Herds are encompassed by “them” and “they”: key players who have an intense sense of belonging, which causes them to plant seeds of strife, envy, war, and condemnation. When we as believers encounter the herd, sometimes it’s in our best interest to emulate the behavior of Jesus and remain silent. We stay quiet during this time of conviction, realizing “them” and “they” were once “us.” Had Jesus not stooped down and reached for us, we’d be lost. We must be strong enough to bear the infirmities of the weak, drop our rocks, and restore others as we consider ourselves.
[Music]
chapter 8 of the Gospel of st. John
verse 3 through 12 glory to God
if it had not been for the Lord that was
on my side where would I be Lord we
think and the scribes and Pharisees
brought them to him a woman taken in
adultery and when they had set her in
the midst they say unto Him master this
woman was taken in adultery in the very
act now Moses in the law commanded us
that such should be stoned but what
sayeth thou this they said tempting him
that they might have to accuse him but
Jesus stooped down and with his finger
wrote on the ground and so he heard them
not so when they cut so when they so
when they can so when they continued
asking him he lifted up himself and said
unto them he that is without sin among
you let him cast a stone at her and
again he stooped down the road on the
ground and they somebody say they which
heard it being convicted by their own
conscience went out one by one beginning
of the eldest even unto the last and
Jesus was left alone and the woman
standing in the midst when Jesus had
lifted up himself and saw none but the
woman he said in her woman
where are those thine accusers have no
man condemned thee she said no man Lord
and Jesus said unto her neither do i
condemn thee go and sin no more
then jesus said speak Jesus again unto
them saying I am the light of the world
he that followeth me shall not walk in
darkness but shall have the light of
Life I want you to look at this from a
different perspective in verse 3 it says
the scribes and the Pharisees brought
unto him a woman this crowd of people
that thereafter is referred to as they
and them they and them as always
have you noticed that that it’s always a
vein and a dim I want to talk to you
this morning from the subject don’t run
with the herd don’t run with the herd
don’t run with the herd let’s pray for a
moment father I thank you for what
you’re about to do in the midst of your
people as I’ve opened up the book to
share with them what you have planted
down inside of me let the word be made
flesh while it’s being preached today
let it give seed to the sower and bread
to the inger I think here in advance for
what you’re going to do in Jesus name we
pray
somebody shout a man you may be seated
in the presence of God yeah let’s go to
work I want to take just a moment and
began this sermon this morning by
talking about what a hard job it is to
to be a mission to be a bishop is to be
a pastor of pastors I thought that
pastoring pastors might be easier
did past three people but little did I
realize that pastoring pastors is often
more difficult than pastoring people
because when people have problems they
have it unto themselves and it’s
generally a family matter or a personal
issue or a struggle that they have that
only their kin come in contact with
but when leaders have problems you have
to deal with thay and then and then them
are really hard to deal with I stepped
into a particular situation where a
pastor had fallen into error it’s not
error but sin and made a mistake and I
came into the room with the leadership
of that church and they were upset they
were really upset they were hurt and
they were angry and they were upset and
I pulled up a chair and sat in the front
of the room and let them talk and they
talked and they cried at me first
because see there is a mechanism that is
natural for the parent to correct the
child there is not a mechanism that is
natural for the child to correct the
parent so so there’s chaos that breaks
out and part of the chaos is due from
the fact that we deify leaders
robbing them of their humanity we expect
them to be more than us we build them up
to a high place and then kill them for
not living up to the place we put them
not realizing that they are but clay
like us that’s why you ought not let
people worship you they can appreciate
you and admire you but don’t worship you
because we’re not God finally after
about an hour or so of going on maybe
longer than that and by this time people
were falling out and crying and grabbing
my leg and tearing on I said wait a
minute I understand the trauma I
understand being hurt I understand being
upset I understand the young people
being hurt and disappointed because they
haven’t lived long enough to understand
life I said but some of you are gray as
me and it is impossible to get this
grade
and not encountered failure and then I
went on and said look back old man
you owe now but look back look back it’s
funny how we we we judge people but
