2023.02.04 Asbury Revival February 2023
Created by James on 2/18/2023 1:06:33 PM

This morning I received the following email from Louie Bender – it is powerful and encouraging – Revival IS possible in this age and I urge you to seek this in YOUR life and YOUR location – it is entirely possible!  Usual Caveats apply.

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2023.02.04 Asbury Revival February 2023

 

 

This morning I received the following email from Louie Bender – it is powerful and encouraging – Revival IS possible in this age and I urge you to seek this in YOUR life and YOUR location – it is entirely possible!  Usual Caveats apply.

Quote begins

“The Move of God at Asbury

“•          Pray that this outpouring would not be a end in itself, but rather a means to the greater end of setting prisoners free from the guilt, power, and shame of sin;

“•          Pray for wisdom for Dr. Kevin Brown and other key leaders in this moment, that they would make decisions that are in perfect alignment with the will of God;

“•          Pray that the work of God would continue to its completion in the lives of individuals, and the community as a whole;

“•          Pray for the protection of Asbury students and the broader Wilmore community as strangers from around the world flood the campus that is their home;

“•          Pray against any attempts from the powers of darkness to scandalize, exploit, and counterfeit this powerful work of God.

“•          Pray that this move of God would spark an evangelistic and missional movement that transforms the world for Jesus.

“Beyond prayer and fasting, we encourage you to share the good news of what’s happening at Asbury with your worshipping community. Invite those around you to submit to a deeper experience of God’s sanctifying power.

“Lastly, I want to share with you this article by WBS alumnus Dr. Tom McCall which I found very helpful and informative.

https://christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/february-web-only/asbury-revival-1970-2023-methodist-christian-holy-spirit.html

This link goes to the following article please click on the link for the images:

 

Asbury Professor: We’re Witnessing a ‘Surprising Work of God’

 

Why I’m hopeful about the revival breaking out in our chapel and its implications for the campus and beyond.

TOM MCCALL

FEBRUARY 13, 2023

 

Most Wednesday mornings at Asbury University are like any other. A few minutes before 10, students begin to gather in Hughes Auditorium for chapel. Students are required to attend a certain number of chapels each semester, so they tend to show up as a matter of routine.

 

But this past Wednesday was different. After the benediction, the gospel choir began to sing a final chorus—and then something began to happen that defies easy description. Students did not leave. They were struck by what seemed to be a quiet but powerful sense of transcendence, and they did not want to go. They stayed and continued to worship. They are still there.

I teach theology across the street at Asbury Theological Seminary, and when I heard of what was happening, I immediately decided to go to the chapel to see for myself. When I arrived, I saw hundreds of students singing quietly. They were praising and praying earnestly for themselves and their neighbors and our world—expressing repentance and contrition for sin and interceding for healing, wholeness, peace, and justice.

Some were reading and reciting Scripture. Others were standing with arms raised. Several were clustered in small groups praying together. A few were kneeling at the altar rail in the front of the auditorium. Some were lying prostrate, while others were talking to one another, their faces bright with joy.

They were still worshiping when I left in the late afternoon and when I came back in the evening. They were still worshiping when I arrived early Thursday morning—and by midmorning hundreds were filling the auditorium again. I have seen multiple students running toward the chapel each day.

By Thursday evening, there was standing room only. Students had begun to arrive from other universities: the University of Kentucky, the University of the Cumberlands, Purdue University, Indiana Wesleyan University, Ohio Christian University, Transylvania University, Midway University, Lee University, Georgetown College, Mt. Vernon Nazarene University, and many others.

The worship continued throughout the day on Friday and indeed all through the night. On Saturday morning, I had a hard time finding a seat; by evening the building was packed beyond capacity. Every night, some students and others have stayed in the chapel to pray through the night. And as of Sunday evening, the momentum shows no signs of slowing down.

Some are calling this a revival, and I know that in recent years that term has become associated with political activism and Christian nationalism. But let me be clear: no one at Asbury has that agenda.

My colleague Steve Seamands, a retired theologian from the seminary, told me that what is happening resembles the famous Asbury Revival of 1970 he experienced when he was a student. That revival shut down classes for a week, then went on for two more weeks with nightly services. Hundreds of students went out to share what happened with other schools.

But what many don’t realize is that Asbury has an even more extensive history with revivals—including one that took place as early as 1905 and another as recent as 2006, when a student chapel led to four days of continuous worship, prayer and praise.

