0:02 It is his ability to stand apart from
0:05 the rest and dare to be different in the
0:08 face of criticism. It is his silence
0:12 that screams the loudest at me that
0:15 sometimes the best thing you can say to
0:18 an enemy is nothing at all. You've
0:21 gotten so used to business as usual that
0:24 you say stuff but you you really don't
0:26 expect them to change. When I was
0:29 preparing this message, the Lord told me
0:37 you. A mob of
0:42 people have interrupted Jesus service
0:44 to break in and say, "We caught this
0:47 woman in the very act of adultery." We
0:51 did. We We caught her in the act of adultery.
0:54 adultery.
0:58 What are you going to do about it?
1:00 Now, most of the time we focus on the
1:02 woman and there's a lot to be said about
1:16 is come on down with it, bro. Come on
1:19 down with Where is the man? If we're
1:21 going to be
1:25 just, if we're going to execute justice,
1:27 why is it that we have one standard for the
1:35 woman and another standard for the
1:37 men? I'm not going to get into that.
1:38 Y'all can't y'all don't want to talk
1:42 about this. This misogenic way in which
1:45 we handle genders is interesting here
1:48 because the the she was caught in the
1:51 act. The brother was
1:54 released. Boys will be
1:57 boys. But the woman is held to another.
2:06 standard? It's kind of unfair when when
2:08 two people do the same thing, but one
2:11 person is handled differently from the other
2:12 other
2:14 person. That's what scares me about people.
2:16 people.
2:18 I would rather fall into the hands of
2:21 God than to fall into the hands of
2:25 people because at least God has
2:28 mercy. Once people decide that they're
2:32 going to stone you, very seldom will
2:34 they turn back once they decided they
2:45 So whoever caught her in the act and
2:48 snatched her out all of a sudden a herd
2:51 is building.
2:53 Look at that. And I I wondered when I
2:55 was preparing this message if there was
2:58 anybody else in here that could relate
3:06 herd. People attacking you. You don't
3:09 even know why they're attacking you. You
3:11 just look around and you got a whole
3:13 gang of people to fight and they don't
3:20 facts. See, the hard thing about being
3:23 me is sometimes I will have facts cuz I
3:25 know the inside story, but I can't
3:28 defend myself. Because if I defend
3:30 myself, I have to
3:33 divulge classified information. So my
3:36 integrity necessitates my [Music]
3:37 [Music]
3:42 silence and the herd gets to speak [Music]
3:43 [Music]
3:45 and I have to be disciplined enough to
3:48 hold my peace because if I lose my
3:51 integrity I can win the fight but if I
3:53 lose my
3:55 integrity oh y'all don't hear what I'm
4:00 you. Touch your neighbor and say don't
4:03 run with the herd.
4:06 Where the her made their mistake is that
4:15 to Jesus.
4:18 If they wanted to be successful, they
4:20 should have just stoned her where they
4:22 found her.
4:25 But they and them got together. The
4:28 scribes and the Pharisees, they and them
4:32 got together and brought her to Jesus. [Applause]
4:38 [Applause]
4:40 Now, somebody say, "Bring me to Jesus."
4:43 Bring me to Jesus.
4:45 Bring me to Jesus. Don't just bring me
4:46 to church. [Applause]
4:48 [Applause]
4:51 Bring me to Jesus. I'm concerned
4:55 today, Brother P. concerned because a
4:57 lot of people today don't know the
5:06 Jesus. They think conversion is coming
5:09 to church. They came to church, but they
5:12 never come to Jesus. So, they never
5:14 really have a real relationship with
5:17 Jesus. They're just having an experience
5:29 This woman is laying naked on the floor,
5:32 clothes ripped and shredded apart,
5:35 covering herself as best she can,
5:39 humiliated and disgraced, scandalized by
5:42 self-righteous, indignant
5:45 people. She knows at any
5:48 moment the rocks are going to come
5:50 sailing at her head. She is not
5:52 oblivious to the fact that the customs
6:04 stoned. Imagine people throwing stones
6:08 at you, lacerating your skin and your
6:10 flesh and blood coming down out of your
6:12 forehead until they finally knock you
6:15 down unconscious and continue to throw
6:20 rocks until they can't see you anymore.
6:31 Rumors are rocks. And if enough people
6:33 throw them, after a while, they can't
6:36 see you anymore. All they can see is
6:44 [Music]
6:47 And every time you spread the rumor, [Applause]
6:49 [Applause]
6:57 Every time you retweet it,
6:59 repost it, retext, [Applause]
7:01 [Applause]
7:04 you have joined the herd.
