Apostle Michael Orokpo has called for Christians to shift from just knowing about God to truly experiencing His presence. In a powerful address, he spoke about the need to move past doctrinal teachings and enter into a deeper spiritual reality.
“We are in the internet generation. When you go online, you’ll see thousands of messages, pastors battling pastors, claiming superiority. But that’s not what it’s about. It’s time to go back and check the errors of our fathers,” he said, criticizing the rise of shallow online religious debates that often lack genuine spiritual substance.
He further emphasized that spiritual maturity requires three vital components: “Accurate doctrine, sound character, and the demonstration of power.” According to him, without the demonstration of God’s power in one’s life, faith is incomplete. “If all we have is doctrine, we are babies in the spirit. Doctrine alone doesn’t give life. You need to experience the spirit,” he added.
Quoting John 3:6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit,” he stressed the importance of moving from merely knowing spiritual concepts to living and operating in the Spirit. He referenced 1 Corinthians 15:45-49, where Paul talks about the transition from the natural to the spiritual, asserting that true faith must evolve from knowledge to a lived experience.
He also criticized the tendency to focus too much on “stories” about God without true personal encounters. “We have too many stories, but we have little experience. The apostles replicated what they had seen and heard. They didn’t just talk about God—they handled Him,” he remarked, noting that without personal experiences, faith is fragile and easily shaken.
He concluded, “Faith cannot be a mere story told to you. There must come a point when it moves from being a teaching to an experience. When you encounter God yourself, that’s when you know you’ve truly entered the life of the spirit,” urging Christians to seek a transformative, direct relationship with God through spiritual encounters.
