Tuesday, December 27, 2011

The Grapes Of Wrath!







By Steven Masone
(a sermon excerpt)

Joel 2:28 "And in the last days I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh...." Peter, on the day of Pentecost preached,"this is that...which the prophet Joel spoke of" referring to the outpouring of the Holy Ghost beginning with the 120 in the upper room that day!


The first miracle at Cana performed by Jesus was prophetic to this day we live in now. When Jesus turned the water into wine, he made it "the pure wine" that comes from the first "press" of the winepress.New wine! This wine was pure because the vineyard owner would put the grapes into the "upper vat" that would press the juice by it's own weight as it sat (tarried) until the precious wine juice flowed thru a "narrow" channel/way into the smaller vat where the best and purest was collected and kept from the rest which would be bruised and made bitter from later"trodding".


The first press was set aside (sanctified) to be used in temple service by the High Priest as the drink offering to the Lord. This is a "Type" of our being molded and perfected by The Potter while we are on his potters wheel (The Church). IRON Sharpens IRON AND AS WE LEARN TO LOVE ,FORGIVE, AND LABOR TOGETHER WE ARE SOON FIT FOR THE MASTER'S USE... VESSELS OF HONOR.

The first shall be last. God is saving the best for last as in the wine at the wedding at Cana. But there will be a last pressing of the grapes that no one would want.   
From this first press would come the "tithe" to God that would also be stored in Temple for every "Sabbath". So the "law of first mention" in hermeneutics (interpretation principles) points to our time where God is saving the best for last! The miracle at Cana is us! "Greater works shall ye do!"
When the skins of the grapes in the first vat were stamped into mulch etc, it began to gum up the deep narrow passage where the pure wine flowed. The servants would skim off the bad (tares) so all the usable wine could flow.
 
The lesser grade wine was taken from the press only after the "pure" were "caught away". Water was mixed with the remaining to make bitter vinegar etc. 
If we are the Body of Christ, like our "Head" we should be "the same, yesterday today and forever! Full of faith that this "Hour will be the best! The Bride groom will be returning for a Glorious, powerful Church...that the gates of Hell shall not prevail against!
God will not give us more than we can bear...so as "the steps of a righteous man are ordered by God" where God has placed us in the past, present and will in the future, is in his plan for us to use his "Wine Press" (Church) TO GET THE BEST OUT OF US.
The grapes which the first press was produced from by their own weight, represents the 'members' of the assemblies we are placed in. "Iron sharpens Iron." Our spiritual growth depends on how well we accept that it is God's hand that does the "pruning'...cutting back...transplanting...etc....When it is harvest time, our resistance to being pulled from the vine, placed in the wine press with the weight of the other grapes producing wine fit for the masters use, will determine if we will be in the first press (first Resurrection) or the last which is not fit for the masters use, and is cast outside of the city. (last resurrection of the wicked)






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