Glorious Way Church
Glorious Way Church equips believers for the work of the ministry and stands for God’s truth in our culture. We serve as a regional center, where people from all backgrounds find refreshing worship and true communion of the saints.
Glorious Way Church
It Is Bigger Than You | Dr. Guy Peh
This message explores the power of God’s dunamis—a force like an earthquake or hurricane—meant to shake the world through His people. Drawing on the life of Stephen in Acts, the story of Hannah, and moments of revival history, the teaching emphasizes that while darkness may devastate, champions of faith must rise so God’s power can detonate. It’s a stirring call to recognize that revival is bigger than us, to move from frustration to intercession, and to be carriers of God’s fire in a culture desperate for truth and transformation.
Ephesians, chapter 1. Ephesians, chapter 1. If you're there, say amen. If you're not there, say please wait for me. If you don't have a Bible, look next to someone who thinks they're more spiritual than you because they have their Bibles. Ephesians, chapter 1., verse 19.
Speaker 1:And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us to believe according to the working of his mighty power? I hope you understand that your Bible was not primarily written in English, all right. So if you want to break it down, it was, you know, hebrew, aramaic, greek and so forth, and that a lot of terms that I use in scriptures are not primarily spiritual terms. They are terms that we use so that people can understand in terms of communication. You know, if I said to you, for instance, if I wrote in a book and I said I was in Houston, texas, and it rained, cats and dogs, and 200 years later somebody reads that they'll be thinking really, cats and dogs were falling from the sky in Houston. Thank you for your support. Now you get what I'm talking about Colloquialism. But you understood what I meant. It's the same thing.
Speaker 1:When they use certain words in scriptures, you have to go back because we're removed by time, space, culture. So I want to give you a little etymology word study here. Four Greek words for power, or five of them. What is the exceeding greatness of his power? That word power there excuse me, I'm going to be a little bit professorial, but we're going to get into the flow in just a moment that word power, there is the Greek word dunamis. Somebody say dunamis and dunamis. In the original language it was a word that the greeks and the romans use when they wanted to describe something like an earthquake, a hurricane or a tornado. They call that dunamis hello, and I hope you understand so. When jesus, when, when paul, saying you know, dunamis, that is a power, a spiritual force that moves, just like a hurricane will move. How many of you know you live in Houston, you know what hurricanes can do. Thank you for your support. You know I've been to Japan 17 times. They are acquainted with earthquakes over there. And you know we were in Japan and the middle of the night and my wife said stop shaking the bed, I'm trying to go to sleep. I said I'm shaking the bed. Well, I mean, even Samson couldn't do that the whole building was shaking. The next morning we're in a seven point something earthquake. We saw on the front page of the newspaper. And you know, when an earthquake takes place, a tectonic plate shift, I don't care if you're a building, a tree, a car, whatever it is you are unsettled.
Speaker 1:And he's talking about dunamis, a force that moves like an earthquake, a force that moves like a hurricane, a force that moves like a tornado. Now put that in context. Now, with the power of God, somebody shout dunamis, miraculous power. And then what is the exceeding greatness of his power, dunamis, towards us who believe according to the working, that word working. There is another Greek word for energia. It's going to make sense later when I start talking Working energia. Somebody say energy, energy, yes, of his mighty power, mighty iskos in the Greek, strength, all right. And kratos is dominion power, all right. So if you want to use Texas term, dunamis it's like the gun, hello, and Kratos is like the bullet. Thank you for your support. Dominion power that's what raised Christ from the dead, amen. Now we know Luke, chapter 9, verse 1, he gave them power and authority. Exousia delegated influence. We're doing very good.
Speaker 1:Let's continue our reading. Okay, let's go to another scripture today and then we're going to shift. If you go to 1 Samuel, 1 Samuel, chapter 1, we're going to land on this narrative 1 Samuel, chapter 1. If you're there, say amen. If you're not there, say please wait for me. So we understand this.
Speaker 1:1 Samuel, chapter 1, verse 4. And whenever the time came for Elkanah to make an offering, he would give his portion to Penanah, his wife, and to all her sons and daughters. But to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the Lord had closed her womb and her rival also provoked her severely to make her miserable because the Lord had closed her womb. So it was somebody say year by year. One translation said, year after year, somebody say year after year, when she went up to the house of the Lord that she provoked her. Therefore she wept and did not eat. May the Lord bless the reading of his word.
Speaker 1:And just in the beginning here we're going to talk about Ephesians Acts, chapter 6, verse 8, 10, 15. It's a story of Stephen. You can just put that in and we're going to pick that up later. So if you can stand up this morning one more time, if you can stand up one more time, amen. And I want you to raise your hands towards heaven.
Speaker 1:And I want you to make this prophetic declaration today. Say it aloud and say it in faith. Say, father God, in the name of Jesus Christ, I come before you. I boldly declare that I believe in the supernatural. I believe in the supernatural, I believe in miracles. This morning, lord, I ask you to give me eyes to see, ears to hear, a heart to receive a will to obey and faith to act In the name of Jesus Christ. I take my position in Christ and I take authority over every spirit that does not confess the name of Jesus. I command them to leave this place and I declare that this place is an open heaven. The Spirit of God is free to move. The angels of God are sending and descending. They are going to and fro to execute the commands of God's word. Preach Holy Spirit, teach Holy Spirit, prophesy Holy Spirit. Heal the sick. God, do what only you can do and take all the glory in the matchless name of Jesus. Can you burn with a shout and say amen Before you sit down? Tell the person next to you, it is bigger than you. Tell the other person next to you. Tell them I may not look like it, but I am a glory carrier, I am a power shifter. All right, you may be seated. Amen. Charles Feeney, the famous revivalist, said there will be no revival if Mr Amen or Mr Wet Eye are not present in the meeting. I like that and I kind of stole that from him and I keep able to say there will be no revival if Mr Amen, if Mr Hallelujah or Mrs Glory are not present in the meeting. I wonder if Mr Amen show up today. I wonder if Mr Hallelujah show up today. I wonder if Mrs Glory show up today. I want to have Mrs Glory show up today.
