On October 10th and 11th, Blue Mountain college kicked off its first revival of the school year. Revival happens during both the fall and spring semesters, and the school has extra and extended chapel times. The speaker this year was Ed Newton who has spoken at Revival many times and various other different chapel services. He is the pastor at Community Bible Church in San Antonio, Texas. According to his website, ednewton.com, his main goal is to help the “‘next’ generation become a ‘now’ generation,” and one of the ways that he does this is through speaking at revivals.
Ed Newton spoke on a very powerful topic that was relevant to the lives of students and faculty alike. The sermon was centered on the enemy and how Satan tries to control our minds. He stated that “There is a war on campus, a spiritual one. Every student is in danger because the enemy seeks to kill and destroy”. The first day he laid the foundation of it all and explained where Satan and demons come from. He explained that something small in our lives can create a foothold for demons to manifest, that grows into a stronghold, and then we are consumed. The evening service dealt with church hurt, which can be described as pain inflicted by the people of religious institutes. This pain can keep people from truly seeing God. Newton made sure to explain that people do not define God’s love. The second day he spoke with students about what they can do to overcome the enemy and his demons. He left students with the encouraging message that God could change the world through them, and that what they decide will impact them for the rest of their lives.
Biblical Studies student Tyler Meeks said that revival has a special place on campus. He stated that there are two purposes to it: a God purpose and a Human purpose. He explained that both of these are to see people saved and for students to follow Christ more in their everyday lives. He said that this year's revival was very impactful to him personally, and that Dr. Newton was faithful to the Word and involved the campus in what God was doing. Tyler said that it was important for all students to remember that “Revival doesn’t end here, and God will continue to work on this campus”.
The campus rejoiced as several students gave their lives to Christ. There were nine salvations, and a few rededications. The spirit of revival flowed greatly throughout the campus and will continue even after Ed Newton returns home. God will continue to work wonders on campus. Matthew 18:19-20 says that when two or three are gathered in the name of the Lord, He will be there.
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