Allen Jackson - Breakthrough... New Wine - Part 1
We’ve been working through a series called «Breakthrough,» and in this session, I want to talk to you about new wine. There are no samples in the building. I’ve been encouraging you to revisit this little paradigm that we have lived with for some time now about watch, listen, think, and act. We live in a time when there is tremendous deception. And if you’re going to avoid deception and fulfill God’s purposes for your lives, there are two or three things that are just absolutely essential. I believe you have to consistently read your Bible. If you’re not doing that, you’re adrift, you’re losing ground. You need to be in community. You need to be in a community of like-minded people with the desire to honor the Lord, and then you have to invest some time and energy to watch and listen to the world around you. You can’t afford to just withdraw, or you’re ill equipped, you’re unprepared, you’re really incapable of being salt and light.
Jesus said, «Nobody lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket». And if we just huddle in our churches and huddle with like-minded people who repeat the phrases that we like the most, you’re under a basket. We have to watch and listen and actually think, because everything we’re told is not particularly accurate. And then be willing to act on it. I think we’re witnessing a unique shaking, a unique, really, I believe, a season of opportunity, certainly unlike anything in my lifetime, where there’s a great contest between values of the kingdom of God and the values of this present age. You don’t have to have much discernment to see that.
Tragically, I’m gonna suggest that we have capitulated for so long, those of us amongst the Christian community, at least those of us who have gathered in churches. Sitting in a church does not make you a Christian, folks. I have a membership of the gym. That does not make me a world-class athlete. That makes me a fluffy Southerner with a membership at a gym. We’ve capitulated for so long that it seems inappropriate to express our support, to even express support for Judeo-Christian worldview. We think, well, maybe I shouldn’t say that. Yes, you should say that. It’s not inappropriate to agree with God’s Word. Even if it puts you at odds with Harvard or Yale, or purveyors of conventional wisdom. We have been without courage for far too long.
There are things around us that should not be confusing. Biological sex is not confusing. And I have tremendous compassion for people who are confused around those issues, but I will not be a part of adding to that confusion or imagine that we would surrender a generation of young people to be preyed upon by people who would profit from fomenting that kind of confusion. It’s evil, and the church has to have a voice to be willing to say those things. So, the conversation is «Breakthroughs,» and what I have submitted to you is that breakthroughs are those points where we can see interventions from God in our lives. We all need them. Really, my motivation for this series was the awareness, we do life together.
We talk and I listen and we interact and we pray, and scattered all over campus are men and women and families who desperately need breakthroughs from God. There’s not an acceptable outcome without God’s intervention. We’re not gonna work our way through it. We’re not going to organize our way through it. We need God’s help. And God’s interventions are not just random. God’s not mean-spirited. The point of this book is to help us understand his character so that we might understand how we can cooperate with him more fully. I have a habit, you may or may not have this. When technology doesn’t work for me, I blame the technology. My phone is not working. My computer is not cooperating.
Now, I haven’t done anything to it. It has just randomly targeted me. It’s unfair. I’m unhappy about it. I feel sorry for the people that have to come to my aid because they have to kindly tell me I screwed it up again. I mean, to the point now where the first question is always the same, right? Have you turned it off and turned it back on? And it’s so embarrassing: if you’ve forgotten to do that, you almost just wanna lie and go, «Yeah». We’re a little bit like that with God. We want him to do what we want, when we want, the way we want, and we don’t think we have any role to play in that whatsoever. That’s not biblical.
So we’ve been exploring this idea of breakthroughs, God’s interventions, to see if we could understand them more fully, so that we might cooperate, even facilitate them or recognize them, when their opportunities are present around us. I’m convinced we can walk past God opportunities on a regular basis. So I’ll start with a verse in your notes. It’s Luke 5, Jesus is speaking. He said, «No one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. New wine must be poured into new wineskins». When grape juice ferments, gas is released, it expands. If it’s an old wineskin with no elasticity, it will rupture and everything will be lost. If it’s a new wineskin, the skin can stretch to accommodate the fermentation. So when God’s doing something new, it requires some elasticity. Agh, «change,» what an ugly word. But breakthroughs are about change.
