Releasing the Leader in You, Part 1

Posted on January 13, 2016 by growintheword

Releasing the Leader in You Part I

“Why me?”

Synopsis of 01/06/15

Delivered by Bishop Walker

 

Jer 1:5a 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

First of all, when thinking about leadership, you have to understand that you were selected by God to complete a specific assignment in the earth realm.

Matt 22:14 says 14 ” For many are called, but few are chosen.” – Everyone has been called, but there a few who are called to go beyond a normal call. These that have been chosen to go beyond a normal call, have what it takes to be chosen. There is a certain discipline mindset you have to have in order to be considered chosen.

What is a leader? It is simply one who has a vision, has the ability to inspire others to get involved in that vision, and the ability to make it a reality.

To be a leader, you have the ability to inspire others to be excited about what you are excited about.

Leaders also have to be energetic. You can be a dull leader and expect results.

 

  1. Selected for a great assignment

1 peter 2:9 says 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

3 things you need to know:

  1. When God chose you, he factored in your past. – You don’t have to remind him that you are not worthy.
  2. God factored in your inadequacies – God already knows what you lack. He knows your fears and anxieties.
  3. God has already factored in your potential. – When he chooses you, it isn’t for your right now, it is about where he is taking you. He is not calling you for now, he is calling you for your not yet.

If not careful, you will disengage from your calling and miss out on what God has planned for you up the road.

 

  1. He bought you out to bring others in
  2. Heb 11:8 says 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. Abraham went out, not knowing where he was going.- Bishop often shares that God called him when he was in the company of his frat brothers. God actually talked to him out loud, yet his frat brothers could not hear God’s voice. God told Bishop Walker that he was different. God calls you out to bring others in.
  3. When God calls you, you might not necessarily disconnect from friends and family like you might think. God sometimes calls you in order to bring somebody else into the fold. The best one to help someone who is on crack is sometimes a former crack addict. It sometimes help when a person has already been through the issue that they are trying to help somebody else with.
  4. How do you know it is happening? How do you know you are being called? The answer is you start losing interest in the things that used to interest you. You lose passion where you once had passion. You have been drafted!
  5. Every leader must have a heart of God. Acts 13:22 says 22 And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will. – When you look at David and how great he was, you learn that real leadership is not about how intelligent you are or how amazing a skill-set you have. It is about your heart. We can tell a lot about your motives based on where your heart is.
  6. David with all his issues (such as the cave experience and his immoral actions with Bathsheba), is still remembered to be the greatest king of Israel. Even though David had his own issues, he had the right heart.
    1. We understand from studying David that the Lord is our shepherd and we shall not want. In fact Jesus while dying on the cross still tried to inspire us.
    2. Ex – Bishop Walker shares that he is reading literature about heart. This book is taken from an ancient day’s perspective. In the book, it tells that if you want to know what is in a person’s heart concerning you, then all you have to do is make that person angry. If you make them angry enough, the truth will come out. An example of this is when a person would say, “that’s ok, I didn’t like you anyway”! People are your friends until they are not.
  7. God doesn’t look for people with no mistakes or missteps. Rom 3:23 says 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Mat 6:33 says 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. – If we are going to go in as a leader, we have to ask ourselves, “What would be God’s way of doing this thing.”
    1. There is s level of consistency when you do things God’s way. You are a kingdom leader not just in church, but at the job also. If you are nasty on the job and nice at church, this throws people off! There has to be a consistency there. Psalms 25:9 says 9 The humble He guides in justice,
  8. And the humble, He teaches His way.-Some people will never be leaders, because you are arrogant followers. How can God trust you at a higher level, if he can’t trust on your lower level? Money, wealth, and promotion don’t change you; It just magnifies what is already there.
  9. Humility is powerful. Real leaders aren’t Remember this: Broke is very loud, rich is a whisper, and wealth is silent.

