The Welsh Revival Pt 5: A River Runs Through It

This account comes from Lester Sumrall's book - Pioneers of Faith. Sumrall relates how he met Smith Wigglesworth during the dark days of World War II and gives the following account about a vision of Revival Wigglesworth was given by God:

"... Shutting his eyes again, he said, 'I see the greatest revival in the history of mankind coming to Planet earth, maybe as never before. And I see every form of disease healed. I see whole hospitals emptied with no one there. Even the doctors are running down the streets shouting.'

"He told me that there would be untold numbers of uncountable multitudes that would be saved. No man will say 'so many, so many,' because nobody will be able to count those who come to Jesus. No disease will be able to stand before God's people... 'It will be a worldwide situation, not local,' he said, 'a worldwide thrust of God's power and God's anointing upon mankind.'

"Then he opened his eyes and looked at me and said, 'I will not see it, but you shall see it. The Lord says that I must go on to my reward, but that you will see the mighty works that He will do upon the earth in the last days.'

"... The idea that I would get to see this revival was almost overwhelming. And in the last decade or so, I believe we have seen this revival begin to sweep the earth. We have seen amazing moves of God in Africa... Recently, I was in China and met with the underground church. I was told there are at least forty-five million Full Gospel Christians in China. I discovered a depth of prayer and integrity there that I have not felt anywhere else in the world... So I believe we are seeing Wigglesworth's prophecy begin to be fulfilled. We are seeing the first stages of it."

Or as my welsh friend so aptly put...

"No matter how bleak it looks, when the time is right, the tide HAS to come back in. It is inevitable..."

The Welsh Revival Pt 4: The Tide Is Turning

"I see the greatest revival in the history of mankind coming to Planet earth, maybe as never before.." Smith Wigglesworth

The River Loughor sits just behind Loughor village and next to the Pits where Evan Roberts regularly worked as a child.

This area of the Bristol Channel has the second highest tidal range in the world (the first is in New Foundland). However when the tide is out, the picture of barreness is striking. The lack of water leaves vast areas of rocky, muddy desolation, with nothing but a few quiet streams trying desperately not to dry up in the bleakness.

As we looked out over this river, with revival and restoration on my mind, I was reminded of the desolation I see in my generation today. Millions of hurting, lost, broken people, desperate for an answer and escape from their dry lives. Thousands of children growing up in broken homes, with no hope of an answer. Myriads of teenagers left barren and empty due to alcohol, drugs and abuse. The list of problems is endless and the scale of the bleakness overwhelming. Nations oppressed by a Devil they no longer believe exists.

It was whilst looking at this bereft but beautiful coastal scene that our guide began to share a vision he had of the turning tide in Britain. He said something like this...

"This tidal range in Loughor is the second highest tidal range in the world. And so too was the Welsh Revival, part of the second highest wave of God to hit the nations in the 20th Century. But look again at the desolation you see around you.. Because the tide that is to come will be bigger and greater than the all the ones that have gone before. The tide will sweep away the barreness and restore life to the wasteland. For no matter how bleak it looks, when the time is right, the tide HAS to come back in. It is inevitable..."

The greatest challenge of the aspiring revivalist is choosing what we focus on. Do we look to the desolation or do we begin to wait expectantly for the river to flow afresh... Look at the small stream in the middle of the desert land... are you ready for it to burst out? Isaiah 35 puts it like this...

"Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert."

The Welsh Revival Pt 3: The End Of The Affair?

This Visitor's Book from Moriah Chapel unexpectedly held one of the most exciting secrets of the Welsh Revival and perhaps the most enduring image of my personal visit to Loughor... You will soon see why.

The Revival storm that hit the hills and valleys of Wales in the dying months of 1904 soon became a hurricane that affected the world. Visitors from France, Turkey, the U.S, to name but a few came to visit and as they caught the flame they passed it on to new countries. Welsh communities throughout the world felt the effects and news of God’s powerful work soon had many other churches praying that God would visit then as well – the Khasia Hills in India being a perfect example of prayer answered. The public excitement of the local Revival had died down by 1906 - Evan Roberts went to Leicester to recuperate – the newspapers went back to politics and other things but for many, the honeymoon of these 2 years developed into a lasting and loving relationship with a risen Christ that continued a lifetime.

"When someone asked one elderly Revival convert some years ago as to whether the Revival stopped in 1906, she answered – it is still burning within my heart – it’s never been extinguished – it had burned for over 70 years..."

Herein lies the great secret of the Welsh Revival, which was revealed to me afresh as I scoured the pages of the latest jam packed Chapel Visitors Book. All over the pages were personal hand written prayers of hope and fire, written in almost every language ... from Chinese to Arabic, these words expressed an ongoing burning desire and passionate prayer of Christians, crying out for God to move afresh today.

