JE NE SAIS MAIS DIEU LE SAIT: L’IMPACT D’UNE EXPERIENCE SUBLIME AVEC DIEU / THE IMPACT OF A SUBLIME EXPERIENCE WITH GOD

CHRIST THE ROCK CONGREGATION
SUNDAY APRIL 3^RD 2022
Sermon by Pastor Marc E Simeon

THE IMPACT OF A SUBLIME ENCOUNTER WITH GOD

                                            L’IMPACT D’UNE EXPÉRIENCE SUBLIME AVEC DIEU  

 (JE NE SAIS DIEU LE SAIT)

(I DO NOT KNOW BUT GOD KNOWS)

LECTURE: 2 COR 12: 1-5

1 ¶ Il faut se glorifier… Cela n’est pas bon. J’en viendrai néanmoins à des visions et à des révélations du Seigneur.

 2 Je connais un homme en Christ, qui fut, il y a quatorze ans, ravi jusqu’au troisième ciel (si ce fut dans son corps je ne sais, si ce fut hors de son corps je ne sais, Dieu le sait).

 3 Et je sais que cet homme (si ce fut dans son corps ou sans son corps je ne sais, Dieu le sait)

 4 fut enlevé dans le paradis, et qu’il entendit des paroles ineffables qu’il n’est pas permis à un homme d’exprimer.

 5 Je me glorifierai d’un tel homme, mais de moi-même je ne me glorifierai pas, sinon de mes infirmités.

2Co 12:1-5

1 ¶ It is doubtless not profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord:

 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago–whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows–such a one was caught up to the third heaven.

 3 And I know such a man–whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows–

 4 how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

 5 Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities.

INTRODUCTION

• The things that have galvanized my Christian experience the most are  the testimonies of the contemporary Saints, and my own encounters with God.
• Growing up my dad used to tell me some striking encounters with God throughout his life never knowing how they impacted my own faith.
• One of them was when while in the middle of an inundate river, he was losing his breath, unable to swim to shore. The last thing he remembered saying was “Save me God.”.
• He lost consciousness after that. A good while later, when he regained himself; to his amazement, he found himself on shore holding tightly to a branch.
• That is a definite “(Je ne sais, Dieu le sait)” experience.
• He has to this day no explanation or recollection on how he made it to shore.
• Did God embody him to swim on, he doesn’t know.
• Did an angel carry him to shore, he doesn’t know. « Je ne sais Dieu le sait. »
• These experiences are not aimless to the children of God.
• There will be times when God will decide to stay silent in your life.
• There will be times when you will be tempted to lose your faith in God by the disappointments in your life.
• Yet again, you would have to confront your unbelief because of those vivid personal encounters you had with God.
• After some personal experiences with God, you can never again deny His existence.
• When I go to the Bible, I am fascinated by the exploits of the great men of God.
• I would have loved to be there at the crossing of the Red Sea with the Children of Israel.
• I would have loved to experience the Shekinah glory of God at Mount Sinai; to see the trembling mountain, the heavenly fireworks, and the sounds of the trumpets.
• I would have loved to be Prophet Elisha’s servant, to exploit the great faith of that mighty man of God.
• I would have loved to be there at Mount Carmel when the fire of the Lord consumed the sacrifice at the noonday hour.
• I would have loved to be there when Joshua asked the sun to stand still over (Gabaon)
• Jos 10:12 Alors Josué parla à l’Éternel, le jour où l’Éternel livra les Amoréens aux enfants d’Israël, et il dit en présence d’Israël: Soleil, arrête-toi sur Gabaon, Et toi, lune, sur la vallée d’Ajalon!
• 13 Et le soleil s’arrêta, et la lune suspendit sa course, Jusqu’à ce que la nation eût tiré vengeance de ses ennemis. Cela n’est-il pas écrit dans le livre du Juste? Le soleil s’arrêta au milieu du ciel, Et ne se hâta point de se coucher, presque tout un jour.
• I would have loved to be in the prayer meeting when Peter knocked at the door in the wee hours of the night to recount of his miraculous rescue from prison by an angel.
• I would have loved to be among the many who witnessed the ascension of Jesus to heaven as the clouds swallowed Him from the sights of His beloved disciples.
• I would have loved to be among the 120 in the upper room when the Holy Spirit descended from heaven.
• Or among the pilgrims who heard the Gospel being preached in their native language on the day of Pentecost.
• I use my active imagination to recreate the scene, but I may be way off base as far as the actual scene is concerned.
• God knows that the Christian faith would not be able to be generated solely on account of what transpired to the saints some 2000 years ago; He continues to pour our lives with unexplainable wonders. Bur are we paying attention?
• Authentic faith demands that we should have our own testimonies in our own times just as the early saints.
• If God is the same yesterday, today and forever, that means God is still doing wondrous works as we speak.
• Most of us are so off-key to even notice the mighty interventions of God in our daily lives.
• Sometimes we credit coincidence and blind chances for God’s operation.

