In the past two weeks, our nation and other nations throughout the world have been exposed to a new headline in the news and maybe even in their newspapers. For sure, it has been a topic on the internet. What am I referring too?
I am referring to what took place at Asbury College on February 8, 2023.
What did take place? It appears that the operative word is ‘revival’. The word itself elicits many divergent and interesting thoughts. Those thoughts go back through Church history and have been written about by many authors, theologians and history buffs throughout the years. Some of writer’s thoughts rejoice in what took place; and some of the writer’s thoughts rebuke and question what took place.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, I am none of those; but I would like to share with you some thoughts about what has taken place. I have not been there. I have watched some reporting of what has taken place; and I have seen a few interviews with people who have shared their insights and perspectives.
What is the purpose of ‘revival’? Ultimately, the purpose lies in the heart and mind of God. As I have heard others share, the concern they have is, will there be the fruit of the revival lived out in changed lives? Lives that will seek to live and serve the Lord obediently obeying His Word, and fulfilling the life that the Lord has chosen for them to live.
The foundation for ‘revival’ is Christ. He is the “Chief Cornerstone”, Isaiah 28:16 (TLV), “Therefore thus says Adonai Elohim (The Lord God): Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone, a firm foundation–whoever trusts will not flee in haste.” To this I would add, Paul’s words written in I Corinthians 2:2 (TLV), “For I decided not to know about anything among you except Yeshua the Messiah–an Him crucified.”
Prior to those words, Paul had written to the Corinthian Church, the following:
I Corinthians 1:22-24 (TLV) says, “For Jewish people ask for signs and Greek people seek after wisdom, but we proclaim Messiah crucified–a stumbling block to the Jewish people and foolishness to Gentile people, but to those who are called (both Jewish and Greek people), Messiah, the power of God and the wisdom of God.” Is it possible that some people will stumble over what is taking place and perceive it as foolishness? Unfortunately, yes.
Peter and John standing before the Sanhedrin, having been arrested for proclaiming that Jesus had been resurrected from the dead (Acts 4:2) were asked “By what power or in what name do you do this?” Peter answered.
There may be some who make the same assertion about what they are watching taking place.
Acts 4:8-12, (TLV):
“Then Peter, filled with the the Ruach ha-Kodesh, (Holy Spirit) said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a mitzvah (commandment) done for a sick man, as to how this fellow was healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Yeshua ha-Mashiach ha-Natzati (Jesus Christ of Nazareth)–whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead–this one stands before you whole This Yeshua is the stone–rejected by you, the builders–that has become the cornerstone. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” ” (inserts mine)
This is the foundation of the ministry of the Church. Paul writing to the Church in Ephesus says in Ephesians 2:18-22 (TLV):
“…for through Him we both have access to the Father by the same Rauch (Spirit). So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household. You have been built on the foundation made up of the emissaries (Apostles) and prophets, with Messiah Yeshua Himself being the cornerstone. In Him the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple for the Lord. In Him, you also are being built together into God’s dwelling place in the Rauch (Spirit).” (inserts mine)
This is the foundation of the work being done in the lives of the students (and others) at Asbury College. Some call it revival. Some call it a visitation. Some may call it God’s Intervention. Others believe that it is the Third Awakening taking place in our nation. One headline I saw today on Google said, Asbury Revival, a ‘Spontaneous Outpouring’. What ever you call it, the fact is that it has happened.
Did you know that this is not the first time an outpouring like this has happened at Asbury College. The first outpouring was in 1905, then 1908, 1921, 1950, 1958, 1970, 1992, and 2006. 2023 is the 9th time this has occurred at Asbury College. Interestingly, most have occurred in the month of February.
I submit that the foundation of any true ‘revival’ must be upon Christ, Who is the chief-cornerstone, and the message of the gospel, which is grounded solely in ‘Christ Crucified’. Any other motivation or foundation is suspect. It must be focused on the Lord.
From what I have heard and read, the focus is on Christ.
Having made that statement, is it possible for God to work in the hearts of a people apart from what I just stated? I said that my previous statement is based upon God coming to His people to do a work in their lives; to turn them away from their sins; to have them repent; and to be free from the bondages that have caused them to be incarcerated by sin; and to restore them to a right relationship with Him that would lead to a deeper fellowship with Him on a daily basis. That is what is on the heart and mind of God for His people.
To answer the question, I raised, I would have you consider the city of Nineveh that responded to God’s Word through His prophet, Jonah. Nineveh was not God’s people Israel; but they responded to God’s Word. They fasted, prayed, and repented, and God relented destroying the city at that time.
Jonah 3:7-9 (TLV), says, ” “He(king of Nineveh)made a proclamation saying: “In Nineveh, by the decree of the king and his nobles, no man or beast, herd or flock, may taste anything. They must not graze nor drink water. But cover man and beast with sackcloth. Let them cry out to God with urgency. Let each one turn from his evil way and from the violence in his hands. Who know, maybe God may turn and relent, and turn back from his burning anger, so that we may not perish.” “
What did God do? Jonah 3:10, ( TLV) “When God saw their deeds–that they turned from their wicked ways–He relented from the calamity that He said He would do to them, and did not do it.”
Question: Did Nineveh experience a ‘revival’? I guess it depends on our definition of revival. But we cannot excuse the fact that God did a mighty work in their midst.
Returning to my thoughts to Asbury College, God has not come to Asbury College with the purpose to judge them as He did sending His prophet telling them to repent or else judgement would happen.
Then what took place?