Speaker 1:Some people come to church to spectate, some people come to church to speculate, some people come to church to pontificate, but God is looking for someone that will come to participate. Can you participate by saying amen with fire? Can you participate by saying glory three times? So I'm speaking today on the topic. You know that kind of coin is phrase. It is bigger than you. The moment we're in is bigger than you. What God is doing in this moment is bigger than you. It's bigger than your family. But you have to realize what is happening. Dear family, church family, I just want you to know that there are moments in history when the clash between light and darkness is so sharp that the whole world feels it, and this is the moment where we are living right now. The early church lived in such a moment. Their leaders were not shielded from opposition, they were thrown right into it and the spark of persecution became the flames of revival. And I want you to know, the spark of any persecution on the church in America or anywhere in the world will become the sparks of revival, the flame of revival.
Speaker 1:Now, among those heroes stood Stephen. Not one of the twelve, not a famous apostle, just a servant waiting on tables. Yet Acts, chapter six, verse eight, says that Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs about the people. Somebody say full of faith, somebody say full of power. Say not half full, but overflowing. Full of faith, full of power. Heaven, feel him until the earth could not ignore him. I don't know who I'm preaching to. God will fill this church until Houston will not be able to ignore this church. God will fill you until your neighborhood will not be able to come. Come on, ignore you. God will fill your business, fill your ministry. Come on, somebody. Heaven filled him until earth could not ignore him.
Speaker 1:And when man could not resist the wisdom of the spirit, they pick up stones, hello. And it's often the case when they cannot debate you, they want to silence you. Hello, they result to insults. In my case, they call me. They say you're not even black. Thank you for your support. So, but Stephen lifted his eyes. When men couldn't resist the wisdom of the spirit, they pick up stones, but Stephen lifted his eyes and Acts 5, 55 says he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
Speaker 1:You know that normally the posture, the scriptures say Jesus is seated. He ascended and sat at the right hand of God. That's what the book says in Ephesians. But when Stephen stood for Christ, hey, christ stood for Stephen. America, I'm telling you, if you stand for God, god will stand for you. The three Hebrew children stood for righteousness when Nebuchadnezzar erected a statue in Babylon and they threw them in the fire. But the king got a revelation. I put three men in the fire, but I see a fourth one and it looked like the Son of God. I'm here to tell you this is not a time to withdraw, it's a time to go forward, because if you stand with God, god will stand with you. If you stand for God, god will stand with you. Heaven rose to honor him. Let me bring this closer to our day.
Speaker 1:As Pastor mentioned what happened on Wednesday, charlie Kirk, young, bold, outspoken, was assassinated in public, Whether people agree with his politics, whether you're for the donkey or the elephant, thank you for your support. Elephant, thank you for your support. His death sends shock waves, because here's the truth Voices that stand with conviction will always draw opposition. Hello, I'm going to say it one more time for the hearing impaired Voices that stand for the truth will always draw opposition, and you have to be prepared, as a child of God, in this hour Now, though. His life was cut short. His courage, I believe, became a seed, and his death will inspire a generation to rise with greater boldness.
Speaker 1:Hello, beloved, the stones may look different today. For Stephen it was stones, but the stone may be looking different today, but the principle is the same, the same. Stephen faced literal rocks, but we face stones of culture, stones of compromise, stones of criticism, but I'm here to tell you this morning that stones cannot stop the Spirit of God moving in America today, that the stones cannot silence revival, the stones cannot silence the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the stones cannot cancel heaven's ovation. When earth throws stones, heaven still stands. When one voice is silenced, ten more voices rise. This is not the time to shrink back. This is the time for Stephen to rise again. It's time for men and women of faith to rise again and stand in America for the truth, for the word, and to proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus Christ is King, because I believe that we're in a course of revival. Revival is coming and revival is here, and God wants you and I to be part of a movement that is bigger than us.
Speaker 1:I want to pivot from this into really talking about what I believe the Spirit of God wants to do in Amos in this season, and what I believe the Spirit of God is doing in this season. I want to talk about revival. You see, friends, there are certain things you can't just ease yourself into. Certain things, by their very own nature, do not come with an easy tutorial or off the ramp. Access and revival is one of those things, because God uses the personality and the cultural background of people involved in the revival to shape the revival. Every revival has its own heat signature, hello. And so if we're trying to mimic or copy something else. Yes, there's some general characteristics, but there are certain things that are unique to our time, unique to our season, unique to our culture, unique to our nation, that God wants to release in our midst.
Speaker 1:But if you look at the past alone, without looking at the future or what God is saying, you're going to miss the mark. This is the reason why I say sometimes going after revival is like hunting for an animal you've never seen. How would you like to go hunt? You have the guns, the ammunition and you're saying to your partner we're going to hunt. They're saying what are we looking for? Thank you for your support. We're praying for revival are what are we looking for?
Speaker 1:And I think sometimes a lot of people, because revival becomes a cliche word. A lot of people talk about revival and sometimes they confuse it with what revival is not. Revival is not something that man works up. It is something that God sent down. You can no more schedule a revival than you can schedule a hurricane or an earthquake. Revival is not about building series of special meetings or church services, even though those things are part of that, even though special and continual meetings can trigger and can be the result of revival. But here's the thing a move of God's spirit is not measured by the quantity of gatherings. Its success rate is evaluated by the quality of Christianity produced in the life of those who were impacted. Hello, this is very important. Here's the key, though. We cannot organize revival, but we can set ourselves to catch the wind from heaven when God choose to blow upon his people once again.
