In My Feelings | James Wilson
by James Wilson
First Apostolic Church of Maryville (Maryville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Acts 17:22-27, Psalm 143:1, Psalm 143:3-4

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/james-wilson--in-my-feelings
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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oh Hallelujah We Worship You Jesus we praise you God come on if you were glad when they said unto you let us go unto the house of the Lord somebody ought to act like it on a Sunday morning Hallelujah man amen what an honor what an honor it is for my wife and I to be here at fac Maryville we do not take this opportunity lightly but we counted a tremendous honor and privilege to be here and um if you would can you go ahead and put that picture up of my wife and I she's you can't see her but I wanted you to see her because she's so beautiful I just want everybody to see her really quick that's my wife Carly and I'm so glad that she's here she's right there on the front row I love her I thank God for my wife thank God for my family and since this is family weekend you can go and I'll have you stand here in a moment but since this is family weekend I'm just gonna show off my family for a little bit is that okay with you guys all right amen we we uh we just got married about a year and a half ago so we don't have any um any human kids yet but we do we do have a kid can you put up that next picture that's our that's our puppy dog is his name is brother brother Roosevelt no no relation to Teddy no no no no connection to but that's our that's our guy Roosevelt and we love him every time we leave him we're just like really sad because he's he's actually with my pastor right now and he's staying with at their house and they have two other dogs and his favorite thing to do I think is go over there and play with their dogs so he's over there and uh and then the last picture that's my uh my mom my sisters and my brother-in-law's and as you can see my nephew Alex this was last Christmas he was not too excited about taking a picture as you could tell in the bottom left corner he is not excited at all I did not want to be there amen but I love my family and I'm so thankful for them thankful for my family and I can remember the first time that my dad called me into the room my dad is an incredible organist phenomenal organist and he uh he called me to the room one day he said James I want you to come here I want you to look at something and I said okay he said have you ever heard of fac Maryville I said no he said they're in Tennessee he said man these people can sing I said let me hear it so he turned it on and you guys were still in the old building y'all were getting I believe it was work on me by uh by Tony back in the day you guys were getting down with the work on me work on me work on me work on me I said my goodness they are having church amen but it's such an honor to be here that was my first introduction to you and your wonderful pastor and your their family and I just want to say what an honor it is to be here I honor pastor and sister Carpenter can we just give it up for them amen amen what tremendous leadership you guys have and I honor them and I honor the entire family Nolan and Flannery honored Zach and Lauren and Fallon and Chad Erickson can we just give it up for the entire Carpenter family amen I'm not going to try to say all the kids names because I'm gonna miss somebody and I don't know I just I know Beckham and Hampton I remember them so I shout out to Beckham and Hampton amen I got Beckham's got some shoes on that I need so can I fit them Beckham I don't know maybe they're I'm too big right okay maybe next time but I honor them and their leadership aren't you thankful for people that love God and love truth I'm so thankful for the Carpenters stand for truth and how much they love the truth that you and I have found I'm so so very thankful and I honor them in their leadership do feel like the Lord has given me a word why don't you stand and we'll go ahead and read from Acts chapter 17. and we'll begin reading at verse number 20. 20 to acts 17 and 22. acts 17 and 22 Bible says then Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill and said ye men of Athens I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious for as I pass by and beheld your devotions I found an altar with this inscription to the unknown God therefore ye ignorantly worship Him declare I unto you God that made the world and all things therein seeing that he is Lord of Heaven and Earth dwelleth not in temples with temples made with hands neither is worship with men's hands as though he needed anything seeing he give it to all life and breath and all things and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the Earth and hath determined the times before appointed in the bounds of their habitation that they should seek the Lord if happily they might feel somebody say feel happily they might feel after him and find him though he be not far from every one of us I'd like to preach for the next few moments this morning on this simple title in my feelings I want you to turn your neighbor some of you don't know what this means but your young people know what this means I want you to tell them say I'm in my feelings um hopefully I'll I'll help it make a little more sense and some of you are looking at me really weird right now in my feelings one more time why don't you put your Bibles down why don't you lift your hands in the