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]