How Will the Church Change the World?

Won’t you turn in your bibles, please, to the gospel of Luke, chapter 9? Katia and I are so happy to be back on home soil. We just love what God is doing. I’m so glad that the world is not going to hell in a hand basket. I’m going to preach to these people here. I know you white people can get out of your chairs, because Fabian told me that he preached up a storm! So, just throwing it out there, I need some Pentecostal anointing. I’m so glad God is moving on the earth today. I’m so glad things are getting better, not worse. I’m so glad that South Africa is on its way up, not down. I’m so glad that we’re in a season of the outpouring. I know we often talk about a new day that is coming, but the reality is the new day started when Jesus bust out of the grave. The new day started when He said, “It is finished”, as new creation begins to break out all over the earth, and He is making all things new. And He’s invited us, the church, to partner with Him in making things new around us, and to the degree that we access that reality by faith and begin to walk in that, is to that degree that we can see how quickly the earth will be swallowed up in His goodness and recreated. 

I love the verse, I think it’s in 1 or 2 Peter, it says, “We look forward to the day of the Lord, and we get to hasten the day of the Lord.” In other words, it’s up to every generation to have purpose in their hearts to partner with God, to make the kingdom of God come in such a way that we will see the return of Jesus quicker. Isn’t that an outrageous thought? That you and I get to help set the timeline of God’s purposes. I know that will mess with some of your theology. So, I’m not really waiting for the anti-Christ because, last time I checked, the people who leave this earth are the evil ones. And He recreates the earth, and He gives us the mandate to govern alongside Him. Last time I checked, there’s a city coming down from heaven to the earth. All things will be made new. And so, I’m so excited that we get to live in the prophetic picture of that reality right now, as communities that begin to speak of that great city and live in that today. And so, it’s so good to be back. And I hope you’re in the gospel of Luke now; if not, give up. The gospel of Luke, chapter 9 verse 28. 

“Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.” I so identify with Peter. “As he was saying these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!” And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen. On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. And all were astonished at the majesty of God.”

I want to just unpack a few things quickly as I share this evening, because I believe God is bringing the church into a new space and into a new understanding of what it means to be the people of God on the earth. Don’t you love even how each session has begun to build upon one another, as we’ve begun to come into revelation of God’s goodness and God’s kindness at work amongst His people. I love the statement that Eric said: “He who has the most hope in any given situation is the one who has the most influence.” It’s time that we change the chorus of the church, that something begins to shift in how we sound, for the sake of hope and for the sake of reality. As sure as Jesus has been raised from the dead and is descended and seated at the right hand of God, is as sure as I am that all things will be made new. Good point, Julian… And I love this encounter, because we see Jesus take His disciples up to a mountaintop. Now, mountaintops are very important in Jewish understanding, in Jewish theology, because mountaintops speak of the place of revelation. It speaks of the place of encounter, it speaks of the place where God reveals Himself as the one who is sovereign over all, where God reveals the law to Moses. We begin to see something of these visitations. Elijah has a visitation on a mountain. You see this throughout scripture, that the place of revelation and visitation happens on a mountaintop. 

And so, when we read this, we’re to see this very particularly, because the gospel writers are so clear in how they’re wanting to communicate that this is a visitation moment. This is a revelation moment. This is a transformation moment. And I believe God is bringing us into a space where we begin to understand that it’s not just enough to have revelation. That there’s got to be something that shifts to bring transformation. And they’re having this incredible encounter, and what you see happen in this moment is you begin to see Jesus goes through this amazing transfiguration. Sometimes when we think about this, particularly when it comes to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, particularly when it comes to what God does and how God does it, we often think of something coming upon us, don’t we? We say, “Holy Spirit, fall upon me. I want to have more of you poured out into me.” What you see here is a transfiguration, and the word for transfiguration here is not simply a ‘coming upon’, the word for transfiguration is an ‘unveiling’. In other words, what’s always been in Jesus is unveiled so that what is in Him begins to transform everything around Him. That’s what’s happening here. This is the transfiguration moment. And what’s beautiful, actually— some scholars say this so beautifully— that this is not a proof of His divinity. What’s happening here is not about His divinity, because you see Moses and Elijah shining too. This is about the unseen kingdom that was already at work in Him, being unveiled through Him and around Him. Except that the light that’s on Him overshadows and outshines everything else around Him. 