air right now let's pray together shall we God we thank you for your grace we thank you for your mercy that is so very evident your presence that is in this room I pray right now in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that you would continue to move anoint Us in this place we want to hear a word from you we don't want to hear the words of a man but we want to hear the words of the almighty God speak in this place fill somebody with the Holy Ghost God restore families o God In The Name Of The Lord Jesus Christ we expected God we believe that it's going to happen and we give you praise in advance for it right now in the name of Jesus Christ one more time put your hands together and give the Lord some praise and worship hallelujah hallelujah thank you so much for standing for the reading of the word you may be seated showed a picture of my family and uh so thankful for them I have a wonderful family and uh like any family we we like having fun we liked kind of playing jokes on each other and doing things to kind of mess with one another and let me tell you something there is nothing like family to get under your skin anybody know what I'm talking about I know your family is perfect and you guys never fight and you never argue or anything like that but first normal folks that is that is not the case we we sometimes disagree we sometimes fight a little bit and I I can remember I well I have this one sister and her name is Heather and I love her very much but Heather is that one sibling that you had growing up that could get under your skin you know what I'm talking about there's if you're in a family that has several siblings there's always that one that can get it doesn't matter I mean to this day I'm grown I'm 32 years old and if she wants to she can get under my skin to this day I'm like man I want to knock this girl out but you know there is nothing that would get under my skin more than a particular thing that sometimes my sisters would do because I grew up in the country and Lucedale Mississippi and I know none of you have never heard of that but let me tell you something it was in Lucedale okay that is that has never happened before I can assure you Lucedale Mississippi but in Lucedale it's it we live in the country and here's the thing about us living in the country it gets dark in the country can anybody testify how dark it gets in the country y'all know a little bit about that I try to tell people from the city when when they think it's getting dark I'm like you don't know what dark is because there's a difference between country dark and City dark country dark Just Hits different it's just different and I grew up in the country and so you know what I was the only one in my family and this is somewhat embarrassing but I I feel like this is a judgment-free zone so I can feel like I feel like I can be vulnerable right now I was the only one in my family until 18 years of age that slept with a nightlight I did I slept with a nightlight and to make it worse brother Nolan it was like a Flintstone night like you know just like that's not something you tell anyone yeah yeah I slept with a Flintstone night night until I was 18. but I did and here's the reason why it was because I was afraid of the dark but one of my sister's favorite things to do would be whenever I'd be in my room just kind of chilling and going on my 40-day fast and praying unto the Lord and reading my Bible for 10 hours a day they would come in and interrupt my communion with the Lord by turning out my lights in my room and immediately something very interesting would begin to happen the moment that it became dark in my room my first response when I was surrounded by Darkness was to begin to feel for something more specifically I would begin to feel after and I wasn't just feeling for some random thing I was feeling for something very specific I was feeling for the light where's the switch where where is the thing that can turn the lights back on in this place because here's the thing our innate response as human beings to Darkness is to begin to feel for the light can I tell somebody in this room it is dark in our world and I'm not just referencing sin although sin is certainly the root cause of this Darkness but more specifically I'm referring to the heaviness that blankets our world the heaviness that sometimes blankets our families the fear the worry the hopelessness the anxiety people are despondent and detached and our world is in a dense deep state of Darkness but can I preach to somebody in this room as dark as it may be it is that very darkness that causes for people to feel it is that darkness that awakens a sense that otherwise might be overlooked or pushed aside when it's dark we begin to search for a solution to illuminate the black when it's dark our emotions and our senses are awakened and we begin to think there's got to be more to life than this when it's dark our feelings come alive and we begin to Hope and to pray that somewhere in the midst of the incessant Blackness there's got to be a hope and can I preach to somebody on a Sunday morning there is a hope and that hope it's none other than Jesus Christ Our Lord I've come to tell somebody there is hope in the midst of a Dark World there is still hope for your family there is still hope for your marriage there is still hope for your home I don't care what the enemy says I don't care how dark It Gets You When sin does abound Grace does much more abound oh I've come to preach to somebody it is that same darkness that will