Speaker 1:The word revival is the Hebrew term from which we get, is a Hebrew word, shadash, which means newness, a new Genesis, a new paradigm, a new song and, in a simple definition, what is revival? Revival is a return to normal Christianity. Our name is the amen has left the building. Revival is a return to normal christianity. Our name is the amen has left the building. I know many people won't say this, but revival is a return to normal christianity. The problem with us, or in many princings in the body of christ, is that the church have been subnormal or abnormal for such a long time that, by the times it becomes normal, people think that the normal is abnormal. I'm here to tell you that for many Christians today, if Christianity was a crime, there would not have been many evidence to convict a lot of people that call themselves Christians. Hello, this is so important. By the time the Christian gets back to normal temperature, religious people think that they're having a fever and that's why they come against the move of God. Revival is a return to vintage Christianity, normal Christianity.
Speaker 1:And the reason why we drift away from normal Christianity is because we are often trapped in religious paradigm that is both insidious and parochial. Insidious because it subtly undermines our faith, replacing spirit-led life with lifeless rituals. Parochial because it keeps our vision small and we're bound by tradition and closer from the broader move of God. This kind of mindset limits us from experiencing revival. We have dignity, but we reject demonstration. We have marketing, but we reject miracles. We have institution, but we reject inspiration, miracles. We have institutions that reject inspiration. Hey, we have the mechanics of man that we release. We resist the apostolic power of God. This paradigm is shutting down the operation of the move of the spirit. But we're coming into a moment where the spirit of God is moving and God is bringing a shift and a change. We are moving back from dignity into demonstration, from marketing back into miracle, from institution back into inspiration, from marketing back into miracle.
Speaker 1:Get ready, america, there is an outpouring coming where things are going back into order. We are taking our nation back, but not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord. Can you shout glory three times If you can see people rejoicing about the death of a young father and two children? It tells you everything that you need to know about the state of the soul of our culture. We need revival in America, revival is a season of unusual divine visitation resulting in deep repentance, supernatural renewal and sweeping reformation in the church, along with radical conversion of sinners in the world, often producing moral, social and even economic change in the local or national community.
Speaker 1:Hello, this is so important. Revival is a time when uncommon visitation is a period where eternity becomes real, the truth of scripture becomes real, repentance really lasts, people are really changed, radical conversion takes place and people will live casual lives, coming to a profound state of conviction. Hello, some people live their life, live casual lives, come into a profound state of conviction. Hello, some people live their life just in a casual way. Christianity or religion for them is something that they do on a Sunday morning, but it doesn't affect the quality and the quantity of their lives. That's why you can have churches on every corner in Texas or in some places, and yet the proportionality of the transformation that should take place in the culture is disproportional. Hello, many churches, no change. Many churches and darkness dominating the culture. Hello.
Speaker 1:But when revival comes and affect people who go to church, suddenly people who sang songs all the times and read the Bibles all the time suddenly there's a new level of conviction that comes over them. Hello, they heard the gospel every Sunday morning and Wednesday night. They heard it all the time, but it never went deep in them. It's not until a move of God, sometimes a powerful preaching, a worship, that their heart is touched and they are transformed by the power of God. And I believe we're in such a moment. People who are sleeping are now being awakened to the reality of what is going on, and I believe that the Spirit of God is touching people right now. Revival is a supernatural work of the Spirit generating a supernatural outcome. It is a sovereign manifestation of a gracious God. The question becomes do we have a part to play in this? Somebody say yes, somebody say yes. Now, um, I want to. I want to shift a little bit. I can talk a little. I want to. I want to shift a little bit, I can talk. I really want to move the conversation forward.
Speaker 1:When it comes to revival, there are three types of revival. First, it's personal. Somebody say it's personal. Personal, so it has to be personal. In other words, you have to experience this first. In other words, you have to experience this first.
Speaker 1:An individual revival that a single person experiences is a personal revival, where you get an encounter with God and become an agent of change. Hello, the outcome is a surge of hunger, passion for Jesus, prayer, evangelism in that individual life. They want to influence the world with the word and the spirit of God. They have spent a significant amount of time in the presence of God, to the extent that they have received an impartation that transformed their lives and that impartation stayed with them wherever they go. That's the first level. The second level is what we call a micro M-I-C-R-O. A micro revival is when a small group of individuals, such as a prayer group or a school, is revived. And then you have a macro M-A-C-R-O. A macro revival is when a bigger area is revived for a longer period of time and then, from that point, you have an awakening. An awakening is when the revival affects the community and the next step is reformation. It's when revival, the revival and awakening transform the community, the city and the nation. Now listen, revival is for the church, but the awakening is for the community. And reformation is for the church, but the awakening is for the community and reformation is for the nation. And a reformation takes place when the roots of a revived church are sink deep into a community and the light of the gospel start to overpower power that subjugate territories, corruption that subjugate institutions.
Speaker 1:I hope you understand that territories are oppressed and that territory needs to be engaged, that there are dynamics of power in territories, that territories are oppressed on three levels. Number one demonization. What happened Wednesday was nothing short one demonization. What happened Wednesday was nothing short of a demonization, hello. Demonization operations of demonic spirits that lay holds of people and control them and bring forth manifestation of an evil agenda. Demonization is the first level of oppression of a territory. Hello. The first level of oppression of a territory, hello. The second level of oppression is doctrines of demons, ideas and philosophy that are anti-God, that are being pushed in the culture, in education, and they try to be institutionalized and even put into laws so that evil is legislated in our midst, hello. Third level of oppression of territory is principalities, powers, spiritual hosts of weakness in heavenly places, principality, princes and palaces affecting personalities by controlling municipality. So it's an entrenched force in the spirit, but they control people in position of power so they can push their agenda from abstract to concrete, into manifestation.
