And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. Matthew 24:3-4
I had friends who went to the Asbury "revival" and asked why I didn't hop on the bus with them to go.
I kept my opinion to myself because I didn't have one at the time. I didn't neither want to criticize or encourage until there was more information.
We aren't called to follow blindly we are called to discern (judge). I believe we are to seek the Holy Spirit for help in discernment before we make that judgment. That can take time.
In Matthew 24, the disciples come to Jesus and ask him three questions. The first thing Jesus tells them is to not be deceived. Deception is easy to fall for if we are not anchored in the Word of God. And, I am so very thankful we have that to RUN to when we have questions. What He has put in His Word helps us separate Truth from the manure we are constantly running into in this world.
The Biblical accounts of revival have certain clear characteristics. I encourage those who are hungry for revival or wondering/questioning what happened in Asbury and other places to study what revival looks like according to the Scripture.
A REVIVAL is the spiritual awakening of a believer who has been asleep. It is a situation where the Holy Spirit convicts and moves one or many to humility and repentance which in turn refreshes their love for and commitment to Christ. It renews their zeal for Christ.
It is purely the work of the Spirit and is not a work of the flesh. It's the Holy Spirit's doing and timing meaning it can't be manufactured or scheduled. Revival will be based on sound doctrine and points people to Jesus' substitutionary death payment for our sins. It doesn't embrace sinful lifestyles, but it brings about the repentance (the turning away from) of sins. That repentance brings about a renewal of Biblical teaching and righteous living which provides a witness to the lost. I see a domino type of effect:
proclamation of the gospel -> Holy Spirit acting -> conviction and repentance in the hearts of God's people -> salvation of lost
Dear Reader, What I see from where I am is a lot of Christians flipping back and forth saying it was or wasn't a revival. A pastor friend who went there with high hopes did not come back with a good report of the situation. The results (fruit) over time will reveal.
Instead of looking there, I believe we should be praying for revival in our own hearts, and we can do that right where we sit. We need to realize we have left our first love and repent. We need to reawaken to the comprehension of the scope of the all-powerful, all-knowing, and always-present God we serve. Our reverence and respect for the Lord should be renewed. The Bible is where we should go to look for the characteristics of revival.
A true revival (bringing back to life or awareness) transforms the lives of sleeping believers and that awakening of the church leads to the salvation of the lost. The Bride casts off any stains in her appearance. True revival will take sleeping "do-littles" into active servants of God in such a way as to bring change in them and around them.
Father God, I ask that You strengthen Your people with more discernment. I also ask that You refresh the zeal for serving You in everyone who calls You Lord. Help us not to look for a fleshly-based experience in a particular place but to look for humility and repentance in our own hearts because of the finished work of Jesus. Let us realize the weight of the sacrifice You gave along with the enormity of Who You are and count our dwindling days as opportunities to serve You. Enable us to run this race with everything we have in a way that impacts the lost for You, for Your glory. Let each of us work as laborers sharing the Good News of Who Jesus is and what He has done for us in a way that brings in the harvest of souls. Let us look for ways to strengthen, encourage, and minister to our brothers and sisters in Your Church. Help us to realize You don't understand our sins ("He gets us"), but that You are calling us out from them to be holy people.
But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
Ezekiel 18:24
