Thoughts on the Asbury Revival

I wonder if you’ve heard about what’s going on at Asbury University. Many are saying there’s a revival breaking out. On February 8th, students gathered for an ordinary chapel service. After a short sermon by Zach Meerkreebs and a closing song, the students didn't want to leave. They continued to pray, to sing, to read Scripture. Sins were being confessed. Testimonies were given. And the gathering continued on hours into the night and into the next day. It has now been two weeks and the nation has caught wind of it. Thousands have traveled hundreds of miles to get in the room and see what’s happening.

What do you make of that? There are some that accept it all without question. There are others that without a second glance reject it all. Since this event is in the public eye, I thought I might write a short piece trying to help us think it through biblically.

God Brings Revival

To avoid starting as a cynic, let’s start by stating the fact that God can bring revival and has brought revival. There was revival under king Josiah (2 Chron. 2). Ezra appeared to see revival (Ez. 10), and Nehemiah too (Neh. 9). Haggai saw what some might call revival (Hag. 1:14-15), and Jonah saw the entire pagan city of Nineveh repent and “believe God” (Jon. 3:5). In the New Testament, Peter saw 3,000 people saved after one sermon. That number continued to grow in the following weeks and months. God revives individuals by regenerating them, and he can do that to entire groups of people at the same time.

Throughout history, there have been genuine revivals. We can’t list them all, but we can note some of the more well-known ones: the Great Awakening of the 1700s, the Kilsyth revivals of 1732 and 1849, the New York prayer revival of 1857, and the Scottish revival of 1859 - we could go on. Missionaries have reported entire villages coming to Christ at the same time.

Revival Is From the Bible.

Each of the revivals above corresponds to an increased devotion to the Word of God. The rediscovery of the book of the law sparked revival under Josiah's leadership (2 Chron. 34:8-21). Ezra and Nehemiah were sparked by the public teaching of the law (Ez. 7:1-10; Neh. 8). It was Haggai’s prophetic word that revived the people: “Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord’s message…And the Lord stirred up the Spirit of Zerubabbel…” (Hag. 1:14).  Jonah’s preaching that revived Nineveh. Peter’s preaching that revived the 3,000. And it was the apostles’ preaching that prompted the countless conversions seen in the book of Acts.

You might say that Paul saw revival amongst the Thessalonians. How did that happen? “Our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power” (1 Thess. 1:5). Or how about the revival in Ephesus? “When you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed…” (Eph. 1:14). Or Colossae? “Of this you have heard before in the word of truth, the gospel, which has come to you…” (Col. 1:5). Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ (Rom. 10:17).

God brings life to his people through his word. Ezekiel 37 graphically illustrates this principle. It starts with a vision of a valley of dry bones, representing the spiritual deadness of the nation of Israel. In the vision, Ezekiel is asked whether the bones can live. Ezekiel, probably confused, answers, “O Lord God, you know.” And then God gives a perplexing command: “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.” He was told to preach to dead, dry, lifeless bones? Yes. And as he did, the bones came together, grew sinews and flesh and skin, and became a mighty army. That’s revival. And how did it happen? The Word.

Revival Points to Jesus Christ.

Another key point about revival, particularly in the church age, is that it must always center on the person and work of Jesus Christ. Wherever the Holy Spirit is at work, Jesus Christ will be exalted. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, “He will glorify me” (Jn. 16:14), and Paul said, “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3). When the Holy Spirit (also called the Spirit of Christ in 1 Peter 1:11) is working in the hearts of people, he enables us to more fully appreciate the “word of the cross” which is folly to the world (1 Cor. 2:12). In other words, true revival will not be experience centered. It won’t even be “Spirit-centered.” It will be Christ-centered and cross-centered.

But more needs to be said. The Jesus that will be acknowledged is the Jesus of the Scriptures. It won’t be the Jesus of pop-culture, the Jesus of the liberals, the Jesus of our own imagination, or the Jesus of The Chosen. It will be the Jesus of Scripture, the one who reveals the Father (Jn. 14:7). It will be the Jesus of unflinching holiness, of uncompromising truth-telling, who warns people of the wrath to come and tells people that if they don’t part with their sin they will wind up in hell. And he is also the Jesus of immeasurable compassion and unstoppable love, who lays down his life for his sheep, pays the penalty for their sin, redeems them from its dominion, and grants them full and complete forgiveness. He is the lion and the lamb, the King and the servant, the Lord of heaven and washer of feet.