cause for God to be revealed in a way that he otherwise could not be revealed in your life can I remind someone this morning that Jesus is that like come on the lord it's my light and my salvation Whom Shall I Fear the Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid when the wicked even my enemies and my foes Came Upon me to eat up my flesh they stumbled and fell though a hosted in camper against me my heart shall not fear the war should rise up against me and this will I be confident that there is a light that I said I'm not afraid I know the world is dark I know the world is hopeless but I have a hope Beyond this world I have a god Beyond this world come on somebody here I wonder right now if you would give God praise if you got hope in this place come on Jesus said I am the light of the world I know the world might be dark I know it might be dense but in the midst of the darkness if you will feel after me I will be there I preached to somebody right now who's in darkness you don't have to remain in that Darkness to some family that feels like is hopeless and it's over can I tell you if you'll begin to feel after him began to illuminate the darkness around you can I just remind us that we have what the world is looking for can I tell you people are looking for what you have I know right now it might not seem like they're looking for anything but I I believe with all of my heart that they are looking for something because it's dark outside they're feeling for something don't you get so accustomed to what you have don't you get so accustomed to what we experience that you forget how precious it is that we get to experience the presence of God there is somebody in this world right now that would pay good money just to have the sense of hope and relief that you have come on so many times we can get so accustomed to the presence of the Lord so accustomed to the light that we live in that we forget it was him that brought us out of Darkness into it can I tell somebody the reason that we worship the reason that we praise is because we were hopeless we didn't have any hope but he brought us out you have with the world is looking for we'll have what the world wants it's the light it's not the money it's not the fame it's not the highest it's not another drug it's not another pill it's not another moment fleeting moment but it's it's Jesus he's the only thing that can satisfy our souls when it's dark we begin to long to feel for something and it is that longing and that desire to feel something that connects us to God in a way that otherwise would not be possible see here's the truth of the matter God made us with feelings in my feelings is where I experience God but here's the thing about feelings God isn't the only one who can cause you to feel things and experience things he isn't the only one that is able to affect your feelings yes he is the only one that can ultimately illuminate the dark but can I tell you he isn't the only one that is able to get us to a place where we begin to feel things can I tell you that that that that that there are other things that influence how we feel I remember growing up and going to Youth Camp and when I figured out that feelings were powerful I was about the age of 10 and me and my friend William Jones were at Youth Camp and we realized that we were not too particularly afraid of talking to to young ladies now some of y'all are judging me really hard right now oh my brother James was a player from the days of his youth no I was not quite the contrary actually I'm an entrepreneur brother Carpenter and I thought my goodness there is a there is a there is a industry here at Youth Camp untap potential here so me and my friend William man these these guys they don't know how to talk and and and they are so in their feelings that for 25 cents I bet you we could charge them to hook them up with their Camp girlfriends so we went into business for 25 cents we can hook you up man yeah we got you covered bro you can switch name tags and do everything that you do some of my Youth Camp Gorge you know what I'm talking about switching the name tags and all that and for 25 cents business was booming brother Zach I mean we were hooking them up left and right it was awesome there was this one guy I remember he was trying to he was trying to get hooked up with this red-headed girl I remember and and we thought bro she's way out of your league like this is that tough tough case like I don't know we said listen here's what we'll do for you we will hook you up with her for 50 cents and those shades on your head he was like really I was like yeah really bro I mean do you want the girl or not he said ah I said okay gave us the shades we're looking at like oh my goodness he actually did it I can't believe it you know everything was great until my mom found out and when she found out she cornered both William and I what are you got you are here for God here you guys are hooking people up for money that's not why you're here I mean we got in some good trouble that day but we realized that feelings are powerful I'm going somewhere I promise I'm going somewhere feelings are powerful and you know it's not only the people around us that have access to our feelings it's not only those that we are our friends and people that we are close to and our family members that have access to our feelings and can affect our feelings adversely but can I tell you the enemy also has access to our feelings and can I tell you it is the enemy's desire to try to manipulate your