April 13, 2008, The Church and A Grape

The Church and A Grape

Ephesians 5:24 Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

Have you every looked at a grape, closely? A single grape, a wonderful fruit covered in a skin which on it has a natural yeast. The yeast in itself starts the fermenting process once the grape is pressed and broken.

Where am I going with this? The grape is like the church, like the world/earth, the fruit inside is us, everywhere. As we come together in the Lord we are covered with His everlasting protection. A wonderful fruit, good for nourishment. But once the grape is crushed a natural fermentation begins and new wine is made. But if the juice of the wine sits it becomes fermented wine.

Do you see it yet? The church is like a grape, what are we good for once we are crushed, and then just sit and do nothing? But in the process of being crushed and surrendering to the Lord and allowing His awesome power sanctify us and cleanse us and wash us, we are protected under His covering. It is His Word that washes us, it is His Holy Spirit.

So have you ever really looked at a grape? Leave it out in the open it dries up, shrivels up into a raisin. But try this, put a raisin in water and over time it will plump back up again into a grape, amazing!!

So if you are shriveled up, wash yourself in the Word of God, and He will revive you!!

Just a note found on wine making process:
Most people think that red wine is red because it is made from the juice of red grapes and that white wine is white because it is made from the juice of white grapes. In fact, the juice of most grapes is clear. It's actually the skin that gives wine its distinct colors.

When making red wines, makers leave the dark skins to ferment with the juice. As the yeast converts the grapes' sugar into alcohol, the pigment from the skins is released, coloring the wine a deep red.

(And I'm sure I could continue, but I will come back to this in relation to our fellowship another day.)

Video & Song
'You Are My Word' Hillsong
http://youtube.com/watch?v=NWC4z2NBsgM&feature=related