John Arnott: Living in Revival
John Arnott, “Living in Revival,” Spread the Fire (Issue 5, 2001), pages 6-9.
John Arnott, pastor of the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, describes in this article the characteristics of the “Toronto Revival” and what effect he says this move of the Holy Spirit should have on believers in the future.
One of the common questions Arnott tries to tackle is whether TACF is in revival or renewal. He himself uses the terms interchangeably. He believes people see a difference between the two because they are mistakenly viewing the present outpouring through the lens of past revivals. He believes every revival has a different face and emphasis. The Toronto outpouring “is primarily about restoring the intimate love with the Father and drawing the Bride of Christ into a sanctifying love relationship with her heavenly Bridegroom” (p. 8).
The Toronto Revival is still meeting six nights a week and they are seeing an increase of physical healings which Arnott says is leading to an increase in conversions. In the future Arnott plans to help strengthen local churches that have “been faithfully flowing in the River and have grasped the essential truth of the Father’s heart.” That is, those already part of God’s work to heal the sick, save the lost, and set captives free.
John Arnott
Arnott says, “Revival is not just a phenomenon to be theologically dissected. Too often we analyze revivals of the past in the hope of isolating and identifying their principles so we can reproduce them elsewhere through our own efforts. What we really need to do is welcome a visitation of the Holy Spirit by catching its fire ourselves.”
This article stands to be a much better introduction to the “Toronto Revival” than many of the second and third hand sources available.
Reviewed by Mike Dies
Read the full issue of Spread the Fire (available as of August 11, 2014): www.home.zonnet.nl/piet-dineke/downloads/What%20is%20Revival.pdf
Category: Living the Faith, Spring 2002
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