October 14, 2020 Day 6
A few months ago, I started attending an in-home small group. What the Lord placed on the host’s heart was “New Wineskins.” The very first night I had just received a phone call from AIM for an interview and I was told that I would be getting another phone call within the next three to six days. (The approval phone call.) This was a big deal. I prayed all day after the interview call and just kept asking the Lord “ Is this really what you want me to do?” I knew with everything in me that He was calling me to the World Race. I had no doubt. That Tuesday night I went to the group and heard Mario share about his vision for the group. It hit home with me. I sat there on the couch trying to hold back tears. At this point, no one knew that I had applied to the race. I felt like I had a special secret with my best friend, Jesus. As he spoke on “New wineskins” and read out of Luke about the process, his wife brought up the scripture in Isaiah (54:2) that talks about enlarging the place of your tent, and stretching out the curtains of your dwelling place. She looked directly at me and said “ I feel like He is getting ready to stretch out the curtains of your dwelling place.” The tears I was holding back couldn’t be contained any longer. The moment she said that it hit. That was the confirmation I needed.
Well here we are, worshiping around a fire and my friend Andrew Carlburg had a word for the group…
“If you poured wine into a wineskin and it fermented, in the process the wineskin became really rigged. If you were to pour new wine in again after one fermentation, it would burst and destroy the wineskin and the wine. But there was one way that you could restore a used wineskin to able to contain and hold new wine again. You would have to take the wineskin, soak it in oil, massage, and press on it really hard, and rub it to the point where it regained its elasticity. It’s this incredible imagery of us easily longing for the new wine, longing for the blessing, longing for the area that we’ve been looking for a breakthrough in. I think it’s really easy to pray through it like ‘Lord bring this, bring this, bring this’ and then when He doesn’t respond to that in the way we want we say ‘oh Lord you’re not speaking’ but so often His answer is ‘deal with your pride, hey deal with this thing, deal with this.’ When it’s just simple obedience to the first ‘Yes’ His answer to getting to this new wine that you want is to go through this process of being massaged. It might hurt and it might not be fun, but so often we have to just step into the simple obedience of what He is calling us to. The answer isn’t that He isn’t speaking over it, but maybe what He’s speaking over it is small conviction. The first step is to just say ‘yes’ to that because the whole point behind it isn’t that He is withholding this new wine, but because you haven’t gone through this process of being deeply massaged and hurt at times, He knows it will destroy you and the gift itself because the wine and the wineskin are ruined in that process of being burst.”
Andrew had no idea about my small group situation. This right here was Holy Spirit confirming to me that I am right where He wants me. This is only one of the MANY moments that Holy Spirit revealed Himself to me at training camp.
I encourage you, friend, to allow the Lord to take you through the process so that He can birth something new in you.
Funny enough, this song came on on the way to small group the first night. Coincidence? I think not.
“In the crushing
In the pressing
You are making new wine
In the soil, I now surrender
You are breaking new ground
So I yield to You into Your careful hand
When I trust You I don’t need to understand
Make me Your vessel
Make me an offering
Make me whatever You want me to be
I came here with nothing
But all You have given me
Jesus, bring new wine out of me
‘Cause where there is new wine
There is new power
There is new freedom
And the kingdom is here
I lay down my old flames
To carry Your new fire today”
Until next time…
Thank you so much for sharing this. I remember doing a teaching day on this very thing a few years ago, and here I am being reminded that it’s not about getting a new skin, but refurbishing the skin you have! So much love to you sweet Chelsey! Praying for you and your journey that God has you on!
I absolutely loved that you shared how the Holy Spirit is showing up in your life. I am excited to be on the same team as you and to watch one another grow!