NOTE: The following words are taken from Frank Bartleman's
excellent book on the 'Azusa Street' Revival-
EYEWITNESS To REVIVAL
-Frank Bartleman
The Lord will visit those willing to yield to Him.
We must keep humble and little in our own eyes. Let us get built
up by a sense of our own importance and we are gone.
God has always sought humble people. He can use no other.
There is much need always of heart preparation, in humility and
separation, before God can consistently come. The depth of any
revival will be determined exactly by the spirit of repentance that
obtains. In fact this is the key to every true revival born of God.
One evening, July 3, I felt strongly impressed to go the little
Peniel Hall in Pasadena to pray. There I found Brother Boehmer
ahead of me. He had also being led of God to the hall. We prayed
for a spirit of revival for Pasadena until the burden became well
nigh unbearable... The Spirit was interceding through us. Finally
the burden left us. After a little time of quiet waiting a great calm
settled down upon us. Then suddenly, without premonition, the
Lord Jesus himself revealed himself to us. He seemed to stand
directly between us, so close we could have reached out our
hand and touched Him. But we did not dare to move. I could
not even look. In fact I seemed all spirit. His presence seemed
more real, if possible, than if I could have seen and touched Him
naturally. I forgot I had eyes or ears. My spirit recognized Him.
A heaven of divine love filled and thrilled my soul. Burning fire
went through me. In fact my whole being seemed to flow down
before Him, like wax before the fire. I lost all consciousness of
time or space, being conscious only of His wonderful presence.
I worshipped at His feet. It seemed a veritable "mount of
transfiguration."
For some time He remained with us. Then slowly He withdrew
His presence. We would have been there yet had He not withdrawn.
I could not doubt His reality after that experience. Brother Boehmer
experienced largely the same thing. We had lost all consciousness
of each other´s presence while He remained with us. We were
almost afraid to speak or breathe when we came back to our
surroundings.
He had come to strengthen and assure us for His service. We knew
now we were workers with Him, fellowshippers of His sufferings,
in the ministry of "soul travail." Real soul travail is just as definite
in the spirit, as natural human birth-pangs. The simile is almost
perfect in its sameness. No soul is ever born without this. All true
revivals of salvation come this way.
I received from God early in 1905 the following keynote to revival:
"The depth of revival will be determined exactly by the depth of
the spirit of repentance."
"A revival almost always begins among the laity [ordinary common
people not trained in theology or holding any rank in the church].
The ecclesiastical leaders seldom welcome reformation. History
repeats itself. The present leaders are too comfortably situated
as a rule to desire innovation that might require sacrifice on their
part. And God´s fire only falls on sacrifice. An empty altar receives
no fire. Cold intellectualism, formal ecclesiasticism, and priestly
domination are altogether outside the genius of the Gospel.
Thank God there are exceptions among the leaders. But we
are saved to serve. The true minister is a servant."
A body must be prepared, in repentance and humility, for every
outpouring of the Spirit.
"The present Pentecostal manifestation did not break out in a
moment, like a huge prairie fire, and set the world on fire. In fact
no work of God ever appears that way. There is a necessary time
for preparation. The finished article is not realized at the beginning.
Men may wonder where it came from, not being conscious of the
preparation, but there is always such. Every movement of the
Spirit of God must also run the gauntlet of the devil´s forces. The
Dragon stands before the bearing mother, ready to swallow up
her child (Rev. 12:4). And so with the present Pentecostal work
in its beginning. The enemy did much counterfeiting. God kept
the young child well hid for a season from the Herods, until it
could gain strength and discernment to resist them. The flame
was guarded jealously by the hand of the Lord, from the winds
of criticism, jealousy, unbelief, etc. It went through about the
same experiences that all revivals have. Its foes were both
inside and out. Both Luther and Wesley experienced the same
difficulties in their time.
-From 'Azusa Street' by Frank Bartleman. [A wonderful book!!]
