LUKE 5:39: “And no one, after drinking old wine wants new; for he says, ‘The old is fine.” NASB

OBSERVATION: What will I do when Revival sweeps our land? Most Christians believe that there will be an end-time revival before Jesus returns. We have all prayed for it, preached for it, and hungered for it. Yet, when God releases a new and fresh move of His Spirit upon our land how will I react to it?

Will I make room for the NEW?

I was saved during what most call the last great revival movement to sweep through America in the late 1960s to early 1970s – the Jesus Movement. A new film documenting this great move of God has just been released in theatres. It follows the outpouring of the Spirit that took place among our youth and especially the events that took place in a tent in Costa Mesa, California.

This move of God swept across the youth of our land. Those who once were hippies, had practiced free love, and experimented with drugs, were now coming to Christ by the thousands. They had long hair, wore torn jeans and t-shirts, flip-flops, and did not look like your normal Sunday morning church crowd.

Some churches recoiled at this new move of God. They could not get past hippies attending their churches. So, these new young converts began to gather around those who would accept them. The Calvary Chapel movement was one such church that embraced this move of God. Evangelism spread like wildfire. Christian contemporary music was born. And, a whole new generation of Christian leaders was called and raised up from this move of God.

I was one of them!

Now, we read of a new move of God breaking out among young people, Gen-Xers, at Asbury College Chapel in Kentucky. Worship, prayer, repentance, and a sense of awe have broken out and have continued non-stop for days. Busloads of young people from other colleges have begun streaming into this chapel to experience what God is doing. And, due to Facebook and social media, the entire world is watching.

Is this the next major outpouring of God upon our nation?

Will the church be open to receiving this move of God?

Will I be open to receiving something different from what I experienced so many years ago?

Jesus understood human nature. He came to bring to bring a new move of God among the people of Israel. It was hungry sinners in need of a Savior that embraced Him. The religious had trouble breaking from their old form and what they were comfortable with. Jesus addresses this in His parable of the new wine. He closes these thoughts with these words,

• “And no one, after drinking old wine wants new; for he says, ‘The old is fine.’”

We can get stuck in remembering the good old days. We want to sing the songs that moved us years ago. We get comfortable in our routines and our surroundings. Yet, if this is a move of God sweeping our land, we need to make room in our hearts and our minds for a culture shift. We cannot live in the past. We can look back and learn. from our past but we must be positioned to embrace the future. We need new wineskins to receive the new wine that the Holy Spirit is pouring out.

I don’t know what that will look like for me personally. I am no longer young and I have a lot of baggage that I have accumulated over the years. Yet, there is a stirring in my heart, a hunger in my soul, and an excitement for what God is about to do. I will no longer be among the ranks of the upcoming young leaders that will emerge. However, I can be among those who have walked through a revival and become a facilitator of what God is wanting to do now!

Looking back at those early years, I did not have any older mentors who came alongside me and mentored me in the faith. Then, when I started pastoring my second church, I met a man in his 60s. He was the Bishop (Overseer) of our denomination, and he chose to attend our church. I found in him wise counsel, loving encouragement, and an example of godly living. He prayed with me, counseled me, encouraged me, and was just a good friend (even though in reality he was my supervisor).

I will never forget Ralph Wenger, Bishop of the Pacific District of the Brethren in Christ Church. As I think about how the leaders of today will steward the new wine that God is pouring out – I think about him. He always led by serving. He never pushed back on God doing something new in our fellowship. We experienced a fresh outpouring of God’s Spirit and Bishop Wenger was the most excited and welcoming of all to receive it!

I want to be this way!

While we always need to be discerning regarding these things, I don’t want to be skeptical. I want to observe what God is doing, test the spirits, and embrace what is of Him. I want to be a renewed wineskin so that I can experience and allow God’s new wine to flow in and through me. And, most of all, I want to be an encourager to the next generation that God is raising up. I want to walk in the steps of Bishop Wenger as he walked with me!

Lord, give me a sensitive heart to the fresh move of Your Spirit in these last days. May I walk in discernment but with open hands and an open heart. Keep me from being satisfied with the old and give me a hunger for a new and fresh outpouring of Your Holy Spirit!

Let Revival flow once again! Let it flow through me!

In Jesus’ Name!