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A Biblical Response on First Lady Karri Bryant's Dress
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Well, bam, here we go. We are back at it again. Ladies and gentlemen, have you seen the dress heard round the world? If you haven't, here it is, right here. Here's a picture of it. I want you to take a look at this here. Dr. Carrie Bryant's dress along with her husband, Pastor Dr. Jamal Bryant. The dress heard round the world, the dress seen round the world. What is the world coming to, ladies and gentlemen? Listen, you're not going to want to miss this episode of Dimensions. We're going to get into this thing right here because, you know, there's been a whole lot of talk around it. They were on the Tamron Hall show. He did a little excerpt of a sermon from it. He's talking about that. There's a whole lot of things that she gave a response now. We've heard from her. I want to give you a biblical, non-judgmental, non-biased response. And what do I mean by that? Straight from the Bible. It's not about what I want, it's not about what they want. What does the Bible say about these things? You know, the Bible has everything that we need, and it shows us everything we need to know. And that's all we need to stand upon. You're not going to want to miss this. It's going to be exciting. We're about to get in on this thing on dimensions. Stay tuned. We'll be right back in just a moment. Bringing you what's happening in the prophetic now. So what, why? So we can keep oil in our lamps, love in our heart, sending leaven out of our lives. And that's what we want to do here on Dimensions and bring to you what's happening. So listen, before I go any further, would you please take a moment? Because I'm going to be getting in on some stuff here that I think everybody wants to hear some commentary on. Would you take a moment to like, subscribe, follow, share here on Facebook and YouTube? And if you have not become a member of the Dimensions family, go to wherever podcasts are being held and download the podcast so you do not miss any episodes, because the things that are happening deserve a biblical response. And we want to speak to them from a prophetic angle of what's happening in the world. And I want you to bring up that picture again, Mr. Producer, because I want you to see something here. This is what a first lady wore to a ball. The question we have to ask ourselves is how should we view this picture? How should we view this? How should we view this standpoint and their responses? I'm going to get into all of that here in just a moment, because Dr. Bryant actually brought a sermon from his pulpit defending what happened with distress and concerning around it. This is a first lady. This is a pastor. And I'm not even going to tell you the things that it's accenting. It speaks for itself. I mean, there are things there that need not to be seen nor shown. There are things there, and I'm going to take away from the jump that these things are not permissible, nor are they acceptable. But I'm going to give you a biblical response of what is happening. And so the first thing I want to do before I get into this, I want you to take them in. And once again, like, subscribe, follow, share. Get this out. Help me get this out to every person. Make sure you download it and get in on this. Remember, every single night, Monday through Friday, Dimensions is coming to you so we can talk about these things that are happening. I have the video here of Pastor Dr. Jamal Bryant. After the dress had gone viral, he gives a response from his pulpit of what was his view concerning these things. I'm also going to be showing you some clips. You're going to want to stick around. They were on Tamarin Hall, I believe it was yesterday. I'm going to talk about that as well and show you some clips. And then there's a surprise guest video that I didn't plan on bringing, but I came across that I think you might want to take a look at from a secular star that saw this. And I'm curious to hear your thoughts on what their views were. And I think it might be surprising to you what's going to be happening with this. So the first thing I want to do is I want to show you this video, Dr. Jamal Bryant. It's a little bit longer, so I want you to stay tuned. I want you to look at it. And I might be breaking in here and there. I'm going to be right with you here. I'm going to be breaking in to kind of address some of these things that were spoken. Because there's so many different things. I'll have my producer stop it here and there so I can address those things. Why don't you get ready? Take a look at this, and I'm going to be giving you some commentary as we walk through it.
SPEAKER_03:I needed. I needed to get this straight. I needed to deal with it head on. Because the other day the internet went crazy about a dress my wife had on.
SPEAKER_02:Now, they didn't say anything about the four million dollars that was raised for the United Negro College Fund. They never mentioned that she prayed until heaven came down. They never said anything about this was the largest fundraiser for United for HBCUs in the country. But insecure, jealous, petty, small ones that are.
