Bounce Back

Part 3:

Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Nashville  ·  October 18, 2026

October 2026 Sermon Series  ·  Luke 22:31–32

I.                INTRODUCTION

Watch the full Sunday service: youtube.com/@mtzionnashville

Prayer:

Send a word, God. We will be made better because of what we are about to receive. Now we thank You, God, that Your word is relevant and real. And God, we pray today that we are transformed by what we shall receive today; that we have alignment with our assignment that we have structure for our lives, and that we can grow. We pray that though what we receive, somebody’s life will be changed today. In Jesus’ name. Everybody said, amen.

Luke chapter 22, verses 31 and 32. The Bible says:

And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon!

Indeed, Satan has asked for you,

that he may sift you as wheat.

But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail;

and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

Luke 22:31–32 (NKJV)

Failure. Failure has a way of convincing many of us that our story is over, when in reality God may be writing one of the most important chapters of your entire life. Few things hurt us more than falling short of our own expectations. You know what it’s like to replay that moment. We wish we could change the conversation. We wish we could take back the decision. We wish we’d never sent the text. We wish we never missed the opportunity. We wish we’d handled that person differently. We wish we never dated that person.

Failure carries a weight that will linger long after the moment. Failure whispers that you are no longer worthy, no longer useful, no longer able to do what God has called you to do. And if you’re not careful, you’ll let that one moment become your main identity. You’ll stop introducing yourself by your calling and your story, and start introducing yourself by your mistakes. You start laboring quietly, sitting in the back, sneaking in with your head down. Your posture changed because you are ashamed.

But Scripture reminds us that God specializes in using people who have failures in their past. Some of the greatest people God ever used had moments that would have disqualified them permanently if grace had not stepped in.

• Noah got drunk after surviving the flood.
• Abraham lied because he was afraid.
• Moses lost his temper.
• David committed adultery and arranged a murder to cover it up.
• Jonah ran from his assignment.
• Thomas doubted the resurrection.
• Peter denied the very Christ he swore he would never abandon.

And yet none of those failures got the final word, because God’s grace was greater than their weakness. The enemy points to your failure as evidence that what you have done has finished you, but God points to His mercy to let you know that He’s not done with you yet.

The gospel story is so powerful that it allows us to see the intersection of grace and mercy at the cross, because the very thing that should have brought shame is the thing that produced redemption. And I wanna talk to you, because I want you to understand, as a child of God: God finds utility in what other people throw away. There was something at work in your life. There was something valuable in your life. And I want you to understand: never become a prisoner to yesterday. The enemy may have robbed your yesterday, but God wants to do your tomorrow. So failure, though it scars, the scars have become reminders of God’s hand upon your life, because what did not kill you only made you stronger.

The setting today is Jesus in the upper room with the disciples. Watch this. In the upper room, the night before the crucifixion, the atmosphere is quite sacred. He is there; He washed their feet, broke bread, passed the cup. You know the story. He is preparing them for the darkest hour of their lives. Yet in the middle of all of that, Jesus turns to Peter. After washing feet, after the breaking of bread, preparing them for the darkest hour, He looks him right in the face and says, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked for you. He wants to sift you like wheat.” Simon Peter, don’t you worry about that, because I have prayed for you. I pray that your faith would not fail. But when you return to Me, not if you return, but when you return, I want you to strengthen the brethren.

II.              SIFTING IS SPIRITUAL, NOT PERSONAL

And people of God, this is so interesting, because I need you to understand, as we are talking about bouncing back, you must understand some powerful things here. When Satan comes and talks to Jesus about Peter and talks about sifting, it is important for you and I to never take our sifting personally, but recognize that sifting is spiritual and not personal. Whatever God has allowed you to go through, understand that. And I’m gonna walk this out with you, so follow me.

