Come running after Him…

Our nation is so ripe and so ready for revival and breakthrough. This is the time for the Church to not only arise and manifest the Glory of the Lord and to unite in one accord and call on the Lord for an outpouring of His Holy Spirit as was it was on the day of Pentecost and as it was way back in the great revivals. Friends, I believe we as a church are living in what can be the greatest hour in church history.

There has been promise and prophesies that there will be a worldwide revival that will bring in billions of souls and that South Africa will be part of that revival.

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With this in mind and our desperate condition in our nation it takes only few righteous men and women to lift their hands to the Lord and say “Count us in, we want to be part of the revival.’’ I know for certain there are many men and women all over our nation with their hands raised, tear stained cheeks, hoarse voices from crying out loud for revival but I can only tell you of those I’ve had the extreme privilege of praying alongside for revival. There is a priesthood of all believers beginning to arise across the land. The Spirit of the Lord is stirring both young and old to hear His voice. The fivefold ministry is coming alongside each other, in amongst the people to call for revival like never before.

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Azusa SA
At an evening prayer meeting hosted by Central Parks Church which is hosting an open Azusa SA gathering in Johannesburg on Saturday (see details at bottom of this article about this event which is linked to an Azusa Now event in Los Angeles on the same day – the 110th anniversary of the historic Azusa Street revival) Kate Fitz-Gibbon shared her vivid dream about being dressed in old brown clothes, some of which were corduroy. In her dream she was standing in front of a mirror. She was so aware that these clothes had been thrown out before. Another lady was in the room also dressed all in brown and Kate was aware that they may be meeting others later. She felt the Lord say: ‘ Bring it all, every last item of clothing that you thought were your holy robes and the right way of doing things, for I will take them and transform them into a new thing, and you will be free to move from being earth bound in your mentality and even in your understanding of Me, to fully living in the heavenlies even as you are here on earth.’ Brown resembles dead works and the old nature. Corduroy was thought to mean ‘the cord of the king’, a fabric commissioned by the king as a royal garment but it turned out that was a folk tale. We will be renewed in the way we see God and what it means to be a Christian.

We all sang and glorified the Lord then the music died down and Gerard de Souza went forward and took the mic and read from John 7.37-39 — On the last and most important day of the festival Jesus stood up and shouted, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! The one, who believes in me, as the Scriptures have said, will have rivers of living water flowing from his heart.” Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believing in him were to receive, because the Spirit was not yet present and Jesus had not yet been glorified.

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Rivers of living water
Gerard went on to say: ‘’The essence of Jesus’s call was Holy Spirit! In as much as we have all experienced physical thirst and have quenched it by drinking, spiritual thirst comes from Holy Spirit and can only be satisfied by Holy Spirit. The more you drink, the more you thirst for Him and the more you thirst the more you drink. It is a continuous process from which rivers of living water are able to flow! The desire to thirst comes from Him, the capacity to drink is dependent on us. The Azusa Street revival started with an outpouring and an outflowing of Holy Spirit. Let us obey His thirst and drink!”

An invitation to come and have an impartation — a fresh infilling of Holy Spirit was then extended and there followed an outpouring as was promised in the days of Pentecost. People were crying for more of God, faces were shining with tear stains, big men were doubled over weeping for the nation. Some were on the floor, the women were crying and beckoning God for more of His Spirit. Laughter broke out in one corner, prophesy flowed. Surely God was in the house. The presence of the Lord in the place was palpable. The meeting could have lasted all night. The following morning we gathered at Grant Flaum’s home. A simple question was asked:

“What is revival to you?” the answers poured out one upon another, all too many to document:

“The Father’s love reaching down to a broken people”

“It’s an awakening – there are so many people who are disillusioned with religion”

‘’I believe it’s a time for an encounter with His love. A time for amazing supernatural encounters.’’

“When a person has a love encounter with His love. It’s all about Him People will experience His love en masse — all about. Because He loves us.’’

A different type of outpouring
Robin Harvey rose with such passion and begun to say: “I feel that this worldwide revival, prophesied to begin at the tip of Africa will be different to other outpourings. This will take the shape of a New Covenant wineskin. The sons of God will rise up as a result of correct New Covenant teaching assured in their identity, and will begin to walk in their inheritance. Sons and daughters will get revelation of John 4.14 which says ‘but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ The truth is, God has already moved. He has already poured out His Spirit. We are already revived, and as we stand, we personify revival. The saints worldwide will rise up in this truth and bring heaven to earth, having broken free from condemnation and unworthiness. This is the time of uprising of the body, walking in their destined purpose, claiming 2 Corinthians 3:6 which says God “has made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit: for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life”.

He was saying exactly the same as Gerard – the same Spirit stirring us in one accord in one place.

Earlier I had asked two young children what hunger for God looks and feels like? Daniel (5) said: “ Being hungry for God looks like charging after Him for more” and Abigail (9): “I want His love. It looks like running into His arms.”

Jacques Erasmus then spoke with such conviction and with revelation from John 15:4 wherein John says ‘’ Abide in me, and I in you.’’ To this purity, however, must be added the continuous faithful persistence in my living fellowship.’’ Jacques also referred to Psalms wherein David spoke of God being the secret dwelling place. Jacques felt so strongly that we were to take our revelation of Christ into every area of our lives.’’

God’s glory
One after another the personal descriptions of people’s understanding of revival were profound and heart moving. Clearly God is pouring out His glory on those who are ready to receive it. In many ways God has made it clear that He wants to reveal His goodness to us and give us His power to release signs and wonders on the earth today.
The air is pregnant with anticipation as to what the Lord will do.

The musician took up his guitar and we began to praise the Lord, soon without provocation we were singing in tongues and the sweetest of sounds filled the air.

Lisa Flaum shared a vision of angels being ready to harken to declarations we make; soon we were declaring and releasing the Word of the Lord over the land as the Lord gave utterance.

What followed was prophetic insight and prophetic words and flow – from person to person, one building upon another’s word. Not one man could glory in the moment, it became a cadence of His magnificence but yet an honouring of each other. An orchestration of God’s gifting at work. And yet it was just the trickle of the stream……. It had just begun.

The gathering heard of 12 churches coming together in one accord to worship the Lord in one place with one intention –to pray for revival in our land and to trust the Lord for an outpouring of His Spirit as was on the day of Pentecost and in the great revivals and awakenings. All are invited to join together at this Azusa SA event hosted by Central Parks City Church on Saturday, April 9, 2016.

The details are:
Where: Central Parks Church, Craighall Park Primary School, Rothesay St, Craighall Park, Johannesburg.
Time : 6pm till midnight
Red Oak Radio will be streaming the event live.