This prophetic word really ministered to me, so I thought that I would share it here:
A Hardened Vessel for Bringing Forth New Wine and 21-Day Prayer Focus
Dear Friends and Intercessors:
I started the year reading Isaiah, in the Word of God, in four different translations of the Bible: The Amplified, New King James, The Message, and a new version, The Voice. I also went to one of the Hebrew translations and read the passage directly.
Isaiah 41:10 is key to our future. In the Amplified, it states:
"Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of rightness and justice." Let Him do a new work in your spirit to harden you to circumstances around you. This will allow your vessel to be prepared for the pouring of new wine (revelation for your future).
There is a prophetic word that keeps speaking that says:
"Pull aside, enter your garden, and experience new wine." There are many contentions and much warfare ahead in the areas of
creativity and wealth. God tells us that we can create wealth.
I feel like we need to pray not only for transference of wealth but also for the creative power to create wealth. Therefore, I believe if we focus on breaking into "the new" then we will see much new break forth. It's time to press into the new.
Jesus Declared the NEW!
In the New Testament, Jesus often used the vineyard as an analogy for the Kingdom of God (Matt. 20:1-16). Those who hope to enter the Kingdom must be like the son who at first refused to work in his father's vineyard, but later repented (Matt. 21:28-32 and parallels). Ultimately, Jesus Himself is described as the "true vine" and His disciples (Christians) as the branches (John 15:1-11). One of the best descriptions for entering into the new comes from
Matthew 9:17:
"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 Lord is addressing John's disciples because they are questioning the methods He is using to train up His disciples. He then makes the analogy of putting a patch on an old garment, or putting new wine into an old wineskin. We also see the grace of the Lord in this because He wants to preserve the old as He develops the new. He is also saying to John's disciples, "Don't limit Me to just what John did, but expect Me to move in a new way." Therefore, through this analogy, He reveals that He will develop new wine and He will develop a new structure for that wine.
WINE is a beverage primarily made from fermented grapes. Grapes grew throughout ancient Palestine. Even in areas with limited rainfall, enough dew fell at night to support thriving vineyards. Pressing the juice from the grapes produces wine. This is done in large stone vats with a small drain at one end.
The juice was collected in troughs, poured into large jars, and allowed to ferment, while stored in cool, rock cisterns. In New Testament times, wine was kept in skin flasks and was often diluted with water. It was also used as a medicine and disinfectant. Scripture condemns drunkenness and overindulgence, but pictured wine as part of the typical ancient meal. You can't have wine without a vine!
(Photo of the winepress at the Global Spheres Center)
In the Bible, wine was a necessary part of even the simplest meal. Wine and grain were staples. The abundance of wine signified God's overflowing blessings. Failure to have a wine crop indicated destruction, calamity or barrenness. There was no problem, Biblically with a moderate "gladdening of the heart" through wine. Jewish legalism was also linked with the concept of old wineskins or structures.
I believe we are watching the Lord develop a new wine to bring forth, as well as a new wineskin.
The Vine is Important!
Any plant having a flexible stem supported by creeping along a surface or by climbing a natural or artificial support is known as a VINE. The word vine in the Bible almost always refers to the grapevine or vineyard. The climate of Palestine was well suited for vineyards. Along with the olive and fig trees, the grapevine is used throughout the Old Testament to symbolize the fertility of the land (Deut. 6:11; Josh. 24:13; 1 Sam. 8:14; 2 Kings 5:26; Jer. 5:17; 40:10; Hos. 2:12).
The origin of viticulture lies in the antiquity of the unknown past. The Bible traces the origin of caring for vineyards to the time of Noah (Gen. 9:20-21). The planting and care of a vineyard required constant and intensive care. The most detailed description of the work involved is found in Isaiah 5:1-6. He is the vine!
Pruning is an Important Process!
After the grapes had set on the branches, the vines were pruned (Lev. 25:4; Isa. 18:5; John 15:1-2). This process produced stronger branches and a greater fruit yield. The pruned branches were useless except to be used as fuel (Ezek. 15:2-8). The vines for the most part were allowed to run on the ground, though occasionally they might climb a nearby tree (compare Ps. 80:8-10; Ezek. 15:2; 19:11). Perhaps it was this latter occurrence that made it possible for a man to "sit under" his vine (1 Kings 4:25).
Only in the Roman period were artificial trellises introduced. The Bible frequently uses vine or vineyard as a symbol. Vine is often used in speaking of Israel. Thus, Israel is said to have been brought out of Egypt and planted as a vine on the land but was forsaken (Ps. 80:8-13; compare Isa. 5:1-7). Israel was planted a "choice vine," but became a "wild vine" (Jer. 2:21; compare Hos. 10:1). As the dead wood of a vine is good for nothing but fuel, so the inhabitants of Jerusalem would be consumed (Ezek. 15:1-8; 19:10-14). The fruit of the vine gladdens the heart of humankind (Ps. 104:15; Eccl. 10:19) and suppresses pain and misery (Prov. 31:6-7).
