I want to talk about a faith that awakens. A faith that awakens. You see God is calling for the church of America to wake up. To wake up out of a spiritual sleep and slumber. See while the world's been up and running, so many of God's people have just been asleep. Yes, moving around maybe physically, maybe going to church, but still just asleep in their desire for God. Asleep in the power of God, asleep to all the wonderful things that God wants to do in His people. But see, God today wants us to wake up. Today He says, ‘Wake up church of God.’ Awaken to His glory. Awaken to His voice, awaken to a desire - an urging - to get close to Him as never before.

We can ask ourselves: What can cause such an awakening? What do we do? Church, what do we do, what is our hope? I want to say today, it is faith. It is faith in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s faith where you're coming to God just saying, ‘Lord, I'm trusting in You. I know that You are the Name above all names. Father, I know that You are able to transform a man. I know that You are still transforming women who call upon Your name.’ And to come to Him in faith and just say, ‘Father, I place my life in Your hands. I place my heart, my mind - all that I have - to trust You God.’

You see God? He can touch such a heart of faith. But in speaking of faith, we have to stop for a moment. We have to stop and examine if we truly be in the faith today. 2 Corinthians chapter 13:5 says this: It says, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith;...” It says to, “...test yourselves.”

Today we find so many that proclaim to be Christians right? We can look at all sorts of statistics and when you look at the statistics especially of our nation, you find that probably more than 80% of Americans right, claim to be Christian. To be in the faith. But, I could imagine, if we were to test each one, what we find inside? If we were to examine our faith, if we were to examine the faith of the multitude what would we find? I believe many of us would find a powerlessness, that we would find a lack of conviction of the Word of God,that we would find people just asleep to the things of God.

How can this be? See for some, it's because we pursued so much of the world, we’ve pursued so much of everything else but God, that we’ve lost the sensitivity to His Word. We lost the sensitivity to what He's been speaking - a sensitivity to the Spirit. For others, it may be that rather than continuing to obey and respond to the Word of the Lord - the voice of the Lord - we've pushed it away so much that we’ve fallen asleep in a spiritual slumber because of our disobedience.

And sadly, while many in the church today sleep, the world is wide awake. Influencing our families. Influencing our children! Taking influence of all the places that the church should be rising up. But church He is calling us today to wake up! To wake up and to truly come into the faith!

When will we decide to finally begin to move in the fullness of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? You see true faith will do something extraordinary. True faith will cause a revival within our hearts. True faith will cause a revival in the church. See faith will cause you to do things that you can’t do normally. Faith takes me out of my abilities, and it brings me into the ability of the Lord Jesus Christ. Hallelujah, is anybody hearing me today?

See by faith we come into Christ, and out of ourselves. No longer stuck into me. No longer lost in self-love and into what I want to do, but we are able to become a Kingdom people. See, true faith will alert you to wake up. It’ll alert you to the time that is upon us. Listen! If there was ever a time to seek God - if everything in my heart could tell you something - now is the time to seek the Lord like never before. This is not a time to be asleep. This is not a time to walk away. This is not a time to just go about, it is a time to seek the face of God.

But see it takes faith for this to happen - faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a faith that wakes up our soul. It's a faith that would deliver us from darkness. It’s a faith that will deliver us from worldliness and godlessness and everything else that holds us back from the Lord, but we must examine our faith.

And so some of you may be thinking, ‘Why is faith so important? What is the big deal about faith?’ You see the Word of the Lord says God looks at our faith as more precious than gold or silver. See God loves the person who has faith in Him. He loves the person that’s willing to just trust their entire lives over to Him - to place themselves in His hands. And listen! Hallelujah God never fails those who are faithful.

I can't help but to think of Noah. Right we know the story of Noah, who by faith began to build the ark - even though it never rained. But hallelujah because of his faith his entire family was spared the judgment. His entire family was saved and delivered by the power of God! I can't help but to think about Abraham, who by faith left his father's house - left everything he had, left all the land behind - and by faith he began to follow God and today, we know that he is the father of our faith. He is the father of Israel. He is the father of all those who believe and trust in the mighty Name of Jesus!