7:07 They brought her to Jesus because the
7:11 law condemned her to be stoned.
7:15 If Jesus says no,
7:20 then he has not respected the law and we
7:22 are still up under the law in the gospels.
7:25 gospels.
7:27 We can't be up under grace because the
7:29 New Testament cannot be enforced until
7:32 the testator dies. The testator is not
7:42 So once again, the enemy is trying to
7:52 I wish I had time. This is not a new
7:54 trick. This is an old
7:57 trick that goes back to the Garden of
8:00 Eden where Satan gets Eve to partake of
8:03 the fruit and give it to Adam. And now
8:06 what God hates and what God loves is
8:09 fused together. If he saves what he
8:12 loves, he'll say what he hated. If he
8:14 hates what he hates, he'll hate what he
8:22 dilemma. And when they brought it to
8:24 Jesus and they brought him there and
8:27 said, "What sayest thou?
8:30 What's so cool about Jesus?"
8:36 He didn't say anything.
8:49 and started writing
8:50 in the
8:54 dirt. The power of the text is not in
8:57 the words of the text. It is in the
9:01 silence of the master.
9:04 It is it is his refusal to play their game.
9:05 game.
9:09 It is his courage to be different. It is
9:12 his ability to be an individual and not
9:15 succumb to the request of the herd. It
9:17 is his ability to stand apart from the
9:20 rest and dare to be different in the
9:23 face of criticism. It is his silence
9:26 that screams the loudest at me that
9:29 sometimes the best thing you can say to
9:44 His silence speaks to
9:49 me, but his stupid blows my
9:51 mind. Because if his silence is
9:54 powerful, Uhhuh. his stooping is even
9:56 more powerful.
10:04 He stooped down to something that
10:13 His stooping says to me how far God is
10:16 willing to go to get me. that when I
10:20 couldn't get up to him, he came down to
10:28 Thank you for being the kind of God
10:31 that'll get your hands dirty. Once you
10:33 plant the seed, you got to let the seed work.
10:40 And the Bible says the next two words
10:44 I'm going to use is they were convicted.
10:49 They were convicted while he's writing
10:54 because he made them stop and think
10:56 stop and think.
10:58 The difference between intelligence and
11:02 ignorance Yes, sir. is thinking.
11:05 Yes, sir. The one thing the herd will
11:08 never want you to do
11:11 is think. They want you to follow, but
11:13 they don't want you to think. They want
11:14 you to imitate them, but they don't want
11:17 you to think. They don't want you to
11:18 think. They want you to obey, but they
11:20 don't want you to think. They don't want
11:22 you to think. And Jesus gave them time
11:26 to think. He that's without fault among
11:28 you, let him cast the first stone. And
11:30 then they started remembering.
11:32 Yes, sir. See, that's what I meant when
11:34 I was telling old men, I can understand
11:36 the young men being hurt cuz you have
11:38 lived long enough to see enough failure
11:40 not to be critical and judgmental. You
11:42 think you know everything, but ain't no
11:44 way you going to get this gray, man. You
11:56 I wish somebody over 50 would make some
12:03 me. You don't make it to this age
12:07 without doing something stupid.
12:09 Now you going to fall out in the floor
12:12 and act shocked like you have never seen
12:20 If you didn't do it, you did something
12:29 And that's what I don't understand about
12:34 church people. How quickly we forget
12:38 that the same mercy that you needed. Oh,
12:41 y'all don't want to talk to me. The same
12:43 grace that you
12:46 needed, the same mercy you needed for
12:49 your child, I needed for my child, the
12:53 same grace you needed for your life. Amen.
13:04 You can get caught up in a mob and forget
13:12 sir. It is easy to run
13:14 with the herd. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
13:18 Everybody have herds. Yes, sir. Rich
13:21 folks have herds. Poor folks have herds.
13:24 Hip hop artists have herds. Preachers
13:26 have herds. Doctors have herds. Lawyers
13:28 have Everybody got herds. Black folks
13:30 got herds. White folks got Everybody got herds.
13:32 herds.
13:34 But you got to be careful
13:37 cuz the herd will run
13:41 you into destruction. You remember when
13:44 the demons got in the pigs
13:47 and the Bible says that the herd ran
13:51 into the water and drowned.
13:53 my right.
14:00 Following the herd will get you shot
14:03 before you're 30. Following the herd
14:05 will end your life before it begins.
14:08 Following the herd will make you hurt people.
14:10 people.
14:13 Not because you're a bad person, but
14:15 belonging to the herd becomes more
14:18 important than using your common sense.
