The Asbury Revival
On February 8th, at Asbury College, a worship service began. On the date of my writing, February 20th, it is still going on. This meeting of Christians has involved praying, singing worship songs, reading Scripture, and thousands of visitors. There have been several people who have publicly repented of their sins. It has been a sensation in both local and national news, with people from all over the country driving to Wilmore, Kentucky, to see what is going on.
I am no expert on revival. Nevertheless, it has been hard to look at any media in the past few weeks and not see the headlines that a revival has broken out at Asbury college, in Wilmore, Kentucky. The great question I think many people are left wondering is “What should I think about the Asbury revivals?”
I’d like to suggest a few opening considerations, look at a few historical examples, two dangers to avoid, and then give three points of application for those of us watching from afar.
Opening Considerations
First, we should all confess that we cannot plan for a move of the Spirit. While I am all for preaching, singing, and praying, these things in and of themselves do not guarantee a special manifestation of Holy Spirit. Our Triune God can pour out His Holy Spirit whenever and however he pleases, and will never need to ask our permission to do so! You and I can never plan when a revival will occur, much like you cannot control the wind. As Jesus says in John 3:8, “John 3:8 (ESV) The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” It does not appear that this revival at Asbury was planned, which lends itself to having more credibility, not less.
Second, we must remember that the Holy Spirit regularly works through ordinary means, not only extraordinary ones. I once heard an account of a preacher who would not continue to preach at a church because he felt the congregation was not “full of the Spirit.” While the church was imperfect, many in the church surely confessed that “Christ is Lord,” and one cannot do so apart from the Spirit! (1 Cor. 12:3) It is an error to think that the Holy Spirit only works through unusual means, like an extended worship service or other various manifestations. The primary way that the Holy Spirit works is through the ordinary means of grace like prayer and the Word. In that way, though most churches did not extend their worship services by hours or days on the Lord’s Day yesterday, we should not say that they had any less of the Holy Spirit’s presence. Jesus states that he is there when even two or three gather in his name (Matthew 18:20)
Those things being said, there is historical precedent that should inform what is happening at Asbury.
Historical Precedent
One thing I have been remarkably helped by in my Christian life is the work of Iain Murray. I strongly commend two of his books to you, Revival and Revivalism, and Pentecost Today? Both books are helpful historically and biblically to understand the work of revival. In reading such books, one will come across the influence of Jonathan Edwards, who was instrumental in the Great Awakening of the 1700’s.
Edwards, though a defender of orthodoxy, was also a defender of revivals. He saw the revivals as a helpful thing to the work of the Spirit in New England, though many opposed him. He spent a great deal of time detailing the work of the revival, attempting to chart a course between fanaticism and what he saw as true spiritual awakening (see a copy of the book here).
In Edwards’ day, the town of Northampton was radically changed. Many were convicted of sin and repented. Young folks stopped living a life of sin and were radically devoted to the Lord. Churches exploded with growth. These things are well documented historically. We might wonder, what did these men do to make such amazing things happen?
Edwards simply prayed, preached, and lived as God had instructed him to do in His Word. The extraordinary thing about the Revivals of the 1700’s was that the preacher had very little to do with it. He was simply doing what he always did and God brought a great harvest. That should be an encouragement to preachers, pastors, and ordinary Christians everywhere.
The Revival of Edwards’ day shaped the landscape of America. I pray the landscape would be shaped once again by a dramatic move of the Holy Spirit.
2 Dangers to Avoid
1) An Unwarranted Opposition
In Luke’s account of the Acts of the Apostles, he recounts the words of Gamaliel. He wisely states:
Acts 5:38–39 (ESV) 38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!
No one wants to be found opposing God! Therefore, to claim that what we are seeing at Asbury is something God could not do or something God will not do, seems to be a little out of balance. We should all heed Gamaliel’s advice, lest we too be caught on the wrong side of the aisle.
At the same time, Pentecost was a once for all event. We know more now than Gamaliel and the Pharisees did in the time of the Apostles. We now have a standard by which we are to evaluate things, and that standard is Scripture. In our world, it is very clear that some things need to be opposed! If we do not oppose such things, we are sleeping during our watch, so to speak. As Christians, we should not fail to exercise discernment. God has given us His Word, by which we should measure all things. This leads to a second error to avoid.
2) A Failure to Discern
Just because we don’t want to offer unwarranted criticism doesn’t mean we shouldn’t offer warranted criticism. Scripture instructs us to judge with right judgment, and we should seek to do just that.
1 John 4:1 says that Christians are to test the Spirits. That is, we are not to blindly accept everything that is told to us as if it is from God. Rather, we are to test all things according to the standard of His Word.
So in this case, the revival should lead others to praise and glorify the name of Jesus, do good deeds, exalt Christ, and share the gospel. If Christ stops being the focus, then biblical discernment should tell us this is not something we should be involved in. As demonstrated in the Great Awakening, revival involves repentance, restoration, and reconciliation. We should look for such things to be present in the Asbury revival. By my estimation, it appears some of this fruit is readily evident. We should pray it becomes more evident.
We must avoid unwarranted opposition but also not fail to exercise discernment in the situation. To simply abdicate our responsibility to be discerning is also to be disobedient to what God has commanded us to do in His Word.
3 ways Christians should respond
1) Hope.
We should continually hope in the Lord, that He is able to redeem those who are lost and revive those who are falling asleep. All Christians should hope that what is going on in Asbury is serious, experiential, and sent from God. We should hope that lost people are meeting Christ for the first time. It is true, Christians are to be discerning and to test the Spirits (1 John 4:1). Discernment is not bad in and of itself, but we should hope for the best in this situation. We should be hopeful that God has done a mighty work in the lives of these young people on a college campus and hope that the world sees the beauty of Christ the King and turns to Him.
2) Pray.
We should pray for those who are experiencing this revival. I am reading reports today that they are now restricting the age of attendees to give preference to those 25 and under. Surely it cannot go on forever - so we should pray for the individual who must step in and make the call to send the college students back to class!
We should note, however, that in the past college students have been responsible for some of the great moves of God we have seen in recent centuries (ever heard of the Haystack Revival or Adoniram Judson?). We should pray that college students experience the saving grace of Jesus Christ and that they take the true Gospel with them wherever it is that they might go. The prayer of faith is powerful, so we should pray for those in the midst of this revival!
3) Wait.
History tells us that the effect of revivals is seen in hindsight. It is hard to tell right now what the results will actually be, but eventually, the fruit will be readily evident. We will able to discern whether the fruit is good or bad in due time. So let us hold off on pronouncing judgment until the fruit is more evidently discernable.
This week, while you might long for the presence of God, might I remind you that He is here with you? The Lord, the Holy Spirit himself, ministers to our very souls each moment as we pray, seek Him, read His Word, and obey Him. You do not need a “revival” experience like the one at Asbury to experience the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and communion with the Triune God.
I told a friend this morning that if God sends a special outpouring of His Spirit to Castalian Springs, I will be ready for it. I will gladly pray for that. But at the end of the day, we should know that God is at work in us today, by His Holy Spirit, even as we just do ordinary things like go to work, love our families, read Scripture, and pray.
Are you in the dumps? Maybe it’s not a pilgrimage to Asbury you need. Go read Romans 8 or Psalm 130 if you are distressed. Go pray with a friend for God to revive your heart. Confess your sins to a trusted Christian friend and walk in the newness of life.
Don’t think for a second that because you’re not at Asbury that you are missing out on God’s special presence. Because as Paul says in Acts 17, “He is not far from each one of us.”
Take heart, friend. Your God is with you.