The Hope of Glory

During this Christmas season, one word stands out to me for the upcoming year of 2025. Though God has spoken to me about many things that will undoubtedly happen in the coming year, all of them surround one overarching theme; Hope. In the bible, Hope is defined as the expectation of a coming reality.

Growing up in church we can all quote Jeremiah 29:11's "plans to give you a hope and a future," but there is something more than that coming in 2025. There is a level and dimension of intimacy and reverence that God is bringing His church into that will shape the very nature of what we know as "normal." Experiencing true intimacy and reverence of God will bring change to the hearts and minds of believers all across the world; inevitably challenging our present realities with His truth, ultimately transforming us from the inside out.

Pastors and prophets have spoken of "revival" for decades, but what is revival? Has the church experienced it in the past? And what must we do to experience it now? All of these questions are good and valid, but in order to understand what true revival is, our definition must change.

Our evangelical definition of revival is tears, miracles, signs and wonders, and emotional services where we feel the moving of the Spirit. But what if I told you that, though those things happen in revival, it is so much more than even that.

The Webster's Dictionary defines revival as:

1: an act or instance of reviving: the state of being revived: such as

    a: renewed attention to or interest in something

    b: a new presentation or publication of something old

    c(1): a period of renewed religious interest

    c(2): an often highly emotional evangelistic meeting or series of meeting

2: restoration of force, validity, or effect

Though all of these definitions are good, I want to focus on "a new presentation or publication of something old," and pose a question: What if the only way to move forward into revival is by moving back? The kingdom is not measured by progress but by proximity. I believe that many churches have been taught how to pursue the "fire of revival" instead of pursuing Jesus, whose eyes are like flames of fire (Revelation 19:12). In order to progress, we must go back to the feet of Jesus and restore reverence and intimacy again.

We must stop looking to a movement and instead look to the person, Jesus, who was the walking, talking, embodiment of revival. This is not something new, but something old. In Acts 2, those gathered in the upper room were not praying for and chasing after "revival," they were seeking the face of God and sitting at His feet waiting for Him to show up. And when He showed up, the result was fire, wind, salvations, and miracles. Through 120 people, the world was turned upside down at a rapid pace. Within 10 years of the death and resurrection of Jesus, apostles had shared the good news from Jerusalem to Antioch, Edessa, Ephesus, Corinth, Thessalonica, Cyprus, Crete, Alexandria, and Rome! If you don't think this is revival, I don’t know what is.

This is where the theme of "hope" comes into play.

Colossians 1:25-29 NLT God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you. 26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. 27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. 28 So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. 29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.

The great secrete is that Christ is IN us and this revelation is the hope (an expectation of a coming reality) that the whole world would experience His glory (presence). True revival is first experienced by you when you go back to His feet, which transforms you from the inside out. And in turn, you take your encounter to the rest of the world, exposing them to the personhood of Jesus and proclaiming the gospel of truth to everyone you meet.

So, going into 2025, in order to go forward we must go back.

• Go back to the basics

• Go back to our first love

• Go back to the bible

• Go back to prayer

• Go back to seeking His face above all else

-Aaron Powell