14:21 That's so true. And Jesus spoke to him
14:23 and said something. Can I preach this
14:26 this morning? Jesus says to him, "He
14:28 that's without fault among you, let him
14:31 cast the first stone." And he stooped
14:35 back down and went to writing and left
14:37 them to do something that I am
14:40 challenging you to do in this room. To
14:51 And
14:55 they said we were convicted.
14:58 We were convicted. That's a word that
15:01 has left the church.
15:04 We used to come to the altar and pray
15:07 for conviction to fall. And when
15:11 conviction fell, revival began.
15:14 Now we think revival is having a bigname
15:16 preacher. I don't care whose name
15:18 preacher you bring. If there's no
15:21 conviction of your wrong, there can be
15:24 no revival in your
15:27 life. Conviction brings
15:30 transformation. As long as you have no
15:33 conviction, you will have no lasting
15:35 transformation until you get sick of yourself.
15:38 yourself.
15:39 Everybody else could be sick of you, but
15:43 until you get sick of yourself and say,
15:47 "Wait a minute. I'm better than this. I
15:50 can do better than this. I can be better
15:59 They were convicted by their own conscience.
16:01 conscience.
16:03 This wasn't even a conviction of the
16:06 Holy Spirit. This is a conviction that
16:13 I I think I'm wrong. Yes,
16:20 I've made mistakes, too. That's right.
16:28 You see,
16:29 she might get stoned, but it won't be my rock.
16:36 It won't. That's right.
16:41 be my rock because I am conscious of my
16:44 fallibility. I'm conscious of my
16:47 humanity. I am conscious. And isn't that
16:50 what being spiritual is all about?
16:51 Didn't the Bible say, "If a brother be
16:56 overtaken in a fault, ye which are
16:59 spiritual, restore such a one in the
17:02 spirit of meekness as what? considering
17:04 considering
17:07 yourself. So every time you get ready to
17:10 say something about somebody, you got to
17:13 be conscious of yourself. If you are
17:15 conscious of yourself, self will make
17:19 you shut your mouth. Self will make you
17:21 apologize. Self will make you give
17:23 people another chance. Self will make
17:30 you cry for mercy. considering yourself.
17:33 Oh. Oh, brother, I didn't know that
17:35 spiritual people had something to
17:37 consider. Ye which are spiritual, restore,
17:39 restore,
17:41 not kill,
17:46 not ma, not stone, restore.
17:49 Such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering
17:51 considering
17:53 yourself. And Jesus is back down there
17:54 in the
17:56 dirt. And
18:00 one by one, they
18:01 they
18:09 Come on. Come on. I don't know who it
18:11 is, but you got some rocks to drop. Come
18:14 on. Thank you. Thank you.
18:17 I No. No. No. No. No. Wait. I know you
18:19 feel justified.
18:22 I know they were wrong. Come on. I know
18:24 they betrayed you. I know they never
18:27 paid you back. I know they cheated on
18:30 you. I know they broke your heart. I
18:33 know they were wrong. But I also know
18:44 And when you get spiritual enough to
18:47 admit your kinship to the one that
18:53 Go ahead.
18:56 Now, if this message is really good, it
19:00 will not result in shouting.
19:02 It will result in dropping. [Applause]
19:06 [Applause]
19:08 To not take advantage of somebody who's
19:11 in a vulnerable situation. Just cuz you
19:12 have a rock doesn't mean you have to
19:14 throw it. You see,
19:19 routine can kill expectation. Good
19:20 Good
19:25 God. Rituals can kill expectation until
19:27 everybody is saying what they're
19:29 supposed to say and doing what they're
19:41 expect while Zacharias was praying.
19:43 When you pray, you expect God to show up.
19:44 up. [Applause]
19:47 [Applause]
19:50 And the text blows my mind because the
19:53 very thing they were asking God to do,
20:04 [Applause]
20:15 God stepped in the synagogue. his
20:17 his
20:21 house. The master came to his
20:23 house and the people who were praying
20:31 shocked. When I was preparing this
20:34 message, the Lord told me he's getting
20:51 You've gotten so used to business as
20:54 usual that you say stuff, but you you
20:57 really don't expect them to change. But
21:08 your slap three people and tell them
21:10 it's going to
21:13 shatter. It's going to shatter. It's
21:16 going to shatter. It's going to shatter.
21:19 It's going to shatter. It's going to
21:21 shatter. It's going to shatter. It's
21:24 going to shatter. It's going to shatter.
21:27 It's going to shatter. It's going to
21:29 shatter. Let me tell you why it's going
21:31 to shatter. He heard [Applause]
21:44 you. Zacharias has got his his
21:46 incense and the
21:48 smell of
21:56 prayer. The smell of prayer.