 

Many people say that in the chapel they hardly even realize how much time has elapsed. It is almost as though time and eternity blur together as heaven and earth meet. Anyone who has witnessed it can agree that something unusual and unscripted is happening.

As an analytic theologian, I am weary of hype and very wary of manipulation. I come from a background (in a particularly revivalist segment of the Methodist-holiness tradition) where I’ve seen efforts to manufacture “revivals” and “movements of the Spirit” that were sometimes not only hollow but also harmful. I do not want anything to do with that.

And truth be told, this is nothing like that. There is no pressure or hype. There is no manipulation. There is no high-pitched emotional fervor.

To the contrary, it has so far been mostly calm and serene. The mix of hope and joy and peace is indescribably strong and indeed almost palpable—a vivid and incredibly powerful sense of shalom. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is undeniably powerful but also so gentle.

 

The holy love of the triune God is apparent, and there is an inexpressible sweetness and innate attractiveness to it. It is immediately obvious why no one wants to leave and why those who must leave want to come back as soon as they can.

I know that God moves in mysterious ways; Jesus tells us that the Spirit blows where it wills (John 3:8). And sometimes God does what Jonathan Edwards called “surprising work” and what John Wesley referred to as “extraordinary” ministry.

I firmly believe that much of what is important and vital in the Christian life happens in the everyday moments—in the daily disciplines and liturgies (whether formal or informal), in the in-the-moment decisions to pursue righteousness, in acts of sacrificial love of neighbor, in prayers breathed in quiet desperation.

I know that these “extraordinary” acts of God are no replacement for the “ordinary” ministry of the Holy Spirit through Word and sacrament. Likewise, the “surprising” works of God are not a substitute for the long road of discipleship. If that were the case, as my colleague Jason Vickers reminds me, we would be dependent on this experience—rather than the Holy Spirit who graciously gives the experience—to sustain us.

But I also believe that we should be willing to recognize and celebrate these astounding encounters with the Holy Spirit. Our Lord promises that those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness” will be filled. He promised that he would send “another Comforter” (KJV)—and indeed that it would be better for him to go away and send his Spirit.

And anyone who has spent time in Hughes Auditorium over the past few days can testify that this promised Comforter is present and powerful. I cannot analyze—or even adequately describe—all that is happening, but there is no doubt in my mind that God is present and active.

Several current students and recent alumni tell me that for several years they have been praying together for a move of God, and they are thrilled beyond words to see what is happening.

I am teaching a class in theological anthropology at the university this semester, and as we met last Friday, I reminded my students that we are creatures made for worship and communion with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is our telos, the end for which we were created. We are never more fully alive and whole than when we worship. And what we are experiencing now—this inexpressibly deep sense of peace, wholeness, holiness, belonging, and love—is only the smallest of windows into the life for which we are made.

Clearly this is not the beatific vision of seeing Christ in all his glory—but if what we are seeing is even the faintest shadow of that reality, then what lies before us is unspeakable joy and holy love.

I also reminded my students that we were created to worship God together in unity and in communion with one another. Thus, the worship we are experiencing in the chapel must have real-life implications for our fellowship outside of it. This is especially important as we are currently working through difficult issues around race and ethnicity.

In previous revivals, there has always been fruit that has blessed both the church and society. For instance, even secular historians acknowledge that the Second Great Awakening was pivotal to bringing about the end of slavery in our country. Likewise, I look forward to seeing what fruit God will bring from such a revival in our generation.

At lunch on Friday, my son Josiah found me and told me that he and his friends had been kneeling at the altar and praying together. There were four people in his group, and they were each praying in a different language. He later asked me, “Is this something like heaven will be?” I told him I thought it was, albeit the faintest reflection of what “no eye has seen, what no ear has heard.” It is as if a tiny slice of heaven is meeting us here on earth.

The Gospel is not only true but also luminously wonderful and mysteriously beautiful. Every time I leave the chapel auditorium, I feel I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good.

Thomas H. McCall is Timothy C. and Julie M. Tennent professor of theology at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky

 

 

Conclusion

I encourage YOU to seek this in YOUR life and YOUR location.