What’s incredible about this mountaintop experience is that it’s a blueprint for humanity. You see, when heaven meets earth in you, what is supposed to be in you is supposed to be unveiled through you and around you. We can’t keep talking about heaven coming to earth without realizing you’re made of mud. You’re the earth that heaven comes to. And what’s happening in this context is that what’s always been true about Jesus, in that He carried another kingdom. My kingdom is not of this world— it is for this world, but it’s not of this world. My kingdom doesn’t come through observation; the kingdom of God is in you. And what’s beautiful about this moment, this mountaintop moment, is that this is eternally true of us. How many of you know you never need to have a moment where you come off the mountain? Here’s why: we are seated in Christ, in heavenly places. A physical mountain is not where we go for visitation; we live in the context of habitation. The thing about living in the context of habitation is that He now makes His home in us. We have now become the meeting point of heaven and earth and Christ in you. The hope of glory needs to get out of you be unveiled through you. And I love this moment because as he encounters God, as we begin to see something of the glory and the splendour and the beauty— in fact, the word here, ‘glory’, speaks of the intrinsic worth of His goodness and His beauty. In other words, beauty is supposed to spill out wherever you go, because you have something of heaven on the inside of you. 

Brothers and sisters, do you realize that this reality is not a distant, detached reality? Heaven was clothed in flesh and blood and, in a moment, we get a glimpse into the true reality of what’s happening in the world when you see Jesus begin to be transfigured, and what is in Him is unveiled to those around Him. And what’s true of Christ is now true of you; this is our blueprint. We can go home now. Because the reality is, friends, that you now live as one who carries this very glory wherever you go, albeit unveiled in flesh. You get the privilege of unveiling the true nature of who you are as a glory-carrier. As one who is connected to heaven in an undiluted way, in a tangible reality, in a physical reality. I’m going to pause this, because we, so often, think of heaven as the place we’re going to go to when we die, when the bible writers do not understand heaven as an eternal destination. They understand heaven as a co-existing reality that has physical implications. It means that when you show up and heaven is on the inside of you, as you begin to reveal what’s on the inside of you, there’s a physical dynamic that begins to connect. How many of you know that in the physical place of heaven right now, there is a physical man with physical glorified flesh called Jesus? You can touch Him, you can feel Him, and He’s in the realm of heaven right now! And what’s more is that that realm is in you! You know who’s got the advantage in any given situation? You do. 

One of the things that I love about the Genesis encounter is you see that… in Genesis, you see that the first thing that God institutes, the first thing that God, through the Spirit as it were, begins to make manifest is not creation. The first thing that He begins to make is make manifest is marriage. Let me help you. He makes the moon and the sun; seemingly opposites, but they work together. He makes the land and the sea, seemingly opposites, but they work together. You see animals and you see plants. You see man and you see woman. They are made for each other. There’s a marriage, that’s the couplet that you see first created, as it were. And the very first thing that God makes is heaven. Heaven is made for earth, and earth is made for heaven. You see, your physical piece of earth is so important to God that one day its going to be glorified; until then, you carry it in a veiled reality that’s supposed to open up and be unveiled in every context that you find yourself. And the beautiful thing about this is that you can’t realize what’s in you, in terms of the transfiguration, without realizing what’s around you, in terms of disfiguration. You see, whenever the gospel-tellers tell this story, it is always coupled with a son who is deaf and dumb and oppressed by the enemy. All of the gospel accounts put them together, as if the gospel-writers are trying to tell us that the transfiguration needs to overcome the disfiguration of this world. 