feelings to get you to miss out on everything that God has for you the enemy understands if I can get them to feel very strongly about something if I can get them to feel very strongly about what they're going through in their life if I can get them to feel if and I can get them to a place it's where they no longer will fill after God you say brother James how can you say that can I tell you in Psalms 143 the Bible lets us know that there is a man that is crying out unto God the psalmist says he's he's crying out to God and in Psalms 143 he says it this way hear my prayer O Lord give ear to my supplications in thy faithfulness answer me and in thy righteousness man that sounds like a desperate prayer why is he so desperate why is he trying to get a hold of God skipping down the verse number three he says Lord this is why I'm praying and crying the way that I am because the enemy hath persecuted my soul he has smitten my life down to the ground he hath made me to dwell in darkness as those that have been long dead therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me and my heart within me is desolate can I tell you the enemy had led this man down into darkness that is the plan of the enemy you wonder why the world has gotten so dark can I tell you why the enemy has caused for this to happen the enemy has has come into this world God has allowed it but the enemy has come and it's called for this world to get dark and dense and hopeless and can I tell you the reason why he's allowed it to get to this place so that when we're in the darkness and we begin to do what we normally would do in the darkness and begin to feel after something and after we feel and we can't find a thing that ultimately can satisfy our soul because we're feeling after the wrong thing at that point we become overwhelmed and become numb the Bible says in another translation this very same passage of scripture therefore my spirit is overwhelmed and weak within me and my heart grows numb within me can I tell somebody in this room that is what we are facing as a generation and as a world we are facing people that are so surrounded by darkness that the enemy has caused to come into their life and into their families that in that Darkness they begin to do what we naturally and normally do they begin to feel after things because can I tell you that's our innate response to Darkness is to begin to feel but can I tell somebody it's the enemy's desire that we will begin to feel after the wrong things we begin to fill out their things that cannot satisfy you we begin to feel after things that can ultimately not bring us satisfaction can I tell you there is a great danger and feeling after things when those things that we feel after are not ultimately the things that can satisfy our soul and the Bible says that this man has done this the enemy has led him down into darkness he says the enemy has led me down to a dark place and in my dark place I begin to feel overwhelmed he says I'm over stimulated anxiety is all around me I'm on edge the darkness is inescapable so I'm feeling a I just want to feel something that would get me out of the darkness but after feeling after so many things that could ultimately not satisfy the Bible says that this man says Lord I I'm feeling because I can't find anything and ultimately because I can't find what can Satisfy My Soul I become frustrated and he says you know what God my heart has become desolate and I've become numb and I'm just sitting down in the darkness can I tell you that is the plan of the adversary for every one of us for every one of our families the reason that the world has gotten as dark as it is is because the enemy would hope for every one of us that we will let the darkness cause us to feel after things in our life that ultimately will not satisfy and if he can get us to feel after those things ultimately we will become frustrated and decide you know what I just won't feel at all can I tell you that's why some people can come into the house of God where his presence is and not feel anything that's why some people can come into the presence of God where his glory is and not feel anything can I tell you why it's because we felt after so many things that cannot satisfy and our spirit has become numb but can I preach to somebody and the Holy Ghost this morning and tell you you are it's time to start feeling after God again come on somebody here I know that we love sports but Sports can't turn on the lights I know that we like money but Money Can't Turn On The Lights I'm not going to feel after those things I would not feel after that the only thing that could Satisfy My Soul is Jesus the only thing that could turn my family around is Jesus the only thing that can lift my family out of that dark addiction is Jesus the only thing that could turn my life around it's Jesus therefore I will feel after him I will search after him and I will find him there have been people for so long that have left that Apostolic Pentecostals because we're people of emotion people are feeling but can I tell you there is nothing wrong with getting emotional in the presence of God because when you get emotional in the presence of God you begin to experience his presence when you begin to worship and praise and magnify the Lord that's when you begin to turn on the lights in your life come on I'm not going to give more of my emotion to sports than I do to God I'm not going to feel more after a video game students than I do my God I'm not going to give more time to social media than I