I Don’t Want Another Man’s Revival
We are surrounded by people drinking from wells they did not dig and living on fires they did not kindle. We are watching a generation that has learned how to imitate the noise of revival without carrying its weight. Many have become experts in repeating the language of past moves of God but strangers to the voice of God for themselves.
There is a temptation in every believer to lean on what was, to cling to testimonies from another time and another place, to survive on the spiritual leftovers of someone else’s pursuit. The problem is that revival was never meant to be preserved like a museum piece. It was never designed to be handed down like an antique. It was meant to be experienced fresh and burning in every generation.
What shook the earth decades ago was real. It was powerful. It was holy. But it was a move birthed out of the desperation, obedience, and sacrifice of a people who paid the price for oil. That was their well. That was their altar. That was their night watch. You cannot take their oil and expect it to sustain you without paying your own price before the Lord.
God has no grandchildren. He only has sons and daughters. You do not inherit intimacy with Him through someone else’s walk. You cannot inherit the flame of another man’s private altar. You must know Him for yourself.
Living on Borrowed Waters
There is a difference between being inspired by the past and being imprisoned by it. Inspiration honors what God has done and uses it as a springboard for fresh faith. Imprisonment freezes you in time and keeps you from moving forward into the new thing God is doing.
Some in the church have built their entire spiritual life on reruns of another generation’s encounter with God. They recite the same stories, play the same recordings, and try to recreate the same settings, thinking that if they can just copy the atmosphere they will get the same result. But God is not the I was. He is the I am. He is not just the God of Azusa Street or the Welsh Revival or the Great Awakening. He is the God who speaks today, moves today, heals today, and saves today.
When the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, God gave them manna each morning. It was fresh for that day. If they tried to store it overnight, it rotted. This was God’s way of teaching them that yesterday’s provision was never meant to replace today’s dependence. The same is true for us. The stories of past revivals are precious, but they are not edible for today unless they drive us back to the Source.
If you are drinking from someone else’s well, you will always be dependent on when and how they draw water. If you dig your own well, you can drink deeply whenever you are thirsty. The Holy Spirit has not given you secondhand access. The veil was torn. You have direct access to the presence of God.
The Danger of Surrogate Hunger
There is a subtle danger when you live off another man’s revival. You can begin to think you are spiritually alive when you are simply spiritually entertained. You may be stirred by their passion, moved by their testimonies, and impressed by their miracles, but none of it will produce fruit in your own life unless it drives you to the secret place.
Borrowed hunger is dangerous because it can be mistaken for your own. You can sing the same songs and pray the same prayers without ever encountering the God they encountered. You can learn the language of the Spirit without knowing the Spirit Himself. You can carry the notes from their sermons without ever bearing the weight of their obedience.
This is why so many can quote revivalists word for word but have no authority to cast out demons or heal the sick. Authority is not inherited through memorization. It is forged in intimacy. The seven sons of Sceva in Acts learned this the hard way. They tried to drive out demons using the name of Jesus that Paul preached. The demon replied, Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you? You cannot use the name of someone else’s God to do the work you were called to do. You must know Him for yourself.
God is Not Looking for Echoes
If you look at the men and women God has used throughout history, you will notice that none of them were carbon copies. They were not echoes of someone else’s ministry. They were original voices birthed out of an encounter with God that marked them for life. Moses met God at the burning bush. Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up. Paul encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. Every one of them received a personal commission.
God is not looking for you to be the second coming of your favorite preacher. He is not asking you to copy the style of your spiritual heroes. He is looking for the sound He put in you before the foundations of the world. He is looking for the work He prepared in advance for you to do.
An echo may sound like the original, but it has no power to create. An echo is dependent on the original voice to speak first. God is calling you to be a voice, not an echo. A voice carries weight because it originates from the one who speaks it. When God speaks to you, when His fire burns in your bones, you will not need to imitate another. You will release what He has given you with conviction and power.
Stop Staring at the Canteen
One of the saddest sights in the church is believers waiting for someone to pass them a drink when they have been given full access to the well. Jesus told the woman at the well that He could give her living water and that whoever drank from it would never thirst again. That promise was not limited to her. It is for every child of God.
Yet many stand with empty cups, hoping a preacher, a conference, or a revival meeting will fill them. They run from event to event, collecting drops from other people’s overflow, never realizing that the Spirit of God is ready to flow from within them.
You were not meant to survive on drips. You were meant to overflow. You were meant to be a well yourself. Out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Revival Starts in the Secret Place
True revival is not birthed in stadiums. It is birthed in secret. It starts in prayer closets, in quiet rooms, in hidden places where the only audience is God. Every great move of God has been preceded by people who paid the price in private before anything happened in public.
The oil of the Spirit is costly. It cannot be borrowed at the last minute. The parable of the ten virgins makes this clear. Five had oil when the bridegroom came. Five did not. The ones without oil tried to borrow from the others but it was too late. Oil cannot be transferred in the moment of need. It must be purchased in the long hours of seeking God when no one else is watching.
If you want to carry the fire of God, you must tend the flame in your own heart. You must dig the well in your own soul. You must pray until heaven breaks in and the Word becomes alive to you. No one else can do it for you.
You Have Access to the Well
Jesus has given you unrestricted access to the Father. The same Spirit that raised Him from the dead lives in you. You are not on the outside looking in. You are not a beggar hoping for crumbs from someone else’s table. You are a son or daughter with a seat at the table and the ear of the King.
The presence of God is not a rare commodity reserved for a chosen few. It is the birthright of every believer. The question is not whether you have access. The question is whether you will use it.
There is a revival with your name on it. It may not look like the last one. It may not sound like the last one. It may not fit in the same mold. That is because God is not trying to repeat history. He is writing a new chapter and He wants to write it through you.
The Call to Rise
The time has come to stop living on borrowed oil. The time has come to lay down the canteens and pick up the shovel to dig your own well. The time has come to seek God until you know His voice, to pray until you feel His burden, to worship until His presence becomes your dwelling place.
Do not be satisfied with echoes when you can have His voice. Do not be content with borrowed stories when you can have your own testimony. Do not settle for being a spectator in another man’s revival when God has called you to be a carrier of His glory in your generation.
You have been given access to the well. Drink deeply. Let it fill you until it overflows. Then go and pour it out so that others may taste and see that the Lord is good.
If you feel led to partner with what God is doing through this ministry, we invite you to sow into this work as the Spirit leads. Your generosity helps us continue to share His love and truth with others. There is no obligation, only an opportunity to join in what God is building. Thank you for considering being a part of this journey.
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