Redigging the Well of Revival

                                                         Reopening the Wells of the Fathers
                                                                           Genesis 26:18
18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.
Abraham, after wandering here and there, lived in Beersheba where he made an altar and called upon the name of the LORD.
Genesis 21:33
33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the LORD, the Eternal God.
Sometime after Abraham’s death, Isaac also wandered here and there, and in Genesis 26, Isaac moves to the land of Philistines, because there was a famine in the land.
Genesis 26:1
26:1 Now there was a famine in the land—besides the earlier famine of Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines in Gerar.
Unknown to Isaac, where he moved to, the land of Philistines called Gerar, was the promise land God had sworn to Abraham, and as Isaac moves back to Gerar, God appears to Isaac and renews His covenant promise with Isaac.
Genesis 26:2-3
2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.
 Now, how many of you know that God knows how to bring us into His promise land?
 Sometimes the way we enter into the promise land is not necessarily the way we want, but God will always take you to the land to which God has promised you, your inheritance.
Psalm 23:3
3 …He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
So, because of the promise given to Isaac by the LORD, Isaac settled down and worked the land, and became prosperous according to the promise of God.
Genesis 26:12-13
12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the LORD blessed him. 13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.
Because of the prosperity God has given to Isaac, the Philistines envied him and opposed him by stopping up all the wells Isaac was using…such that Isaac could not get water easily, forcing Isaac out of the land.
Genesis 26:14-15
14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. 15 So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.

 Now, how many of you know that when you start to get comfortable and prosperous in the land, the enemy will try to force you out of the land.
o I would like to point out that the wells the Philistines stopped up, filling with earth, were dug by Abraham, not Philistines; so Philistines had no right to stop the flow of water, let alone fill them with earth.
o The same thing happened at the time of Abraham. As Abraham prospered in the promise land, the Philistines came and asked Abraham to move away from their land. Thereupon, right after Abraham’s death, the Philistines stopped up all the wells Abraham dug, filling them with earth, so Isaac could not even find out where Abraham’s wells were.
o I was wondering why Isaac had to wander here and there when Abraham was so well established and was the most powerful prince in the land. The reason is that Philistines stopped up all the wells Abraham dug, filling them with earth, so that Isaac could not get water in the land.
 Now, at that time, because the land was vast, but the land was arid and barren except where the water was, whoever dug a well of freshwater had the rights to the land to settle.
 Abraham, in his lifetime, dug several wells, and because of God’s favor in giving him abundant water, he prospered and became very wealthy.
 However after Abraham’s death, Philistines were no longer afraid of Abraham, thus, stopped up all the wells, forcing Isaac to wander the land.
 I suppose Isaac could have had a war with Philistines, but he chose not to have a war, because he honored the covenant Abraham had made with the Philistines.
Genesis 21:22-23
22 At that time Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his forces said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do. 23 Now swear to me here before God that you will not deal falsely with me or my children or my descendants.”
 However, after many years of wandering, because of famine, Isaac was forced to go back to the land in which he grew up, to the promised land given to Abraham.
o Because Isaac was forced to leave the land of Philistines when he was younger, he was afraid to get back to the land, so he was seriously going down to Egypt.
o However, as we read earlier, the LORD appeared to Isaac and told him not to go down to Egypt, but to stay in the land of Philistines…because God wanted to give the very land to Isaac.
Genesis 26:2-3
2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. 3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham.
o Thankfully, by this time, I believe the Philistines had a new ruler, and Isaac was allowed to live in the land.
o This new Philistine ruler makes the same mistake his father or grandfather had made against Abraham, desiring Isaac’s wife, Rebekah. However, because of God’s grace, the ruler finds out that Rebekah was really Isaac’s wife and therefore leaves them in peace…until once again when Isaac became very prosperous as read earlier.

