4 Keys to Access the Ancient Sources of Revival
I believe God is saying we can go to the wells of our spiritual forefathers and dig again to find new streams of revival bubbling forth.
I am not speaking of re-digging a well to return to the traditions of the past or to rediscover old methods or cherished doctrine. Rather I am talking of coming alive again with the waters of the Holy Spirit that were found in the wells of our spiritual ancestors!
I am convinced that such a thing has happened in Pensacola, Florida. Six years before this revival well began to flow again, God spoke to Renée DeLoriea in a Kansas airport, telling her of the revival that would come, which would be a rebirth of a previous well:
People were looking at me strangely, but I knew the force backing me into that wall was the power of God. I had been walking down the corridor, minding my own business, when an incredible force pushed me backward… My muscles fell limp like spaghetti, and when I finally hit the wall, I felt almost weightless. I tried to brace myself by leaning on the wall for support, but again the same powerful force began pushing me sideways to the floor. I thought, Oh great, I bet those people are really looking now. As I was pushed farther and farther to the floor, God spoke to my spirit in an almost audible voice, clearly saying, “Azusa Street: Pensacola, Florida. Azusa Street: Pensacola, Florida.”
That day in January 1989, I knew that God was going to send a revival to Pensacola, Florida. I realized even then that this revival would somehow touch the world just as the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles had changed the course of Church history in the early 1900’s.
In a smaller way, God also had reopened a revival well at Mott Auditorium, the home of Harvest Rock Church, where I used to be based in Pasadena, California. On January 1, 1995, while many folks were enjoying the famous Rose Parade held annually in Pasadena on New Year’s Day, more than 2,000 believers from all around Los Angeles gathered in Mott Auditorium on short notice to hear John Arnott from the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship—another renewed well of revival—speak.
The sense of the Lord’s presence was tangible, and the shouting and groaning of the saints resounded through the great hall. Many people shook violently and fell to the ground as the Lord came in power. Lives were being transformed and nobody wanted to go home. (The meetings went way beyond midnight.) Some people were saved; others were instantly healed. One lady, Joy Rittenhouse, had suffered six years from severe back pain. During worship that night, she began repeating, “I renounce bitterness. I renounce bitterness.” Then it happened. The back pain just disappeared and the precious woman was healed of both inner and outer suffering. On the ministry floor afterward, an unseen power struck her backward, without anyone praying for her. Then a great joy rolled up from within her and she began to laugh uncontrollably. God was turning her mourning into joy. It was Jubilee!
This same kind of story can be told by hundreds, if not thousands, who have come to Mott Auditorium and have been personally touched and refreshed by the Lord. Since that New Year’s Day when the Holy Spirit’s power and presence began to reside in Mott Auditorium and to flow in a demonstrative way, thousands from all over the world have come there to drink of the Holy Spirit. Three years after the initial outpouring of God’s Spirit, we were still holding protracted meetings, and a whole new fellowship of churches, called Harvest International Ministries, had been birthed. Many times when the presence of God came, the sweet rose fragrance of Jesus could be smelled throughout the auditorium. Oh, the beauty of Jesus, the glory of His presence! I believe that Frank Bartleman’s wells were being opened again there.
The beauty of Jesus and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit are evident in a demonstrative way wherever God opens a well of revival. There is a “glory” that rests on both the place and the people. Those who come, drink deeply.
Yet not all revival wells flow in the same way. Toronto, Canada, for example, is a well of refreshing. Pensacola, on the other hand, is a well of salvation. Despite this variation in the way revival wells flow, a consistent series of results accompanies the opening of every well.
First, a revival well provides water that refreshes and revives dying people who are spiritually thirsty. When Hagar fled into the desert of Beersheba, she cried out to God for water to give to her son Ishmael, who was all but dead. God mercifully responded by opening her eyes so that she could see a well of fresh water (see Gen. 21:14-20). That drink in the desert saved her life and the life of her son. How many thousands, or millions, are dying in our cities—just looking for a well of revival?
Second, revival wells are communal in nature. All are free to come and receive of the well’s refreshing. This is part of the beauty of revival. Believers from every race and denomination come together and stand side by side at the same pool. Maintaining this communal nature requires a soft spirit of all who would drink the well’s refreshing waters.
When Ché and I went to Toronto in October of 1994, we found ourselves face to face with brothers from the denomination we had just left. In fact, you just might find yourself worshiping with the person who split your church fellowship six months before! At this point, each seeker must choose whether to bless his or her brothers and sisters in the Lord or to dispute them at the well.
Disputes at the well are nothing new. When Isaac became so wealthy that he threatened the surrounding Philistines, they forced him out and his servants had to dig new wells. So Isaac’s men dug two new wells, which the shepherds of Gerar claimed, again forcing Isaac to move on. Isaac named the first abandoned well Esek, which means “quarreling.” He named the second Sitnah, which means “accusation.” Only after they dug the third well were Isaac, his family, and his servants left in peace. This well Isaac named Rehoboth, meaning “open place” or “room for all” (see Gen. 26:20-22).
When strife and bickering over the use of a well erupts, be it a physical well or a spiritual one, the entire community suffers. Everyone misses the blessing it might provide. Then what was meant to be a place of refreshing for all people (like the disputed wells Isaac was forced to leave) becomes a perpetual reminder of ugly disagreements and soul-wrenching disputes. History confirms that all attempts to control a well in the Spirit always end up stopping the flow. Bitterness, selfish ambition, fear, resentment, pride, deception…whatever the source of the conflict or division, dissension has always resulted in the loss of the water both sides were trying to safeguard. Then the glory of revival is forgotten and only the memory of the differences and divisions remains. We must not forget that the water found at revival wells is given by God for the refreshing and blessing of all!
Third, the water from a true revival well is transferable. That is, it can be taken home, thereby impacting many people who may not have the opportunity to go to the well and get a drink. The water from Toronto and Pensacola, for example, has touched the lives of multitudes of people who have never traveled to either city. There is a tangible presence of God that goes with it that can be shared with others.
Ché Ahn and I intentionally went to the Anaheim Vineyard Conference in 1994, where a well was flowing, so that we could receive some of the fresh water. We received the blessing of the Spirit. Soon afterward, we planted Harvest Rock Church, and that same power and blessing began to fall on our people. It was definitely transferable!
Fourth, wonderful ministries that bless thousands of people begin to form around a revival well. Bible schools and training centers are established, ministries to the poor are released, and missionary vision explodes. When I lived in Pasadena, four other churches merged with us to form Harvest Rock Church. Anointed men—and my treasured friends, Rick Wright, Karl Malouff, Jim Johnston, and Carlos Quintero—all laid down their senior pastor positions for the greater vision. From this one church blended from five congregations, we started a school of ministry for church planters and missionaries and a food bank for ministry to the poor. We also supported an international ministry that sent out apostolic men to train and encourage the more than 180 related churches that had already joined our Harvest International Ministries network. All this began because one well broke open! I believe this happens because wells, by their very nature, tap into a hidden source of water that provides continual refreshing. Revival wells, in particular, sustain a fresh relationship with the Lord that empowers those who drink from it.