5 ways to test if a revival is genuine (from an eye witness of the Azusa Street Revival

FIVE GOOD POINTS.

I went to some of these meetings in the

old Azusa Street Mission (which now has almost a world-wide reputation), at first going with great caution and some fear. But when I came to review what I had seen and heard there, I noticed the following good points which

characterised their meetings and their literature:

I. They always honoured the Blood of Christ.

2. They honoured the Holy Ghost, giving Him room to work, and expecting Him to work.

3. They were certainly a Missionary people, with a burning desire to spread the Gospel far and near.

4. They were earnestly looking for the coming of the Lord, and continually witnessing thereto. It seemed a watchword with them, Especially when God blessed anyone, they would so often say “Oh, Jesus is coming so soon.”

    5. As to money they took no collections; neither did they ask for money, not even hint for it. Truly they were trusting God alone for supplies; and they all seemed poor in this world’s goods. As I looked at these five points I could not help saying, ” That does not look like the devil’s work; I only wish that every church and every mission had the same solid foundation stones.

    My Convictions as to 

    The Pentecostal

    M o v e m e n t

    I r r e v e r e n t l y 

    called “The Tongues.” 

    GEORGE B. STUDD.

    Misinterpreting Martyn Lloyd Jones: Rethinking that Antinomianism Quote

    You’ve probably heard the quote/s from Martyn Lloyd Jones about how true preaching of the Gospel should lead to the charge of Antinomianism.

    The true preaching of the gospel of salvation by grace alone always leads to the possibility of this charge being brought against it. There is no better test as to whether a man is really preaching the New Testament gospel of salvation than this, that some people might misunderstand it and misinterpret it to mean that it really amounts to this, that because you are saved by grace alone it does not matter at all what you do; you can go on sinning as much as you like because it will redound all the more to the glory of grace. This is a very good test of gospel preaching. If my preaching and presentation of the gospel of salvation does not expose it to that misunderstanding, then it is not the gospel. (Martin Lloyd Jones: The New Man, 8)

    Lloyd Jones is drawing from Paul’s letter to the Romans. At the start of his letter, Paul makes plain the Gospel of Grace:

    Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Rom 5:1

    Paul is making it clear, salvation. Cannot be earned. We cannot attain righteousness by means of religious works, we are made righteous through Christ alone and we receive righteousness by faith alone.

    Paul then anticipates the response to this. In Romans 6:1, he asks:

    What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?

    He repeats this question in a similar way in Rom 6:15

    What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?

    Paul is concious that his gospel of grace may cause some to respond with the above questions. So, we reason, if it’s not by my works, can I ignore the law continue in sin, and still be saved?

    Lloyd Jones in the quote above was making the point that grace, when preached truly, should initiate that response.

    However, I’d argue that Jones’ quote is misused today. Some preachers today use this reasoning to actually preach antinomianism. (Hyper grace that rejects the Law full stop).

    Firstly, Paul himself did not end his argument here. He answers both questions with a strong: “By no means!”

    What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!

    Those who stop at grace as pardon for sin, and don’t continue (as Paul did) with grace as power over sin, are in fact in danger of being antinomian.

    Lloyd Jones did not fall into this trap. In other places he balances what he says about grace and antinomianism.

    Is it not true to say of many of us that in actual practice our view of the doctrine of grace is such that we scarcely ever take the plain teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ seriously? We have so emphasized the teaching that all is of grace and that we ought not to try to imitate His example in order to make ourselves Christians, that we are virtually in the position of ignoring His teaching altogether and of saying that it has nothing to do with us because we are under grace. Now I wonder how seriously we take the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The best way of concentrating on the question is, I think, to face the Sermon on the Mount. Martyn Lloyd Jones (Studies on the Sermon on the Mount p. 12)

    The Christian is a man who of necessity must be concerned about keeping God’s law. I mentioned in chapter one the fatal tendency to put up law and grace as antitheses in the wrong sense. We are not ‘under the law’ but we are still meant to keep it. . . .So the Christian is a man who is always concerned about living and keeping the law of God. Here [in the Sermon on the Mount] he is reminded how that is to be done. (Studies on the Sermon on the Mount p. 26)