There’s something about understanding you cannot have the mountaintops without understanding there’s some brokenness in this world. You see, what’s happening in this moment is Jesus gets affirmed as a son. He gets affirmed as the Son of God, but at the same time, there is a Son who has been disconnected with His Father because He’s been so oppressed by the enemy. At the same time that this mountaintop revelation is happening, there is a disfiguration that is happening in the world around us. And I want to suggest to you, brothers and sisters, that for too long, we have made the mountaintop encounter the goal of Christianity, when the whole point is that Jesus conceals the glory again, walks down the mountain, and sets somebody free. Something has to shift in our mindset, brothers and sisters. I believe that when we begin to understand that both these worlds go together, but one is going to overcome the other sooner or later. It scares up an impossible hope! It scares up something of such a gift of faith! Because I’ve seen the glory on the mountaintop. Both worlds go together. It’s why I can pray for the sick and see them heal, but still struggle with sickness in my own body. But sooner or later, there’s going to be a reality that’s going to be overcome, because what’s in me has to impact what’s around me. The transfiguration is meant to make sense of the disfiguration of this world. You can’t have one without the other. Because, until Jesus returns, we are in full expectation that things are getting better. 

There’s something quite incredible that happens in this context, is that Jesus is standing between these two prophets of old, Moses and Elijah. Moses representing the law, Elijah representing the prophetic purposes of God and His sovereignty. And as they fade into nothing you see Jesus, because He is the fulfilment of all of Israel’s prophetic words. He is the fulfilment of all of Israel’s longings, indeed, He is the fulfilment of every single person’s longing in their hearts, and you see Him revealed as Son. Here’s the thing: He’s talking to Moses and Elijah— just let me do this little side thing. Did you know that in the original encounter that Moses had with God, He said, ‘you go to the promised land?’ God made a promise to him: ‘You’ll go to the promised land.’ But we see that because of his presumption on how God moved, he was barred from entering into the promised land, and what happens is that he dies. In fact, the bible says that God buried him. Some Jewish scholars think that he was taken up with God. They never found a body; they never found a gravesite. We know that Elijah was taken up with God. But what I love about the promise-keeping nature of God is that, a few hundred years earlier, He promised Moses, ‘you will get into the promised land’, and here on a mountain in the promised land, Moses puts his feet down in a physical body and says, ‘Here I am!’

I don’t know how the promises of God work, but what I know is that He’s faithful to keep His word. He’s not going to break it down. And even if my eyes fall asleep, sooner or later what He’s said about me will be accomplished, in and through me. And we see this moment. The bible says that Jesus is talking about His departure. That word is ‘exodus’, right there. Because, you see, Jesus is the new Moses, leading His people in a new exodus. The exodus of the Old Covenant was all about taking the people out of this world. The exodus of this New Covenant is about walking down a mountain. And as He’s walking down this mountain, He begins to heal the sick around Him, but He’s on His way to another mountain called Golgotha. You see, one hill interprets the other. What you see in the great glory in the transfiguration, is concealed in great suffering and destruction on the hill of Golgotha, but actually that’s where the glory lies. Because He lays down His life. This is not one of me being taken out of the world; the exodus that Jesus is bringing to the earth is not one of getting you out of here. The exodus that Jesus is bringing to the earth is one of a laid-down life that begins to shift the hinge wherever you go. It’s a new kind of exodus, because Jesus is not like the old Moses. He’s a new Moses. He’s a Moses who gets His feet on the ground. 

