Oh Lord, Revive Us By Your Love!
Revival meetings at Asbury University, Wilmore, Kentucky in February 2023.
Many people are talking about the Asbury Revival, a spiritual awakening occurring on the campus of Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. The excitement about this move of God has been so great that people from all over the country and even other nations began to flock to experience the presence of God and to be a part of this move of God. News of the revival has rapidly spread through social media, and even the secular media has picked up the story.
The revival at Asbury began at a Chapel service on Feb. 8, where the speaker, Zach Meerkreebs, challenged the students with a simple and unpretentious message from Romans 12:9-21 called “Love in Action.” It was an exhortation to put others first and to love even those who oppose you and persecute you. He concluded his message with a prayer that ended with the words, “Revive us by your love!” He then left the stage, but about 30 students remained and began to pray and repent. Since then, the meeting continued non-stop with prayer, testimony, worship, confession of sin, silence, and the weighty presence of God.
The influx of people has become so great that the school administration has asked that visitors move the revival to other places so that students can continue with their classes and take their midterm exams. The mass of people coming has been more than the school and the small town could handle. Canaan Yan, a sophomore at Asbury, said, “I feel as though maybe we were the candle, and now we are just passing that flame on to other churches and other schools.” (The Christian Post)
Sounds good to me! Let it spread, Lord! We don’t just need the Asbury Revival. We need a worldwide revival. Revival is not about a particular location, it’s about the Church returning to God. And I believe that this is exactly the kind of revival that we need—a revival of God’s love.
Our world is filled with so much strife, anger, rancor, and name-calling. Hate is a commodity to be sold like potato chips and Coka Cola. Hearts are inflamed with anger and fear. Everyone seems to be offended by something. Tongues are ablaze with evil and hateful words. It’s not time for Christians to chime in with the rest of the world. It’s time for us to be different. It’s time for us to return good for evil. It’s time for us to love those that oppose us. It’s time for us to manifest the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When you receive Jesus as Lord and are born again, the Holy Spirit comes into your life and brings the love of God. Then you are to love others with God’s love. I remember when I came to the Lord, everything changed. Yes, I was powerfully delivered of addictions. But also, something dramatically changed in my attitude toward people. Before I was saved, I wanted nothing to do with what we called “straight people,” meaning those who didn’t do drugs. They were people of a different culture and mindset. I would walk on the other side of the street to get away from them. But when Jesus came into my heart, I began to love all kinds of people.
I must admit, however, that there have been occasions since then when I have allowed strife, bitterness, and hurt to enter my heart, and it has stopped the flow of God’s love in my life. All of us face the temptation to get into strife and bitterness. I believe, however, that it is possible for Christians to walk in love continually as we follow God’’s Word. As the Scripture says, “But whoever keeps His word truly has the love of God perfected in him. By this we know we are in Him.” (1 John 2:5, MEV)
God’s love is perfectly expressed in the cross of Calvary, where Jesus laid aside His own desires, even His own life, for our benefit. He paid the ultimate price so that you and I could have a relationship with the Father. God’s love is unselfish. God’s love is kind. God’s love prefers others. God’s love is willing to die for His enemies.
God calls us to receive His love and forgiveness, and when we do, He transforms us to become like Him. We are given the right to become children of our loving heavenly Father. Then He calls us to follow Him in God’s love plan to reach others. He calls us to walk in His love, but it is not automatic. We have to allow God’s love to live big in us.
Jesus said, “As the Father loved Me, I also loved you. Remain in My love.” (John 15:9-12, MEV) We not only need to receive God’s love by being born again, but we must choose to remain in His love. When we do this, our joy will be full. When we don’t, we will be negative, defeated, and sad. Not only that, we will short-circuit God’s plan to reach the world through us. Throughout the New Testament, in the teachings of Jesus and the writings of Paul, Peter, John, and others, we are continually encouraged to walk in love, even toward our enemies. It’s the one thing that sets us apart from the world.
The Gospel is a message of love, but for it to be effective, it must be not only spoken but lived. This is why it is so important that Christian believers remain in His love, not just toward the people who are like them but toward all people.
Jesus said that people would know that we are Christians by our love. We are to love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us. We are to love those who have different opinions, different religions, and different lifestyles. We are to love those who oppose everything that we believe in.
This is why I believe Satan is working overtime to get Christians into strife. He wants the world to see Christians as angry and judgemental. When a Christian speaks or acts out of hate and bitterness, it is completely contrary to the Gospel, and it is counterproductive to God’s love plan to reach the world. I wonder how many people have been driven away from the Lord by the unkind words and actions of some Church people. We are supposed to draw people to the Lord, not drive them away.
Some people say that we are in a culture war, but you will never win a culture war with bitter words and angry speeches. Only God can change hearts. Only God can put His love and forgiveness in a person’s heart and make them different. We are called to love people so that God can change them.
Remember, Jesus was called a friend of sinners. He was severely criticized because he ate with sinners and spent time with them. He didn’t eat lunch with them because He agreed with their lifestyle or actions. He spent time with them because He loved them. It is through God’s love that tax collectors and prostitutes were converted. He was honest with them, but they also knew that He loved them.
Think about it! Will you win more people to the Lord by demeaning them for their beliefs and lifestyles or by showing them the love of Jesus? This doesn’t mean that we don’t talk about sin. We must speak the truth, but we must speak it in love. Love means that we recognize the value of a person, even though they are in error. Everyone has value, because God created them and Jesus died for them!
Love is a decision. But it is also a supernatural manifestation of the power of God. None of us can love as Jesus loved without the power of God working in us. It is impossible. We must let Love (Jesus) become King in our hearts. We must accept God’s love for ourselves and then let it flow out of us to others. We must give as much grace as we have received and forgive others, even as He has forgiven us.
If we will come to the Lord in sincere repentance, then His love will once again be manifested in our lives. We will experience joy in the presence of the Lord, and those around us will be touched by the pure love of God flowing from our hearts and our lips. Then, revival will come in the Church, and people around us will come to know Jesus as He really is, the mediator of a covenant of love.
Oh Lord, revive us by your love!