Becoming Poured Out Wine And Broken Bread

I now rejoice in my sufferings

for you, and fill up in my flesh

what is lacking in the afflictions

of Christ, for the sake of His body,

which is the church, or which I

became a minister according to the 

stewardship from God which was given 

to me for you, to fulfill the word of God,

the mystery which has been hidden

from ages and from generations, 

but now has been revealed to His saints.

Colossians 1:24-26

     When a person believes upon the Lord Jesus Christ as his/her Savior there is a joy that is unspeakable and a desire to follow Him anywhere He chooses. In time for many this joy loses its empowering influence and apathy sets in or by a person's own spiritual consecration the call is more important than being right with God and God then must administer a pain that is a pain that is dreamed to happen. Yet, by this pain being administered, even though hurtful for the moment, then is seen what God is after and we then allow God to send us wherever He so desires. We say: "Here is am, send me." The call is from God, not by our own desires to do something for God as though this is a mark of spiritual consecration and has nothing to do with a person spiritual sanctification. Authentic Christians allow themselves to be poured out wine and broken bread. Wine is not produced by gentleness, rather the juice is squeezed, stomped, crushed, and bread is torn into pieces, and by this method it becomes useful. Christians are crushed, torn, by God, to become a useful instrument to bring to the world the Gospel. Oh, we want God to be gentle, to use us in some special way that avoids this crushing, and tearing of our souls, that is our desire, but not God's for He is forming us into the image of His Son Jesus Christ. As Jesus Christ went about bringing to the world the knowledge of Himself and His purpose for coming, we as Authentic Christians are to do exactly the same thing. 

     God may bring into our lives those whom we may dislike, or some set of circumstances that we may have said that we would never submit to those circumstances, and we object for this is not the way we would have chosen to be broken for God's service. We must understand this: We do not choose the scene of our martyrdom. If we are to be of any use for God then we must allow us to be made wine and broken bread, we must be crushed. Grapes are good to the taste, but they are not drinkable, to be of use if a world that is lacking good water (truth) they must be crushed. 

     Has God been squeezing you? Or have you hardened your heart and attempted to escape this work of God in you to sanctify you, to make you a witness for Him no matter the circumstances? You may be a new Christian and are not yet ripe enough to be squeezed into wine, but if you are fed what is needed for growth, spiritual growth, and this comes by being discipled, to read God's word, to take time to personally study God's word, you will become ripe enough to be the best wine possible and good for God to use. To be of use for God the natural must be made the natural spiritually and there must be a sacramental personality formed, and by this brokenness, this crushing of the old nature, then it is made into the nature that God can use providentially in His service. 

     Keep right with God and allow Him to do what He desires to do with you. Make yourself available to Him and you will find out what kind of bread, and wine you are to be, all for the benefit towards His children. Hide your life in Jesus Christ as did Paul. Do not attempt to live a life without God. There is a peace that passes all understanding when a person hides themselves in Jesus Christ and this peace is from God, imparted to you. The question for each of us is: Will we allow God to do what He desires for us to be of use to bring the Gospel to the world? 

Now when he was in affliction,

     he implored the LORD his God, 

and humbled himself greatly before

     God of his fathers, and prayed to Him;

and He received his entreaty, heard His

     supplication, and brought him back 

to Jerusalem into his kingdom, then 

     Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

                        2Chronicles 33:12-13

Prepare now for worship

Richard L. Crumb