Australia’s Largest Christian News Site

Aaron Jackson, as shown in the video below, gave a POWERFUL testimony live from the grounds of Asbury University where this revival was officially ONE WEEK old at the time of his recording!

Aaron shared his personal conviction of what made him come all the way from Atlanta (610 kilometres) to be there! There is something strikingly honest about Aaron Jackson’s demeanour and delivery. You can tell he has walked with God through the valleys and on the mountains. You can tell Aaron knows what he is talking about.

If you need proof that this revival is real, watch this. If you want to know whether this is a movement or a ‘moment’, or whether it’s having the impact it’s having, watch this!!!

Something is HAPPENING! Got this Aaron Jackson video from the Worship Station YouTube Channel. Worth a look!

As I watched Aaron share in the video, I began to weep. This happens when I watch these videos. This a move of God. You cannot fake tears. Yes, actors can, but for the average person, it is impossible to fake tears. I am an average person.

This unstoppable season of prayer and worship has all the hallmarks of revival. There is NO official leader, church, or ministry. Wilmore University staff and students are merely facilitating the movement of the Spirit through prayer, worship, confessions of sin, Bible reading and personal testimony.

Unexpected Places

In my 50 years of studying revival history, revivals always seem to start in nondescript out-of-the-way places. Most often in regional or country areas amongst no-name people. Often the people are poor or not highly regarded. Think, Galilee and Jesus (“Can anything good come out of Galilee?”); Wales 1904; (miners were the lowest class in the day); the Herrnhut Revival and the Moravians 1727 (backwoods of Germany); Cane Ridge Revival, Kentucky, 1800 (Backwoods of America); Azusa Street Revival, 1906 (an old horse stable in the bad part of town led by a half-blind black preacher). This was a time when Black people weren’t allowed on the streets after dark.

What about Australia? Parramatta Revival, 1839-1841; coal miners’ revival in the Illawarra, 1902; Elcho Island Reviva, 1979 (led by Indigenous people); Warburton Revival, 1981 (led by Indigenous people); Pinnacle Pocket Revival, Queensland 1934 (led by Indigenous people). I could bore you senseless!

If you want to read more about Australia’s revival history, you need to buy a book recently released by myself and my fellow author Kurt Mahlburg. (Kurt, by the way, is the real genius behind the book). The book is called Great Southland Revival — Tracing the Spirit’s Flame From Acts to Australia. Order here. Good price for bulk orders. We will even give them to you for FREE if you don’t have the money.

Moreover, this campus and the Kentucky region have an over 200-year history of Holy Spirit revival. The most major in recent times was the February 1970 Asbury revival in the middle of the Jesus Movement. I even bought a book about it in the mid-seventies. It is part of my Revival library. Worship was a feature then and it is today. A similar revival happened in Asbury College in the 1950s.

Humble Praise

One of the features of the Asbury revival is the beautiful singing and worship. This has been the feature of revivals for thousands of years, going right back to the Tabernacle of David.

When David Evans, the recognised leader of the 1904 Welsh revival, was asked by a news reporter in London about coming up to Wales to experience the Revival. Evan Roberts asked him point-blank, “Can you sing?”

As humourist Mark Twain said, “History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes.”

Shane Claiborne’s candid interviews of staff and students are very refreshing.

I have watched numerous videos of students and participants on YouTube. They all have a striking humility and gentleness of spirit.

Alisa Childers is not so optimistic. She gives her take on the Asbury Revival in a video called, “I attended the Asbury Revival and Here’s What I Saw.”  I am more optimistic than Alisa, but she has wisdom in her words. Ultimately, time will tell!

Recent Wilmore graduate Joel Zimmerman’s tears in the video below titled “My Asbury Revival Testimony 2023 — Radical Humility” are hard to argue with.

My take on this is that this is a genuine move of God. The extraordinary feature of the Asbury revival is the unabashed humility of the staff and students.

Yes, there are dangers in becoming prideful, but that is always the case in any powerful demonstration of the power of God. The recent video by Mike Bickle on the Dangers of Spiritual Showmanship is a classic case in point.

The leaders behind the scenes are very much aware that this could be hijacked by the “Gospel Industry” and the “mega-church ministry world.” It would seem according to Aaron Jackson that they are determined not to let this happen.

Humility to me is the greatest pointer to the true power of God. God Himself is humble.

The words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28-30 come to mind. “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Let us all join in prayer for the staff and students for wisdom, humility and discernment for them in Jesus’ name! The only way forward is on our knees. Walking together in prayer and humility, we can make a difference!

___

Photo: Sarah Thomas Baldwin/Facebook