Freedom Of Preach

[Intro]Can the church say

Amen? (Amen reverend)

We gon' do one more offerin right now

We gon' do another one in fifteen minutes

And we gon' do one mo', right after that

Yes, women you lookin so very beautiful here today

Some of you with the same thang on from the club last night(oh)

The Lord giveth and the

Lord taketh away

Please Lord

Jesus I wish you'd taketh away

Sister Mary's wig

Oh you disrespectin the

House of God with that thing on

It don't even look real; aww, it's testimony time

Oh who is that?

Young Chris

BridgesBoy

I'm glad you finally grew into them ears

Go on and testify[Ludacris]

Lord, please forgive me for the mistakes

I've madeAnd thanks for keepin my momma safe when she wrecked my

EscaladeSee

I could replace a

Cadillac but

I can't replace my momma

I'm sorry for the hip-hop beefs, we sorry for the drama

But you gotta understand us rappers ain't never had nothin

And one's loss is another's gain so we gotta grab somethin

Lord, got so many questions

I need the answers to

And sorry for the thangs

I put my baby's mama through

I feel that women are really the strongest human beingsbut why do you make 'em so emotional, and other minor things

I guess it's your way of sayin we gotta love 'em and gotta praise 'emcause without 'em we'd be nothin, plus our kids they gotta raise 'emwhile we, out and about and seein what life has to offer

But if you offer a new life then what we need is better fathers

Either I'm smarter cause of my daughter or

I'm just too dense

I'm 28 years old, it just now started makin sense

And I've been...[Chorus One]

Searchin so looooong,

I was lost in the clouds

I'm tryna stay strooooong, and make you prouuuuud

It took me some tiiiiime, but now

I seeThat

Heeeee resiiiiides, in me yeahhhhh yeah[Ludacris]

Lord, forgive me for anytime a fan said

I was bein rude

I'm only human,

I'm not always in the best of moods

But thanks for givin the gift of rap to write my feelings down

And sorry for cursin sometimes but feelings make me shout 'em out

Forgive the people that wanna blame everything on rap music

If they didn't live it they can't relate or even adapt to it

Forgive those who don't think

I'm great and wanna see me go

Forgive Oprah for editin most my comments off her show

Don't get me wrong,

I know some people got a image to hold

But those who criticize the youth might just be gettin too old

We still travellin through life, findin what's right or wrong

I know some folks may not agree or even like this song

But I'm just speakin

MY truth, cause

I heard it sets you free

And my conversation's with

God, even though he speaks through me

I'm smarter cause of my daughter, and

I'm NOT too dense

I'm 28 years old, it just now started makin sense

And I've been...[Chorus One][Ludacris - over Chorus One]

I've been searchin so long

I admit that

I've been lost in them clouds

I'm just tryna stay strong baby

You know I'ma make you proud

I know life is full of contradictions

I'm tryna become a better man

Prayin for redemption, each and every day(Hallelujah, as the choir sings)[Chorus Two: sung by choir]

Searchin so looooong (so long) lost in the clouuuuuds (in the clouds)

Tryin to stay strooooong, and make you prouuuuud - make you proud!

Took me some tiiiiime (took me some time) now

I seeeee (oh now I see)

Heeeee resiiiides, in me (yeah)(Ladies and gentlemen, we have a special guest in the house tonightCame with some words of encouragement, Bishop Eddie Long)[Chorus Two - repeat 2X, minus ad libs][Outro: Bishop Eddie Lee Long]

What you just heard is real life

It's real life for you, it's real life for many

It's about where you been, yet at the same time you

Ay, you find yourself, in the midst of conflict and turmoil

Yes I'm talkin to you, in the midst of conflict and turmoil

Cause you realize

HEY - it's, time to change right now

And in the middle of that

I wanna say this

The Bible says that when

I was a child,

I spoke as a child

I understood as a child,

I fought as a child

Hey, but when

I became a man

I put away those, childish things

Did you not know that your environment has shaped you?

Where you were born, in the projects, in the ghettoes

In the upper downtown, wherever it was

The people around you, the things around youcause you to do strange things because, you were seeking to learn

But what you learned, was on the streets, and not in the book

God called you a prophet

When you open up your mouth, everything of

God comes out

And it commands attention, it commands change

I'm talking about the power, that's inside of you

And in the midst when you're, starting to understandthat

I caught the wrong message, and now it's time

I'm hearing from

God, what amazing experience, as you hear from

GodHe said, "Is there forth any man be in Christ, he is a new creation"

Old things are passed away, somebody needs to hear that and behold

Everything becomes new, and when everything becomes new in you

It's time to stop the killing

I said it's time to stop the stealing

It's time to stop disrespecting our women

It's time for us to come home and raise our children

It's time for us, to really mold our communities

It's time for us, not to get hooked up in religion

But to get hooked up in relationship, with

GodAnd the amazing thing about itis wherever you find yourself right now, you can confessand you can tell

God "I'm sorry;I had the wrong cue, I was doing the wrong thingI was going after things that I thought were right, but it wasn't rightAnd now that I'm getting it right, I'm asking you to forgive meAnd I may have done the things, that they said I didBut I'm not, who they say I am; I am who you made me to beand I'm changing in that, and it takes a few momentsBut every time I fall down, I'll get right back upAnd every time I make a wrong turn, I'll get myself back in lineBecause I recognize, I have been called, for such a time as this!"

You can't resist the change

And you're not condemned by your yesterday

If you can grab hold of your now, and move in your destiny

Move, change, and be, now![Chorus Three: sung by choir]

Searchin so looooong, lost in the clouuuuuds

Tryin to stay strooooong, and make you prouuuuud - make you proud!

Took me some tiiiiime (took me some time) now

I seeeeeHeeeee resiiiides (Heeee resiiiides) in me (in me yeahhhhh)