SPEAKER_01:Stop right there. Stop right there. Now I want you to see something. The first thing that he does is he addresses and says, listen, I know this dress went viral, but look at the money that was raised. Look at this was the largest event. These things were all happening. He's addressing all of these certain circumstances that happened. Listen, the devil's number one plan is always to divert from the truth. Do you understand the tree? Now watch how Satan works. The tree that Adam ate from was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Whenever the devil wants to bring deception, he will always take. Now watch this. He will always put all of this truth in there, but then he'll put the lie in there, hoping that people will overlook the lie. They will overlook the fault. They will overlook the wrong and only focus on the truth. And that's what happened in the garden. What happened there? He said, Listen, uh, did God say you can't eat of the tree? And they said, Yes, you can't eat of it. You can't even touch it, you'll lest you die. And he said, God knows you're not going to die. There's the faults. But in the day that you eat of it, God knows that your eyes will be open and you'll be like God's and you'll be able to discern good and evil. All of that was true, but there was a little lie in there. That's the tree of the knowledge of good needing. The devil will always put a element of the, just a little bit of the lie in there, and then wrap it all up in truth. So then therefore you'll consume the whole thing. And hopefully the good will outweigh the bad. And that's how deception creeps in. So we're talking about the money that was raised, and she had prayed, not understanding they violated the scriptures. Now, watch this. Now, watch. There is a scripture in Samuel that Saul was called to kill the Amalekites. And he said, I want you to kill all of them. And he was supposed to kill the king, Agag. He was supposed to kill all of them and kill everything. And the Bible says that. Now let me show you about the sin of rebellion here and how it creeps into the church. What happened? Samuel came, said, What's this bleeding I hear? And he kept some of the sheep and he kept Agag alive. And he said, God said to do it like this. And he said, But I thought it would be better to keep all of these things and to do it this way. Now I want to show you this here because God then stripped Saul of the kingdom. God then said, You're not going to, it's not going to be passed down. He eventually rips Samuel's garment and he said, Today the kingdom has been ripped from you, and he wouldn't even pass it on to his sons, and everything got cut away because he thought he could do it better his own way. And he said, I'm going to do it a way that I think is right. And the reality is, is the scripture clearly tells us how we ought to dress. It is not anything that is controversial, or not controversial, that is confusing. It's not anything that is not clear or vague or the Bible is, we are uncertain about what the scripture says. But what they do is they put that in there and then they'll overshadow. But look at she prayed heaven down. It was the largest thing ever, raised four million dollars for all these things. But still, you have violated the word of God. And what did Samuel tell Saul? It is better to obey than to sacrifice. Are you hearing what I'm saying? Now, this is the reason why I'm listening to this. And while I'm listening to it, I'm saying to myself, wait a minute here. Okay, I get all that. I'm glad that she prayed the house down. I'm glad that you raised four million dollars. I'm glad that it was a great event. But why now are we having a first lady dressing the way that she is? Let's continue here with the video.
SPEAKER_02:People got in their feelings and set up a false barometer of holiness based off of a dress. Now you gotta help some people because some people have embraced the full knowledge of ignorance without any assistance for understanding. The dress was not see-through, the dress was flesh color. Okay, stop right there.
SPEAKER_01:Stop right there. Now watch this. Can you bring up a picture of the dress, Mr. Producer? Bring that up and stay there with the video. The dress was not see-through. That's true. It was flesh tone. Now, let me say this now just because I'm gonna give it to you directly how I see it. What does that dress look like? It focuses on the parts of a the anatomy of a woman that should be reserved for her husband. It's just that simple. It looks like she has nothing on underneath. Yeah. Now it may not have been see-through, but it gives the illusion that you can see through it. It looks like she has panties on. It looks like, I mean, all these things, I'm looking, I'm like, wait a minute. This is not something that a first lady should be wearing. And what's, see, now you got to look at the wording here. It was a flesh-colored dress. And I'm sitting there thinking, even the wording flesh, exactly. Exactly. And you don't need as a first lady to be wearing a fleshly colored dress. Leave that up there while I want to read to you this scripture in 1 Timothy chapter 2, uh, verse 8 through 10. Now look at this. It says, I desire there, I desire therefore uh that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting, in like manner also that women adorn themselves in modest apparel. I'm not even gonna read through the rest of it. You can read through the rest of it if you want to, but it talks about that women need to be godly with good works, but they need to be modest. Now, a lot of people, now you'll hear Dr. Jamal later talk about uh the importance. Well, how come we're not addressing how men dress? If you watch the old Tamron Hall show, we're not, well, men usually, women don't have the issue that men have. Women aren't looking at men. Now, I'm not saying that men should dress any other type of way, but men aren't usually dressing in ways that cause women to look at them the same way a man looks at a woman. They're completely different. It doesn't mean men can't, but it's not the same. Men are not, women are not driven by sight like men are. Uh women aren't usually seduced by sex. Not usually. Emotionally, they will be seduced. Sometimes it will bring them into sex, but a man is driven by sight. So it doesn't talk much about that because most women are not turned on by that. That the way that a man is. It doesn't mean that they're not turned on by sight, it doesn't mean that they're not attracted, doesn't mean that, but it's a different type of thing. And do I believe that men should dress modestly without a doubt? But the Bible directs that because women are built differently than men, and men are attracted differently to women than women are attracted to men. It doesn't mean that women are not attracted to men and that women aren't turned on or aroused by men. What I'm saying is that it is different. It is different. And so, therefore, like when a man dresses in a suit, I mean, he can only dress in a suit. That's it. Women can wear dress, they can accent features of their body that create and gravitate men's attention. So the Bible warns against that. And first ladies are called to be a model and an example. They're called to be a model and an example. And he said it's a fleshly colored dress. And when I heard the word flesh, I said, that's the key word. It was a dress of the flesh. It's just that simple. And it accented, it accentuated fleshly carnal things. No matter how you want to look at it, it is what it is. That's what it is, and that's exactly what it needs to stay as it is. So I wanted to mention it to you. Let's look a little bit further into the video here.
SPEAKER_03:No way. And they never been exposed enough.
SPEAKER_01:Matter of fact, Greg, you're lying at about 30 seconds. I know I'm gonna do this here, but I want to go back. I think we missed a part here. I I want I want you to see this here. Go ahead and listen to it again.