vindicate ourselves and and I want to
talk about that for you to begin to
think about what happens it’s it’s it’s
a what they call sociologists called a
herd mentality that when people start
reacting in a certain way and it gained
some momentum other people just jump on
facts become irrelevant truth becomes a
sad object out of the way people just
get on you see it on social media all
the time you get people fear is don’t
even know what we furious about this
tweeting and all of a sudden is trending
on Twitter that’s trending here is
trending it’s trending it’s a mob and
you can jump in a mob real quick you can
become a part of a herd real quick
because I want I want to show you
because I know you think you’re in an
individual and unique and that you never
get caught up in herds or posses or
gains or boosts but there are all kinds
of little herds that exists in your
office there are herds yeah in fact if
you don’t join the click the club the
herd sometimes there are little ways
that they have what we would call
throwing shade at you because you are
not one of the day or the vent they’ll
punish you
for thinking for having your own mind
for having your own opinion they’ll
punish you for waiting on the facts
they’ll punish you for waiting to know
the truth a case came up recently and
and everybody was in an uproar about it
and I happen to know somebody who was
investigating the case from the inside
and I talked to them I said how much of
what we read in the press is true to the
evidence you have gathered I think they
said something like 60% I said well I
think I’m gonna wait before I jump into
that I want to see what that other 40%
might be but there is a tendency to be
quick and jump in the day into them
that’s what’s wrong with our our media
today give me just a moment I’m gonna
get there see when we used to have the
six o’clock news
you had 24 hours to better story but now
that we got a 24 hour news cycle it’s a
race to get the story out there quicker
than the opposing news group and so
sometimes in the process of being the
first one to get it out you don’t get to
vet it and once you did invent it it has
already infected the public and then you
have what is called a senior editor who
is deciding what stories are going to be
published if what’s not going to be
published and whatever gets the highest
ratings gets the coverage any time you
see the news stay on a particular
subject is because the ratings are up if
the ratings would drop they would change
that story right away
and so in the process of getting the
ratings hi give me a minute so that they
can charge more for the advertising time
we are constantly being infected and
affected to be at war with each other
and and each group is telling the other
group how they are and pretty soon we
jump on the bandwagon this is not new
this this is a human proclivity and it
is rooted in the fact that that we all
want to be accepted we all want to fit
in we all it is a natural proclivity to
want to belong to be a part it’s not
it’s not natural to like to be
disconnected we like to be like we like
to be included we like to be long and so
even though peer pressure is a term that
we use for young people peer pressure
continues all in your life if you know
if you don’t say this you’re not truly
conservative and you know say this we’re
not gonna let you be a liberal if we
don’t say this you you’re not really
truly Baptist if you don’t say this
you’re not really truly Pentecostal if
you don’t do this is a real Catholic we
all want to belong if you don’t say this
is not really black you black but you my
black you know will burn your Black Card
every minute
I don’t know about other races I don’t
know whether they put y’all out they
will put us out this this propensity to
to to give in the day and the dam has
led to the suicide of children the
bullying of kids till they kill
themselves because a bunch of Posse got
together and started attacking a child
they don’t even know don’t have the
facts don’t know the person it just
becomes popular to dislike Suzy and now
we find Suzy dead with the belt wrapped
around her neck because they and them
and you can’t always get to see who
you’re they or their meanness because
sometimes they will call you like their
concern
[Applause]
john-michael talk to me but in reality
they just want to get the scoop so that
they can take everybody yeah I got the
fax I’ll talk to it myself better than
so you don’t know because they and them
have spies
[Applause]
everybody from Sigmund frood all the way
to contemporary people have talked about
this propensity to do this
I mean Sigmund Freud – Malcolm Gladwell
Malcolm Gladwell’s our generation
Sigmund Freud is quite a bit before me
all of them – talked about this this is
not new my couple Gladwell talks about
it it’s a book called tribes they have
new names for it but being a part of the
herd is not new Sigmund Freud talks
about how we want to belong and we need
a sense of family because we were
birthed into a unit a group of people
with that that longing for inclusion
