When the Jesus movement took off in the late 1960’s, hippies with long wild hair and bare feet came together to worship God on college campuses. Many Christians were critical of their rhythm, drums, electric guitars and funky style.
Later, many of those critical Christians came to accept what God was doing during that movement. Now with the Asbury revival, it’s important to take a look at history to determine how Christians should respond.
I sat down with Mario Murillo to talk about the “holy peer pressure” taking place across the nation.
“There’s this reverent tone that is hitting us like, ‘wow these young people that are at Asbury are going after God with all their might.’ So, it’s bringing a force to us,” he says.
Murillo points out three key trends exploding in our culture today:
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The woke agenda is making people miserable.
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Parents are continuing to grow in anger about what is going on in public schools.
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There is a youth backlash against the woke agenda that is starting on campus and will “burn like a fire across the U.S.”
Despite the stark number of young people leaving the church, Murillo encourages people to look at the massive undercurrent in America that is going to lead people toward God. His book, “It’s Our Turn Now” is written as a manual for the church to embrace the massive harvest that is coming.
He talks about the interesting parallels between the Asbury revival and past moves of God. The Jesus Movement consisted of swarms of young people gathering together to worship on college campuses.
The Azusa Street revival had an emphasis on repentance, holiness and the presence of God which has also marked the outpouring that started at Asbury University.
The revival you’ve been praying for has started and it likely isn’t coming how you originally thought. If you’re a charismatic Christian, you’ve probably imagined revival breaking out at your church service and not a Methodist university.
Andrew Murray left South Africa for a season and went to England. While he was gone he left the church in the hands of some respected people he trusted. When he returned there was a Saturday night meeting going on in his church in Cape Town where people were crying out to God with force and refused to go home.
“His first reaction was that it was emotionalism. He walked into the church and rebukes the people and commands them all to go home,” Murillo says.
Murray’s father stood outside the church building and sobbed. He reprimanded his son for stopping the very thing he had prayed for 30 years would happen.
For four to six weeks Murray sat at the back of his church in total contrition over what he did. Finally the elders of the church brought him to the pulpit and the fire of God fell on Andrew Murray and five million Africans were saved.
God uses the places and people that we least expect to spark something new. Murillo implores believers to pray for God’s protection over what has happened at Asbury university. If you weren’t able to attend, remember that God can pour out His Holy Spirit and fire on you where you are at now.
John 4:35 says, “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Listen! I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest.”
Read “It’s Our Turn Now” to help prepare for what God is and will be doing in America. Murillo’s Bakersfield, California tent crusade is coming up on March 12-15th.
Despite all that is going on in culture, people are focusing their attention off of social media, a horrific news cycle and setting their gaze upon Jesus’ face as He is transforming a people into His image.
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