Brothers and sisters, I don’t know if you realize this, but when you begin to understand something of the reality of this exodus moment, you begin to realize that we cannot be a people who are simply satisfied with revival culture if there is not revival transformation. Jesus says something to those guys as He’s walking down that mountain. The disciplines come up and they’re like, ‘we can’t cast the devil out of them.’ I mean, they’d already done that before. They healed the sick before, they cast out devils before, but this one, they couldn’t. And He looks at this crowd of Jewish people— mostly pharisees, is what some commentators say, and He says, “Oh wicked and perverse generation”, and He quotes what Moses said his deathbed about the people of God. Because they chose to live in unbelief and not respond to the prophetic promises that God spoke and, in doing so, they didn’t get to enter into the promised land until the next generation came up. And Jesus quotes this a number of times. He says, “Oh wicked and perverse, or twisted, generation.” The word ‘generation’ is quite an interesting word, because He’s not talking about the sense of a generation of people in a given geography at a given time with a whole lot of people; He’s talking about a more specific understanding of the word ‘generation’. That word ‘generation’ is about a specific group of people who are connected to a specific identity, a specific way of thinking, a specific heritage. He was talking to the Jewish people at that time. Because you’ll see that the two times that Jesus commends great faith, they are not people of the Jewish race, they are gentiles. The Syrophoenician woman, and the Centurion. You’ve got great faith, but to the Jewish people who have been connected to the culture of God’s moving, He says, ‘you’re a wicked and perverse generation. You’re an unbelieving generation.’ He’s narrowing it down to a specific group of people. 

I want to suggest to you that for too long, we have not seen the kind of miracles we should be seeing because, actually, there is something that can happen in a generation that gets passed from one generation to the other, to the other, and that’s called a thought pattern. It’s called a way of being, it’s called a way of thinking, a way of living in a particular tradition. Listen… I’m trying to help you. How many of you know there is a difference between whities and coloured people? There is a big difference! You know, when white people throw a party, it’s kind of nice, there’s just enough food. Lots of salad… When a coloured person throws a party, my brother, I want to tell you, KFC ain’t seen nothing yet because the fried chicken that’s there is… mmm! And it doesn’t matter if you’re in London hanging out with coloured people, or if you’re living in America and you’re hanging out with coloured people, fried chicken is going to be there. It’s a way of thinking, it’s a way of being, it’s a way of identifying. The thing about the people of God is that Moses is saying to them, and so is Jesus, ‘your consistent default is to not believe the prophetic promises of God. It is what’s defined your way of being, your way of thinking, and your way of living.’ 

I want to suggest to you that it is possible to slip in under the predominant generational thinking and the predominant generational way of being and living, so that we can come into the same place of unbelief and think there’s no hope for South Africa. These disciples had already healed the sick, they knew how to do it. And here comes this man— some commentators say that He actually came to test them. And they’re stuck there, and they’re kind of listening to the words of the generation around them. Listening to the people’s opinions around them, and they slip straight back into unbelief. I can tell what you believe by what you post on Facebook. I want to tell you, friends, it is possible as a church to come into the prevailing cultural predisposition of any given generation and context, so that rather than producing faith, we live in the place of unbelief and it blocks off the miraculous around us. What are we meditating on? Who are we thinking on? Something has to shift in our hearts, because this exodus is not like the last one. It’s not simply about getting into a promised land at the exclusion of others. Let me just touch on this very quickly, because Eric spoke about it this morning— well, last night, I forget. It was last night. The Israelites believed they were superior to any other race because of their covenant sign of circumcision. It was the sign as to whether or not you were part of the people of God or excluded from the people of God. But the prophetic promise to Israel was they would be a light to the nations, and that all nations would come to them and be grafted in. And what was meant to be a prophetic platform of promise became a determining factor of exclusion, so that you couldn’t get in if you didn’t look like us.

