Never have I been in the presence of so many Christians in one place. Entering this massive building there are folding chairs as far as the eye can see...it seems like a quarter mile from one end to the other. By the time the early session of the Challenge Youth Conference started last Friday night almost 4,000 people of like precious faith had trickled into the Gatlinburg Convention Center. 4,000 people seeking God! The words of “Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this Place” kept resonating in my mind.
This was as close to the numbers of Pentecost that I had ever experienced, as we all “praised God” with glad and generous hearts (Acts 2:47). Thousands of voices singing like that “great multitude in heaven, crying out, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.’” (Revelation 19:1). 4,000 heads bowed in prayer like the multitude outside the Temple in Luke 1:10, waiting for Zechariah to emerge. 4,000 hearts seeking God like those who had long been estranged from the Passover purification, and now (with zeal) crave the worship of God (II Chronicles 30:18-19).
Gatherings like this help me realize how many God has reserved that have not bowed the knee to Baal. The assembly at CYC helped me to know that I am never alone in this fight of faith…there are thousands walking with me. And as we sang praises to God last weekend, my focus looked toward a future meeting-place on heavenly Mount Zion, where the true number of the faithful will be revealed as countless.
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