See, here’s the problem we have. We don’t want to change. We just want God to make our problem go away. We want God to cause Goliath to vaporize. We don’t want to have to go to the brook and find five small stones and walk down onto the battlefield and say, «Today you’re mine». We just want Goliath to decide to go home. We don’t want to have to have a confrontation on Mount Carmel with the people of God who are rebellious and stubborn and self-absorbed and idolatrous. We just want God to pour out his Spirit and there’ll be a revival. We don’t have to want to run from Queen Jezebel when she said, «I’ll have your head tomorrow». We want God to just remove her. We want breakthroughs. And God said, «I’ll intervene. But you’re going to be a part of the change».
Breakthroughs. New wine, new wineskins. God is moving in the earth in a truly fresh way, unlike anything I have ever seen or experienced. And I’ve been around a bit. So my suggestion, my encouragement, my invitation to you is don’t just remain an observer. Begin to say Yes to the Lord in new ways. Make room for God in your life in a new way. «Well, I’m born again». I’m happy, wonderful! Doesn’t mean you’re spiritually healthy. It’s like saying, «I’m alive, I’ve been born». Good. How about let’s do something to be healthier? Well, if we’ll do it physically, let’s do it spiritually. You up for the journey?
Breakthroughs come in many ways, many perspectives. Sometimes they’re about deliverance, sometimes it’s about revelation, sometimes it’s an insight, sometimes it’s understanding, sometimes it’s a complete redirection. Don’t go that way, go this way. Oftentimes it’s when God’s purposes and plans are initiated, completed, revealed, advanced, welcomed, understood. It’s almost always disruptive. We tend to think the devil’s the one that disrupts our lives. God is far more disruptive than the devil. The power, the momentum of our carnal, selfish, earthly, adamic self, all words used in scripture, is difficult to estimate accurately. We just want our way, and God’s blessing. And God said, «I love you too much for that». I love you too much for that. Breakthroughs.
We’ve been looking at some familiar characters on this breakthrough journey and I wanna go back to some that are part of the narrative for this unique season of the year, they’re not new to you, and I like that. We can touch it a little more quickly. We’re gonna look at Zechariah and Elizabeth. They’re the parents of John the Baptist, if you don’t know. Zechariah is a priest. It’s a very godly family. They’re not reprobate. They’re not backslidden, they’re not pagans. They’re not compromised. There’s no inclination, no indication in scripture that they’ve done anything inappropriate, wrong. It’s not a corrective for them, but they need a breakthrough. They need a breakthrough and God provides one, but it isn’t what I would have expected, it isn’t what I would have asked for. It starts with a rather unexpected invitation and, if you’ll allow me, I think the reality is when this breakthrough comes, they have already lost all hope.
I think you’ll hear that as we read it. All hope is gone. So they’re not standing in faith, they’re not proclaiming something. The window has closed. They have no imagination. And then God steps in. That’s really disruptive. «You know, God, I used to hope, I used to think, I used to want, I used to dream, I used to talk to you about this stuff, but God, I’ve moved on. I’ve kind of let that heal. I’ve got a new plan». I bet some of you have places that you’ve just closed off. «I used to think God might do this. I used to hope he would do this, but I’ve shut that down. I don’t have that hope anymore».
Luke chapter 1: «When Zechariah,» Zechariah is a priest, he’s serving in the temple and he has a visit from an angel, an archangel, Gabriel. «When he saw Gabriel, he was startled and he was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: 'Don’t be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you’re to give him the name John.'» You know, time is something God created for us. It’s really beyond me, to a great extent, but God is not a creature of time. God’s eternal. And when Gabriel speaks to Zechariah, he said, «Your prayer has been heard,» and it makes it sound like, well, he prayed yesterday. But it’s gonna be very clear as we read through this passage that the prayer Zechariah had prayed was some time ago, years. I don’t want you to lose that.