THE POWER OF A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH GOD

• The deeper one gets in the Bible, the more complex it can become to relate to God.
• You can end up summarize God as one who was active at some point in time in history, but who later walked away to let the world run in its own.
• What really anchors our faith is our personal encounter with God.
• The answered prayers
• There are miraculous provisions received at a critical moment in your life.
• The different favors that God spills on your path.
• The miraculous healings
• The prophetic visions that you’ve received from God over the years.
• As much as I love the biblical characters, I would not be in the faith today solely on the account of their personal experiences with God.
• When you never have a personal encounter with God, you will tend to believe everything the commentators of the Bible tell you.
• They will tell you the prophetic gift was for the first Century church and you will believe.
• They will tell you that the visions have ceased and you will believe it until God begins to give you your own prophetic visions.
• They will tell you that the miracles have been limited to the era of the first Apostles and you will believe it until you witness a miracle with your own eyes.
• Once you have a personal encounter with God, it will flip most bible commentary books upside down.
• Paul had several personal experiences with God to last him for a lifetime.
• How he became saved on the Road of Damascus was one of them.
• How he recovered his sights was another one of them.
• How he came back to live after some severe beatings was one of them.
• But the one encounter that Paul championed the most was his vision of heaven.
• The vision remained fresh in the psyche of Paul as long as he lived.
• The vision was so glorious that it could burst anyone to pride.

THE GLORIOUS VISION OF PAUL 

2 Co 12 :2-4

2 Je connais un homme en Christ, qui fut, il y a quatorze ans, ravi jusqu’au troisième ciel (si ce fut dans son corps je ne sais, si ce fut hors de son corps je ne sais, Dieu le sait).

 3 Et je sais que cet homme (si ce fut dans son corps ou sans son corps je ne sais, Dieu le sait)

 4 fut enlevé dans le paradis, et qu’il entendit des paroles ineffables qu’il n’est pas permis à un homme d’exprimer.

2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven.

 3 And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—

 4 how he was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

• Fourteen after the vision, Paul was still able to quote with precision the minutest details of the vision.
• The third heaven is where the throne of God is.
• It is a physical and spiritual location at the same time.
• It is a place of glory that is beyond the scope of human imagination.
• Only a few human beings have been invited there by special privileges.
• The rest of us Christians will see it after the rapture.
• Some have had the privilege to behold the New Jerusalem that will decent on earth like a flying planet.
• Some people have had near death experiences and in the process they were accessed to visit the third heaven.
• The vision was so graphic and so vivid that Paul remained baffled long after the encounter.
• Paul could not tell you what happened to his body.
• I was there for sure, but as far as my body, “I do not know but God knows.”
• Paul heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

PRIDE AND HEAVENLY EXPERIENCES

2Co 12:7 Et pour que je ne sois pas enflé d’orgueil, à cause de l’excellence de ces révélations, il m’a été mis une écharde dans la chair, un ange de Satan pour me souffleter et m’empêcher de m’enorgueillir. (LSV)

 7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. (NKJV)

• These experiences are rare because they often produce the wrong result.
• We are too bent to become boastful when God elevates us.
• God becomes very selective to grant visiting visa to his throne because of pride.
• Paul had to be released to Satan to be tormented in the flesh so that he could not be boastful.
• God would rather add grace in the life of Paul instead of removing whatever the scorn in his body was.

POSITIVE EFFECTS OF THE HEAVENLY EXPERIENCES

• Unshakable and unwavering faith in God.
• A God centered worldview
• An antidote against doubt
• A testimony to build yours and others’ faith.
• An authentication of the revealed truth.
• A chance to escape for the earthly realm where the devil rules to a kingdom of love and glory where the will of God is the single order. 

CONCLUSION       

• You can ask God for your own “[Je ne sais Dieu le sais]” experience.
• Example of when I felt lifted from my bed in a nightmarish experience with the devil because I refuse to adore a statute in my dream.
• As two laser beams coming from the eyes of the idol began to harass me, I sensed the hands of God lifted me from the bed.
• After some fifteen minutes or so, I also felt the gentle hands laying me back to my bed.
• The experience was more than real to me; I was so mesmerized by it that I cannot fully explain the phenomenon up to this day.  
• I’ve had those vivid dreams also that left me speechless.
• From time to time God would allow me to see some details concerning the future via dreams and visions.
• While all hell can break loose on me to wipe away my faith, some encounters with God cannot be deleted from my memory.
• I may not understand God at times, but I can never deny His existence because my close encounters with Him since my childhood.
• You need to write those dreams down and date them in a notebook or computer.
• One of those testimonies may be used to ignite the faith of an unbeliever and quench the doubt out of some Thomas.
• A Thomas is a follower of God who doesn’t fully believe in God to the letter.
• May God seal your faith with many “je ne sais, Dieu le sait” experiences.

  Ps 116: 3-4, 8-9

3 Les liens de la mort m’avaient environné, Et les angoisses du sépulcre m’avaient saisi; J’étais en proie à la détresse et à la douleur.

 4 Mais j’invoquai le nom de l’Éternel: O Éternel, sauve mon âme!

 8 Oui, tu as délivré mon âme de la mort, Mes yeux des larmes, Mes pieds de la chute.

 9 Je marcherai devant l’Éternel, Sur la terre des vivants.        

AMEN!