Unveiling Truths on Resurrection Power
About this episode
Pastor Troy Brewer of Open Door Church in Burleson, Texas joins Philip Cameron for a revelatory conversation on resurrection power, the significance of the number eight, and the new things God is releasing in this season. Drawing from Isaiah's declaration "Behold, I do a new thing — shall you not know it?" and the Gospel of John chapter 20, Troy unpacks how the biblical number eight is woven through Scripture as the signature of resurrection and new beginnings — pointing out that the Greek numerical value of the name Jesus is 888. Troy walks through eight distinct appearances of Jesus after the resurrection and eight promises of new things God gives His people, including a new song, a new wine, and new wine skins. "Whenever we fight for the old thing, we are now fighting for what no longer matters," he explains, urging believers and pastors alike to stay sensitive to the fresh move of God. The conversation also takes a powerful turn as Troy highlights Mary Magdalene's role in John 20 as the very first person in history to preach the gospel of the risen Christ — making a compelling biblical case for the vital place of women in gospel ministry. For more from Troy Brewer, visit www.opendoorexperience.com.
Part of our Power collection of conversations.
Quotes worth sharing
“Those who were rescued are now the rescuers.”
“The numerical value of the name Jesus in Greek is actually 888. So it's like, wow — it represents resurrection power. Everybody's worried about 666. All you have to do is know 888.”
“She is the very first person ever in the history of the universe that preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ. She goes and tells the disciples, Jesus is resurrected from the dead, and I have personally spoken to him. The first preacher of the gospel is actually a woman and not a man.”
What's Discussed
Pastor Troy Brewer of Open Door Church in Burleson, Texas reveals the biblical significance of the number eight as the symbol of resurrection power and new beginnings. He identifies eight post-resurrection appearances of Jesus, eight resurrection stories in Scripture, and eight new things God promises His people — including a new song, new wine, and new wine skins. Brewer notes that the Greek numerical value of the name Jesus is 888. He also makes a detailed case from John 20 that Mary Magdalene was the first person in history to preach the gospel of the risen Christ, and challenges pastors to fully include women in gospel ministry leadership.
- Eight as the Number of Resurrection
- Isaiah's Call to Embrace the New Thing
- New Song and New Wine Skin Revelation
- Women's Role in Proclaiming the Gospel
- Mary Magdalene First Preacher of the Risen Christ
- The Samaritan Woman and God's Use of Women
- Encouragement to Pastors on Female Leadership
Scripture in this episode
Episode Transcript
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Intro
Philip:Hello, my friend. Welcome to Daily Faith. My name is Philip Cameron, and I am so glad you could join us today. Daily Faith is a program that wants to impart faith into your spirit every day. We are living in incredible days, and what we are looking for, and what you would look for, is seek out people of like mind who have connection with you in the spirit of God, so we can talk and encourage each other and build each other up. The Bible says build each other up in the most holy faith.
Philip:And let me tell you, there's a whole bunch of stuff going on today that isn't holy in this country. And if you watch the news every day and hear what they're trying to do to America, it would fill you with despair. But the Bible tells me that the whole earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord. And I've got a funny feeling that God's glory is more powerful than all the darkness that we're seeing today in this country. And I need you to be a positive impact. Love someone today. Give something today.
Philip:Reach out to someone today. Become God's agent in your world. You are the salt. You are the light in your world. I can't go into — I don't know your friends, I don't know where you work, I don't know what you do in your world, but you do. And everywhere you go, if you show and manifest Jesus, you are helping and loving and caring and blessing people in your life. So please do so.
Philip:I think you'd be blessed. Those that know our ministry — we have Daily Faith and we travel every Sunday in different parts of the states and preach on a Sunday and have some tremendous times encouraging churches to grow. But one of the things our heart is really into, the softest part of our heart, is for missions. 30 odd years ago, 34 years ago, I adopted a wee boy in Romania in an orphanage, starving to death.
Philip:And I adopted him not realizing that God had used this little boy to change my whole life. And so in recent years, in the last 20 odd years, we built a place called Vara Village. It is the most gorgeous place. And what we do is when young people age out of the orphanage or come from tremendously poverty-stricken situations, we take them to this village that you're looking at in these pictures right now, and we put them back in school and we share the gospel with them.