 

  • There is an anointing that comes with leadership
  1. When you hear somebody say that they are anointed, it means that their call is affirmed by God. Luke 4:18 says 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; – It doesn’t matter who accepts me if God has affirmed me. You want everyone to like you, but it doesn’t work like that.
    1. 1 john 2:27 says 27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. – The oil of God is necessary for your assignment.
    2. Psa 89:20 says 20 I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him,-David was anointed as king with oil.
  2. When you are anointed, it is for an assignment.
  3. Isa 10:27 says 27 It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, And his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil. -When you are anointed, there is a yoke involved in the assignment, but it is not heavy. What looks impossible to others is not impossible for you. If you stay in your assignment, you will never burn out. You’ll burn for your assignment, but it won’t cause you to burn out.
  4. When there is an assignment, there is :
  5. The oil flows down – Psa 133:2 says 2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments.- The oil or the anointing will flow down.
    1. The same oil at the head should be the same oil at the hem. In other words, if you Pastor is personable and not arrogant, then the people that serve under him should be personable and not arrogant.
    2. You can pour into people at your job, so what is on you, can get on them. This too is another example of the anointing flowing down.
  6. The anointing can’t be replicated. Acts 19:15 says 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”- The anointing can’t be replicated. When you copy others anointing, you will attract spirits that you are not anointed to battle.
    1. 6 things to know about being a leader:

Leadership is an art. Those that are anointed as leaders:

  1. Focus – all the distractions have to be removed. Pro 4:25 says 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you.
  2. Collaboration – As leaders, you have to know how to drive a team. You have to be able to work well with others. If you are trying to lead and nobody is following you, then you are taking a walk.
  • Teamwork – Leaders are not intimidated by people that are smarter than them. Pro 27:17 says 17 As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. Some people just want to be a solo artist, but even a solo artist, leads a band. Working with people requires managing egos or knowing not to put two toxic people together.
  1. Those who explore new opportunities – The Children of Israel came out of Israel, but Israel didn’t come out as them. They called themselves grasshoppers when they encountered the giants. No one called themselves grasshoppers.
  2. Remember the Garden of Eden? This was a perfect environment, but sin got Adam and Eve cast out. Because of this, Jesus came to restore us. In the Garden of Eden there were 4 streams. In past (in the bible) wherever there were streams, there was prosperity. This is why Egypt was wealthy. They were located by the Nile River. Having said this, in Garden of Eden, God put 4 streams.
  3. Your income is one stream, but inside you are 3 more streams. There is a book, there is an invention, and there is a business. All of these are different streams.
  • Individual who seeks challenges. Don’t get left behind in the days of your past. Philippians 3:14 says 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. – He we are reminded to press towards the mark. For a leader, you are not satisfied being thankful for your accomplishments. You want start achieving something else. Even when you retire, you want to venture into something else or help someone else achieve what they are after. You are constantly after new challenges.
  • Effective communication – Developing excellent skills is vital. If you can’t motivate others to act on it, being a leader doesn’t matter. When you’re a leader and you are trying to get things done. You have to learn to speak clearly and precisely.
  1. God factors in our inadequacies when he chooses us. Moses had a speech impediment. This is why God gave him a short script. God simply told Moses to tell Pharaoh to let his people go. If you can learn to do what He asks you to do and get out what he wants you to get, you may be more effective.
  2. Excellence – As a leader, you have to operate in excellence. If God puts stuff in your hands, he demands excellence. Whatever you put out, will come back.

Psa 1:3 says 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.-

Excellence produces:

  1. Positivity with the right people – We can tell a lot about you by what you tolerate.
  2. Passion with the right priorities.
  3. Must be planted in the right place. Every leader knows they have to be planted in the right place in order to produce.

The river in the bible represents commerce. When they pierce Jesus’ side, water and blood came out. The water represented His anointing was flowing out.

If you are where God wants you to be, hanging around and you will prosper!

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The gift of Grace, Sermon 12/20/15

Posted on January 7, 2016 by growintheword

The Gift of grace

Synopsis of sermon 12/20/15

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

Anchor text:

Isaiah 9:6 says For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

In this season, people are trying to get last minute gifts for un-grateful people. In the midst of all the chaos and all the hustle and bustle, we must remember the greatest gift there ever was. This gift was Jesus!