do to my God but this is the place where I'm going to feel this is the place where I'm going to worship with abandonment this is the place because when I feel after him oh somebody worship him right now because Shonda can I tell you what's going to turn on the lights for you it's when you get to a place where you say God I need you I need you in my family I know my family is hopeless right now I know we're going through some tough times but God we feel after you I shout I feel something in this room right now I want you to continue to pray for a few more moments I feel the Holy Ghost foreign we're not crazy for being we're not crazy for being people of emotion and feeling people that are not ashamed to worship and praise God I know the world can look at us crazy but here's the thing about it I have hope in this place I I have freedom in this place this is the place where where the lights have been turned up I wonder if there would be somebody that would just think back to where you were before God found you think back to the darkness that you were in before the presence of God found you some of us have forgotten we don't praise like we used to we don't get in our emotions like we used to we don't worship and cry in the presence of God like we used to but can I remind you of where you were you were in the darkness feeling after all other types of things and it didn't satisfy you but when you stepped in the presence of An Almighty God and begin to weep and cry at an ultra of repentance that's when the lights came on in your life that's when everything changed it was the power of Jesus I won't be afraid to worship him with all of my heart I won't be afraid to worship him with all of my mind I won't be afraid to cry at an altar of repentance because when I feel after him I wonder right now somebody would just feel after God for your family right now I wonder somebody will just begin I know it seems hopeless right now I know what it's like to have unsafe family and unsafe loved ones but I've come to preach to somebody in the Holy Ghost it is not over for your family it is come on but you got to feel after God he's the only one that can bring them out of that Darkness he's the only one that can bring them out of that foreign I know you might feel overwhelmed by the darkness right now I know some of you are struggling with numbness because you've been in the Darkness at the adversary has led you to but I remember a passage of scripture that says when my heart is overwhelmed when I'm numb in my spirit when I can't feel God lead me to the rock that is higher than I lead me to the god that is greater than me leave me to the place that I could even to the place where I can feel him we find and I'm hurrying to a close in our scripture text we find Paul Bible lets us know that he's on Mars Hill Paul is standing in a very dark place Bible lets us know that standing before him are the stoics and the epicureans if you study into who they are and I don't profess to be some Bible scholar I'm sure brother Zach and brother Carpenter brother Nolan brother Erickson preached this way better than me but as they're standing there at Mars Hill standing before Paul is the stoics and the epicureans and if you'll study into who these groups of people are they are people that have Arisen to a mental Ascent in their mind to where emotions and feelings are looked down upon as irrelevant are as simplistic and here Paul is standing in front of these men and Paul in this dark place begins to preach unto them the word of the Lord and the Bible lets us know that Paul begins to declare unto them that I understand that you are feeling after things in your life he begins to tell them you you've made this inscription to the unknown God you've built statues and altars and things that you're going to worship this unknown God you've been led to a dark place and you've been feeling after God in this dark place and you have not found him and because you have not found him you have become numb you know how I know this because we if if we study into what the stoics are that's literally what they are they're people that have in their minds risen to this mental Ascent to where they look down upon feelings they frown upon feelings I'm better than you because I don't get in my feelings I'm better than you because feelings are just foolishing and and feeling after things like that are full we've tried everything we felt after every other God we felt after every other thing and it did not satisfy you we felt in the darkness and nothing worked so you know what we're going to do we're going to do what the psalmist did we're gonna just sit down in this darkness and become numb Paul is preaching to a bunch of very numb people he's preaching to a bunch of people that are done with God they're done with religion the darkness has permeated their heart and their lives and they've made a decision God is hopeless it's over for my family I've tried to figure it out I've tried to feel after God I've tried to get revelation of who God is but I can't do it therefore I'm done I'm done I'm done and in the midst of this type of climate Paul steps up and begins to preach hope to them and he begins to tell them Stokes and epicureans I know you've been feeling after things and it has not satisfied you but can I just assure you if you will feel one more time after the one thing that you should be feeling after that something will begin to happen in your life and he begins to tell them that this God that that we've been talking about he's is not