Philip:And the crazy thing that's happened is that these kids have turned from orphans to sons and daughters, into missionaries. And these are the kids that God is using to go into places like Ukraine during this whole year of this horrendous war that's taken hundreds of thousands of lives. Millions upon millions of refugees are scattered all over the world just now. And our kids go into Ukraine right in the middle of the bombardment areas, like you're seeing just now on your screen, and they share the gospel and they give out food.
Philip:That picture there is them giving out a stove. We brought a whole bunch of stoves up when the deadly winter was there, and we gave out these stoves and wood. And by doing so, we saved people's lives. And that is the passion. My son Andrew, my wife was over there — they sent a container over. My wife went over with my son and my grandson Rowan, and they helped the kids give out all these coats. We gave 15,000 coats away.
Philip:And what that picture is showing is people would line up and we fed them. A thousand people at a time has been fed by these kids. Those who were rescued are now the rescuers. It's just amazing. It's amazing to watch. There's a pastor in Eastern Bulgaria whose wife is from Moldova. And I don't know if you've seen this in the news, because it's been rarely reported — one of the worst natural disasters in the history of mankind has just taken place.
Philip:And the news rarely talks about it anymore. They've had 50,000 dead bodies found in the rubble of these buildings. It is calamitous what's happened there. They've dug out about 20% of the buildings and have found 50,000 bodies so far. Only God knows how long it will take them to get to the rest of the bodies. They'll be dust before they get to the bodies.
Philip:And what happened was this pastor in Eastern Bulgaria — his wife is from Moldova and had been checking up and watching what we were doing in Moldova and Ukraine. And in their need they said, do you think that these folks called Orphans Hands would help us? So they reached out to us, and one of our vans was taken from Moldova, driven through Romania, Bulgaria, into Eastern Bulgaria, where my son had just come back from Ukraine and Moldova. He had to fly back to Eastern Bulgaria, and he met this team and they went right down into the middle of the earthquake.
Philip:They loaded up what you're looking at there as care packages. We can get these care packages for $30 a box — 40 pounds of food in one box. And they loaded up that van and they literally just went back and forth from the earthquake site back to this warehouse, loaded the van, went back again. And also they needed tents there. As you can see, hundreds of thousands of homes have been destroyed, and they have nowhere to stay.
Philip:And we were able to buy these tents that you're looking at. And Daystar Television helped us with a tremendous gift to make that possible. And so our kids spent days putting up these tents and loving these families that have lost everything. Turkey is an Islamic state becoming more and more radicalized all the time, and the Christians aren't full citizens, if you understand what I'm saying. And we've been able to go right to the Christians, right to the church, and help. One pastor lost every single person in his church — they were all killed in the earthquake.
Philip:So we've been doing our best to help as much as we can. And we just would love you to be a part of the miracle. And this is what happens when you get kids that were once orphans and have lost everything — they've got no limit to their faith, because if God can rescue them, God could use them to rescue anyone. And a lady called Rodica contacted us. She's a widow with four kids. She's living in a house made of dung and mud, and she had no heating, no lights, nothing. And the kids from Orphans Hands went and did a rescue in her home. Watch this.
The widow who lived in a house with walls and floors made from mud and dung, with glass in the doors broken, and the frigid air that has no mercy for her young family existing there along with four kids whose future was being robbed every day by the awful grip of poverty. Orphans Hands is fighting bigger battles than what Rodica faced individually. We continue to bring aid to the untold thousands of refugee families in Ukraine and those who are stranded in Moldova. Our plate is full, but when her plight was brought to us, we could not ignore her need and say we couldn't help. We know we must do something to alleviate the suffering of her and her four precious kids.
In the past we have repaired homes where families suffer by what we call a miraculous makeover. We decided to do the same for this broken family. It is a privilege to be part of such a miracle. Hands-on, our young men and women from Vara Village worked hard to give Rodica and her family a place they can now call home. They got to let her know that she's loved by God and his people. We repaired her broken walls, filled the broken windows with new glass, and in only a few days transformed her despair to joy. New beds, tables, chairs, rugs, and a sofa.
