A Witness to Revival

(Editor's Note: Today's Guest Writer is Rev. Diane Ury. Diane is the National Ambassador for Holiness at The Salvation Army National Headquarters.)

At age 19 I transferred to Asbury College. I did not yet know Jesus, barely even knew anything about Him. My first day in chapel in Hughes Auditorium, I had no idea what we were doing in there or why. Then the singing started. I had never heard that kind of singing. But what was even more remarkable to me was as I looked around, kids my own age were singing robustly from their hearts! During the preaching, they brought their own Bibles and were taking notes. They seemed to understand what the preacher was talking about. They flooded down to that rail thing, and I heard that they were meeting God there. I was so drawn to the whole deal, fascinated by people who actually knew Jesus and loved Him. This made me extremely curious and filled my soul with longing. I had many intellectual struggles with religion, but in my heart the Spirit allowed me to place my hope in these new friends and their experiences of knowing God. After a few months of seeking, I heard His voice for myself, and I have never recovered from that beautiful sound.

On February 8, 2023, at Asbury University the risen, living Jesus Christ, King of the universe, came to offer His heart of holy love to the student body. To “revive” means to “re-life.” The Father had heard their cries; He’d seen their pain, fear, anxiety, sin, and captivity. Jesus came to rescue them and to bring them into His very life. He poured out His Spirit upon and into those who would receive Him. Many did. Many watched in wonder and came back into Hughes with permission from the Holy One to simply sit with Him in curiosity. Jesus loves that.

What the curious found when they heard Jesus say, “Come and see!” was that His presence there was safe. Even though He was looking right into their minds, souls, past screw-ups, hearts of wounded cynicism, and dark sin, His light-bringing conviction was coming forth from His loving heart. His holiness is alluring and was inviting those on the edge of their seats, “Come to Me!” They found rest.

While I was ministering on the prayer team at the altar in Hughes, I took in the continual worship rhythm of Scripture, testimony, and proclamation. Never did people stop coming to the altar. Music is the heart language of the young. The sense I got during the singing worship was mutual giving and receiving between us and Jesus. He seemed to hear our hearts in our voices as we loved Him with our song words, and there was something like a swell in the room. It wasn’t only volume, but quality fullness. As though He was receiving our love and worship and it was bringing Him great joy. Sometimes our song words were about what He does in and for us. We received His love in hushed tones of awe, and then we’d just be so overcome we’d sing from depths of fullness that were loud.

Emotionalism could have driven the music worship, but the student team never went there. They indeed led us continually to focus on the person of Jesus Himself, our King and Redeemer, our Knower and Lover and Healer.

By the time I arrived, it was day 9, and I recognized my 19-year-old self in these seekers from near and far. The response of the Asbury University students openly coming to Jesus, worshiping Him with abandon, testifying to cleansing from sin, deliverance from anxiety and fullness of joy unleashed the latent, but fully human created longing for God, in young people all over the country and the world! They were invited by the Spirit to “Come and see!” what Jesus was doing in the lives of kids their own age.

Meeting and praying with them at “that rail thing” was such a joy.

Some came in speechless, tearful offerings of thanksgiving to Jesus, draped over the altar, and just wanted someone to pray words with them.

Many came wanting Jesus for the first time ever. In that space, they were utterly free to come with great expectation even though they had no Christian vocabulary for their longings. And they knew that was fine with God, that all He wanted was for them to come to Him. I’d tell them, “That’s OK! Jesus IS the Word! He doesn’t care if you don’t know what to say.”

I asked each person if they’d ever given their lives to Jesus. Many had not and would say, “But I want to! I don’t know how to do that! How do I do that?!” Together, I walked with them into the goodness of who He is and what He has done for and will do in their lives. “Jesus is God. He’s the Creator of the universe. He became human so that He can recreate our human predicament and restore us to His dream for our lives. He is the One who bears your sin. Take it off of you and let Him place it into Himself. The cost of sin is death. He died your death. He receives your voice of confession right now. He forgives you.”

They confessed their sins aloud to Jesus. “Jesus, I’m sorry for… Forgive me for…” With each statement their voices rose in intensity of joy and freedom, sometimes their confessions grew longer as they experienced the freedom of God’s release.

Often they wouldn’t look up. I’d say, “Look at me, look at my face. Jesus has set you free! He wants to give you His life of victory, cleansing, wholeness, and freedom. Will you receive His life?” Everyone I prayed with did!

A guy drove a thousand miles, was the first one in the door, ran to the altar, and threw himself on the floor heaving in despair for an hour. He found help and hope.

An addict just out of rehab who’d lost his family and everything else gave his life to Jesus and received the risen Savior’s life into his own, walking back to his seat a new creation.

A whisp of a high school girl drove all the way from the Rocky Mountains, mustered the courage to come forward for cleansing of her sinful behavior, and freedom from self-harm and anxiety. When we hugged before she went back to her seat she looked like a different person. Because she was!

A middle-aged newly divorced woman came to know Jesus as the One who truly completes her, who will never abandon her. She’d been a Christian for decades but had never talked directly to Jesus. She was undone. It was beautiful.

I had them read aloud a passage from my Bible before they got up. Often they’d continue reading on and on. They’d look at me and then back down at the God-breathed Word, in wonder that He could speak so crystal clear to them now in His written Word. They fought to stop reading. I gave a new Bible to one woman and had her underline a key verse I showed her. She kept reading, grabbed the pen back out of my hand, and kept underlining more verses. Later I saw her in the crowd with her new Bible clutched to her heart, smiling and singing gloriously.

As I sent them back to their seats, I told them, “The Jesus in the four gospel books – the One who makes blind see, calms storms, and raises the dead – is the One you just gave your life to! And He is the One who just gave His life to you. He lives within you now!” Their faces would beam in awe and wonder.

In the crowds coming to see how and why there’s so much hope in central Kentucky, Jesus never sees a crowd. He sees each person individually, hears their cries, loves them, and speaks to their hearts, “Come to Me.”

He sees you, right now, no matter where you are. He wants you for His very own, to love, cleanse and care for every part of who you are. Lift your face to Him this moment, hear His loving voice. Whisper to Him your need, your love, your gratitude, and open your heart to His tender, kind Love. Let Him re-life you.

The Lord has pleasure in those who fear, those who wait upon His unfailing Love (Psalm 147:11).