What is the secret? It never stopped. It never stopped. IT NEVER STOPPED!!! Millions of hearts are still burning today because of what happened in 1904. Yes, the chapels of South Wales grew cold and the light of Roberts was forgotten across the valleys. But yes it will return again. Because across the nations... the light was just beginning to shine. From Khasia Hills to Beverley Hills, the ongoing fire of God's spirit has burnt brightly ever since.

The simple truth is that it was PENTECOST that gave us the Welsh Revival not Evan Roberts. It was PENTECOST that gave us Asuza Street in 1906, and PENTECOST that has sparked the seeds of the greatest revival the world has ever known brewing throughout the 20th Century. It began with Pentecost and it will end with Christ's return... And maybe, just maybe, you and I will be graciously allowed to see it in our lifetime. Maybe we can be part of the river. If we are willing to get ourselves wet. The Welsh Revival was a snapshot... the best is yet to come... and indeed, if you are willing to flick through the pages of an insignificant visitors book, in a cold empty chapel, at the edge of the valleys, you may just find it has already begun...

The Welsh Revival Pt 2: Beyond The Chapel...

Real people were changed in so many ways during the Welsh Revival.

The waves of reviving power reached way beyond the walls of the chapel... There were hard to reach, tough nosed locals impacted by Jesus. Men from the pits who did not take lightly to religion, brought to tears and repentance by the surprising presence of God.

There was a landslide of "goodness" all across the valleys because of the prayer, worship and evangelism of those who were gripped by God. Colliers and tin-men of the working classes expressed their joy in so many ways – so many original prayers. The coal pits themselves became chapels of Grace.

The crime rate dropped, drunkards were reformed, and pubs reported losses in trade. Bad language disappeared and never returned to the lips of many – it was reported that the pit ponies failed to understand their born again colliers who seemed to speak the new language of Zion – without curse and blasphemy – even football and rugby became uninteresting in the light of new joy and direction received by the Converts.

"Families were made whole again as fathers, who were once more concerned with drinking and violence, returned to take their place at the family table."

Why not take a minute to think about what Revival would look like in your town, in your workplace and in your family. How will the hard to reach people in your land, be transformed forever? How can the darkest of places, become chapels of Grace?

What will the landslide of Goodness look like for you?

The Welsh Revival Pt 1: A Short History That Could Change Our Future

THE FOLLOWING POSTS HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE HISTORY, IMPACT, LESSONS AND INSPIRATION FROM THE 1904 WELSH REVIVAL, INCLUDING A PERSONAL REFLECTION OF MY RECENT VISIT TO ITS BIRTHPLACE IN LOUGHOR, SOUTH WALES.

A BRIEF HISTORY...

(Thanks to 1904revival.com for the inspiration)

A century ago Wales experienced the last National Religious Revival, a revival that brought in an extra 100,000 new converts according to the estimates of the time, and a movement that quickly spread to the 4 corners of the World.

This was a move of God marked by the influence of ordinary men and women – especially young people. For example, a young girl from Cardigan called Florrie Evans, was in a youth meeting in February 1904, when she bravely declared publicly that she loved the Lord Jesus with all her heart. With these words the Spirit seemed to fall on the meeting and the fire quickly spread to other young people in the Cardiganshire area.

In September of the 1904, an Evangelist Seth Joshua, was addressing a Convention which included groups of young people just 5 miles north of Cardigan. Seth himself had been praying for years that God would raise up a young man from the pits to revive the churches – little did he know that on Thursday September 29th 1904 his prayer was to be answered in a life changing experience for one 26 year old student, Evan Roberts. Evan Roberts was born in 1878 in the small town of Loughor in Glamorgan, just 7 miles away from Swansea. Having left school at 11, he worked with his father at the colliery until he was in his early 20s – he then for a short time became a Blacksmith’s apprentice with his uncle.

For years Evan had been a faithful member of Moriah Calvinistic Methodist church at Loughor and during that time he had been praying for revival for over 11 years. Having been converted as a young teenager, he continued to pray regularly that God would visit again the nation in Revival Power. Determined to do his part, he felt compelled to go into the Calvinistic Methodist Ministry and on September 13th 1904 he became a pupil at a local Theological College.

It was only 2½ weeks after arriving that he found himself at a crossroads in his spiritual experience. An experience which would lead him back to the young people of his own church Moriah Loughor where he shared his experience and encouraged them to be open to God’s Spirit. Within two weeks the Welsh Revival was national news and before long, Evan Roberts and his brother Dan and his best friend Sidney were travelling the country conducting Revival Meetings and they were meetings with a difference. Meetings which broke the conventional and bi-passed the traditional – often the ministers just sat down unable to preach or even to understand what storm had arrived in their usually sedate temples.