Church I have to say today that God is still moving in the same faith. By faith we are still able to leave the old. By faith we are still able to come out of our wickedness. By faith we are able to leave our father's house, we are able to leave the old, and to come into new! Is there anybody waking up to the faith of God?

Faith - more precious than gold or silver. Faith so powerful. Faithfulness to God. And so today I wanna share just a few things of what faith truly does in our life, what trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ - what being in Christ - truly does amen.

And so the first thing that faith does is faith awakens conviction. Let's look at Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1. It says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Faith is the conviction of things not seen. What are the things that are not seen? We can probably speak about a lot of things but today, I want to realize that - see faith awakens a conviction that the Lord Jesus is King. That's what faith does.

See when you're convicted about something, it means that you're convinced. See, faith in Christ isn’t about just having a little bit of Jesus. It's not about having the quiet life and then waiting to possibly make it to heaven, but it's about living with Christ as our King. It’s about living under the rule and the reign of our mighty God, where regardless of our circumstances, regardless of the hell that may come against us, regardless of whether things aren’t happening the way that we thought that it would happen - we press on! We don’t stop, we do not throw in the towel - because we submit all things under the ruling of God.

See, this conviction is a conviction that drives us to continue to submit to God, to walk with Him just simply saying, ‘Father, God You are King no matter what, and here I am to serve You.’ You know I hear so many preachers and people speaking so many different things about God. ‘This is what God does for you. This is how God can work things out in your life.’ Listen - some of those things are great, but church I believe today God is calling us back to Kingship. He is calling us back to recognize that He is king of all, that He is Lord of all! He is the King above all and there is no other!

You know I was reminded as I was reading the Scripture - of 1 Samuel chapter 8 - of Israel. And Israel approaches Samuel, and what was their one request to him? They said, “Give us a king like all the other nations.” And we think about that and my heart always drops every time I read that or remember the Scripture because you know what? They wanted a king that they could see. They wanted a ruler, a king, that they could touch and that they could feel. See rather than live by faith, they wanted to live according to the flesh. Now we read this, we think about that and we go, ‘Aww man that's terrible,’ but how often have we done the same thing? Where rather than living in faith under God's Kingship, we begin to decide that ‘I'm king.’ We decide, ‘You know what God, I know that Your ways are okay, but I feel like my ways are a little bit better right now. Father maybe I'll try my way first and then I'll decide to go to You. Maybe I’ll depend on the world, it just seems so much easier,’ all the while trusting in everything but God.

See this is really about examining our faith to see who we truly trust in. See many of us live in some type of conviction right? For some of us, maybe we’re totally convinced that if we really work hard on our homes, we’ll bring up its value. For some of us we’re convicted - we’re convinced - that if we work really hard before the boss, if the boss knows how well we’re doing, listen, the raise is gonna show up right? But who will begin to live in the conviction that God is King? Who will begin to be so convinced that if you bow before the Lord - if you bow before God - that life will enter in - life that cannot disappear! Life that does not dissipate, but carries us through!

True faith brings a conviction that God is the only ruler, and it changes our entire life where everything that we do is based off His leading. Everything that we do is based on the fact that He is calling us to live, to move, and to breathe His Word and to do His works. I pray today that somebody will be touched by God to be awakened to faith. Faith to be so convicted that He is the King, amen.

"...true faith should bring about a conviction that not only the Lord Jesus Christ is alive and risen from the grave, but that He is coming back..."

True faith awakens a conviction that Jesus is going to return. Now, we don't literally see right now Jesus coming back - crowned on a horse - but the Bible does say that one day He will return, and He says to be ready. See He will come and we will each be held accountable for the way that we have lived our lives. Yet how often have we lived without His conviction? How often have we looked at our life and maybe said, ‘Yeah well I probably wouldn't be ready but it's okay maybe I'll get ready later’? How often do we look at our children - we go, ‘Man, they’re really not where God would have them be, and maybe they’ll get ready later,’ to allow God to pass us by - failing to truly live in the faith that He is calling us to live in? Church this is serious! He is going to come back! If we truly be in the faith then we would not be so asleep - we would never be comfortable. We would not be so at ease with the flesh, where we’re seeing maybe God move, we're hearing God speak and seeing Him do things in all sorts of people's lives - yet we remain the same!

