
The Gathering | A Church in Colorado Springs
Rewatch the full message here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/tk34FiDFjrU?si=k6nl2rAJ2-5eLKCu
On Sunday at The Gathering in Colorado Springs, Chris Berglund led us into a sobering and beautiful invitation:
What does it mean to hasten the coming of the Lord?
And what does it look like for Christ to fully live through us?
This wasn’t a message about religious performance or outward revival language. It was about the inner life. The fear of the Lord. The salvation of the soul. The indwelling Christ becoming visible in a people.
If you are searching for a church in Colorado Springs that teaches from a place of union with Christ and spiritual maturity, this message captures the heart of who we are.
Chris began in 2 Peter 3, highlighting a striking phrase:
“What manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness… looking for and hastening the coming of the Lord?”
There is something about consecration — about holy conduct — that participates in God’s unfolding purposes.
He connected this to James 1:21:
“Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your soul.”
Many of us understand salvation as justification — being born again, reconciled to God. But James speaks of something ongoing: the salvation of the soul.
Our spirit is united with Christ.
But our soul — our reactions, judgments, inner narratives, and habits — must be renewed.
Romans 12 calls it the renewing of the mind.
Philippians 2 calls it working out salvation with fear and trembling.
This is not striving for acceptance.
It is yielding to the implanted Word — Christ in us — so that His life flows unhindered.
Chris traced a pattern through Acts:
He defined the fear of the Lord through Genesis 22, Abraham and Isaac.
When Abraham raised the knife, the angel said:
“Now I know that you fear God.”
Why?
Because the fear of the Lord is marked by swift and complete obedience.
No delay.
No negotiation.
No argument.
It is reverential trust.
It is saying yes to whatever protects and preserves the flow of Christ’s life within us.
Chris referenced Matthew 24:14:
“This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness…”
The emphasis was not on verbal proclamation alone. It was on embodied witness.
The nations must see a people:
A living martyr is not dramatic suffering. It is daily surrender.
The kingdom spreads where Christ is visibly reigning in cleansed souls.
Drawing from the Song of Solomon, Chris and Susan reflected on the bride’s prayer:
“Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind…”
The north winds represent hardship — accusation, opposition, misunderstanding.
The south winds represent refreshment and joy.
The bride trusts the Bridegroom to send the perfect combination so her garden releases fragrance.
Chris shared personally about being confronted with accusation online and realizing that while the injustice was real, something deeper was being exposed in his own soul — a lack of love toward the accuser.
This is the salvation of the soul.
Not merely being right.
But becoming like Christ.
Leah stepped in and named something subtle but piercing: what we often call “processing” can quietly become murmuring and complaint.
She described how easy it is to rehearse grievance under the banner of discernment. And yet, that inner rehearsal can veil joy and stifle the river of Christ within.
The invitation was not repression. It was release.
To remember hard seasons through the lens of Christ.
To refuse agreement with resentment.
To choose joy not as denial, but as alignment.
The indwelling Christ is already present.
The question is whether the soul is cooperating with His life.
Susan then shared a powerful image: we are not merely vessels that God loves through — we are meant to become a river.
She recounted a moment years ago during a 50-day fast when she resisted an invitation to love someone right in front of her. In that moment, she sensed the Lord say clearly: when the river rises from spirit through soul, you are transformed into loving.
She described the heart as a garden enclosed.
What is planted there matters.
Bitterness, contempt, and hatred do not remain isolated thoughts — they affect the fragrance of the garden. They interfere with the life of Christ flowing outward.
This is why we cannot afford hatred.
Not because we avoid difficult realities.
But because we are stewarding something holy — Christ in us.
Every moment becomes an invitation:
Larry closed with something deeply personal.
After a turbulent past, he told the Lord:
“I want to be known as a man of peace.”
Not defined by history.
Not defined by failure.
But marked by surrender.
He challenged us to ask:
What fruit do you want your life to bear?
What are you saying yes to daily?
Because each day presents invitations:
As worship continued, Leah shared a final image that gathered the whole message into one embodied revelation:
Jesus on the cross.
His feet nailed together — He is not running away.
His arms stretched wide — never folded, never withdrawn.
That posture is not only God’s posture toward us.
It is the posture He is forming in us.
Vulnerable.
Open.
Unretaliating.
Fully surrendered.
This is the witness the world must see.
At The Gathering in Colorado Springs, we believe revival begins in the soul.
Christ is already in you.
The Spirit is already present.
The invitation is to yield — to allow the implanted Word to save the soul and make us mature in love.
If you are looking for a church in Colorado Springs centered on union with Christ, spiritual formation, and covenant community, we would love to meet you.
We gather Sundays at 10 a.m.
Learn more at: https://the-gathering.us
This message also connects to the larger national prayer network, Company 318, where believers are saying yes to covenant friendship, mentoring, and mature union-centered teaching.
Download the free prayer guide or join the mentoring community at:
https://company318.com
Join our Substack community here:
https://company318.substack.com/
We are building a community of believers devoted to prayer, communion, and encountering God. Stay connected with us! Sign up for our mailing list to receive teachings, resources, and updates on upcoming gatherings, conferences, and ways to partner in prayer.
Chris Berglund
Leah Ramirez
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