drives us to become a part of a gang
even if it means apartheid even if it
means slavery even if it means the
Holocaust even if it means snatching a
woman out of the bed they say she was
caught in the act of adultery and I
thought how did this many people
I mean I’m a grown man I understand why
a lad of three what that is and how that
might look like I just wondered all
these people got in the room they
emphasize is not just that we heard why
she was caught in the very act and by
the time they bring her to Jesus a mob
of people have interrupted Jesus service
to break in and say we caught this woman
in the very act of adultery we did we we
we caught her in the act of adultery
what are you going to do about it now
most of the time we focus on the woman
and there’s a lot to be said about this
woman because my second question is
come on down with your bro come on down
with ways to bang if we’re going to be
just if we’re going to execute justice
why is it that we have one standard for
the woman
and another standard for the men I’m not
gonna get into that y’all tell y’all
don’t want to talk about this this
message etic way in which we handle
genders is interesting here because the
she was caught in the act the brother
was released boys will be boys but the
woman is held to another it hard to be
held to another standard it’s kind of
unfair when two people do the same thing
but one person is handled differently
from the other person that’s what scares
me about people I would rather fall into
the hands of God then to fall into the
hands of people because at least God has
mercy once people decide that they’re
going to stall you very seldom will they
turn by once they decided they don’t
like you
[Applause]
so whoever caught her in the act
and snatched her out all of a sudden or
hard is building and I wondered what I
was preparing this message if there was
anybody else in here that could relate
to being attacked by heard people
attacking you you don’t even know why
they’re attacking you you just look
around
and you got a whole gang of people to
fight and they don’t even have all the
facts see the hard thing about being me
is sometimes I will have facts because I
know the inside story but I can’t defend
myself because if I defend myself I had
to divulge classified information
so my integrity necessitates my silence
and the herd gets to speak and I have to
be disciplined enough to hold my peace
because if I lose my integrity I can win
the fight but if I lose my integrity or
y’all don’t hear what I’m sayin to you
tax evaders say don’t run with the herd
whether hard made their mistake is that
they brought her
to Jesus if they wanted to be successful
they should have just told her where
they found her but they and them got
together the scribes and the Pharisees
they and them got together and brought
her to Jesus this of us agree me to
Jesus
bring me to Jesus don’t just bring me to
church bring me to Jean and concern
today brother palete I’m concerned
because a lot of people today don’t know
the difference between church and Jesus
they think conversion is coming to
church they came to charge but they
never come to Jesus so they never really
have a real relationship with Jesus
they’re just having an experience with
them and they don’t raise their hands
because they love the Lord they raise
their hands because everybody else is
they don’t say hallelujah because
they’re grateful they say hallelujah
because everybody on the row is
[Applause]
[Applause]
that they need to belong so they learn
the lingo and they learned in language
dr. James and after a while they shout
like I said they move like us and they
wave like us but down on the inside they
are none of us Paul said they came out
from us that it might be revealed that
they were not of us for had they been of
us they would have continued with us
over here well said
some people leaving you is a favour
because it is possible to be with us and
not be of us and eventually if you’re
not really of us you will give up on
being with us because you had a hidden
agenda all the while and as soon as I
don’t do what you want me to do now you
leave it you’re not leaving because I
didn’t do it you leave it because you
were not of us go ahead you better love
us no doubt you would have continued my
god I’m gonna get to by c/d myself are
you hearing what I’m saying to you they
brought this woman into it down at the
feet of Jesus and said the law of Moses
says that anyone caught in the act of
adultery should be stoned
not all of you that keep rightly saying
we are under the law
[Applause]
if we are still under the law you’re
asking for forgiveness is not enough
give me a rock let me bust your head
open because
if you really believe that you need to
eat up some of these rocks I’m getting
ready through because the law of Moses
said oh you’re quiet this morning
[Applause]
this they said not because not because
they were so moved by the atrocious
behavior of the victim no no no no no
they were just using her to tempt Jesus
to see if they could trip him up do you