We make the mistake of believing that what we are encountering is personalized to an individual. But understand something: Jesus immediately shifts Peter’s attention. He does not focus on Judas and what Judas is going to do. He didn’t focus on Caiaphas, who is gonna have that kangaroo court. He says there’s something happening above your head. There’s something spiritual, and I need you to understand what’s about to happen in your life. I want you to understand something, Simon. Please understand: what’s about to happen in your life is bigger than:

• Politics
• A personality
• Public opinion

And the same is true for you and me. In what is happening in your life, God has something He’s gonna do in your life. Please understand who the real enemy is. Don’t ever get it twisted. Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 12:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,

but against principalities, against powers,

against the rulers of the darkness of this age,

against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)

I want you to understand something: this is not about making you afraid. It’s about giving you a spirit of discernment. Because the word here matters. What they would do in Peter’s day, they would put it in a sieve. They would literally put wheat in there, and they would shake it, over and over and over. By shaking it, they understood, and watch this, all the bad stuff would go this way, and all the good stuff would remain. I’mma help you: the sifting process was really about separation.

Satan wants to take you through a violent and uncomfortable season. But what I want you to understand is that God says, “I am going to use what the enemy intends to break you to bless you. I’m gonna use it to separate things that are attached to you that do not have permission to go where I’m about to take you. I just need you to survive the season of shaking and recognize I got My hand on it.”

Because please hear me well: Satan has asked for you. When did you ever know Satan to be a gentleman? He’s not a gentleman. But when he’s in the presence of God, he cannot come and encroach upon a child of God’s life without permission. Do you read the book of Job? He said, “Listen, I would’ve messed with Job, but You got a hedge around him. But if You move the hedge, I’ll come in.” Which tells me that God controls the enemy. And even though Satan may have a big bark, he is on a leash, and he can only go as far as God allows him to go.

So here it is. Don’t get it twisted. God says, “I’m allowing it. I’m a permit this. I’m gonna let this happen. I’m gonna let My sovereignty be in motion. I am going to allow him to do it, but his objective is not My objective.”

I’m gonna help somebody, because some of y’all don’t realize that God takes you through the shaking because there are some behaviors, some habits, some people that He has to shake off of you. And you don’t realize it before you go through the shaking, because some people are attached to you in seasons of blessing, seasons of comfort, and you think those are your real people. But then God will allow you to go through the shaking. When you lose your job, when things get rough, now you wonder why they’re not calling you no more. Like, why? Because God said the shaking will reveal what is attached to you for real. And whatever was attached is released out of your life. This ain’t gonna break you, but this is gonna deepen your faith.

A.    Stop Blaming People for Battles That Are Spiritual in Nature

So I need you to stop blaming people for battles that are spiritual in nature. I want you to hear me. I’m gonna drop one for you. You ready? See, if the devil can distract you with a personality, then he can truly keep you from discerning principalities. You’re so focused on a personality that it’s easy now to aim your anger and aim your attack at a person, so that you forget that Satan uses human agency to carry out his wishes. Satan needs a willing vessel, so he does deploy people to do his dirty work.

So wait a minute. Jesus says, “I’m not gonna focus on what Judas is gonna do.” I need you not to be distracted, because it’s easy for you to think it’s your ex. It’s easy for you to think it’s your coworker. It’s easy for you to look up and say it’s my group chat. It’s so easy for you to sit around and try to put your finger on who you think it is.

But wait a minute. Remember Matthew chapter 16. Jesus is having a conversation with the disciples. He says, “I must suffer many things. Y’all, I’m gonna go to Calvary. It’s gonna get rough. I just want to prepare y’all for it.” And Peter stood up and said, “Oh God, no, this will not happen to You. Far be it from You. Not this.” And Jesus looks at Peter, looks at him, and says, “Get behind Me, Satan.”

Wait. Wait a minute. He is not rebuking Peter. He is rebuking the demon that has gotten inside of Peter. Peter still remains in the inner circle, but Jesus talked to the demon. And that’s what you have to learn. Stop clapping back at people and learn how to speak to the demon. Some of y’all got to walk into your house and say, “Devil, get behind me.” You gotta go on your job and say, “I rebuke you; get behind me.” Stop using your voice to cuss back at the devil. You can’t out cuss the devil, but you can rebuke him and tell him to get behind you.

