Today I'd like to share a brief devotional meditation with you about the importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said, “Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." (Mat 9:17)
Since the fermentation of wine produces CO2 gas that is 40 times the volume of grape juice, just imagine how much gas is produced by one liter of wine. Liquids are typically measured in liters in a lab and gases are measured in cubic centimeters (cm3). Therefore if the volume of CO2 gas produced by one liter of grape juice during fermentation is 40 times that volume, then it would produce 40 x 1 liter or 40 liters. 1 liter = 1,000 cm3, so 40 liters = 40,000 cm3. That's an enormous volume of gas compared to the relatively much smaller volume of liquid!
The gas produced during fermentation of new wine is a type or illustration of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, Who is infinitely greater in power than the believer who is not Spirit-filled. There is a bubbling up of the Spirit within the Spirit-filled believer that cannot be contained by religious forms, customs, structures, and organizations. Even the human body cannot contain it, which is why it comes out of the believer in various manifestations of power like speaking in tongues, prophesying, gifts of healing, miracles, joyful laughter, dancing, lifting up the hands in worship, etc. Groups (such as denominations or religious institutions) that are bound by their religious forms, customs, and structures cannot control this, so they don’t know what to do with it. That's why when they encounter Spirit-filled people in their midst, it can result in a breakage like a broken wineskin, whereby the Spirit-filled person runs out, much like new wine runs out of a broken wineskin.
What is fermentation? It is the process of sugars being broken down by enzymes of microorganisms in the absence of oxygen. It’s an anaerobic process, which is why it can happen inside a sealed wineskin. Those enzymes break down the glucose in the juice, and that is what produces the gas. Those gas bubbles are a byproduct of the sugars being broken down by the enzymes. The gas bubbles just appear seemingly out of nowhere from within the fermenting liquid. The gas bubbles up from within the wine. That reminds me of the living water that Jesus said would bubble up from within the Spirit-filled believer.
Jesus said, “’Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” (Joh 7:38-39).
On another occasion, Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (Joh 4:13-14).
The expression “welling up” in that verse is from the Greek word “hallomai”, meaning to jump; figuratively to gush: - leap, spring up. Therefore, Jesus was saying that the living water He gives us, which is the Holy Spirit, will become a spring of water gushing, bubbling up, or springing forth like a fountain. This water of the Spirit bubbles up to eternal life. That reminds me of one of the Hebrew words for "prophet" in the Bible.One of the three Hebrew words for "prophet" is nabi, which literally means "to bubble up" like a fountain. It describes one who is stirred up in spirit. Likewise, the Hebrew word most often translated "prophesy" is naba, which literally means to "bubble up" and to "flow forth."
Paul wrote to the Ephesian Church, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." (Eph 5:18). The Greek word for "be filled" here is pleroo, which means to be filled to the full or to be filled up. But the verb is in the present continuous tense, meaning that it is an ongoing daily process that we submit to, not a one-time thing. You could say, "Continually be being filled" with the Spirit.
Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the Main Directory for this blog at Home, such as Baptized with the Spirit, The New Wine, The Spirit Without Limit, The River of God, The Gift of Speaking in Tongues, Have the Spiritual Gifts Ceased?, Ten Divine Expressions for Spirit Baptism. and Gifts and Fruit of the Spirit: What's the Difference?, You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?
“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.
Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
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