God takes what is there!

In the restorative process, God takes what is there, no matter how damaged, and makes something new. He wants to remake your vessel and pour within you a new wine filled with joy, strength, glory and faith. To make your present wineskin new, He wants to soaks you in the water of the Word and rub you with the anointing. Rubbing in the oil is the part of the process that makes you flexible for the future. Those hard things we go through are the oil that He rubs into us. And that oil also contains a new anointing. As we allow the Holy Spirit to take us through the process of rubbing, we not only become more flexible so that we can handle all God desires to pour into us, but we also become able to pour out in a greater measure. There is a process of removal before restoration occurs.  

The remove of legalism

One of the things the LORD removes is legalism. Most Christians would be greatly surprised to learn how many legalistic structures they have embraced. Simply put, legalism is narrowing all of our mind processes down to the point that we can’t receive the mind of God. Rather than having a mindset that is saturated in His grace and love, legalism is a mindset that is steeped in man’s judgment and control. Legalism always leads to pride and unbelief. In Galatians, legalism is even equated with witchcraft. Paul reminds the Galatians that they were doing great. They were having a good time, growing in the Lord and walking in faith. Then he asks who has bewitched them? In other words, who narrowed their minds down to such a degree that they were no longer able to receive the grace of God? Who brought legalism into their midst?

Our restoration cannot be released while God is tightly locked in a box. We must allow the Lord to remove our legalistic, religiously rigid mindsets. For example, is there a situation in your life, in your family or in your city that seems completely unchangeable? Are behavioral patterns so deeply entrenched that nothing could shake them loose? If the answer is yes, then you are dealing with a legalistic mindset. We say nothing is impossible with God, but do we really believe nothing is impossible with God? In every area where we do not have this heartfelt assurance, we have a legalistic, bewitching structure that narrows God. Ask the Lord to reveal hidden places of legalism in your mind, and then be willing to let those old structures fall to the ground. Allow new faith to rise up within you. This is a key to becoming flexible wineskins.

The remove of condemnation

The LORD also removes condemnation. Satan is a liar and a thief. He lies to us about our position with God in order to steal the restoration God has for us. One of his favorite tactics is to bombard believers with reminders of personal failures or failures in their generations to the point where they wear around a sticky garment of condemnation and guilt. They say things such as, “God can’t restore me because I . . . am divorced, had an abortion, had an affair, lied about a friend, took what was not mine, (fill in the blank).” These are lies! You don’t have to wear that old garment. The cycle of the past can end. Getting right with God and then forgiving yourself will break the schemes the devil intended to use to keep you draped in a shroud of guilt, no matter what you’ve done. Jack Hayford writes, “And once your relationship with God is restored, your guilt has served its purpose and no longer has any place in your life. Let it go. And refuse its argument to regain any place in tormenting your mind or your feelings.” Let the Holy Spirit soak you in His cleansing waters of forgiveness and renewal. This is another key to renewing the wineskin that will hold the wine of restoration.

The remove of judgmentalism

The LORD removes judgmentalism. Just as we must put away our own condemnation, so must we put away condemning others through judgmentalism. Because of the law of sowing and reaping, we really can’t fully do one without the other. If we condemn others, we will be condemned. And what’s worse, the Bible says that we too become dangerously susceptible to falling into the same sin we accuse others of. Don’t be fooled. We are not to sit in judgment. Judgmentalism has serious spiritual ramifications and has the power to keep us from entering into restoration.  Isaiah 58 says that if you will pray and fast, and let God determine the fast for you (don’t do it religiously), and if you’ll put away the pointing of that finger and looking outward, He will begin to break forth your light and your healing will spring up. Allow that process of God to bring you into the fullness He has for you. This, too, is part of making the wineskin clean and ready for the new wine.

Chuck D. Pierce
Glory of Zion International Ministries