21:59 The smell of prayer has changed the
22:01 atmosphere in the
22:05 room. That's why prayer is symbolized by incense.
22:07 incense.
22:09 Because it
22:11 changes the
22:25 God can smell the prayers of the
22:27 saints. The prayers of the saints go up
22:32 before God as a sweet smelling savor.
22:35 God can smell prayer, especially when
22:38 it's on
22:41 fire. I'm not talking about the thou and
22:44 the therefore and the which cause and
22:48 nevertheless, oh God. No, I'm talking
22:52 about a fire, Holy Ghost burning, head
22:56 turning prayer. God can smell [Applause]
23:03 [Applause]
23:06 prayer. The prayer is important. Watch
23:11 this. Because the prayer is the
23:22 You can't have pregnancy without relationship.
23:24 relationship. The
23:25 The
23:27 prayer is the
23:31 bridge to the pregnancy. The prayer
23:34 created the disruption.
23:37 The prayer shook things up.
23:41 The prayer started the conversation.
23:44 Yeah. The prayer opened the door for
23:46 Gabriel to come in.
23:50 God said, "I heard the crowd, my people.
23:52 I heard you. I'm tired of you crying.
23:53 I'm tired of you walking around
23:55 depressed. I'm tired of you with your
23:57 head hung down. I'm tired of you
24:00 forgetting who you are. I'm tired of you
24:02 feeling sorry for yourself. I'm tired of
24:04 you believing what the Romans said about
24:16 And so I'm going to shatter your normal.
24:17 What do you mean you're going to shatter
24:21 my normal? Then Gabriel says to him, watch
24:22 watch
24:25 this. You've been praying,
24:37 Now, now if I had time, I would
24:40 emphasize how long he'd been
24:44 praying. Cuz this generation today, we
24:47 pray a couple of weeks. And if God don't
24:49 do something, we say there's something
24:52 wrong with our God. But this old man had
24:54 been praying for years. He had been
24:57 praying when his wife was a young woman
25:00 and all she was was barren. He had
25:03 prayed to now she was an old woman. And
25:06 even if God healed her badness, she was
25:08 too old to have a baby. But he was still
25:13 praying the effectual fervent effectual
25:17 fervent effectual fervent prayer of a righteous
25:18 righteous
25:20 man. A veil of [Applause]
25:31 much. And God says to
25:35 him, "Your wife going to have a baby."
25:38 He said, "Get out of here. Come on now.
25:39 Come on
25:41 now. You You understand? All this
25:42 happened in [Applause]
25:45 [Applause]
25:48 church. Need all this happened in
25:51 church, not at Joe's pool
25:54 hall. You expect doubt to be in the club.
25:56 club.
25:58 If we were in the strip club, I would
26:00 expect there to be doubt. All this happened
26:03 happened
26:05 in the church
26:08 because church like everything else
26:11 can become normal.
26:13 He said that old that old woman you
26:15 married to is going to have a baby. Get
26:24 here. How how can I have a son? Not only
26:25 is she going to have a baby, she it's
26:29 going to be a son. God is specific.
26:36 baby. It's going to be a son.
26:40 And his name shall be called John.
26:43 Going to be a baby. It's going to be a son.
26:44 son.
26:48 And his name shall be called
27:02 please, how how
27:07 can h how can this be?
27:09 See, Zachcharias was going through the
27:17 but his faith had retired long time ago.
27:19 He was going to holy places and saying
27:23 holy things with holy people,
27:25 but he he wasn't really believing it
27:28 anymore. He was just trying to keep the
27:32 norms. Gabriel didn't answer none of the
27:34 norms. He didn't say, "I'm going to make
27:38 her younger. I'mma slip your
27:42 Viagra. I'mma play some Luther tonight. [Applause]
27:46 [Applause]
27:50 I didn't mean to say that like out loud. [Applause]
27:54 [Applause]
27:55 You know how you be trying to work stuff
27:56 out. You
27:59 know, the angel did not give him a
28:04 normal answer at all. To every normal
28:06 reason that he gave the angel why he
28:09 couldn't have a child, the angel said,
28:12 "I am Gabriel. [Applause]
28:17 [Applause]
28:21 Almost like you're doubting my word is
28:23 an insult.
28:25 I am Gabriel.
28:34 Can I break that I am Gabriel down?
28:38 Angels are ministering spirits. It
28:41 literally means to be a messenger.