True revival will focus on the majesty of Jesus Christ, the glory of the cross, the sufficiency of his grace, the greatness of his promises, and the certainty of his return.

Revival Leads to Holiness

On that note, true revival will lead to personal holiness. The Holy Spirit is so named not only because he is holy as opposed to wicked, but also because he produces holiness in the lives of his people. He is called the “Spirit of holiness” in Romans 1:4.

And what is holiness? Ultimately, it’s Christ-likeness. It’s described in Galatians 5:22-23 as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Holiness, summed up, is heartfelt obedience to God’s Word. People often think that holiness is strong emotions, good intentions, or unexplainable experiences. But holiness actually looks a lot more ordinary than that. When a man is holy, he pursues obedience, goes to work and works hard. He loves his wife and raises his kids in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. He serves his church and disciples other believers. He does all this without fanfare, even when it’s hard. Yes; revival will lead to mundane holiness.

If revival breaks at a college, we would see a lot of students joyfully going on with their ordinary lives, loving their Bibles, praying fervently, submitting to their God-ordained authorities, committing to their local churches, doing their homework to the glory of God, and pursuing purity in their relationships. Revival is not measured by the length of a worship service, but by the simple metric of heartfelt obedience.

Regarding Asbury

Those are some preliminary thoughts. Now, using some of those above principles, I’ll jot down some of my concerns and some of my hopes.

My Concerns

I haven’t listened to the sermon that “sparked” the revival. I haven’t paid close attention to who's speaking and what they’re saying. But there are some concerns that the word of God is not central. There are concerns that the gospel isn’t preached. If these things were front and center, there would be a profound sense of the holiness of God, a devastating conviction of sin, a cherishing and treasuring of Jesus Christ, a clear understanding of the meaning of the cross, and a driving concern for personal holiness and practical obedience. Are these things present? I don’t know. If they are, they’re not front and center. The videos circulating that show what’s happening in the Asbury chapel show people raising their hands, closing their eyes, and singing worship songs. I am not questioning anyone’s sincerity. But raised hands and closed eyes and long services are not the right metrics to assess what’s going on there.

Second, another concern is that many people - most of all those who are at Asbury - will be tempted to make this experience a litmus test for their Christianity. They might be tempted to demean ordinary faithful Christians who work 40 hours a week, pay the bills, and get to church every Sunday. They may be tempted to define holiness not in terms of obedience, but by their emotions. Some may even get turned off to ordinary Christianity because they’re always chasing the next spiritual high. When the so-called Second Great Awakening occurred in the 1800s, it created what many have called a “burnt-over district.” These were places where many “revivals” had taken place and people became inoculated to the true gospel.

My Hopes

My first reaction when I hear about revival is “Lord, may it be so!” I pray that my generation would be blessed to see another Great Awakening. Hearing about Asbury has caused me to pray for three things. Please, pray along with me.

First, that Asbury would bear good, lasting fruit. Revivals, like conversions, are not best assessed during the emotional highs. Time will tell. My prayer is that there are real conversions taking place at Asbury that will result in hundreds of people walking in holy obedience to Christ several decades from now.

Second, I pray that true revival would spread across the nation and the world. Why not ask? The Lord can do incredible things. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. Let’s ask for mass conversions across the globe.

Third, I pray that Grace Rancho would experience revival. That we be given a deep sense of God’s holy majesty, Christ’s glorious supremacy, and our great calling, along with conviction of sin, repentance, followed by happy, sacrificial obedience. I am not asking for merely an emotional experience (although new apprehension of God is an emotional experience, just ask Isaiah, Ezekiel, or John), but for a profoundly powerful work among us.

I hope it’s no surprise that I hope for revival at Grace Rancho. We have it built into the name of our podcast and journal: Incremental Revival. We long for revival.

But the reason we use the word incremental is that true revival is not the product of extraordinary things, but ordinary things: Scripture, prayer, fellowship, and discipleship. And typically, it happens one person at a time, one conversation at a time.

In other words, to pursue revival, we always go back to the basics. Commit to be ordinary. Be content to do what seems insignificant. Preach. Counsel. Pray. Love. Give. Serve. Share. Repeat. Have people over. Bear their burdens. Weep with some; rejoice with others. Pray more. Keep going. Wait. Trust.

There may be a massive, visible revival in our day. There may not be. But we can be certain that when the kingdom comes, all our labors will not have been in vain. Let's plod forward in hope.