For those who may be upset at what you get or don’t get for Christmas, know that you have something that money can’t buy. You have love, peace, mercy, and if nothing else, you’re still alive! God has been good to you. All your good days have outweighed your bad days, so why would you complain?

Isaiah as a prophet, gives us a view of things to come. He gives us the messianic forecast that the savior would come down through 42 generations and be born. God has given us the greatest gift through Jesus Christ.

  1. Recipient of God’s grace

Unto us child is born, a son is given.

  1. Jesus was heaven’s answer to our earthly situation. We had become displaced because of sin, so we out to shout over the grace that God has given us. Even the psalmist said, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so”.
  1. The Jews believed Jesus would come by a chariot as a mighty warrior, but he came another way. He came as a baby wrapped in swaddling clothing. The way things are now, if there ever was a time we needed the Lord, we sure do need him now. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, so that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but instead have everlasting life.
  1. He did not come for a few, he came for us all. The gift of grace was not given to a particular group of people. Unlike religion who givens certain things to certain people, Jesus came for all of us.
  • The phrase “Unto us … “mentioned in the text means, “no matter your situation or what you did, unto us he came”. Everyday day I wake up, I am thankful for the grace of God. Just think, no matter what you did, the text says, “unto us…” You can’t even say His name without saying “us”. Jesus, is in His name! He didn’t come for the frozen chosen or the elite status quo, he came for all of us!

 

  1. If you only knew he came for us, you would bless his name at all times. Praise would continually be in your mouth. Unto us!
  1. Revelation of God’s glory

We are able to see of a gift. The child (baby Jesus) represents humanity and the son represents His divinity.

  1. His humanity is a point of identification. John 1:14 says 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. – This would mean he could identify with us. Heb 4:15 -There is nothing we go through that Jesus didn’t go through. If we want to know how to deal with something, all we have to do is look in the bible and see how Jesus dealt with it.
    1. He dealt with demons by casting them out. He dealt with haters by ignoring them. However Jesus dealt with anything, we are supposed to deal with it.
  2. His divinity puts him in a class by Himself- He was God in Christ. He was the son that was given. He is the son of God. He was human enough to be in touch with humanity, but God enough to change you by a simple touch. If you touch him, whatever you need will happen. Ask the women with the issue of blood what happens when you touch him. The songwriter says, “He touched me and oh the joy that fills my soul… ”. When we touch him, something happens.
    1. He is the son of God which puts Jesus in an entire different category. This is why we seal our prayers with, “in Jesus’ name”.
    2. Jesus is in a class all by himself. Who else can heal the sick or raise the dead from the dead? Mahammad, Buddha, and all the other idol gods are still in the grave, but Jesus is alive. He has risen just like he said. He is in a class all by himself. He is immutable, unchanging, unreadable, and impossible.

 

III. Rejoice in God’s greatness

The bible says the government will be upon his shoulders…- Isa 9:6 says 6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