We were able to bless them because you care and your giving made it possible. We know God's heart will be moved by your sacrifice. We love your heart for others. Thank you.
Philip:Isn't it amazing? We are reaching out in big venues like in Ukraine and in Turkey, but we're never so busy doing that that we can't help a widow with no help. And what you didn't see, what they didn't talk about, was we made a whole wall out of a fireplace. We built this whole thing out of brick. And what happens — if you make the fire in the brick fireplace, the entire thing becomes a radiator. So it heated the whole house from one single fire, because the bricks radiate the heat.
Philip:And we left Rodica with her whole life transformed, just by a few days of hard work by a bunch of orphan kids that had no hope themselves, but grace redeemed them. And because of that, God is using their hands — the Orphans Hands — to reach out to other people in need. If you could help us, we need your help in every direction we are facing. We are still going to Ukraine and helping families. The men have had to stay behind and fight. Over a hundred thousand men have died in Ukraine — not civilians. Over 150,000 Russian soldiers have died in this war.
Philip:And there's no end of it, I promise you. There's no end. Putin can't quit, because if he quits, they'll kill him back in Russia. He's gotta keep this thing going. He's moving nuclear armaments into Belarus. This thing is a tinderbox waiting to explode. But the mothers who are left with their kids with no help, no food, no electricity — there's no fuel in the gas stations, there's no food in the grocery stores. The whole country has been ground to dust by Putin's armies.
Philip:And our kids are right in it — they go up there, drive from Moldova up into Ukraine, between bombs and everything else, and share the gospel. And we're also in Turkey, but we're also caring for a single woman called Rodica who's a widow. So if you could help us, the Orphans Hands, P.O. Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee 37716. Your gift of any amount — you designate where you want this money spent. You can either say Turkey, it'll go to the earthquake. If you say Ukraine, it'll go to the families we help there. If you could just say Constant Care — we call this ministry Constant Care when we're reaching out to these folks in need. Whatever you can do, you are being God's hand extended, and I know God will bless you for it.
Philip:I am excited today to have you meet a friend, a great man of God, and I believe a man that is going to make a mark on this day and this generation for Jesus. Troy Brewer is pastor of Open Door Church in Burleson, Texas, and you can reach him at www.opendoorexperience.com. Troy, I am delighted to have you on Daily Faith. How are you doing, my friend?
Troy Brewer:Oh my goodness, what a great privilege to be with you today. And I'm so excited about the work that you're doing. You know, God always has people out there doing stuff that the world does not celebrate, but King Jesus does. And I celebrate you, sir. I am so grateful.
Philip:Thank you. Well, listen, you are as hooked on this thing as I am. What people don't understand, Troy, is this is an addiction that you have. You start and you get addicted to doing good work for the Kingdom of God. And your outreach is all over the world. You were telling me just before the program about being in Uganda. Tell us what you're doing there.
Eight as the Number of Resurrection
Troy Brewer:Oh my goodness. So we rescue boys and girls out of sexual slavery there — we have for 30 years. We have orphans, we have orphanages all over the place, and we move them into what we call forever homes. We have a baby rescue center there, and whenever a mama dies during childbirth and we hear about it, we go out into those villages and find those babies. Because many times the tradition there is to actually kill those children. And a lot of times they just throw them into the septic tank or into the latrine pit, and we literally go down into those latrine pits and we dig those kids out.
Troy Brewer:And this last year we were able to rescue over 80 babies. And we just rescued some last week as well. So we're doing that all over Uganda. We have six schools there. We have over 6,000 kids in all of our schools. And we love the nation of Uganda.
Philip:Well, let me say this — I just feel like to do this just now. If you're watching, you need to help this ministry as well, if you can. Please. I can't even imagine throwing a baby in a septic tank — that's just unbelievable. We have great needs. We are pressing and pushing to our limits, as I'm sure you are. When you're involved in this kind of work, you never have enough money and you never have enough hands. And I just feel that today, if you'd like to help, the address is Open Door Church, 301 South Dobson, Burleson, Texas 76028. We'll also put the email address up there.