See this conviction - true faith should bring about a conviction that not only the Lord Jesus Christ is alive and risen from the grave, but that He is coming back, and that this is our hope. See it's a hope that makes my heart leap that one day He is going to return and we will rise with Him. That one day He is going to come and to gather His people back to Himself. Is there somebody hearing this today?

You see, the thing is not everybody will rise. But there are some, I truly believe, who have decided that they do not wanna be disqualified from the prize of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who have been touched by God that decided, ‘God I’m not playing games with the world anymore.’ See, conviction will cause you to stop playing around with the flesh. Conviction will cause you to start opening up and beginning to seek God like never before - because you know you’ve got no time to waste. You know that He may come like a thief in the night. And God I will be ready!

There was a point in my life, I remember, where I chose to live as though the Lord would not return. But I wanna praise God today. I praise the Lord Jesus Christ that He has saved me from it. See God has awakened faith - hallelujah - and given a conviction to wake up. And now I can say I will be ready. I will be ready in the Lord. I will be ready because a line has been drawn. There has been a line drawn to say that I shall follow the Lord! That me and my household shall serve Him, and Him alone!

But see we cannot have both! God says, ‘Decide and choose this day!’ We cannot choose the world, and we cannot choose Christ at the same time! He says to wake up and get ready!

What will you choose this day? What will you choose? See we have to look at our faith and see if our lives reflect this. Do our lives reflect such a conviction? I encourage you to read this chapter. You know, you look at Hebrews chapter 11 - many call it, you know, the chapter of faith, right? But I encourage you to read it. We find some courageous, bold, empowered people - world transforming people - who trusted God in these chapters. You know they’ve gone through troubles, they went through turmoil, they went through trials, they even faced death face to face but their faith moved them. Their faith allowed them to conquer all for the sake of Christ.

And I had to ask myself: What would make these men and women so brave? What would make them so strong? I tell you this - it was because they were convicted that God was their King. They were so convicted by their faith that nothing could stop them and because of that, God empowered them with boldness. God empowered them to do the work of the Kingdom. God empowered them to overtake the mouth of the lion. God empowered them to overtake the darkness. Is there anybody lacking boldness in their faith today? Is there somebody here today where something just keeps tripping you up? Where that old flesh just keeps showing up? I wanna say that there is an answer: Bow before the King! Bow before the Lord Jesus Christ!

Do we live in the conviction that Jesus is King? If so it means that all of our decisions are made that we would align them with His will. When we look into our households, when we look into their lives, is there a conviction of Jesus as King, is there a conviction that we don't belong to ourselves? Is there something in us that says, ‘You know you are not your own’? Is there something where we have to look at our children and go, ‘Listen honey: I know that I love you, I know that, you know you're in my house. But I have to tell you don't belong to yourself. I know you're eighteen now. I know you're older and I know that you think you're on your own, but trust me: You don’t belong to yourself, you belong to God. I’ve been praying, I’ve been committing, and don't think you’re just gonna go off!’?

See, what God is saying is to come into true faith today - to wake up! To wake up to the true faith of the Lord Jesus Christ - to be willing to take God for His Word. For somebody to become courageous, for somebody to become brave enough to follow, and say, ‘Father here I am. I place my life in Your hands. I place my mind in Your hands. I give it all to You God!’

Is there somebody here ready to no longer bow to the flesh? To no longer bow to the sin where we’re just, you know, kinda going about our days? Going through our days of comfort without purpose? You know, without being really truly walking under the weight of the conviction of God? Is there somebody ready to wake up, to find purpose? Is there somebody ready to wake up, and ready to come into true faith and begin to move for God?

