A New Wineskin for the End Time Church

There have been many examples in church history of new wineskins that were formed and then God poured new wine into them. He is in the process of doing this again, He really is. However, many people seem to be focusing on the wrong aspect, they are constantly crying out for the new wine and can?t quite figure out why God isn?t answering them. What they don?t understand is that God won?t pour it out into an old wineskin so He is waiting for us, by His grace, to form the new wineskin and then and only then will He pour out the new wine.

The most recent  New Wineskins

;If that is the case, then, what were the previous new wineskins; and what can we

learn from it? This is a difficult question because it involves us interpreting history and people?s opinions can vary greatly and there is no way to really prove it. So I?ll just share my opinion and I hope you find it helpful.

The Charismatic movement in the late 60?s and early 70?s changed the form of the church into enough of a new wineskin, that God was able to pour out the new wine and we saw thousands upon thousands of hippies get saved (1971-72) and began coming into the church. Even so, there were many churches that wouldn?t receive them in.

Fortunately, by God?s grace, there were enough of the new wineskins in place, that the new wine (Jesus People Movement) didn?t get spilled out onto the ground. There was also one church, Calvary Chapel, who because of their form, they were a particularly good wineskin for this new wine, so they flourished and planted hundreds of churches and eventually became a denomination.

Over the next few years, as the thousands of "Jesus people" started to become involved in the church, they began to change it?s form again. For instance, when I first started going to church in 1972, the church in general had: a Wed. night bible study at the church (a study where everyone sat quietly and listened to the pastor teach) and on Sunday mornings the worship was only hymns and the sermon had very much the tone and attitude of a father scolding his children.

The Jesus people, who were activist didn't  want to just sit and listen to the pastor teach, they wanted to be involved and felt they could learn more if it was a discussion type bible study. So cell groups began to pop up. Also, since people worked all different schedules and they no longer needed set the studies according the pastor?s timetable, they started taking place on all different nights, and they also moved out of the church and into people?s homes

On Sun. mornings there was change as well, the worship gradually changed to - half hymns and half praise songs and the sermons became more adult to adult. So instead of "you naughty, naughty children who are trying to get away with as much as possible". The tone became much more of, "I know in your new man you want to serve and be obedient to God, so let us reason together and discover what is tripping you up."

The Third Wave (Evangelical Outpouring)

All of these changes didn?t come easy, but after about 10-12 years it did give birth to a new wineskin. So in the mid 1980?s, God poured out His new wine again, in what has been called the "3rd wave" or "evangelical outpouring". In this movement, most of the evangelicals, who no longer wanted to throw the baby out with the bath water, began to flow in the Spirit.

As with the last move, there was a small group of churches called the Vineyard, that were ideally suited to this new wine and so they also flourished and multiplied (like Calvary Chapel in the last move); and in many ways they have become almost synonymous with this movement, even though the movement was really much larger.

This move brought with it, a new intimacy with God, both in the area of worship and with each other in the cell groups. It also brought the spiritual gifts, down to earth (so to speak) and training in them became available to everyone, not just the very spiritual.

This movement, over the last 10-12 years, has had it?s effect on the form of the church again and today it has birthed a group of people who are in the process of becoming a new wineskin that will be ideally suited to the next outpouring.

How is a wineskin formed?

When I speak about the form of the church I am not talking about the denominational or ecclesiastical government or any outward structure, it has to do with the internal vision.

Let me illustrate: when God called my wife and I to plant a ministry, we had a dilemma because half of the vision was for a church and the other half was for a parachurch (i.e. Youth for Christ, YWAM, Campus Crusade etc.). This presented us with a dilemma, because as far as we knew you had to be one or the other."

We didn?t know what to do, so we called our spiritual leader Pastor Bob Birch and poured out our problem. His response was, "When Jesus was in heaven before came to earth he had a form, then he came to earth and the form changed, but the essence was the same, when He was resurrected, His form changed again, but He still had the same essence. You will always have the same vision, but you will go through many forms until you find the one that is most suited to your vision."

The way we felt this apply to us, was that at this present time, there wasn?t a form that allowed us to be both church and parachurch, so we would need to pioneer one. When we asked the Lord how we should go about doing this, He told us that he had already taken us through a number of different forms, in the different churches and ministries we had been a part of.

