One Divine Moment, edited by
Robert E Coleman and David J Gyertson, describes the events of 1970 from a
number of perspectives, and includes a 1995 retrospective by one of the
participants. A student’s diary includes a stream-of-consciousness eyewitness description
of events, and observations on those events.
· No sheer emotion
or psychological manipulation to get people to the altar;·
Appeal to rid
yourself of the trash & garbage that claims your life;·
Open our eyes to
see people as they really are;·
A sense of
honesty and integrity in our hearts;·
Christ is a
necessity, not an option;·
Weeping, sobbing,
intense prayer;·
The Spirit
working quietly and reverently;·
Repentance,
prayer for forgiveness;·
A real tragedy of
life, that we have ignored God;·
Unusual manifestation
of joy;·
Unusual spirit of
holiness, souls sobbing at the altar;·
Human pride is a
huge stumbling block;·
Emotional
excitement is not the answer; we must confess our sins;·
Blessed
assurance, electrifying moments, a grand jubilee in God’s presence;·
Awe, wonder,
love.·
People wanting
more in their Christian lives.·
For every
answered prayer, He gives two more burdens;·
Be patient and
wait for God;·
God has separated
us from the world and shut it out so He could speak;·
He is getting us
ready to walk in a pagan society seriously, meekly, obediently;·
The most
wonderful thing in life is to be used of God;·
I sat in the
auditorium and just let Jesus love me;·
He shows me not
only who He is, but also what I am as His child;·
Into a dying and
lost world we must go;·
I’m free from the
limitations I placed on myself.
Anyone who has experienced
the Lord’s presence in power can relate to one or more of these. A comment made
with respect to the events of 2/6/2023 is that it was as though Jesus walked
into the room. What being in His presence is like, and our responses to it, are
perhaps a foretaste of eternity in His presence.
Noteworthy it is that in
1970, protests against the war in Vietnam were widespread on college campuses,
but also there was revival among Catholics in the Charismatic Renewal (centered
in South Bend), and evangelism success among the hippie movement in California,
as depicted in the Jesus Revolution movie. God was clearly moving in American
culture, as He had many times in history (His story). The book goes on to
discuss the spreading and sharing of this renewal on other college campuses in
1970, and in other venues. And finally, what was the long-term fruit, as seen
in 1995.
50+ years afterward we are
now, and it seems to be happening again. But, over the last fifty years, the
students thus affected went on into the world, into ministry or secular jobs,
impacted permanently by their experience with God. American society seems to
have been diverted from a head-on collision with God. But the last few decades have
seen the cancerous growth of the philosophy and lifestyle inspired by Satan,
the adversary of God, who seeks to enlist humanity in his rebellion or destroy
it.
Let us not dodge the issue.
Western society is headed for cataclysmic disaster, of a magnitude exceeding
the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The root cause is not government
programs or human sinfulness, but deliberate human participation in actions and
beliefs that reject God and His standards. Government programs, whether they
encourage virtue or vice, are a result, not a cause. Individual choices are
similarly a result of these beliefs. Why does God move in young people,
particularly in colleges? I believe it is because He wants and is preparing young
people for intelligent and articulate advocacy of Truth in the world, in all
venues where moral and ethical decisions are discussed. Not just Congress and
the Supreme Court, but local governments (at all levels), social media,
broadcast media, printed media, and social gatherings where people hang out.
A reading of the four gospels
will find these three themes oft-repeated by Jesus:
· Believers must
have faith in the fundamental truths of the Bible, and implicitly know the
Bible well enough to understand what Truth is and trust in it and Him. Of first
importance, believers must accept as Truth that Jesus is the unique Son of God
who died for our sins and rose again on the third day, and lives to rescue us.·
Believers must
obey Jesus, and do the things He commanded. Without being legalistic, He gave
many commands that seem to be impossible. That is because we need the
indwelling Holy Spirit to empower us, or else they are impossible to obey.·
Believers must
have a relationship with Jesus. This can be compared to a family relationship,
whether the metaphor is as sons and daughters of God, or as the bride of
Christ. This relationship begins when we agree to receive Him into our lives,
not resist Him. The important thing about this relationship is frequent and
close (intimate) communication. We sense His closeness, hear His voice, talk to
Him.
Unfortunately, most of us
choose to favor one at the expense of the other two, typically focusing on one
of:
·
Scripture study
and doctrinal purity,·
Earning God’s
favor through good works, or·
Prioritizing
emotional effusions in our prayer and worship of God above all else.
Revival among believers seems to be God
taking the initiative to get these in balance and context in our lives. We do
not know the future, except the barest Scriptural prophetic highlights. But we
can and must respond when He moves in power, and get our lives in sync with
Him. He is moving. What are we doing to respond?
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