Speaker 1:And I want you to understand that God has pressed the church in this time and day to give answer to the impossible and to bring answers and solutions to problems. The antidote to demonization is the authority of the believer. Oh those who believe in my name, they shall cast out devils In the name. I am a power shifter, shy. I am a glory carrier, said. I am a revival influencer. You have been raised in the kingdom for such a time at this and God has given you the power to be an answer. Come on to doctrines of demons and God has given you the power to bring change in your neighborhood, change in your city, change in your family. You are a minister of God. The answer to doctrines of demons is the sound teaching of the word of God. Hello, the sound teaching of the word of God. Hello, the sound teaching.
Speaker 1:You have so many Christians that do not have a world biblical view. That's why you better be thankful that you're in a church where they teach you the word of God without compromise, Principalities and power, principalities and power. The answer to that is churches and groups of churches over a territory who engage in the culture, not just from the spiritual standpoint of you, but train and equip people to engage on every levels. Listen, if you get saved and touched by God, stop believing that the next thing to do is just go to Bible school and become a pastor. Now, if God calls you to be a pastor, go ahead and do that. But more than that, we need more Christians who are safe, educated, who run for office. We need city manager who fear God. We need congressman who fear God. We need senators who fear God. We need congressmen will fear God. We need senators will fear God. We need president of the United States will fear God.
Speaker 1:But you know what People have to get the vision. They have to have their paradigm change. They have to have come on a worldview that is based on biblical perspective. So for the change to happen we have to be touched by the power of God. So whenever somebody gets revived, you know that individual that get that solitary experience. This result in increase of passion, longing for Jesus, prayer, new desperation for the glory and burning desire to bring others into that relationship. And people who are carrying this spirit of revival have an intense yearning to see the world. The Word and Spirit impact their world together. These individuals spend so much time in the presence of God that not only they are changed, they carry a voice of change.
Speaker 1:Somebody say I'm a carrier. The carrier is the individual catalyst who champion and embody the revelation before it goes mainstream. This person connects with the concept of revival and connect this concept, the revival, and represent a walking website of what heaven wants to release. Somebody said I am a walking website and I'm going to tell you what. Before revival breaks out, not only has to be individual, not only has to be macro. A group of people not only has to be macro, regional, it has to go viral.
Speaker 1:Hello, the word viral is a word that has gone viral. Post your video on TikTok, on Instagram and on Facebook and you're disappointed that in the last two minutes you didn't get any likes. Those of you who are addicted to like, like, like, like. You're not defined by the likes of many, but you're defined by the love of the one who said I will never leave you, I will never forsake you. But the word viral implies that something is being passed around like a plague Hello, that is contagious. And it has to go viral to break all the markers and break all the barriers and break all the attempt to suppress it and repress it in order for it to move across denominational lines and culture. And that's what happens when the spirit of God moves and it goes viral. How many of you know that? A death or child? It went viral around the world instantly. And I believe that this is a moment where there is a rude awakening for the whole world to be part of something that is bigger than this moment. Yes, it was Turning Point USA, but I believe it's really Turning Point USA. But it's not just Turning Point USA, it's Turning Point World, that something is shifting and there is a turning point and it's going viral. Come on, somebody, I dare you to shout glory three times. How many of you remember when they had something called COVID-19? When somebody coughed in your proximity, you started to pull away. That's where we get the term social distance from Hello. Social distance Because it was contagious.
Speaker 1:I traveled during COVID and I was tested so many times. Hello, I mean, the UK was one of the worst places to travel during COVID. They didn't accept just any test. Okay, they accept you to get a test before you get there, but after you got there, you were tested immediately. They have their own test. Then there was a five-day test, then the eight-day test, then the 10-day test, hello.
Speaker 1:And when I landed in the UK, in London, I got a phone call from the NSA that, whatever they said, mr Pay, we're monitoring you. You need to stay in quarantine in your room for the next 10 days. Or we're going to find you or you're never going to be able to get back in the UK. Hello, and I was on house arrest for 10 days in my hotel room, hello, hello, and I was on house arrest for 10 days in my hotel room. Hello, and it's amazing because I was traveling by myself at that time, because I had a letter that said that I was essential. So I traveled throughout Europe during COVID, but my family was not essential. Thank you for your support. And you know what happened. And every time I call my wife, she always asks me the question babe, are you positive? No, are you negative? Are you negative, are you negative? And I say yes, and she will get excited on the other side. I've never seen people will get excited on the other side. I've never seen people get so excited about being negative until I start to believe that a negative was a new positive.
Speaker 1:Come on, one person somewhere got infected with this virus, got on the plane and within a few weeks, a virus shut down the whole world, shut down education, shut down nightclubs, shut down gang activity, shut down prostitution. This is what a virus can do. Think about what can happen if you get infected with a touch of the glory of God. Shad, I am a carrier. That's what I'm talking about. Shad, I am infectious. Shad, I am contagious. I am filled with the glory, filled with the anointing. Don't get close to me, you might get healed. Don't get close to me, you might get healed. Don't get close to me, you might get delivered. Don't come to this church, you might get healed. This is the miracle empowerment zone. It is the revival zone.
Speaker 1:We are carriers of the power, carriers of the glory, carriers of the anointing, carriers of revival. And get ready, houston, there's something big coming, the power of God moving through us. You may kill one of us, but a thousand more rising with the resurrection power. Shag low three times. Now let me move closer. Let me move to the next phase. Now you are a carrier, but you have to understand what is your assignment in this time, because there are sequences of revival. If you study throughout history, somebody say this with me Darkness devastates, A champion must resonate and Dunamis will detonate. Those are the sequences.