not know that people will kill you after
somebody else that’s got nothing to do
with you if you fool around and get in
the wrong this woman is laying naked on
the floor clothes ripped and shredded
apart coming herself as best she can
humiliated and disgraced scandalized by
self-righteous indignant people she
dolls at any moment the rocks are going
to come sailing at her head she is not
oblivious to the fact that the customs
of the times allowed for Sterling’s
imagine being stoned imagine people
throwing stones at you lacerating your
skin and your flesh and blood coming
down out of your forehead until they
finally knock you down unconscious and
continue to throw rocks until they can’t
see you anymore
rumors are rocks
rumors of rocks and if enough people
throw them after while they can’t see
you anymore all they can see is what
they heard about you and every time you
spread the rumor you have joined the
herd every time you retweeted repost it
we texted you have joined the herd they
brought her to Jesus because the law
condemned her to be strong if Jesus says
no then he has not respected the law and
we are scale up under the law in the
Gospels we can’t be up under grace
because the New Testament cannot be
enforced until the testator dies the
testator’s are not dead so we can’t have
a new covenant
so once again the enemy is trying to
trap God using God against himself I
wish I had time this is not a new trick
this is an old trick that goes back to
the Garden of Eden where Satan gets
easier for take of the fruit and give it
to Adam and now what God hates and what
God loves is fused together if he saves
what he loves he’ll say what he hated if
he hates what he hates he’ll hate what
he loved salvation is always God’s
deliver the enemy cannot create anything
because he’s not a creator
so everything he’s doing to you has been
done before and now the pain are added
again don’t run with the herd this time
if Jesus says Moses was wrong
they’d say gotcha and if he agrees with
Moses the woman is dead that’s that’s
what leadership is hard decisions
faced with two opposing ideas if I do
this I’m gonna have this problem if I do
that I’m gonna have that problem and
many many times you have to find that
narrow alley in between the two to
survive write that down because you’re
gonna need that you got you you gotta
get past there and get past them without
killing you
that’s not always easy that’s not always
people always will tell you what to do
about the situation but it’s not always
easy to be you that’s why you can’t
listen at your girlfriend’s got your
girlfriend’s to lead you wrong all your
little single girlfriends tell you you
oughta leaving you ain’t got my back no
way shut up
everybody knows what you ought to do
about your situation and they can’t fix
their own situation don’t run with the
herd I will get good in a minute and
when they brought in Jesus and they
brought in there and said what says now
was so cool about Jesus is that he
didn’t say nothing he didn’t say
anything
instead he stripped down
and started writing in the dirt and he’s
doing it again Tina he’s doing what the
father did in the creation the first
time we see God doing anything in the
creation he is writing in the dirt he
has stooped down and start playing in
the dirt so when they think they have
Jesus trapped with their old trick he
uses his old tricks
he says how you won’t play the whole
game he said imma play the old game too
and he doesn’t answer them a word he
Stoops down and starts playing in the
dirt just playing in the dirt the power
of the text it’s not in the words of the
text it is in the silence of a master it
is it is his refusal to play their game
it is his courage to be different it is
his ability to be an individual and not
succumb to the requests of the herd it
is his ability to stand apart from the
rest and dare to be different in the
face of criticism in his his silence
that squeeze the loudest at me that
sometimes the best thing you can say to
an enemy is nothing at all
his silence speaks to me but his stupid
blows my mind because if his silence is
powerful
his stooping is even more powerful
because I mean a god that can stoop he
stooped down to something that couldn’t
come up
his steeping says to me how far God is
willing to go to get me that when I
couldn’t get up to him he came down to
me and he stooped down whoa
thank you for being the kind of God then
against your hands dirty
you surrounded by all these holy people
but their God is getting his hands dirty
you’re surrounded by all these righteous
people but Jesus has got his hand he
stooped down from eternity into time he
stooped down from the celestial to the
terrestrial he stooped down from angels
to be born in a manger he stooped down
from his omniscience and his
omnipresence down to be a man wrapped in
a clay bodyguard stooped down is the
Gospel story that’s why everybody who’s
ever been in adultery had ever been in
sin or ever been high or ever been drunk
or ever been nude or ever done something
indecent that’s why you ought to be
shouting