Let me make this make sense. This is why I want you to get this. We wanna work in ministry, we wanna serve, and sometimes we want to tap in. But then you join the team, use your gift, and eventually you’re gonna discover that everybody serving beside you don’t think like you, communicate like you, or lead like you. And if you’re not spiritually mature, you’ll start mistaking difference for dysfunction. One disagreement happens, and now you don’t want to serve no more. Somebody gets on your nerves, and instantly you’re ready to leave the ministry. But you cannot be the body of Christ if you only serve with the people you like.

The reality of ministry is that sometimes your feelings will get hurt. Sometimes you won’t get your way. Sometimes your idea won’t be selected. Sometimes a leader will make decisions you don’t understand. Sometimes people will communicate poorly, and sometimes you’ll be the one who communicates poorly. And there are gonna be times you mess up and you need grace, and times they mess up and they need grace. Just because you’re gifted, you gotta recognize you’re still growing. You’re anointed, but you’re still human.

And you gotta understand: Jesus did not throw Peter away every time Peter got on His nerves. Peter talked too much, spoke too quickly, misunderstood the mission. But watch this: you gotta understand, Jesus saw potential inside of Peter, so He gave Peter the grace to grow.

B.    Being Chosen for Sifting Means You Are Marked for Significance

And you gotta get to a point, even in ministry, even on your job. Sometimes you get frustrated because people don’t buy into the vision. Every time I try to do something to advance, some of y’all on campus trying to advance, some of y’all on your job, I’m always experiencing opposition. You gotta know where the opposition is coming from. It’s coming from the fact that you’re trying to be a change agent, and you got the devil nervous.

And please understand something: being chosen for sifting means marked for significance. The only reason why you’re experiencing that kind of pushback is because the devil is intimidated by what’s gonna happen through your life. The devil didn’t just pick Peter at random. He requested him. He was targeted. And let me talk to you. Come on, testify: you’ve been targeted. You’ve been talking: “Why me, Pastor? Why?” I’ll tell you why. Because whatever attack you’re experiencing from the enemy is never about your right now. It’s about your not yet.

When I first got to Mt. Zion, I was six months into pastoring Mt. Zion church. Back then it was a hundred and some members, and it was a traditional Baptist church, I mean in every facet. They had those Baptist business meetings. You really gotta understand. I’m 23 and I’m just a young preacher trying to do what God told me to do, and they almost ran me away from here. I was done. I had a Jeremiah’s resignation. Elijah, just listen: I’m under the broom tree. I’m like, “I’m done, God. You can have Your people. Send me back home to Louisiana.”

But then God had to remind me, back then in my 20s: “This ain’t about your 20s.” The devil is using human agency because God knows your end from your beginning. He already knows how this is gonna turn out. So the reason why he’s trying to discourage you in school, to make you quit, is because he already sees what God’s gonna do in your life. The reason why he’s trying to get you to walk out on your family is because he already sees what’s gonna happen with your children.

And what you gotta understand: you got to keep fighting and believing God. The devil would not be coming at you if there was not something extraordinary about to happen in your life. People of God, please understand this: God is gonna do something in your life that eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has entered into the heart of man, the things that God has in store for those who love Him. And so here’s the deal: even though it’s going to happen, it’s bigger than this moment.

III.            JESUS PRAYS FOR YOUR FAITH, NOT YOUR COMFORT

And this is what you got to do. Jesus says, “I’m gonna let it happen, but this is how you gonna get through it: I’m praying for your faith, not your comfort. I’m not trying to make you comfortable. No, no, no, no. I’m gonna let you go through this. I am going to allow this, because if I let you have a life of comfort and ease forever, with no struggle and no strain, you’re never gonna know how to navigate through the issues of life. Every now and then you have seasons where I allow you to build a muscle, to have resistance.”

