A few weeks ago, Regent University announced they would host a Charismatic Christian conference sponsored by the ministry, Global Awakening. The Stirring began during Regent’s week of spiritual renewal, starting on Wednesday, January 25 and lasting until Saturday, January 28th.
The first two session were in place of University Chapel and UnChapel, which stands for undergraduate chapel.
Global Awakening offered the conference free to the public, in addition to all students and staff at Regent.
Friday and Saturday consisted of five sections, creating a full day, beginning at 9 a.m. and ending around 10:30 p.m. (depending on how long people wanted to worship and minister to others).
The speakers included Dr. Randy Clark, the head of Global Awakening, Richie Seltzer, and Paul Martin. Each focused on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially prophecy, words of knowledge, and healing.
Although I was not able to attend all sections of the conference, the sermons I went to see demonstrated God’s love for the world, those who believe in Him, and those who do not.
On Thursday, January 26, Paul Martini spoke on God’s peace that passes all understanding.
Martini also told stories of speaking peace over people’s life circumstances, such as physical ailments and illnesses. The result was healing for the person receiving prayer.
Many people in the audience were encouraged during this session.
On Friday night, Dr. Randy Clark spoke on letting the Holy Spirit guide believers when praying for physical healing. He shared a video of his ministry praying for individuals with knee, back, and neck issues. Many had rods and screws due to major accidents.
The video showed individuals being able to bend certain joints they have not been able to do in years.
Afterward, Dr. Randy Clark shared different words of knowledge he felt God leading him to communicate with his audience. After every word of knowledge, he asked people with this physical ailment to stand up. About 40 to 50 individuals stood up.
Dr. Clark then led everyone to pray for these people. Many confessed their pain was completely gone. He counted about 35.
One woman walked to the front to share her testimony, sharing that she was able to bend her elbow for the first time in fourteen years. The pain in her ankle also left her.
It is encouraging to see people growing in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12. As all speakers shared this weekend, these gifts are used to demonstrate God’s love towards people. My prayer is that more individuals will realize that the Holy Spirit wants to bless them with gifts to accurately portray God’s character.
He demonstrated the difference between the world’s peace and God’s peace is that God’s peace does not go away when things get stressful and our circumstances are full of chaos. His peace quiets the chaotic storms we encounter.