Philip:I encourage you today to send an offering to my friend Troy and say, listen, help rescue these kids. And I want to send, from Daily Faith, I would send you a thousand dollars to help. And I am believing God with you. What I've learned in my life, Troy, is if what you have is not enough to do what you need to do, then God wants you to be a seed, not the harvest. And so I don't have enough money to do the things that are facing me just now, but I can sow a thousand dollars that God can multiply, press it down, shake it together, run it over in my life.
Isaiah's Call to Embrace the New Thing
Philip:So we are going to send you a thousand dollars to help you in the ministry in Uganda, if you'll accept it from us. And I challenge every pastor that's watching — believe God for a thousand dollar gift. If you're watching today and you're blessed of God, God blesses you for these moments. And I encourage you to do that today. And I pray God's blessing upon you and what you do in the outreach, and upon every one of the team members that you have. God's been talking to you about eight new things, and when I looked over the notes this morning, I got excited just reading what you'd put down on a piece of paper. Tell us what the Lord's been talking to you about.
Troy Brewer:Well, sir, you do know that of course it's the whole season where we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And the number that represents resurrection power and new beginnings is the number eight. And consequently the Word of God lists eight different appearances of Jesus after he resurrected from the dead. And we know he appeared many other times to many other people, but the Bible was selective about showing us eight accounts of that.
Troy Brewer:And then there are also eight resurrection stories in the Word of God. And then there are eight new things that God promises to give us. So the number eight is the number that has to do with resurrection power and new beginnings. And consequently the numerical value of the name Jesus in Greek is actually 888. So it's like, wow — it represents resurrection power.
Philip:Hallelujah. I didn't know that. I learned something new every day on Daily Faith. 888 — Jesus beats 666.
Troy Brewer:Yeah, it sure does. Everybody's worried about 666. All you have to do is know 888.
Philip:Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. So tell us — expand on that more. What has the Lord been showing you as far as these things, what God's doing and what God wants to do amongst us?
Troy Brewer:Well, there's a couple of things. You know, brother, it's so important that we recognize the new thing. And it's very easy to not know the new thing, because even Isaiah says, behold, I do a new thing — shall you not know it? In other words, are you gonna catch it? And Brother Philip, whenever we fight for the old thing, we are now fighting for what no longer matters. And that's why the Lord is telling us, hey, I have a new wine to pour out, but I'm going to have to pour it into new wine skins. I have to do that.
New Song and New Wine Skin Revelation
Troy Brewer:And I'm so grateful for your ministry and for your heart and for the yes in your spirit to say, I am the friend of God, I have a yes in my spirit, and I will jump off into this new thing. We have to live a lifestyle of doing that, of walking in the newness of God. I mentioned the eight different new things that God gives us, and one of those things that I love is a new song. And you have to let God give you a new song. And what comes with a new song is a new theme. So it's like theme music.
Troy Brewer:So it's like, you know, brother, you've seen your ministry change throughout the years, and simply because you've had a yes in your spirit and you've seen something, and the Lord's like, well, do I have anybody here who will step up to the place? Yes, Lord. And a big part of that comes with a new song, or a new theme, and the spirit of the Lord begins to change things for you. Like a theme song. I mean, if I played some music right now, you'd know — remember the Coca-Cola, I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony? That became part of the whole sight of a nation over a can of Coke.
Philip:And so God sings themes into your life. We came to America in '69. We brought the first praise music to America. I never ever thought, when as a young boy I played an accordion singing, oh the Holy Ghost will set you free, if you're dancing, that I'd be in missions. But over the years the theme of my life and the song of my life has changed. And God is continually — and listen to me, pastor watching today, this is the Lord talking to you — don't, if you're fighting for the old, you're actually fighting against the new. God wants to do a new thing. Shall it not spring forth suddenly? And always be aware and sensitive to God's newness.
Philip:One of the things you said that I think is really important as well is the woman's role in the church. There's a great big debate just now about can women minister, et cetera. My feeling is this, Troy — if God trusted a baby in a woman's womb for nine months to gestate that baby, that will become Jesus the Savior of the world, I think if God can trust a girl in her early teens to carry the Son of God in her womb, he can trust a woman to carry the Word of God in her mouth and in her heart.
