Isa.64:1-3 – Oh, that You would tear open the heavens and come down,
That the mountains would quake at Your presence–
As fire kindles brushwood, as fire causes water to boil–
To make Your name known to Your adversaries,
That the nations may tremble at Your presence!
When You did awesome things which we did not expect,
You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence.
By now you have surely heard about the surprising outpouring of the Spirit at Asbury University in Kentucky. We know that this generation is in a dire need of an outpouring of the Spirit of God. This outpouring in Asbury appears to be spontaneous and totally unexpected. Thankfully this University has embraced this move of the Spirit and are serving as good stewards over this surprising work of God. The Lord has come down previously at critical times in the history of America. The Great Awakening, taking place in the 1740’s, proved to be the tool the Lord used to give thirteen rebellious colonies a national identity. George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards were key instruments in this awakening. Here is something Edwards said about the shocking outpouring that appeared suddenly in colonial America.
“And now, behold! The Lord whom we have sought has suddenly come to his temple [Mal. 3:1]. The dispensation of grace we are now under is certainly such as neither we nor our fathers have seen; and in some circumstances so wonderful, that I believe there has not been the like since the extraordinary pouring out of the Spirit immediately after our Lord’s ascension. The apostolical times seem to have returned upon us: such a display has there been of the power and grace of the divine Spirit in the assemblies of his people, and such testimonies has he given to the word of the Gospel.”
Could we be living in one of those critical moments nationally and even globally? I believe we are. We have seen the eroding of the fabric of our nation morally and spiritually as our national identity is being forsaken and even hated. The only hope we have in this important season is a true national move of the Spirit of God. Apparently there was a similar outpouring in 1970 at Asbury that served as a catalyst to the Jesus People Movement. Perhaps something even greater is stirring in our country today. I was converted in the Jesus movement of the 1970’s and have longed and prayed for this generation to experience a true outpouring. Lord, would you tear the heavens and come down? Let our nation quake in your presence.
Let us be found persistent, our voices calling out, let Your rain fall on our field, Your harvesting sickle all around us. We need you, we want you, come, come, come.