From Drug Addiction to Revival Fire: My 50-Year Journey of Freedom, Outpouring, and California Transformation
I’m grateful you’re here—and I want to share my story, my convictions about what historic revival really is, and why I believe we’re standing in a rare, urgent moment for the Church, for California, and for the next generation.
A lot of you haven’t heard me speak before, so here’s the good news: I can tell my old jokes and they’ll be brand new to you.
But what I’m about to share isn’t a joke. It’s my life. And it’s a message I believe God is pressing on His people right now: revival and reformation belong together—and we must be willing to pay the price.
Honoring My Spiritual Fathers and the Significance of This Season
This year has been deeply significant for me.
On January 8, my spiritual father Jack Hayford went home to be with Jesus at 88 years old. I don’t take that lightly. Eight is the number of new beginnings—and it wasn’t 87, it wasn’t 89, it was 88. I’ve learned to pay attention when God repeats patterns and numbers like that.
I’ve had two major spiritual fathers in my life—C. Peter Wagner, who passed in 2016, and Jack Hayford. Peter was a professor at Fuller Seminary, and I got to know him when I enrolled in 1984.
But I’ll be honest: the decade from 1984 to 1994 was a very hard season for me. God had promised revival, but for years I felt like I was praying and not seeing results. Looking back, I see it as the breaking and shaping of a man of God.
How Jesus Found Me: The Deep Purple Concert That Changed Everything
This is my Jubilee year. I got saved May 25th, 1973.
And yes—it’s true:
I walked out of a Deep Purple concert to follow Jesus Christ.
Two weeks before that concert, I had an encounter with God that I didn’t have language for at the time. Here’s the wild part: I wasn’t searching for Jesus.
I was searching everywhere else.
I was deep into Eastern religion. I was a drug addict and a drug pusher. I started taking drugs at 15—cocaine, heroin, LSD—every hard drug I could get my hands on. I was trying to find God through counterfeit spirituality.
And here’s the irony:
My dad was the first Korean Southern Baptist pastor in North America (1958). That opened the door for our immigration. I came to the U.S. at age five in 1960. I grew up in church—and I hated it. I was bored, rebellious, and out of control.
My mom used to tell me she had a dream while pregnant with me that I would become a pastor. I would tell her, “No way.” I wanted nothing to do with it.
But my parents prayed. My grandparents prayed. And if your grandmother is praying for you… you don’t have a chance. You’re going to get saved.
That’s what happened to me.
The Night I Heard God’s Voice and Got Instantly Delivered
Two weeks after that encounter in my room—where I felt God’s love come over me and couldn’t stop weeping—I went to that Deep Purple concert still trying to negotiate with God.
I was literally making deals:
“God, I won’t sell drugs, but can I still smoke pot?”
Then:
“Is it okay to sleep with someone as long as I care about them?”
I convinced myself I could follow God and still party.
During intermission, two men sat next to me. Before I could even speak, one of them looked at me and said:
“You think you’re right with God, but you’re not. You’re going to have to show God you’re serious.”
This wasn’t a Christian concert. This was Deep Purple—heavy metal—15,000 people in the Baltimore Civic Center.
To this day, I don’t know if those were radical believers with a word of knowledge or two angels.
But right after that, I heard the voice of God for the first time in my life:
“If you really want to follow me, throw away your drugs. Leave this concert and follow me.”
I had drugs on me. I had marijuana. I threw it down. I fought through a sea of people rushing toward the stage and walked out.
And when I walked out, I was instantly delivered from drug addiction—no hyperbole, no exaggeration.
I’ve been free for 50 years.
Never went back. Never “tested” it again. Nothing.
God set me free.
Why I Believe We’re in a Haggai 2 Moment of Revival Glory
I wrote a book called Turning Our Nation Back to God, and I’ve been sharing principles I believe are rooted in Scripture—not just personal prophetic experiences.
I believe we’re in a Haggai 2:7–9 moment—where God shakes nations and fills His house with greater glory.
And I’ve learned something:
You can live in personal revival—loving Jesus, staying consecrated, taking up your cross daily.
But historic, corporate revival is different.
There are moments when God’s glory comes upon a church, a city, a territory—so powerfully that even people who weren’t looking for God come under conviction.
That’s what I believe God wants for our nation.
The Bible says, “In the last days, I’ll pour out my Spirit upon all flesh.”
We’re in a kairos moment—God’s timetable, not ours.
The 3 Marks of Historic Revival That Every Church Must Understand
People throw around the word “revival,” but historic revival has recognizable fruit.
