Revival in North Carolina

REVIVAL IN THE CORNFIELDS OF NORTH CAROLINA———————————————————————————-NOTE: Below is an extract from a secular newspaper in Asheville,North Carolina, USA – from a few days ago. The thing that struckme about it was not so much that Revival has begun – but thatthere are clear signs of a DEEP SPIRITUAL HUNGER in thecommunity at large. I wonder how widespread this is across theUSA right now? (By the way, these were Baptist Revival meetingsunder a big tent. -The response far exceeded all expectations).”THOUSANDS TURN OUT for REVIVAL, RIVER BAPTISMS”by Susan Reinhardt,-Asheville Citizen-Times, Sept 11, 2006.CANE RIVER — Thousands walked Sunday from the revival tentthrough clay and dirt toward the glittering gray river. They didn’tbother to roll up their jeans or hitch their skirts, but waded withpurpose into the rain-chilled waters, meeting with the pastors whosubmerged and lifted them, cleansed of sin and received of salvation.Diane and John O’Shields of Burnsville were first in line and hadmore than one reason for getting wet in what some revival officialssay was North Carolina’s largest river baptism. The baptism cameas the faithful stretched into six weeks what was conceived as atwo-week Cane River Tent Revival led by the Rev. Ralph Sexton Jr.,of the ministry by the same name. No one in this small idyllicYancey County town just northeast of Asheville has ever seensuch a sight — thousands coming nightly to sit under a giantwhite tent and hear messages of hope. Before the baptism,murmurs circulated throughout the tent that this event would godown in history. And Sunday, as up to 3,000 or more peopleflowed like refugees from the big tent in the cornfield, thosealready at the river sang “Victory in Jesus.” ‘That sweet, sweetspirit’ Diane chewed her nails as she tried to contain her emotions.Crowds swelled on each side of the riverbank. Wearing a blackpantsuit and pearl earrings, she wiped tears from her eyes as shewaved at watching loved ones. She and her husband held hands,closed their eyes and mouths and briefly disappeared under thewater. The couple, married for 21 years, decided let this chance inthe water with a reverend, the presence of God and countlesswitnesses work double-duty. “It’s our Baptism and wedding at thesame time,” she said, her dress soaked and her face salted withtears. “We weren’t married in a church, so this is our marriageceremony, too.” Theirs was just one among of the hundreds ofstories and reasons people had for wandering into the waters,wetting their Sunday best or blue jeans. Dee-Dee Carver said thedevil had hold of her the past two years. It’s not that she sinned orcarried on wildly, she said. She’d just turned her back on God.“The past five years,” she said, her face going from glowing topained, “I’ve been dealing with a rebellious son.” She said he wasinto drugs and trouble and she needed the Lord’s strength to seeher through. She’s been a Christian for years. But like many whogathered every night for six weeks at revival, she needed a fix — aJesus fix. The polish and shine had worn off her soul and this wasthe ticket to fix it.“I’ve been coming every night I can,” the 51-year-old MadisonCounty woman said. “I come here and feel that sweet, sweet spirit.I think it’s God’s way of saying, ‘I still love you.’”MORE than 4,000 a NIGHTSexton began this revival in a cornfield six weeks ago withnearly 30 area pastors and churches who came together for asingle cause: healing, soothing, saving and bringing God intotroubled personal lives and into a world in a state of unrest andwar. It started July 31 and was supposed to end two weeks later,but people kept coming, clogging roads and bringing the need forfire trucks and helicopters.Sexton said he is humbled and encouraged by what he’s seen inthe cornfields owned by John Young, who pastors baptizedSunday afternoon. “I’ve had opportunities in the past to be involvedin area-wide meetings,” he said. “But this exceeds allexpectations.” Asked why some nights more than 4,000 wouldshow up, including teenagers, Sexton credited the Lord and thetimes we live in. “In our communities, there seems to be a hungerto return to basic moral and faith values,” he said. “We have anunsettled world. Every continent has a madman and every countryis asking for peace and safety and we’re finding none…“WHAT was PREACHED-extracts from Ralph Sexton’s website:”Bro. Ralph encouraged the congregation with the stories of youngpeople who began seeking God for revival.. Last week at MountainHeritage, they couldn’t have class for kids and teachers talkingabout the power of God. In South Caldwell County, 125 or moreyoung people had been meeting at the flag pole at 7:30 eachmorning to pray for their school and their community. In HaywoodCounty, some young people were skipping lunch to pray for revival.A group of young men from Henderson County had been in theMountain Heritage Crusade for the first 10 nights. They had beenfasting for 21 days, and they came early in the afternoon and wentinto the cornfields to pray for God to move in this community.Bro. Ralph asked the question,”If the church of the Living Goddoes not have revival, what is going to happen to us?”. We havedropped our defense, we have lowered our guard, and we are beinglured away…”….”Bro. Ralph preached a message from Proverbs 22:6 entitled,”Spiritual Child Abuse.” According to a Holy God and His Word,when we pass up the opportunity to walk with Him and live holy,we are abusing our children spiritually. We need to invest our lifein them. We can buy them stocks and bonds, but the greatest giftwe can give them is knowing God!The light of God exposes our real nature. Preaching pulls thecovers off sin, and it brings us to the intersection of grace and mercy.When was the last time God heard your cry? We don’t know if thiswill be the last time God passes by our way. When He is thisclose, we don’t want to miss Him!Over 150 souls have been saved in the past four services! We havereceived letters, calls, and emails from teachers, governmentofficials, and business leaders. The “Cane River Revival” hasinvaded the community.”…”Bro. Ralph preached a message from Matthew 16:21-26 entitled,”The Devil’s Flea Market.” He asked the question, “What will aman give in exchange for his soul?” The devil will make you a deal.He doesn’t give up! Everyday he is on the corner saying, “Give meyour prayer life, give me your sweet fellowship with the Holy Ghost,give me your tears.” He says, “You can have anything you want ifyou will just give me your soul.” He is a liar and a deceiver. Hedoesn’t make a deal worth your soul!When parents listen to the devil and go back to the world, theirbabies are usually following them. We need to have an urgencyand a desperation on the Church. There is no guarantee of anothernight under the tent or another night to get right with God. Bro.Ralph told us that we can see a harvest of souls if the Church willget cleaned up. Please don’t put off getting right with God!”….”Brother Ralph preached a message from Psalm 130 entitled,”Why Is God Looking Our Way?” He has been reading on therevivals throughout history for the days that we have been unableto meet under the Old Gospel Tent. Each of the revivals have oneoverwhelming tie – a soberness and a holy hush along with therealization that what was going on was from the Hand of a Holy God!…Sin has never been bolder, but even the lost people know that Godis in the neighborhood. “If not now, when will we have revival?” Wehave a generation of young people who have never seen the powerof God! We have no promise of tomorrow.Revival is not an alternative; it is imperative! The beginning of revivalis one soul who will get so broken hearted that they say, “Morethan I want to see the sun come up in the morning, I want God tomeet with us!” Are we desperate for Him? Let us get on our facesbefore Him as we prepare for the last night of the meetings….”—————————–~SOURCES – (1) The Asheville Citizen-Times Newspaper -http://www.citizen-times.com/(2) http://www.ralphsextonministries.com——————————-YES! – You have permission to post thisto friends or to other groups, etc.