As always, John’s point is right on the money. If I can borrow his point and abuse it for a moment . . . much of the present-day talk about a coming revival centers around Christians "re-digging the wells of revival." To use (and abuse) John’s observation, the problem is that revival isn’t a well (it's a monsoon . . . or a River!). But wanting to prove our earnestness, and not wanting to "wait around" for God to do something (like send a Monsoon) revival promoters are busily organizing work crews to dig the well deeper, build larger buckets, organize a bucket brigade, etc., all in the belief that if they can pull more water out of the well faster and spread it around in greater measure, people will mistake it for a revival. But to mistake the ordinary work of the Church (even when done "on steroids") for a season of revival is to confuse a well with a monsoon. It is to confuse a prayer meeting with the day of Pentecost, and that leads me to my next thought . . .

Easter is over and most churches are now returning to "life as usual" (i.e., pulling water from the well with great effort). Indeed most churches go to great lengths to celebrate Easter, the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it is good that we should celebrate this glorious event. But Easter was not the end of the story. It was only the beginning, the prologue if you will, for what was to come. What came next? Pentecost - the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit to empower the Church for the task of proclaiming the good news of Jesus' victory over death and the promise of salvation to all who believe to "the remotest part of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

God is shaking His church today in ways not imagined a few years ago. He is shaking existing structures and paradigms and raising up new ones. The rise of the modern house church movement is just one example of the shaking currently underway. More is coming, so prepare to have your paradigm shaken.

Some 100 years ago a powerful movement of the Spirit of God swept around the world, shaking old paradigms and raising up new ones. This worldwide movement of the Spirit between 1904 to 1907 gave birth to a new paradigm that found expression in the Welsh Revival of 1904, the modern day Pentecostal movement, and the "Korean Pentecost" which I related earlier. Then, it was a new paradigm for a new day. But people and movements eventually get trapped and become the prisoners of their paradigms. Paradigms become institutionalized, trapping people inside and fending off outsiders who might bring change. The River becomes a tightly controlled swimming pool. When that happens it isn't long (and 100 years isn't long in God's sight!) before God moves in a fresh way, challenging and shattering "once new/now old" paradigms and bringing in new paradigms for a new day. What does it mean? It means that God isn't done yet with His Church, or with His redemptive plan for the world. It means He has more to teach us (and that we don’t yet know everything there is to know about God’s dealings!). And it means that He fully intends to accomplish His original stated goal of empowering and equipping His Church to be His witnesses "even to the remotest part of the earth."

I believe that house churches represent one of God's "new" paradigms for this time. And I believe the River of Ezekiel 47, the River of the Water of Life, is another of God's "new" paradigms for His people. The paradigm itself is not new, just as "pentecostalism" was not unknown before Azusa Street (April, 1906). Evan Roberts, one of the instruments of the Welsh Revival of 1904, told his biographer (D.M.Phillips) that he had prayed for 13 years for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Roberts experienced his personal baptism on Thursday, September 29th, 1904 at a little after 9:00 AM in the morning (but that's another story!).

I believe that God is about to bring these two "new" paradigms together in these last days in a way that is more powerful than we, our fathers or our grand-fathers ever imagined. While there is increasing turmoil in the world around us, and while men's hearts fail them for fear, I believe that the River of Ezekiel 47, the River of the Water of Life is about to flow in unprecedented power through a new paradigm of networking house churches, resulting in renewal, revival, awakening, empowerment and a great harvest. The issues will not be baptism, tongues, healings or any one experience or gifting. The question of the day will be, "Are you standing in the River?" Everything else - empowering, gifts, evangelism, etc. - is a by-product of The River. I believe that the Day of Pentecost, recorded in Acts Chapter 2, was the day in the experience of the Church when the River of Ezekiel 47 was first out-poured, and that it has been "growing and flowing" ever since. And every season of revival and awakening in the history of God’s Church over the past 2000 years has been nothing more (or less) than the River of Ezekiel 47 rising to new levels not before experienced in that generation. As the Church of God prepares to celebrate the Liturgical Season of Pentecost, culminating in Pentecost Sunday (June 4th), it is a good time to reconsider the River of Ezekiel 47 and to pray that it will begin to flow through your home and the church that meets in your house! Now is the time for all of us to long for another monsoon, to implore God to send the rain and the River in fresh power and blessing. For only then will we truly become the "house-to-house" network of "river houses" that God has promised to our generation, and which the early church experienced and became following the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:41-47).

It has happened a couple of times before, but I must confess that I never get "accustomed" to it. At our last Friday evening house church gathering you could sense the deep peace and presence of God as we prayed and worshiped together. At one point, towards the end of the meeting before we took communion together, one of our prophetic intercessors, who is usually very quiet and who hears much more than she speaks, said, "The yard around the house is full of angels." O.K. That’s the kind of thing that gets your attention and makes an impression on you. Personally, it leaves me asking the question, "Why?" We don’t make seeking the supernatural or manifestations a "thing" at our gatherings. That’s a good way to lose your focus, get distracted and invite in "false fire." No thanks. But when the supernatural seeks us out I can’t help but wonder, "Why?" I’ve come to the personal conclusion that two things are going on. First, when the people of God gather in sincerity of heart to seek God in worship, praise and obedience our "reward" is His Presence in our midst. And where God is present, His angels gather, attracted to the Presence of the One they serve and adore. And when they gather around us they are also satisfying their own "curiosity." For Paul tells us in Ephesians 3:8ff that the Church is making known "the manifold wisdom of God" to "the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places." If we are amazed that angels would join us for worship (and yes, I continue to be amazed!), the angels are equally amazed that the Sovereign God whom they worship and serve would manifest His eternal Presence in the midst of such common creatures as you and me. Even among angels, curiosity gives way to amazement at the humility of our God. And they wouldn’t miss such a divine-human encounter for all the "angel-food cake" in heaven. Secondly, I believe that such manifestations are indicative of the season we are now entering into - a season of Divine Visitation. The history of revival is replete (that’s "filled" if you were wondering) with examples of supernatural manifestations during seasons of visitation. When God "rends" the heavens and comes down (Isaiah 64:1), when the tide of heaven’s ocean beats upon the shores of our world, we should not be surprised by the supernatural events which take place.