Sixteen hundred spiritually- hungry Christ followers from all over the Pacific Northwest jammed into a local church this past weekend. I had the privilege to be wedged in with them, singing praises to Jesus, listening to the speakers, and praying for revival.
The presence of the Lord was palpable. I received valuable prophetic words. And I made connections with other sisters and brothers in Christ who were previously unknown to me. I came away feeling physically drained but spiritually saturated.
Each of the speakers was a revivalist (Dr. Randy Clark, Dr. Heidi Baker, and Michael and Jessica Koulianos). In the Seattle area, there are already flames of revival burning. My church is one of them. We had come together praying for the wind of the Spirit to blow those flames into a wildfire!
Even though we were seasoned Christians, the first speaker wanted to “preach the gospel.” I thought that odd until I heard his message. He was attempting to fascinate us, again, with the gospel. Because we have heard the gospel, and preached it ourselves, so often we tend to lose our heart connection with it. Our wonder fades and route recitation takes over. The speaker hoped to rekindle our awe for the gospel by presenting it in a surprising way:
We were originally created in God’s image. We were meant to shine forth God’s glory. Jesus came to restore us to God’s image. That is why the New Testament makes a big deal about transforming us into the image of Christ. A measure of that is available to us now with the help of the Holy Spirit. Of course, that requires that we cooperate with Holy Spirit. But when our fleshly bodies die, we will fully radiate the glory of God. We will once again be made in His image perfectly. Now that really is Good News!