Revival, Renewal, & Refreshing...

Our scheduled revival services ended on Wednesday, March 5. I sent a mass e-mail out to many describing some of what occurred, but wanted to put it on the blog as well. I know it will be a long post, but it is worth it:

God has been moving! Folks are getting saved, sanctified through & through, and getting serious about their spiritual lives! Some long time church-goers are finding out what it means to be Christians! For example: Sunday Morning the altars were full with folks desperate for revival! Then the front pews filled, then steps to the platform, then two deep at the altar. Yes, many were the "same ole folks at the altar," but many were people that I was surprised to see... weeping for God to do something in their lives! A lot of folks were those who claimed to be "Christian" in a generic sense, but really found the Lord during revival!

Sunday evening the evangelist was preaching about the anointing of God on Jesus when he was here on earth (LUKE 4) and I heard a lady, I had met one other time, sobbing and sniffling behind me. I thought: "As soon as he gives the altar call she is going to go down to the altar." I was wrong though. About ten minutes into his sermon the evangelist said something like: "Do we really want sinners to be in these seats so that they can hear the good news? What if a prostitute sat right here? [pointing to a pew] What if a thief sat here? What if a homosexual sat here? What if a liar here? What if a crack addict sat here? What if a gossip sat there?"

I was sitting on the very front pew next to the keyboard/organ. The young lady (about 25-30 years old) is still crying in the pew behind me and a few minutes after the evangelist says the above she leans up and says crying into my ear: "I am the prostitute he was talking about! [I turned around in my pew, no doubt with a surprised look on my face.] I am the crack whore he was talking about!" The evangelist is in the middle of his sermon still!

I said: "Well, let's get down to the altar!" She gets up and walks all the way over to the other side of the pulpit (the evangelist was walking around a lot) and waves her arms in front of him and says: "I want to be free, I want to be free!" (Something the evangelist had asked: "Do you really want to be free from the yoke of sin?") I caught up to her and said: "Well, kneel down at the altar and we'll pray for that."

She gets on her knees and is weeping loudly! Bro. Rod Walley from Summersville Church of the Nazarene church comes up and lays hands on her along with a couple of other ladies from our church. Then we start praying and the evangelist goes on preaching for a minute or two then stops and comes over and prays for her.

Then another lady that comes to church sometimes on Sunday mornings (she is 69 years old) comes running down to the altar practically screaming: "I want to be free too!" I start praying for her. By this time the congregation begins to break out praising the Lord. Some quiet folks start shouting! Others start in, some saying 'amen' or 'praise the Lord' and stuff like that. Others just praised the Lord through tears, uplifted hands, or humbly bowing! Then the 69 year old lady lifts her hands up and says "Thank you Lord, I need you!" And goes back to praying at the altar.

Then another young lady (around 20) from the Summersville Church of the Nazarene (they had dismissed service to come over Sunday night) goes to the altar and the evangelist, who had tried to start preaching again finally gives up. He leads everyone, without instrument, in 'How Great Thou Art' while others gather around the altar to pray. People are worshipping God all over the sanctuary! People that I have never seen raise their hands, were raising their hands in praise to the Lord! Then the evangelist asked some of the first ones to come to the altar to tell what God had done for them. That set everybody to praising the Lord, clapping, shouting, crying etc. all over again!

Then the evangelist, while some are still praying around the altar, asks folks to raise their hands if they want to be set free. I think God was moving in such a powerful way there, that just about everybody raised their hands, just because, whether they were free or not, they wanted God to do something for them! Then the evangelist asks a few more things and hands me the handheld wireless microphone before leaving the sanctuary. I asked the choir to come and sing the choir special they had sang earlier in the service: "There is a Fountain" (not the hymn). Then praise to God erupted again.

Bro. Rod Walley, started shouting, which set the whole place into an uproar (in a positive spiritual way). The song leader, trying to lead the choir, finally gave up and just stood on the platform, arms raised to the Lord, crying. The evangelist starts shouting and praising God in the fellowship hall (he told me later that he couldn't stand the power of God in the sanctuary. He said: "I almost preached my head off, God was there in such a powerful way."). I started shouting along with all kinds of others throughout the congregation. Some were just crying. Some people were sitting, some were standing, some had hands raised, some had their face in their hands weeping, some were under conviction, a few were even kind of scared about what was going on, others were just overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit. After the choir finished, or at least the CD accompaniment, I talked briefly about real revival being life changing so that it was not a single event, but a way of life. I prayed and we dismissed that service.

I left church Sunday evening and there were still some there praying or I think that they were really just trying to soak in what had just happened. I don't think I have ever been in a service where the power of God was more real! And I have been in some good services in my time! Anyway, the service went about an hour and forty five minutes. I wanted to end, so people would be hungry for more. (I've been in too many services were a preacher(s) just kept drawing it out so that eventually even God left, and I didn't want to do that!)

Monday night at the end of the sermon, the evangelist just asked those who had something they needed to repent of to stand up. This was while the congregation was sitting and there was no music. There was dead silence for a few moments before people all over the sanctuary started standing up. There were probably 15 to 20 people standing (some red in the face). The evangelist said: "Now, just come from where you are down to the altar and God will hear your prayer." They came, and then others, who were not standing, started coming too!

What a blessing! When God is on the scene it is only good things that happen. There is no doubt about it, many still need the Lord! But the good news continues to be that these victories are no isolated events, but a part of the plan of salvation God fulfilled through the death & resurrection of His Son!

Send a great revival, Lord, and start the work in me.