Posted: 06/05/2008 at 12:43pm | IP Logged

Be Greatly Encouraged
 
By Ron McGatlin
 
What God is doing in the current worldwide outpouring is many faceted and much more world-changing than we can even imagine with our existing wineskins and mentalities. Even the small portion that God has uncovered to me by His Spirit is more that I can put into writing at this time. Let me assure my readers that more is being changed worldwide in this season than any revival, renewal or outpouring has changed in the recent past. To get a glimpse of what is happening we must be in tune with all that God is changing about our hearts, our tribes, nations and the world. We need to discern that the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven is the end reality of the intense change coming into our world.
 
One of the primary issues God is addressing is the demonstration of the reality of spirituality or the real works of the Spirit. Even the best of us have invested FAR too much in our human brain ability to know, to become and to do godliness. Our good ministry and business ideas with the power of prayer added have been employed in the past to connect and gather human power to effect the world for God. The enormous systems we have built of gathered human effort, brain power and a touch of the Spirit are the wineskins of today that are being changed.
 
God is again in the process of drastically changing the wineskin. And we "charismatics" and "Christians" do NOT like it any more than the old line denominational “luke-warmers” liked it when the Wind blew in the return of Pentecost and the charismatic movement that soon followed. Keep in mind this is only one primary portion of the picture that is being changed.
 
God is moving on whether we like it our not.
 
But what about all this controversy about the new move? I am so glad you asked. I have spoken to this issue several times and will again address some parts of it. First of all, it has almost nothing to do with Todd Bentley other than God can use anyone He chooses at anytime they are available. In our current wineskins that are being changed, we were thoroughly trained to follow a man. We were trained as well to determine which man to follow by the knowledge of our understanding of how well he followed the Bible word.
 
A great gap is opening between those who depend upon the Holy Spirit and follow the voice of God within and those who look with the eye and measure according to their understanding of counterfeit works they have experienced or studied. Focusing on the counterfeit works will bring confusion when the true emerges. Focusing and studying intently on the true works of the Holy Spirit will give clarity when the counterfeit is seen.
 
The Todd / Lakeland thing is yet in an old 90s wineskin through which God has chosen to pour out a fresh thing. The fresh thing includes REAL miracles, real healings and real words with consequences. The old wineskin is still contaminating but not stopping the new real flow. However it is mixing in the old unreal. This whole situation may be temporary but will have on-going and eternal results.
 
The current wineskin may become purified and longevity come to the local work in Florida or maybe not. It depends on the hearts of the people involved. However, by far the more important work is the anointing and supernatural outpouring flowing out to fresh clean wineskins in you and me and in many ministries and people around the world. The flow of the power and love of God is pure and will tend to purify things where it goes and will be a world changing work when received by pure and holy people of God.
 
Some of the results are now becoming visible. There is becoming, among the people of God in the western world, a real ignition of faith in the supernatural works of the Spirit of God. More people in more places in the western world are beginning to shift from their rational brain beliefs to the reality of belief that God is really Spirit and is really working in their world today in supernatural and natural ways. The many recorded biblical works of supernatural miracles are becoming more believed as being real. Our trust in the supernatural power and love of God is growing. The Holy Spirit is becoming more real and more valuable to us and is being recognized as bringing the real love and the real power of God into our lives.
 
Be assured that the anointing will flow out to pure, non-merchandising ministries of many sorts that will become more oriented toward the new wineskin and less affected by the old. Every person and ministry receiving the fresh real Holy Spirit works of Jesus and the Father will become greatly increased in their fruitfulness. The evangelist will have more fruit. The teachers will have more anointing and see more eyes and ears opened to the true gospel of the kingdom. The shepherds will become more purified and from them will flow increased love and wisdom in caring for the young sheep. The apostles and prophets will stop building their kingdoms and networks and start raising up a holy kingdom oriented people. All of the ministries will be more endowed and empowered as they receive the fresh anointing of bold power and add other gifts of God that He is bringing.
 
