Gospel House Ministries

Pastor Dr. Herbert Ward, Sr.: My sermon topic today is: I am not experiencing God like everyone else. How do you know what everyone else is going through? You can only speak for yourself. Many people want to experience God. Many don't know how.

So many people today feel as though something is missing in their lives, but they don't know what it is. There is a void in their lives, but they are unaware of what that void is and what can replace the void. Some are confused and don't know what to believe and who to believe. Many people are living isolated lives on purpose and unawares.

Isolation has been normalized by our society. The electric devices, the internet, and the government are responsible for this normalization. People feel ignored, cast aside, and denied. They want an out. But we who are of Christ should just trust in the Lord. Be in the world but not of the world, for we know who our Savior is. Our home is His home: the Kingdom of God.

He sits high and He looks low, deep into the lowest places of the earth. He sees what is going on in the earth and how people are dying by man-made causes. They are looking for another way to cope with life without being hurt and don't know where to find it. There is a simple solution: seek you first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." You might ask, "How is Jesus the way?" It simply means that His life, the way He lived, is the way you and I ought to live. It means His truth is the truth, the truth of His birth, burial, and resurrection. He had a BBR degree, which gave Him the power to beat death. He is the life because He gave His life for me and for you to walk in His shoes of eternity to dwell with Him because we have experienced Him for ourselves.

This all means if you want to experience God, your top priority should be to be like Jesus. First John 3:2-3 says, "Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." This is the way it was in the beginning before Adam sinned. This is the way it was. We were like God.

Jesus is the second Adam. Adam simply means "man" in the Hebrew language. We were created in the image and likeness of God, which happens to be Jesus, His Son. God spit Him out. Jesus looked just like His Daddy, a split image of Him. God wants us to experience Him so we can become just like His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased.

Humble yourself before God by getting rid of those things that are vanity in your life—the things of pleasure that lead to no measure of advancing you in the Kingdom of God. In other words, get rid of your worldly lusts that are in your mind and hindering you from really experiencing God.

Experiencing God is more than a church visit. It is a lifestyle that requires consistency and faithfulness but, most of all, integrity. Integrity is to have a willing heart to do what is right, even when tempted to do what is wrong. We are the righteousness of God. You have to be willing to do right even when you want to do wrong. You have to say, "No, I have to do what is right and pleasing in God's sight."

Integrity is going to bed on time Saturday night so you can be fresh and available to hear the word of God when you come into His house. You don't want to shame God. You don't want to cause God to be grieved at you for the way you serve Him and the way you live. You have to have integrity. You can't play with God and think you can say what you want to say and then live any old kind of way. Who do you think you're fooling?

He sees everything. You can speak and try to fool man, but you can't fool God. He sees you even in your darkest hour. He sees you in your bedroom. He sees you when you go to the bathroom. God knows everything about you. You can't fool Him. He knows everything about you. If you are in Christ Jesus, you ought to have integrity. When nobody is looking, you ought to still hold up the blood-stained banner. If nobody is looking, you should still be the righteousness of God. You shouldn't act like a hellion, a child of the devil. You should have integrity.

This likeness of Christ must be characterized by your behavior as you live here on earth. When Christ is emulated in your life, you develop His ways, speak His truth, and demonstrate His power. This is how you experience God. On earth, you are practicing being like Jesus. In heaven, the practice will be over because you shall be like Jesus.

Jesus is the perfect example of how we should be and how we should act while living here on earth. The earth has an ear for God, and they that dwell therein should be listening for His call or His voice. How can you fully experience God without knowing His voice? Jesus says in John 10:4, "And when He brings out His own sheep, He goes before them; and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice."

When it says follow Him, some of y'all may think following somebody is getting behind them and walking behind them. No, following Christ is doing what He does. Follow His example. If He is laying hands on the sick, you should lay hands on the sick. If He is preaching the word and teaching the word, you should be preaching the word and teaching the word. If He is forgiving people who trespass against Him, you should be forgiving people who trespass against you. You follow Christ. You are following His character. Because you follow His character, you follow His footsteps.

So, you must follow Him. Love Him, adore Him, thank Him, cherish Him because He is precious. If you do this, you will have the greatest experience you've ever had in your life. Trust God and not man, for He is not a man that He should lie, nor the son of man that He should repent.

When you look at the first letters of the word "earth," you find the word "ear." Is it possible that the earth is the only planet that has an ear for God? I believe so, because that's where God's children live. The earth experiences and hears God because there is a relationship between the two. The earth experiences and the earth hears God because there is a relationship between the two. What about you?