I came to preach tonight, because something has to shift in the area of racism in South Africa. Something’s got to move, friends. I cannot be a prophet, I cannot speak prophetically into this context, unless we begin to move out of the white inertia that we’ve been living in. Some of you are getting all nervous about white privilege; God bless you, build a bridge, get over it. We need to bring change. And the only people who get to do that— oh, it is not on politicians to shift the nature of this country— it is upon the church! And we have bought into a lie of unbelief, because we’ve listened to the rhetoric of newspapers and a generation who have been scarred because of racism and segregation on both sides of the argument. And instead of lifting our head to the prophetic promise, instead of understanding that what makes us the people of God is the multicoloured, multilingual, multinational expression of God’s kingdom… It is not meant to be an exclusion; it is meant to be an invitation into the very purposes of God. Oh Shiva, I need to land this thing… that wasn’t in my notes. 

See, the great faith that God commends are those who did not have the same thinking pattern as the Jewish people. I want to suggest to you that in the church today, we could buy into the lie that the church is in decline. We can buy into the lie that miracles only happen if God feels like it. We can buy into the lie that national change is not possible. We can buy into the lie that God’s purposes with the earth are over and He’s just waiting to smite us all. Or, we can shift the perspective and break with unbelief. Because, you see, unbelief is still belief. It’s just choosing to orientate yourself against the purposes of God, rather than alongside the purposes of God. Jesus says, ‘bring that son here.’ The thing that I’m so fascinated about with this whole encounter is that the most beautiful revelation in who Jesus is, is not in what He does, but in who He is as a Son to the Father. It’s the most beautiful thing. And the whole revelation that you see there is this beautiful picture that this is His Son. All other prophetic voices are drowned out. The legalism of the Old Covenant represented by Moses is now coming to nothing. The harshness, sometimes, that we see of prophetic ministry that says, ‘get in line, or you will be judged’, is silenced as Elijah fades away, and we see Jesus. And the primary revelation of God on the earth in the person of Jesus, is not His ruler, is not His king, but is a Son. It’s a beautiful picture. 

Hebrews tells us that long ago, God spoke to us through the prophets, but today He speaks to us through His Son. The passion translation puts it beautifully, it says, “We speak English, but God speaks sonship.” That’s His language. His language is sonship. But what’s phenomenal is this great unveiling happens on a mountain, and as He walks down the mountain, there’s a son disconnected from his father. I want to suggest to you that the urgent need for our generation is not another missions programme, it’s not another worship album, it’s connecting sons to our Father. And you see something so beautiful: as this son who’s been oppressed— I want to tell you: our generation is being oppressed and harassed by demonic forces unlike anything that’s been seen on the earth. There is a targeted attempt to assassinate this generation with confusion and oppression, and it’s all because they’ve been disconnected from their Father. I want to tell you, prophetically, God is saying to the church, ‘give the son back to his Father.’ That’s how this story ends. Give the son back to his Father. I want to say it’s time that we, as the church, live in the place of fathers that we get to give sons back to the Father. It’s incredible, the revelation of Elijah is not one of power, it’s one of sonship. In those days, I will turn the hearts of the sons to their father, and the spirit of Elijah will come upon them. You see, we’ve made the aim power, when God’s made the aim family.

The problem is, we can enjoy transfiguration moments on a mountain, but if it doesn’t give us authority for the disfiguration in our world, we should pack up and go home. We should pack up and go home, because we owe the world an encounter with a good Papa. Not some grumpy, schizophrenic, angry God, but a God who is fully revealed as a Son to the world. How the Son treats people is how your Father’s going to treat you. I fear that we love revival culture: the goose bumps, the shikabazookas. I love that I am a drinker. I enjoy drinking on the presence of God. Some of you were concerned I might say something else. But revival culture without revival power is simply self-indulgence. We have got to shift something. I’m not talking about doing more, because I want to say to you that any activity in the kingdom devoid of relationship is just performance. Like, you might as well stop, because God is not impressed with your performance. He’s impressed with you. I’m not talking about missing out on enjoying moments with God; I’m simply saying that the unveiling of the kingdom is meant to be the precursor, it’s meant to be the platform for us to see the kingdom in us bringing transformation through us, and what’s in us should be unveiled to those around us. It’s time to give the sons back to their Father. And I love how Jesus prophetically models that. He’s just been affirmed as the Son to His heavenly Father. Walked down the mountain and He says, ‘Boy, be healed. Church, disciples, give that boy back to his father.’ We need to give our communities back to the Father. I wonder if I can just have… I like having to play a little bit…