  1. Know how great your God is. Some people look at you and can’t make sense of your level of enthusiasm. They wonder why you are exited all the time. The answer is simple. We searched all over and couldn’t find nobody, nobody greater than Him!
    1. What makes God so great? The government shall be on his shoulders. –This means that leaders will depend on him to carry them.
  2. He came to establish his kingdom in the earth – This is a transfer from one kingdom to the next. Every king has a king. Governments are governed by principalities which mean we elect our leaders. The kingdom of God is not run by principalities, like things are down here. When God makes a transfer, he elects us. We then are the elect of God.
  1. Jesus comes down to earth wrapped in swaddling clothes. He doesn’t look like the earth expected him to look.
  2. The magi (wise men) were looking at the stars waiting on the savior to come. When he came, he didn’t come as a warrior on a chariot as many figured he would. He came as a baby lying in a manger.
  3. They wise men came to bow down to the baby. No man bows down to a child unless they know something. This was the start of a kingdom transfer. It was a transfer to bring the kingdom up there, down here in the earth realm.
  4. There were 3 wise men, but you can’t use the amount of gifts to determine how many people were present. This means that there could have been more than 3.
  5. When Christ is born, a king is here, which makes Herod the king, feel threatened. As a result, he sends the wise men to tell him where the child is. Herod is threatened because he thinks his kingdom will be taken, but the King (baby Jesus) doesn’t need Herod’s kingdom. He doesn’t know that this is all about kingdom transfer.
  6. John the Baptist caught the idea of kingdom transfer, because he kept saying, “…The kingdom is at hand…” In fact, when John was in his mother’s belly (Elizabeth), he leaped at the name of Jesus. When Jesus came into the earth, he comes to bring down heaven’s kingdom.
  7. Adam and Eve lost it. The Garden of Eden was the kingdom in the earth realm. Everything they needed was there. Jesus was coming back to give us the kingdom back. This is why in the model prayer, Jesus says, “thou kingdom come, thou will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…” Everything that is in heaven can be available down here. We have our deliverance and healing, because we have everything available to us.
  8. The bible says and his name shall be: called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
  1. Whatever you need is in his name. We live in a name- brand culture. We all like something name-brand, because name brand stuff feels good. But when you know the name you got… There are over 200 names for him in scripture.
  1. Wonderful – One who does wonders?
  2. Counselor- This is a legal term. It means advocate, one who stands and pleads ones case. Somebody gone through situation and needed help and didn’t know who to go to. God set it up and turned the situation around.
  3. Mighty God- Might is a term often used in comic books. Might always deals with the supernatural which means it’s something above my power. There were some things you had to go through, that you thought was too big for you to get through, but that’s when God showed up with all his might. What a mighty God!
  4. Everlasting father – People come in out of our life, but God is the same yesterday today and forever. He is not a dead-beat dad. When you cry, cry “Abba father!”, which means thank you for being there.
  5. Prince of peace- Somebody, somewhere has not had a good night sleep in months. If they only knew some of the stuff you I have been through, they would understand why we thank him for that peace that surpasses all understanding!
  6. What a gift of grace!
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The Power of Grace, Sermon 12/06/15

Posted on December 19, 2015 by growintheword

The Power of Grace

Synopsis of sermon 12/6/15

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

 

TEXT:

1 Cor 15:10  10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

The first thing to examine is the love of God. Sometimes we just can’t comprehend how much God loves us. John said, God so loved us.

Grace is the love of God, but what is grace?  Grace is un-merited favor. Every day you wake up, you are demonstrating the grace of God. God gives us life each day even though we might not really deserve it. Regardless of your intellect, your financial status, or your social status, it is the about the grace of God. Just the mere fact that you still have your intellect and have not gone crazy, is an example of the grace of God.

You have these gifts that allow you to make a living BUT at any moment, you could be in an accident and wound up paralyzed or unable to do what you do. The fact that you did not get into that accident is God’s grace. You going to school and having the money to pay your tuition is another example of God’s grace. You were only able to afford it because of God’s grace.

God wants to remind us of the power of grace. Grace can transform our lives. It can turn a drunk into a preacher, a drug dealer into a counselor, or a lazy person into an athlete! You have no idea where the people around you have been transformed from.

This text was part of a letter to the Corinthian church. Paul had to point out to them that there is a resurrection from the dead. Without that, there could be no grace. He also talks about this corruptible body putting on incorruption.  When it is all said and done, it was the grace of God that gave us a chance at life.

 

  1. Your past has to be put into perspective

You can’t appreciate grace until you put your past into perspective. You have to:

  1. Be honest concerning what you used to be – The Saul in Paul was the one the persecuted Christians. Everyone here has had a Saul season. Saul represents our pre-Christ time and Paul represents our post-Christ time.
  2. Being honest about your past, puts grace in perspective.
  3. Grace doesn’t hold your past against you. – Charles H. Spurgeon says it best when he was quoted as saying, “If you are renewed by grace, and were to meet your old self, I am sure you would be very anxious to get out of his company.” – Here Charles explains that even you would not kick it with the old you.
  4. Grace is about the sacrifice of Christ, not us – God gave us grace regardless to what we were and what we have done. Psa 103:12 says 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. – Max Lucado says, “When grace moves in, guilt moves out”.
  5. Eph 2:8- 9 says 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.- After Paul gives a transparent look at what he used to be, he comes back in verse 10 and says 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.- We were created for good works.
  6. 1 cor 15:9 says 9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.- Translated Paul is saying, “I am the least of the people that should be here, but by the grace of God. “ Paul is thanking God that he didn’t hold his Saul past against him. Every time the devil tries to torment you, tell him, “ But grace!”.
  7. You got to move out of being histrionic. 1 John 1:9 says 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

  1. Potential in your presence

In all of us, is some amazing potential.

  1. Your identity is a result of God’s divinity. Wherever you are, is a result of series of events that God orchestrated to make you who you are today. Because of Him, we are what we are.
    1. Job says God allowed him to go through this crazy moment in his life, but Satan was not allowed to touch his life. God protected you, because he protected your destiny. The good, the bad, and the ugly made you who you were. If you hadn’t gone through what you have, then you wouldn’t pray like your do, read the bible like you do, or have the faith that you have.
  2. You can’t take this chance for granted. – 1 cor 15:58 says 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.- Paul understood that this hardship given to him would not be in vain. This meant that this opportunity (the hardship) couldn’t be mishandled, because what was to come was greater than what he came from. Paul could not take a chance on going back from where he came from.
    1. We can’t be flighty. When Paul was all over the place in his spirit, he found that God’s grace was still there. No matter what happens, you have to declare that you ain’t going nowhere, because you are a recipient of grace.

 

 

  • Power to produce

We got to make full proof of our life in Christ Paul said. Paul perfected the art on how to persecute Christians. Now Paul has been transformed from being Saul. Having said this, know that what you have in your old life, transforms to your new life. Too many of us got tired after our change to our new saved lives. We are renewed, but like Paul (Saul), God wants the qualities that we possessed in our old lives to be used in our new lives.

  1. Walk in purpose beyond expectation. When you walk in purpose, you observe grace. We serve over and beyond what is required because of grace. When you recognize the grace that was allotted to you, to have that job or to possess something you didn’t deserve, you might stay a little longer than you normally would have.
  1. Ex- Bishop Walker shares that his friends are always telling him that he is always doing too much. The caution him to pace his self in the things he does in the Body of Christ. Bishop’s response to this is he was like this when he wasn’t saved. The Old Joe, burnt the candle at both ends when he wasn’t saved, so naturally, God wants to use this in the Body of Christ. No need to burn the candle at both ends and then get tired after you get saved.
    1. Give God glory for it all. Matthew Henry has been quoted as saying, “Extraordinary afflictions are not always the punishment of extraordinary sins, but sometimes the trial of extraordinary graces.”- God will let you go through sometimes just for you to see his grace.

2 Cor 4:17 says 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory

James 1:2 says 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials – Sometimes, our trials are not for sins, it is a precursor for the next level of our lives.

2 Cor 12:9 says 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. – Give God glory in his infirmities, because God gave us the grace to deal with it.

  1. There is grace on your life – When you go through, grace got your through. God is to going share his glory with you.

Closing Story:

There were 3 people that were to show up for a required meeting. Their names were Time, Justice, and Grace. When it was time for the meeting, Time and Justice showed up, but Grace was nowhere to be found. As a result, Justice said, “We are going to have to penalize Grace based on the law”!

A while later, Grace came limping over the horizon. Grace’s pants was wet and torn and Grace’s hands were burnt also. After Time and Justice had finished looking at one another astonished, they noticed that one of Grace’s eyes were missing too.

As Grace got a little closer, they noticed blood on his clothes. Justice said to Grace, “I am going to read the charges that will be brought against you for being late for this mandatory meeting”. Time cosigned by saying, “That’s right!” Afterwards Justice asked Grace if he had anything to say on his behalf before punishment was administered to him and Grace slowing began to respond. Grace told them both, “I apologize for being late, but you see, some things happened on my way here.” Grace continues to say, “On my way here, I saw a man named Moses and he stretched his rod over the Red Sea, trying to escape Pharaoh’s Army, so I stepped in the Red Sea and parted it for them. This is how my clothes got wet.