God said, "Let there be light," and the earth heard and responded. God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth." And it was so. Why was it so? Because the earth heard God. It is living, and it responded to His desires.

Remember when Jesus told Simon Peter to cast his nets on the right side of the boat? What happened? Peter cast a net, which could not contain the fish. He cast a net; he didn't cast nets. He cast a net, which could not contain the fish instead of casting the nets. He didn't listen fully, but merciful God still blessed him. So, he had to call his partnering fishermen to help him. Why? Because he had not yet experienced Jesus fully to take Him at His word, almost losing his blessing. Some of us have been in that position too, have we not?

Obedience to God will gain you great experiences with Him. The fish in the ocean of the earth responded in an overwhelming way to the call of Jesus. They heard Jesus. To those of you listening, it is a shame if a fish, a bird, or even the trees of the earth can hear God and you can't. Take self out of the equation, and I assure you, you will begin to experience God. I hear Him well. What about you?

This experience Peter had with Jesus caused him to forsake all and follow Jesus. Even his business and his life were never the same again. If only all mankind could be that way, it would be a much better world. Anyone agree? The problem is that many people find themselves in precarious situations that are full of trouble, not knowing how to navigate through life through those troubles because of the lack of faith in God. Let's face it: most people don't know God.

If they knew God, they wouldn't treat God the way they treat God. They would come into His house seeking His face. They would come into His house with respect for Him and hear what He has to say. Well, to help you out, most people do not experience God until they find themselves in deep trouble. We've been troubled most of our lives, but when deep trouble is upon us, we want a way out in a hurry. I'm here today to tell you Jesus is the way out.

Because He is the way out, you who don't know Him and don't know what He is capable of doing ought to find Him while you can. Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.

God sent me to inform you and to say to you on His behalf: if you want to experience Me, My Son, and My Holy Spirit, just call My name. Jehovah, Elohim, Adonai (which means Master), El Elyon (which means God the Highest). I will answer. I have many names because I can do many things but fail. I believe it is hard to really experience someone when you don't even know their name.

For those of you who don't know, Jesus' name is above every name. It is above cancer. It is above diabetes. Are those not names? It is above poverty. It is above depravity. It is above famine. It is above Mastercard and Visa. It is even above the name of Trump. It is very important that you know the name and the power that is in that name. Without this information, you may not experience God as you ought to.

You say you are not experiencing God like everyone else. Could it be because He is not in the midst of your life? In Genesis the third chapter, we were told that the tree of life was in the midst of the garden. This is saying spiritually that Jesus should be the center of your life. This can only happen when He is the center of your mind. Let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus.

You want to experience Him? Let Him be the center of your mind. He will bless you all the time. Don't tell me you are not experiencing God like everyone else when there is nothing wrong with Him. He works. He's not broken nor out of order. As a matter of fact, He orders my steps each and every day. It's up to me to follow. What about you?

Is it that you're wrong and you want to be made right but don't know how? Just keep listening and you will see and know how. One strong suggestion: don't ever try to figure this out because you won't. Only believe, and I assure you, you will experience God. We walk by faith, not by sight. Faith comes by hearing and by hearing the word of God. Open your Bibles to Numbers, the fifth book of Numbers, and we are beginning at the first verse.

Listen carefully. Some of you may not expect it to go this way, but this is the way we're going. "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse. You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camps, in the midst of which I dwell.'"

Do you see that? He's in the midst. He has to be the center of your life. He's in the midst. And the children of Israel did so and put them outside the camp, as the Lord spoke to Moses. So the children of Israel did. Now, I want you to understand if God is in the midst of your life, no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. Here we see that there was something hindering those who were lepers from not only experiencing community, they were not experiencing communion with God.

Community is with man and communion is with God. We all need to experience both to have a well-balanced life, but seek God first and He will put you in a community with other believers so that when you fail, they're there to easily pick you up, restore you, and encourage you so you can continue your righteous journey with God. It's a part of the process. Look at your neighbor and tell them it's a part of the process. Yes, it's a part of the process to become sanctified in the Lord.

Now turn to Luke, the fifth chapter, beginning at the 12th verse. "And it happened when He was in a certain city that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, 'Lord, if You are willing, can You make me clean?'" How many of you know He's willing and able to do exceedingly abundantly far more than we can ever ask or think? See, you have to ask if you want to experience God. You have to tell Him, ask Him, "Can I experience You?"