Here are the three characteristics I shared:
1) Revival Hits the Church First
It begins with the house of God—not unbelievers.
“Judgment begins with the house of the Lord.” (1 Peter 4:17)
“If my people… will humble themselves… pray… turn…” (2 Chronicles 7:14)
Not the White House. Not Congress. God starts with His people.
It requires humility, repentance, and returning to first love.
2) The Harvest Comes In
In true revival, people get saved in significant numbers.
That’s why the Jesus People Movement marked me so deeply. Historians estimate millions of young people turned to Jesus globally during that era. I watched a small Bible study explode into thousands.
I expected that kind of harvest when I moved to California in 1984—because God gave me a dream and a call that there would be a great harvest in Los Angeles.
But when I arrived… nothing happened.
We had 20 people after a year—and that included my kids.
3) Society Gets Transformed
Every historic revival produces societal change.
The Great Awakening helped prepare the ground for major reforms, including the shaping of freedom in the American story. Transformation is what happens when revival moves from the church into the culture.
That’s why I always say:
Revival and reformation go together.
The Prophetic Turn Back to California—and Why I Sued Governor Newsom
In 2018, a respected leader came to me with a personal word:
“Turn your heart back to California.”
Then in January 2019, my son stepped down as senior pastor—not for moral failure, but to focus on family. I returned to the role.
Then the pandemic hit.
And God focused my attention on California like never before.
I heard the Lord say clearly:
“Sue Governor Newsom for locking down the church. He’s violating First Amendment rights. Take a stand.”
So we did.
We sued Governor Newsom, went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court—and we won.
That wasn’t about politics for me. It was about freedom of religion in California and the government interfering with the free exercise of faith.
When the state tells the church: “No singing. No chanting.”
That’s micromanaging worship.
And we said: no.
What I Saw at the Asbury Revival: Humility, Hunger, Tears, and Mercy
When I went to Asbury, what struck me wasn’t hype.
It was the opposite.
I saw:
- Weeping
- Repentance
- Humility
- Deep hunger for righteousness
I stood in line three and a half hours in freezing weather. People were soaked in rain one day, bitter cold the next—and no one left. They were hungry for God.
And what stunned me:
Gen Z was leading it.
They honored young people so intentionally that testimonies were primarily from those 25 and under—and many shared being delivered from pornography, addiction, and bondage.
And I believe God is showing mercy to an anxious, fearful, depressed generation by releasing something they desperately need:
peace.
The Beatitudes: A Blueprint for Revival and Reformation
At Asbury, people kept saying, “This feels like the Sermon on the Mount.”
And I agree. The Beatitudes describe the heart posture God blesses—the kind of people God entrusts with awakening.
- Poor in spirit
- Those who mourn
- The meek
- Those hungry for righteousness
- The merciful
- The pure in heart
- The peacemakers
- Those willing to endure persecution
And then Jesus says:
You are the salt of the earth.
You are the light of the world.
That’s revival (salt—bringing life), and reformation (light—transforming what’s dark).
It starts in your home. Then it moves outward—into cities, systems, and culture.
The Harvest Is Among the Poor—and Transformation Comes Through Influence
My mentor Peter Wagner used to say:
“The harvest is among the poor, but transformation happens through kings.”
The poor are often the most open—because they know they need help.
But reformation spreads through people of influence—leaders on every “mountain” of society—who carry the presence of God into the places where decisions are made.
That’s how transformation happens.
Why Every Revival Faces Persecution (Even From Other Believers)
One hard lesson from church history:
The previous revival often persecutes the next revival.
It happened in the charismatic renewal. It happened with the Toronto Blessing. It happens again and again.
But Jesus told us to expect it:
If they hated Him, they’ll hate us.
Our response must be unity, humility, and courage.
My Closing Commitment: “Lord, Whatever It Takes”
At the end, I asked a question I’m still asking myself:
What price am I willing to pay to see historic revival?
I made a commitment:
“Lord, whatever it takes to see revival, I’m willing to pay that price. Whatever it costs me personally, I’m willing.”
I believe we’re in a Joshua 3:5 moment:
“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”
That’s where we are.
A Call to Evangelists: Take the Gospel Outside the Four Walls
Before we ended, I specifically prayed for those who feel called as evangelists—because this is harvest time.
Jesus never intended us to fulfill the Great Commission in our own strength.
“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.” (Zechariah 4:6)
“You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” (Acts 1:8)
His presence goes with you.
And I believe God is raising up men and women right now who will lead the way—carrying the gospel of the kingdom with power, love, and boldness.
Because California doesn’t just need better policies.
California needs an outpouring.
And I believe it’s closer than we think.