Before he even stumbled, Jesus said, “I prayed for you.” This is something interesting theologically, and I want you to get this. When you think about it for a moment, the Father is hearing the prayers of the Son on your behalf. OK. Can I break this down? Jesus prays for you before you go through it. He’s praying for you while you’re in it. He’s praying for you when you come out. What do you mean, He’s praying for me right now? The reason is because He’s at the right hand of the Father making intercession on your behalf. Talking to the Father about me. Talking to the Father about me: “Lord, don’t let them go off the road. Don’t let them… they don’t know what they’re doing. Don’t let her walk away from her destiny.” Heaven is having conversations about you.

You think I’m making it up? You need some more? Check Hebrews 7:25. There it is, seven and twenty-five. It says:

Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost

those who come to God through Him,

since He always lives to make intercession for them.

Hebrews 7:25 (NKJV)

A.    God Will Allow Pressure But Protect Your Purpose

You know what an intercessor is? Intercession is like an interception. The quarterback goes back to throw the ball. A defensive player sees the play. Interception. He gets in the way. The devil says, “All right, I’m ’bout to throw you off your game.” God sends angels to intercept. There are some things that were supposed to happen to you, but they got intercepted. Anybody know what I’m talking about?

As a matter of fact, there are things happening in the world being intercepted that you’ll never get the memo about, that never make the news. But I’m thanking God for the things in the spirit that should have happened to me but didn’t happen, because we got a High Priest talking to the Father about me. “There’s gonna be a lot of pressure, but I ain’t gonna let it destroy your purpose. I’m gonna let the pressure happen, but I must protect your purpose. Even though you’re going through the pressure, I’m a preserve your purpose in the midst of it. Peter, there’s something I’m gonna do in your life, but this season is necessary for what I need to happen in your life. Please understand, I’m not gonna let you avoid the sifting. I told you plainly that it’s going to come.”

I know some of y’all don’t like that. Come on now. Everybody wants the promise, but nobody wants the process. Everybody wants the diamond, but nobody wants to know how the diamond was made. Everybody wants oil, but nobody wants the crushing. But olive oil comes from the crushing of olives. And shortly after Jesus speaks this, He goes to the garden of Gethsemane, the place of crushing.

You’ve got to look at how God has anointed you and anointed me for what we do. You think the only people anointed are people that preach the gospel? Are you crazy? You are anointed to teach. You are anointed in real estate. You are anointed for whatever career path you have. And when God anoints you, guess what happens? God gives you a certain measure of grace to walk out what you walk out every single day. And when somebody says, “I don’t see how you deal with it;” you remind them: “Because I’m anointed for it.” And when you see me elevated, it came with a greater crushing, because the higher God takes me, the more He allows me to be crushed. Who am I talking to? People hating on you, and you give them your life for one week and they’ll give it back: “I didn’t know you went through all that.” But this cost me something.

B.    Faith May Bend Under Pressure, But It Does Not Have to Break

I prayed about your faith… I didn’t pray that you’d be comfortable. I prayed that your faith doesn’t fail. Can I tell you something about faith? Faith may bend under pressure, but it doesn’t have to break. When it bends, it changes form, but not function. When a thing breaks, it loses function, because the weight that broke it has made it inoperable to do what it was assigned to do. But if it only changes form, it’s just a matter of time before it can function again.

A bruised reed He will not break,

And smoking flax He will not quench;

He will bring forth justice for truth.

Isaiah 42:3 (NKJV)

See, we always think people got to show up full of faith every single day, show up on 100. But let me just testify: I don’t show up every day on 100 in my faith. Some days I’m bending. Who am I talking to? Some of the stuff I go through during the week had me… who am I talking to? I’ve been bent today. Ain’t nothing wrong with you if you have a season where you’re bending. Just don’t let the devil break you. Just because I’m bent don’t mean I ain’t functioning. I’m just having a bad day. I’m just having a bad week. I had a phone call; I’m trying to walk through it. I had to deal with a difficult coworker; I’m trying to walk through it. So I’m bent, but check it out: I’m like the palm tree.