    Interpreting the Gift of Tongues: David T. Rennie

    “So we read in I Corinthians 14: 13 ” Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue, pray that he may interpret.” The speaker in tongues is edified in the exercise of his gift although his understanding is unfruitful. But to the congregation it is as if he were a barbarian because they have neither spiritual uplift nor natural comprehension : unless he interpret. This gift, like all the others, is open to the earnest, ardent desire of believers. But the Holy Spirit seems particularly pleased to bestow the gift of interpretation on those who already have the gift of tongues. Of course, the apostle is still pressing his point in regard to edification. He is not implying that interpretation should be monopolised by speakers in tongues, but rather desiring that the Spirit’s message in tongues find adequate interpretation into the common language of the congregation. There is no Scriptural prohibition of interpretation by the one through whose lips has just come the message in tongues. Nor, on the other hand, is there any direct recommendation or example of its practice; although there is little use of praying for and receiving the gift if it cannot be used. Our text reads: ” To another the interpretation of tongues.” Perfection therefore, is found in distribution of gifts: not monopolization. So interpreting one’s own tongue should be the exception, not the rule. But, when occasion requires, the speaker in tongues may interpret his own tongue in the church, provided he has received the gift for which he is encouraged to pray.”
    David T. Rennie, The Gifts of the Holy Spirit, p116, The Puritan Press


    Pentecostal Encounter and the Sacrament of Communion: Lessons from the Wesleys

    Pentecostal scholar, Simon Chan notes the following about the Wesleys’ theology of communion and the divine presence.

    “Clearly, communion was no mere ritual for the Wesleys, but an occasion of heightened expectation of a deep spiritual encounter, as another of the Wesleys’ communion hymns shows.

    Ye faithful souls, who thus record

    The passion of that Lamb divine,

    Is the memorial of your Lord

    A useless form, an empty sign?

    Or doth he here his life impart?

    What saith the witness in your heart?

    Is it the dying Master’s will

    That we should this persist to do?

    Then let him here himself reveal,

    The token of his presence show,

    Descend in blessings from above,

    And answer by the fire of love.

    Who thee remember in thy ways,

    Come, Lord, and meet and bless us here;

    In confidence we ask the grace;

    Faithful and True, appear, appear,

    Let all perceive thy blood applied,

    Let all discern the Crucified.

    *Tis done; the Lord sets to his seal,

    The prayer is heard, the grace is given

    With joy unspeakable we feel

    The Holy Ghost sent down from heaven;

    The altar streams with sacred blood,

    And all the temple with God!

    Chan then shares the following testimony applies some principles to Pentecostalism:

    ”John Wesley in his journal recorded some rather extraordinary happenings during communion: ‘Many were cut to the heart, and at the Lord’s Supper many were wounded and many healed.’6 A certain Richard Jeffs was contemplating to join the Quakers but decided to come ‘once more to the Lord’s Table’. No sooner had he ‘received than he dropped down, and cried with a loud voice, “I have sinned; I have sinned against God”. At that instant many were pierced to the heart’

    Pentecostals could learn from their Methodist forebears to appropriate the experiential reality from eucharistic observances. But perhaps more important than just having a repeatable personal ‘refreshing’, holy communion is also the occasion for the believers corporately to be given a fresh infusion of the Spirit, making them grow more and more into the one charismatic Body of Christ. This body is a community of reconciliation and healing, and so, in the midst of the celebration the Pentecostals also anoint the sick with oil and pray for divine healing according to James 5. The church is the context in which the charisms are exercised. A church that depends on the healing prowess of some travelling evangelist has failed to take seriously the spiritual resources that are available to them by virtue of their being incorporated into the Body of Christ. What this shows is the importance of a Pentecostal ecclesiology for the Pentecostal way of life. The Pentecostal reality cannot be effectively traditioned without grounding it in ecclesiology.

    Simon Chan, Pentecostal Theology and the Christian Spiritual Tradition, p95-6.

    The Holy Spirit: The Bible and Common Sense by Eric S. Fife

    “We are living in a day in which we find an unparalleled interest in the gifts and power of the Spirit. Indeed, it is hard to find a Christian bookshop that does not have its shelves crammed with books on the subject. I have read as many of these books as is reasonably possible, and I find a strange omission; people seem to be far more interested in what the Holy Spirit does than in who he is.

    Like the Corinthian church the more sensational the work, the greater the interest shown. I discover little interest in what the Holy Spirit is like. The neglect no longer surprises me. The church of Christ has for many years been more interested in man than in God, more in the experience of Christians than in the characteristics of God. In a phrase, it is more man-centred than God-centred.

    No man, church or religion rises above its concept of God. The reason why there is so frequently shallowness in Holy Spirit-orientated Christians is that they have been more concerned with repeating testimonies of their own experience than with sound teaching about the character of the Holy Spirit.”

    Eric S Fife

    George Canty and Pentecostalism versus Charismatic attitudes towards the Bible

    George Canty was an
    internationally renowned
    Pentecostal pioneer
    evangelist and teacher. He was previously President of the Elim Pentecostal Church (Worldwide) and during his distinguished career did much work as a journalist and television and radio broadcaster.

