PENTECOST IN A VINEYARD

About four years ago as Pentecost approached; we had our calendars marked off to set aside the time which God had appointed for Pentecost.

We made our plans anticipating that it should be a time in which we could be still and listen to God and truly HEAR the things He was saying to us about the times that we are living through in the world today.

As on most days; we enjoyed a little family gathering.

This year WAS a little different though.

One of our daughters had given us a gift of a wine tour and tasting at a local vineyard.  She wanted us to go on this weekend.

Our first inclination was to put the day off for another time and make all things totally traditional; but then on second thought – what better way to celebrate Pentecost than to spend part of our time in a peaceful, restful setting tasting some new wine?

The shoe just seemed to fit for us this year; so we made this trip out to a little vineyard in Calera, Alabama called Ozan Vineyard.   This lovely place became part of our family Pentecost celebration for that year.

It was a lovely way to start the worship which went on from the time of the Sabbath rest on Friday night and all through the time of The Day of Pentecost.

THE COUNTING WAS OVER

Our times of counting the 50 days until Pentecost had reached an end; and we were going to rest and savor some of the things that God had taught us in the counting by exploring this vineyard and thinking about how this wine tasting somehow related to our Pentecost celebration.

I admit it was a bit unorthodox; but when you get down to the facts around Pentecost; they were still there in every way.

How is that so?

COMING INTO PENTECOST

Our Pentecost started with a happy fellowship among four true believers who were meeting up with some other strangers in a vineyard.  We were simply enjoying the fact that Our God is in control and we were definitely anticipating that He would speak to all of us in some way through this vineyard experience.

Our first arrival to the vineyard was very unpretentious.

We entered from a place of beautiful green rolling hills with several large older trees spreading their shades here and there all over the acreage.  My daughter and I both thought it reminded us of the farm where I had grown up as a young girl.  At one point in our lives; the whole family had lived on that land.  So we started out with the welcomed feeling of a beautiful memory.

We came from the bottom of a high and wide hilltop where people were parked away from the winery; and we started our steep trek up the mowed trail to the hilltop where the winery waited.

THE PEOPLE ALONG THE WAY

Half-way up the long hillside walk; we encountered a group of motor-cycle riders. They had already experienced their wine tasting and were making their way back down the trail to their bikes we had seen in the parking lot earlier.  Before leaving they had stopped to rest a bit and were talking together under the shade of an old oak tree.

The conversation seemed very intense, and one person was sharing at a time while the others were listening carefully to their comments.  One man was leading the discussion and as we walked by I heard one say “until I came to know Jesus; I had not experienced true excitement in life; but I didn’t understand that until it happened; because I had tried all the other thrills.”

It was interesting; some of me wanted to stay and listen to their stories; but we gave them their privacy and walked on.

I smiled as we walked on by; praising God for how He speaks the language of all people; maybe a group of motorcycle riders in this hour; and maybe a family on a wine-tasting excursion in another hour.

On Pentecost; all believers who are listening will hear truth and it will be spoken plainly in their own language. I remembered the scriptures that we had been given about the historical day when God’s Holy Spirit came to dwell inside of each of Christ’s followers:

This is the scripture passage that speaks of that day:

(Acts 2:1-21 King James Version (KJV)

1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 7 And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans?  8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. 12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What does this mean? 13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. 14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come: 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

TASTING THE NEW WINE

On we walked; so ready to be inside the winery and to taste the new wine of the day; possibly in more ways than one.

We were ready to taste the goodness of God because we knew from experience that He always sends His goodness down on His holy and appointed days.

Actually we knew our approach to the day was a little out of character; but we had been following Jesus long enough to know that “different” was okay with Him; as long as it was a different that would be used to show God’s glory.

A BEAUTIFUL PLACE OF GROWTH AND NEW LIFE

In my heart I lifted up a prayer that gave God the glory for the happenings of this day; and I thanked Him for this beautiful day we were enjoying in this beautiful place of growth and new life.

As I looked around I could clearly see evidence that God had sent the sunshine which made these lovely plants grow up in neat rows which would yield vines full of a fresh new grape harvest. It all seemed like a very healthy place and today it felt like we were in a place where all the earth was in a very healthy state; completely ready and waiting patiently for new growth.

The beginning of this walk up the hill was already telling me we had made the right decision to come to the vineyard.

THE WINERY

So we arrived at a quaint, not too large building surrounded by a shaded patio which was full of pretty little tables nicely set for people to come and taste the wine. Some of the people who had already gathered were passing the time while waiting on a train to take them on a brunch excursion for the morning. That excursion also included a wine-tasting experience.

Some of the people gathered there on the outside of the winery were like us; they were only there to taste the wine and enjoy the peace, comfort and tranquility of the day.

Though everyone was calm and peaceful as they waited; I could feel the excitement of a good celebration coming.

LIKE THE BEGINNING OF A WEDDING

This setting on the patio overlooking the vineyard reminded me of the beginning of a wedding ceremony and my mind went directly to the association of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb which would be held one day in Heaven.

