I’m traveling a good bit these days, and listening to the dreams, visions and sermons of all kinds of people. Sometimes I find a treasure that seems like it ought to be shared. This is one of those. Rev. Girlie Guyong-Bangunan of Encounter Church (Mega-Manila Conference, Philippines) offered an exhortation (I’d call it prophetic) on the second day of the GMC Mega Manila Annual Conference that spoke deeply to the need for letting God do a new thing among us. Her talk was entitled, “Turning Over the Tables of the Old Wineskin and Building Something New.” I share it with her permission, as I sense it is a good word for the whole Church.
“I am doing something brand new, something unheard of. Even now it sprouts and grows and matures. Don’t you perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” — Isaiah 43:19 TPT
Beloved leaders, just as Jesus boldly turned over the tables in the temple to restore its true purpose, God is calling us in this season to courageously overturn old systems, mindsets, and methods that no longer serve his present purposes. This is not a time of gentle transition, but of holy disruption led by the Holy Spirit.
Principle: God often plants a divine discontent in our hearts before a major shift.
What worked yesterday may not be what He’s calling us to today. Embrace the holy tension of change. When Jesus overturned the tables, He wasn’t being destructive. He was making space for something more authentic and pure. God often disturbs the familiar to establish the extraordinary. We must be willing to empty ourselves of outdated paradigms and preconceptions. God sometimes uses holy disruption to break us free from comfortable patterns that limit His work. Our willingness to unlearn is as important as our eagerness to learn.
Principle: Like Nehemiah, sometimes we must tear down before we can rebuild.
This requires both wisdom and courage to let go of familiar structures that have outlived their purpose. Like Jesus who challenged the status quo, we’re called to lead with bold vision and Spirit-led innovation, even when it means stepping out of comfortable traditions. The Holy Spirit is always moving, always creating, always innovating. We must be willing to stretch, grow, and adapt our methods while keeping our mission pure. We cannot contain the fresh move of God’s Spirit in old, rigid structures.
Principle: Fresh moves of God require fresh containers.
We must remain flexible, teachable, and adaptable to contain the new things He wants to pour out. New wine requires flexible containers. Our leadership frameworks must be adaptable enough to accommodate fresh moves of the Spirit while maintaining biblical integrity. In building something new, God invites us to co-create with Him. This isn’t about individual brilliance but collective obedience and unified vision. Each leader brings unique gifts to the table of transformation. Building new wineskins requires unity in purpose and vision. Like the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls, it takes all hands on deck, each person doing their part while staying connected to the bigger picture.
Take a moment to reflect: What tables in your leadership need to be turned over to make room for God’s new wine?
He’s calling us today to examine our leadership structures, methods, and mindsets. The Lord is highlighting that this is a season of holy disruption –- not for destruction’s sake, but for divine reconstruction. Like new wine that needs fresh wineskins, God is preparing us for a fresh outpouring that cannot be contained in old systems and outdated paradigms.
“Beloved, I am doing a new thing in your midst. Don’t be afraid to let go of the old ways when I am leading you into new ones. What I am building through you will be stronger, more impactful, and more Spirit-led than before. Do not fear the shaking. What I am about to do is greater than what has been. As you courageously partner with Me in this season of transformation, I will give you wisdom to build, grace to lead, and supernatural provision for the new wine I am pouring out. Trust Me in the disruption. I am making all things new.”
Are you a prophetic voice but feel shut down, muzzled, wounded, or disabled after many years walking through the church system or the charismatic jungle? Or maybe you don’t just feel disabled but you feel afraid of stepping out in a time where the current prophetic culture is being shaken along with the compromised church? Be done with fake celebrity prophets giving the prophetic calling a bad name, when the real ones have been dragged through the mud. We are done with counterfeits, show offs, illusionists, and sideshow performers when the church needs the real-deal voices to arise. God is raising voices in this hour who are not led by pain, ego, or ambition, but by fire, purity, and love. If your spirit is burning as you read this, you already know, this is for you!
Prayer: Father, give us the courage to turn over tables that need turning, the wisdom to discern what needs to go, and the faith to build new wineskins for Your new wine, to build according to Your blueprint. Let us not cling to the familiar when You’re calling us to the extraordinary. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
— Rev. Girlie Guyong-Bangunan, Pastor
Encounter Church (Mega Manila Conference, Philippines)