So, let me help you out. Anytime God touches you, anytime God does anything for you, you have experienced God. And when you can get to the place that you experience God, He keeps you alive. He keeps you aware of what is going on around you. I'm here to tell somebody don't sleep on God because He can do it, can't He?

So it says, "If You are willing, make me clean." Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately the leprosy left him. Did he not experience Jesus? And He charged him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded." Now look right there. It says make an offering for your cleansing.

You may not have leprosy, but you had something. And once you experience God, you should bring Him an offering. You should be grateful to Him for what He has done. You ask for prayer for your child and your child is healed? You should come to Him and say, "I've got to give God something for that." We tip people to come to our house and do work. Some of us may not tip people, but I always want to bless people who come to do something for me in my house. I'm always giving them a tip. God has put that in me to tip them.

You're tipping them, you're blessing them, but God is going to bless you for blessing them. You have to see it that way. You can't see your money as, "I need to pay my bill." You don't see expansion in your finances. You see decrease. I see increase in mine. But you see increase because you're scared that when you give it out, it's going to decrease. But I know that if I give it out, it's going to increase because I'm in Christ Jesus. He's an increaser, not a decreaser.

So that's where it comes in, trusting in God. Last night, Pastor and I were coming down Atlantic Avenue and Bedford. The guy came to the car, and I had given out this week at the conference, and my pocket was empty. But I did have these four dollars in my pocket. I felt kind of bad that I didn't have it. He said, "Hungry, hungry, hungry." I said, "I ain't got it, I ain't got it." I drove off. I felt a little bad.

It didn't last long because I refuse to be condemned by that because I know I give people. But that's how much I want to give, that I felt bad that I didn't have it to give to him right then. I could have given him these four dollars, but I'm giving them to Jesus today. And even your last, it's good to give your last. Don't get me wrong. I'm not telling you don't give your last, but I knew what I wanted to do today. And sometimes people are out there just to get something to get high. So I don't even want to judge that. I just want to give.

God knows I'm a giver, so the Lord showed me: why are you condemning yourself? Why are you feeling bad? You know you are a giver. So get over it. And I did. Thank You, Jesus. We can beat ourselves up sometimes, can't we? We can really beat ourselves up. Now, how can you be healed by Him if you don't recognize that He's able to perform it? Look at your neighbor and say, "Experience—that's what it's going to take to recognize God."

Experience—that's what it's going to take to recognize God. You can't recognize nobody you haven't been with. I can only recognize you because I've seen you before. You walk up to me—I went down south to a funeral, and sometimes you see people of the past and you say, "Good gracious, who is that? Oh, that's so-and-so. Oh, wow." And I haven't seen them in a long time. I haven't experienced them in a long time. So I didn't see their face change through the years. Do you understand what I'm saying?

When you walk with God, He changes not. But you know He's the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow because you have what? Experienced Him. So I bless Him. I praise Him. I thank Him for all that He is doing. You have to keep on searching till you find Him. Isn't that a song? Search and search until you find Him. This man sought Jesus first. He had faith to be healed. Whatever is ailing you, seek Jesus and you will experience His glory.

There are people who have been in the church over 20 years and some 40 years, but they've never experienced the glory of the Lord. Why is that? Could it be because Jesus is not in the midst of their lives, that He's not the center of their salvation? Don't tell me you are not experiencing God like everyone else, because there's nothing wrong with God. Could it be there is something wrong with you? Go to the 17th chapter of Luke, beginning at the 12th verse.

"Then He entered a certain village, and there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off." The number one reason most people don't experience God is because they stand afar off from God. Even in the church, they come into the church, but they're still far off from God because they're really not listening. When you come into church and you sleep, you're far off from God. Why come to His house to sleep when you've got a bed at your house to sleep in?

There's no bed in the house of God. There's no beds in the house of God! So why come here to sleep? We come here to reverence God, not to reject Him, not to upset Him. So we come here to experience Him, not to go to sleep on Him. We say great words and testimonies, but the truth of the matter when it's time for the word, you need to hear what He says. You can't hear Him sleeping. We talk a good talk, but we've got to walk that talk.

So it says, "And they lifted up their voices and said, 'Jesus, Master, have mercy on me!'" Have you ever asked for mercy, those of you who think that you're not experiencing God like everyone else? Have you ever asked for mercy? Verse 14: "So when He saw them, He said to them, 'Go, show yourselves to the priests.' And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks; and he was a Samaritan."

Do you see that? Show yourself to the priest. And so it was as they went, they were what? Cleansed. As they went, they heard the word and they performed what He said, and as they performed it, their healing came to pass. You've got to be obedient. When God tells you something and you're still stubborn and you're going to stick with it and do what you want to do anyway, you are a fool. One of them was a Samaritan. They wasn't even Jewish. Do y'all see that?