And see, true faith will awaken conviction in our lives. Secondly, what does faith do? See faith awakens desire. Faith awakens desire. (16:10-12) Let’s look at Hebrews [chapter 11 verse 6]. It says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” So faith - trusting in the Lord, being in the Lord Jesus Christ - causes you to realize and understand deep down inside that God is real. He exists and it awakens a desire. Not to just say, ‘You know God exists I believe it,’ but to truly know Him. A desire to know Him. It's where you come to God in faith, and you're able to begin to speak to Him, and you’re thinking, ‘God I don't know You,’ but you begin to pray and say, ‘Father, I know that You draw man to Yourself. Father will You draw me this day? Father draw me to Yourself. Let a desire begin to awaken, that all other desires will be overtaken!’

And see what happens is this: As we call to God in such a way, He hears the one who calls to Him in faith and He responds. Oh how God will begin to touch you. How God begins to touch those who call on the name of the Lord Jesus. And as He touches us, a desire is birthed. And see this desire for God begins to outshine all other desires. It changes everything when you have a desire for God, when there's something bubbling up for the Lord and no other, it changes your entire life! See it begins to overtake your desire for the world. It’ll even overtake your desire to sleep. You'll find yourself in the wee hours of the morning thinking, ‘God I would love to sleep. I would desire to sleep but Father I desire to seek You! I desire to know You! Father I’m ready to do whatever it takes!’

Oh I think of the song, ‘How the things of this world begin to grow strangely dim in the light of His glory,’ - in the light of true faith! A desire being birthed for Him and no other.

"God is looking for those who are tired of getting so far ahead of the world but being so far behind with God."

See faith will never leave it up to somebody else to do your seeking for you. Yes, as we grow as a church, as we do our Bible studies and all those different things together there are times of instruction, there are times to lead each other and to lead others to know the Lord. But ultimately I find that you will go as far as your desires will take you. You will go as far as knowing God as your heart so desires. See I've seen people desire a lot of things in life. I've seen people desire to be on the top of the class, to be on the top of their profession, and I’ve seen those very same people begin to go to classes to get better. I’ve seen people go through all sorts of training, right? But even when the classroom doors are closed, even when the training ends, they’re at home going deeper in the material, because they wanna know. They don't wanna stop, they wanna go as far as they can to outdo any other. To follow that protocol to know it - but I ask today: Where is the same desire for the things of God? Where is the same desire to get to know Him?

You see, God rewards those who earnestly seek Him. He does not reward those who decide, ‘God when it's convenient I'll go looking for You.’ He does not reward those who say, ‘God, when the money is not there,’ or when, you know, ‘This and that's not there, my family’s not taking up my time, my job and everything else.’ He says those who earnestly seek Him today! Now! Each and every moment saying, ‘Father here I am! My desire is for You!’

God is looking for those who are tired of getting so far ahead of the world but being so far behind with God. If we have had not such a desire in our lives I pray today that we would turn back to God. That we would repent for all of our desires for everything else but God. That we would repent for such deep passion for our sport, such deep passion for our money, such deep passion for our homes and our cars and everything else and come back to God today.

God is calling us to come into Christ - into faith. That He would awaken a desire to go deeper. See true faith awakens a desire to pray. To seek the Lord earnestly is to pray earnestly. I find it so crazy that you can look up a Christian concert - you can look at all the big events right that are put together - and how many people, how many crowds of thousands upon thousands show up so they can hear the wonderful music? So the smoke machines can get going, and all the lighting and all the gathering and everyone kinda sway together and have a good time - how many thousands show up? But I can't help to ask myself: what if we were to just put out a sign? Not to say ‘Concert.’ Not to say, you know, ‘Big Event’ but to simply say, ‘Night of Prayer.’ I wonder today, in the church of America, how many would flock? How many thousands? I wonder how many would have such a desire for prayer, just to come to God and say, ‘Father, You are good.’ Just to come before God to hear His voice. Just to come to God not for anything else, but to simply pray, but to simply seek His face?

See true faith creates a desire for prayer. It’s where you realize one of the greatest opportunities God has given us to connect with Him, to connect with one another, is prayer. See if there is no desire for prayer then we have to stop and begin to check our faith. Are we truly in the faith? If there's no desire for prayer, then we have to begin to seek God's to arise - to awaken faith, to come back to God.