Let’s push forward. Verse 14: «He’ll be a joy and a delight to you, and you’ll rejoice. Many will rejoice because of his birth. He’ll be great in the sight of the Lord. He’s never to take wine or fermented drink, and he’ll be filled with the Holy Spirit. Many of the people of Israel, he’ll bring back to the Lord their God». I mean, that’s a pretty good resume for your kid. «He’ll go on before the Lord, in the spirit and the power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, and make ready a people prepared for the Lord». And Zechariah interrupts. «I have a question. How can I be sure of this? I’m an old man and my wife, let’s just say she’s well along in years».
That’s the point where I say this isn’t a prayer that is contemporary for… it’s not the prayer he prayed in the temple that morning. Yeah, Gabriel, we prayed that prayer. We prayed that prayer a long time ago. You can see, Zecharias is going, «Wait, wait, wait, wait. For real? I’m old. And Elizabeth, she’s mature». «And the angel answered, 'I’m Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I’ve been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.'» It’s a breakthrough. God said, «I’m gonna do something in your life that you couldn’t do for yourself. It’s a response to a prayer you have prayed».
I think it’s worth noting the initial response of Zechariah: he’s frightened, he’s startled, gripped with fear. «Gripped with fear» is pretty strong language. This angelic visit and his announcement is unexpected. It’s made possible by perseverance. It’s not random. Zechariah is still serving in the temple. Elizabeth is still walking uprightly before the Lord. They’ve held it together with disappointment. Their life plan didn’t unfold as their peer group’s did. They had friends that were celebrating birthday parties and they weren’t. But they didn’t abandon the path, they didn’t abandon their faith.
I love the description of John, of the child that is to come. He said, «He’ll be a joy and a delight,» in verse 14. «Many will rejoice because of his birth,» wow. «He’ll be great in the sight of the Lord». That’s big language. Verse 15 says: «He’ll never drink strong drink». There’s a special commitment, a group of the people of God who would make a unique vow to the Lord, a covenant to the Lord, that they wouldn’t… not only would they not drink wine, they wouldn’t even eat a grape or a raisin. You know how dangerous raisins are. Nor would they cut their hair. The word in scripture, I’ll show it to you. It was known as a Nazirite, not a Nazarene.
Nazarenes come from the village of Nazareth where Jesus would grow up. Nazirites was a reference, a label, for a group of people who would make a special vow to the Lord. And the message to Zechariah is your son is to join that group. He will be committed to the Lord from before his conception, if you want to talk about the sanctity of human life. God didn’t say to him, you know, you should choose this. He said, I brought you an instruction. Children aren’t your option. They’re a sacred trust. John’s to be a Nazirite. He’ll be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his birth. He’ll bring many back to the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah. Elijah was also a Nazirite. Not accidental analogy.
I put the passage in your notes. It’s number 6. I thought it was just an interesting support. It said: «The Lord said to Moses, 'Speak to the Israelites and say to them: „If a man or a woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of separation to the Lord as a Nazirite, he must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and not drink the vinegar made from the wine or the fermented drink."'» Verse 5: «'"During the entire period of his vow of separation no razor may be used on his head. He’ll be holy until the period of his separation to the Lord is over."'»
There are times and places where God asks of us to separate ourselves, to make unique commitments. I’m grateful for mercy and grace. If you look them up, you’ll probably find my picture there. But our messaging has been so heavy, we’re focused on those topics, that we’ve almost lost the idea of serving the Lord, of leaning in, of sanctification, of separating ourselves intentionally more completely, from the spirit of the age in which we’re living. It’s a breakthrough in Zechariah’s life. He doesn’t just say, «You’re gonna have a baby». It’s a breakthrough. He’s giving birth to a breakthrough. I mean, quite literally, Elizabeth is going to give birth to the breakthrough. She’s gonna be involved. Is that fair: If you’re pregnant, you’re involved? I got this right?
