23/04/11

Men of New Wine

Acts 2:13 - Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.


Many years back (when I was still in the Catholic Church) I used to be part of a ministry whose leader was a fan of one of the prosperity Gospel preachers who of late removed from the American TV broadcast.

This ministry leader had faith like I have never seen in any person but because of his blind trust in preacher he had received an anointing which was not according to the Word of God. Under this anointing called 'the joy of the Lord' people would start laughing and laughing aimlessly.

At one of these retreats I was hit by the anointing and even flew by almost 3 feet in the air but was not hurt. With this anointing I was laughing and laughing and to whom so ever I pointed my finger that person too would be hit by this 'joy'. Any person under this anointing would go on laughing for even hours holding their stomach unless someone says 'peace be with you'. We were not so rooted in the Word so could not discern this anointing.

For a few days even then this leader would call me on the phone and hand the phone to another person my slight laughter would cause those people to be hit by this anointing.

It was only after some time when I sat meditating on the Word and comparing this 'joy' with the joy the scriptures talk of I found a great difference in it. The joy which the Word spoke of was that which comes when the Truth helps us overcome any situation of concern. The Lord did explain to me this joy and helped me experience this joy in great measures soon as I started meditating on it. There was a great difference in experiencing this joy and the 'joy of the Lord' which was passed by person to person. It was just sometime back I came to know the root of this so called 'joy of the Lord', it had its roots in Hinduism and is called as Kundalini spirit (Youtube has many videos on this). It found its way into Christian Churches long back and its peak was in the Toronto Revival where the preacher later was removed from the Church for unchristian activity.

Why am I sharing this?

The root of people getting mislead is from today's scripture in which disciples who were in the upper room at Pentecost were accused of being influence of 'new wine' when they spoke.

The people think of intoxicating wine when they read the word 'wine'. The scripture clearly says 'new wine' or flesh wine which means grape juice. When Jesus celebrated the Last Supper He used grape juice or fresh wine. People loved to have strong wine or mildly intoxicated wine but fresh wine was strange for them.

The disciples were not behaving in any drunken manner under anointing of the Holy Spirit but what they spoke was sounding strange to those who were hearing it.

In today's Church we find Satan distracts people from receiving their blessings by bringing this drunken anointing on people at out reaches. There are some kinds of effects which happen when people are under anointing like trembling or getting slain but drunkenness or laughing insanely are not among them.


[ Prayer Starter ]
Lord, You are Holy. When sinful people approached your holy mountain there was trembling but when Moses was alone on the mountain there was not trembling for he was under immense grace. Lord, your people are misled and suffer because of they lack knowledge of your Kingdom. Lord, we pray that they really experience your anointing which changes people from inside. This Resurrection Sunday we pray for a fresh anointing on all that receive your message, that they reach new levels of relationship with You.

This prayer we make in Jesus' Name, Amen.


[ Reference Scripturesr ]
Acts 2:1-21
1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

The Word of God was given free to us, therefore we should also share it freely with others. (All rights are with God)