Christ in Us and the Invitation to Become Love

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.

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Christ in You: The Salvation of the Soul

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.

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The Fear of the Lord: Swift and Complete Obedience

Chris traced a pattern through Acts:

• When the fear of the Lord came — power increased.
• When the fear of the Lord came — the church multiplied.
• When the fear of the Lord came — signs and wonders followed.

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.

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A Gospel the Nations Must See

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:

• Free from self-preservation
• Free from bitterness
• Free from ego
• Free from resentment
• Fully surrendered

A living martyr is not dramatic suffering. It is daily surrender.

The kingdom spreads where Christ is visibly reigning in cleansed souls.

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The North Winds and the South Winds

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.

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Leah’s Reflection: Stop “Processing” and Return to Joy

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.

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Susan’s Reflection: The Garden Enclosed and the Cost of Hatred

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:

• To agree with what defiles the garden
• Or to cooperate with love and be transfigured

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Larry’s Challenge: What Do You Want to Be Known For?

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:

• To defend self
• To justify resentment
• To align with accusation
• Or to surrender and love

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Leah’s Closing Picture: The Posture of the Cross

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.

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A Church in Colorado Springs Rooted in Union

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

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Go Deeper with Company 318

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/

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Reflection Questions

1. Where is the Lord inviting you into swift obedience?
2. What “north wind” might actually be His kindness exposing something in your soul?
3. Is there something you’ve labeled “processing” that is actually complaint?
4. What do you want to be known for?
5. What would it look like to take on the posture of the cross in your daily life?