Then he said, “Also I saw Daniel in the Lion’s den, so I got down in the den with him to tame the lions and keep him safe. This is how I got my clothes torn.  And oh yeah, there were 3 Hebrew boys name Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and they were thrown in the furnace, because they refused to bow down to the king’s idol god, so I stepped in the fiery furnace to calm down the fire. In fact, I was the 4th character in the furnace, waving at the king.

There was a man called blind Bartimaeus whose eyes were missing, so I gave him one of mines so that he could see. This is how lost my eyes. Finally, I had to wait until the 6th hour for this man hanging on the cross. He happened to be shedding his blood for mankind. —- We don’t always get it, but no matter what we go through, God’s grace is with us. We don’t always recognize it, but it is there. Thank God for his Amazing Grace!

 

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I’ve been forgiven, sermon 11/29/15

Posted on December 11, 2015 by growintheword

I’ve been forgiven

Synopsis of sermon 11/29/2015

Delivered by Bishop Walker

Text: John 8 (NKJV)

8 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

2 Now early[a] in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught[b] in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded[c] us that such should be stoned.[d] But what do You say?”[e] 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.[f]

7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up[g] and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience,[h] went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her,[i] “Woman, where are those accusers of yours?[j] Has no one condemned you?”

11 She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and[k] sin no more.”

We all have been benefactors of forgiveness. Having said this, there are so many unreasonable expectations that are placed on children of God, it is unreal. We are progressive, meaning we are becoming, but have not yet arrived. Although we have not arrived, there should, however, be some measurables along the way. In other words, some things we used to do, we don’t do anymore.

Stepping out of it is not the hard part. Staying out of it is much harder. The good thing is, once I understand who I am, I know what I’m capable of and so I keep myself out of some situations. In the text, it talks about a woman being caught in the act of adultery. People often talk about this text and how it is about the woman caught in her adultery, but the revelation is much deeper than that. This is really about the first time grace was given.

In the text, the Bible doesn’t name the woman it talks about. Whenever the name is not mentioned of the main character of a scripture, it means we are all included in that situation, which means we can apply the scripture directly to ourselves. In the text today, the scribes and Pharisees come to Jesus after catching the woman in the very act. They say that she should be stoned. Now we have:

  1. The reality of being caught in the very act

Have you ever been caught with your hand in the cookie jar?  There are a lot of emotions tied to this. No matter how good you think you are, we all have had moments where we were caught in the midst of our weakness. You need to know:

  1. No matter who you are, the struggle is real – There is struggle in the life of all us and that struggle is real. You have to be on guard at all times, because the devil is always looking for an opportunity to exploit you.
  2. The devil will make it fun of you in private and make it shameful for you in public – No matter what your issue is, we don’t know how long you been dealing with it. In fact, you would be surprised of how many people that you know that once had pasts that would surprise you ( if you knew about it). The devil will lead you on to make it shameful publically.
  3. How do we deal with the devil’s tricks?
    1. By self-realization – Don’t get caught up in what people think you are. Know who you are for yourself. Paul says in Romans 7:24 (NKJV) 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? – After you get through jumping, shouting, and praising the Lord, you have to be willing to ask the Lord to help you out, because you got some real issues.
    2. Have sense enough to run – When you are confronted with something that can consume you, then you have to run! Sometimes you simply have to run!
    3. Spiritual Resolve- You come to a place where you are just done! When I was a child I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Now we must:

  1. Reveal the contradictions of your accusers

Religious leaders brought the woman to Jesus to say she was caught in the very act of adultery. One has to wonder where the scribes and Pharisees were to be in a position to catch her in the very act. Were they in her window? If so why? Tell your neighbor to get out of your window!