We are in a pivotal moment. Leonard Ravenhill used to say opportunities of a lifetime must be seized in the lifetime of the opportunity. In other words, right now there’s an opportunity. I just need to say this: one of the things that I love about what Pete Portal is doing— Pete and Sarah and the team there — in Mannenberg, we’ve been there. I mean, I’m a proper cape coloured, and I was thinking, ‘Jesus protect me.’ Taking my wife into Mannenberg… These young men open up this Trelligate door and I’m like, ‘Oh, Jesus. Am I in the right house?’ And the thing you see is the beautiful affect that one couple have for what society considers the least of the least. When I see Heidi Baker, when I see some of my friends who are working with some of the wealthiest people who are the up-and-outers. We need to give sons back to the Father. The way we do that is learning how to be good sons ourselves, because what’s in you will always be unveiled to those around you. I’m going to flow prophetically for about a half hour, is that okay? We’ll be done by about half past eight. I’m sure we’ll do some more ministry at some stage. In fact, actually, I’m not going to flow prophetically, I’m sorry. That would be not appropriate just yet. We’ll do some prophetic ministry tomorrow. 

I feel like some of us need to do some business with God right now. I tell you, by and large, the church has been over prophesied to anyway. Just do your last prophecy, it’ll be okay. Listen: I’m more convinced that the prophetic is a sign for the unbeliever to say, ‘Surely God is in this place?’ And, you know, we sometimes make the prophetic about how impressed we can get with the accuracy of someone’s words of knowledge and their prophetic gifts. Hmm! I don’t need to impress the believer; you should be impressed with Jesus already, right? This is not in my notes, but it’s the truth, friends. I am concerned, in the body of Christ, that the aim of the prophetic is about wild with the details of words of knowledge, or beautiful prophetic articulation. We’ve missed the whole point. What the prophetic is meant to do is stir up faith; you prophesy in proportion to your faith. To stir up faith in you, to counteract unbelief around you. I promise tomorrow I will minister prophetically, but I kind of feel there’s something about God wanting to shift something. And I feel like some of you are in a place of despair. Now, this is easy for me to say because I’m going to America. Just being honest. But some of you are in a place of despair about South Africa. You’re like, ‘Ay, Jesus…’ and you bought into unbelief around you. I wish I could say my issue was white flight, but I’m not white. I’m being very cheeky tonight. But there’s some of you here, you are getting your passports ready not because you are being led into purpose, but because you’re responding from fear. 

I just need to break something here. Can we be honest? We’re in church tonight. There’s some of you here tonight that God wants to just break off the ceiling of listening to voices that keep saying, ‘Be fearful. Be afraid.’ With some of you, God’s going to speak to you about opening up the four spare bedrooms in your house, so you can give sons back to their Father. In the bible, something has to shift. If we do not seize the opportunity of a lifetime in the lifetime of that opportunity, we miss a window of acceleration in which God pushes us forward into His purposes. At every juncture of apostolic advance in scripture, there was a prophetic revelation that pushed people into purpose. The aim of prophesy is not to give you a goosebump; the aim of prophesy is to push you into purpose. I just want to ask you, won’t you stand? Won’t you lift up your hands toward heaven? Honestly, this is the first time in a long time where I’ve felt God telling me I’m not supposed to prophesy. I feel a little bit funny. But this is commissioning happening. I just want to go after unbelief in your heart right now. Unbelief isn’t broken by me praying. Unbelief is broken by you choosing to believe God’s purpose. That it’s good. This is not about self-help. It’s about a deep conviction that God is who He said He is. I’m asking for transfiguration moments, Lord. 