 So, the Philistines force Isaac to leave Gerar, where Isaac was living; now, Gerar was located near the Philistine city.
Genesis 26:16-17
16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.” 17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there.
 From Gerar, Isaac moves to the Valley of Gerar and settled there. I believe Isaac did not move too far from Philistines because he knew where the water wells were – because Abraham had dug them when Isaac was younger.
 So, not having a freshwater well, Isaac starts to reopen the wells his father Abraham dug, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died to force out Isaac away from the land.
Genesis 26:18
18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.
Since I have set up the story, I now want to take a few minutes to bring up a spiritual principle.
 In the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, a well of freshwater was a place of life and blessing. Because the land was vast, arid and dry, finding a well was a very difficult task, so the people had to dig here and dig there led by the spirits whom they worshipped. So, for Abraham, he dug here and there with a great deal of prayers and leading of the Holy Spirit, and every time he dug a freshwater well, he thanked God because a freshwater well meant refreshing and prosperity.
 So, in a spiritual sense, each of Abraham’s well is a type of a revival of the past:
o One may be a type of healing revival – such as that of John G. Lake’s healing room revival, that of Oral Robert’s healing revival, or that of Katherine Kuhlman;
o One may be a type of Jesus Movement revival – such as Student Missions Movement of John R. Mott or that of Calvary Chapel revival;
o One may be a type of Charismatic revival – such as the Azusa Street Revival, the Latter Rain Movement, or John Wimber ’s Anaheim revival;
o One may be a type of prophetic revival – such as the Prophets of Kansas City Vineyard or the prophets of Christian International;
o One may be a type of Father’s love revival – such as the Toronto Airport Revival or the Renewal of Harvest Rock Church and elsewhere;
o One may be a type of holiness revival – such as the Great Awakening or the Brownsville Revival;
o One may be a type of social gospel revival to feed the poor, house the homeless, and take care of the orphans and elderly;
o And the list can go on and on…
 And, one of the sad truth about these revivals and movements is, more likely than not, when the founding fathers and mothers passed away, these revivals and movements faded away – symbolized by the freshwater well which a revival represented being stopped up and filled with earth so there is no longer a sign of the revival except in the memories of the people who lived it.

o But the good news is that, so long as there are people who have lived in it, so long as there is a record of such a revival, so long as there is a passion from those who are called by God to reopen those old wells…as Isaac was able to reopen the once stopped up and earth-filled wells to restore the flow of freshwater, we can reopen the ancient wells of revival!
o As the original wells were dug with a great deal of prayer and following the leading of the Holy Spirit, these ancient wells of great anointing and great heritage can be reopened by us…some people would call this process, Re-digging the Wells…today, I will call it Reopening of the Wells.
Are you interested in re-opening the wells of past revivals for time such as this?