[Applause]
you ought to be shouting you ought to be
shouting because we’re not sagging a god
just so high then he won’t stoop you
ain’t got to tell your business but
touch your neighbor and tell him he
stood down for me
he stood down for me he stood down he
still down for me
he stood down for me he stood down for
me
he stood down for me he sit down for me
when I was in trouble he stooped down
for me when they were trying to kill me
he stood down for me when I was killing
myself he stooped down for me that’s why
I praise it that’s why I rejoiced that’s
why I give him the faith that’s why
[Applause]
I couldn’t reach him I couldn’t reach
him I couldn’t reach higher I didn’t
live good enough
I couldn’t pray long enough I couldn’t
walk straight enough I thought I’d never
be able to come up to your standard of
holiness and he said don’t worry about
it boy and he just
[Applause]
tell you later we got a stupid Jesus
here either stupid Jesus he’ll stoop
down for you
he’ll stoop down for you he’ll come
where you are he started he started
writing in the dirt
I could I could close right there
without a word he preached without a
word he arrested the enemy without a
word he rebuked Satan without a word he
stopped this cellar without a wine he
did it all in his silence and his stupid
and his silence he refused to join the
herd thank the Lord for not joining the
herd for not playing the game
for not meeting the vidiians so bad
that you want me you could have rocked
me because I was wrong see I can’t I
can’t say I wasn’t wrong and can’t say I
didn’t do it
what they said about me is true you you
couldn’t you could’ve thrown me but just
scoop down see we’ve lost the gospel we
still got chance but we lost the gospel
now we got people praise the God about
cars and stock market said new hacks and
new coal used to be we had people
praising God because he stooped down and
he look no and he saved me and he washed
me of the blood that is daddy’s sigasi
you hardly ever get a primer questioning
more from some mother praying that her
son would be saying what happened to us
oh they want prayer we need about to go
to jail he’s in trouble something like
it they don’t want prayer bad enough to
bring them to church till they get in
trouble cuz that’s an inconvenience now
they’re getting ready go to jail now
they want a letter from me a letter
written about a child I have never seen
because you didn’t want to wake Jimmy up
[Applause]
now they gonna wake him up every morning
at five o’clock
they’re gonna tell him when they eat
they’re gonna tell him when to go to the
bathroom they’re gonna tell him when he
could have a shower they’re gonna tell
him when he can see daylight
cuz you didn’t want to get him out of
the bed
come on somebody stats say that children
who are raised in church are 70% more
likely to become Christians when they’re
adults but if you act like it wasn’t
important when they was little now don’t
quote all in scriptures now that they go
into jail why would you scriptures
before
[Applause]
I don’t care how other people are
raising their kids
[Applause]
so Jesus he didn’t break the law
he didn’t tell him the law wasn’t good
he didn’t say the law wasn’t right he
didn’t say that the law was abolished or
that the law was over he just said he
added an addendum to the law and he said
he this without fault throw the first
one
there’s an important thing here because
if you stop the first one you stop at
all so he put the stipulation on the
first one he that’s without fault
amongst you cast the first stone and if
they can’t get the first one you can’t
get to the second one
he didn’t put a stipulation on the
second or the third is on the first so
if you stop it at the first you all have
to deal with the second or the third he
that’s without fault among you let him
cast the first stone and then it gets
good that’s that’s when it really gets
good because there are four points in
leapt out at me what one day they had
convicted her without a trial and
brought her up under condemnation but
they brought the condemned woman to
Jesus in whom there is no
there is no condemnation in Jesus so
they’re bringing condemnation – no
condemnation he didn’t come to condemn
he came the same they came to condemn
they came to kill and steal and destroy
that’s what they came to do but he came
that you might have and when Jesus stood
up and said he this without fault among
you cast the first stones and didn’t
even wait for them to respond stooped
again because once you plant the seeds
you gotta let the seed work and the
Bible says the next two words I’m going
to use is they were convicted they were
convicted while he’s writing because he
made them stop and think the difference
between intelligence and ignorance is
thinking
the one thing the herd will never want
you to do is think they want you to
follow but they don’t want you to think
they want you to him and take them but
they don’t want you to think they don’t
want you to think they want you to obey
but they don’t want you to think they
don’t want you to think and Jesus gave