I knew in order to get inside that wedding feast we needed to be filled with the new wine of God’s Holy Spirit.

I felt myself become more and more excited about the opportunity to taste this unique harvest of wine that was about to happen. God was doing the same thing here today that he does for me during the days of unleavened bread. He was teaching me through a physical action what I needed to know and remember in a spiritual way.

We should always be anticipating the experience of receiving the new wine; especially on the Day of Pentecost. I smiled as if to say “Yes LORD, I DO get it, and I DO love the way you teach.  I’m glad we finally said “yes” to this idea.

God always interjects Himself into our days; but especially on His appointed times. The lessons and the worship and the receiving always feel so much stronger on His feast and festival days; no matter where you are on these days; whether in a church congregation, in an open field, in a room at home; or even in a lovely vineyard like we were today.

God ALWAYS shows up.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS OUR GUIDE THROUGH LIFE

So we stepped inside the entrance to the winery.   It was such a lovely place!

We were immediately greeted by the attendant at the desk who was happy to explain what was going to happen to us on this tour. I thought of how God’s Holy Spirit leads us through God’s own vineyard; (that vineyard we call The Kingdom of Heaven.)  We follow The Holy Spirit through the places where we are unsure and don’t know what comes next.

This guide on the tour was very helpful. He showed us our table and explained that we could have some Irish coffee while we waited on our tour guide as the other people gathered for the tour.

What a sweet, cozy little area to wait and the Irish coffee was so good!

I’m sure all of this was a little like all the little surprises we sometimes find in God’s Kingdom as we go through life. Certain things are just so tasty and delicious.   They make you smile; really big and you always remember that moment.   We sipped our coffee and chatted and admired the beauty of the place that we had come to. It was like  a little Italy in America! The charming vineyard had a sense of quaintness that made the walls of the cozy little nook where we waited feel friendly and welcoming.

THE GUIDE KNOWS ABOUT HOW TO PRODUCE A HARVEST

Our guide showed up right on time and he took us outside to see the main crops. He was quite the expert.

We were standing up on a hill and looking down upon rows and rows of beautiful growing grapes. He explained the planting, the tending, the growing, the harvesting and it all was very fascinating. You know I related it to God’s work in the world. The final climax is always a beautiful harvest. I smiled thinking that grapes could be harvested here even in a little corner of the earth in Alabama.  God is at work everywhere that we go.

The plants we were gazing upon harvested Norton grapes which produced red wine. They aged this particular wine in American Oak barrels with up-front black cherry and an extended rich finish. They recommend this type of wine with wild game and southern BBQ. This wine had won several awards including; Wine of the Year, Best Of Dry Red Wine, and Gold from The Alabama Commercial Wine Competition.

These Norton’s had performed well for their owners.

I thought of us all in that other great harvest coming at the end of time (as we know it now) and wondered how many awards would be given to those who had overcome the obstacles of the world and followed Christ with all of their hearts. I know God will grant them special jobs for The Kingdom of God in the days to come. This ran through my mind as we left the lovely view of the vineyards and moved back inside to the rooms where the wine was produced and harvested.

Our very thorough guide gave us all the details from the growing, to the tending, to the gathering, to the harvesting, to the crushing, to the fermenting, to the storage in the large vats, to the bottling and the selling of the wine that would end up on dinner tables across the country. So much time, energy and effort went into everything in order to furnish that special moment of delight at someone’s special occasion or well-thought out celebration dinner. The results still seemed definitely worth the trouble in the end.

OUR LIVES WERE LIKE THOSE GRAPES

Our lives were like these grapes, going through stage after stage and long periods of waiting and waiting and waiting while the Father lets us ferment and age; until the moment that we are ripe for the picking; and just perfect for the wedding in heaven.

Someone had noticed that there were lots of flavors of wine on the tasting sheets that we had been given; not just the wine made from the Norton grapes. Yes; and our guide explained all the other fruits that were used in the wine-making and where all of those fruits came from. The peaches came from Chilton County – because there are no better peaches on earth. The blueberries come from Shelby County. The apples were shipped in from Washington. There were pineapples and bananas shipped in from other various places; but ALL of the wine was processed and bottled right here in this very vineyard.

You KNOW I was thinking of first fruits!

We would be tasting some of the first fruits of this lovely vineyard today; and we would be thinking of Jesus too; our first fruit. The VERY BEST of all the wine harvest of God that had been perfect in every way. We would all do our best to imitate His flavor; but the flavor from Him would only come forth from the filling of God’s Holy Spirit that He sent down to us; and then we would become the latter first fruits of the harvest.

How exciting this harvesting was!

The guide explained that they used white oak barrels for fermenting the wine which they bought from Kentucky bourbon distilleries. Then it was mentioned that they also sold vodka and whisky that also contained some of the residue of the bourbon distilleries because of being stored in these white oak barrels. They were very special barrels that produced a unique flavor in the final product.   We would be given a taste of these too.

LEARNING HOW TO TASTE AND SEE

After a very thorough tour of the whole operation we were again seated in the cozy tasting room.