Women's Role in Proclaiming the Gospel
Troy Brewer:Come on. Well, you know what, John chapter 20 gives us the actual resurrection story from the perspective of Brother John, who was actually there. So this is a first-account witness. He actually focuses on Mary Magdalene, and he focuses on that. Number one, it says that she went to the tomb early while it was still dark. And then she's the one who discovered that the stone had been rolled away. She goes back and then she gets Peter and she gets John. They come back, they go inside the tomb, they look, and then they leave. And then she is standing there, and she actually looks down into the tomb.
Mary Magdalene First Preacher of the Risen Christ
Troy Brewer:And now she sees two angels, just like the top of the ark of the covenant over the mercy seat, right where the body of Jesus had been laying. And then they ask her — they just start talking to her. And she says — they said, why are you weeping? And it astounds me that everybody else — you know, the Roman soldiers, they dropped everything and fell down as dead men when they saw the angel. You know what, she just speaks to them. She just casually starts talking to them.
Troy Brewer:The Bible says that she had actually been delivered of seven different demons. And she was somebody who knew all about angels and demons and spiritual warfare. And so she said, well, I wanna know where the Lord is. And then the Lord stood behind her and spoke to her. And then this is amazing to me, brother — she is the very first person ever in the history of the universe that preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ. She goes and tells the disciples, Jesus is resurrected from the dead, and I have personally spoken to him. The first preacher of the gospel is actually a woman and not a man.
Troy Brewer:And what's crazy is Jesus is at the well of Samaria and he meets this woman. All the disciples are out getting a kosher chicken sandwich in a gentile place. And this woman shows up and he talks to her and tells her more about the church and the spiritual interaction between God and mankind. You worship him — you don't know. We worship in spirit and truth. And then he says to her, go tell your husband. And she says, I don't have one. He says, you're right, you don't have a husband, you've had a few. The first missionary that God sent out to tell the gentiles about Jesus was a pagan woman that had all of these messes in her life.
The Samaritan Woman and God's Use of Women
Troy Brewer:So God uses women to present the gospel to the world. Don't rob yourself, pastor, of the value of women sharing the gospel of Jesus. It may be a new thing, but it's a good thing. I'll tell you that.
Philip:That is so powerful. Well, you know what, brother, I just wanna speak to all the ladies out there and just say to the ladies — ladies, your role in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ is just as important and just as anointed as a man's role. And in fact, Jesus is the one who decided that — it wasn't a man that decided that, it was Jesus himself. So I'll say, ladies, get after it. And yes, pastors, include women into your leadership. I promise you your church will be much better off for it.
Philip:When Britain was in a terrible mess many, many years ago, socialism was knocking at the door — in fact, socialism knocked the door down — there was a woman called Margaret Thatcher that came on the scene. And she said, thus far and no further, and she was called the Iron Lady. And it took a woman to do what the last guy that had that power — that was Winston Churchill. And God uses whoever is available. Don't look at what sex they are. Listen to the voice of God speaking through their spirit and in their mouths.
Philip:So true. Listen, we are almost out of time. I want you to pray for us today and ask God to open our minds and our spirits. I want the folk to get in contact with you, to give this gift to help your mission work in Uganda, and also to get in contact with you because I would love you to make these scriptures and these things that God's showing you available to them. It's really simple — www.opendoorexperience.com. There it is right there, www.opendoorexperience.com. And you can send all your postcards and letters to Troy Brewer. We've got a minute left. Bless these folks watching us today, Troy, if you would.
Encouragement to Pastors on Female Leadership
Troy Brewer:Father God, sir, I speak and I declare newness of life and resurrection power upon every single friend, every partner of this ministry, every single person, God, that is watching. And I declare the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Father God, sir, this is a new day. I pray, God, for new resurrection power. We declare, Father God, sir, that it ain't over. It ain't over, in the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus. And I pray, Father God, sir, that during this season, God, that we would see you in new and exciting ways. In Jesus' name.
Philip:Amen. Amen. Hallelujah. Hold our eyes, follow in Jesus' name your possibilities. If you could only see what God wants to do in your life and through you and in your ministry and in your home, it would revolutionize the way you look at the world. God is great and greatly to be praised. And it's untouchable. Troy, thank you so much. Every time I meet you, I learn something. Every time I see you, I get inspired. Because sometimes you think you're the only person in the world doing something, then you hear what someone else is doing and you're thinking, Lord, I must be backsliding, so I'm gonna have to try and do more.
Troy Brewer:Brother, you provoke me to jealousy. And I don't know how we can help you and your teams, but I'm saying yes, and we need to talk further about that. I would love to partner with you. I would love to help. I love what you guys are doing. It's absolutely amazing.
Philip:Let's do it. That's a deal. We'll talk after the show's done. Thank you for watching Daily Faith today. We love you. Please believe God with us for Ukraine and for Turkey, and to help us help in our Constant Care ministry. We'll see you again. Bye-bye.
For over 25 years, the Cameron family has been changing the lives of orphans in Romania and Moldova — from providing running water, flushing toilets, and clean wells, to coal for heat, new windows, as well as food and clothing. They champion the physical needs of the orphans in these broken and desolate countries. Many of Moldova's orphans are saved from the horrors of trafficking through homes founded by the Camerons. And in the process, orphans become daughters and sons. They come to know their heavenly Father and are forever changed by the love of Jesus.
God helped the Camerons lift these amazing young men and women out of darkness — now no longer orphans. They wanna return and invade that very same darkness with the light of Jesus Christ. The Orphans Hands equips these daughters and sons to become missionaries. Your monthly gift of $31 will allow us to rescue and take in more girls and boys, saving them from the hell of human trafficking. Your monthly partnership will allow us to care for those in the Orphans Hands homes in Moldova and Ukraine. If you want to join Philip and Chrissy in taking care of these precious young people, please contact us today by calling 833-DAILY-FAITH. You can also give by going online to www.dailyfaith.tv, or by writing to P.O. Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee 37716. So many lives depend on what we do. Thank you for loving the lost.
Common questions
Why does Troy Brewer say the number 8 is connected to resurrection power?
Troy explains that the number eight biblically represents resurrection power and new beginnings. He points to eight recorded appearances of Jesus after the resurrection, eight resurrection stories in Scripture, and eight new things God promises to give believers. He also notes that the numerical value of the name 'Jesus' in Greek is 888, which he says powerfully underscores that connection.
What does Troy Brewer say about Mary Magdalene's role at the resurrection?
Troy argues that Mary Magdalene holds a unique place in history as the very first person ever to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ — she went and told the disciples that Jesus had risen and that she had personally spoken to him. He also highlights that, unlike the Roman soldiers who fell down as dead men at the sight of the angel, Mary simply and calmly spoke to the angels at the tomb, which he attributes to her experience with spiritual warfare after being delivered of seven demons.
What is Troy Brewer's view on women preaching and sharing the gospel?
Troy believes women have a fully valid and vital role in proclaiming the gospel, pointing out that the first missionary Jesus sent to tell the Gentiles about himself was the Samaritan woman at the well — a pagan woman with a complicated past. He urges pastors not to rob themselves of the value women bring, saying, 'It may be a new thing, but it's a good thing.'
What does Troy Brewer mean when he talks about God doing a 'new thing' and new wineskins?
Troy draws on Isaiah's words — 'Behold, I do a new thing — shall you not know it?' — to warn that when believers fight to preserve the old thing, they end up fighting against what God is currently doing. He says God needs new wineskins to pour out new wine, and that staying open to God's newness, including receiving a 'new song' or new theme for your ministry, is essential to walking in resurrection power.
What kind of rescue work is Troy Brewer doing in Uganda?
Troy's ministry rescues boys and girls from sexual slavery in Uganda and has been doing so for 30 years. They also run a baby rescue center — when a mother dies in childbirth, his team goes into villages to find the babies, sometimes physically retrieving them from latrine pits where local tradition may lead to the children being discarded. He says they rescued over 80 babies in the past year alone and operate six schools serving more than 6,000 children.
Topics
troy brewerresurrection powernumber eightnew beginningswomen in ministryopen door churchbiblical numerology