them time to think he that’s without
fault among you let him catch the first
row and then they started remembering
see that’s what I meant when I was
telling old men I can understand the
young men being hurt cuz you have lived
long enough to see enough failure not to
be critical of judgment oh you think you
know everything but ain’t no way you
gonna hit this gray then you ain’t done
some stupid you know
I wish somebody over 50 would make some
noise at me to this age without doing
something stupid now you won’t fall out
on the floor and act shop like you have
never seen what you have likely done if
you didn’t do it you did something like
it
[Applause]
and that’s what I don’t understand about
church people how quickly we forget that
the same mercy that you needed to talk
to me the same grace that you needed the
same master you needed for your child
I need it for my child the same grace
you need it for your life you can get
caught up in a mob and forget
can I go deeper I was riding in a
taxicab in South Africa with the man
seven years after their part time and
and and he was a white South African
apartheid was brutal Lee about race and
I was asking him I said he was telling
me how hard a part that was on him and
how he lost everything and I was
starting over again now he’s driving a
taxi it and how difficult it was I had
sympathize was my heart went out for
that’s him do you realize
do you realize that your success was
built on someone else’s soul and and and
he says he said to me something that was
life-changing he said I didn’t really
see it he said I didn’t really see it I
was in it it looked natural
[Music]
and and instead of condemning him I
wanted to understand him because
anything that we don’t understand will
repeat itself again he said it wasn’t my
normal everybody was doing it he was
running with the herd it is easy to run
with the herd
everybody have herds rich folks have
hurts poor folks have herds hip-hop
artists have hers preachers have herds
doctors have heard it all you said
everybody got urged black folks got
herds white folks got everybody got
herds but you gotta be careful cuz I
heard we’ll run you into destruction you
you remember when the demons got in the
pants and the Bible says it’s a herd ran
into the water and drowned following the
herd will get you killed following the
herd will get you shot before you’re 30
fall into herd well in your life before
it begins following the herd will make
you hurt people
not because you’re a bad person but
belonging to the herd becomes more
important than using your common sense
and Jesus spoke to him and said can I
preach this Jesus says to him eNOS
without fault among you let him cast the
first stone and he stooped back down and
went to right and left them to do
something that I am challenging you to
do in this room to think for yourself
and they said we were convicted
we were convicted that’s a word that has
left the church we used to come to the
altar and pray for conviction to fall
and when conviction fail revival the
game
now we think revival is having a
big-name preacher I don’t care who’s
named preacher you Bri if there’s no
conviction of your own there can be no
revival in your life conviction brings
transformation as long as you have no
conviction you will have no lasting
transformation until you get sick of
yourself everybody else can be sickly
you but until you get sick of yourself
and say wait a minute I’m better than
this I could do better than this I could
be better than this I could live higher
than this they were convicted by their
own conscience this wasn’t even a
conviction of the Holy Spirit this is a
conviction that came to thinking
I made mistakes too stalling her is
stalling me
you see she might get strong but it
won’t be my rock it won’t be my rock
because I am conscious of my
vulnerability and conscious of my
humanity I am conscious and in that what
being spiritual is all about didn’t the
bible say if a brother be overtaken in a
fault ye which are spiritual restore
such a one in the spirit of meekness
what considering yourself so every time
you get ready to say something about
somebody you got to be conscious of
yourself if you’re conscious of yourself
self will make you shut your mouth
self will make you apologize self will
make you give people another chance
self will make you proud for my sake
considering yourself know the spiritual
people had something to consider because
I thought if you were deeply spiritually
you were deeply holy if that means you
never did anything and you had them to
consider but the Bible says if you are
really spiritual you have something that
you are conscious of that you consider
in how you treat other people
[Music]
[Applause]
so being spiritual it about squint your
eyes and say [ __ ] other than any other
lady she did get a shot at that eh TT
[Applause]
that’s that’s not spiritual being
spiritual is being fair being
spiritually scream just being spiritual
has been aware aware aware aware aware
await conscious they were convicted by
conscious ye which are spiritual restore