Some of you, right now, the power of God is going to hit you in the most unusual ways. Some of you are going to begin to encounter God as you begin to have your mind re-orientated around the unseen reality of His kingdom which is breaking out of you. And so, Father, right now, I release your power. I feel like I want church leaders— if you are a church leader, a senior leader or a church elder or pastor, would you quickly come to the front? Quickly come to the front. It’s always best to get the leaders first. Wow look at the number of church leaders here. Won’t you honour them as they just come to the front? This is amazing. There is a fresh commission coming on you to be hope-bearers. That we get to set the expectation of belief for a generation. That we do not have to live like the Jewish people did in unbelief, in a predominant way of thinking and a way of living. That actually we, as pastors, as teachers, as those who are gifted to release Holy Spirit over a people. We get to shift something in the way that people think. And right now, the Holy Spirit is being poured out upon you. Oof! To be hope-bringers. To be prophetic voices that release transfiguration wherever you go. Shooh! And so, Holy Spirit, I want to pray for these leaders right now, in the name of Jesus. Oof! Right now, I want to release a new sound that will come from our pastors, a new sound that will come from our leaders, that will begin to unlock a prophetic purpose and a prophetic hope for this nation that will be outrageously generous. That will be full of expectation that you can do the impossible. Father, I release new voices right now, in the name of Jesus, that will begin to speak with an authority to shift some things, that the God of the impossible is still doing the impossible. I ask you for fathers of communities to give back sons to the Father. And even right now, I ask you to release your power. I thank you, God, that while Saul had the crown of authority, David had the anointing of true authority. While Saul had the crown of position, David had the anointing to release a nation. 

God, I thank you that while politicians might have the crown of position, it is to Your church that You have given the authority to change a nation. And, right now, I release that. Fresh hope. God, I ask you for the weary, burnt-out ones here… the weary, burnt-out ones who have been fighting so hard they haven’t even realized they’ve come under some unbelief. Right now, we break that off of you. Shooh! In Jesus’ name. In Jesus’ name. Shooh! And we release such an undeniable hope, one that is not founded upon circumstantial evidence, but one that is founded upon the promises of God, which are sure. Yes, and amen! Now, Holy Spirit, will you release your presence all over this room? Some of you, God is speaking to you directly about what it looks like for you to no longer live under the predominant generational expectation that God can’t do what He said He would. God, I break unbelief today. We choose to believe you, God. That You are who You said You are. That You will do what You said You will do. You said that You’re about a great work of making all things new. Now, if you could put your hand on your heart, we’re going to end like this. I want to ask that the reality of what’s in you will begin to be unveiled to those around you. Because, you see, the same transfiguring glory that was in Christ is in you. Christ in you, the hope of glory. That when people encounter you, what they encounter is the intrinsic worth and splendour of God and His beauty that brings transformation. 

And Father, right now, for every person under the sound of my voice, I ask you for fresh encounter. Would you release the transfiguring work of your kingdom, right now, that brings change to everything? Some of you, right now, are feeling the presence of God on you. There are even some of you who are getting intercession. The young guy from Oasis, I’ve forgotten your name, there’s a spirit of intercession coming onto you right now. Shooh! Presence of God. I want you to know that unbelief requires repentance. It means you have to change the way you think. We owe this world an encounter with Jesus. We need to get the sons back to their Father. There’s a lady right over here, the presence of God is on you, ma’am. Is that your husband next door to you? Are you guys together? Just close your eyes, the power of God is just coming on you right now, both of you. Shooh! Pete Portal, this is going to be a whole new season, get ready. I release hope-filled businessmen, hope-filled teachers, hope-filled doctors. I even release hope-filled accountants, Lord. Release your presence. Why don’t you tell Jesus how much you love Him? I believe tonight He’s a prophetic provocation for us, to move from unbelief to the place of holy expectation. Keep coming. Why don’t you just go ahead and lift your voice for a moment to Him? Sing a song to Him, tell Him how beautiful He is.