The Wine & the Wineskin

Wine & Wineskins

Bill Johnson

Wine and Wineskins:
Wine - The holy spirit
Wineskin - Holds the wine, but will tear if you put new wine in it.

1979 Bill and his community decided to live a life of risk, but they stuck together and took correction from the people around them. They knew they could make it if they stayed accountable. They have not, to this day, strayed or fallen.
- You can become caught up and start to worship your position.

Wineskin - Structure is vital.
- keeps us safe
- gives direction
- The wineskin is there to service the wine.
- All the trappings that go into a worship service all are onto something. Sometimes you have to put all those things aside to remember who you are worshiping.

I don’t trust anyone to lead me in worship who doesn’t worship on his own.

We become what we behold.
- In Judges, the Lord told the Israelites to not fear other Gods.
- If you fear to go broke you will worship money.
- What you set your eyes on is what you become. When you’re life’s values are set on other things you make what you fear your idol. When we give ourselves to false things we become like that thing.
- The enthusiasm from a crowd does not equal the presence of Jesus. - We measure our success by how many people are responding. (Shouting, raising hands, how many people rush to the front.)
- We lead until it’s time to enhance.
- The goal should be that we disappear (in a worship set as a leader)
- And when you as a worship leader disappear it means that we have worshiped in spirit.- You rarely will lead people corporately where you haven’t been in private.

Have something with the Lord that is intentionally raw that they would not be of value to anyone else on the planet. If he can trust you to not try and advance your ministry, he will advance your ministry.

Gifts are free, but maturity will cost you - I can pray for the grace to come on your life, but I can’t give you my history with God.
- You make history with God, He’ll make history through you.

The spirit rested upon Jesus like a dove. The holy spirit is always in us, but the spirit resting upon us is different. If a dove rested on your shoulder and you wanted it to stay, you would make every step with that dove in mind.

• Jesus’ interaction with the Holy Spirit is illustrated, not talked about.
• You will not be commanded into your greatest breakthrough. Jesus didn’t teach the woman with the issue of blood to touch him and she would be healed. Some things we learn through obedience. She entered into the kingdom when she risked seeing where He would be willing to meet her.
• The favor that’s been given to you for the people around you!
• Matthew 10 - Jesus is describing ministry priorities. 10:7–9
• Once you receive the Holy Spirit you are required to give.

We aren’t just brokers of a message, we carry a person. The worst thing you can do is to create a relationship with God for your job. We have names for people who are intimate with people for business.

• John 20:19
• a man was walking through a busy airport he saw a person and stops a person they passed and he hugged the man. The wife asked him who the man was and he said, I don’t know, I smelled the fragrance of God on him. I knew he was a man of prayer.
• What you release you don’t miss.

Can God trust you with feeling presence and power being released from you?
- You and I have been designed as a resting place for the Lord. In doing so we change every environment we walk into.