Consider this thought, fallow ground is being broken up. What does that mean? Picture with me a generation of young people who are barren in their spiritual understanding, dry, parched, and weary with religion and the troubles that are faced daily in the world. They may appear to be happy and satisfied on the outside, but inwardly they are unhappy, sad, and without hope. Mentally, they may be exhausted from the daily rhetoric that they are bombarded with in the media, especially social media. They are pressed down in their minds. They are not living in freedom within themselves. They are discouraged, depressed, and in despair.
Fallow ground is a piece of land that has been left unattended, intentionally or unintentionally. It has become hard, maybe even cracked, and appears to be totally barren. I suggest that the student’s hearts are fallow ground that they, themselves, have left unattended intentionally, or unintentionally.
In the Old Testament, the prophet Hosea was used by the Lord to confront His people, Israel, with their sin. The Lord was stern with His people through the prophet; but the Lord did not leave them without hope. Why? Because God loves His people. He is in covenant love with them.
In the opening section of the Book of Hosea, of the THE SPIRIT FILLED LIFE BIBLE , the following is written describing the conditions in the nation of Israel at the time of the prophet Hosea. (Please bear with me.)
“The Book of Hosea is about a people who need to hear the love of God, a God who wants to tell them He loves them, and the unique way God chooses to demonstrate His love to His people. (Do you see the similarity of this what is took place at Asbury College?) The people think that love can be bought…that love is the pursuit of self-gratification…and that loving unworthy objects can bring positive benefits. ( Ring any bells in our culture?) God wants Israel (His people) to know His love, which reaches out for unlikely and unworthy objects (we are all unworthy) … which guides with gentle discipline, and which persists in spite of the peoples’ running and resisting (Any parallels come to mind?) The problem is how to get God’s message of love to a people not inclined to listen, and not inclined to understand if they do listen. ( I cannot comment on whether or not the students at Asbury College fit into what was just said about God’s people; however, it would not surprise if some did?)
On Wednesday, February 8, 2023, the chapel message was about God’s love. The challenge was to learn to love as God loved. A number of students stayed to seek the Lord. Another person followed up the chapel speaker continuing to discuss God’s love. In that atmosphere God came, and His Presence was ‘felt’, ‘experienced’, and ‘overwhelmed’ the students, however, you choose to describe it. God was there by His Holy Spirit, and lives were changed; sin was confessed; weeping occurred; and the students embraced the Presence of God, and God the Father embraced the students in His Love.
Returning to Hosea, in the context of Hosea 10:12, God has been speaking to His people about their sin. Hosea 10:12 (TLV), says, “Sow to yourselves righteousness. Reap in accord with covenant love. Break up your unplowed ground. For it is time to seek Adonai, until He come and showers righteousness on you.”
Let me review and then proceed. As in Hosea, God has not given up on this generation of young people. In the chapel service, God spoke to the students through His Word. The Spirit of God moved upon the hearts of the students. The students took what was being said to ‘heart’ and acted upon it. The students did not understand that their hearts and lives were fallow ground. God’s Word, ministered to the students; the Holy Spirit stepped in and began to move in their midst. The Lord, by His Spirit, visited the lives of the students individually. The students responded with worship-they prayed and praised the Lord. By doing this, unbeknownst to the them they were beginning to break up their fallow ground, the fallow ground of their hearts.
A few days ago, I was reminded of these words spoken by Rev. Paul Schoch (1916-2009). “Praise is the plough that prepares the heart for the planting of the promises.” I shared this with my wife Christine. She remembered them too. And then she said, “This is what is happening at Asbury.” Yes! I saw it. And now I am sharing with you what I believe is part of the truth of the visitation of God at Asbury College.
The students, who stayed after the Chapel service, entered into a time of ploughing their hearts that had become fallow ground for whatever reasons. Their worship of prayer and praise broke up the hardness of the surface of their hearts; as they continued to worship, their prayer and praise began to turn over the earth beneath the surface; a softening of their hearts took place and they were ministered to by the Lord. The Word tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people. (Psalm 22:3)
What began as a regular chapel service at Asbury College on Wednesday, February 8, 2023, exploded into a mighty outpouring of God’s love, Presence, and working in the hearts of all those who sought the Lord.
2 Corinthians 3:17, 18 (TLV) : “Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Rauch (Spirit) Adonai is, there is freedom. But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord , are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory–just as from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (insert mine)
These students are being set free from the bondages that have shackled their lives. They have thrown off “every weight and entangling sin” (Hebrews 12:1 (TLV), that has burdened them down. Now they can as Hebrews tells us, “Let us run with endurance the race set before us, focusing on Yeshua, the initiator and perfecter of faith.” (Hebrews 12:1-2 TLV)
However you want to describe what took place beginning on February 8 at Asbury College, one thing is for certain. God came into their midst. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They were all there.
The students responded, they prayed and praised, the Holy Spirit ploughed the fallow ground, the student’s hearts were prepared for the planting of the promises of God into their lives, and the Lord ministered freedom to the students.
Galatians 5:1 (TLV) says, “For freedom, Messiah set us free–so stand firm, and do not be burdened by a yoke of slavery again.”
So, I would say to the students, Stand firm, and don’t go back to your former lifestyle.
The blessing is, as I have heard others say, you do not personally have to go to Asbury College to be ministered to by the Lord. Seek the Lord where you are, call upon His Name, break up your fallow ground, begin with prayer and praise. The same Godhead Who visited Asbury College will visit you when you seek Him with all your heart.
It is time to seek the Lord, pray for those at Asbury that they will continue on with the Lord.
Let us go forth, a brother in Christ, deo
Living Words of Encouragement 