He told us He wanted this new ministry to have

the deep open fellowship and teaching of Church A, The bible study style and evangelism of Ministry B, the worship and outreach of Church B, the preaching and meeting practical needs of Church C, the sacrificial giving and commitment of Ministry B, the care for the poor and needy in Church D, etc. So that when we put all these aspects together, we would have a form of ministry that most closely fit our vision for this time.

He then told us, this will allow you to minister to the world right now, but you will need to be open to having your form change, so that can continue to minister to a constantly changing world, that is the only way to keep true to your essence or vision. It has been 11 years now and we have changed the form many times, but by God?s grace the essence is still the same.

To be true to a Vision, Form must change

Too often churches and ministries hold on to the form and lose their vision. For instance if the vision is to have an effective ministry to unsaved young people. In order to be true to that vision, you will have to be constantly changing the form or you begin to lose your effectiveness.

If you settle down into one form, you will find that you are gradually becoming more and more distanced from the kids you are trying to reach. For instance, if you tried to use a form that worked for reaching kids in the 1960?s on the kids today, you?d be laughed out of the building. Maybe it is a little easier to see that a form this old wouldn?t work, but the principle is the same, using a form that is only 2 or 3 years old is still going to begin to compromise your vision.

Paul understood this when he said, "I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some." As far as Paul was concerned his form would change regularly based on who he was with, so that he could fulfill his vision. The vision is what is precious, not the form, and yet all too often, the opposite is true in the church. Forms have become sacred. When you hear statements like "we?ve always done it this way, why change it now." "If it was good enough for my father then it should be good enough for us." etc. then you know something is wrong.

Imagine what would have happened if the Charismatics hadn?t changed the wineskin and the Jesus people came into the church the way it was. Imagine if the Jesus people hadn?t done their job and the 3rd wave hit, with it?s openness in worship and supernatural gifts, how would the church have responded. So what is God getting ready to do? How has the 3rd wave prepared the church for the next wave?

The Next or 4th Wave

I believe that very soon, we are about to see the Fourth wave hit the beach, but it has been delayed so much that the fifth wave is coming right in on it?s heels, in fact they are going to hit one right after the other, so close, in fact, that to most people they will seem like one wave.

The First Wave - is going to be a huge ingathering of lost souls. The alternative kids out there, that have been so alienated from the church and preyed upon by the enemy, have been heavy on the Lord?s heart. They have been so hurt and abused and rejected for most of their lives and even though, it has often come on them, as a

result of their own rebellion, God still has a heart of compassion for them. "While they were yet sinners, Christ died for them. They are about to find out, that Jesus really is the friend of sinners and that He is their deliverer. Thousands and thousands are about to be saved, but where are they going to go, where are the churches that will with open arms invite them in.

	For instance, would happen, if 30 punks and rockers who just got saved 2 weeks ago, started coming to your church. Now understand, they really do love the Lord, but they are also still pretty rough around the edges. How would the people in your church respond?

If they kept their hairdos and piercings, because the Lord told them that He wanted to work on their hearts, not their outward appearance. If they were a little rambunctious in the service and sometimes did some culturally inappropriate things (like asking the pastor a question in the middle of the sermon). If they came up to the pastor after the service and said "Shit pastor that was a F---ing good message" Would the people have the kind of love that covers a multitude of sins, Would they have enough maturity to not put stumbling blocks in front of these young believers, Would they be free enough from the religious spirit to rejoice in what God is doing and not start putting a bunch of laws and cultural expectations on them.

Can you now see why God is waiting for the new wineskin to be formed? The church isn?t ready for the next ingathering, which is the basis of the next move.

These kids have been through so much, that when God finally saves them, He wants them to receive the kind of nurturing and love that Christ himself would give them. Isn?t that what the church is suppose to be; His body? His hands and arms in this world?

Can you honestly tell me, that Jesus would care what these kids are wearing or if they are being a little rude or inappropriate. I don?t think so! I do think, however, He might have a few choice words for modern day Pharisees, who "load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and who will not lift one finger to help them. (Lk 11:46)

	As these kids come in, they will bring with them many of their cultural strengths, things like:

creativity and freedom down to earthiness, honesty and sincerity hatred of hypocrisy

Aren?t these the very qualities, that when the world looks at the church, they find are missing. God by His grace is going to use these kids to restore these qualities to His bride. Using the weak things of this world to confound the wise.

