Tuesday, February 14, 2023
Asbury Revival Continues
Asbury Revival Continues in an Outpouring of God's Love by Aimee Herd
"I had experienced God before and I would be on fire for a month or two but then it would fade and I would fall back into my old ways…Then Wednesday happened and I have been changed forever. I have confessed everything that I have ever done, and since I did that I have felt so free. There were people I have never met who were praying over me and shared their stories with me. I have been surrounded by a community of brothers who will push me to seek God with my whole heart. He will reign forever and ever. And I will see my God one day in Heaven." -Kade Edler
[Breaking Christian News] It may have seemed at first like any other chapel service at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky last Wednesday, but that normalcy didn't last long, as after a message from Romans 12 about 'love in action,' God's Holy Spirit fell in such a way that students in Hughes Auditorium wanted more. They stayed to worship, they stayed to pray, and to just soak in the Presence of Jesus.
They're still there, and now many more have joined them, as word of revival has broken out.
Asbury senior Alexandra Presta spoke to The Roys Report about what she experienced as the revival began:
Presta told The Roys Report that she had initially stepped out of chapel Wednesday morning "with the full intention" of attending her 11 a.m. class. But once outside the auditorium, she heard the Gospel choir continue to sing. "And I was like, ‘That's weird. Why are they still going?'" she said. "And then I just felt the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, told me to go back upstairs. And I did."
On the third day of the revival, Presta, who is also executive editor of The Asbury Collegian, noted in the publication:
Revival has continued. And the moments I've seen -— a woman in the front row still with her hand barely raised and tears in her eyes, a huddle of friends sitting on the ground in desperate prayer, the heart of an Asbury student running to Dollar General to buy coffee and supplies and so much more -— have occurred because Jesus is listening, moving and speaking.
Jason Vickers, a Professor at Asbury Theological Seminary posted on his Facebook page about what he experienced when visiting the chapel at Asbury last week:
The Asbury Revival: A First Person Account
I grew up going to revivals and camp meetings. I've seen people shout, run the aisles, and tightrope the backs of pews. I sometimes refer to this sort of thing as "swinging from the chandeliers." That isn't what is taking place at Asbury University in Wilmore, KY. I know, because I just left Hughes Auditorium.
If you are following the revival on social media, you will know that it began on Wednesday morning. My office is directly across the street at Asbury Seminary. Despite this proximity, as of this morning, I had not put in an appearance. I was not avoiding doing so. I'm simply in a busy season of writing about sacramental theology.
When it comes to the manifestation of God's presence, I am no skeptic. Quite the contrary. I am a straight up believer that, across space and time, in the most unpredictable of ways, the holiness of God becomes palpable -— the enveloping darkness atop Sinai; Isaiah's woe is me; the light engulfing St. Symeon in his study; laughter in Toronto.
Around 2:30 this afternoon, I crossed Lexington Avenue and made my way up the stairs of Hughes Auditorium, slipping into a seat on the back row. I wanted to see for myself what was happening. The following is a blow by blow account of what I experienced for the next hour and a half.
I had been seated in the auditorium for less than ten minutes when I suddenly found myself having conscious thoughts about my surroundings and about what I was experiencing. The best way I know to put this is to say that it was as though in just a few short minutes, I had completely zoned out.
Upon the resumption of deliberative conscious thought, two things stood out to me. First, there was a noticeable lack of tension in my body. I was completely relaxed. There was also a complete lack of mental tension or distraction. My mind was at utter peace. And I had only been there for ten minutes.
The second thing I recall thinking is that I could sit here in this chair forever. The desire to linger indefinitely was quite unexpected. I had planned to pop in for a few minutes before returning to work. Suddenly, work was the farthest thing from my mind.
I wound up staying for well over an hour. In the time that I was there, I could not get over certain distinctive qualities about the atmosphere. The words that came to mind were: gentle, sweet, peaceful, serene, tender, still. Some people were singing. Others were talking. Many were praying. But there was something like a blessed stillness permeating the place. No one was swinging from the chandeliers. In fact, it was the opposite. What made this so wild was just how un-wild the whole thing is.
After about an hour and half, a particular verse of Scripture impressed itself on my mind -— the one about the woman who touched the hem of Jesus' garment. Compared with those who have been there since Wednesday, I was a newcomer in the crowd. But the manifestation of God's holiness, which in this case was, to my mind, a manifestation of sheer peacefulness, was of such a quality that even the most fleeting contact with it is enough. Don't misunderstand me. I completely grasp why so many people want to linger. I did, too. But the peacefulness in that place is so palpable that a mere ten minutes had made an impression that will last the remainder of my lifetime.
So the outpouring of God's Holy Spirit continues at Asbury University, where one of the attendees was 94-year-old Dr. Robert Coleman who authored the book "One Divine Moment", which describes the revival that took place 53 years ago in 1970 at the very same place.
Alexandra sums it up well in Sunday's edition of The Asbury Collegian:
...Now I can see that we are acting differently. We're taking care of each other, constantly checking if we're caring for ourselves. We're processing hardships together and praying bold prayers for healing, and prayers against any and all spiritual warfare. Because as Paul says in 1 Corinthians, Love 'always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.'
May this Revival Fire continue and spread across this country that is so in need of the Holy Spirit! Lord Jesus, turn our hearts to You and lift us once again to the lofty tower of faith that moves mountains, heals bodies, and sees miracles become commonplace.
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