I’ve watched. You’re transformed by that. But I’ve also observed you’re not really in control. When’s the baby due? Well, we think… right? I think that that little paradigm is pretty helpful when you are giving birth to a breakthrough. You’re involved, it’s transformational, you’re not gonna be the same anymore, but you also recognize you’re not really driving this thing. It could go many ways. I’m vulnerable. There’s few times more vulnerable in a person’s life than when they’re pregnant. Giving birth to a breakthrough, in this case it’s a son, but the timing is off. I mean, if we just process it from Zechariah and Elizabeth’s standpoint, I mean, they’re too old, they’re not prepared. They’re too busy. They’re the only people buying nursery furniture with Social Security checks.
I mean, they’re supposed to be playing more golf, not doing middle-of-the-night feedings. It’s an assignment which is kingdom focused far more than it’s parentally fulfilling. Breakthroughs, God initiated, and I trust you, your character has been tried and tested and revealed. I have an assignment that needs strength of character and attention to spiritual formation to help a young person maintain his momentum to deliver a message that is essential and you can do it. It’s required a delay, you’ve had to overcome some disappointment.
Please don’t let disappointment choke the purposes of God from you. Don’t let frustration and circumstances or events rob you of what God would do in your life. The enemy is so at work to get us to focus our attention on somebody else, and they got a better opportunity or a better chance or their picket fence is better than my picket fence. Even their dog behaves. The devil will do whatever he can do to resist, delay, impede, discourage. Zechariah said, «Okay». In Luke chapter 1, same story. Elizabeth is Mary’s aunt. So Mary has a visit with the same angel, and she says to Gabriel, «I’m the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you’ve said». When the angel left her, says: «At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea».
Elizabeth lives near Jerusalem. Mary lived in the hills of Galilee in the north. It’s a several-day journey, and when Gabriel leaves her, says she hurried out of town to go see her aunt, who’s an old woman and pregnant. And Mary has a pregnancy story and she’s the only person she could think of that might understand. Because only God could have caused Aunt Elizabeth to be in a family way. «Mary got ready and hurried to a town where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And in a loud voice she exclaimed: 'Blessed are you among women, blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.'»
I don’t know how that scene unfolded. Luke doesn’t tell us. But I can tell you in my imagination when Mary makes it to Elizabeth’s house, it’s with that same sense of desperation that you find shade on a hot day or perhaps a bit of water and when Elizabeth begins to respond to Mary in this bold, loud voice, I can see the tears running down Mary’s face. She’s young. She’s not old. And her world has been put in the blender, her future is in the shaker, and there’s all sorts of questions. And Elizabeth is encouraging her and affirming her and saying, «God is in the midst of this».
Folks, don’t always wait for somebody to be that voice for you. You be that voice, all right? You know, one of the things I get to do is try to help be engaged in creating a community of faith that welcomes people. And the most unhappy people stories are the ones that usually make it to me, and I’m always a bit amused. People say, «You know, I visited your church and no one spoke to me». I’m sure it can happen. You can probably put on headphones, dark glasses, a big floppy hat. Pull your collar up. Watch carefully and sneak between the gauntlet of people trying to say hello to you. Sit in the sanctuary and send up every nonverbal signal you can that I’m toxic and don’t touch me. I mean, I don’t doubt that that could happen and so we will respond.
But I think you’ve probably got to make an effort. I mean, you all are goofy friendly. If I tell you to introduce yourself to your neighbor, I have to stop you 4 or 5 minutes later. You’re exchanging Christmas cookie recipes. Well, I see that affirmation in Elizabeth. She’s ministering to Mary. «The sound of your greeting when it reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished»! «So you don’t think I’m crazy? You believe me? You think it’s really God? You’re not gonna look at me with side eyes and ask me about my character»? «No». «Zechariah, he had an appointment of his own. He didn’t say much about it, but he wrote me a note». It’s a breakthrough, some breakthroughs, and then Luke goes out of his way to say it’s about the Spirit of God.
Hey, before we go, I wanna pray.
Heavenly Father, I thank you that you called us to this season in history and that you’ve given us everything we need for life and godliness. Give us the boldness, the courage, the wisdom, the discernment we need to lead triumphant lives, in Jesus’s name, amen.