Chris Berglund & Leah Ramirez

Watch the full message:
https://www.youtube.com/live/uultrASjxok?si=uxsR9Q4m_qLZCVOZ

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There are moments when God speaks in a way that doesn’t let you move on too quickly.

That’s what this dream has been for us.

Not something to hear and summarize.
Not something to package neatly.

But something to live inside of together.

Chris shared a dream where he found himself in what felt like a heavenly classroom. The name of the class was:

“The Architecture and Eschatology of Daniel — The Stone Kingdom.”

And instead of charts or timelines, the focus was something far more personal:

Christ being formed…
and revealed…
through His people.

Everything in the dream unfolded through four movements—stone, river, star, throne—but what has anchored us over these weeks is this:

We never move past the stone.

We don’t graduate from Christ into deeper things.
We discover that everything that unfolds… unfolds from Him.

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The Star—and Where We’ve Misunderstood It

When we came to the “star” portion of the dream this week, something surfaced that felt both clarifying and confronting.

Because many of us—especially if we’ve been shaped by charismatic spaces—have been taught to think of the “star” as destiny.

Calling.
Influence.
Platform.

But in the dream, and in Scripture, the language is different.

The Magi didn’t say, “We saw a star.”

They said, “We saw His star.”

That small shift changes everything.

Because now the question is no longer:

“How do I step into my calling?”

But:

What does it mean to carry His light?

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A Revelation That Was Carried for Generations

What struck me deeply as we talked through this is that the Magi weren’t improvising.

They weren’t spiritual adventurers chasing a moment.

They were responding to something that had been entrusted to them.

A prophecy spoken generations earlier.
A revelation stewarded over time.

By the time they arrived, they weren’t asking if something was happening.

They were asking:

“Where is He?”

That means there were decades—maybe centuries—of quiet faithfulness behind that moment.

Hidden lives.
Steady hearts.
People who carried something they might never see fulfilled themselves.

And suddenly the story feels less like a moment…
and more like a lineage.

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The Night That Changed How I See Lineage

I was thinking about that while remembering our very first beholding night as a community.

We had gathered, unsure what it would even look like. Chris shared briefly, and then we simply sat together in silence—waiting on the Lord.

And in that quiet, I saw something.

A man stepped forward and stood beside Chris. I knew, somehow, it was Bob—someone I had only heard about through stories. Then behind him, another. And then another.

It was like watching a line form.

Not random people.

A lineage.

People who had walked with God, who had given themselves to this life of beholding—and what they carried had been passed down, person to person.

And then I realized something that caught me off guard:

I was in the line.

Not because of my background.
Not because of anything I had earned.

But because I had said yes.

That moment reframed everything for me.

Because I’ve also been in rooms where people talk about their spiritual lineage—and if you’re honest, you can walk away feeling like you don’t belong.

Like you don’t have the right history.
The right background.
The right “inheritance.”

But this is where the tension of the gospel becomes so beautiful.

Because in Christ, we are brought into a priesthood that has nothing to do with natural lineage.

And yet—

We are still invited into something that must be received, walked out, and stewarded.

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You Can’t Have It Thrown Down to You

There’s a moment in Revelation where John is told to come and take the scroll.

Not to watch it.
Not to admire it.

To take it… and eat it.

And I’ve come back to that again and again.

Because there’s a difference between:

hearing something
and
becoming formed by it

There’s a cost to real revelation.

It doesn’t just inspire you—it works its way through your life.

It challenges you.
It reshapes you.
It becomes part of you.

And I think we’ve all seen what happens when we try to shortcut that process.

We want something powerful—but we don’t want the formation that carries it.

Chris shared a story from when he and Lou Engle once asked Leonard Ravenhill for his mantle. His response was sharp and unforgettable:

“Everyone wants my mantle. Nobody wants my sackcloth and ashes.”

It’s easy to want the fruit.

It’s another thing entirely to walk the road that produces it.

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When Surrender Becomes Maturity

Chris also shared a story about Dan Mohler that has stayed with me.

He had just bought a brand-new truck—something he had never done before. Not long after, a woman crashed into it and completely totaled it.

She was standing there, devastated, crying.

And Dan’s response was immediate:

“Are you okay? I care about you.”

There was no hesitation.
No internal wrestling.

Just love.

That’s what maturity looks like.

Not managed responses.
Not trying to do the right thing.

But a life so formed in Christ that love becomes the natural reaction.

That’s the difference between surrender and maturity.

You can be surrendered… and still unstable.

But maturity is when Christ has been formed in you to the point that He becomes your instinct.

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The Warning Hidden in the Star

There is also a warning in all of this.

Because Scripture speaks of another kind of “star.”

One that says:

“I will ascend.”
“I will exalt.”
“I will make myself…”

It’s subtle, but it shows up in ways we’ve all seen:

Building something around ourselves.
Becoming enamored with our own gift.
Letting platform define identity.

And the sobering reality is this:

You can shine brightly in the eyes of people…
and yet not reflect Christ.

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What We’re Actually After

Somewhere along the way, many of us were taught to pursue influence.

To build something.
To become something.

But what if the invitation is actually much simpler—and much deeper?

To behold Him.
To remain in Him.
To let His life take shape within us over time.

Because in the end, this isn’t about becoming a “star.”

It’s about becoming a people through whom:

His light is unmistakable.

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Reflection

Where have I equated calling with visibility instead of Christ’s life within me?

What has God spoken to me that I need to live, not just understand?

Am I willing to let revelation form me—even when it’s costly?

What would it look like to stay rooted in the stone, while allowing His light to grow in me?

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Stay Connected

If you’re looking for a church in Colorado Springs, we’d love to have you join us at The Gathering.
https://the-gathering.us

To go deeper with teachings on union, prayer, and covenant community, join Company 318:
https://company318.substack.com