"Sour Wine or Change" - message by Steve Martin, Love For His People

                                  

Sour Wine or Change?

 

“Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out, and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.” Matthew 9:17, NASB

My good wife Laurie and I love visiting vineyards in Israel, primarily in the northern Golan, where they are plentiful. We led a group of nine from our home group on a visit in May 2023, and it was one of the best times we had together.

Vineyard in the Golan, Israel, May 2023

They liked the wine. I liked the Land where it grows most of all.

When we went to a major winery and took the tour, I was fascinated by the huge, very huge barrels where the grapes continued their journey, beginning with the harvest, through pressing and crushing, then fermentation, aging in oak barrels, and bottling.  

Most interesting of all was the way they would pour the liquid from one vat into another, leaving sediment behind that would spoil the drink if this step were omitted. (I am not a winemaker, so if I get this process wrong, please appreciate my attempt!)

You know where I am going. This is what we can visually see in nature, which teaches us a bit about the spiritual. Our Lord gives us these things to show us more of His Ways.

Paul primarily speaks of the resurrection of the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) in the following Scripture, but we can see it elsewhere as well. “However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.” 1 Corinthians 15:46. NASB

So, as the juice moves through this processing, so it is in our lives as the Lord directs our steps, leading us, changing us, leaving the old behind so we can walk in the new.

“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.” Matthew 9:17, NKJV

It is a necessary process. If we are to go on with the Lord as His Holy Spirit leads, we best be available and open to the changes He presents before us.

Nobody likes sour wine. Me especially.

Ahava and shalom,

Steve Martin

Message #7, 2026, “Sour Wine or Change” Feb. 24, 2026

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