There are three impactful events in my life that are up next. Today's post is the first. In fact, the recent events that took place in Wilmore, Kentucky at Asbury University is the reason behind my sharing these stories.
I do not remember where and when, some of the details of the past are fuzzy ... But this I do remember. Ray offered to take me to a church in Worcester where a revival was going on.
Again the details are fuzzy but the main point was clear. God was at work and I was witnessing it. As a fairly new follower of Jesus, this was all new to me. I had never experienced anything like this before. But I was amazed at the confessions, the crying, the humility, the spontaneous words of prayer, the hugs, etc. This was not anything anybody conjured up, it was a moving of the Holy Spirit of God. After a few hours, Ray and I had to leave. But we left knowing God was in that place.
Sometime later we went back to experience more. The work of God was ongoing. I was amazed at what I saw. Some of the very things we saw on our first visit were occurring again at this visit. I sat there in awe. My heart was stirred, my spirit refreshed, my mind was opened to the fact of God's amazing power. His power to change lives, to break hearts to stir people to repentance.
You know the Holy Spirit is at work if at the message of the cross one sheds tears, or one confesses sins, or if one seeks forgiveness from another and seeming past enemies embrace in a restored relationship. All this I was witnessing in that church I forget the name, in that city of Worcester, Massachusetts, on that date I cannot recall. But the date, the church even the part of the city are trivial ... the markings of Holy Spirit Revival were etched on my heart.
Now I said at the beginning of this Part number 6 that there were three events to share. This revival encounter was number one. But this was not the only revival encounter I had, there is another that I must share as I was not an observer on the outside looking in like in the Worcester revival. I was actually part of what was happening. That will be next week, part 7. And then the third event will be in two weeks, part 8.
Before I get ready to post this, I must state that the main idea of what the posting will be is right there in my historical memory. The details, even some sketchy details, come to my heart and mind as I write. Most of these things I haven't thought of in years. And they were decades ago. The reason these have come back in my memory and are being pulled out (dust and cobwebs included) are because of two amazing 2023 occurrences. I've already mentioned the first, the Asbury awakening of a month or so back. The second is Pastor Greg Laurie's story in the new film by the Irwin brothers ("I Can Only Imagine" and "I Still Believe") entitled "The Jesus Revolution."
Greg is just a year older than me and even though I've only seen clips and the trailer of this film, it depicts a time of life I was in during the 60s and 70s. For me this journey began in September 1967 and continued to June 1973. Just a span of 5 1/2 years. And even though Greg's events were in the West and Mine were in the East, they are strikingly similar.
It was in June through August of 1973, I shared already my shy visual encounters in the Rumney Bible Conference Snak Shak with my would be wife, Kathy (we were married just 3 years later). When I mentioned that to her the other day about being shy and wishing. I had done different, her response was a Godly one, "It wasnt His time yet". Details of when God's time actually came, (the next summer of 1974) will be shared most likely in parts 9 and 10.
So there's more to come, please join in ... Part Seven next week.
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