© 2009 Garden Ministries – https://www.gardenministries.org
On November 24, 2009, while dreaming, George was shown that when God pours Himself out to us, unlike past experiences, it will be with the fullness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 12) AND the fullness of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22). And when we, being filled with such fullness, say, “Come Holy Spirit!” He will actually COME—in FULLNESS.
The “fullness” referred to in George’s dream experience has not yet happened. Up to now, we have only seen partial fillings, which have been called Revivals, Refreshings, Visitations, Awakenings, Outpourings, etc. The Move of God that is coming “with fullness” is the answer to the prayer of Jesus found in John 17, “that they would be one as We (the Godhead) are One.” As God the Father answers His Son’s prayer “to be one as They are One,” He is creating an environment into which He will come and stay. God will literally DWELL with His people in the earth in His fullness. It is what Haggai 2:9 promises. “‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the LORD Almighty.” The peace of God will be needed in supernatural measure to maintain balance between heaven and earth while we house the very presence of Almighty God—both individually and corporately.
The wineskin is our extravagant love relationship with Jesus expressed in and through our love relationships with others. Because God doesn’t dwell with darkness and can’t change who He is to be more like us and still be God, He changes us to be more like Him. Thus, God is relentlessly preparing extravagant lovers of Jesus to be the wineskin that holds the very presence of God in His fullness. The fire of God’s love for us is forging deep humility and persevering character that transcends even good intentions. It is a faithful love that cries out, “God is GOOD” and “Though You slay me, I will trust you!” (Job 13:15).
How do we know if God is getting what He is after in us during these intense times? Here are the character traits of loving devotion: We have not quit when our faith is tested to extremes and we refuse to take offense with the severity of God’s preparation. We sink into patient resignation to the Lordship of Jesus. We open our hearts and allow the Divine Heart Surgeon to plunge His sword of truth into our core where we feel the most vulnerable. We have asked Him to extract from us all that is not in union with Him. We have cried out, “Don’t relent until you have it all. My heart is Yours!” And so, within the anesthetic comfort of His divine and imparted grace, God has relentlessly culled from our hearts Fear, Anger, Pride, and Self-Reliance and sewn and sealed us up in His extravagant love for His Son Jesus. And best of all, we are seeing the fruits of the Holy Spirit’s love, peace, patience, long-suffering, goodness, kindness increase within us. This is the evidence of transformation. We want what God wants more than what we want and we have learned the difference between the two.
In yielding to God during this last season of Divine preparation, God is also fulfilling His promise to give His Son Jesus, a pure and spotless Bride (us), cleansing us with the precious water of His fulfilled Word. Past revivals haven’t transitioned into a long-term, dwelling-place for God because our spiritual character was not first deeply invested in the Agape love of God (loving God and others at great cost to ourselves and not taking offense with God’s dealings with us). Without a deeply invested love for God-and-for-people anchoring our hearts, the old, dry wineskin of broken and wounded relationships can’t hold the continuance of God’s presence. The Spirit of God is attracted to the presence of His Love in and through us.
On Sunday, November 29, 2009, George spoke at Garden Ministries House Church about the 4 characteristics of progression of preparation we are in:
1.) Agape Love (Gr) means “sacrificially loving and preferring others to ourselves.” (Matt. 22:37-40)
2.) Koinonia Fellowship (Gr) means “sharing in common, communion.” (Acts 2:42)
3.) Charismata Attraction (Gr) means “things given to us from the Spirit by grace that cannot be earned or bought.” (Zech. 4:6)
4.) Dynamis Power (Gr) means “dynamite power of God through signs and wonders.” (Acts 2:43)
The progression is this: Agape Love is required to sustain Koinonia Fellowship. This Fellowship of the body of Jesus Christ leads to the Charismata of God—the attractiveness of the Holy Spirit in us. God is attracted to His Charismata presence in us because it is born of His love in us and expressed through us. The Charismata of God leads us to the Dynamis of the Holy Spirit and when Dynamis occurs, miraculous Signs and Wonders occur. Many Moves, Visitations, Revivals, etc. have experienced the Charismata and the Dynamis of God, but because the wineskin of relationships did not have a deep enough foundation of Agape love and Koinonia Fellowship cultivated as Acts 2:42 and John 17 call for (i.e., heart-knit relationships of loving interdependence and becoming one as Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Father are One), the wineskin of relationships couldn’t hold the increase of God and it blew up.
God’s presence is always growing and increasing; it never “tops out” or stagnates. Thus, when the increase of God’s presence comes into a wineskin that is old and dry, it blows up. A wineskin that is deeply founded in the Agape Love of God and exercises such love through Koinonia Fellowship is supple and will organically stretch to accommodate the increase. This wineskin of Holy Agape Love and Fellowship is the loving environment that attracts the Holy Spirit and into which, He will come and fully pour Himself. And this wineskin of deep loving relationships will continually release its fullness to others and thus, remain intact. To this end were we destined—to be Glory Carriers of Almighty God in the earth—continually being poured into and continually pouring ourselves out in the sacrificial, Agape Love of God.
© 2009 Garden Ministries – https://www.gardenministries.org