They were like an outsider. He was an outsider, but the outsider was the one that came back. Don't let people call you an outsider. If they call you an outsider, tell them that's all right, I've got Jesus. And I'm on the inside with Him. I may be outside with you, but I'm on the inside with Him. So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?" The ten experienced a miracle, but this man had a one-on-one with Jesus.

Do you see that? He got the miracle, but he also had a one-on-one with Jesus. That means he experienced Him better than the rest. It's good to draw closer to Jesus and not from Him. Why come in His presence and draw from Him, don't get drawn near to Him, but you draw away from Him? That's foolish. It's very foolish. So He says, "Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"

The people you expect to do right by God is not always the people who do right by God. The people you lift up, who are highly decorated with different titles and all that, them you expect to serve God with all their heart. But I'm here to tell you, it's sometimes the little guy that does better than the big guy. God looks at the least and He blesses them the most. And He said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well."

Why? Why did God say that? Because he returned to worship. If he wouldn't have returned to worship, he wouldn't have received those words. Do you see that? When you come to God, you come here to receive a word from God. You shouldn't come here to receive anything else. You come to receive a word. And it's like a slap in God's face when you come in here and don't receive His word. You're rejecting Him, and that's a rebellious spirit. And I come against that spirit this day. God can't stand a rebellious soul.

There are some of you even since you've experienced God, you're still not following Jesus as you ought to. So don't blame it on the lack of experience. Blame it on your lack of devotion for Him. There are some people who sin repeatedly, who just want Jesus to be their friend and not their brother. As a friend, you are not close to Him as you should be. There needs to be a closer walk with Jesus. And that's the problem with some people: they have a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.

They come in and say great words about God, but they're far from Him. They just want to be His friend. A friend you can cut off anytime you want to. Brother-brother, you can't cut a brother off because the blood has got you connected. I'm connected to Jesus. He's my brother in Christ. He's my Lord and my Savior. I'm connected to Him. I'm not just a friend of Jesus I can tip off when I want to. Because I'm connected to Him, I'm a brother to Him, I worship Him, I serve Him.

I don't serve Him with my behind. I don't serve Him through rebellion. I serve Him with my heart. And if rebellion is in your heart, Jesus ain't there. Sometimes the truth hurts, doesn't it? As a friend, you are not close as you should be. There needs to be a closer walk with Jesus. These lepers, or sinners, stood afar off. That's why they had not experienced Jesus until then, because they've never been close enough to Him physically to experience Him.

I stopped by to tell somebody you don't have to be close to Jesus to experience Him physically. You now can experience Him spiritually. You see, I don't have to see Him to know He's there. My relationship with Him affirms He's right there in the midst when I'm in trouble. He's more than a friend to me. He's my brother. I'm a part of God's family. What about you? He's a continuous experience for me. In the midnight hour, He's right there. When it seems as though I've lost my power, things have gone sour, I experience Him in a more powerful way.

What is leprosy? Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease characterized by sores, scabs, and white spots beneath the skin. It was the priest who tended to the patients in the biblical days and their sanitary needs. Number one: leprosy symbolizes sin shown openly in a hateful or disgusting way. Number two: leprosy also reminds us that sin is incurable by human means. Only God can heal us from sin and not man. When you are a Christian, you judge yourself without chastisement from God.

But if self-judgment is neglected, you must judge yourself, church. I tell you, I'm hard on myself. I beat myself up sometimes when I do wrong. You should judge yourself so you can stay right with God. You're not supposed to judge other Christians; you can judge the world. But you're not supposed to judge other Christians. Let me get that straight. You can tell them a thing or two, tell them what's right and tell them what's wrong, but you can't judge them because we have no heaven or hell to put anyone in. If they don't want to listen, that's just a rebellious spirit, and you leave them in God's hands.

So as I said, when you are a Christian, you judge yourself without chastisement from God. When you judge yourself, you avoid God's chastisement. Do you get it? But if self-judgment is neglected, God judges you, and the result is chastisement. Do you get it? You're not experiencing Him as He would like. Just trust and obey, and He will make a way out of nowhere. First Corinthians 11:31 says, "For if we judge ourselves, we would not be judged." Do you see that? But when we are judged, we are chastised by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

So we're talking about experiencing God, right? Remember Laban, Jacob's uncle, who cheated him out of his wages? Listen to what his uncle says to him when Jacob was ready to leave after Joseph was born in Genesis 30:27. Laban said to him, "Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake." Laban said to him, "Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes," because he didn't want him to leave; he was making money off Jacob. "For I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake."