Does America need a revival now?
Can you hear the call of God to reopen the ancient wells of the revival?
 In my lifetime, I know a man who spent all the years since I met him re-digging the wells of revival for a student mission movement as of John R. Mott.
 He prayed, prayed and prayed, and one day God gave him a vision to put a million Christians in the Washington Mall to fast and pray for 12 hours, a solemn assembly!
 In almost exactly 18 months from his vision, he put a half million Christians, mostly youths and young adults, fasting and praying on the Mall, birthing The Call…and now he is mobilizing the army of young Christians to continue to fast and pray for the student volunteer missions movement.
 His name is Lou Engle.
o He knew what God has called him to sow his life into, kept praying and mobilizing the students all around the world, so that the student volunteer movement will start again…sending out millions of students to evangelize the world.
o He hasn’t yet seen the fulfillment of His vision, but he is well on his way!
 So, what is the well of revival God is asking you to re-dig …that is, reopen?
o Can you believe with me that as we believe the word God has given us, pray for it, live according to it, and in His time, He will give us that revival?
 Will it be worth it?
 I believe John Wimber used to say, “when you find a move of God in your lifetime, stop everything and throw yourself into it, because it is worth it!”
Now, having said that, I would like to continue with the story of Isaac, because there is one other principle I want to share.
 As expected Isaac reopened the wells of his father Abraham, and found freshwater there.
Genesis 26:19
19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there.
 However, as soon as the freshwater started to flow and people got excited, the Philistines got nervous and upset, and started to quarrel with Isaac.
Genesis 26:20
20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him.
o The word “Esek” means quarrel.
o Whenever we hit the freshwater as we are reopening the old wells, there are often quarrels stirred up by the world and by the religious people, and we are often forced to move on from it.
Reopening the Wells of the Fathers FHM
Father’s House Ministries
FHM - 5
 Have you ever had a situation in which you have prayed for, prayed for and prayed for, and you were getting some results and you tap into the new and fresh anointing, there arose a great quarrel or a great opposition which force you to move on to another place?
 Have you ever thought that not following through the vision was because you did not have enough guts, you did not give enough efforts, or even blamed yourself or someone else that it was shut down because of your inadequacies or someone else’s fault?
 If so, wake up and smell the fresh air of the new day, because God probably wanted you to move on to another well like Isaac did.
 Let’s face it – His revival is not given to us because we have worked hard or did everything right, but because we believed and stood until His word is received and His word is fulfilled.
 Instead, Isaac moved on, and started to reopen another one of Abraham’s stopped wells.
Genesis 26:21
21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.
o Then the question is why did Isaac leave his reopened well when he had freshwater?
 Should he not have contended for even greater flow from that well?
 Of course, he should have, if he had heard God’s word that that was his mission and if God had promised him that God’s word would be fulfilled.
 As Lou Engle has done: he received God’s calling and God’s promise that he was called to the student volunteer missions movement, and God will fulfill his promise to Lou through it.
 If you haven’t heard clearly from God that it is your calling and that God is going to fulfill His promise regarding that calling, it is OK to move on to another well to start reopening it…because, there you will use everything you have learned from the first well, and gain a valuable lesson and receive an anointing only available from the second well.
 Now, as Isaac moved onto a new stopped well, he reopened it, and as he found freshwater, we would think his problem is solved, but that was not the case. When he reopened the second well, the opposition got even stronger so he had to move on again.
Genesis 26:21
21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah.
o The word “Sitnah” means hostility or accusation or oppression.
o So, the second time around, although Isaac thought it would be better, it actually got worse!
 So, once again, if you haven’t heard clearly that it is your calling and that God is going to fulfill His promise regarding that calling, it is OK to move on to another well to start reopening it…because, there you will use everything you have learned in the first and the second wells, and gain a valuable lesson and receive an anointing only the third well can provide.
 So, Isaac moves onto a third stopped well, he reopened it, and once again he found freshwater. Finally, no one quarreled with him so this well was for him for good.
Genesis 26:22
22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”
o The word “Rehoboth” means place of enlargement and flourishing.
o Praise the LORD!
o Are you at Rehoboth – a place of enlargement and flourishing?
 If so, are you satisfied with dwelling in Rehoboth?
 Rehoboth is a place given to us so that we may be refreshed, rest for awhile, renewed, and strengthen our vision God gave us – However, it is not the place of our destiny and until God given word over you is accomplished and until God given promise is fulfilled, God will move us again.
 Yes! I said that God will move us again – because God moves us from a place to a place, sometimes because of difficult immovable circumstances, such as at the first two wells for Isaac, but sometime just because there is another well which we must reopen where our destinies can be fulfilled!
 One thing noteworthy at Rehoboth is that the LORD was silent there in Rehoboth.
 Although Isaac was given instructions at the beginning of the story as he came into the land of Philistines, into Gerar, he was not told where he was to live. Isaac was told to live where God tells him to live – not where things appeared to be comfortable.
Genesis 26:2-3
2 The LORD appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live.
 Isaac was given a general whereabouts of where he was to live, but not a specific location. ..so until he was to given a word of certainty as to where he was to live, he was compelled move on and reopen one, two, three, four wells, and perhaps more!
 The bible does not tell us why Isaac moved again, away from Rehoboth, but Isaac moved again. This time to Beersheba.
Genesis 26:23
23 From there he went up to Beersheba.
o The word “Beersheba” means the well (“Beer”) of seven (“Sheba”) or the well of oath, because that is where God made an oath to Abraham and to Isaac.
o I also want to point out that Beersheba means the well of seven or the seventh well, but the number seven also may mean complete or fulfillment.
 Therefore although it is very possible that the well at Beersheba was the 7th well reopened, it could also imply that Isaac reopened the Abraham’s stopped wells until his task is complete and his work was done.

