Yesterday I spoke at our church, Hoosier Harvest Church, for our Storyteller series we have been doing all summer. I talked about a parable Jesus told…I call it Shirts & Skins.

Mark 2:21-22

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

Understand that the disciples were talking to Jesus about all the new things He was teaching them. He came with a new message, a new covenant, a new way of doing things. In this passage they ask Him about fasting and Jesus uses the opportunity to teach them about all the new things He was introducing them to.

Jesus said that new wine cannot be poured into old wineskins. New wine gives off carbon dioxide gas. New leather will stretch, but only to an extent. So, at the time Jesus was speaking, new wine was put into wineskins made out of leather. As the wine gave off its gas, the leather would blow up like a balloon and stretch. As the wine aged, it would stop giving off gas, and it could be kept in the now old, stretched out wineskin. But if someone were to put new wine into one of these already stretched-out, old wineskins, what would happen? The gas from the wine would cause the old wineskin to burst. The wine would be spilled and the wineskin would be ruined.

Lesson #1 – The wineskins represent US! You and I were created in the image of God to hold His glory! We are His masterpiece, hand crafted by God Himself! In my book The Worship Revolution I talk about this, let me share it with you…

When a master painter that is world renown paints a picture, the value is mostly determined by who painted it, not what the painting is of. In the same way, our worth and value is not found in what we are or are not. It is found in Who created us. God took the time to create and shape each one of us into a special and unique being. We are God’s hand-crafted masterpieces, not a galactic soup accident! 

One of my hobbies is to paint and look at handmade artwork. I appreciate the hard work it takes an artist to create their amazing paintings with great detail. But, I have to tell you, I have seen some pretty ugly paintings (in my opinion) that were considered priceless, because the creator of the painting was so famous. Looking at the painting objectively, I may have not understood how it could be considered so valuable, but that is the point isn’t it? On it’s own, it may not be worth much, but because the painter has proven himself to be an amazing artist, the painting is extremely valuable. The painting’s worth is found in who painted it, not in what the picture is of. 

At times, we can have some pretty ugly things in our lives. This  is why it is vital for us to grasp the artist-artwork concept. We must always remember that our value is not determined by our ability to be great, our value is determined by the ability of our great God. It is not about who you are but Who’s you are that matters. As believers, we should never question our worth and value. Our worth has nothing to do with us, it has everything to do with the One Who created us. We are an original painting made by the hand of God, and that makes us of significant worth!

Look at this painting…

Would you say this is the most amazing Sunflower painting you have ever seen? Maybe so, maybe not…Well this painting is called, “VASE WITH 15 SUNFLOWERS” by VINCENT VAN GOGH. It was auctioned off March 30 1987 for 82.4 million dollars. Is it because it’s the best Sunflower ever painted? No, it’s value is because of who painted it.

Look at this painting…

Would you say this is the most amazing abstract piece you have ever seen? Maybe so, maybe not…well this painting called, “NO. 5 1947 by Jackson Pollock was auctioned off November 2 2006 for 161.7 million dollars. Just like these paintings our worth is based on who’s we are. You may have some ugly things in  your life, but that does not diminish your value. God created you on purpose with a purpose, you were bought with a price!

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you

and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Understand that you are valuable and were created for something great! Your life is significant and your mission is vital! There is only ONE of you! You have a reason and a responsibility to live it out. Don’t believe the lies of the enemy that you have nothing to offer, you are called by God to make a difference in this world! There is no greater purpose than to partner with the Creator of the Universe for His purposes! See value in yourself and you will see value in what you do!

Tomorrow we will talk about what the New Wine is.