Speaker 1:If you study revival in the pre-dawning of revival, it seems like things go dark in the culture. Hello, churches' attendance is down. This greed with a rapid increase in violent crime, occult domination, a nation hungry for the supernatural turned to spiritualism, immorality, a philosophy of free love is accepted by many. Commercial and political corruption, bribes and illegal practices are common Atheism, apathy, indifference to God, the church and her message. Before revival breaks out, darkness seems to overwhelm society, there's a spiritual decline and it seems that before a message of God with an assignment of revival emerges, all hell breaks out. And this is where, like, the church seems to have, like her eyes are knocked out. That happened again and again and again, and this is not something new. We've seen this movie before.
Speaker 1:In 1962, a hundred years after the invention of the first condom, the first birth control pill was commercially made available, paving the way for a sexual revolution. Hello, with the frustration of the Vietnam War, people were protesting let's make love and not war. And we understand that. What happened was there was a great band called the Beatles and there was a cultural shifting event that took place in upstate New York called Woodstock. Over 400,000 people got together for a week, partying, drinking, doing drugs. It was a cultural shifting event, the birth of the hippie movement, and it affected this entire country. Now the Beatles became so popular, so popular and so famous.
Speaker 1:John Lennon, who was the leader of the Beatles, made a statement. He said we are more popular than Jesus Christ and Christianity must go Darkness devastated. But he couldn't have been more wrong because, around the same time, in stated but he couldn't have been more wrong Because, around the same time, in the streets of Hay and Ashbury in San Francisco, california, ted Wise, the original Jesus freak, arthur Blessed, and many others start to go out in the street and evangelize, pushing for the return of vintage Christianity. They themselves used to be drug addicts. They had an encounter with God, they became carriers of the glory and they were getting people saved, taking them back to their home, having drug flushing, toilet services. This was the beginning of what was known as the Jesus People's Movement. It swept America and the world and in 1972, the Supreme Court put the Time Magazine put a picture in the front page of the magazine saying that the Jesus People Movement was more than just a religious woodstock, that it had lasting impact. They call it the Jesus Revolution. Darkness devastated, a champion resonated just before the first great awakening.
Speaker 1:I want you to understand that the age of enlightenment, also known as the age of reasoning, was moving to America, which was a group of intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of idea in Europe during the 17th and 18th century. The Enlightenment included a range of idea centered on the pursuit of happiness, sovereignty of reason, range of ideas centered on the pursuit of happiness, sovereignty of reason and the evidence of senses as the primary source of knowledge, and advanced ideals such as liberty, progress, toleration, fraternity, constitution and government and separation of the church. Answering the question for what is enlightenment? It's a 1784 essay by a German philosopher called Immanuel Kant. Kant replied the question paused a year earlier by Reverend John Frederick Zuller, who was also an official of the Parisian government. Here's what he said he held it necessary that a church state, paternalism, be abolished and that people be given freedom to use their own intellects. So this age of enlightenment and reasoning was pushing for the abolition of the church. And what happened during that time? Church attendance was down, christian religious literature sales was down, you know. Society started to go any kind of way in the wrong way, Hello. But about that time there was a preacher by the name of Jonathan Edward. He preached a message called Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God. Darkness devastated, oh, a champion resonated, dunamis detonated, and it was the beginning of the first great awakening that turned the tide and brought revival and reformation in America. Let me give you another case. I continue to build my case like a lawyer.
Speaker 1:1662. In 1662 in the UK. In 1662 in the UK, under Charles II, the British government passed a law called the Act of Uniformity, and the Act of Uniformity demand that every preacher should preach what the government prescribed, and if you would not preach what the government would prescribe, they will remove you as a pastor. And overnight, over 2,000 pastors were kicked out of their churches. Hello, one of the greatest spiritual decapitation in church history of leadership. 2,000 pastors were kicked out of their churches, and so the government effectively seized the church. And in 1665 they passed something called the Five Miles Act, where these pastors were not even allowed to come five miles from the churches or even have meetings in the house of the parishioners. Hello, and so by 1689, when the Restoration Act was passed, most pastors were dead. So Satan effectively eviscerated and killed an entire generation of leaders, and Satan was having a field day all over the united kingdom.
Speaker 1:But around that time, when darkness was devastating, there was a young man 22 years old by the name of george whitfield. He had an encounter with god. He refused to read his bible standing up. He said he was not. The Bible was not. He was not worthy to read it standing up. So he read the Bible kneeling down. He read through the Bible and he prayed and prayed. He had such an encounter with God that whenever George Phil was preaching, people were holding on to their seat because they thought they were going to slip into hell. The presence of God was so strong in his meaning and his message was simple you must be born again, he said, including pastors, because those pastors that replaced the 2,000 pastors that were removed. They started to preach secularism and all kinds of garbage from the pulpits. So he says you must be born again. Everybody must be born again.
Speaker 1:So guess what? The bishop, the leadership, came against George Whitefield. They sent a letter to different churches Don't let George Whitefield preach at your church. Guess what George Whitefield said? No problem, he went to Bristol in a minefield, in a field where the miners were coming out of the mine, and he started to have an open air meeting. He's the father of open air crusade. A meeting started with 300 miners. Within a few weeks it blew up to 26,000. And that was the beginning of the first great awakening in America.
Speaker 1:George Whitefield talked about the fact that he could see just white tears. He could just see God as a tear in the black face of minors. As he was preaching the word of God, the power of God moved supernaturally and the spirit of God swept all over the UK, saving UK. While there was a revolution in France that killed all the aristocracy in France at that time, britain was saved because of that revival. Darkness devastated, a champion resonated, dunamis detonated.