The real presence of God by the Holy Spirit will be working within and alongside these ministries. Special ministering spirits (holy angels) will be working with each freshly anointed ministry or business. Our dependency will continue to shift from ourselves to the reality of spiritual works of God meeting needs and changing our world.
 
In all that is happening there is specific purposes of God. All of this is preparing a people for the times ahead including the great corrective judgments leading to much harvest and the loss of all our gods. We will endure the times of world cleansing in the strength of the Elijah cake of supernatural reality poured out to us, before entering the times of difficulty.
 
The great judgments and harvest are parts of the greater purpose of the kingdom of God coming forth through the purified, holy, powerful people of God led by and empowered by the same Spirit that empowered Jesus Christ in His time on earth in His natural body and the same Spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead. 

Rom 8:9  But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

Rom 8:11:  But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

1 Cor 3:16:  Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
 
The old tree will come down before the new grows in its place. Babylon will fall as New Jerusalem comes forth.
 
Even the in-your-face wild stuff of the Todd Bentley thing is part of creating a people with NO respect for religion and a radical bold strength to do things you and I could never have done for the purpose of developing unrestrained Holy Spirit led and empowered warriors that will do anything for and with God. However, again by itself it is less than complete. There must be many clean pure hearted people without motive or concern apart from pleasing God to carry the fresh anointing to the world. There will be a powerful work in the severe times ahead as we witness the destruction of every thing that is of the pride and loftiness of man. Ministries, churches, governments, and nations will be humbled under the mighty hand of God and eventually the beauty of the kingdom will be raised up from the ashes of a civilization that for the most part never knew their God.
 
Isa 2:11-12: The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, And the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up; And it shall be brought low.
 
Isa 61:3-4: To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified." And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations.
 
I say again, receive the power anointing and the real empowerment of God flowing out into the world and do not receive the old wineskin from which it is flowing in these early stages. But become a pure clean new wineskin without any contamination of purpose within your own heart and life.

Keep on pursuing love.
It never fails.

Ron McGatlin

archive.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net

Posted: 06/06/2008 at 1:48am | IP Logged

Bro. Ron wrote:

"However, by far the more important work is the anointing and supernatural outpouring flowing out to fresh clean wineskins in you and I and in many ministries and people around the world.

"Some of the results are now becoming visible. There is becoming, among the people of God in the western world, a real ignition of faith in the supernatural works of the Spirit of God.... Every person and ministry receiving the fresh real Holy Spirit works of Jesus and the Father will become greatly increased in their fruitfulness.... All of this is preparing a people for the times ahead including the great corrective judgments leading to much harvest and the loss of all our gods.

"I say again, receive the power anointing and the real empowerment of God flowing out into the world and do not receive the old wineskin it is flowing from in these early stages. But become a pure clean new wineskin without any contamination of purpose within your own heart and life."

More>

Posted: 06/06/2008 at 7:23pm | IP Logged

Thanks mariateresatee, You put this together really well. With the emphasis and the selection of excerpts you basically brought the whole article into a few lines.

Ron

Posted: 06/06/2008 at 9:07pm | IP Logged

You are welcome, brother Ron! My first name is Maria Teresa and my surname is Tee. I guess my forum user name is a bit confusing because it has no caps and spaces. You can call me Tere, my nickname here at home.

Thanks so much for your article. It's wisdom from the Spirit to many like me at these strategic times. There's so much more in it than the digest I've offered and it's worth reading over and over, as your other articles are.

Posted: 06/08/2008 at 7:53pm | IP Logged

Hello Tere,

You have a beautiful name. Thank you for the kind and encouraging words. They are especially meaningful and helpful in this season. My heart weeps because of the division among people that has intensifed as God has intensified His work among us.

Ron

Posted: 06/09/2008 at 5:42am | IP Logged

Ron, a word from apostle Paul to encourage you:

16 But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.    
17 Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse.

18 For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it.

19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. 1. Cor 11,16-19 NKJV

Be blessed and honored through your perseverance

Monika