very far from you listen to what he says in verse number 27 he says if you really want to experience God the first thing that you have to do is you have to begin to seek after the Lord you have to begin to seek after God he says if you begin to seek after him if happily they might feel after him he says stoics epicureans I know you think that feelings are irrelevant can I tell you that's the that's the world that we're living in right now people who frown upon religion frown upon what we're doing here in this place we've gotten too smart for God we've Arisen to this mental ascent to where people look at who and what we are and how we worship and how we praise and how we magnify the name of God they begin to look at us as if we're crazy or foolish for what we're doing but but Paul stands before those of Mars Hill he says the very thing that you think that you should not do the very thing that you've decided in your heart and in your mind you'll never do again because you think you've tried it all you think you know it all the Bible says they would come there and they would always be talking about something new and they had developed this calloused heart and and I know we've been feeling after many types of things we've we know all there is to know there's no way that this God that this Jesus could be what we're looking for but Paul says I assure you if you will begin to feel after him again I can I tell you you will find him can I tell somebody the key to the darkness being illuminated in your life is for you to begin to feel after God again I didn't say for you to feel God I said for you to begin to feel after God because for some of us when we begin to feel after God and after 10 minutes of filling after God when we don't feel him we deal with the stoics and the epicureans do we say I guess God just doesn't care about us and so we're just going to sit down in the darkness and become numb but can I tell somebody even when you cannot feel him there ought to still be a determination in your heart that would say I will still feel after him I might not feel him moving in my family but that will not stop me from feeling after him I might not feel him moving in my life but that will not stop me from even when I do not feel him I will feel after him even when I do not see him I will feel after him even when it seems hopeless I'm still going to feel after him because Paul says this contrary to what the world might tell you contrary to what Society might tell you contrary to what people who seem to be so much smarter might tell you Paul says he is not far from any one of us see the reason why you can't feel any more Stokes and epicureans is because you think he's far from you you might think there is a God but you don't think that he's close enough for you to experience him you might think that there is a God but you don't think he cares enough about your family to bring them out of the darkness you might think there is a God but that God doesn't care enough about Mia to get it intimately involved in my life but Paul says if you feel after him can I preach a word of Hope to you he is not far from anyone of us I've come to preach to somebody's family that's struggling with the dictionary he's not very far from you I've come to preach to somebody's black backslidden baby he's not very far from them come on keep praying keep fasting keep believing keep trusting her the devil is a liar he's closer than you think he's close out the mention of his name you just gotta feel after him again he's close he's closer than you think the enemy's life that he would like to tell you is that God does not care about you the enemy's life that he would like to tell you is in the year 2022 is too dark God can reach you but Paul says if you feel uh if you'll get in your feelings uh if you'll push if you'll press if you press through the pain and pray at six a.m if you'll press through the pain and Pastor well you don't feel like fasting I promise you he's not far from you I promise you he will come through he's a yellow bus shut I feel the Holy Ghost right now I've come to tell somebody Deliverance is coming healing is coming up freedom is coming is coming you just have to feel after God again I pray for 30 years God and nothing's happened I'm just going to sit down in the darkness and come numb I'm just going to sit down in the darkness and quit praying and quit fasting I'll come to church but I'm not going to worship like I used to I'm just going to be numb I'll come to church but I'm going to pray like I used to I'm just going to be I've tried everything that I could try I prayed every prayer that I can pray I've done everything that I can do and nothing's work but I've come to tell somebody he's not very far from you he might be that very next prayer that you pray that lifts your family out of that addiction it might be the he's here I said he's here he's here he's here you just gotta feel after him I will not become numb in my spirit I will not become numb in my heart lift up your voice right now I feel the Holy Ghost I know I feel forsaken in the darkness right now but you're here I know I feel forsaken in thy world right now but you're closer than I think you are I know I feel forsaken I know I feel holy but you're not very far from any one of us and the enemy can convince you that God is far from you he can get you to sit down in the darkness and become numb and when you're numb you're at a place to where you can no longer feel after God but Paul says if you can Just Awaken something in your