not kill not main not stone restore such
a one in the spirit of meekness
considering yourself and Jesus is back
down there in the dirt and one by one
they dropped their rocks I don’t know
who it is but you got some rocks to drop
no no no no no way I know you feel
justified I know they were wrong I know
they betrayed you I know they never paid
you back I know they cheated on you I
know they broke your heart I know they
were wrong but I also know you’ve been
wrong too
and when you get spiritual enough to
admit your kinship to the one that
you’re getting ready to kill that
daughter that you aren’t speaking to you
are only angry at her for acting like
you
you got old and got amnesia you don’t
remember
but let me people to go back old man go
back so you pray for now you prep some
now you’ll be a great man of God now now
this message is really good it will not
result in shouting it will result in
dropping to not take advantage of
somebody who’s in a vulnerable situation
just because you have a rock doesn’t
mean you have to throw it just because
you have a rock doesn’t mean you have to
threw it personal story I’m driving down
the road I’m in Charleston West Virginia
and I’m giving God the Blues about this
this this preacher that’s getting on my
nerves and I’m just turning he’s just so
arrogant it’s just disgusting he makes
me sick I don’t want to be bothered with
him I don’t want to talk to him with him
he gets on my nerves he said so-and-so
can you believe that and driving down
the road and the Lord said
if he were guilty of doing what you are
guilty of doing you would have mercy
but the moment I bring somebody into
your life that is week where you are
strong now you want to condemn them the
problem between you and him is your
fault because you ought to be strong
enough to bear the infirmities of the
weak drop your rock drop you just happen
to be strong in an area of his weakness
but you got your own stuff
drop your rock who you should hear it in
the spirit in the spirit in the spirit
right now rocks the droppin rocks don’t
drop easy rocks don’t drop easy because
once you’ve gotten caught up in the herd
of a way of doing things
they don’t drop easy rocks don’t drop
easy because some of you came from
families that were rock throwers you
have a pathology of throwing rocks rocks
don’t drop easy because you write the
press you read so you have been watching
the news that agrees with you rocks
don’t drop easy when the truth is
distorted by the author
[Music]
rocks don’t drop easy but one them and
they drop the rocks what is fascinating
to me about the Texas that the text
takes the time to tell us
not only that they dropped the rocks one
by one but from the eldest come on here
since you better you better preach with
me this morning from the illness to the
young age plays a factor in rock drop it
you have to live a while
you have to live a while you have to
live a while
you have to live a while I’m not
throwing off on young people but
understand with you young you got a
whole lot ideas of how things ought to
be and it out of being like this and it
ought to be like that it ought to be
like that that don’t make no sense in my
father Silla done and my mother said and
done yeah and then you get up some age
[Applause]
and now you got baby mama drama
[Applause]
aids will make you drop children
the Bible say it from the eldest to the
youngest one by one they drop their
rocks Jesus got up
and he asked the woman a question always
be careful when God asked a question
since he knows the answer don’t think
that you’re getting ready to inform him
the question is rhetorical can I go
deeper clevy let me in there let me in
there
let me in there do you really think that
Jesus didn’t hear them drop in the rocks
I mean even if he wasn’t walking in his
divinity in his humanity you can hear
rocks drop and Jesus is omniscient he
knows all things he says woman where
that accusers
I think this question might be the
biggest point in the whole story listen
real good in this after you have been
attacked a long time you will still
react as if it is still going on after
it’s over here post-traumatic stress
disorder makes you keep reliving
something that’s over to all of you they
can’t forgive and all of you they can’t
let go and all of you keep bringing up
the past and all of you they keep
talking about what happened ten years
ago and five years ago do you not know
you have PTSD
you have post-traumatic stress disorder
it was traumatic it was painful and you
are still living it and it’s gone you
are like a Vietnam vet who hears a boom
and jumps up under the bed triggers
triggers and when it triggers you
explode yo gonquai told me you left me
you was good with the rocks but when I
got to the triggers you come again what
is triggering you to live as if you
still have accusers why would Jesus
asked her woman where are that accusers
when he knew they were gone he wanted
her to know they were that’s what
deliverance is
that’s what deliverance is deliverance
is awareness that what was against you