The Second Wave - is going to hit very soon after the first, much like waves of the sea, where one wave gets backed up on another. This second wave will bring a new level of freedom in worship and spiritual power, which will exercised by all believers (priesthood of all believers).

We can?t presently walk in this, because we are too full of ourselves and too unwilling to let go of our control of the church. We don?t seem to be ready to let the Lord lead His church, without our own preconceptions and prejudices.

Here are some of the aspects that I believe will be part of this new wineskin:A church that operates as though Jesus is really the head of the church, not just a figurehead (i.e. Queen of England, she has position but no power) and the decisions for the church are actually made by Him and not us. The true priesthood of all believers, where they are actually doing the work of the ministry, while the five-fold ministry are equipping them to do it. An attitude towards ministry that is similar to that of David, who trusted more in the power of God than in the type of equipment involved, or the size of the foe. An understanding that God keeps some ministries small, because there are certain things that a small ministry can do that the larger ones can?t. (eg. Commando team vs. Battalion or PT boat vs. Aircraft carrier). A collection of seasoned warriors, who have been hidden by God in insignificant and obscure surroundings. God, who has trained them, through years of intense affliction and struggle, will raise them up to stand in the gap against the new, more powerful onslaught of the enemy. This will give the church time to go through the same training. Although the new wineskin will have people from all of the different spiritual tribes, there will be an overwhelming amount of spiritual levites in these ministries. Their main objective will not be, to build their own ministry, but to serve the whole body of Christ, wherever the Lord leads them. The worship will be a mix of 1st level - Hymns (for the mind), 2nd level- Psalms (for the emotions) 3rd level - Spiritual songs (for the spirit). In order for Jesus to make the decisions of the church, there needs to be a way for Him to communicate those decisions to the church, in a way that minimizes the possibility of it being tainted by the human vessels it flows through. We have found that Holy Spirit praying as a whole body, is the best way so far, to hear him clearly, because in the presence of many counselors there is safety. Evangelism will occur as church members who have been learning to prophesy, give words of knowledge and hear the leading of the Holy Spirit in the confines of the church, begin to take these gifts out into the streets and into the highways and the byways. Like Philip of old, they will follow His specific directions to divine appointments and thousands are going to get saved by the power of God. Teams will be formed who begin doing spiritual warfare through prophetic dance, both in the church and in secular clubs. They will tear down the demonic strongmen, so that their goods can be plundered Deliverance, will be a regular part of church life. Especially, since a new process that is person centered and Holy Spirit led, will allow any trained believer to be able to do it, and not only those who have a strong gift of discernment. A strong ministry to the outcasts of society, so that they will finally find a home in the church and they won?t be treated like 2nd class members.

River, Spring, Pool, or Fountain

	In Isa 41:18 the Lord says He will release refreshment to His people in four different ways, "I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water."

	Rivers - are those ministries, where the water that falls from heaven on the high places, form into numerous little rivulets, which gradually begin to flow together into a stream and then form a river. An example of this, is the recent move, which has been called the third wave or the evangelical wave. There were a number of small streams, in many parts of the world, e.g. David Watson, Michael Green, Peter Wagner and others and up here in Vancouver, we had Pastor Bob Birch and George Mallone and the pastors group.

	Then John Wimber began to teach his Signs and Wonders course outside of Fuller Seminary, which caused all the streams to begin to flow together and find it's expression in the Vineyard church. The same could be traced back in the formation of the Charismatic, Pentecostal and other recent moves.

	The characteristics of a river are, it is lively and exciting, people want to go and see what is happening, and there is movement in teaching and an ongoing flow

of new revelation.

	Pools - Are those ministries, where when the water that falls out in a wilderness area, it flows down from every side into the most depressed area and begins to form a pool of water, that many can come a drink from. Some recent examples of this are the Promise Keepers, Pastors Summits and The Toronto Blessing.

	Each of these involves most of the different denominations that poured down into depressed areas, Men's ministry, Pastoral relationships and a hunger for the supernatural. Many people from all the different denominations have come and gotten refreshed. But a pool doesn't go anywhere, so after going 2 or 3 times an often-heard comment is, "I don't think I'll go to the next one because it's just the same each time." For instance, up here in Vancouver we've had a number of Pastors Summits. The first two had 120 to 130 pastors, but the third one only had about 25 turn up because it was just the same each time.