SPEAKER_02:Because some people have embraced the full knowledge of ignorance without any assistance for understanding. The dress was not see-through, the dress was flesh color, but because you ain't never been nowhere and ain't never been exposed to nothing.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, stop right there. Now the church is applauding. He said, now it was not, now watch this. It wasn't a see-through dress. It was a fleshly colored dress. And he's saying, because y'all ain't never been nowhere, ain't never been exposed to nothing. Well, I don't want to be exposed to that type of stuff as a believer. I don't want to go wherever it is that I don't need to be exposed to that. And the church is applauding this. This is the dissert, this is the discouraging, heart-wrenching part of this. That that the church is applauding this man preaching about parading his wife around uh in a illusion that she's wearing a see-through dress, leaving nothing to the imagination. And it's completely okay.
SPEAKER_03:Let's bring back up the video. We're gonna watch some more. And you're applauding this. Furthermore, I needed to set it the record straight. Y'all don't like it. I need to set it the record straight. And I like it. I don't care whether you like it or not. She ain't mad to y'all. She mad to me. Okay, now stop right there. Now look at this.
SPEAKER_01:I bought the dress. Now, that's the first thing I want to talk about. I couldn't imagine asking my wife to wear that in public anywhere. Not a million years. Not a million years. I would never ask my wife to wear something that would expose her. I bought the dress. I like it. Y'all ain't married to her, but you're, see, this is the thing that he's not understanding. We understand we're not married to her, but you just brought us into your life. You brought your marriage and what should be reserved for you and her behind closed doors into the world's perspective. We didn't want to know her like that. I don't want to know her like that. I don't want to see her like that. You made that public and then said, stay out. You brought what was supposed to be kept for you and your wife behind closed doors into a public platform. That's why the Bible says the marriage bed is undefiled. You want to wear that, you want to have that. That's for you and her alone. And the reason why I mentioned this, people wonder why do people scrutinize it? Well, because you brought what was meant to be sacred and you made it public. You meant what was reserved for you and your wife, you made it public. Now she's looked at differently. And I thought about this. I was like, this shows me how he views his wife. Any man that views and honors his wife doesn't want his wife to look like she's out there for everybody to witness and to see. I mean, it doesn't mean you don't want your wife to look nice. You don't want your wife to look attractive, you want your wife to dress nice. My wife, Pastor Tiff, always dresses very classy, very beautiful, but she never dresses in a way that's provocative. She doesn't dress in a way that causes anybody's appetites to be aroused. She doesn't dress in a way that causes people, watch this, y'all ready, to look beyond, watch this, her anointing and get caught up in carnality. Now remember this: people will receive you how they perceive you. He just put his wife out there as a sexual object. I bought the dress, I put it out there, I like it. That's good. That's why you should have that dress for you and her. But when you make it public, you bring down the value of your wife. And now, the reason why I say that, people say, well, how could you say that? Because now men and women will see her as a sexual object and not a woman of God. And what will happen, the ability for her to have impact will be diminished. Now, let me show you something here. Take a look at any artist, any artist, any type of uh, when I say an artist, uh, uh any actress, if they were not nude, watch when they go nude in Hollywood, what happens after that? They fall, especially if they went through a period of time where they weren't nude and everybody wants and they're very beautiful. Then they go nude. It seems like they just fall off because there's nothing left. You've given up everything. Now the world had you have shared the most intimate part of who you are with the world. And now everybody sees you differently. They look at you differently. You look at it, you can be attractive, but not be provocative and be in a way to where it caused people to look at you differently. And so he brought down the value of his wife. And now men, when they look at her, will have to battle with am I seeing her anointing or am I seeing her body? Am I seeing, see, people receive you how they perceive you. Some things are meant to be kept private. That's why I'm not a big fan of reality television as well. When you let people in your home and see your arguments and all, there are some things that are meant to be kept behind closed doors. Because watch this. Whenever you take what you have that is uncommon and make it common, you lower your value. What makes people value is a little bit of mysteriousness about who they are. There's some things you just don't ever get to know. There's some things you will never get to see. There are some things in my home, in my family that you will never know. You will never see. You will never hear about because it's meant for us. So when you make that public, you bring the church and everybody else into your world and think about the scrutiny his wife has to face now. Think about the things she's going to have to endure. Think about the guys that are now looking at her and seeing her. And now you got people and think about what's going to happen to other women. She just gave permission for women to dress in a way that is very, very secular. If the first lady can do it and God honors her, then surely I can do it as well. And he made his wife common. He put his wife in a common place and let everybody see what's reserved for him. And there are some things that are meant to be kept for you and your wife and your spouse alone. There are some things that don't need to be shared. Even if you're in a pulpit, there's some things you don't address. There's some things you don't bring to the light. Because the moment you do that, now watch this. Let me show you something. Everybody can't handle your honesty. You may say, we're just being real. We're being real. Everybody can handle it. Some you ever had TMI, too much information? Well, you can do that with what you reveal as well. And what happens when you give people more than they're able to bear, it dilutes their perspective and perception of you, which means now their ability to receive from you dwindles as well. That's why the worst thing you can lose in your life is your testimony. When you are on a platform, is to lose that because people can no longer look beyond your faults. They everybody can't handle, watch this, your nakedness. There are some things everybody just can't see. And when I say nakedness, I'm not talking about just physically, I mean even emotionally. There's some things you can't reveal to everybody because it makes you common then. And when people do that, a lot of people can't receive from you anymore because they see you, even though they should not put you on a pedestal. That doesn't mean though, I need to put myself out there on Front Street with everything I've ever done, everything I've ever seen, everything I struggle with, everything my wife and I fight about, everything that happens, show my wife and her her beauty and what's reserved for us inside of our marital bedroom and let everybody see that. It makes you common and people don't have, all people don't have the maturity to look beyond it. They can't look beyond it and it will distort and it will pervert uh their ability to be able to receive from you. Let's bring up the video. Let's read, let's watch a little bit more.