Speaker 1:Ladies and gentlemen, we are watching this movie play out right now in America in front of our eyes. Darkness is devastating. We're dealing with a moral revolution. What used to be celebrated is now condemned, and what used to be condemned is now celebrated. If you refuse to celebrate what was condemned, they call you racist, sexist, they call you homophobic and whatever else they will call you.
Speaker 1:Hey, there's a spirit of witchcraft in operation in America. Many of you would think witchcraft come from Africa. Only. No, no, no, no, no. What is witchcraft in operation in America? Many of you would think witchcraft come from Africa. Only. No, no, no, no, no. What is witchcraft? Any attempt to control or manipulate the life of another human being is a form of witchcraft. There's witchcraft in the media, witchcraft in our education, witchcraft in the culture. Rich craft in the culture, a small group of people with a concentration of power, money and wealth, are trying to subjugate millions of people to ideology that they don't believe and they're going to bully you to the point of submission.
Speaker 1:Darkness, devastated.
Speaker 1:But it's time for a champion to resonate. Come on. It's time for the sleeping church to stand up. It's time for men and women to stand up for what you believe. It's time to speak the truth, nothing but the truth, live for the truth and die for the truth. But let the word of God go around this world, around this nation, according to Everett Robert. He came up with.
Speaker 1:Everett Robert came up with what is called the division of innovation. There's a sociological greed with a natural bell curve that says that 2.5% of the population are innovators, 13.5% are early adopters, 34% are the early majority and another 34% are the late majority, 16% are the laggers, and early adopters tend to buy into or try new programs sooner than most of their peers, but they're not especially prone to taking risk. A small minority of people called the innovators played that role. These are people who most likely to conceive a developed, cutting-edge methodology and become forerunners. It's a sociological proven fact that, in the final analysis, these type of people establish and develop cultures that shape others.
Speaker 1:In the history of revivals there have been spiritual innovators who sense God releasing a new wave of his spirit and immediately jump with it both feet, trumpeting what the sense is about to spiritually break out. These people usually got disappointed with the spiritual status quo and became desperate. Their desperation caused them to press into God, to seek him for what he wanted to release in their generation. People like William Seymour, people like Jonathan Edwards, people like George Whitfield and people like members of Glorious Ways Church. Come on, somebody, this is your time to rise. Glorious way.
Speaker 1:Church darkness may be devastating, but God is looking for some champion that will resonate so that Dunamis can detonate. Come on Events that precede a revival of the church or spiritual awakening affecting our society. Before revival comes, someone prays, tell somebody pray. Where's MC Hammer when you need him? Back in 1980s you got to pray just to make it. Today Someone prays. Some men or women get serious about God and prays.
Speaker 1:He or she sees a desperate need. Do you see a desperate need in America right now? He sees a desperation of those around him to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. He submits himself to the requirement of God for his own life, even as he prays for others to change. Next, he goes after God with intensity. He seeks the Lord until God comes upon him and then he seeks God for those who need to be saved or be yielded more to the full leadership of the Lord. Next, he takes the responsibility to bring the next revival. Are you going to take responsibility? He commit himself fully to the responsibility to bring revival to his city, to his nation. Darkness devastated. A champion must resonate and Dunamis will detonate. With Iscus, the strength of God, with Dunamis, a power that moves like a hurricane or a tornado that has the ability to shift things upside down. Ah, a power that moves like a tornado. Ah, god is looking for a landing strip. Darkness may devastate. Champion needs to resonate and Dunamis will detonate, and Kratos, inegia, exusia will detonate and we will see a transformation.
Speaker 1:Let's bring this home with a story we read, because the narrative in 1 Samuel, chapter 1, introduces us to a woman. The Bible calls her Hannah and I think the woman often in scripture is a type of shadow of the church. So Hannah, her name in Hebrew means grace. Somebody say grace, grace, power beyond your ability, grace, unmerited favor, grace. And the scripture says when the time came for the offering he gave Elkanah, her husband gave to her concubine portions, but to Hannah he gave a double portion. Hello, he gave a double portion. So not only she had grace, unmerited favor, she had grace, power beyond her own ability, but she had a double portion. So it's not a stretch to say she had twice as much favor, twice as much power beyond her own ability. But she's living in a contradiction because the fruits of her life does not match the grace and the power in her life. The bible says she was barren, she didn't have the ability to reproduce. You add agon. Insult to injury is that her competition was making fun of her. I believe this is a prophetic template for the church today.
Speaker 1:People who look at you. You say God is on your side. You say you are anointed. You say you got the Holy Ghost. How come we don't see the fruits that match the power you're talking about? Somebody say frustration, frustration, comes because of contradiction. When you're dealing with a contradiction in your life, how can God be a healer and you're struggling to get your healing? How can God be a provider and you're struggling to get your bills paid? How can God be all of that? And I'm working in the contradiction.
Speaker 1:So Hannah went from condition, from barrenness, to frustration, from frustration to intercession, from intercession to manifestation. She gave birth to a revival and was a glory carrier and a power shifter. She shifted something in her nation. Hello, I want you to understand. When you read the story at first it looks like you know this is a sad story, but when you look at the big picture, it was much more than about Hannah. Hello, it was much more about Hannah, because the problem was that the leadership over Hannah was corrupt.
Speaker 1:The problem was with Eli. Eli, the priest was supposed to be the leader. He became blind. His eyes was on them and when he became blind, the tap and shadow of a leader who loses their vision. When he became blind, he could no longer perform his priestly duty, which the assignment of the priest was to maintain the fire burning on the altar. There's a law of fire in Leviticus. It's a blue pattern of revival. The fire was started by God, was supposed to be maintained by the priests and was supposed to be used to start other fire. Oh, god is starting a fire. Glorious ways, church, we have an assignment to steward the fire. We have an assignment to take the fire to our school, to our street, to our community and to the culture. But when Elah lost his sight, hello, he lost the ability to maintain and multiply the fire. So there was darkness in the temple. And when there was darkness in the temple, eli's son came into the temple during the hour of the offering and they were having sex with women that brought their offerings in the temple. And Eli knew about it and did not correct his children, hello. So there was corruption in the church. There was corruption in leadership. So God ordered a substitute, god ordered a change.