You see, our experience with God allows us to be blessed to be a blessing to others who don't know Him, so that they have this great experience that we have and follow Christ. King Solomon is another example of someone who had a great experience with God. Listen to what he says in Ecclesiastes 1:16: "I communed with my heart." Solomon is saying that I have attained greatness; I have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. David had some wise men, but Solomon was wiser than them.

"My heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge." That's what he's saying. He said, "I communed with my heart," and the last part he says, "my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge." Why? Because he was with God. And God is not going to just send you home empty. He's going to fill your shopping cart. You're shopping, right? He's going to fill your shopping cart. Why? He tells you in the beginning of the scripture: "I communed with my heart" to whom? God. That's how you experience God. It is with the heart—your heart.

Turn in your Bibles to Romans 5, beginning at the first verse. "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We stand!" You can't stand unless you have experienced God. "And rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope."

Where it says "perseverance" here, it really means experience. In the original language, it says experience. If you look in the King James Version, you should see the word "experience." Character and hope—it's all for your development. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. How can He give it to us unless we experience Him? You experience God by His Spirit. His Spirit is the motivator in your life towards God. Could it be you are not experiencing God like others because you don't have His Spirit like others?

What can you do to experience God? I have another answer. Turn to Isaiah, the 60th chapter. "Arise, shine; for your light has come." Now, you see it says "arise," right? Some of us haven't arisen out of bed yet. But it says "arise," right? Why would He say "arise"? He's saying arise because there must be people who are down. Arise! There are people of God who are feeling down. And that's not where God called you to. God called you to a higher place.

For your light has come. So it says, "Arise, shine." Obviously, you were in the dumps and you were in darkness. He says, "Arise, shine." Why are you in darkness? Why does your face look so discontented? He says, "For your light has come. I'm your experience," says the Lord, "I'm your light. Your experience has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you." Now, this is for those of you who receive it right now. If you receive this, this will transform your life.

"For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people." Isn't that what happened in our people in deep darkness? Don't even know what to believe or who to believe. But the Lord will arise over you. Aren't you grateful? And if He will arise over you, that means He wants you to experience Him. "And His glory will be seen upon you." I've learned this years ago. His glory shall be upon you. When Adam and Eve sinned, they lost God's glory.

When you look at a bear, the bear has hair on him. The hair didn't come from Macy's; it came from within. When you look at a bird, the bird has feathers. The feathers didn't come from a pillow factory. The feathers came from within. So when you come into Christ, Christ comes in you, right? And because He's in you, His glory is upon you. I'm preaching better than y'all let on. So He says His glory will come upon you because "greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world."

Do you understand that? The bear's covering is natural. The bird's feathers are natural. But your covering is spiritual. You can see the bear fur, you can see the bird feathers, but people can't see the glory upon you because it's what? Spiritual. But they can look at your behavior and tell that you've been with Jesus. Isn't it wonderful to know Jesus and just to take Him at His word?

So He says, "But the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light." To your light! People are waiting for you to shine. People are waiting for you to brighten up. They want to get in the light. You know how to experience Him but they don't know how to experience Him, so you're their example. And you ought to be willing to be an example. And kings to the brightness of your rising. Even men of great stature, because you've got Jesus, will come and listen to you. They won't think less of you, but they will think more of you because you've got the answer that they need.

"Lift up your eyes all around and see: they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side. Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you." Sea in the Bible means world. "The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you." He's telling you what He meant in the first part: "because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you." He's telling you what that is: the wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.

You experience God by His Spirit. His Spirit is the motivator in your life towards God. Could it be you are not experience God like others because you don't have His Spirit like others? What can you do to experience God? I have another answer. Turn to Second Corinthians, the first chapter. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation. If God comforts you in all your tribulation, you are experiencing God. I believe there are some people who experience God and don't even know God was there because they're too blind to Him. Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us—see that? If Christ suffered, you're going to suffer, and I want to stay there just for a moment. Stop thinking you ain't supposed to go through nothing. Stop saying to yourself, "This ain't God, this ain't God." Just because you don't feel comfortable, that don't mean it ain't God. It's a test! And God is seeing how you act in that test. And you want to discard it and be ignorant and say, "That ain't God, that ain't God," because it don't feel good.