See I'm not talking about a prayer of sitting in our room for hours upon hours. I'm not talking about a prayer where we have to be in the closet and sorta shut the door. But I’m talking about a prayer where we’re living with a sense of crying out to God. Knowing that God is our Deliverer. Knowing that God is our only hope!

I can’t help today but to look at not just only the craziness in our nation, but look at the craziness of the world. I'm talking about not just things with man, but I’m talking about things in nature. I'm looking at the destruction of all sorts of earthquakes and all these things that are happening. When I hear these things, I can’t help - I can't help but to be awakened to a desire to pray, saying, ‘Father cover my family. Father cover our church. Cover us in Your glory, cover us in Your protection!’

You know the other night, I was just driving - You know from here to my house it’s a five minute drive - and I’m so thankful right, not really a long commute. But I remember driving home the other night, and you know I felt just a sense, a desire where God began to tug at my heart and I’m thinking, ‘God I just need to pray. Father I just need to pray for somebody God. I just need to enter in.’ And I’ll tell you one thing church: Before I even got home I couldn’t even wait to get out the car. I remember just praising God, beginning to pray, beginning to lift others up, and how His presence began to fall. This is what He’s calling for church: He’s calling us to be a people of prayer. A people just crying out and longing for Him!

Will that be you today? Will that be us? Can God do this in our lives? Is there a desire to be a people - to be a house of prayer? See, faith causes a desire to pursue His reward.

Now when we read this very same verse again it says very clearly that He rewards. “...He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” What is that reward? I really had to think about this. What is the reward? You see we've got to be reminded about this reward. We've got to remember what this walk is all about. See I'm reminded every way that yes - this great faith - part of it is healings, it's signs, it’s wonders, and it's miracles, but hallelujah the greatest reward that I’ve found is the Lord Jesus Christ. You see those who trust in the Lord, those who are in the faith know that He is the end of all of our means. I ask you today: Is He the end of your means, is He the end of all that you do? For me and my household there is no other. At the end of the day it’s Christ, at the end of my life it will be Christ, at the beginning of my day it is Christ, it is Christ, it is Christ!

"There is no better reward than to know that we are in the safety of His hands - to know that our children are in the safety of His presence."

We can never lose touch of why we follow, why we do what we do. It's to come into the Lord Jesus Christ. What reward are we after today? Where are you spending all of your energies - where do all of our energies and our efforts go - is it because we are after the reward of God or is it for everything for this world? What reward are our children after? Listen if it’s just a trophy or good grades that's okay, but it's not gonna save ‘em from hell! Listen if it’s just a better position at work that's all good, but it's not gonna save us from the darkness, it’s not gonna save us of what's coming in this world! Only faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and He - our reward - to save us to deliver us and to be our everything!

Are we in the fatih? You see I find that we get all sorts of rewards for almost everything today. Some of us have those little things on our keychains right, where you kinda scan for each purchase? And we know that one day we’ll get rewarded - the more cups of coffee you buy you’re gonna get a free cup. The more, you know, pies that you buy - pizza pies - you’re gonna get a free pie, or you’re gonna to get some money off right? But I’ve found today that there is no better reward than to know that God is with us. There is no better reward than to know that we are in the safety of His hands - to know that our children are in the safety of His presence.

See faith reminds us of what really matters. It reminds us of what truly matters. See, what does it matter if we have recognition as the top of our class? What does it matter if at our jobs we’re the best worker as a reward of all our efforts, but we don't have God? If we don't have Christ, what does it matter? What does it matter if we be so satisfied with the reward of man's praise for all of the good things that we do, for all of our efforts, but to not have the praise of God? To not have His presence in our lives?

The Word of the Lord says - and asks -, “‘...when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?’” In other words, will He find the heart longing for Him? Will He find somebody that has faithfully just consecrated themselves - set themselves apart for Christ and Christ alone? Where if God were to never give another blessing, if God were to never do another thing, if God were to never deliver you from that sickness, if God was never to take you out of that hell, yet you would still be saying, ‘Lord my reward is You, and You are enough for me! I don’t need anything else Jesus! You are my reward!’?