Speaker 1:You better do what God is calling you to do, because if you don't do what God is calling you to do, he's going to order a substitute. You better write that book. Are you going to walk in a Christian bookstore with your book with somebody else's name on it? You better reach out to that neighborhood. You better start that business. You better do what God is calling you to do. Our God will order a substitute. Tell somebody next to you substitutes you are fire. Tell somebody next to you substitutes you are fire. I'm going to fire my substitute. I'm going to pray like nobody else pray. I'm going to love like nobody else love. I'm going to obey like nobody else obey. Nobody's going to take my place and carry my voice. Because this is my time, this is my season. Substitute, you are fire. This is my season. Substitute, you are fire.
Speaker 1:So God weaponized Anna's condition. Hello, he weaponized so because the Bible says her barrenness was the work of God. Now, don't theologically misalign what I'm saying. I didn't say God put barrenness on her or put sickness on her. He used what her condition was to draw her into a place where he could use a situation to birth his kingdom. I'm telling you this death of Charlie Kirk that took place. I'm not saying that this God made it happen, but I'm here to tell you that whatever you know the devil tried to do, he always overplayed his hands, because God is going to use this and weaponize this to spread, come on, righteousness in America and around the world. So now, so, now so, Hannah is drawn in the place of prayer and, folks, that's where God is calling all of us this morning.
Speaker 1:After this strategy, as the pastor said, god is drawing us in a place of prayer. God drew her in the place of prayer. Somebody say, year after year she went to church. When, year after she prayed, when it's going to take more than a week. I know emotions are high right now and everybody wants to say I am Charlie Kirk. Everybody wants to say let's pray, I'm going to. I'm going to ask you a question Are you still going to have the same fervor next week, two months from now, six months from now, one year from now? Are you going to stay with it? Are you going to stay? Because a lot of times we are so quick to move into the next thing.
Speaker 1:Something else you know before the war with Ukraine, guess what was on the news? Covid, covid, covid, covid, covid, covid. That war with Ukraine knocked that topic off the headline. It became Ukraine, ukraine. And then something else came over. Hello, what I'm trying to say is don't forget this moment, don't forget the anger, don't forget your frustration, don't forget your desire to challenge the status quo. It's the gate to a new revelation. Don't forget how you feel. Come on.
Speaker 1:She went to the temple year after year. Come on, we need to rise up. Come on, kingdom, rise. We need to rise up, not just one Sunday, and move on. No, year after year, weeks after weeks. Get engaged. Come on, get engaged in this church. Get engaged locally. Get engaged regionally. Get engaged. Do church. Get engaged locally. Get engaged regionally. Get engaged, do something Volunteer. Shout, year after year.
Speaker 1:So, as she was getting into place of prayer, remember during the discourse that Nicodemus had with Jesus. You know, nicodemus came to Jesus and said Rabbi, no one could do the miracles that you do unless God be with him. And Jesus turned around and said except a man be born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Now these two statements are diametrically in opposition, because Nicodemus never talked about being born again. He made a comment about Jesus' ministry. It's almost like Jesus, answered a question that nobody was asking Hello, question that nobody was asking Hello.
Speaker 1:So if we can use conjecture like a lawyer which is a nice word for guessing and reconstruct the question as if we're in a court of law and we ask the question what kind of question should I have produced this kind of answer? Then the question then should have been how can a man or woman enters into the kingdom of God? Then the answer then should have been except a man or woman is born again, they cannot enter the kingdom of God. So that simply means also that being born again and being saved is not the end of your spiritual destination. It's the door that gives you access to a vast kingdom. So don't just live at the door, die at the door, praise God at the door and not leave any impact. And many Christians are happy to be saved. I'm saved, I'm saved, I'm saved Congratulations. If that's all you achieve, you almost barely achieve anything. There are so many opportunities to make our lives count.
Speaker 1:I refuse to just stand at the door of the kingdom. I want to go in the kingdom. I want to carry the door of the kingdom. I want to go in the kingdom. I want to carry the message of the kingdom. I want to have the impact of the kingdom. If a little mosquito can get into your room and bother you in the middle of the night, makes you wake up, turn on the light and look for the mosquito everywhere and for 30 minutes you can't find that sucker and sometimes you can't even find him, but he has made an impact. If a mosquito can have an impact, you can have an impact.
Speaker 1:You do it with your serving. You do it with your giving. You do it with your loving. You do it with your church attendance. You do it by your giving, you do it with your loving. You do it with your church attendance. You do it by listening to your pastor. You do it by becoming active. Come on, activate so you can participate. Don't be a pure warmer. Get involved, invite somebody to church, be committed. I refuse to die at the door. I want to have an impact for the kingdom of God shot.
Speaker 1:I am a power shifter. I am a glory carrier. I a revival influencer. I'm going to shift the power. Hell. Yes, god's power is not static. God's power is dynamic. It can move. It moves with sound, it moves with praise, it moves with principles. It moves when we come together. It moves when we obey God. It's time for us to shift the power by obeying God, so we can see a move of God in America. I want to bring this home.
Speaker 1:And then Jesus said to Nicodemus that which is born of the flesh, say born of the flesh, is flesh. That which is born of the flesh, say born of the flesh, it's flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Flesh can only give birth to flesh and spirit can only give birth to spirit. And to give birth you got to have a womb, hello.
