lord. I have been spending as much time as possible with Him. I have been taking everything in through reading the word, the different teachings and sessions I have been able to listen to, and just observing the ministries and the way that they serve the Lord. With everything I have been doing, I have been seeking the Lord in hopes to find Him. And the wildest thing happened, I found Him.
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
– Jeremiah 29:13
The Lord truly revealed Himself when He knew it was right. He is always faithful to make Himself known at just the right time. When we need Him most, He shows up. That is what it says in the Bible and His word is the truth we are to turn to. And the Lord is always faithful to His promises that He makes.
This all began in Nepal at our debrief.
During debrief, I was given a paper that was full of encouragement. On this paper was a listening prayer from a special lady who spent time asking the Lord what He wanted to share with me, and she wrote it down for me. As I was reading what she had written my brain began to wonder what the Lord was really trying to tell me. She had heard from the Lord that I needed to lay down my burdens.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
-Matthew 11:28-30
At the time I didn’t know what the Lord was specifically asking me to lay down. There were many burdens I could lay down. Both burdens way in the past and burdens from just this past month. So I just folded the paper back up and just remembered the words that I had just read.
Then the next thing I know is that it is time for evening session and worship to begin. Halfway through, there were some scriptures that were being read before the next song. The one passage that spoke to me was Luke 5:36-39. Not only did it speak to me because I knew what song was coming next but because it was talking about starting new. About not using the old wineskin but using the new wineskin. This spoke to me because of the listening prayer that I had just read earlier about how I should lay down my burdens to receive the new.
I needed to be willing to receive the new from the Lord. And how the only way to receive the new from the Lord was if I laid down my burdens. Then the worship team started to play the song New Wine by Hillsong Worship and the Lord continued to move. The Lord had already been using this song to speak to me, but all of this brought the song into a new light.
What a night that was, but that was just day one of debrief. On the last night there, the Lord brought back this same reference to new wine. He was not done speaking to me about receiving new things from Him.
The last night of worship was focused on remembering the Lord and what He has done for us and how we are continuing to strive for what is to come and not the past. To really allow ourselves to remember and move forward with the Lord. It was such a good night of worship, but as the songs were finishing the Holy Spirit was not done with our night of worship. We were asked to spend some time just praying and continuing to worship in whatever way we needed to. So I spent some time praying and singing to the Lord. He revealed to me that I needed to let my walls come down from my past life. That He wanted me to continue to move forward with Him. That He wanted speak to me and use me in a new way. I continued to sit in the Lord’s presence as the closing prayer started. The prayer started with how we had all just spent this time in the presence of the Holy Spirit being filled with new wine. Wow! My mind was blown away. My heart was filled. The presence of the Lord was so tangible in this time. I didn’t want this time of revelations to stop. I wanted to stay in this moment forever. But of course the time was finished but the revelations were there to stay.
From day one to the last day of debrief, the Lord was wanting me to experience His new wine. To be filled with the new and release the old.
With my heart full and my mind blow, I walked away that evening ready for what the Lord has planned not only for this month but for the rest of my life. Ready to receive the new wine.
