"Sensual Festival" is what I called this charismatic movement on FB. And this was what I posted, I just updated it with #5.
1. The standard rule: the more it is advertised as revival first, the less serious of a commotion it should be taken in general and the more it behooves us to remind ourselves of the Lord's warning in Matthew 24.
2. Not man but Scripture defines revival:
Greatest revival in OT, by Jonah
Greatest revival in NT, by John the Baptist
Great revivals are never about the events & festivals, but the preachers (i.e. George Whitefield, etc.) and their message first.
3. The Holy Spirit never points to Himself but only to Christ.
4. Anything else is self worship in guise of God's name (i.e. using the Holy Spirit in vain) and perhaps even demonic in guise of Christianity to fool the children of God.
5. God's name will still be raised and His glory shown regardless, but Uzzah's name will forever be despised.
That said, many prominent Christians want to keep a cool head on this..."it is wise to be patient"
Now, after a week or two, they are not heard from anymore.
I have no time for these. I think on the those sensitive in true evangelism and cultural mandate with zeal would quickly be able to tell what's going on and call the bluff, because you love who you evangelize, you have no time for fake evangelism.
Many love to say "I will go evangelize", especially when they retired, when they got nothing else to do. But yet, they look down on people, on cultures. They couldn't dare live with those whom they evangelize. Go Home! I will not speak of evangelism even with these, for they are a waste of my time. Their zeal is as this Asbury festival, having the outward appearance only, fooling themselves into doing God's work.
Now, are there in the midst be blessed by God? Very likely, for I believe even Hitler's action was used to cause conversion to Christianity. But that is God whom we praise, we commend and thank God for the likes of George Whitefield, we do not thank God for Uzzah, we thank God for punishing and making example of Uzzah.
Update 3/15/2023:
John MacArthur called it Chords over Christ:
John MacArthur summarized the reason well in the recent Shepherd’s Conference Q&A session when he described what happened at Asbury as “chords over Christ.” “Shut off the music and see what happens,” he challenged.
It should be Christ over Chords, not the other way around:
Calvin Stapert helpfully makes this point with reference to Ephesians 5:18–19 and Colossians 3:16:
“Spirit filling” does not come as the result of singing. Rather, “Spirit filling” comes first; singing is the response. . . . Clear as these passages are in declaring that Christian singing is a response to the Word of Christ and to being filled with the Spirit, it is hard to keep from turning the cause and effect around. Music, with it stimulating power, can too easily be seen as the cause and the “Spirit filling” as the effect.8
Although their comments above dwarf in comparison to Stephen Tong's take on this issue: Music is the deepest expression of emotion. Therefore, the composers, not just singers, need to be aware and cautious.
I can't wait to for the Shepherd's Conference 2023 to be posted online. They have a habit of posting these annual events free online: https://www.shepherdsconference.org/media