28:44 means that they cannot speak of
28:46 themselves. In other words, this word
28:50 didn't come from me. This word came from the
28:51 the
28:55 Lord. I'm not giving you my
28:58 opinion. I'm telling you what God
29:12 I don't know who this is for,
29:15 but God is getting ready to shatter your [Applause]
29:28 [Applause]
29:33 normal son. He has given him a
29:37 word that will not come pass come to
29:48 in. He
29:51 said, "And
29:55 because because you doubt me,
29:58 because you hold on to normal in the
30:06 because you hold on to practical in the
30:09 presence of the supernatural Jesus."
30:12 He said, "I'm going to shut your tongue down.
30:14 down.
30:18 I'm going to shut your mouth. I'm going
30:21 to shut your mouth. I'm going to shut
30:24 your mouth. Cuz if I let you talk, you
30:26 going to mess this
30:29 up. The power of life and death is in
30:32 your tongue. And I'm going to shut your
30:35 mouth down cuz you've been speaking
30:39 against yourself all of your life. But
30:42 in order to get this blessing, I'm about
30:45 to shut your mouth. Slap. Somebody say,
30:46 "Shut your
30:52 mouth." God is about to shut your mouth.
30:54 God is about to shut [Applause]
31:03 [Applause]
31:06 you. I feel him doing something, son. I
31:08 feel him doing something. I feel him
31:11 doing something. I feel him doing
31:14 something. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. He said,
31:19 "Go deeper." Every time he was ready to
31:27 do it before your mouth got in the way. [Applause]
31:32 [Applause]
31:35 And in order to bring you, and this is a
31:38 word right out of the text, into your season,
31:40 season,
31:43 he's going to have to shut your mouth.
31:46 Cuz every time you open your mouth, you
31:49 have shut down your season. And in order
31:53 to bring this to pass in your life, I'm
31:56 getting ready to shut your mouth.
31:58 I know this is not polite, but look at
32:01 somebody say, "Shut
32:04 up. Stop telling yourself what you can't
32:06 do. Stop telling yourself what you can't
32:09 be. Stop telling yourself what you can't
32:11 have. Stop telling yourself what you
32:14 can't get. Stop telling yourself what
32:16 you can't become. Stop telling yourself
32:19 that it's too late. Stop telling
32:21 yourself that you got a record. Stop
32:22 telling yourself that you don't have
32:25 enough education. Stop telling yourself
32:27 you need a man. Stop telling yourself
32:31 you got to find somebody. Shut up. [Applause]
32:55 Wait a minute. There's something else he
32:58 said. There's something else he said. He told
33:00 told
33:02 Zachcharias, "What I'm getting ready to
33:06 do in you, I've already got a name for him."
33:18 I've already locked down the [Applause]
33:24 name. So
33:27 yeah, there's already a name for that [Applause]
33:34 [Applause]
33:41 didn't. There's already a name for that opportunity.
33:43 opportunity.
33:47 I've already locked down a name. I am so
33:50 specific. I'm not going to just give you
33:54 an idea. I'm going to give you a name.
33:58 Good God Almighty. It would be enough to
33:59 have an idea.
34:03 But God said the idea has a name. Watch
34:15 Now, if you're not a Bible scholar,
34:20 you've read past what I just said.
34:28 John. Any scholar would tell you that
34:30 one of the things that a priest would
34:35 pass to his son,
34:39 come on. Come on, would be his name. [Applause]
34:41 [Applause]
34:49 [Music]
34:57 Let go of it. Let go of
35:04 it. This will not be Normal's junior.
35:07 junior. His
35:09 His
35:11 name will be John. [Applause]
35:15 [Applause]
35:17 Later in the
35:20 scriptures when he tells the people that
35:24 the boy's name is John, all the people
35:28 on the outside said John.
35:30 They saidnone of thy
35:33 kindred have been called by that name.
35:36 Ain't nobody in your family named
35:39 John. Ain't a ain't none of your
35:42 grandfathers named John. Ain't none of
35:45 your cousins named John. Your uncle is
35:48 not named John. Whoever this is
35:51 for, whatever God is getting ready to
35:54 do, it has never happened in your family before.
36:11 None of our kindred
36:14 has been called by that name. You will
36:17 be the first in your family. You will be
36:20 the first in your family. You will be
36:23 the first in your family. You will be
36:26 the first in your family. You will be
36:29 the first in your family. You will be
36:32 the first in your family. You will be
36:34 the first in your family. You will be
36:36 the first in your family. You will be
36:39 the first in your family. Can I stop
36:44 right here and break every generational
36:49 curse? Can I break every generational
36:53 curse that's ever been on your life? Shout
36:55 Shout
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