SPEAKER_02:Now, if you wanted a first lady that looked like Little House on the Prairie and Holly Hobby, you got the wrong church. I wanted a wife I would rush home to that I wanted to be excited to see. When we walked in there, I said, shake it fast, watch yourself.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, stop. Stop. Now, now now watch this. I want to show you this. I'm giving you the response. What did he just say there? He said, I, if y'all are looking now, watch this. Y'all are looking for a first lady that looks like Little House on the Prairie, or what did he say, Hobby Lobby, or whatever it was that he said? I don't know who it was. He addressed that. He said, You're in the wrong church. Now watch. He pivots and says, I wanted a wife to run home to. Wait a minute. We're not talking about your wife, talking about a first lady. That is an office. That is an office that she sits in. There's a responsibility. Could you imagine Melania Trump wearing something like that? Maybe President Barack Obama's wife. Could you imagine Michelle coming out like that? Or any major figure coming out like that, that is the CEO of a company and parading his wife. What would that do to that car? And it's funny, but in the house of God, a place where the Bible clearly says we shouldn't do that, we are taking the office of a woman that has the greatest influence, some of the greatest influence, if not the most influence, of a woman in the church and making it common and secularizing the sacred. And I'm saying it's not. Notice something. I wanted a wife I could run home to. You said home. This is church. That's public. There's nothing wrong. She is what she is, but that don't mean we need to be witnessing it, and that doesn't need to be revealed. And so that's why the Bible says women dress modestly. And first ladies, now, even though I'm going to show you something here in a minute because she said there's no handbook for it, there's not a handbook, but the women of the first lady is meant to model what it says in the scripture for other women to be able to understand, be able to do that. Let me read, let me, let me, let me watch a little bit more of this. Check this out.
SPEAKER_02:If you don't have nobody that you're excited about, trade that booger in and find to somebody that Negroes can talk about.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, stop there. So now he's saying if you don't have somebody that you are excited to run home to, trade that booger in and go find somebody that Negroes can talk about. Now, now watch this. Why do I want a wife? Now, watch this. Why do I want to project my wife in a way that I want Negroes to talk about her? Now I'm not now please hear me. I'm all about having an attractive wife. I've said this before. I waited to make sure I got somebody I was attracted to. But what I'm saying is, the purpose is not that if other people ain't talking about my wife. So you want people to talk about your wife then. I don't want people lusting after my wife. I don't want people, I don't want her projected in that way. I want the men and women to look at her and see a woman of God that they can receive from, not be battling with thoughts in their mind of what she looks like and what her parts are. That's not what we want to put out there in the pulpit. So when they see you, they're looking beyond the dress, they're trying to see that flesh tone. And what you need to be is adorned in grace, if you follow me. This is, and I'm saying this because the devil always wants to make secular the sacred. He wants to make common what God made uncommon. Your wife, your husband, your bodies are uncommon to everybody else. It's common to me because I have witnessed my wife, that is my wife, but is not meant to be shared with everybody else. And when you bring her out like that, look at what that does. And then he's talking about trade that booger. No, if you're married, if you picked one you're not attracted to, you got to be with that person. If you're dating, that's another thing. That's a whole nother story. You can leave that and go on to something else. But people that are married are probably thinking, because he's been divorced. And so the reality is it makes it seem like, all right, well, get rid of who you are. You're not attracted to them get rid of it. No, no, no, no. That's not how that works. And let me tell you this: that's not what keeps a marriage together, anyways. That is the it's important to be attracted to your spouse. I get all of that, but it goes deeper than that. You got to understand there's people out there that may be looking for a way out, and you don't want that. So these are the things that I want to address here. And these are the things that are very important. Now, I want to now transition here because they were on the Tamron Hall show. And I want you to hear, because I was curious too. Okay, I heard his response and I heard him saying what he said, but I'm curious to hear what she has to say. And let's see what the Bible says about what she's going to say.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, stop, stop for a minute. Stop for a minute. All right, all right. I don't dress for people. You did, though. She did. That's the point that I'm bringing here. Now I heard someone say something very powerful one time and it stuck with me. I was back, I was probably in my teens or early 20s. Lady said, what you're willing to show, show, you're saying you're willing to share. When you reveal yourself as a woman, you are making yourself public. I don't dress for anybody else. You did, though. You you you invited us into your private world. I don't want to see her like that. I don't want to see it. I don't want to know. I wasn't even thinking that way. But then all of a sudden now she's putting herself out there and then saying, it's just for me and my husband. No, she's not, I dress for my husband. I dress. Well, then there's certain things you keep for your husband. You don't make those things public. You don't put your private parts like that on display where people are questioning and thinking and all that you made it public. So as a result of that, it garners that type of attention. That's why some things are meant to be kept private. She said, I I dress for my husband. I dress for myself. That's how you're supposed to dress. You dress for him that way, but for yourself, you dress in a way that you walk worthy of the office that you hold. Let's look a little bit more at the video.
