From February 8, for 13 days, continuous 24-hour services have been going on at Asbury University, Kentucky, during which people confess their sins, renew their relationship with God, and glorify Him. According to FoxNews, more than 50,000 people from different cities of America and even other countries filled the small town in which this university is located. Starting with a simple, unremarkable gathering of a few students, the movement has grown and spread to several other colleges in the country. "What is this?" ministers of different denominations ask a question. "The revival that all Christians have been praying for for a long time?" The pastor of the Grace Family Church made an analysis of what is happening there and what many call the "Asberian revival" - read the article below.
A FRESH LOOK AT EVENTS IN ASBURY (FEBRUARY, 2023)
Those of you who are following the news, may have noticed the so-called Asbury Revival. I would like to briefly analyze this phenomenon and give an assessment of the situation.
First of all, let’s look at the facts: On February 8, a Christian College in Asbury (Methodist-Wesleyan) had a regular service for students with a sermon. After the service, a few students stayed for a time of prayer. It was then that one of the students, and then others began to confess their burdens and sins, which led to an extended time of prayers of repentance and worship for several days.
This is not the first time that such a wave of revival has occurred in this college. Similar thing previously happened in 1905, 1908, 1921, 1950, 1958, 1970, 1992 and 2006.
College administration admits that the excitement of this awakening is largely due to social networks. They do not want to call these meetings a revival, but just a time of renewed commitment, and a deeper worship of God. Yet such news spreads very quickly. This news touched the hearts of many seekers. At the time when people thirst for experiencing something special, and the feelings-based worship, news of this nature simply explode on the Internet. As a result, those who were seeking for these experiences, started to head to Asbury College not only from different states, but even from other countries.
I did not want to comment on this event until different people had an opportunity to be there; not only those who sincerely want to experience something special, but also whose who can be unbiased and have a clear assessment of what is happening. Although we do not have the opportunity to go there ourselves, we will rely on the experience and observations of others. Therefore, this assessment, has its limitations.
And yet, I would like to draw attention to several positive lessons and benefits of this phenomenon.
It is true that somewhere deep down in our hearts we all want a revival in our church, and in our city. Therefore, when this type of event happens somewhere without us, we may not even notice how our assessment is full of envy and jealousy. Personally, I have gotten several good lessons. First, I learned that I must be careful to evaluate my motives and my prayers. A prayer of revival is a sincere desire for God to save some, and renew the zeal of believers in general, even if He decides to do it in a nearby church. This should motivate us to re-dedicate our prayers for sinners, and the awakening of the church around the world, including our own!
The fact that this phenomenon has gotten the attention of even secular news channels suggests that Christianity has not just faded to the background, and that there might be some results in this. We must not forget that the United States was established on biblical principles by people who feared God. The great religious revivals of the past have profoundly shaped the general American awareness. This phenomenon continues to affect society.
In addition, desire for awakening in many is very encouraging. This means that there are so many people who have been praying for this. This means that many understand how serious the current state of society is and suggests that God will surely answer such prayers for revival.
However, along with the positive aspects, I would like to note a few experiences and caution you to not get carried away by this phenomenon.
First, those who have been there admit that singing, rather than preaching the Gospel, dominates the services. This fact should at least get our attention. Although there is preaching and Scripture reading, but it has always been observed that true revival has always been characterized by the power of the Word of God mightily working through the preaching about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Second, it seems that those who are so excited about this phenomenon tell about the actions of the Holy Spirit influencing behavior of people. These are the things that the same person would not do under normal circumstances.
In 1 Corinthians 12:3, Paul says, that “no one who speaks by the Spirit of God will anathematize Jesus, and no one can call Jesus Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” From this we conclude that the work of the Holy Spirit will always focus man's attention in a special way on Jesus Christ. How does the Holy Spirit do this? Through Scripture. He takes Scripture and opens the eyes of man to the beauty of Jesus Christ! Thus He glorifies the Son of God (John 16:14).
Third, if the life of these people does not radically change, then everything will remain at the level of experiences and emotions. Unfortunately, it takes time to see the fruit of repentance. Asbury is now focusing on social media rather than on the personal outreach of awakened students. This is very difficult to trace, and only time will tell the reality and spiritual significance of this event. The results of the past revivals have affected not only the church, but the entire surrounding society as well. Places of entertainment closed down due to a lack of demand, crime vanished, and the number of regular church meetings and church membership increased. So far nothing of the sort has been observed. And it is quite possible that everything will stay at the level of a certain emotional experience but will not bring changes to people’s lives. We need to be careful not to jump to conclusions when reflecting on such events. Even as you consider the specifics about this particular event, do not become a skeptic, but really wish for an ongoing awakening that will lead to serious changes in society.
Either way, we need to pray for a revival – a revival in which the Church can renew her love and commitment to the Savior. May it be a time when sinners will experience true repentance and dedicate their lives to the Lord. That is what will lead to the long-lasting changes in the world around us. We need this revival more than ever before.
Dmitriy Zherebnenkov,
Pastor of the Grace Family Church
Photo by Eliza Crawford from Keytucky Today