I told you your feelings will fool you. Stop living by your feelings. You will be called out of darkness into His marvelous light, and it is light we walk by in the Spirit. We walk by faith and not by sight. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. The suffering of Christ is in us, but because we've suffered and His Spirit consoled us, we know how to console you. Do you see that? We know how to console you.

See, you can't help nobody unless you've been through what they've been through. If you are someone that's not married, stop telling people not to get married. "Marriage is crazy, I wouldn't do that." You ain't never been married, how can you tell somebody? You're somebody on the outside looking in, trying to figure things out, and haven't figured out that you need a husband or a wife too. Now, if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same suffering.

Do you see that? You've got the power to console people. And when you console them, it's effective for enduring the same suffering, which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. Because if we're comforted, we can easily teach and preach to you. If we're not comforted, it's hard to teach and preach. So it's for your benefit that we are comforted. And if we're comforted, when we see you go through, we can lay hands on you to take away the discomfort in your life because God has given us that power.

And our hope for you is steadfast. See that? It's not shimmy-shimmy-shimmy; it ain't shaking. It's steadfast. It's unmovable, always abounding. Our love for you is steady. We want a constant relationship with those we come in contact with, those who we care about. We love them, we want the best for them. So it is our job to have hope for them, and by having hope for them, we have an expectation to see you change, to see you grow up, to see you mature, to see blessings come into your life, and see you from a downstate to an upstate, never to go down again.

So we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also we partake of the consolation. See, at first, stressing comes and then blessings come. For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of your trouble. I know people are troubled in many ways, and some of us don't show it. Which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure. Some of the trouble that you go through is beyond measure; you don't even want to tell nobody.

We were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life, for they thought they was going to die. Anybody been in them shoes? Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves. Do you see that? That we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raised the dead. So we've got the sentence of death in ourselves, but you know what? I ain't trusting myself, I better trust God. See, you can worry yourself to death and die.

Who delivered us from so great a death and does deliver us—see that? He delivered us from a great death and He still does deliver us, in whom we trust that He will still deliver us. You also help together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many. They prepared offerings for him so he can go on his missions. For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity.

Not with fleshly wisdom thinking you know everything because you know how to surf the net and you've got all this information but no power. But by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you. You see that? For we are not writing any other thing to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand even to the end, and also you have understood us in part: that we are your boast as you also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now I call upon God as my witness that I am telling the truth. The reason I didn't return to Corinth was to spare you from severe rebuke. But that does not mean we want to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into practice. You see that? I don't want to dominate you. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy. We as pastors want to work together with you so you can be full of joy and not despair.

But you've got to listen. You've got to be obedient. Your blessing is not going to come by osmosis. You've got to be willing to do what God says for you to do. Your obedience is key. If you're not obedient to God, you are none of His. Yes, we all have been disobedient. Yes, we have slipped. Yes, we have fallen. We haven't fully walked the way. He's married to the backslider, but if you are just spitefully rebellious and do what you want to do no matter what anybody says, you are carnal.

You are no part of God. You can talk a good talk, but it ain't going to help you. The truth is true whether you want to hear it or not. Shame on you, how about that? But that does not mean we want to dominate. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by your own faith that you stand firm. And when you do, that's when you really experience God. It was a hell of an experience, but God brought me through it.

An experience with God is not always wonderful and nice. That's true. It can also try your last nerve, and then fear comes upon you. The nerve has left the building, meaning you. And after that, what are you going to do? Nerves may fail you, but God will never fail you. He will never give up on you. Problem is, we give up on Him. Now look on over to the fourth chapter of Second Corinthians. "Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this new way, we never give up."

"We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don't try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. If the good news we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing." That means it is hidden from those who are not in Christ Jesus. It is hidden from those who are not walking in the light. It's hidden from those who have never experienced Him or those who don't want to experience Him.

"Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the good news. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. You see, we don't go around preaching about ourselves; we preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus's sake. For God, who said 'let there be light in darkness,' has made this light shine in our hearts," have I got a witness?

"So we could know the glory of God that it is seen in the face of Jesus Christ." What an experience, church. "We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God and not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed but not driven to despair. We are hunted down but never abandoned by God."

"We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies." See, we're only pressed on every side in trouble because we're experiencing Him. You—some people don't want to go through no trouble. People don't want to go through nothing. They don't want to be troubled? Then you don't want to see Jesus then, because that cross was His trouble, but He got on that cross anyway for you and me.

Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them out of them all. Don't think it bad when you're going through something. Don't think it bad: "God is not with me." Stop thinking God ain't with you because you're going through something bad that don't feel good.