Speaker 1:So this is where the revelation with Hannah is so critical. She's a template to give birth to revival, because she got pregnant in the natural. But she was also pregnant spiritually, because the text is showing us true frustrations. There's an earthly frustration with a woman who is dealing with a contradiction and there's a heavenly frustration with a God who is frustrated by corrupt leadership. Hannah was looking for a son, but God was looking for one prophet and two kings. So when she went into the place of prayer, she did not just conceive in the natural, but she conceived in the spirit. Paul said my little children, for who will travail until Christ is formed in you, birthed in you. When she conceived, she conceived more than a son. She conceived a prophet. She conceived two kings.
Speaker 1:Let me just remind you that it was Samuel, named the ass of the Lord, who replaced Elah leadership shift. It was Samuel who anointed Saul as the first king of Israel dispensational shift Prior to that time, they only had judges. He brought a dispensational shift in Israel time they only had judges. He brought a dispensational shift in Israel. Saul messed up. Samuel was still going. It was Samuel who anointed David as King. Ah, he said he had apostolic and prophetic jurisdiction from then to Bathsheba, from the north to the south. None of his word fell to the ground. He was established as a prophet of the Lord. Where God is about to birth in this church, it's going to move from the north to the south. God is going to establish something that is not going to fall to the ground. God was looking for a prophet. She was looking for a son. God was looking for a king. She was looking for a son. God was looking for another King. She was looking for a son.
Speaker 1:So what she conceived and gave birth to was bigger than her. That's what I told you. Tell somebody it's bigger than you. It's bigger than you. It's bigger than you. What's going on in America? It's bigger than you. It's bigger than you. Yes, we want your bills to be paid, your family to be happy, your children to be raised. We want you to be healthy, but it's bigger than you. What's going on in America? It's bigger. It's bigger than one person. It is bigger, it is bigger. It's bigger than one person. It is bigger, it is bigger. We have a kingdom mandate. God wants to bring reformation. God wants to bring change, but he's going to take champions. Our darkness may devastate. Come on, champion needs to resonate, and then Dunamis will detonate. So I finish with a little Hollywood analogy. Thank you for your support. I'm not endorsing Hollywood, but hey, how many of you watched the Karate Kid? Now I got you. I think. I don't know. There are five or six movies in the franchise.
Speaker 1:The storyline you know Daniel LaRusso, whatever his name was, is a guy that always ran into bullies, that tried to bully him. Mr Miyagi, the karate grandmaster, saves him on one occasion. Then he wants to learn how to fight so he can defend himself, and so Mr Miyagi invites him over and he asks him to paint the fence. Paint the fence. Paint the fence. Wax the car. Wax up, wax up, wax off. Thank you for your support. I find you Become alive suddenly. And he got frustrated because he's like I'm here to learn how to fight. You're just using me to rebuild and repair your house. But what Daniel LaRusso did not know is that every assignment of service was designed to give him a skill to fight.
Speaker 1:And many of us we want the glamour, we want the platform, we want the microphone. Social media has created what I call the fallacy of unmerited celebrity. Everybody has a platform and I think that they have something to say People who have not achieved nothing. They want to be life coach, they want to be this coach and that coach and they want to charge you money. How would you like to have somebody who has a one pack but they're telling you give me some money. I'm going to teach you how to have a six pack. If it doesn't work at home, don't try to export it. Just because it's easy to have a platform, that doesn't mean that you have a voice. It's time we get back to the basics of serving, because that's the way it works in the kingdom. I like what JFK said don't ask what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. Don't ask what your church can do for you. Ask what you can do for your church. You're not a star, you're not a celebrity. We are called to serve.
Speaker 1:Stephen we started with him was serving in the table, and he was used in signs, wonders and miracles. Later, philip was serving in a table and was a revivalist later. Yes, you're called to be a revivalist, an apostle, a prophet, a teacher, a bishop you can name all the titles you want, but it starts here by serving, hello, hello. So finally, daniel realized that he was wrong, that he was teaching when he was serving. He was learning how to fight. So he fought his way through a world karate championship.
Speaker 1:In one episode, one of his legs is broken and he's using what's called the crane technique. I want to see if I can do that Standing on one leg. I'm doing pretty good, and so at that moment it looks like everything is lost. He doesn't know what to do. He wins. He wins using that crane technique.
Speaker 1:In the next episode, his leg is broken again and he's trying to use the same move, but the bully knew the old move and almost got the other leg broken. At that time you think it's over. That's when you stop eating your popcorn and you're watching with attention, hello. So Daniel looks in the stands and you're watching with attention. Hello. So Daniel looks in the stands and Mr Miyagi pulled out this sword out of his pocket. It's a paddle with a couple of balls and Mr Miyagi's not saying anything, but he's playing with it. That brought to Daniel Daniel's memory a move that they had practiced, but he had never used a new move and Daniel acted like that paddle, came close to his opponent and acted like that paddle punch him on the left, punch him on the right, punch him on the left, punch him on the right and he won the fight.
Speaker 1:Hello, what's the moral of the story? My right and he won the fight. Hello, what's the moral of the story? America is standing on one leg, hello, and the devil thinks that he has won. People celebrating the assassination of a young man. But guess what? God still has another move. I say God still has another move. God still has another move, come on, come on. The best days of America are not behind us, but they are ahead of us. Darkness may devastate. Stand up, come on. The best days of America are not behind us, but they are ahead of us. Darkness may devastate, stand up. Darkness may devastate, but God is looking for champions who will resonate, and he found champions that can resonate. Dunamis is going to detonate. I see God raising up men and women that have been touched by the power of God. They are going to be used as instruments. Come on to bring forward and usher a move of God that would touch every fabric of our society.