Mark Adams

Mark Adams

Mark Adams, D.Min., is the superintendent of the Sierra Pacific Conference, which includes Free Methodist churches in Northern California and Nevada. He is an experienced counselor, social worker, church planter, pastor, social activist, and social work supervisor and administrator. He previously was the superintendent of the North Central Conference that serves seven Midwestern states. This article originally appeared in the News of Undeniable Blessing newsletter and on the Sierra Pacific Conference Blog, and it is republished with permission.

By Mark Adams

May the power that has flowed into a little auditorium at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky, flow into your heart and church today.

The Holy Spirit falls with power from time to time. I believe this happens somewhere in the world all the time, even if not right now before my very eyes. God is sovereign, and the Spirit — Jesus tells us — moves like the wind, unpredictable from human perspectives. That’s how I understand John 3:8, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (NASB). That wind is blowing right now somewhere in the world with power.

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“The very word for spirit means breath or wind.”

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In the Upper Room, the Spirit manifested like a violent, rushing wind, filling the space occupied by the terrified disciples wondering what to do with the realization that Jesus had risen from the dead (Acts 2:2). Wind from God blew upon the bones of despairing Israel in exile as Ezekiel prophesied and saw life restored amidst death and despair (Ezekiel 37). The very word for spirit means breath or wind.

The unpredictable wind of God blew with power upon the students at Asbury University in February — and continues to well up in eddies and gusts. The wind has taken the sails of many who were transformed by the power of the Spirit in Wilmore and is blowing testimony and power across the United States and around the world. There have been few times like it. Pentecostal outpourings are a Methodist thing – indeed most or all modern Pentecostal movements have their roots in the Methodist Church.

Returning to Revival

The bishops of the Free Methodist Church USA have been praying, leading toward, and yearning for a realization of the Free Methodist Church to be a “Spirit-fueled movement that catalyzes the multiplication of leaders and churches.” The FMC was birthed in its own radical revival best described as life-giving holiness and love-driven justice. The Holy Spirit has never not been with the Free Methodist Church. But there are clear points in time where the power is overwhelming, the impact undeniable, the transformation clearly empowering lasting change for generations.

These points in time, when heaven powerfully meets earth with unusual power, are not predictable. There are lots of books written about the cause and effect of revivals, and to-do lists of just the right things that must happen to create the proper conditions for God to show up. This is almost magical thinking. Conditions of pain, social upheaval, a people crying out to God as their only hope, repenting, authentically sharing in community, praying, fasting and seeking nothing less than all of God are not uncommon, but they are more common than moments in which this is met by what might be called a true revival. But when the Spirit blows into these moments with God’s amazing grace and undeniable blessing, it becomes more than magical.

The Spirit’s Wind

I love the basic story of what took place at Asbury. An average local pastor was speaking at a normal chapel service with the usual worship team. The pastor reports nothing special about the message. In fact, he felt it was mediocre at best. Almost certainly he and the worship team were well-prepared — it’s a Methodist thing to prepare well — but all state that what happened next was not planned, or even conceived of as a possible outcome of the moment. It was a blowing of the Spirit’s wind.

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“…the Spirit like a wind blew in at that moment and gave these young disciples a new power and purpose.”

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Students began to confess their sins to one another and pray for more of God. They began to reconcile differences with one another and seek more of the Holy Spirit. Something about that place, that time, the people gathered, the messages, the prayers and the music were no doubt very special. Most powerful of all, the Spirit like a wind blew in at that moment and gave these young disciples (who knew Jesus had risen from the dead) a new power and purpose. Then the Spirit gave literally tens of thousands, who gathered at this thin place in this power, time to be touched by the invisible finger of God’s manifest power.m

I am praying that this spiritual wind, the movement of God in our midst, will blow with power that is undeniable into your heart this month. May your church experience a renewal of spiritual strength and transformational love that you have yearned for but cannot predict. I yearn with you for the wellspring of all of Jesus flowing through the Holy Spirit to transform the woes and worries not only of the past few very hard years, but of our broken ways altogether into new life, new hope, and new impact in your community.

Let’s pray for a Spirit-fueled life.

Let’s pray for a Spirit-fueled church.

Let’s pray for a Spirit-fueled movement that multiplies disciples and churches.

In this way, may we truly be what God desires — undeniable blessings in the world.

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Mark Adams

Mark Adams

Mark Adams, D.Min., is the superintendent of the Sierra Pacific Conference, which includes Free Methodist churches in Northern California and Nevada. He is an experienced counselor, social worker, church planter, pastor, social activist, and social work supervisor and administrator. He previously was the superintendent of the North Central Conference that serves seven Midwestern states. This article originally appeared in the News of Undeniable Blessing newsletter and on the Sierra Pacific Conference Blog, and it is republished with permission.