SPEAKER_05:I'm a I'm a I have a doctorate, I'm a professor. There are plenty of things that I do. And the challenge is we often want to see one demand.
SPEAKER_01:I want to mention something else. I'm a doctor, I'm a that see, that's it's and that's all wonderful. Them are offices. So therefore, you need to walk worthy of any office that you're in. You walk worthy of the office. And so, therefore, there is something that comes. That's why you take a look at your president. Whenever he is in office, what does he do? He is always there and he dresses in a way that's accordingly. Now, this is the thing. When a first lady is not there, when I wasn't in church, but you never stop being a Christian. And the job of a first lady is to always represent and model what a Christian should look like. It doesn't mean we have to be perfect, doesn't mean that uh we're perfect and that that's the standard of holy, but if the Bible says not to do certain things, there's certain things that we don't want to do. And the Bible says very clearly that women need to dress modestly. There's actually a pastor script, I believe it in Proverbs, I want to say it's chapter eight. I I'll have to get it back and bring it back to you. But it talks about how a harlot would dress and how there's certain things that come along with it. There's actually one pastor, which I wouldn't go there like this. That's not, I don't say things like this, but he said she looked like uh a$2 whore. I mean, I now I'm not saying that. I don't want that. I'm saying I don't think that's appropriate to call names like that. It doesn't matter. You can call it out without have to mention names or degrade somebody, but the Bible addresses that about how we as uh uh or as as as people dress, there's a certain style that a harlot would wear that is representative of her being available. Well, people look at that and they see it that way, and that we shouldn't, that shouldn't be becoming of us as uh believers. Let's look a little bit more at the video.
SPEAKER_05:No, I am multidimensional. I carry multiple titles. Now, what you choose to call me on whatever day is is fine for whatever that might be, but I think that there is this idea that a woman can only be one thing. And once uh I happen to marry a pastor, I happen to fall in love with a man who is a pastor, right? And so with that came the title of first lady, but there is no there is no book for that, there is no manual for what that looks like. And I have decided that the title does not define me, I define what the title is.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, and that's thank you for that cut there. And here we go. So she says, I don't define the title, doesn't define me, I define the title. I totally disagree with that. Uh the you don't define what a Christian is, you don't define what a woman of God is. It's already been defined. It needs to shape you into that mold. If you don't want that, then don't become that. If you don't want to be a Christian, then that's okay. But you don't say, well, I'm gonna be who I am. That Christian doesn't define the title of a Christian doesn't define me. I define it. A first lady's role has already been defined. That's like a past, that's like a president going into office saying that type, that that office doesn't define me. I define it. I'm gonna rewrite it. We don't re-define the Bible. The Bible clearly says how a woman ought to dress, the Bible clearly says how we ought to operate. And what I believe the devil wants to do, now please hear me. What the devil wants to do, he wants to bring this type of stuff into the church to make those positions, pastor, first lady, elders, singers, commonplaces. Watch this. If you make those offices common, you see, it doesn't mean that we may not fall short. It doesn't mean that we may not make mistakes. It doesn't mean that we are perfect. It doesn't mean that we're all that because we're in an office. But if we drop the ball, we need to model humility. If we drop the ball, we have to say we were wrong. It doesn't mean, well, you know what, we're just gonna be carnal and we're gonna redefine the things of God because if we do that, people will no longer be able to receive from the mantle because they perceive the mantle as carnal. Because the men and women that are think about if the president started saying, okay, I'm not wearing a tie anymore, I'm gonna wear shorts, I'm gonna wear a polo shirt and shorts and sneakers, and I'm gonna do XYZ, and that's all I'm gonna do. Uh what will happen? Uh, people would, if he showed up to meet with these kings over overseas or things like that, when he showed up for certain things, it it he he's he's walking worthy of the position. And the Bible says that we ought to walk worthy of the call. And Ephesians chapter four, I believe it is. Let me see if I can find that real quickly. And it's not just for women, it's for men, it's for all of us. And if we do fall short, we need to make sure that we repent. That's all. It says, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. We need to walk worthy of that. So, and this is once again, this is not a smear campaign on Dr. Jamal or Dr. Carey. It's not that. I want to give you a biblical response with to say, because I do not want people falling into deception. And so what'll happen is women will start dressing that way, men will start parading their wives around. No, no, no, no, no. That's not what we do. That's not right. That's not the correct way. And I want to give you the biblical response of that. And when you marry a pastor or you are in leadership, there is a level you have to walk worthy of. And there's, listen, I'm sure we've all seen this. The higher you go in your responsibility, the less rights you have. So when you are called to be a man of God or a woman of God and you take on that role, you give up certain things. There are rights you don't have. Just like if you're a superstar, there are certain rights you lose because of the responsibilities that you have. The higher you go, the greater you become, the less rights you have as an individual. I don't mean human rights. I mean what other people can get away with, you can't because of the role and the office that you sit in. It's just what comes with the program. It doesn't matter where you are. Take a look at the man that was caught with the woman at the Coldplay concert. He was a CEO and she was a human resource person, I believe it was. They got caught messing around. They both lost their job. Why? Because it was reflective of the office they were carrying. And so they had to step away. Doesn't mean they were perfect, it just meant that they were not walking worthy of that office. The first lady is not a biblical office, but it comes with a responsibility. And she said, Well, there's no handbook to it. Yes, there is. It's not a first lady handbook. It's called being a woman of God. And if there's a Bible that says believers should live a certain way, it's up for the first lady and the pastor to model that. We need to model that. We are the examples, we are the forerunners, we are the front runners for how the gospel needs to be lived. And if we fall short, we have to repent. We have to be humble. And everybody should be gracious in that. The problem that I have with this is the fact that he was so arrogant about how he was coming across with it, making it seem like everybody else is crazy and what's their problem. Wait a minute, it's anti-biblical. It's not what the Bible says we ought to do. So it's very, very important we understand. Now, the last thing I have to do before I let you out of here, I wanted to show you something. I thought it was amazing. Sherry Shepard gave a response on her show about Jamal Bryant. Now, she talks about him and his preaching and all of that stuff and how where's all this stuff about I bought her that dress, where's that in the Bible? But I want you to hear what she says about a first lady. This is coming from a woman, to my knowledge. I don't believe that she's in church, saved, or anything on that line. To my knowledge, I don't know if she is. That's I I apologize. Uh, but to my knowledge, I I from what I've heard and what I've seen, that's not the case. Listen to what she said. Now, she's not in the church, she's not a believer, she's not sitting in a pew, but listen to her response.