Some people actually preferred to taste their wine sampling outside on the patio; so we had two groups going on at once. It worked well.

I thought of how tasting God’s gift of salvation would be the instrument to bring another two groups together in the end of time. We know that the people of Jewish heritage that have passed down and given us the rich blessings of the holy scriptures will one day come to taste the gift of salvation and God will then bring us together as One.

Slowly I looked around this winery and saw that it was like a type of the picture that God was showing me; I thought about how iron sharpens iron and how love can conquer everything. It all starts with the sweet savor of the wine of God’s Holy Spirit working inside our hearts.

TASTING THE WINE

We began tasting all of the wines; one at a time.

As a first part of the tasting we would first look into our wine.  We would get our first glimpse of what that particular wine looked like.

I thought of how people get their first glimpse of what Christ has done for them and how special it becomes so amazing and valuable to them over time.

Now I looked deep into this glass of wine wondering what else it had to show to me; because my first glimpse of Christ had taken me so much deeper than I had ever expected.

This wine drinking could be a deep experience too; first you had to look at what you were drinking and realize all of its special qualities with your eyes.

We held our glasses at a tilt and tilted them toward our eyes in order to actually see the wine inside.  We then took a long look.  You don’t want to drink something that you haven’t even seen before. You must open your eyes to see before you take that first sip.

The right way to taste the wine was to remember to notice the depth of the color of the wine you were drinking. Notice the colors from the rim to the center of the glass. Is it shiny? Is it deep and rich? Is is light and airy? There are so many flavors and we all have different favorites. You begin to look for the qualities that appeal to you.

PEOPLE CAN BE LIKE WINE

Isn’t it amazing how God made people as different as the different varieties of wine?

Some are deep and dark, some are light and bright, some have red tints, purple tints, blue tints, so many different flavors of personalities. It takes many different parts to make up the whole Body of Christ. We all do our little part to contribute to the whole unique working and functioning of the Body. We must sometimes step back, tilt things a bit, and examine exactly what our colors are and what qualities we can bring to the whole body.  We learn this is our purpose and our destiny.

A PLEASING AROMA

Next we swirled the wine inside our glasses and sniffed the aroma of the wine.

We had moved from looking at the wine to smelling the aroma of the wine. For the full effect of the wine; one must learn to utilize all of their senses.

Worship is about using all of the different ways God has provided. We see by bowing our heads and allowing God to provide the visions He wishes us to remember. Sometimes we see with our open eyes and we look at different symbols that remind us of why and how we worship God. That is our seeing. Sometimes in worship too; we move on to smell. Many congregations use incense in their worship ceremonies. This was done in the wilderness tabernacle where God’s priest served at His altar by providing a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Both wine and worship are about utilizing the senses provided by God.

I wondered as I twirled my wine inside the glass and sniffed the full aroma coming from the wine samples; if the aroma of my worship was pleasing to God? I hoped it was so. I thought of the fullness I was smelling from this glass of wine and the sweetness that it provided to my day. I wanted to give this to my heavenly Father too; to provide a way of delight to His senses the same as this wine was doing for us today.

After we nosed our wines and pondered the smells of each glass; we imagined what they remind us of; I sensed honey, blueberries, sunshine and flowers in some of the wines I tasted. The sweet memories of the beautiful things of life that the smells of the wine evoked in our memories enhanced our desire to really taste the wines.

TASTING THE GOODNESS

Finally; it is time to do that; to taste and see the goodness of this wine.

In worship this is the moment when we feel God reach down to us and surround us with His love and acceptance. We taste and see the goodness of the Lord. There is nothing better; it is the supreme experience that we have been given in this life.

So we anticipate tasting the wine, and we take some wine into our mouth; tasting enough to be able to distinguish the texture, the flavor, the weight as it rests upon the tip of the tongue and rolls back onto our throats to be swallowed.

Just drink in the flavor and be sure to taste it slowly. Let the wine linger and don’t rush the experience. Notice everything about the flavor that it brings to you.

You can do the very same when you worship. Go slow, listen and feel God’s presence. Sit quietly and wait on Him to show you the flavors of life.

Yes; worship is a lot like experiencing the taste of the finest wine. You leave feeling satisfied, intrigued with the new discoveries you have been shown and the experiences that you have received in the day.

We left the winery feeling the peace of the wind on our faces. The mood was one of happiness, joy and blessing.  We noticed how soft the sun was shining over the sky and how sweet the birds were singing.

Tasting the wine had been a beautiful experience.

Did everyone have the same Pentecostal experience that I did; combining a beautiful day of tasting wine with a beautiful quiet reflection of God’s love and contemplating how He loves for us to worship?

I’m not sure.

We didn’t discuss our feelings with one another that day. Words seemed out-of-place.  But as I looked around I could see peace and calm and love; and I know everyone was probably touched in a different way.

God is like that. He meets us where we are and carries us to places we never even imagined.

All I can say is that I think we all tasted and saw God at work in the world around us and in the world that lives inside all of us.

We loved our visit to The Ozan Vineyards.

We tasted the wine and it was good!