    “Whatever we think is gold or silver must be submitted for assayal to the institute of the Word of God, ‘the only rule of faith and practice’; and that includes revival itself.

    That is the Pentecostal court of appeal, and always has been.

    But the Charismatics are not always Bible-bound. That happens to be an important fact which accounts for some ideas and practices among them. Not all had held previously conservative views of the Bible, and maybe still do not.

    It means their charismatic experience began differently.

    Unlike the ‘classic Pentecostals, they did not seek tongues inspired by what they read about the gift in Scripture. They knew it was there, but critical scholarship had dealt with that.

    Their interest arose because they heard of other people’s experience, perhaps Pentecostals, and began the search for the same ‘renewal’. I ministered to a convent full of eager seekers for the gifts of the Spirit and not one brought a Bible.

    One told his story and had to face the question, whether Charismatics should revise their scholastic interpretations and become fundamentalists.

    One British Charismatic has written books ‘to make people think’, aiming to be provocative, with obviously no high opinion about those who went before him. Sitting down for a whole day with his book and a notepad, I noted many passages where it seemed to me the Scriptures had not been called in, but should have been. Whether he accepts the evangelical view of Scripture as the infallible Word of God or not I could not It seems to me that such writings as his contain an awful lot of words, but not much ‘Word’. Some of my colleagues will accuse me of speaking far too mildly about books that quote Scripture no more than Shakespeare, as if evangelicals were so different. But that might be the raven calling the crow black, for I have found the same thing occasionally in the most fundamentalist circles. For example, Albert Barnes’ Calvinistic work The Atonement, has 358 pages with scarcely a Bible quotation anywhere except in one chapter, and I cannot imagine a less profitable volume.

    Perhaps some are different. Not all are written either simply to shock people and ‘make them think’

    .. It might be a ‘courageous’ book – even nonsense takes courage sometimes. But making people think is not necessarily the greatest aim in religion. In fact the usefulness of thinking could be a matter of thought itself. The Christian church is not a philosophic society.

    Thought has proved to be a misguided guide in the past in the things of the spirit. Some better authority is wanted for Christian stability than mental considerations. That way we would have as many opinions as people.

    There is no other direction we can look for truth and rightness about these things, except the Word itself.

    There is another aspect also. The Bible must come first. To think up our own beliefs and practices first and then look in the Bible afterwards to see if it happens to support us, is a sure way to go wrong. ‘Can I quote it? Let me see what it might say? I tripped up that way when I first went forth to dazzle the world from my pulpit. Each week I got together a wonderful speech out of my head and out of the library, and then looked for a text to fit it. No amount of charisma, no display of gifts, will make up for a WORD-less ministry.”

    The Hallmarks of Pentecost, George Canty, 1987

    Did Early Apostolics Teach that Speaking in Tongues was the Evidence of the Baptism in the Spirit?

    One of the hallmarks of the Pentecostal movement was the teaching that Baptism in the Holy Spirit was an experience subsequent to regeneration and evidenced by the sign of speaking in unkown tongues. Yet within Pentecostalism there has been complexity and diversity in both theology and practice.

    In 40 Questions about Pentecostalism, Jonathan Black writes:

    “Still today, many European Pentecostal denominations do not hold to the doctrine of initial physical evidence. Two of the three British Pentecostal denominations that emerged from the early revival, the Apostolic Church UK and the Elim Pentecostal Church, believe that the baptism in the Holy Spirit will be accompanied by “signs following.” Neither specifies tongues as necessary evidence.”

    Yet even the Apostolic Church, with its more modified statement on signs of the baptism in practice tended to emphasise tongues as a sign. The following quotes show that there is often a difference in practice and creed. At times the official teaching of the church is stricter than the church’s official statement of faith (we see this where tongues is stressed as THE evidence. At other times the sign is described as simply ONE evidence. There is even at times conflicting statements to be found by the same teacher in the same article or sermon. Again this just goes to evidence that there were nuances within the dogma.

    Extracts from historic Apostolic Church writings

    The gift of the Spirit is to be received by all believers (Luke 11: 13) who fulfil the essential conditions of thirst, prayer, waiting upon God, and obedience to His Will, and may be received (as instanced in various Scriptures) either directly or during the laying on of hands upon the seeker for the baptism. (Acts 1: 14; 2: 1-4; Acts 5: 32 ; 10: 44, 46 ; Acts 8: 17; 19: 6.)

    The coming of the Spirit to a person should be evidenced by the sign of speaking in tongues (Acts 2: 4, 7, 8; 10: 44-46), so that the person who receives the Spirit speaks in a language which to himself or herself is unknown and not understood. It is evident from what the Scriptures say, that it is necessary for both the person himself who receives the Spirit, and also other members of the Church, to know when that person has received the Spirit.