SPEAKER_04:Flesh colored. But being a minister and the first lady, yeah, you you're not new to this. And yes, we all know that the dress isn't actually see-through, it is an illusion. I just don't know where the illusion of nudity fits in with being a first lady. I mean, I you know, for me, I feel like there's certain things that you don't expect from certain people. Like I expect to see Cardi B or Jennifer Lawrence, Lizzo, and something like this. Danielle Brooks just wore something like this to the Critics' Choice Awards last night. But I don't expect to see a first lady in the dress. And I will tell you.
SPEAKER_01:So, so look at that. Just coming from her, she's saying, wait a minute, I I don't understand how this fits into it. He you know, it's amazing how some people, even in the world, understand. If you watch the whole thing, I'm not gonna show you all of it. If you go back and watch it, you'll see where she says, Jamal, show me where that's in the Bible. I bought her that dress. Show me where, you know, the things that he was saying that based upon what I just showed you is biblical. She said, I don't think that should be the case. And she goes on and talks about how she had some things uh done to modify her body. And so she was exposing some certain things, and how somebody sat her down and said, You can't do that based upon being a daily talk show host. So she had to change the way she dressed. This is in the secular world, but in the sacred world, in the body of Christ, we let anything go. Now listen, this is the devil's plan, not Jamal's, not Carrie's, not Pastor Jamal, not Dr. Carrie. No, no, not them. This is the devil's plan to make common what God has made uncommon. The man and woman of God in any position, elder, leader, we are to walk worthy of that. And I want to show you something here because, and I'm gonna let you go with this. I want you to go to uh, I believe it is, let me look at 1 Corinthians chapter 8, I believe it is. Because I told you I want to give you a biblical response. I want to read this just for a moment here. I know I'm going a little bit longer, but I want you to really catch this today. It says, now concerning things offered to idols, we know that we all have knowledge, but knowledge, but remember he talked about knowledge in his sermon? Yeah, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta hear this. I mean, it's amazing. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. Knowledge makes you proud, arrogant. Look at this. I it wasn't flesh, it wasn't see-through as flesh tone. That's knowledge, but love. Are you walking in love? And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet, as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by him, or saying this is what will be known by him. Therefore, concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, through whom we live. However, there is not in everyone that knowledge. For some with consciousness of the idol until now eat it as a thing offered to idol, and their conscience, being weak, is therefore defiled. But food not commend, food does not commend us to God, for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we don't eat are we the worse. But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours becomes a stumbling block to those. Those who are weak. For if anyone sees you have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? And because of your knowledge and your liberty shall the weak brother perish for whom Christ died. But when you thus sin against the brethren and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Look at verse 13. This is where I want to get to. Therefore, if food, you can put anything in there, makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat again, lest I make my brother stumble. So this story here in 1 Corinthians chapter 8 is talking about they were eating food offered to idols. And some people were feeling like, oh my gosh, that was food offered to idols. So they would have this food, they would worship it, and then they would sell it. Well, people that had stronger conscience, and I'm not worshiping idols, and they take the meat and they go and eat it. It's kind of like the difference between some people that don't want to go to Starbucks or Target because they support certain things. And some people don't want to go. Well, if that's where you don't want to go, then don't go. You know, that's totally up to you. You got to kind of go where your conscience is. But what he was saying here is that if I'm eating that and it causes somebody else to fall into sin, I'm not going to do that to cause someone to sin. So men, women, no matter how you dress, if it causes somebody else to stumble and to fall, it causes somebody else to think thoughts about you that are ungodly, then you need to shift that. Anything you do, there's certain things you say, you know, I can't do that. If somebody is going to stumble, not if they don't like it, I'm talking about it causes somebody to stumble. That dress there, there are men out there that cannot handle that. Uh they can't, they will not be able to focus on what they need to focus on in church and then be able to see knowing what she was in. I'm not saying she's wearing it in the pulpit, it doesn't matter where she wore it. There's certain things that you have to be careful of. And I believe that when there are certain things that you just can't do uh when you hit certain places. And if something happens and it causes people to stumble and it creates this type of an issue in the body of Christ, there's some things that maybe you just step back from and say, okay, that's something that maybe the Lord is saying that's not for you. Now it doesn't mean that you are uh everything is wrong about it. And when I say that, the address is clearly incorrect. It's not proper or appropriate because the Bible says to be modest. But the reality is, is that there are other things, though, that you may say, well, I am I allowed to do that? Well, if it causes other people to fall into sin, you don't want to be cooperating with those things. You don't want to cause someone else to fall because of that. So so I wanted to take some time to address these matters to you