 Either way, we know that here in Beersheba, God appeared to Isaac and reaffirms His covenant with Isaac.
Genesis 26:24
24 That night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”
 So, for Isaac, he moved until he came to the place where God wanted to bring him to, and there Isaac was assured by God that was the place of his revival where his destiny is to be fulfilled, where the promise God gave him would be fulfilled.
 So, he reopened another well there, and he surely found his well of destiny.
Genesis 26:25
25 Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.
 Finally here at Beersheba, Isaac was able to build an altar for the LORD, call on the name of the LORD, pitched his tent, and dwelled there with a reopened well.
 Also, it is important to know that when we are reopening the wells on the journey to Beersheba, we are not wasting our time and effort, we are not pursuing wrong wells, we are actually on the right track – that is, we need the experiences and the anointing of each ancient well – and the only way we can get the anointing and the gifting of each well is to reopen the stopped well until the fresh anointing is released on us!
So, are you willing to spend your time and effort, with much prayer and sacrifices, to reopen a well of revival that has been stopped by the enemy?
 What did God ask you to do?
o Is it reopening an ancient well of healing revival?
o Is it reopening an ancient well of Jesus Movement?
o Is it reopening an ancient well of Charismatic revival?
o Is it reopening an ancient well of prophetic revival?
o Is it reopening an ancient well of Father’s love revival?
o Is it reopening an ancient well of holiness revival?
o Is it reopening an ancient well of revelatory teaching revival?
o Is it reopening an ancient well of social gospel revival to feed the poor, house the homeless, and take care of the orphans and elderly?
o And the list can go on and on…
 What is your place of Beersheba where you will build an altar for the LORD, call on the name of the LORD, pitched your tent and be rooted deep, and dwelled there with a reopened well?
Regards to Father’s House, I believe we have moved from the very first well we reopened (that is of prophetic anointing), the second well we reopened (that is of Father’s Love), the third well we reopened (that is of power encounters), the fourth well we reopened (that is of revelatory teaching), and we are at the fifth well we are reopening right now (that is of social gospel).

 And I have a good news for all of us – I believe we are at Rehoboth which means place of enlargement and flourishing – because the revival of social gospel resides at Rehoboth.
 So, expect and pray for the year of the LORD’s favor!
 We are to reopen the ancient well of Social Gospel for now, until He move us again – continuing to emphasize and use everything we have learned – until our vision for Father’s House is fulfilled; at least ten thousand churches and house of prayers hitched together as one to reach the unreached with social gospel of taking care of the people of the world.
 Once again, it is very important for us to know that when we are reopening different wells on the journey to Beersheba, we are not wasting our time and effort, we are not pursuing wrong wells, we are actually on the right track – that is, we need the experiences and the anointing of each ancient well – in order to reopen the well of Beersheba!
o Every experience in our lives, through God’s grace, defines us as who we are!
o Not a single event is wasted by God.
I do not know how many wells we must reopen until we come to Beersheba, but by God’s grace we will get there…because although we believe and we pour ourselves into reopening the ancient wells of revival, it is not by our works – it is because we believe, therefore, God will bring the revival!
Philippians 1:3-6
3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Now, regards to each of us, each of us also go through personal journey from Gerar, to Gerar Valley, to Esek, to Sitnah, to Rehoboth, and finally to Beersheba.
 So, where are you at now?
 Are you at Gerar – a place of fear and rejection?
 Are you at Gerar Valley – a place of change but too close to Gerar?
 Are you at Esek – a place of quarrel and dissatisfaction?
 Are you at Sitnah – a place of hostility, accusation, and oppression?
 Are you at Rehoboth – a place of enlargement and flourishing?
 I hope you are at Beersheba – a place where you are building an altar for the LORD, calling on the name of the LORD, pitching your tent and being rooted deep, and dwelling there to reopen the well of your destiny
No matter where you are, do not despair, because you will by God’s grace get to Beersheba! So, don’t give up!
 Continue to believe that you have a great part in God’s revival plans, and live accordingly – you will certainly get to Beersheba and fulfill your destiny which God has called you to.