You ain’t tripping when you see the palm tree. Can you testify, palm tree? “Why are you bent?” “I’m bent because I’m facing 200-mile-per-hour winds. But just because I’m bent… look over there, that tree snapped. Look over there, that branch broke.” Now what are you gonna do when the storm is over? “I’m gonna pop back.” I wish I had a witness up in here today. Look at your neighbor and say: “I may be bending right now, but when I come through this, I’m back up. I bent through the storm and the rain, but I made it.”

We got to normalize bending. You try to make people think you got it perfect, that you gotta walk every day in hallelujah and praise. Some days I wake up bent, but I’m still thanking Him, I’m still preaching, I’m still serving. Who am I talking to?

IV.           YOUR RETURN IS ALREADY BUILT INTO YOUR FAILURE

Let me wrap this up. It’s already built into your future. Here are the CliffsNotes. Can I give you the CliffsNotes? I’m gonna give you the CliffsNotes so you can understand it and explain it to your friend.

Jesus is with the disciples. Jesus is talking to Peter. Now, He has had a conversation, perhaps, with Satan. “Satan has asked for you, Peter. Now I know you don’t understand, ’cause this is over your head, but I need you to understand something: this is spiritual. You don’t realize it, Peter, ’cause I know you and the disciples are trying to figure out why I keep dealing with you, ’cause you’re rough around the edges. You are low-key crazy. I know what’s under that robe: you got a switchblade. But there’s something on you that they don’t see. I see something on you that nobody around you sees.

“I wanna help you understand what I’m going to allow to happen in your life. It’s not about your right now; I see you in your future. So don’t you turn on Me. I’m gonna let this happen. It’s gonna be so uncomfortable. It’s gonna be violent, like shaking. It’s gonna disconnect you from things that you never thought you’d be disconnected from. Peter, this is the season of My sovereignty. But Peter, I’m gonna give you this prayer: that your faith will not fail. I will make sure that your faith don’t break, that you’ll only bend. When you come through, and no doubt about it, you are coming through, I want you to come back to Me. Not to Erica, not to Shay. I want you to come back to Me, and I want you to tell the real story to the people that saw you go through it, how you got through it. Because when you tell the real story, it strengthens everybody who hears it.

Can I talk to you? People, listen to me. One of the dangers of the culture is that people think that when we mess up, God changes His mind concerning us. People think that God changed His mind toward you when you messed up. But I’m getting ready to drop some word on you today. Some of y’all, this word right here is gonna be a game changer for you, because you are here thinking, “Maybe God gave up on me. Maybe God ain’t gonna use me. Maybe, I messed up so bad that God just took it.” Here it is, Romans 11:29:

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Romans 11:29 (NKJV)

What God placed in your life and on your life, no mistake is gonna take away. God says, “I’m not gonna take it back, because I believe in you when you don’t believe in yourself.” People of God, what makes me give God glory is that even when people may detach from me, God still says it’s irrevocable. You are still gifted. You still have utility.

Wait a minute. So you need an example? I get it, I get it, ’cause that’s kind of hard to conceptualize until you look at Luke chapter 15, the prodigal son. You’ve heard that one. He goes to his father and says, “Give me the goods. Give me my stuff now.” And he goes out with a bunch of money. He goes and blows it, and then all of a sudden, now watch what happens: he ends up in the pig pen, and he has nothing. He’s in shame, and he comes to himself. There’s a moment in life when you will come to yourself.

And it’s there he says, “I’m gonna go to my father. I’m gonna tell my father I’m sorry. I’m not even worthy to be a son; I’ll be a servant. At least they got something better to eat than what I got out here.” And he’s muddy, broken, and he’s going back to his father. His father is on the porch and sees him in the distance. The father takes off running, tells the servants, “Bring me my ring.” That means covenant. “Bring the new robe.” That means covering. That’s a whole sermon by itself. And he said, “This is my son, who was lost but now is found.” He never unsonned him. Even though he blew it and messed up, he still called him his son.

