Dispatches from the Outpouring

In the 2nd chapter of the book of Acts, we see the narrative of what occurred on the Day of Pentecost, following our Lord's ascension into heaven. In Acts 3, we find Peter and John ministering - they healed a lame man and Peter seized the opportunity to proclaim the significance of what had occurred, saying:
19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before,
21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.

The progression is very clear - we have to be repentant in order to have the relationship with Jesus that He desires for us to have. We have to be willing to admit that we are sinners in need of a Savior, and willing to surrender our lives to Him. If we pray the prayer and accept Jesus as the Lord and Savior of our lives, then we are saved, born again.  But, repentance is a key.  If we are willing to tolerate unrepentant sin, as Acts 3 states, we cannot experience the true life change - the times of refreshing - that God promises to us. 

+++++

In Ezekiel 37, we read a passage that can give us a sense of the new life that God wants to express through us, bringing us from death into abundant life. We can see these words:
1 The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.
2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry.
3 And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" So I answered, "O Lord God, You know."
4 Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!
5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.

There are those that would probably like to say that what the school calls an "Outpouring" has ended at Asbury University.  And, after one weekend in which an estimated 20-25 thousand people came to the small Kentucky town of Wilmore, school officials brought what could be termed a "phase" of the revival meetings to a close.  School president Dr. Kevin Brown stated on the school's website:

Regardless of how we choose to describe what we have seen and experienced over the last several weeks (revival, renewal, awakening, outpouring)—this movement is not finished. Other colleges and churches are experiencing similar services. Rather, we are encouraging the continued movement of God through other people, places, and ministries.

With the on-campus meetings ending last week with the Collegiate Day of Prayer livestream, the movement of prayer, worship, personal repentance, and a sense of God's presence is continuing to spread. This past Sunday afternoon, the Pulse Movement, led by evangelist Nick Hall, held a commissioning service at Lexington's Rupp Arena. Forrest Limon, who serves with Pulse, is quoted by Fox 56 News:

“Not many people, organizations that are welcoming young people without wanting something from them. this event is no strings attached. Completely supported and prayed over by local ministry leaders, churches, professors, parents, grandmothers, grandfathers, local here and across the nation. So, this really is a once and a lifetime opportunity."

The article related:

Music was played and words of prayer were shared all day at Rupp. Thousands of people came to the arena for the event, including students from all across the nation. A whole group from Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee traveled to see the movement continue that started right here in Kentucky,” Malik Hill, a student at Lee University said. “I think this is amazing. I’m really just overwhelmed and kind of lacking words because it’s just so beautiful to see what the lords doing and I’m just glad to be a part of it, to be honest.”

Lee is one of the schools that is commonly mentioned with others, such as Birmingham's Samford University and Cedarville University in Ohio, as places where revival is occurring.  But, the reports are coming in from all across the nation.  Here's one from The Christian Post:

Grace Christian Academy of Knoxville experienced an unplanned worship service on Friday where several middle school students held prayer, shared confessions and even made professions of faith.

A spokesperson for GCA told The Christian Post in an emailed statement on Tuesday that the gathering began with the school's annual tradition of Discipleship Days.

The article said: 

Last Friday, after GCA concluded the worship service for their middle school students, many “felt compelled to continue their time of worship,” the spokesperson added. “Leadership pivoted any planned afternoon activities and allowed students to lead one another in song and prayer. This led to students repenting, confessing and seeking Christ.”

And, our friend Jim Garlow, who visited Asbury last week and is now on a whirlwind ministry tour throughout Europe, is thankfully still finding time to post updates on pockets of revival, including reports from Ohio State, James Madison, and Union College in Kentucky, where students were told they could not worship inside, so they went outside and held a revival meeting.  Garlow also reported on a pastor in Europe who ministers to the Gypsy people there, opened his church building and people have come.  

In what I believe is a related development, the film, Jesus Revolution, which is set during a time period when a move of God began in Southern California, a time period in which Greg Laurie came to know Christ and began to preach, exceeded box office projections and placed in the solid #3 position at the box office, with $15.8 million at just under 2500 screens, according to Box Office Mojo.  It's per-screen average of just over $6300 per screen was comparable to the #2 film, Cocaine Bear, which debuted at over 1000 more screens. A press release noted that "estimates for the film showed the film opening in the $6-7M range."  The film also garnered an A+ CinemaScope rating. 

With this dispatch from "the outpouring," we can certainly join together and rejoice that God is touching hearts - people are responding to Him.  It is undeniable that you have young people who are seeking God and are opening their hearts to Christ. 

The question for each of us is: how are we allowing God to move in our lives?  Do we have a "one and done" attitude - well, I walked the aisle or got baptized, so I'm good?  That's not Biblical Christianity.  We are born again so that we might have a relationship with God.  He wants to transform our lives and change us so that we might serve Him with our whole hearts.  We are called to a walk of holiness - not just getting by, but actively seeking His face and allowing the Holy Spirit to cleanse us and use us for God's glory.