Once Bitten
The wise old saying goes, once bitten twice shy.
But we’ve been bitten in such a way that we’d queue up to get bitten again! What am I talking about? Why, the presence of God! That’s what!
Back in May/ June 2008, I was blessed to spend a few days in Florida at the outpouring at Lakeland.
I’d experienced this presence before, but never as powerfully as in those tent meetings in Lakeland.
Oh, say what you like about the eventual outcome, but this outpouring was anointed. The presence of God was tangible.
We’d worship together for two hours before anyone preached, and then the miracles started!
It left us excited and absolutely couldn’t wait for the next meeting to begin so we could get back into His presence.
Truth was that we carried His presence the whole time so, actually, we were never out of it. All we ever wanted afterwards was to find it again.
You see — once bitten, want to be bitten again — and again — and again!
Well, it happened again in 2018, and a bit nearer home than Florida too. The Bless Wales conference in Swansea began as it was to carry on — deep in the presence of God!
We came away all excited — and once again never wanting to leave His presence!
It seemed appropriate that, just maybe, a sneak preview of that which is to come in the coming revival was to be shown to the world in Swansea, home of Rees Howell’s Bible College of Wales where, decades earlier, a national well of prayer and revival was established within a few miles of the seat of the 1904-6 Welsh Revival.
So, what now?
I believe that Revival is coming very soon — it’s already started.
We’ve been privileged to experience it once again in our meetings recently, and we know we’re not alone in that experience.
That 2018 Bless Wales event laid the perfect foundation for us to heed the words of The LORD through the headline speaker Dutch Sheets.
— We need to lay hold of it, with both hands, and wrestle as did Jacob who wrestled with God, refusing to let go, until God blessed him and granted his request.
— If we want revival, we too must seize it and not let go until we have it.
We need to worship and pray until the Glory, the Presence of God, falls in our meetings and stays with us!
The glory will only fall where the desperation is, where the welcome is, and where the price is willing to be paid!
The Glory will only remain —
— where we continue to pay the price of obedience to the will of Holy Spirit,
— where we steward that presence well enough to make a habitation for The LORD Himself to reside!
The Glory will dwell in one place but not in the place next door. Why?
Because one will pay the price while the other will try to compromise — and God will not compromise for one second!
Stark warning? Certainly.
Worth the cost? Entirely our choice.
Hard choice? The hardest and yet the easiest we’ve ever had to make!
AMEN???
The voice of The LORD is still echoing in my spirit
~ Chris G. Bennett
Chris Bennett came to salvation in 1962 but didn’t begin ministry until 2007 — a late-comer! Now mandated by The LORD to prophesy and open old wells of revival in the U.K., but especially in Wales. He has also operated Healing Rooms, and worked with deliverance teams, all with his wife, Linda. Happily now doing whatever The LORD asks of them! Founder, with wife Linda, of their ministry The Upper Room Encounter.
Thank God Hallelujah
THAT’S AWESOME
I too was in Lakeland, in May of 2008 (on my 40th birthday exactly). It was the first time I experienced the presence of the Lord over an entire town. Driving in from Tampa I felt it when we crossed the line into Lakeland. We had come under the canopy of glory. When we left a few days later, I could tell we drove out of the glory as well. I had been part of the Toronto Blessing as well and that changed our lives forever. But Lakeland had its own unique glory that descended on it. Thanks for your words, Chris. I always look for them. My wife and I are team leaders in a small (currently) revival centre/glory hub in Ontario, Canada. I have been a student of and an experiencer of revival for years now. I recently found out that my grandfather was Welsh! Anyway, thank you for your faithful words!
Hi Scott,
We may have been there at the same time. I was there 29May til 2June. I even got onto the platform with Todd Bentley. The presence was tangible only marred by crowd behaviour which was close to a riot one day. But the anointing was amazing. Thanks for your wonderful encouragement- much appreciated
God bless you
Chris
When the Glory falls … may it remain.
Absolutely! All above is a wonderful word.
I’m hungry… so much good meat to chew on but may I pull out “— If we want revival, we too must seize it and not let go until we have it.”
Seizing and believing, we must be willing to pay the cost God bless, Joyce M
praise God amen