    (Luke 24: 49; Acts 1: 4; 6: 3.) Peter confirms this in Acts 11 15, 15: The scriptural evidence of the Baptism is “speaking in tongues.” (Acts 2: 4; 10: 46; 19: 6.)

    The receiving of the Spirit Himself by a person (so that the Spirit dwell in that person) is distinguished from any work done by the Spirit for or within that person. (John 14: 17.) So that to believe in Christ and be born of the Spirit, is not the same thing as to be baptised in the Spirit. The scriptures speak of the Holy Spirit as being “in” us (John 14: 17); and “upon” us (Acts 1: 8). Those baptized in the Spirit realize this. 

    Fundamentals (Official Catechism of Apostolic Church, Date Unkown) 

    “Of course, every seeker desires some Scriptural sign that they can be positive that they have received the promised Gift. We unhesitatingly say, on the basis of the Word of God, that there is only one answer.

    The only definite initial sign, about which there can be no question, is the sign of speaking “with other tongues, as the Spirit (gives) .. utterance” (Acts 2 : 4).” 

    W.A.C Rowe ‘One Lord, One Faith’

    While we do not assert that a person may not receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit without the initial sign of speaking with other tongues; yet we steadfastly maintain that no one can testify with Scriptural certainty that they have received the Spirit in this manner unless they can say they have spoken with “other tongues.” Of course we realise that there are other signs of the Spirit-filled life such as, say, the Fruit of the Spirit may be termed signs or indications of the Spirit’s abiding within. But there is but one positive, Scriptural, initial sign “speaking with other tongues” as the Spirit gives utterance.

    W.A.C Rowe ‘One Lord, One Faith’

    Undoubtedly it is true that there is a possibility for you to have real fullness of the Holy Ghost, and that fullness not rightly directed to the utterance of tongues … it has not come

    out in tongues, but the fullness has come in … Our teaching is that they should expect speaking in tongues, but the Holy Ghost may work in another way. 

    Quoted by Jonathan Black in Apostolic Theology  

    “We believe that evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is that the Spirit speaks through us in an uknown tongue.”

    Pastor Joshua McCabe, Australia Riches of Grace 1955. 

    We cannot fail to be impressed that at the day of Pentecost “they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2: 4). Practically every recorded instance of the Holy Spirit Baptism in the New Testament is accompanied by this sign…The inevitable conclusion, therefore, is that practically every recorded instance of the Holy Ghost Baptism in the New Testament was accompanied by this sign. Christ declared in His Commission (Mark 16: 15-20), which embraces the whole Gospel dispensation, that one of the signs that would follow true faith would be.” they shall speak with new tongues “. (v. 17) Hence we are scriptural in contending that one of the evidences of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is ” speaking in an unknown tongue.”

    Pastor W.H. Lewis,  Riches of Grace 1955

    THE SIGN OF RECEIVING THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

    So tremendous on the day of Pentecost was the impact of the Spirit of God upon the spirit of man that even his speech was changed. Men spake as they never spoke before, for the simple reason that the Holy Spirit gave them utterance. Men found themselves with a power to speak with other and unknown tongues.

    This is the Scriptural pattern for believers receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit for the whole Church age…. So when we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit we shall also speak with tongues.” 

    T.N Turnbull, What God has Wrought

    Dealing with Pride

    “To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.”
    ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭8‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

    Pride and arrogance is a mark of the sinful nature. At times it’s obvious, at other times it’s subtle. There is a danger that we manage it by masking it rather than crucifying it. Masking pride does not work, it will always leak out. The only solution for pride is to crucify it.

    Repentance is the only response to the green shoots of pride that spring up in our minds and hearts. Don’t nurture those shoots. Don’t entertain them. Don’t agree with them. Pride will whisper in your ear: You’re really strong at X” At that point of you take encouragement from that prideful thought, the green shoot will soon become a green house of all sorts of boastful weeds.

    The cross is the mirror we must constantly gaze upon. Anything good that springs from us is heaven born. A gift from above. At best we thank God and glorify him for any strength, goodness or power that manifests in our life.

    The Lord hates pride and arrogance.

    The Offence of Revival

    “a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked.”

    ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

    Note in this version all the disciples (not just Judas) are offended at this extravagant action. All the disciples were indignant (angered, outraged, or annoyed by something they perceive as unjust, unfair, or wrong). Pure offerings are often misunderstood. When individuals really get something from God, it often shows up the status quo. Rather than rejoicing at this move of the Spirit, the “church” is indignant. Revival is rarely welcome. Even amongst many of us who say we want it there is always the possibility when it comes that it will offend us because of who it comes through and the way it comes. Lord, let us not be indignant at the ways you work and the people you choose to use. 

    Reflections on Ordination as an Evangelist

    Today I was ordained as an Evangelist in the ACUK. I’ve served as a pastor with the denomination since September 2020 when I began the work of pioneering a new church plant. We began pioneering in January 2020 and transitioned the church in 2026.

    Today two others were also being ordained (David Mitchell as a Teacher and Kenneth Matheson also as an Evangelist) and it was great to be joined by the Irish Apostolic Leaders. There was some amazing ministry from Phelim Doherty, Tom Workman and Paul Carley. As always there was also some significant prophetic ministry.

    As I prepared my spirit for the ordination service today, I have been reflecting on what this means for me in this season. What does it mean at this stage in my life to be set apart as an evangelist?

    To be honest, that question would have been easier for me to answer 25 years ago.

    25 years ago, I’d say the evangelist calling burned in me with a greater intensity.

    I’d weep for the lost
    I’d pray for the lost
    I’d hand write tracts for the lost (This was before I knew how to work a computer!)
    I’d sit in shop front doors with homeless people to find the lost
    I’d knock on doors to give invitations to the lost
    I’d speak with the lost at bus stops, train stations and city centres.

    I can’t honestly say that’s true today.

    Some days (many days?) I don’t even think about the lost.

    That said, although 25 years ago, the evangelistic anointing burned in me with a greater intensity, I’d say today it flows in me with a greater maturity. The fire is still there, but there is a steadiness.

    In the early years of my conversion, a local church leader (the late Maurice Howson) said “John you have a rare and special gift of evangelism, don’t lose it.”

    At the time I thought that was impossible.

    Yet there have been seasons where the gift has lain dormant.

    Some of this has been a season of pruning, where the Lord had to separate the gifting from my identity. As a young Christian I got to the stage where the lines between gifting and identity became too blurry.

    Gifts are great, but when they become our identity they actually become idolatry.

    I like the fact that in the ACUK we have the word Ascension before we have the word Ministry when we talk about the 5 fold giftings. That should keep the focus right. It’s more about the ascended Christ and the wellbeing of the church than it is about the individuals who are the gifts to the church: — the gifts are just the asses that carry Jesus.

    D.P Williams, the founder of the Apostolic Church, said:

    “The Evangelist … has liberty to break up new ground, to open new doors, pioneering in front of the apostles and prophets, who follow him to establish churches and set them in order.”
    (D.P. Williams, The Work of the Evangelist, p.14)

    In many ways this is what has happened in Stirling. Laura and I planted an ACUK church in Stirling, and an Apostle has come in behind us to establish further that which has established.

    I’m also conscious that in this season, whilst my full time ministry in the prison as a chaplain has all the demands of a pastor, there is also a sense in which there is a fresh manifestation of the gift of evangelism in my life.

    I also believe today is a fulfilment of a prophetic dream I had several years ago where I saw apostolic leaders laying hands on me and setting me apart as an evangelist. It wasn’t something I was looking for, but the dream was so vivid that I felt it to be prophetic.

    I’m also conscious that I don’t fit into a stereotypical evangelist box. There is a nuance and a diversity of gifts that God has given me. I have an evangelistic calling, but it’s not the only lane I move in.

    Whilst I don’t believe the evangelist is the only tool in the box God has given me, it is a significant tool. It’s not the only arrow in the quiver. Yet in the timing of God, he is releasing the arrow of the evangelist for this season and it was an honour for that to be recognised today.

    A highlight for me was having pastor Peter Vincent and his wife Elizabeth at the ordination. He prayed for all three of us and shared a word from a book I released a few years ago (Vision from the Valleys).

    Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.” Numbers 13:30 (NASB)

    “I desire Calebs and Joshuas again! “Men of another Spirit.” For there are too many who are dying in the wilderness. There are too many who are lagging behind, who have fear in their hearts. I desire you to be like Caleb and Joshua.  Men of a different spirit, men of faith, men who have the courage to go in and possess the land. I will give you this courage, this faith. For I have spoken on the great things I have done. What did I do through Samson? One man slew a thousand. What did I do through David? I overcame the giant. The great things I have done in the past, I am able to do again. I am still the same as I was in the early days of the church. You have read in the Acts of the apostles what I have done through my apostles and prophets. Do you believe I can do the same today?”  (T. Napier Turnbull)

    That word came with a real power. May God find us to have a different spirit. May we live for the pleasure of God alone, and May we run and finish the race well.