 

See “2021.04.04 Will YOU Initiate a Revival with me?” at https://www.ETI-Ministries.org/will-you-initiate-a-revival-with-me and “2022.09.02 Revival Revisited” at https://www.ETI-Ministries.org/revival-revisited

 

See also “2021.03.02 WHY Revivals Die Out and WHAT Yah Requires Today” at https://www.ETI-Ministries.org/why-revivals-die-out for what can quench this revival.

 

Fundamentally what we should ALL be seeking is the anointing, the infilling with the Spirit of Yah, that will enable us to be the catalyst for a move such as this.

 

Note that it is probable that there are a small number of people who have make real sacrifices in worship, prayer, etcetera to bring this about – will  YOU make such sacrifices?

 

Please feel free to email me (James) if you have questions or comments.

 

May Father bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you and grant you His Peace

 

May Yah judge me severely and correct me harshly and show me the level of my present deception and how to correct it with regard to everything that I write and publish

 

Warm regards and blessings,

 

 

 

Dr James A Robertson

Spokesman and Emissary of Yah

End Time Issue Ministries

18 February 2023

 

The Almighty Creator Desires a DEEP Personal Relationship with YOU

 

If you die as an Unbeliever your spirit will live for a very long time as a disembodied Ancestor Spirit or Demon -- the Creator has said regarding Unbelievers "why would I want someone to spend Eternity with me when they do NOT Believe I exist?”

 

If you die as a Believer without any form of relationship with the Creator you will end up in the Outer Darkness – a cold, black, terrible place with weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth (your teeth) – the trash heap of Heaven – Father has said concerning such Believers “why would I want someone to be close to me in Heaven, which inherently means I will give them great prestige and authority, if they do NOT have a deep personal relationship with me and have NOT proven to me that they can be trusted in this life?”

 

In stark contrast -- IF you make a real effort to seek relationship with the Almighty the rewards in the Life to Come are HUGE – a glorious resurrected body, great prestige, great authority and a permanent close relationship with the Creator AND with Yahooshua {who you may mistakenly know as Jesus}

 

To put this all in context the Almighty has said "I created Human beings, this planet and this universe for men and women to be my Friends, my companions, to explore and learn and develop together, my greatest grief is that almost NO person understands this let alone seeks such a relationship with me!“

 

See www.ETI-Ministries.org for more information

There is much more information on the above and diverse other topics on the website www.ETI-Ministries.org

 

To be added to the second mailing list which posts links to my broadcasts, links to YouTube Videos I recommended and other general information please reply to this email with “Add to BCC list” in the subject line.

 

* Words in curly brackets {xxx} are words which are commonly used but technically incorrect.  Some of these words are simply incorrect, others like “God”, “the LORD”, “Jesus” are abominations in the sight of the Almighty Creator which He has, in His mercy tolerated up to now but for which grace has now been withdrawn – see https://www.ETI-Ministries.org/essence-of-message-re-names

 

Please connect with me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesrendtimeissues/ 

 

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006994485801 

 

 

If you receive this forwarded from someone else please email me to be placed on the mailing list

 

 

Radio and TV Broadcasts on www.W4CY.com Radio, please join me -- Friday at 12 midday USA Eastern Time, UK 5 pm, South Africa 6 pm; Sydney Australia 4:00 am Saturday.  Now also on TV on the same link.

 

www.W4CY.com  – click on button top right to watch on TV

 

Also https://talk4media.com/ 

 

Broadcast -- The Essence of my Message to Christians

I have now reached a point where Father has shown me that my understanding has matured and consolidated to a point where I can write an article summarizing ALL the key points that relate to my message as my message applies to Christians.

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/video/event/urn:li:ugcPost:7030941930918146048/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohxCdbSaCPA

Audio in DropBox: https://www.dropbox.com/s/lfp4s1f4jgp4wja/2023_02_17_The_Essence_of_my_Message_to_Christians.mp3?dl=0

 

 

Back issues of broadcasts at:

 

Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/relationship-with-creator/id1447290561

 

Audible https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Relationship-with-Creator-Podcast/B08JK2WLHN

 

Podchaser https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/relationship-with-creator-772533  

 

 

See also:

 

The biggest error crippling Mature Anointed Believers see https://www.ETI-Ministries.org/biggest-error-crippling-mature-anointed-believers

 

YouTube Why Seek Relationship: https://youtu.be/bvSLs-T0Q0U 

 

YouTube on Global Flood: http://www.YouTube.com/user/ProofOfGlobalFlood 

 

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