Are You Ready for the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit?
#newwineskinsseries
Our theme this year has been about Harvest. Pastor Paul asked if we have been harvesting? The harvest of souls and the harvest of resources will not happen without first planting seeds. If you want to harvest souls, you need to plant seeds through testimonies (do it again), share God’s goodness, and impart to those who have not received Jesus yet. The harvest of resources—the purpose of coming to weekly church services is to be equipped for life by learning from the principles of God and applying them into our lives. Because of that, you will be successful and have a harvest of resources. Plant seeds of kindness, compassion, and well-doing. The question is, “Have you been harvesting?” May we harvest even more.
The month of August will focus on “The New Wineskins.” God will pour out the Holy Spirit upon ALL flesh. The topic this week is in the form a question: “Are you ready for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?” Only you can answer to God yourself. God will do it whether you want it or not, whether you are ready or not.
Acts 2:13, 17-18 NKJV
Verse 13: “Others mocking said, ‘They are full of new wine.’”
Verses 17-18: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.
The verses above occurred during the day of Pentecost, 2000+ years ago. There was a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and the disciples were speaking in many other languages. Three thousand people came to Jesus at that time. In the midst of exciting times, many mocked them. When we are in the midst of a movement of the Holy Spirit, there will be people who will mock, laugh, criticize, or put you down. We must focus on Jesus because God is our source and strength. Sometimes, people may not mock you but your mind may have many questions. Do not focus on your problems, challenges, or situation, but focus on God.
The last days began when Jesus came to earth as seen in Hebrews, chapter 1. God spoke to people in the past through prophets. Many people rejected the prophets and God sent His only Son in the last days to deliver the message. We are now living in the last of the last days.
The Lord will pour out His Spirit on all flesh—not just for Christians. Many in the Middle East were visited by Jesus Himself or had dreams of Him that caused whole villages to receive Jesus.
To experience the outpouring, the wineskin needs to first be renewed.
In this generation and culture right now, there are dream thieves—vision thieves—but God wants to restore them now. John 10:10 NKJV: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” There are thieves who steal your visions and dreams, but God will restore hope and give you abundant life. When you receive your dream and vision back, your mouth will be filled with laughter and joy.
God is still doing healing and miracles today. Pastor shared about his brother’s health issues with his kidney, heart, and lungs. He had dialysis 5 days a week and most probably needed a heart transplant. The diagnosis was bleak but prayers were offered and he was healed!
Pastor Paul received word of knowledges regarding sicknesses over the congregation. He received impressions regarding tear-duct problems, right leg cramps, growths in the mouth, he had a word for an individual watching online who never watched the service online before. This individual has been praying for a son and the word stated that he will be healed from a stroke.
Matthew 9:17 NKJV “Nor do they put NEW wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put NEW wine into NEW wineskins, and both are preserved.”
The original language for each word “new” in “new wine” and “new wineskin” are different.
Neos wine and kainos wineskin:
Neos: denotes the new primarily in reference to time, recent, the now
Kainos: kind, vessel, new, which as recently made is superior to what it succeeds. Better than the last.
Are our vessels ready? If not, the vessels will be ruined because the new wine demands a new wineskin. We need to prepare ourselves because He is doing something new. God is not talking about a better outpouring than before. Throughout church history, even hundreds of years ago, there were many Holy Spirit outpourings. We cannot improve the Holy Spirit but the time (neos) is now. The Holy Spirit will do mighty things today. This vessel needs to be repaired and changed, a new mindset. As a church, the strategy and the plan must change—we cannot do what we have been doing 20 years ago.
1 Peter 2:9 NKJV “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
You are His own special people. Your mind may have been tormenting telling you that you are worthless, not good enough, you are being compared to, you do not measure up. This is not a feeling or emotions, but a knowing in your knower: YOU ARE SPECIAL! The purpose is so that we are called to proclaim the praises of God, to testify, to declare, to share the praises of Jesus who called us out of darkness. For harvest, we must plant seeds to proclaim, to testify God’s goodness, to share to others who do not know Him yet.
To have a new wineskin, you do not live like everybody else. The mark of our lives uses Jesus as our model:
When others stay offended, we are able to forgive
When others are greedy, we learn to be generous
When others try to take advantage of others, we live with integrity
We have no entitlement mentality
We do not cheat in our business dealings
We are not the same as others on campus (different attitude)
We do not gossip
If we get involved with the world attitude, there is no life in it
It is not because we are too good, it is because it is not who we are
We are a special (peculiar) people! Chosen! Royal!
“Those clothes used to fit me but I can’t wear those clothes anymore. Now, I want to wear different clothes because the old clothes do not fit anymore. I want to fix my wineskin because I want to make myself ready for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.” Why? Because you have been cleansed, sanctified, washed, redeemed, and something changed in your life. You need to cut away the old things because they will NEVER produce life in you.
When people, even in social media, criticize and complain, we need to focus on the Lord and praise Him. Do not focus on yourself too much, this wineskin needs to be renewed.
Prayer Points:
Pray to be intentional in our harvesting of souls and harvesting of resources
Reassess if we have been planting seeds for the harvest
What kind of seeds are we planting?
Proclaim, testify, and share the Good News
Pray to be ready for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
Pray to not focus on our problems or challenges—focus on God
Pray for a good attitude
Do not be swayed by others mocking or criticizing us
Ask God to prepare our wineskin
Pray for a renewal of wineskin for new wine demands a new wineskin
Pray to change our mindsets, the way we perceive things
Pray to be repaired and changed
Pray to cut away the old because it does not produce life
Pray for CBC to adopt and implement the new strategy
Pray that God restores our visions and dreams from the thieves
Ask God for insight to understand (hindsight), to not complain, so that God can provide foresight
Pray to understand that we are SPECIAL
We are chosen
We are a royal priesthood
We are holy
We proclaim His praises
Pray to have Jesus as our model—we do not live like everyone else
Pray to have signs, wonders, miracles accompany us when we share the Good News to others
Pray for the advancement and building progress of the Training Center; no delays, obstacles, accidents, pushback, or interruptions.
Let us prepare our new wineskin for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit!