Gospel House Ministries

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Our sermon title: The Truth is Buried in This Nation - Will it Rise Again? As we look around, the truth seems to be underground. Things are not sound. People are uptight, and things are just not right. Will the truth ever surface again? Will people ever walk together again?

Jesus says that in the last days, you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled, for all these things must come to pass. We're in a war now, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. I can remember as a child, we didn't hardly hear much of an earthquake. It would probably be every five years or ten years we would hear of earthquakes. But now, you hear of earthquakes every month in various places all around the world. Jesus says that when you see these happening, it is the beginning of sorrows.

Being that we see the signs are here, what are you doing about what you see? You see the world is changing. What are you doing about what you see? The word says then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. Because of me, because you carry my name, people are going to hate you.

There is a saying: when you get in bed with a dog, you will get up with fleas. Well, when you get in bed with the devil, you will get all up in hell. Hell is being unleashed on earth, and millions upon millions of people can't see it because they don't know it. They don't understand what's going on, nor do they know God and His resurrecting power.

Guest (Male): When Jesus came to earth, there was hell on earth. At the time of His early beginnings here on earth, King Herod unleashed his fury upon the male babies born under two years of age. He had them destroyed because the truth was prophesied to be born. Whenever truth meets lies, there's always a cry of injustice. Herod knew that if truth came to reign, his reign was over.

So, he was intimidated by truth because he was a lie. In Luke 13:31-32, listen to what it has to say. On that very day, some Pharisees came saying to Him, "Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You." It wasn't like they were really trying to help Him; they were trying to intimidate Him. They were mad that He was being so useful and powerful with the people, so they tried to use the name of Herod to get Him to flee.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: But how many of you know Jesus didn't flee? He said to them, "Go tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.' Nevertheless, I must journey today, tomorrow, and the following day." In other words, you can't stop me. For it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.

Jesus knew their plan. He was getting ahead of them. He was letting them know, "I know what y'all are up to." He was letting them know it shouldn't be this way, but y'all are going to do it anyway. They felt a fight for power with Him, so they decided to destroy Him because they could not stand the truth. There's always a fight for power. Why? Because people are divided, which is the work of the devil. People right now don't know what truth is, and if they do, they're ignoring the truth. So they have their own truths.

But I've been sent to tell you there is only one truth, and Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Him. If this nation doesn't begin to call on the name of Jesus, there will be much more hell to pay. We are now living in an artificial world. Cyndi Lauper made the song some time ago, "I'm a girl in a material world." Well, now the girls are living in an artificial world, and we welcome it as a nation. AI is the guy who's slicing the pie with artificial ingredients that will not sustain this nation.

Guest (Male): This nation needs godly ingredients to survive. The main ingredient is truth. Truth will give us the power to stand. Lies will only give us the power to fall and fail, which is happening right before our eyes as I speak. How can this be stopped? It's obvious not by the power of man because he is incapable of delivering himself. He needs a deliverer. He needs a Savior so that he can once again live with godly behavior. It's not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord. It's not by the might and power of man. God is our way out, and God is our way in. Man is not complete without God. His number is six, an incomplete number. With the help of God, he can be a seven, complete in God, and see his way into heaven.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. Knowing that this race is not to the swift nor the strong, but to him that endureth to the end. I stopped by to tell you you won't make it to the end without truth. But the truth is buried in this nation. Will it rise again? Since it is buried in this nation, you make sure truth is deep down in your heart. Open your Bibles to Jeremiah, the seventh chapter.

Guest (Male): The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, "Stand in the gate of the Lord's house and proclaim there this word, and say, 'Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah!'" All of you are of Judah. Judah is the tribe of praise. The church is a church of praise. Judah is the tribe of Jesus. Judah means "Him who is praised." So we come into the house as a church to praise God.

"Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who enter in these gates to worship the Lord! Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.'" See, this nation needs to be amended. It needs to mend its ways. People are wondering and can they truly dwell in this nation? People are lying and people are dying, but can we continue to live in this nation the way this nation is going? There has to be a U-turn.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: The Lord says, "Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust in these lying words, saying, 'The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these.' For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, thoroughly; if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever."

"Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will you still murder and commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal?" That means, "Can you continue to avoid me and walk after other gods whom you do not know, and then come and stand before me in this house which is called by my name, and say, 'We are delivered to do these abominations'?" What a lie! And that's what's happening in this nation right now. We're promoting lies.

Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Didn't Jesus whip them out of the temple for that? "Behold, even I have seen it," says the Lord. "But go now to my place which was in Shilo, where I set my name at first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel." They was worshiping other gods and idols. And God came at them mightily for what they had done wrong.

Guest (Male): People thought words from a campaign speech, when we talk about lies, people thought words from a campaign speech was the answer. But it was full of lies. Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. People believed in that campaign speech, those several campaign speeches, but they were full of lies. Truth is the answer for the world, not lies.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: But go now to my place which is in Shilo, where I set my name at first, and see what I did because of the wickedness of my people Israel. "And now, because you have done all these works," says the Lord, "and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear. And I called you, but you did not answer." That means you don't want to hear the truth. That's what that means, y'all. That means they didn't want to hear the truth.

Some people are like that today. They're living in denial, even about themselves. They don't want to hear the truth about themselves. They'll curse you out: "Leave me alone. Who asked you? Mind your business." Therefore, "I will do to the house which is called by my name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shilo." Shilo is where the Ark was removed from them. They lost hope.

When God is removed from you, you lose hope. If God was to take the Holy Spirit off the earth right now, there'd be no hope on earth. But thank God His Spirit is still on earth, dwelling in us. So that's why we still got hope. "And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, the whole posterity of Ephraim."

"Therefore, do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to me, for I will not hear you." That is scary. That is scary. We don't want to hear that for this nation. But the way we're living is as though this is already on us. "Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah, in the places of praise? In the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven. And they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger."

God is saying here, "Do you see what's happening, Israel? They got the whole family involved. They got the children involved. All the children are doing things against me. This is a whole family." See, Satan wants you and your family. He wants to bring all of y'all down. That's why you got to lift up the name of Jesus.

Guest (Male): "Do they provoke me to anger?" says the Lord. "Do they not provoke themselves to the shame of their own faces? Therefore, thus says the Lord God, 'Behold, my anger and my fury will be poured out on this place, on man and on beast.'" I believe that's happening to America right now. On beast and on trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground, and it will burn and not be quenched.

Just recently we see whales are washing up on a shore far Rockaway. A whale washed up on the shore and then two days later, a whale washed up in New Jersey. We're at war, right? Food and produce are sky-high. Farmers can't farm, no fertilizer. This is all in that scripture right there. When you don't live according to God's will and God's purpose, when a nation decides to give God the middle finger, when a nation decides to do that, that nation is getting in trouble with God. This nation is in trouble with God for one man.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Which is foolish. Millions of people, millions of people in this nation, over 300 million people in this nation, and we are listening to someone who is not of God, who has not the right caliber or mind to lead a nation. We're in a bad place. And guess what? God didn't do this to us. We did it to ourselves.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: "Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat. For I did not speak to your fathers or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying, 'Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.'"

That's the key to it all. Obey His voice so that things can be well with you. When He says well with you, that means your family, too. Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsel and the dictates of their own evil heart, and went backward and not forward. "Make America Great Again." That's going backward. Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even sent to you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them. Yet they did not obey me or incline their ear, but stiffened their necks.

That's what's happening. I see it so right now, in this city especially. I can go south and you see more people worshiping God, going to worship. But in this city? No. He says they did worse than their fathers. And see that? They did worse than their fathers. This is what I was telling y'all this week in doing our Passion Week of prayer. They did worse than their fathers, right? But God's still calling them His holy people.

We keep looking at our sins and you let people tell you, "Oh, you ain't holy. You a sinner. You with that man. You with this one. You doing this and you doing that. You drugging and you ain't holy." But God is showing you right here, these people messed up, but they still was His holy people. Don't judge yourself according to your behavior. Look at yourself according to God. And if you don't know God, you need to get to know Him so you can know who you are.

Guest (Male): Yet they did not obey me or incline their ear, but stiffened their necks. They did worse than their fathers. "Therefore, you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not obey you." Isn't that hard? Noah preached for over 100 years, did he not? 120 years. He preached and nobody would listen. So I'm convinced that as long as I'm doing what God wants me to do, I'm not responsible how the people react to what He called me to do. It's up to you to obey. It's up to you to listen.

"You shall also call to them, but they will not answer you. So you shall say to them, 'This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the Lord their God nor receive correction.'" Isn't that true today? And people that need to be corrected, they pardon them. Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth. Cut off your hair and cast it away and take up a lamentation on the desolate heights, for the Lord has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.

Could it be now that He's forsaken this generation? I will not say that He has. But you see, our behavior causes God to turn His back on us. He didn't willfully turn His back. Our behavior, because He couldn't stand to see sin on Jesus, that's why it got dark. Because He turned His back on Jesus, and Jesus said, "Why have You forsaken me?"

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, says the Lord. They have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name to pollute it. They brought idols in the house of the Lord and acted like that was all right. They was worshiping idols, giving sacrifice to the idols in the house of God.

That is an atrocity to disrespect God like that. That's like coming into the house of the Lord and bringing a man bringing several women and he want to have an orgy in the house of the Lord. That's how much of an abomination it is. Because you making love to an idol and not love to God. It's the same thing, different way.

"They have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name to pollute it. And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my heart. Therefore, behold, the days are coming," says the Lord, "when it will no more be called Tophet or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. For they will bury in Tophet until there is no room. The corpse of this people will be food for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth, and no one will frighten them away. Then I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, for the land shall be desolate."

Now, mirth? You see mirth? It's described as a fragrance or royal garments. You find that in Psalm 45 and 8. In other words, that God is saying, "You're not going to have a king. You're not going to have no representation. You're not going to even smell that aroma anymore because there will be no one royal who's leading you. There will be no more king, and you will be subject to other nations under their king." You're going to have to go back home and study this.

I'm just giving you a light into what's happening here, but you go back home and do further study. Jerusalem will have no king and they will be nothing. That's what this is saying. Why do you think they wanted Jesus to come as king and deliver them from Roman rulership? Because they became nothing without a king.

Guest (Male): Although these words were written thousands of years ago, they are still relevant today. America has lost its democracy and now it's under rulership, all because just like Israel, this country has buried the truth. It's going to take the people of God, those who trust in Him, to turn this thing around so we can be found because we are lost as a nation. There is nothing new under the sun. Israel played the harlot and had idols, carved images, and brought them into the house of the Lord, which was an abomination against God. What's happening in this nation right now is an abomination against God.

Immigrant children are in prison in privately owned prison camps. They're building these prison camps to make each other rich. These rich, these rich evil men have got together and thought of a plan how they can get richer. So they're building these prisons. That's why Trump is filling the prisons with them to enrich his cronies, his rich cronies. It ain't about no justice. It ain't about cleaning. They're finding a way to make money.

And they're gambling. Every time he predicts something, every time he tells you that the war's going to be over in two weeks, in three days. Every time he does that, his sons are part of a market that's now gambling and betting on everything that he says. And people are wagering dollars, millions of dollars, against what he says. So he's playing with the stock market. When he says there's going to the war's going to be over, the stock market goes up. When he says, "Oh, we may be a couple of weeks later," the stock market goes down. They're playing with it because they know how to put their money. They're using him and he's helping them to wage their money, all in the name of greed.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: So while you and I suffer, wake up church! Wake up! That's why you come to church, to get out of darkness so you can see what's happening in the light. They got privately owned prison camps as the rich get richer. Money for childcare and education has been taken away. Healthcare for millions is taken away. If this nation keeps taking away basic rights from its citizens and purposely creating second-class citizens, this present nation will have very few citizens in heaven.

Wickedness has destroyed many nations. Genesis 6:5 says, then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thought of his heart was only evil continually. God spoke these words just before the Great Flood, just before His judgment of the world. Here we are just before the Great Fire now. And I've been told since a childhood that the Lord destroyed the world by water the first time, but the next time it will be by fire. I've been sent by God to inform you we're not far from this coming on the earth. It behooves you to get your house in order. Anytime you abolish truth and whitewash lies, you will hear the cries of the people until Jesus cracks the sky. This is where we are now.

Truth gives us stability and certainty. Lies can only give us instability and uncertainty. Stability is about how truth lasts, and certainty is about how sure we are of our stability. You do the math. Is there stability in this nation? You add things up. It's not even around the world because it's all about to end. Is there certainty in this nation? No. Because people right now don't know what to believe and they don't know what tomorrow holds. But I do know who holds tomorrow. It's Jesus the Christ who can remove all of our sorrow.

Confusion develops illusions, and Satan is the author of confusion. People today are full of confusion because they don't know God. There's nothing artificial about Him. I find it so dumbfounded that we are promoting artificial intelligence because we no longer want to accept the divine intelligence of God. Like we know better than He knows. We better get back. We better go back to the door number one where we started from. Because life right now is no fun, the way we're living. Many people are done and they're trying to find somewhere else to run. How many of you know you can't hide from God? He sees everything.

You can't hide after you have accepted the lies and have not allowed the spirit of truth to abide. So we're talking, we're taking alternative route to get out from under God: AI. And we've succeeded as a nation to go outside of God, which is a recipe for disaster. Our political leaders have stirred the pot causing the world to fall apart. The truth is buried in this nation. Will it rise again?

When I was in elementary school, we had to quote the Pledge of Allegiance every morning. "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." One nation under God wasn't in it at that time when I was there. That's how much it changed. Well, we're way far from that now. There's no allegiance and we've lost our alliances around the world.

Those words hold no truth right now. People are in allegiance to one man who does not seem to understand he don't stand a chance when it comes to God. Because no one is greater, no one is higher, and there is no one who is more powerful than God. He proved that when He beat death and rose from the grave with all power in His hands. Their allegiance is one big lie that's about to die because they're all standing on quicksand, sinking sand. Trying to lift up this man who has neither a heaven or hell to put you in.

Guest (Male): People of God, we're in big trouble. We're in big trouble as a nation, as you already know. But guess what? There are many who don't because they don't know God. May God save you. May God save our souls from this destruction we voted for. We have erred and fallen away and now we're gone astray, and we must pay for our wrongdoings.

Our children are mis-educated. Our young men and women of war will end up mutilated because someone has miscalculated the cost of this war. People are given the door because corporate America don't want to pay people no more. Artificial intelligence is taking away benevolence. But benevolence is the quality of being well-meaning and kindly. It represents a disposition to do good or an act of kindness and generosity towards others without expecting anything in return.

What's good about losing your job? I don't see any kindness in that nor generosity. How can it be kind when it's undermined the integrity of the fabric of what this nation once had? How can AI be generous when it's taking our jobs from us? What's good about talking to a robot on the phone about your financial or personal problems, and a robot has no feelings of understanding your pain, all because a robot has no brain?

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: Because of AI, I believe happy days are about to go bye-bye, and things are about to get out of control. The cost of living will continue to go sky-high, all because truth has been buried in this nation. Will it rise again? See, when the cost of living go high, y'all, that's what causes famine because people can't afford it. Remember we read in the scriptures in the Old Testament, they were selling an ephah of something for so much money? It was such a high price and no one could afford it. Well, once they keep raising prices, no one can afford to buy the food. And so what happens is you go through what? A famine.

See, this country is so spoiled. We call we're a great country. You ain't great if you're not calling on God. You're going to war without even consulting God. You're not great, you're foolish. So we got to make sure that we're doing what God told us to do, so when everything hits the fan, we can stand. See, everything may a thousand may fall on one side and a thousand on the other hands, right? But it won't come near you. So do what God told you to do so when everything hits the fan, you'll be able to stand and everybody else will be falling. Those who do not call on the name of Jesus will be falling. To God be the glory.

As we celebrate the death and burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, perhaps we should meditate or think about what enabled Jesus to resurrect from the dead. He arose, right? What caused Him to rise from the dead? What caused Him to rise from the grave? It was the truth. Because the truth was spoken before He even came into the world. The truth was already spoken way back thousands of years ago, and what caused Him to get up because truth was spoken back then and He came to manifest the truth in our very eyes.

They said He was not the Son of God, that He lied, that it was blasphemy as though He was an abomination, as though He was something disgusting. When in fact that was far from the truth. Jesus was and is very refreshing and a blessing. He's a present help in the time of trouble. And I'm here to let someone know truth crushed to the ground will rise again. This country and its leaders are trying to bury the truth of its past. They're trying to rewrite history falsely. They may have the power to bury the truth, but no one on earth has the power to keep it down. Just ask Jesus. He's still around. He is the truth and the life. He was buried and He got up. And when something is buried, it's supposed to be over and done with. Jesus is not over, church, and He certainly is not done with us.

"Oh death, where is your sting? Oh Hades, where is your victory?" The sting of death is sin. That's why this nation is dying, because of its sins. And the strength of sin is the law. The strength of sin is the law! So listen, if the strength of sin is the law, then you got to make sure that you are keeping the word of God in your heart. You're keeping the law in your heart, even though you're not under the law because of grace, you have the law of God in your heart. Without the law, there'd be no knowledge of sin. That's what the word says, doesn't it?

But if you are a believer of Jesus Christ, thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ over sin. Proverbs 14:34 says, righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. This nation needs Jesus because He is the righteousness of God. If America is to get up from where she has fallen, it's going to take the grace of God, the right hand of God to lift her up, which no president, congressman, or military can do.

Grace is none other than the person of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world who can never be duplicated or complicated. Truth can never be duplicated, or else it becomes a lie. And Jesus is not a man that He should lie, nor the son of man that He should repent. Truth can never be complicated when it's always correct. It becomes complicated when you don't believe it. It's only complicated when you don't understand or want to understand. Someone must turn on the light for you to understand. It's the darkness that complicates things.

Sin in your life creates darkness all around you. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:12 that we see in a mirror dimly. The word of truth is a mirror. And when you look in your mirror, do you see something wrong with you? Don't say no so quick now. That's why you die daily! Because when you wake up the next day, there may be something wrong when you look in the mirror. Then you ask for forgiveness, right? And He takes the sin away.

Things can be complicated when we don't want to believe the truth and accept the lies. Hasn't the world become complicated right now? That's because as a nation, we bow down to lies and push away the truth by burying it plain and simple. This is not so complicated to believe. We must stop lying to ourselves because God is not buying what we're selling. Can this nation rise again when it has buried the truth and living a lie? You answer the question.

I have been given the task of posing a question and I believe I've already answered it, if you were listening closely. Seek Jesus while He may be found. If you don't want to be bound and confined to this world that is quickly passing away, get out there and do some work for Jesus, some righteous work. Jesus said, "Work while it's day, for the night cometh when no man can work." The night is when you die. You're no good to God on earth when you're dead.

But I pray that when Jesus returns, that you will be caught up with Him in the sky. 1 Corinthians 15:51 and 52 says, "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." You know a twinkling of an eye? As soon as you bat your eye, you know how sometimes you look and sometimes your eyes move so fast you didn't even notice that it went down? See, that's how fast He's coming back. If you can't tell how fast your eye went down, what about when He come back? Think about that, church.

"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." Because Jesus got up, we shall also get up from the grave. If you're really trusting in God, you should not be troubled by the things that are happening. Do you hear what I said? You should be upset, grieving, and praying, yet casting hope when it seems like there is no hope. Believing that our great God can do exceedingly abundantly far more than we can ever ask or think. That He sees all, and that He's with us all, and that He has told us all these things would take place. Turn to John. John, 14th chapter, beginning at the first verse.

Guest (Male): Look what it says. Look what the first verse says. "Let not your heart be troubled." He told you this. God is like looking at us Christians, "Didn't I tell y'all this stuff? Why are y'all going berserk? Why are y'all having heart palpitations? Why you can't sleep at night? I told you these things would happen." The reason why you're going berserk and having heart palpitations is because you haven't prepared yourself for my return. That's why you're worried. That's why you're acting that way.

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: He said, "Let not your heart be troubled." Why are people troubled? Because they don't trust God. They've been trusting in themselves, and they don't think their selves can help them now. And because they don't know God, they spent so much time on themselves, they don't know God. And now they want to figure, "How do I get to this God? How do I get to this God? Where do I go to see this God? I need help." They've been doing it on their own. Now, many people, their back is against the wall, and they don't know which way to turn. "Do I go to the left? Do I go to the right? What do I do?" Come to Jesus. That's what you do. Repeat after me everybody: Come to Jesus. Yeah, that's the answer. Come to Jesus.

"Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." If I go to prepare a place for you, are you preparing yourself for me? "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also." Anybody going? Anybody know they're going? He says, "And where I go you know, and the way you know."

Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" There's nothing worse than having somebody to sit under your teaching for so long, and they come out with something like that right there. We don't He's been telling you the whole time! "You don't? What do you mean you don't know where I'm going? He's been teaching, He's been with you so much. You don't you don't know that He came to receive you? You don't know where He's going after this, after He done told you and told you?" And the problem is we sit in church, but we're really not listening. We think about that pot on the stove when you get home. Think about what happened last week. You come to the house of the Lord, your mind should be on Jesus. You shouldn't have your mind on nothing else but Jesus.

We come to the house of the Lord, we don't even respect God. We look at our phone while service is going on. "Oh, they saying what? They saying what?" Get off your phone and you'll understand what they saying. So Thomas asked Him, "Lord, we don't know where You're going." And Jesus, in the sixth verse, said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." They can say all they want to do, they can fake it till they think they're going to make it, but they ain't going to make it. They better know that I am the way.

"If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." You show us the Father, then it'll be sufficient enough for us to believe all this. And Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known me?" And that's sad. To be in church 15, 10 years, 20 years, and you still don't know Jesus. "Philip, he who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?"

The people that don't know Him are those so-called Christians today. "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does the works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves." You seen me do works! You seen that with your own eyes now! You don't want to believe these words I'm saying, you seen the works. Believe me because you seen them works.

You know nobody else can do this. Y'all ain't seen nobody else do this! So why can't you believe in God? I'm showing you God. I am Him. I'm right in your presence. Some people miss their time of visitation, don't they? "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do he will do also." That's why you believing and that's why you getting in the word, that's why you come to prayer and Bible study because you're supposed to go out and do the same thing that He did. "And greater works than these he will do, because I go to my Father." I'm going away, but I'm putting and leaving my spirit with you so you can do it.

So He's saying, "I'm going to be with my Father," and all of us must take He's saying all of us must take His place in the earth. We're all little Jesuses in the earth. "And whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it." Do you believe that, church? Do you really believe that? "If you love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper." And that's who? None other than the Holy Spirit.

He given you another Helper. Jesus never really left the earth. His body left the earth, but His spirit remained with us. "So I'm going to send another Helper, that He may abide with you for what? Forever." So you can't lose with the stuff we use! "The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." You see that? He know He wasn't in them yet because He know He didn't send Him yet. But He's praising He's telling them He's going to be in you.

"I will not leave you orphans. I will not leave you fatherless. I will not leave you without. I will come to you." Have anybody had Jesus come to them? Anybody had Jesus come to them? "A little while longer and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also." Isn't that a blessing? "At that day you will know that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you." He's an eternal being, and that's what you are right now. You are an eternal being, believe it or not. You might not feel like it; if you're saved, you are an eternal being. Anybody here saved? Then you're an eternal being. You're not going to die. Look at your neighbor and tell them, "You're not going to die."

"He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me." So if you Jesus saying, "Don't tell me you love me and you don't keep my commandments and my word." "And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." Manifest myself! You have not really encountered Jesus until He manifests Himself to you. What an experience to have as a Christian when He gives you a one-on-one, it's just you and Him.

And I've had Him to manifest Himself to me literally. This man, he had Eastern world clothes on. He I was coming out of a Chase Manhattan Bank some years ago, Chase bank. And I was coming from the bank, just got some money out, and really I had about $3,000 in my pocket. And I was going to put it in another bank. And so one man, I remember one man coming to me and asking, "Can I have some money?" I said, "Lord, you knew I went in there and got that money, boy." He came to me as soon as I came out and he was really in need because his car, something was on with his car. So I gave him I gave him some money.

So when I go to my car, here comes this guy dressed in like Indian Eastern you know, like those people dress the Arab dress and he said, "I want to talk to you." I said, "What is he up to?" So he asks me, he tells me I want to talk I said, "Okay, talk." He said, "No, no. I want to get in the car with you." I said, "You get in no car with me! You ain't getting in no car with me!" So I said, "No, no, no. You can tell me right here." He said, "No, I got to I want to get in and talk with you about it."

So I was I was talking to the Lord at the time. I said, "Well, Lord, should I get in?" The Lord just gave me the green light: Get in. So I get in the car and he start doing some stuff that I mean he did some mathematics, I can't tell you what the man did. But all I know he did some things to the head and I said, "Oh, these guys, yeah, that's how they con you. They get you mixed up." I'm thinking all this stuff because it happened in my church when I was a child that these men had got somebody that went to the church and they brainwashed her, and she didn't know what happened, next thing you know all her money was out the bank account. So I'm thinking this is what this guy trying to do to me.

So he began to tell me about myself. And he told me truths about myself, about my words, that I shouldn't say so many things because there's a lot of people that hate you. He said that you're going to be rich, you're a rich man, you are blessed. He told me all these things. And I really pondered. I kid you not, when he got out the car, I went like this, I kid you not, and I look for him. You know how you can look down the block and see if he down? I didn't see him nowhere! God is my witness. He told me the things that he had told me have come to pass. Look at your neighbor and tell them, "He's real." He is definitely real.

If you truly believe Jesus has risen from the dead and you're here in this place today, celebrate His resurrection from the dead. You do well to be here. But why do some of you live as though Jesus is dead? As though He never got back up? Because He got up for you, that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly. And if you ignore Him by not living for Him and live according to your own mind, why are you in here celebrating Him?

Some of you betray Him like Judas for something you desire more than Him in your life. Whether it is a man or woman or a life plan, you betray Him. You sold Him out and let go of Him to get pleasure or gratification from something you've made bigger than Him in your life. Something you are now lifting higher in your life than Jesus. Why do you celebrate Easter? It's not a real celebration until you've had a real revelation of Him.

A divine revelation of Him is when you have seen Jesus with your own eyes and witness His presence spiritually, where that He did something no one else can possibly do. That's when you know you've had a divine revelation of Him. Mary Magdalene was the first disciple to the tomb of Jesus because she had a revelation of Him and a great desire of Him. Even though when she came she thought of Him as dead, she still wanted to be near Him. She still wanted to serve Him.

If you're not really, I mean really, serving Jesus, why are you here celebrating Him? Why do you shout, "Hallelujah," when you know you're not like that at home? How can you pray to Him when you know you didn't stay with Him last night when you were in bed? When are you going to sleep with Jesus and tell Tyrone to go home? You see, I'm told we're to take Him everywhere we go. We're that colt He's riding into Jerusalem, into that habitation of peace. You're supposed to bring peace into the situation.

I celebrate Jesus today because I have His peace. If you're without peace, it is more than likely because you're without Jesus and have not believed that He rose from the dead. How can you celebrate Him if you have not peace from Him? The scriptures tell us God gave David rest from all his enemies. Is that why you don't dance and praise God, because you lack peace in your life and you see no reason to dance before the Lord? Because your shame has made you lame. David had peace to the point he danced out of his clothes. Church, we celebrate Jesus by doing His will, obeying His commandments every day and showing love one to another. If you're not doing any of these, how can you celebrate Easter?

Now for those of you who might be feeling guilty right now, here's the answer to that question. I may feel guilty right now, but I celebrate Jesus because although I may not be right with Him, I believe I still got a chance with Him. He won't give up on me. That's why I celebrate Him. In Him I believe and in Him I will receive. And whoever I'm speaking to, I hope you achieve what you believe and be not deceived. That's my prayer for you. It is God's will that no man should perish, but that all should come to repentance. For surely He has borne our burdens in the heat of the day. He is the God of another chance. Don't live a lie. Don't bury the truth. Let Him rise you, or else you will be living a lie. Turn to John 20, first verse.

Guest (Male): Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Who rolled the stone away? Can anybody answer that question? The angels rolled the stone away. Why you think they were there? They rolled that stone away. Are not angels messengers? So they were the one, they were the Look, didn't angels appear to the shepherds when He was born? So angels appeared now that He is risen because they they came to the shepherds to give them a message that He is risen, that He is born, right? So these angels stayed around, hung around, rolled the stone away to give the message that He is risen!

Then she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. The other disciple is John, the one that's writing this. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. I said because he was younger than Peter, that's why he outran him. And he stooped down. I'm going to show y'all something here. Listen carefully. And he stooping down and looking in saw the linen cloths lying there. Yet he did not go in.

Then Simon Peter came following him and went into the tomb, and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also and he saw and believed. Now, I want you to look at the first saw, verse five. That "saw" means in the Greek word is *blepo*. It means naturally. So when Peter looked in there, naturally, of course, he saw the clothes lying in there, right? He saw the linen cloths lying in there.

And then when Simon Peter came following him and went into the tomb, he saw the linen cloths lying there. This is *theoreo*. That means the word where we get the word "theory" from. It is to see with logical thinking or reasoning. So John Peter saw it naturally. John, look at this, he looked at it logically. Because logically, well, somebody dead in here, there should be some linen clothes in there. So he looked at it logically.

Now, when you get down to verse eight, all right? And it says, "Then the other disciple who came to the tomb first went in also, and he saw and believed." Now, y'all want to know why does it say he saw and believed? That word "saw" here is the is the Greek word is *eido*. It means to see by the Holy Spirit, intuition. And you know what John saw? And that's why it says he believed. He saw that the Lord had risen from the grave! Peter didn't see it. Peter just looked at it naturally. But he got a revelation by his That's why John was so powerful. That's why he wrote so many books and wrote the book of Revelation. John saw that Jesus had risen from the dead.

Now, I'm going to prove I'm going to prove to you how he seen it. Watch this now. Stay with me now. Go to verse seven. "And the handkerchief that had been around His head," when they laid Him in the grave, right? They put this handkerchief over their head. You can't see their face, right? "That had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded."

Who look, if He burst out of there, now me and you, I'm not dead, I'm getting out of here, we're going to run out of there, right? But Jesus, look, He takes His time. He gets up, He folds it and closes it to show proof that He had getting up. And guess what? And He folded it to give a message that "I'm not returning to this place." When you fold up your when you fold up your towels, or you wash your linen, you're folding them up because you don't plan on using them today! So He folded it up because He didn't plan on using that again!

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: He took the time. And see, those little details, I tell you when you read the Bible, those little details are outstanding! For Him to take the time to fold it and walk up out of there. Hallelujah! He folded it because He knew it was over. "I'm showing you that I was here. I didn't run out of here like I was scared of something. I calmly got up because I knew I was getting up."

He folded it together in place by itself. And that was His sign to them. And guess who caught the sign? John! Who wrote the Book of Revelation? John! What does "Revelation" mean? Revealed. So John was able to get revealed to him what actually happened. I don't need no food. Now watch what it goes on and says. For as yet they did not know the scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. They didn't even know it! But guess what? John looked in and he knew it right then. Do y'all get it? Do you get it?

And then the disciples went away again to their own homes. But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet. That's just like the angels when we look at the Ark. There's one on each side, right? Remember? That's exactly how they're there.

Then she said to her Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." And now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and didn't know that it was Jesus. Now, I ask you: Why does Jesus reveal Himself to her personally, but nobody else? And the answer is because she pursued Him the most. She followed Him everywhere through the whole ordeal, she was right there. She was right wherever they had Him at the trial, whatever they was doing, she was right there. And even when He was going through His pain and trying to He was trying to she was trying to aid Him in His pain and things of that nature. And also during His ministry, she was coming out of her own pocket to sustain Him, to help Him with whatever He needed. She was tight with Jesus. Do you hear what I said?

So if you want a manifestation of Jesus in your life, you need to get tight with Jesus. She had a personal visitation! Even John didn't get to see Him like that. She's the first one to see Him living. That's a blessing! She stuck close to Jesus. And if you want some divine revelation from God, you got to stick close to Jesus. You can't play hit-and-miss. You can't come when you want to, when you feel like it. You got to come when you don't want to and you got to come when you don't feel like it.

"But I can I can serve Him, I can worship God in my house." What can you do in your house that you know you can't do in the church? So your house ain't a safe place. I'm not saying a safe place, it's not the best place because we're better together when we worship God. You got a lot of you got a lot of interferences in your house. You got the TV on, got the phone to ring. And then and then you trying to worship, you vacuuming, and you doing all this stuff. No, you need somewhere where you can sit still and sit at His feet. You know how you be getting your praise song on while you cleaning the house? Ain't nothing wrong with that! Ain't nothing wrong with it. But ain't nothing like coming to the house of the Lord.

So now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and didn't know that it was Jesus. See, her grieving, her grieving drew Jesus to her. He came to her because she was in pain. Yeah, she was very much in pain. And Jesus had to solve this because she stood close to Him. He had to come and soothe her pain. That's why He really showed up for her. How many know Jesus know when you're moaning, them moans? He know what each one of them moans mean. And when them moans get strong, He'll show right up. And when He show up, you stop moaning because your answer has been your answer has been come.

Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away." And Jesus said to her, "Mary!" How many know when He calls your name, you know it? How many of you know can't nobody call your name like your mama, or like your daddy? You know that sound, right? You can just hear it "Oh, that was my mother." You just hear a little, you know who it is. So she knew the sound of Jesus' voice when He called her name. And she turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" which is to say Teacher.

Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brethren and say to them, 'I ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God.'" Look at this! Look at this! This is the first time He utters that! He says, "I'm going to look." He says, "I'm ascending to my Father and your Father." It's different now. He never said that before today. "And to my God and your God." Why can He say that? Because on the cross He said, "It is finished!"

So Jesus is claiming His Father should be our Father, His God is our God. It wasn't meant for the others to see Him, it was meant for her to see Him. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her. Mary Magdalene was Jesus' ride-or-die. She was devoted to Him. She followed Him closely. She saw His well-being or necessities through the giving of her own money. You find that in Luke 8:2 and 3. Mary Magdalene was one of the mainstays of His crucifixion, trying to comfort Him. She was present at the mock trial of Jesus. She heard Pontius Pilate pronounce Jesus' death sentence. She saw Jesus beaten and humiliated by the crowd. She was the first disciple to the tomb and ran back to tell the other disciples that she saw the tomb empty, and later that she talked with Jesus at the tomb as we have read. And He used her to tell the others that He has risen. Mary Magdalene was loosed of seven demons! Loosed and infirmities. When Jesus encountered her, He loosed her and He used her.

I want to say to all of you here, the truth was buried in Israel, and by witnesses He was revealed to all who would listen and believe. So if the truth is buried in this nation, don't let it be buried in you. If the truth is buried in the White House, don't let the truth be buried in your house. If the truth is buried in Congress, don't get dressed with that mess. If the truth is buried in the courthouse, we can't let the truth be buried in the church house, which is the real house of justice. If the truth is buried on your job, it's time for you to find a new job. With truth, there is righteousness. If the truth is buried in your neighborhood, you go out and do some good by spreading the truth everywhere you can. The more of us who are joined together in truth, in the truth, the greater our defense against the devil. Evil runs rampant when truth is absent.