mind in your heart and begin to feel after God again he says he's not very far Paul says you're going to find him you're going to find him for in him we we live and we move it we have our he's all around us he's he's he's he's omnipotent he's omniscient he's omnipresent he's everywhere at once and even though you can't feel him right now that's not me but he's not there you just have to feel after him again I want you to come to I want you to stand I'm coming to a close huh there's Restoration in the house this morning Hey listen I know what it's like I I have sisters that grew up in truth that are no longer living for God there are times I don't feel like praying because you know quite honestly Pastor Carpenter I feel like I've prayed every prayer I can pray I feel like I've fasted as much as I can pass I feel like I've done everything that I can do and my tendency in the darkness that I'm facing is say you know what God I'm just done I'm done if you haven't moved by now I guess you're not going to move if you haven't Minister by now I guess you're not going to minister but I've determined in my heart and in my life that no matter what it takes I will not quit feeling after him I may not feel him all the time but I don't need to feel him to feel after him I don't need to see any hope for me to pray on my knees and seek the face of God I don't need to see any light for me to still have faith to believe that one day God is going to do the impossible in my life I was in Illinois preaching at a church I believe it was earlier this year there was a young lady and the altar that came up to me and she said brother James she said I want you to come over I was on this side of the church she said I want you to come over and I want you to go pray for this girl in the front row she said she's my friend from school and last Sunday was her very first time in an Apostolic Church she said I just I want you to go pray for her so I went over to where she was I introduced myself to her she told me her name and immediately after telling me her name she looked back at me with fire in her eyes young girl probably no older than 15 or 16 years of age iron eyes she said brother James she said why can't I feel anything it startled me it was just such hunger such boldness for a young lady to at such a young age say why can I feel anything and it I I got to be honest it it startled me it took me a bat because she was so passionate about it like if this is real then I I ought to be feeling something by now but if I I'm getting ready to walk out of this place because if this is a hoax I'm out I'm not here to play games I'm not here to just kind of go through the motions I need to feel something I remember looking at her and the Holy Ghost just helped me in that moment I said young lady I said I cannot tell you why you aren't feeling anything right now I said but this I do know if you'll begin to lift up your hands and worship and praise God can I tell you that God is not very far from you and God will touch your life I cannot tell you when he will do it I cannot tell you how he will do it but what I can tell you is that he's not very far from you and if you'll lift up your hands and repent of your sins I'm telling you God will come down and right there in the front of that altar a young lady that had just come to church for the very first time a week ago with passion in her heart threw up her hands and to begin and begin to pray and seek after God and it wasn't five minutes later she was speaking in other tongues as God's spirit gave her the utterance for the very first time because you got to move past when you can't feel him you might not feel him working but if you feel after him sooner or later he will come through sooner or later he will touch he's real he's closer than you think you just gotta feel it for some of us it's been a long time since we've come to the altar and really just poured out our heart to God and just got vulnerable with God but I wonder right now if there is anybody that would come to the front this altar say God for my family for my home I'm going to feel after you again I know on the outside everybody thinks I got it all together and that that I'm here every but but God underneath all of the oh underneath all of that I'm really numb underneath all of that I've really quit believing that you can do the impossible in my life but God I'm going to give you a chance I'm going to give you a chance and God even though I cannot feel you I'm going to come to the front and I will feel after you again can I tell every single person that's going to come and do that he is closer than you think he is he's in this room right now I said he's in this room right now I feel the unction of the Holy Ghost I feel the power and the spirit of God in this room young man I know the world would try to tell you that God isn't real I know a secular society would tell you that this is just a whole bunch of baloney that this isn't real but I've come to tell you the devil is a liar this is real he's closer than you think you just gotta feel after him again lift up your voice right now oh God touch our families Lord some people are tired right now and they don't know that they don't know if you're there God but remind them that you're you're still there remind them that you still care about their homes remind them that you still care about their marriages remind them that you still care about their lost loved ones remind them God you're closer than they really think you are I just gotta feel after you again