Israel was "like grapes in the wilderness" when God found them (Hos. 9:10), and the remnant surviving the Exile is compared to a cluster of grapes (Isa. 65:8). Finally, an abundance of the vine symbolizes the glorious age to come when the treader of the grapes will overtake the one who sows the seed (Amos 9:13-15; compare Gen. 49:10-12). (Photo: Vineyard at the Global Spheres Center in moonlight)
Allow the completion of the pruning process you are in so a greater joy can come forth in your life. Joy produces strength. Let all the dead wood be cut off of you. Let the sorrow and failures of the past season be removed so you become a sweet, new, drink in the hands of the Lord.
What is the New Wine?
Several types of wine were consumed. "New" or "sweet" wine was likely wine from the first drippings of juice before the grapes had been trodden. Some interpreters argue that new wine was unfermented. Some texts in which it is mentioned, however, allude to its intoxicating effects (Hos. 4:11; Acts 2:13). In a hot climate, before the invention of refrigeration, it was not possible to keep wine many months past the harvest, before fermentation began. Sour wine, perhaps vinegar mixed with oil, was a common drink of day laborers (Ruth 2:14; Luke 23:36). Wine was considered a luxury item which could both gladden the heart (Ps. 104:15) or cloud the mind (Isa. 28:7; Hos. 4:11).
I define new wine this way, "The New Wine is the anointing of God to release the abundance of God's life, joy and blessing in the lives of His people!" A good picture of the "New Wine" anointing is found in Acts Chapter Two. When the Spirit of God fell on the apostles, He released the life of God upon them. They were so overwhelmed by the overflowing joy of His presence, observers assumed they were drunk! The crowd thought they were drunk with wine, but really they were filled with NEW WINE! God wants us to be "filled with New Wine" and to walk in fullness of joy, with a vibrant spirit, full of life!
When God begins to release His New Wine, the first step may surprise us.
God Longs to Bless!
The abundance of vines and vineyards were seen as expressions of God's favor. In the Bible, the fullness of God's blessing is described as "grain, new wine and oil" (Jer. 31:12). Psalm 104:15 tells us that wine makes the heart glad, oil makes our face shine (glory), and bread (grain) gives us strength. That is God's desire, for each one of us.
God wants us to have strength to stand against the enemy. He wants us to shine with His glory and fulfill our destiny in the earth. He also wants us to walk in overflowing, abundant life here in the earth-realm! God wants us to have the fullness of His blessing in every season, but there are seasons when He focuses on a particular aspect of His blessing. We are in a season when the Spirit of God wants to release a fresh supply of New Wine to His Church.
The Winepress for the NEW!
The first step in wine making is the "stomping." New wine cannot be released until grapes are stomped! The yeast that produces fermentation grows on the outside of the grape skin. The juice is on the inside. If the grape skin remains unbroken, the process of fermentation cannot begin, and the grape will eventually shrivel up and turn into a raisin! But, when the grapes are stomped, the grape skin is broken. The yeast mixes with the juice, and new wine comes forth. That's a picture of how God deals with our flesh.
When God gives us a vision, our flesh grabs it and tries to "make it happen" in fleshly energy. But the flesh cannot please God. So God has to put our desires and ambitions into the winepress and stomp them, until our flesh lets go!
Press Forth Into New Vision!
This process is called "death of a vision." Death of a vision is a process every character in the Bible went through, to come into a place of God's blessing. God promised Abraham a son, then waited 25 years until Abraham's recognized his own inability to "make it happen." God anointed David to be king, but then allowed David to be hunted by Saul until David entrusted his future entirely to God. God raised up Moses to set Israel free, then sent him out to the backside of the desert until he died to his own abilities.
God will allow your vision to be stomped! He will wait for it to die, then He will resurrect it in supernatural power. God always works through life, death, and resurrection! If you are in a season where it seems all your hopes and dreams are being stomped, I have good news! Resurrection is coming! God is preparing to release His NEW WINE in you!
Let Patience Bring Forth Her Perfect Work!
If you are in the winepress, it's important to allow the stomping to have its full effect. If we resist stomping, the new wine cannot flow. If we refuse to die to our own desires and ambitions, what comes out is not the New Wine, but the old whine! We see our hopes and ambitions frustrated, and we start to murmur and complain, "I don't see why this is happening! God, this isn't what You promised!" Old whine is full of frustration, bitterness and anger! It will never bring the
results God wants. If God has you in the winepress, He is looking for a shift!
He wants you to shift:
• from ambition to submission.
• from trying to trusting.
• from our old ways, plans, mindsets, to a walk of faith.
• from the attitude, "I can make it happen," to "God, You will do it!"
Out of that shifting flows the new wine of the Spirit! If you are in the winepress, it's important that you stop reaching back to the old and familiar. Die to your ability to make it happen. Declare God's word, by faith. Trust God completely to do all that He has promised!