We are the salt of the earth, church. God said that. If we were supposed to be salt, we should salt our society. If we salt our society, then brightness, the light will come on. But because the church is not salting the society, darkness has come over over this nation and all around the world. We're the light of the world, right? So we're supposed to be lightening things up. Why are things getting dark? Because we're not on our post. We're not on our post. That's why things are God is looking at the church. God is faulting the church. You can blame Trump all you want to. Trump is only there because Trump is only there because the church was not where they was supposed to be. So blame yourself. Blame yourself for why we're where we at right now. Darkness ensues and lies run rampant in our nation, and the truth is buried. Last one and we'll finish. Go to 1 Thessalonians. And this is just a victory lap, word-wise. We're going to take a victory lap right here.

Guest (Male): 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. And it reads, "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren." And that is the worst thing to call yourself a Christian and don't even know who Jesus is. I must say this: the other night we were here at Young and Driven, and Sister Giselle, she came up with a nice one. I really like it. They she gave them she gave them a little game to play. And in this game, she would quote the scripture. And so two of them would stand up. And so when she quoted the scripture, the first one that got the scripture got the prize.

And so that was like a test, and it tells you where you are in yourself. If it takes you 10,000 years now I can see if you're trying to find Zephaniah. Now, you gonna you gonna look for a while for Zephaniah. But if you can't find Genesis, shame on you! If you can't find Genesis, you don't know God. But I said that was a way of showing them: How much do you really know? How much do you really know Him?

It's really a blessing when you need to know Him for yourself. My grandmama told me, but you need to know Him for yourself! And a lot of my brothers I know, especially them I know from the Caribbean, I would talk to them on the job. He said, "Yeah, man, yeah, man. I believe in God, we know. My wife, she go every Sunday. My wife go, you know?" They believe if their wife go, the whole house went! No, boo! They believe if these are some friends that I know I'm not saying that with all of them but I'm just there saying some believe if their wife went to church, then he cool and I'm cool, I'm cool with God. My wife went today. How many know you got to go for yourself? You got to go for your own.

"I but I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring him will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep." You're going to be the second round because the ones that sleep are going to go up first. "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the air." Anybody going? "With them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words."

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: And I left those words to comfort you because blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. I can see that, I can say that! And these words are comfort to let you know after all that you've heard, you hear about Easter, you hear about how He died, you hear about all of this. Be comforted. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you have eternal life! That's all I needed to be said. You have eternal life. So I leave these words of comfort with you. There is a reward for carrying the truth and not burying the truth. That's because Jesus got up! We who believe will get up also from the dead. Jesus never left the earth when He resurrected. He left physically, but He did not leave spiritually. He just flipped the script and placed Himself in us, and only they who believe in Him will see Him.

So you keep Him lifted up. Remember He's omnipresent everywhere at the same time. If Christ is with you and in you, this nation may go down, but you won't go down with it. If Christ is in you and with you, this nation may go down, but you won't go down with it. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. He is sweeter than a honey on a honeycomb. So trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to thine own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways, and He will direct your path. He's sweet, I know. Anybody know that?

My last words to you today: make sure your path is not leading you to a place of destruction called hell, all right? Somebody didn't hear that. My last words to you today: make sure your path is not leading you to a place of destruction called hell, all right? And know this: truth is the foundation of having and living a good life in Christ. The truth is buried in this nation. Will it rise again? It can never be buried if Jesus is risen in you. God be with you, and may heaven smile upon you. Everyone stand.

Father God, precious Jesus, I have done as You commanded me, Lord. I have given Your word to these Your people. And I pray, Father God, that these who have heard, and those who are listening on YouTube and by the way of WMCA, Father God, I pray that when they hear these words, that they will not bury the truth in the truth that comes to their life; that they would lift the truth up as a light so all the world can see. Help us to realize even though the world is going to hell in a handbasket, we don't have to go with the world.

For You, Father God, You so loved the world that You gave Your only begotten Son, that whosoever believe upon Him should not perish but have everlasting life. We thank You for everlasting life! We thank You for victory over death! We thank You, Father, for Your word that we sent in our heart, that we might not sin against You. Father, where can we go and You not see us? What can we do and You not be with us?

So we bless You, Lord, and we praise You, Father, for this word today. And I pray, Father God, that You would help this nation. This nation is on its knees, Father. No one knows if it will ever rise up again, but we know that we who are in Christ will rise up with You when it's all said and done. So Father God, I speak life into each and every one under the sound of my voice. I pray that each and every one that hears me now, that they got something out of this word, that they were blessed by this word, that they were strengthened by this word, that they be more educated in the word of God, and that Your word will go forth and it will not come back void.

So Your blessing be upon each and every one that's under the sound of my voice. God bless America, for we sure need You, Lord. We really need You, Lord. So Your will be done. I bless You and praise You and thank You for Your dear Son who died on Calvary's cross. Hallelujah! So that we would not be lost, but that we would be found. We bless You and we thank You, Jesus. we give You the praise and we give You the glory. In Jesus' name I do pray. Hallelujah. Amen and amen.