	Springs - Are those ministries, where the water that falls, goes into the ground and over time is purified and put under pressure. The pressure causes the water to rise up where there is an opening through the hard ground and bubbles up into a dry land, often in a place that you wouldn't expect. This is what many of you are. You are that refreshment in an unexpected place for people who are dry. The thing about a spring though, is it isn't very exciting, there is not much to see, it isn't like a river where there are rapids and splashing, whirlpools and eddies, etc. So what do you do with a spring? You bottle it. Most of us haven't gone to a spring, but we have probably all had a bottle of spring water. You need to find a vehicle that like a bottle allows you to send your water out all over the place.

	Fountain - Are very similar to springs only then are under more pressure, so they don't bubble up they burst forth from the ground in a fountain of water I believe that that is what this Firefall is. It is a container full of the water that comes from our fountain

Why hasn't God Released the Healing He has Promised

The reason that God hasn't released healing yet is that once it is released the preparation is done. Once we start regularly healing people with Aids, Cancer, blindness etc. we will have lines of people who want ministry. If the new wineskin isn't finished at that point, it won't get finished, because the need and ministry will occupy our time. Also if we haven't walked in the new wineskin long enough, the tendency will be for us to fall back on our old ways of doing things until this present influx is dealt with, but it will just keep going on and on, so we won't get the wineskin finished.

	For this reason, God is holding back the release of healing, until the new wineskin is ready and we have enough confidence in flowing in the new, that we won't revert back to the old wine.

	

What about the healing that is happening today?

Much of this healing is coming from the end of the last wave.

What do you mean the last wave?

	In May of 1986, John Wimber was in town for a conference at the Agridome. A good friend of mine, Allan Gilman, felt that he was suppose to ask John Wimber to pray for him in terms of his ministry to the Jewish people.  After John prayed about it, he sent word that we should meet him under the bleachers during the ministry time in the next session. We went down there and met his wife and a couple who had come up from California with them.

	They prophesied and prayed over us while we waited. When John came in, he walked up to Allan, and without any preamble, put one hand on his chest and another on his back and started praying. Allan began to shake like he was being electrocuted. The power of God was so heavy I didn't know if I was going to laugh or cry.

Then a thought came into my head. "John is right here and so am I, why don't I get him to pray for me." Right away, however, I heard the Lord say "NO" very strongly, "He is not to pray for you, you are not part of that move, Pastor Bob (Birch) is the one to pray for you."

	Since that time, even though I owe an incredible debt to the Vineyard, I have felt further and further away from them, connecting less and less.

Surfers Catching Different Waves

Then the Lord gave me a vision to help me understand what was going on. I was part of a pastors prayer group that was open to the Evangelical Spirit filled move before the Vineyard came along and it was co-lead by Pastor Bob Birch and George Mallone. We were all like a bunch of surfers out in the water waiting for a good wave to come along.

When the Vineyard wave came George Mallone and about half of them decided that they would take this one and Pastor Bob and the other half of us decided to wait for the next one. So at the beginning we were all together and the things we got were very similar, but as time went on the ones who were surfing were getting further and further away from the ones who were still laying on their boards waiting for the next wave.

Gradually, it we seemed to be hearing different things, so that the ones on their boards were calling out "What are you doing, get up on your board and start surfing", which was very confusing for the ones in the water, because they knew they were supposed to be waiting.

	In response the ones in the water would then reply, "What are you doing surfing, don't you know that we are suppose to be waiting? Which was likewise confusing to the surfers.

	The Lord said these are two different waves, both are needed, but it is important to know which one you are called to. There are even some who have ended up right in the middle. Not knowing whether to catch the tail end of the first wave or wait it out till the next one. I have noticed, by the way, that many of these got tired of the waiting and have opted to catch the end of the first one.

The Fire and the Water

One day I heard the Lord say, "There was a people who sought fire and I gave them water, there was another group that sought water and I gave them fire", and I said,  "Say what"?

	And He said "The Vineyard move sought fire from me (healing gifts power evangelism etc.) and I gave them water (worship, intimacy, and community). Now those people who are waiting for the next wave have a hunger and desire for and are seeking the water, on them I will pour out my fire.

	The wave that is coming, is way bigger than anyone expects and if you haven't turned your face into the 1st wind (The Two Wind Prophecy in the Appendix) you won't be able to flow in the second one. Like a novice skier who is not able to ski double black Diamond expert slope, so they won't be ready to surf the wave that is coming.

So the healing is coming, but not until we are ready.