Religion vs relationship:

  1. In religion, people would rather antagonize rather than evangelize – Don’t use religion to beat people up. You would be surprised to know how many pew devils there are. One of the worst things you can have is members with stones in their hands. If it wasn’t for God’s grace where would you be?
  2. You got to catch the fish, before you clean them. Rom 3:23 says 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
  3. Prov 24:16 says 16 For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.

1 John 1:10 says 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

  1. Religious people have selective morality – She is accused of this act. You can’t commit adultery by yourself. It takes two to tango. Where is the man during this accusation? Nowhere is the man brought up on charges or accused of any wrong doing. They just brought the woman to Jesus. People do the same today. We give some people a pass, but we want to throw stones at others. This is called Selective morality. We throw people under the bus, but when we are down, we want people to pray for us.

Finally,

III. Rejoice for complete acquittal

Jesus does something in this woman’s life that is so important. It is about Jesus’ act of grace.

  1. He created space for grace – It’s interesting; A doctor recently said that if people believed that their sins had been forgiven, half of his patients would walk out of the hospital the next day. Lots of time, we allow what we have done, hold us captive. We blame what we have done as a reason that God put sickness and diseases on us. God doesn’t work like this.
  2. Finally Johnny decides he’d had enough. He decided that he would confess. He figures his fate for killing the duck couldn’t be worse than what he was suffering under his sisters blackmail tactics. Johnny goes and tells his grandma that he accidently killed her duck. When he told her, his grandma said, “I know what you did, because I was looking out the window when you did it and I forgave you then for what you did. I just wanted to know how long you was going to allow your sister to make you out of a slave”. Just like this, God has forgiven us for the things we have done. He forgives us and gives us his grace.
  3. One day, he takes aim at his grandma’s pet duck, thinking maybe he needed to try and hit something else. He draws back on the sling shot and on this particular day he hit’s the bullseye. Yes, that’s right, he kills his grandma’s duck. Johnny’s sister saw it and threatened to tell his grandma what Johnny had done. Johnny pleads with her not to tell what he had done and she agrees not to tell if he would do her chores. Johnny agrees and every time his sister was told to do something, she would make Johnny do it. Johnny had to do the dishes, take out trash, and anything else his sister did not want to do.
  4. Ex – There was a boy named Johnny and everyday he would try to take his sling shot and hit the bullseye on his target. Day after day, Johnny failed to hit the bullseye.

John 1:14- 16 says 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me. ‘” 16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. – Whereever Jesus is, grace is. What is grace? It is God giving me what I do not deserve. It is the acknowledgement of my own human condition and granting me what I don’t deserve regardless.

  1. They brought the woman to Jesus, trying to trap him. John 8:6 says Jesus writes in the sand. Sand is another form of dirt. We don’t know what Jesus was writing in the dirt, but I imagine he was thinking, “Dirt is talking about dirt” (referring to the Scribes and the Pharisees).
  1. The Bible says the Scribes kept pressing him. Jesus finally says in vs 7, “you without sin, cast the first stone” and from the youngest to the oldest, they start dropping their rocks.
  2. Jesus looked at the woman in vs 10. Jesus gets up from the ground and looks at her, then he asks “Where are your accusers?” If you can imagine, the woman probably was crying with her hands in her face. Jesus stops her from doing this and forces her to look around and she discovers that all her accusers were gone. This meant that there was no one left to condemn her, so Jesus says to her, “Neither do I condemn you”
    1. They wanted to kill her, but Jesus wanted to give her life.John 10:10 says 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
    2. Rev 12:10 – 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
    3. Luke 6:41 says, 41 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?
  • When the enemy wanted to kill me, Jesus gave me life – “Where are your accusers”, Jesus asked? John 8:11 says 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” They were gone. Since they were not there to condemn her, then He said he would not condemn her either. – Being accused of what you did not do isn’t grace. This is being not guilty. For Jesus to say he won’t condemn you, then He is saying he is aware that the accusations are true, but instead of throwing rocks at you, He is throwing grace at you.

 

 

You have to acknowledge what you did, if you want God’s grace. He gave me life, when my enemies wanted to kill me!

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