I Am Seeking Revival
Things have quieted down regarding what many are calling the Asbury revival. I have chosen until now to say little online about it, although I have had a few conversations with people from our church about it, and discussed it briefly on a Wednesday evening. Before it is gone out of our minds completely, though, I wanted to write about it. Now, there is a lot that has been said, what I say here I am not sure will be totally new or not said by someone else, but I think it is important as a shepherd of the flock located at Norton Baptist Church that I seek to guide our people into discernment and how to think through such events.
Let me say this blatantly, what I have learned and heard that occurred at Asbury is well short of what we should call a revival. Let me give you three words to think about when evaluating a work of God that we might call a revival: truth, trust and transformation. This is what revival consists of that is from God. Look in Scripture where we see something we might label revival, and you will find these three ideas at the core of the revival. Let me explain them quickly.
By truth, I mean the truth of the Word of God. Revival always begins with the truth of God’s Word. Judah was revived under King Josiah, and it all began when the book of the law was found in the temple and read to the king. This was the impetus for all that follows, and without it, there would have been no revival. On Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles, what did Peter do next? He preached a sermon, and if you read that sermon, over and over again he declared the truth of Scripture from the Old Testament. The revival of 3,000 souls being saved began with the preaching of the Word of God when the Holy Spirit came upon these men.
The second word is trust. You could use the word faith in place of it if you desire. In the revivals in Scripture, truth was read or proclaimed, and the people who heard it trusted in that truth, and that motivated them to hear more truth. Josiah got up and ripped his clothing in frustration and concern, and then sent his advisers to inquire further of the Lord through a prophetess. The trust Josiah had in the Word of God led him to seek further word from the Lord. We see something similar once again on Pentecost, when, after Peter’s sermon, the people asked for a further word from Peter as to what they should do about this. The truth of God’s Word proclaimed brought about a trust from the hearers in the Lord, asking for more truth to know how to respond.
The third word is transformation. This is the result of every revival, and what I mean by transformation is obedience to the truth that the people have trusted in. Josiah went through the land and tore down many of the places of false worship, transforming the land while he reigned. The people in Peter’s day repented, were saved, were baptized, and their lives were changed as they began to meet together and assemble as the local church. There was true transformation that resulted.
Let me give you three words to think about when evaluating a work of God that we might call a revival: truth, trust and transformation.
So, if we can remember those three words, truth, trust, and transformation, we can then be ready to evaluate any movement that is claimed to be a revival. So, why would it seem I am not a huge fan of Asbury being a true work of God for revival? Because the emphasis out of Asbury has not been truth, trust, and transformation. Let me spell out the majority of what we have heard that came out of Asbury.
We have heard a lot about singing and music. While praise to God is wonderful, we never see it as a major component of revival in Scripture, yet I would say it is the majority of what we hear coming out of Asbury. We have also heard a lot about people feeling the presence of God in the chapel. They have said it was a warmth or sense of love that they knew was God. In Scripture, when people are in God’s presence, they sense His holiness and their sinfulness. The reports we get about God’s presence are inconsistent with what we read in Scripture about being in His presence. There are also anecdotes of heretics praising the event, of LGBTQ students leading in the event, and of repentance more consistent with social justice issues than consistent with Scripture. Whether those are all accurate, we do not know, but what we are not hearing much about is true repentance from sin. Even if it were to be expressed, it takes time to prove whether it is true repentance. Paul heard there were tears in Corinth, but he desired to see fruits of repentance more than tears.
Might God transform some lives out of this event? Absolutely, “But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases” (Psalm 115:3, Legacy Standard Bible). No one can tell God when or where He can work, and God uses many events to transform lives, but that does not make those events a revival. I have heard of people being saved in many venues that no one would call a revival. To be clear, I pray the Lord does do some lasting work out of Asbury, but that would not make Asbury a revival.
To be clear, I pray the Lord does do some lasting work out of Asbury, but that would not make Asbury a revival.
Some might ask why I would even dare to speak anything on this topic, lest I be found opposing the work of God. Consider what the apostle John wrote, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). This is a command written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In other words, I am commanded to do this. A better question might be why many Christians are critical of those obeying John’s instruction? If we ever hope to have true revival, it must begin with truth, so how can the church expect revival if we are going to ignore the truth of the apostle John here?
But this brings up a crucial question, which is, should we expect revival in the sense of some miraculous movement of God in our nation? To say it plainly, Scripture never calls us to expect that. God can do as He wills as I said above, but God has given to us His primary, ordinary means of revival in His Word. He has called us to individual revival through walking in step with the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:25), through letting the Word of Christ dwell in us richly (Colossians 3:16), through being filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), through being sanctified by the truth of God’s Word (John 17:17). Rather than seeking some great, miraculous movement of God that grabs the attention of all the world, we should be focusing our energy on revival among ourselves through God's ordinary means of grace, His Word.
I believe every Sunday morning there is a small revival at Norton Baptist Church in the hearts of our people as we are continually filled with the Spirit through the singing, praying, reading, and preaching of the Word of God. I believe God is reviving us, day by day, week by week, as the truth is proclaimed, as we trust in Him, and as we are transformed by that truth into the image of Jesus Christ. This is the revival I am seeking constantly and asking God to continue to work in us. This is the revival He has promised to us in His Word. As I write this, tomorrow morning is Sunday, and I am anticipating another Sunday of revival in the hearts of the people who assemble at Norton Baptist Church. Come join that revival here or at your own local church, and may the Father and the Son be glorified in the church as the Spirit continues to revives us for His glory.