all. And a lot of people are gonna say, oh, she's so she's a black woman, and they'll try to turn. Now, watch it. The devil tells it's about being feminist and trying to keep women in the house barefoot and pregnant. No, it's just the Bible said to be modest. You can dress very classy, very beautiful. You can even, like a woman that is curvy, that you can't, there are certain parts of the body you can't, you don't have to wear skin tight, but you know, if you're built, you're built. And so you're gonna be able to, you don't have to though put all the attention on that. If you're bigger in the chest, you can't wear that out. There's certain things you have to do to skirt levels and things like that. It all be why? Because everybody ain't sanctified. Some people say, well, they need to get saved then, but that's not what the Bible says. The Bible says, knowledge puffeth up, love edifies. So you don't want to be the reason for someone else falling. And if that's gonna, if they have a weaker conscience, or maybe what if somebody just got saved and they came out of a strip bar and they're in your church? Well, what do you think is gonna happen to them? They're not all the way sanctified yet. You don't want to give them anything that's gonna be able to gravitate or cause them to fall back into what it is, and carnality will cause that, and we don't want that in the pulpit. So I'm not saying that was their intention. I'm sharing with you the biblical response as to why I believe this is all incorrect and why that dress needs to be retired. You've got all these secular, look what she said. Cardi B should be wearing that, J-Lo should be wearing that. She said, All these, all the people I'm like, wait a shit, you should not be in the same category as J Lo or Cardi B. You should not be in the same category. That's like a pastor being in the same category as a Diddy or being in the same category as somebody that's doing all these different types of things. No, you you shouldn't be affiliated with those things as men and women of God. That's why the Bible says, what fellowship does light have with darkness? Come out from among them, be separate. That's what holiness is all about. And so I want to encourage everybody to really, really take these things to heart and understand the devil's plan and his plot and his ploy, which is to make the things of God that are uncommon, that are sacred. He wants to make them common and secular. And if you make those offices common and secular, you will dilute the power of God, the word of God, and the power of his word in people's lives and the power of the anointing in people's lives. They will not be as receptive and they will not be able to receive the way that they should. Because remember this people will always receive you how they perceive you. If they don't see you a certain way, they can't receive you a certain way. And the last thing before I let you go, when Jesus was there, the Bible says he went back home and he wanted to work many miracles, and he said he couldn't. Watch. Jesus never did anything wrong. But they said, Isn't this Joseph's son, the carpenter? And they said, because they made him common, he did not work many miracles. So how people receive you is based upon how they perceive you. You can be completely anointed, called of God, but if you lose that ability where people don't see you as a man or woman of God, your effectiveness will not be as it needs to be. Now, that doesn't mean in Jesus' case he did something wrong. I'm I'm making it clear. I'm showing you the principle about perception and reception. Uh, how people perceive you is how they will receive you. And I believe that he did his wife a dishonored service and injustice by making her common. Uh, he may not know it, he maybe he does. He may think he's doing a great thing. I think it's phenomenal that he's supporting his wife now. At least he didn't leave her out there in the cold. But um, you the best way to support your wife is to cover her and to be a leader and to share what you hey, baby, you can't go out like that. No. And to not even buy her that dress. Or if you buy her the dress, that's for you to rock for me at a candlelight dinner at home. As a matter of fact, when he was on there, think about now, think about what he said. Uh I if you go back uh and watch the rest of the Tamar and Hall, she said, you bought the dress. He said, Yes. And he said, When you didn't see her in the dress before, he said no. And when she came out, what did you think? And this is what he said. Why are we uh why do we need to leave? We can just stay right here. So if that did that for you, how's everybody else going to see her? Because what he's saying is that she's looking sexually attractive. So I don't want my wife, I don't want people sexually attractive to my spouse or to me or to another person because of what I'm presenting. There's nothing wrong with looking nice, but you don't want to present. Watch this. Never present to people what you're not willing to share with people. If you don't want people in your business, don't put it out there. And that is a lesson for every person listening. And what don't put your business out there. That's why people may ask you questions. You don't have to answer everything that people tell you. Hey, tell me about this, tell me about that. That's none of your business. You know, there's certain things that have nothing to do with you. So that's our business. And there, my bedroom is my bedroom. My wife's body belongs to me. My body belongs to my wife, and we're the only two that's to see or share with one another. That's it. And when you bring yourself out there like that, you make your wife uncommon. You cheapen her. No matter how you want to look at it, you cheapen her. Now, to the world, they're not going to look at that. Oh man, he's confident. He's it, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's not it, that's not, that's not biblical, though. You might be confident. Maybe you think that's a good thing or what, but no, no, no. But the Bible clearly says don't do that. So as a result of that, because I honor God, this is how I honor my wife. And I fear the repercussions of something like this in their