[Applause]
this woman has been terrorized she’s
been embarrassed she’s been really she’s
been brought in public shame this
traumatic psychology teaches that the
worst trauma is trauma that goes on in
public this woman has been traumatized
and Jesus says to her before he releases
her he says I’m not gonna release you
still reliving the past he says I’m
gonna help you to get over this because
I want you to acknowledge that it’s over
it’s not over – you say it’s over I’m a
tried on you
it’s not over – you say it’s over it’s
not over – you say it’s over it’s not
over – you say it’s over
it’s not over – you say it’s over it’s
not over – you say it’s over it’s not
only you say it’s over it’s not over –
you say it’s Harbor the present could be
gone they can be dead and you’ll still
be living in it until you say it’s over
let me hear you shout his home your
accusers she says I have none Oh God oh
yeah I’ll be praying for me because he’s
still talking to me he said I want my
people to know that there’s nothing
holding you that you are free
the two are loosed that you are
liberated I want you to stop living in
the Falls I want you to understand that
he whom the Sun has set free is free
indeed my god I want you to shout cuz
you’re free
yeah
praising cursor pre praying put this
over praising cursor he’ll pray because
their whole present question deliver
praising because nothing is holding you
you can run through truths you can leave
on the walls you can be anybody you can
do anything
don’t daddy ain’t holding you yo mama
ain’t holding you
[Applause]
[Music]
I feel the power the Holy Ghost is the
devil is frustrated right now because he
wanted to keep you laying on the floor
but somebody’s about to stand up in the
power of the living
[Music]
[Applause]
stand on your feet Jesus says and this
this is the killer point because if all
of them had left and he stayed and
condemned her she would still be lost so
there’s two things in his pronouncement
that liberates this woman one is the
awareness that I have no accusers god
Slade I wish I could preach good enough
to make them hear it can you hear it
please hear it because it would drive me
crazy when I get the car
ain’t nothing holding you
do you hear it – do you hear the power
of what I’m saying nothing is holding
you it’s a deception it’s a lie they’re
gone
the rocks are gone it’s over he said and
as soon as you stop reliving the terror
of what you’ve been through and
recognize that you have no accusers then
the second thing he said I want you to
know is I’m not against you either
so he said woman where are those
accusers
and he’s waiting on her to answer
because it’s her answer that said you’re
free it’s not his question is her answer
that says her face she says I have not
Lord
uh-huh I have my lord I have none
I have no accusers I have nobody
stopping me I have nobody holding me I
have no accusers I have no accusers and
then he says neither do i condemn me so
I don’t have to keep begging to him to
forgive what is forgiven
he says neither do i condemn me my god
can you feel what a clean slate feels
like I think it was Hezekiah Walker
wrote this up won’t it make you clean
inside this one that’s what I want this
word to do this morning I want this word
to give you a shower inside
I want this word to wash away the PTSD
of whatever you’ve been through the
lingering traumatic stress disorder of
whatever happened to you
I have not Lord said I have not Lord
then he says to her point to neither do
i condemn me and then 0.3 don’t you do
that again
[Applause]
see we like 1 & 2 but we don’t say that
in about 3 go thy way and sin no more
come on I want you to get wiser I want
you to get better I want you to be free
from the herd now I know being a
Christian is becoming increasingly
unpopular society is gone in another
direction now if you type what you
believe they say you’re old-fashioned
you’re old fuddy-duddy you have some
sort of phobia they don’t they don’t
they don’t agree with us at all and you
got pressure on you job and in your
family and over the holidays you will
have pressure to confirm conform to what
the rest of your kin folks are doing so
that they won’t think you changed it so
they won’t say you’re acting funny and
they’re coming in town your cousins
are coming over the cousins who remember
your childhood stories are coming over
and now how you a deacon and now how are
you an elder I remember you
they’re all coming over you’re going to
your mother-in-law’s house and you know
she doesn’t like you that’s what the
holidays are going to sitting at the
table grinning at somebody who hopes you
chose happy holiday that’s what it is
the child that ain’t speak it but came
over to eat
the loved ones will never bring nothing
always take everything that’s what happy
holiday happy holiday am I telling the
truth and if you’re not careful you’re
gonna you’re going to become one of them
and you’ll flip out and act just like a
write in the language of how you used to
be but the Lord told me to tell you this
morning don’t run with the herd
[Applause]