This was a Revival with youth on fire – young men, yes and women. After the first stirrings amongst the young women of New Quay, young women continued to play a part in the Revival work – young Florrie went on a team to North Wales with her friend Maud – others used their voices as instruments of God’s message.

Yes a storm had hit the churches yet for so many it was a storm of love and power which completely transformed their lives...

And if we are willing to look back in history, this storm might just show us a vision of the future...

Making an Impact in the Workplace!

In the past I have been struck how many young people I have met in the church (including myself) whose main aspiration was to ‘be someone’ in the traditional church set up. Of course, by ‘someone’ that usually meant the preacher up the front, the trendy worship leader or the ‘full time’ minister.

Nowadays however, I can see a shift is taking place across the Church, meaning we can no longer easily use phrases like ‘full time’ as if ministry is something for the exclusive and privileged chosen few. Maybe there is a generation arising that have transitioned their thinking from a Ministry or Work mentality to a Ministry in Work pattern or even dare we say it... the idea that Work IS Ministry.

The bottom line for Christians is this: At the beginning of time our work was seen as part of the curse. The power of the Cross means that our work can be seen as part of the redemptive solution.

Most of us believe this in principle, but we still find it hard to compare equally someone who sells widgets all day over the phone, with someone who is on stage healing the sick in front of thousands. However, both expressions of ministry can be valid contributions to God’s Kingdom, and the challenge for us all is to begin to see our whole lives (not just the so called spiritual parts) as integrally set apart and holy for God. As one writer puts it:

“Most of us are Christians and something else; i.e.: A Christian and a Doctor or a Christian and a Manager. We do not engage in our daily tasks integrally as Christians ... Well-meaning Christians are merely adding faith to their vocation rather than letting faith transform their vocation."

Can our faith transform our vocation? Whether you are a butcher, a baker or a candlestick maker, I believe it can. Your 9 till 5 can be a place to serve and glorify the God who lives in us 24/7. Beyond any type of human activity, it is our heart attitude, our character and our contribution that makes the difference. It is who we are that makes an impact, whether getting on the stage, or getting on with a task list. True ministry is simply service to God no matter what shape it takes.

The worlds of work and ministry can fit together. For every elder, priest, prophet and apostle we find in the Bible, there was a shepherd, potter, carpenter, teacher or a physician. More importantly these two worlds often collide (whoever heard of the carpenter prophet? Can you imagine a tentmaker apostle?) Each character in the Bible was given a special purpose and part to play in God’s big unfolding story – just like you. Today, the walls are breaking down and the boundaries are being blurred. We are not defined by job titles; we are defined by our life in the spirit.

Jesus showed us how to live holistically, seeing everything as spiritual and walking in humble service whilst operating in mission focussed power. By the power of the Holy Spirit, why can’t we do the same?

24/7 ministers, like you and me, see their workplace as a place to serve others. When we serve with excellence, go the extra mile, and generously give of ourselves to customers and co-workers, we genuinely let our lights shine. Show me a gossip free person, who lives by their convictions, doesn’t moan or complain, forgives mistakes quickly, admits their own even quicker, and works hard in any circumstances and I will show you someone who stands out from the crowd, revealing Christ and his Kingdom to the world. Show me a Christian who stands steadfast, secure and free from fear, in the midst of job losses and credit crunches, and I will show you someone who is sounding a prophetic voice to the nations.

24/7 ministers like you and me, see their workplace as a place to reach out to others. Most jobs have regular contact with people – human beings - and because of this we can see ourselves as missionaries every day. The gospel can be displayed through our caring actions, our listening ear, and that big report that gets delivered on time. People need Jesus, and where you are, Jesus is there too.

Through our jobs, we have a unique opportunity to show creative expressions of what our God is like through our daily work tasks. Our God is like a composer, a potter, a gardener, a farmer, a shepherd, a builder and an architect. Is it worth taking a minute to prophetically envision ways could God be expressed through what you do as a job?

When we get a revelation of being a minister in the workplace, we will quickly find that not everyone will be pleased with us all the time. When people encounter the upside down kingdom of Jesus Christ they can sometimes paradoxically perceive our humility as arrogance or our love as judgement. If you want to make an impact in the workplace, we must heed Jesus’ words of “Woe to you when all men speak well of you”. Church Planter, Neil Cole, says that people are either like Moths or Cockroaches when it comes to our God-given light – they are either attracted to it or they scarper! If we are caught up with gaining approval from others then we won’t be able to make the most of every opportunity God gives us.

In the midst of disapproval, uncertainty, stress and difficulty, we can draw on the support of fellow Christians, soak in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit and use the power of the Sabbath to help us persevere. As people see our righteousness, they hear a message as powerful as any preached word.

Whilst the world is saying Thank God it’s Friday and the church of the past said Thank God it’s Sunday, what a joy to be part of a rising generation that is able to Thank God it’s Monday too...