He's right there. He's just waiting for you to call on His name and He'll come to your rescue. But if you wallow in your sorrows, you'll never see Jesus. You won't even see tomorrow because you're in a dark room depressed with the shades down and it's darkness all around you because of this spirit of depression is on you. And we go into depression because we are full of pride. Depression is a prideful state. It's a selfish state. It has nothing to do with God.

"But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said 'I believed in God, so I spoke.'" Don't tell me you believe in God and you ain't got nothing to tell nobody. Don't tell me you believe in God and you're not sharing Him with anybody. You just want one of them silent—them silent Christians. Ain't no such thing as a silent Christian. Jeremiah said it was like fire shut in my bones—said I wouldn't tell nobody, but it was like fire shut in my bones. I had to say something!

"We know that the God who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us up with Jesus and present us to Himself together with you," because we experienced Him. All of this is for your benefit. And as God's grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. So what? Be thankful. This is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. See that? Your main concern is your spirit. Let your spirit be intact.

No matter what the storms the body may encounter, whatever it may go through, let your spirit be strong. Remember we was talking about the trees? And I said that even though trees get hit, they still stand. So when you get hit by some infirmities in your body, you stand because your spirit is right with God. Your body may be breaking down, but your spirit is standing up strong. Strong in Jesus! Strong in the Lord, strong in Jesus!

So we never give up. "For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever. So we don't look at the troubles we can see now. Rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever." Whatever you're going through, if you want to get over, get it over and you're tired of the trouble you've experienced, Luke 12:31-32 says: "But seek the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you."

Which is comfort, protection, no rejection, and perfection in Jesus Christ. They'll be added to you. "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." In other words, it is the will of God that you experience Him through His goodness so that you might see heaven. Anybody want to see heaven? This experience isn't for cowards. It's for the righteous that they may see God in the fullness of His glory. God has given us His glory.

We lost it in the Garden of Eden through Adam, but the second Adam came to correct what Adam made wrong. That's why He's a righteous king: He came to make things right. And with that, He restores God's glory on His people. Adam's covering was God's glory. When Adam sinned and lost His goodness, God took this glory from man. His goodness and glory go together. Once Adam lost God's glory, he could no longer experience God like before. He couldn't experience God's goodness.

But Jesus came to undo what Adam did. He removed the curse of unrighteousness from us. And once we experience God afresh, anew, we become the righteousness of God. If you want to really experience God, get rid of your excuses. Get rid of your excuses and let God have His way. Stop lying and begin trying Jesus at His word. And you will begin to experience Him like never before. Nothing, I say nothing can separate you from the love of God. Your sins will never stop God from loving you.

But sin can keep you out of heaven and into hell. If you have not been forgiven of them, they can send you to hell. Experience God and life won't be so hard. Experience God and life won't be so hard. Jesus said, "Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for My yoke is easy and My burdens are light." Don't you want to be a part of the kingdom? Don't you want to be a part of the kingdom? Come on, everybody.

If so, what are you waiting for? It's time to experience Him now. Don't wait; it might be too late. To God be the glory. I'm not experiencing God like everyone else. Maybe you need to look within inside yourself. Maybe the glory of the Lord has departed, or maybe you never took part in His glory. But look within yourself. And if there's a void in your life, Jesus is missing. Ask Jesus to come into your heart. Ask Jesus to come into your life.

I want to say a prayer—a slight prayer or invitation to those who are down and out, those who don't know God, those who don't think they're saved, those who think they're going to hell. I just want to say these words with you, and I want to invite you into the life and the kingdom of Jesus Christ. And all I need you to do is just repeat after me.

I come to You, Lord, now. I repent of my sins. I come to You, Lord, now, repenting of my sins. I am godly sorrow, Lord, for the way I've been living. I want to now live with You. I need You, Jesus. I want You, Jesus. I don't think I can make it without You, Jesus. Come into my heart so that I can live again. Come into my heart so I can stand again. I have fallen, Lord, but only You can pick me up. Come into my heart, Jesus. I need You now.

If you pray that prayer with me, you are now born again. If you said it sincerely, you are now born again. God is your Savior. He is your maker, and He is your keeper. And He'll keep you from all sin and shame. This is the way you come to God. This is the way you experience Him, by acknowledging your weakness, by acknowledging that you're less than and He's more than enough. So I say to you today: live! Live and experience God. He's the way, the truth, and the life. Hallelujah! Glory to God!