Does He find faith today? His eyes go to and fro in this place even now: Will the Lord find faith? Does He find faith in our households? Does He find faith as we’re driving in our cars? Is He finding faith today? See faith awakens a desire for Him like no other. Are we in the faith today?

Lastly, what does faith do? Faith awakens victory. 1 John 5:4 says, “because everyone who has been born from God has won the victory over the world.” Our faith is what wins the victory over the world.

See, faith awakens a victory in the Lord Jesus Christ. See we are saved by faith through grace, but what are we saved from? What is it that we are saved from? Are we saved from, you know, the world? What is it that we are truly saved from? See it's not just from hell, but we are saved from that old self that just loves to do its own thing. We are saved from that old self that loves to just go about where we kinda go to church and yes, we may read our Bibles, but at the end of the day ultimately we just kinda walk in our own will and go our own way. I ask today: Has God been able to wake you up to His voice? Are you familiar with His voice, or is your voice overpowering in this life?

I ask you today: Are you familiar with His presence? I ask today: Are our children familiar with and acquainted with the work and the presence of God? If not, have we truly come into the faith of God to be delivered? Have we truly come into that victorious faith that brings us out of the flesh, that takes us out of the old and into the new? Listen I'm not asking if some of us are reading our Bibles or listening to worship music - listen those things are all good, but I’m asking: Have you been living in the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ?

This is the victory that comes through faith: That we would no longer be dead in our sins and trespasses. It's where you can't help but to begin to join in worship because something new is moving in your heart and moving you to honor the Lord. It's where you may be at home and you're about to sit down, but the Spirit of God begins to speak, and before you sit you're standing, and now you're walking and running beginning to pray and to deliver somebody through the prayers - beginning to breakthrough in your household, beginning to pray breakthrough to God.

Yet, how many times has the presence of the Lord moved, yet we remain still? Thinking, ‘God I'll just do it later.’ Thinking, ‘God maybe right now, you know, I'm a little busy. God I'm so comfortable right now I’ll move later.’ We don't even know if we will have ‘later’ with God! Bowing down to the demonic power that just holds us back, rather than coming into the power and the presence of God! How often is God speaking, but we’re unable to hear because our ears are so deafened - so filled with a concern for all of our possessions, all of our gadgets, our food and everything else but the voice of God? Just walking in a slumber! Just walking about full of the world rather than being full of God. If that be you today, God is saying, ‘Wake up church!’ God is saying, ‘Come into the victory of faith! Come into the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ that will wake you up!’

He is tired of Christians living so much in the flesh, and being so empty and defeated without the Spirit of God. It's time to come into faith! It’s time to come into the Lord Jesus Christ! It's time to turn back to God! To repent for doing everything else but the work of His Kingdom! To repent for walking and believing and trusting in all of our worldly things, to trusting in our own strength, and not trusting in His power! It’s time to come back today church! Will somebody wake up? Will somebody come?

See true faith awakens victory over the world. Now listen I know we hear this a lot of time in Christian circles, that God has overcome the world - I know that we hear it and we say this all the time. But listen this is a big deal. Why is it such a big deal? See the world is not a fair fighting ground. The world does not hold back its punches. We are surrounded - physically, spiritually, in every single way you can possibly think - by the darkness of the world. There’s a battle every moment. There's a battle every time of every day, and there's a lot of aspects we can get into with this but ultimately? The world would just love to keep us sleeping. The world would just love to keep us with our eyes closed, our hands folded, doing nothing. The world would just love to see the church just kinda wallow away while the world is up and running and doing what they do.

Think about it: I don't find many Christians, you know, struggling to stay away from the club, or to stay away from the bar, but what I do find are many Christians just happy to sleep away in apathy. ‘Don't talk to me about obedience. Don't talk to me about having to change my life. Don't talk to me about having to get up and move. Don't talk to me about having to deal, to repent - don't talk to me about getting close and just let me be! Don't talk to me about now, talk to me about later!’ All the while we perish! All the while there is just such a sleep and slumber, where God is held back from doing what He’s called us to do!

See it’s one thing to live in the world, but it's another thing to love this world. It’s one thing to live in this world, but it's another thing to just love all the things that the world offers. See the Word of the Lord says, ‘Do not love the world or anything it. He will loves the world shall perish with it!’

