As we begin to make the shift from a church emphasis to a kingdom emphasis, a new mindset is required. We must embrace a new paradigm, that of a Kingdom Paradigm.
MARK 2:22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.
Adapting to a new wineskin can be difficult; changing the way we have always done things can be threatening and intimidating. We become comfortable with the familiar, and any thought of change can cause insecurity to arise within us.
However, everything is subject to change: your cells, skin, hair, and so on. Seasons come and go, people come and go. Change is ordained by God. It is part of his renewing process. Where there is no change stagnation sets in, growth is hindered and freshness wanes.
Whole congregations become comfortable with formality even we Pentecostals. Oh, I know that we pride ourselves in “being led by the spirit”, but mostly our churches are very predictable. This makes it difficult to embrace change and change in God is good and can be very fruitful. It is God’s intention for you to be in a process of change:
2 CORINTHIANS 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
PROVERBS 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
JOB 8:7 Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.
PSALMS 84:7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
PSALMS 92:14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing.
Change requires a new mindset.
We personally must undergo transformation in order to enter major times of change. Transformation first comes from within: a new mindset is established, a new way of looking at things takes hold, and we experience internal growth.
Often, this comes with new vision — new revelation, which imparts faith to embrace the change. However, we must be open to change for this process to begin.
JEREMIAH 48:11 Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.
Moab was an incestuous son of Lot, and needed to be purified.
This verse is describing the ancient art of wine making. The process involved first crushing the grapes and then putting the juice into a container for a season while the sediment settled on the bottom.
The juice was then carefully poured into another container so that none of the sediment entered the new vessel. The process was repeated many times.
The wine would remain confined in the present container until it was poured into a new one. This process of removing the impurities was vital before the wine went through the final fermentation stage, in which the flavor and aroma (bouquet) changed.
Jeremiah used this illustration to highlight the need for change. There are seasons in God that are designed to prepare us for the next transformation in our lives, the next level in God and the next season of fruitfulness.
This is even more so in the seasons of change that the church needs to go through. Because we are now in a continuous period of acceleration, we need to discern the times and move accordingly.
Jeremiah went on to say this: JEREMIAH 48:12 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles.
Many Christians are wanderers. They never find where they should be and therefore never experience inner change. They wander from church to church never finding their place in God. We need to be in fellowship, but we also need to have a Kingdom mindset.