Any spiritual minded person can see that our nation has become more and more wicked and secular rather than spiritual. Many have said for a long time, “we need a spiritual revival.” There is one taking place and many people are taking notice of it! “On February 8, 2023, at a chapel service held at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky students gathered for their normally scheduled chapel. After the chapel service there were about 20 students who lingered around to continue to pray and worship together. The longer they prayed, the more students gathered to join them...then faculty joined in...then more students joined in... and it became this large worship and prayer gathering.
“This revival is not just isolated to Wilmore, Kentucky, but has spread to other parts of the nation as well. Samford University, Texas A&M, Lee University, and many others across the nation have started their own revival of sorts. For many of us who see these things happening, we look at them with criticism in mind, with doubts about their sincerity, and some even rebuke for not teaching truth or worshipping correctly” (Kolton Ballance, Conifer church bulletin).
More about Asbury University
Asbury University is a private Christian university in Wilmore, Kentucky. Although it is a non-denominational school, the college is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The Wesleyan Holiness movement came out of the Methodist Church in the early 20th century. When John and Charles Wesley began the Methodist Church, they believed in and taught a “second work of grace” which was a baptism of the Holy Spirit. They did not believe in speaking in tongues as Pentecostals do who also believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They believed that this baptism of the Holy Spirit would purify their adamic nature and enable them to live a more holy life. In the 1784 “Christmas Conference, John Wesley, who continued to live in England and who never left the Church of England, gave power over the Methodist Church to Francis Asbury, who promoted “the second work of grace.”
From that time on until the early 1900s, one Methodist bishop promoted “the second work of grace,” and the next one maybe did not. About 1919 several “Methodist Churches and those believing in “the second work of grace,” formed the Nazarene Church who became the leader in that particular doctrine. That movement came to be known as “The Holiness Movement.” Asbury University is part of that movement.
Our Attitude
First, we should be pleased that there is at least some who are trying to bring about a change in the spiritual nature of our nation. Revivals like this in the past have accomplished such goals. The first such revival, which is called by historians “The First Religious Awakening,” occurred between 1720 and 1740. But it didn’t last. The second religious awakening began in 1790 and lasted into the 1800s. It had a greater effect and in fact, from that revival, came the Stone-Campbell Movement which led to the restoration of churches of Christ in this country. The church of Christ actually began in Jerusalem in 30 A.D. The record of its establishment and its spread is recorded in the book of Acts. The Stone-Campbell movement only restored the church. They went back to the Bible and put into practice what the Bible taught about the church and Christianity. But, that restoration did begin from a revival, similar to the one that is taking place in the United States at this time.
Some people have expressed concern that the Asbury Revival may not be following all that the Bible teaches. That was true with the revival of which Barton W. Stone was apart. But, as time went on Stone and others corrected their errors as they studied the Bible to gain a better understanding of what the church and Christianity was to look like. If the Asbury Revival today is not correct in every aspect of biblical truth, maybe they will learn where they have fallen short and/or where they are in error and correct it.
Revivals Survive When
Religious revivals cannot survive long if they are only built on emotion. People who respond to God only through an emotional moment will fall away when the momentary emotion is gone. For one to sustain his or her relationship with God, he or she must establish that relationship through knowledge. Peter said, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:2-3). Notice, twice in these two verses Peter speaks of the blessings that come through knowledge. For one to have a sustained relationship with God based only on emotional experiences, one must have greater and more emotional experiences because an emotion will only sustain one for a limited time. Then he or she must have another and even greater emotional experience. Soon, one has reached the highest level of emotion. When that point is reached, one’s relationship with God begins to diminish. Religious revivals can only be sustained if one’s emotions are based on Scripture. Emotions are feeling. Scripture is fact. Facts last. Emotions come and go.
We ought to be pleased that there is a movement at this time that is driving people to God. We also ought to pray that those connected to this revival will go back to the Bible and let their emotions be guided by truth. If anyone who has a relationship with God based on knowledge, has connections with this revival, may he or she help guide that revival. If that happens, it will continue to change lives and will be long lasting. This nation needs a revival, but it needs a revival based on God’s word, not just on man’s ever-changing emotions.
— Wayne Burger