Guest (Male): Let's thank God for the word once again. Come on, let's give Him some praise. Hallelujah! Amen, amen, amen. And we thank God for our newest member. Aisha, Aisha. Let's thank the Lord! Hallelujah! We thank God for our newest member, we thank God. Hallelujah! Thank You, Lord. He has definitely had some experiences with Him and now He's calling you higher. Amen.

Our title of the sermon was "I am not experiencing God like everyone else." How do you know when people are experiencing God? It's by their walk, and he reminded us of the definition of integrity: wanting to do right even when you want to do wrong. When Christ is emulated in your life, you do things the way He does it. You walk like Him, you talk like Him. And when you imitate Christ, you are experiencing Him.

He asked the question, "How can you experience Christ and you don't even know His voice?" Following behind someone is not just literally walking behind them. It's doing things the way they would. We should be following Christ by healing, by loving, and by doing things the exact way He does it. And I liked the way he broke down "earth." It's the only planet that has "E-A-R" as the first three letters, which is "ear." And the earth has an ear for God.

Earth hears and experiences God because it has a relationship with Him. And he asks, "How about you? Do you have a relationship with God?" He said it's a shame even if the birds and fishes and animals hear God but you can't. And he gave us the example of Peter when he listened to Jesus, and his life was not the same afterwards. Most people know *of* God but they don't know God. Most people don't experience God until they find themselves in deep, deep trouble.

And then he told us if you want to experience God, all you have to do is just call on His name. In order to call on Him, you have to believe, though. Only believe is what it takes. And then he went onto the scripture, Numbers chapter five. He said if God is in the midst of your life, He won't withhold any good things from your life. And then he reminded us that community is with man and communion is with God, and we need both in this lifetime.

And then he went on to Luke chapter five, the story of the leper. The leper called on the name of Jesus and Jesus answered. The leper experienced God firsthand. When you experience God, you should bring an offering, just like Jesus told the leper to go and bring an offering before the priest. Experience is what it takes to recognize God. You can't say you're experiencing God like everyone else because God is the same yesterday and today forever. There just might be something wrong with you if you're saying that you're not experiencing God.

He reminded us that people are far off from God because they're not listening to Him. And then he went to Luke chapter 17. We come to church to experience God, not to sleep on Him. And then the other story of the ten lepers: the lepers listened and obeyed Jesus and were cleansed. If you're not listening to God and being obedient, you're not experiencing Him. Some people have a better experience with God, just like the one leper who came back and thanked Jesus, because they spend more time with Him, spend more personal one-on-one time with Him.

Some experience God but still are not following like they're supposed to. You can't blame it on God if you're not giving your devotion to Him. And then he broke down the definition of leprosy: a chronic infectious disease characterized by sores beneath the skin. And he gave us two points: one, leprosy represents sin in our lives and is very infectious; two, leprosy is incurable by human means and only God can heal you from it, just like only God can heal you from the sin.

And then he gave us a few examples of people experiencing God: in the story of Laban in Genesis and then a story of Solomon's experience in Ecclesiastes. And then he went to Romans chapter five, verses one through four, and he told us maybe you don't have the Spirit like others so you can't experience Him like others. And then he went on to Isaiah 60 and he broke down "arise." We tell people to arise because they may be in a dark place. And when people are down, God has to tell them to arise; He has to bring them up.

God did not call us to be down; He called us to come to a higher place. And then I liked how he broke down the bears—the bears with their fur and the birds with their feathers. They don't come from a factory; they come from within. And when we have Christ within us, His glory should show out on the outside of us. It may not manifest physically like the bear's fur and the bird's feathers, but it should show up in our behavior and how we walk in this life.

And then he asked, "What can you do to experience God?" and that's when he went to Second Corinthians chapter one. He said if you're experiencing God's comfort in tribulations, you are experiencing Him. We all go through things. We have to experience suffering in order to help others. Jesus experienced suffering in order to help us. You experience God when you have His Holy Spirit within you. If you're still living a carnal life, you're not experiencing God, just like when Paul was speaking to the church of Corinth: they were carnal.

And then he reminded us that an experience with God is not always going to be a nice experience. Some experiences get on your last nerve, but the joy that is to come is greater than these moments. And he said if you're experiencing Christ, you should be doing something for Him. You can't be a silent Christian. If you claim that you experience God, you should be talking about Him. You should be saying something. So in our experiences with God, you shouldn't be quiet if you're experiencing Christ.

We should go out and tell of His experience just like our dear sister Aisha. She's experienced Christ and she's talking about it, so you should do the same. In this life, make sure you experience Christ by living for Him and not just listening, not just being a hearer of His word but being a doer of His word. Amen.