When we see the big picture, not only do we perish but our children perish! When we so just love our comfort, when we so just love our own way, when we so just love going about our own walk and forgetting God, not only do we perish but our entire household is swallowed by this world! And God is saying, ‘No more!’ God is saying, ‘No more!’ He said, ‘Will there be faith in the house of the Lord? Will somebody wake up?’

We cannot love both the world and God choose this day! I praise God today, hallelujah, that there is victory over the world. I don’t have to live this way anymore. There is victory through the Lord Jesus Christ.

See there was a time, I remember being so attached to this world - oh how I used to love this world. Oh how I used to just love the praises of man. Oh how I used to just love the ways of this world but hallelujah! In the mercy of God - the mercy of God showed up! The mercy of God began to touch me. God began to awaken my heart to say, ‘No more! No more! No more, just God! God, You and You alone! You and You alone! It’s time!’

Hallelujah, as Pastor Jerry was saying earlier - speaking about loving the Lord with all of our heart, our soul, our mind, and strength - praise God today that there is victory in faith. There is victory for those who trust the Lord. We can begin to love God. We can begin to detach from this world and come into Christ.

Faith awakens such victory. See our faith is victorious because the Lord Jesus Christ was. Our faith is not a faith in a dead man that stayed in the grave. I want to declare today that the Lord Jesus Christ has risen. He is not asleep in the grave, He is alive. It's time to stop talking about that as though it's just a lovely story. It's time to begin to connect with that. It’s time to begin to connect our faith with the living God - it's time to begin to say, ‘God, I am dead. Father I'm realizing that I am dead in my mind. I'm realizing that I'm just asleep. Oh Father will You awaken faith this day. Father I’m so sorry for being distant. I’m so sorry for just wallowing away in my apathy. But Father in the name of Jesus would You have mercy?’ In the name of Jesus awaken! In the name of Jesus, hallelujah! Let faith arise!

See the only thing that would be between us and the Lord Jesus Christ is whether we would choose to begin to cry out to Him or not. Will that be us today? Will we finally get tired and fed up of just, you know, being so reserved, being so apathetic, being just so quiet, and really come into Christ - to come into the true faith that will deliver us from darkness? The true faith that will cause an awakening? Truly an awakening not to a better me. Not an awakening to a better self, but an awakening to God - that God is God, that the Lord Jesus is Lord, that He is King and He is worthy to be served? He is worthy to be praised, and He is worthy as King of all?

See Christianity is not a kind of ‘head down faith’ where we walk with our heads down, but it is victorious. By faith, the old is to be buried. Just as Christ was buried and rose from that grave, by faith the old man - that old flesh - is supposed to be buried, and by faith we’re supposed to rise up a new person - we’re supposed to rise up as somebody different. Is that you today? Or are we still the same person that we've been for five, ten, twenty, thirty years? God is saying, ‘No more! Come into the faith!’

"We have to examine if there's been movement in our life toward God..."

See true faith will take the liar and bury him in the ground, so when that liar now comes out he is no longer a liar, but he loves the truth. He is now a speaker and the doer of truth. See by faith the one who didn’t care - the one who can care less about God - now falls in love with Him, now begins to follow Him, begins to walk with Him all the days of their life. See by faith, you might've been marked! You might have been cursed by the prior generations to fail - to never come out of the darkness, to never come out of hell - but hallelujah, through faith today you are now marked for God!

But church today, we have to examine our faith. We have to examine if there's been movement in our life toward God, or has there just been, you know just a sitting still - just a comfort to say, ‘God I trust You I believe You, but I'm a little comfortable right now.’? God is saying, ‘No more!’ It’s time to move toward Him. It’s time to wake up!

See I truly believe we’re coming into a time where God is about to move in a tremendous way. And, you know for those who are not in the faith, for those who are not in Christ there will be judgment, but I also believe that there is about to be an awakening of faith like never before. I truly believe that those who call upon the name of Jesus, those who decide to draw the line and, say, ‘No more! No more! No more! No more!’ that God is about to do something!