marriage, in her life, in his life, of what could come in the future as a result of this, the pain that she must be facing, being looked at and being demeaned and called names. Well, you didn't have to do that. You know, your husband could have covered you in that. And I believe that's the job of a husband. So, ladies and gentlemen, I hope that you have been blessed by this. I hope that this is spoken uh to your life and ministered to you as well as uh edified you uh in your world. Uh, I I wanted to see because there might be one more thing I want to share. I want to look at this real quickly. Uh, let me see if I'm gonna do this or not. But um let me see here. No, I'm not gonna read anymore. That's it. That's it. So, so I I hope this has been edifying to you. I hope it's spoken to you. Um, once again, I'm not here to downplay them, but I want to call it what it is and share what's happening and give you the biblical perspective of why I wouldn't do that and why that's incorrect and why the Bible forbids it, and what the office of a first lady does, and how a woman of God should conduct herself. And, you know, a lot of talk about first lady, first lady, first lady. You can even remove that to some degree. Let's just talk about being a Christian woman. Just being a Christian woman, there's certain ways that you should carry yourself. And there's certain things you don't want to project to everybody. You don't want to put that out there. You don't want to be sexual with how you're presenting yourself when you're a man or woman of God. But once again, uh, this has already happened. Um, I'm praying for Dr. Bryant and Dr. Bryant's, because they're both doctors, Jamal and Carrie. I'm praying for both of them. Um, I wish them nothing but the best, but I pray that they would repent. I pray that they would turn from their wicked way. I pray because I think about the younger women whose conscience would be defiled, like I just read in 1 Corinthians chapter 8. Men who will be defiled because of that. You might be in a place saying, I'm not gonna sin, she's not gonna sin. But will it cause other people to sin? That's the thing you have to look at. Some people say, well, well, if they just in there, that's on them. Well, no, no, no, that's where 1 Corinthians 8 comes in. It talks about our Christian liberty and how we're not walking in love. And so therefore, we've sinned against the Lord because we're causing people to stumble. Think about that, meditate on that, keep what you have for you and for your spouse. And even when you're if you're single or you're dating, let me say this to you as well. Do not present out there and give your body, male or female, um, to the person you're dating until you're married. And don't present things. If you I tell people all the time, male or female, it's real simple. If you don't want to attract dogs, don't dress like you're in heat. If you want a man or woman of God, keep the outer covered and let them see within. And once they have been attracted to what's in you and they love you for who you are, then you give them the outer part of who you are. You get the outer shell, watch this, when you realize the inner virtue. Ladies or men, they cheapen their inner virtue when they give their outer shell before it's time. Remember that. Remember that while you're dating, and while and if you want people to see, see, that's why I mean, think about if I went up there or my wife went up there and we're scantily clad, how are people gonna receive from me? I mean, if I'm wearing these skin tight things, or my wife is wearing something that's very revealing of her body, you're not gonna be able to focus on the anointing. Think about this. If you have somebody that you're you're talking to and they got something in their nose, they got a boogie in their nose or they got food in their teeth, you can't even focus on what they're saying because you're so busy looking at their teeth or their nose, or if they got something wrong with their face. You're now, but imagine if their whole body is being portrayed in a way and you're trying to hear the word of the Lord and you're you're like, I don't, oh my gosh, it's just and then even if people say, well, it wasn't in church, it doesn't have to be. Because now when they see her, they're gonna see the dress. Now, when people see her, they're gonna see that. That's what she's gonna be known for. She's not gonna be known for anointing, she's not gonna be known for a prophetic call, she's not gonna be known for the gifting in her, she's not gonna be known for these other mantles, she's gonna be known for that woman with the dress. And now it's gonna be expected of her, and people are gonna look at her that way, and and it could be even people could be calling her names and cheaping her because of that. Think about all these things before you move. So if you're dating, reserve the outer shell for when they have recognized and committed a lifelong commitment to the inner virtue that they've seen within you. And if they recognize that inner virtue, even when the outer shell begins to drift and fall and gravity takes over and age kicks in, they will still be running after you because they're still in love with your virtue. Hope this has been a blessing to you. Please take a moment before we go. Like, subscribe, follow, share, leave your comments below, good or bad. It's totally up to you. I know some may not agree. I understand that, but it's not my job to agree or disagree. My job is to preach the word. People say, What's your, what is your opinion on it? I don't have one. I just give the scriptures. If you have an issue, take it up with the one that wrote it. My job is just to be the UPS mailman, to send this to you, a love letter from heaven, which is the word of God. And those that want it, they're in love with the Lord. Those that don't, that's between you and Jesus. And that's what I'm here for, is to make sure you keep oil in your lamp, love in your heart, send eleven out of your life. Tomorrow night, eight o'clock, I'll be right back here for more of Dimensions. And I hope to see you tomorrow night, keeping oil in our lamps, love in our heart, and sin eleven out of our life. I'll see you next time.