Watching After Your Vineyard!
Stone walls and/or hedges were usually built around the vineyard to protect the grapes from thirsty animals and from thieves (Song of Sol. 2:15; Jer. 49:9). Watchtowers were also built to provide further protection. The hewing out of a winepress or vat completed the vineyard installation (Isa. 5:2). During the harvesting season, the owner of the vineyard might live in a booth, to stay close to his valuable crop (Isa. 1:8).
The harvest of the grapes took place in August or September. Watch now, so you see the full fruit of the new coming forth this fall.
Prayer Focus for Bringing Forth New Wine:
Day 1. Read Isaiah 41 and 28:23-29. There is a bruising and a breaking that we must go through. Don't resist the stomping. Unless the skin is broken, we will end up as a raisin. So many in the old wineskin have resisted being broken. Declare all the seeds that are within you will awaken and come forth. Enter into your personal harvest. Ask the Lord to make you into a new, sharp threshing instrument.
Day 2. Read James 4. Submit your gifts and stand under the authority God is giving you. Bloom where God has planted you. Draw near to God and be faithful!
Day 3. Read Hebrews 4 and 12. Don't live in the past. This leads only to regret and bitterness. If you have repented, God's grace will cover past sins and failings. Allow your past to be pruned away; instead of being a bitter drink offering, you will become a sweet drink offering to the Lord.
Day 4. Read Jeremiah 29. Don't live in the future, but know that you have a good future. God has a future for you, but joy and fulfillment are found in HIM now!
Day 5. Read John 14, 15 and 16. Allow the pruning process to bring forth the new in you. Seek your joy in Him now. There is a place of overwhelming life and joy in Him. Press in to Him! Draw closer to Him! As you do, the New Wine begins to flow!
Day 6. Read Matthew 6. Be anxious for nothing. List the top five priorities in your life. Seek Him first and His Kingdom and His righteousness and then everything else will fall in place.
Day 7. Read Psalm 4. Allow the Lord to set you apart for the future. Let new joy and gladness arise. Declare you will sleep in peace and you will feel safe in the presence of God.
Day 8. Read Deuteronomy 33:26-29. New wine brings the fullness of God's security and provision.
Day 9. Read Joel 2 and 3. New wine is a sign of God's presence dwelling with His people and your land being restored and rejoicing.
Day 10. Read Jeremiah 31. The new is for you. New wine is part of the bounty of the Lord.
Day 11. Read Song of Solomon 2, 3 and 4. Ask the Lord to reveal to you the little foxes that are trying to crush the vine that will bring forth the new wine. Get a vision of your future identity. Ask the Lord to send a new wind and blow upon your garden.
Day 12. Read Proverbs 3:1-10. Ask the Lord how to give the first fruits of your increase so your vats will run over with new wine. Understand and experience God's blessing.
Day 13. Read Song of Solomon 8 and Psalm 16. Ask the Lord to come into your vineyard. Let Him prophetically reveal to you the fruit you are going to bring forth in the future. Enter into your promised inheritance.
Day 14. Read Matthew 16. Ask the Lord for revelation. Ask the Lord for the building plan for your future. Ask the Lord for keys. Just as Peter connected with the Father in Heaven, connect with the Father in a way that you begin to unlock the Kingdom of God within you.
Day 15. Read Hosea 2:14-23. Unlock your door of hope. Know that there is hope in your Valley of Achor. Ask God for that new door of hope to open up. Ask the Lord for mercy. Renew your covenant with God. New wine occurs when Heaven and earth agree.
Day 16. Read Revelation 14:14-20. Declare that the harvest in the nations will come into the winepress.
Day 17. Read Psalm 119:81-88. Declare that any premature aging or stiffness will begin to break from you and you will become a new wineskin.
Day 18. Read Ezekiel 37. Declare that which has been scattered will come back together into a new structure.
Day 19. Read Ephesians 4. Pray for the government of God in your region. For new wine to come forth, the government of God must be established in its fullness.
Day 20. Read John 2. Let the Lord change your water into new wine. He used the pots of religious ritualism to fill them with new wine. Ask the Lord to remove the spirit of religion from you. Let His glory begin to shine.
Day 21. Read Matthew 9 and 14. Be willing to let go of any old method that is operating in your life, business, church, etc. Notice the teaching after the wineskin. The lady who had an issue of blood for 12 years pressed through and touched Jesus. Jesus was on His way to awaken the 12-year-old daughter of Jairus. Declare that now is the time to press through into the new, even in your weakness. Declare that what needs to wake up will wake up now. There is a time when the old season ends. When John the Baptist was beheaded, the old season ended. Allow the old to end and the new to begin.
It's time for new wine. It's time for the new wine skin. Both are coming forth. Enter in!
Blessings,
Chuck D. Pierce
Glory of Zion International Ministries Email:
chuckp@glory-of-zion.org Website: glory-of-zion.org