A.    Jesus Saw Your Comeback Before Your Collapse

May I talk to somebody and tell you: God will not unson you. He will not undaughter you, no matter what people do to you. Look at your neighbor: you are still a child of God. You are still God’s possession. God still loves you. There is nothing you can do to outrun God’s grace. Preach, preacher! So where failure tries to put a period, grace puts a comma, because Jesus saw your comeback before your collapse. He saw you coming back.

Wait a minute. As a matter of fact, when Peter messes up over that fire that was burning, when that little girl came and said, “Weren’t you with Him?” after they arrested Him, he said, “No, I don’t know the Man.” “You sound like one of the people that were with Him. Weren’t you with Him?” “I told you, I don’t know the Man.” Jesus is being taken away by the Roman soldiers on His way to the atrocities that would happen. “I’m telling you, girl, leave me alone. I don’t know the Man.” And over in the distance, just like Jesus told you, the rooster crows. You were gonna deny Him.

But wait. Wait a minute. Jesus goes through the atrocities, goes on to the cross, and when Jesus is resurrected, don’t miss this, the angel at the entrance of the tomb gave the women these instructions: “Go tell His disciples, and Peter.” I wish I had a witness up in here today. He singled out Peter, because Peter was still included. I wish somebody would just thank God that God still included you. You may lose your title, but you won’t lose your connection. Tell your neighbor: you may lose your title, but you won’t lose your connection.

B.    You Are Coming Back Stronger So You Can Strengthen Others

Wait, wait, wait. You’re coming back stronger so you can strengthen others. Before the failure, Peter is self-confident, impulsive, and operating in his own strength. After the failure, watch this: he’s humble, patient, prayerful. He recognizes that everything that happens in his life is held up by the grace of God. So years later, watch this, years later Peter writes these words in First Peter chapter 5, verse 8:

Be sober, be vigilant;

because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion,

seeking whom he may devour.

1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV)

Y’all don’t catch this. You miss the scripture, ’cause a lion doesn’t walk around roaring. A lion stalks, and then pounces, and then roars. “Roaring lion” is a description of the nature of a lion, but he’s saying be sober, be on the lookout, because Satan is stalking you, waiting for the opportunity to catch you slipping. I’m going somewhere. Wait, wait a minute. This is important, because he’s saying, “Years before, I was told Satan wanted to sift me. So I’m gonna strengthen you by telling you: be sober. Have your mind clear. Don’t be out here slipping.” And then two verses later, watch what Peter writes in verse 10:

But may the God of all grace,

who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus,

after you have suffered a while,

perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

1 Peter 5:10 (NKJV)

• Perfect you: that means mature you.
• Establish you: that means put you where you need to be.
• Strengthen you: that means give you muscles you didn’t have.
• Settle you: so you ain’t all over the place.

I thank God that whatever you go through, you come out of it better than you went into it. Am I talking to anybody here today? So the apostle Paul put it this way in Second Corinthians 1:4:

Who comforts us in all our tribulation,

that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble,

with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Corinthians 1:4 (NKJV)

The greatest ministry will come out of your greatest misery. “So are you telling me, Pastor, that God uses my story to strengthen somebody else?” Yes.

This is why community is so important. It’s homecoming weekend. I know a lot of folks are streaming, y’all. I know you’re just waking up. Hey, it’s all good. But we all here; we here virtually; we up in here today. You know why community is so important? You know why church is so important? Can I tell you why? Because you cannot go through this kind of stuff in isolation.

It’s a trick of the enemy for the culture to say, “I don’t need church. I don’t need people. I just need me and Jesus.” Well, OK, that’s cool, but He did not make you to live and do life by yourself. You have to do life in community with other people. Let me break it down for you. The reason why we do life like that is because we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony.

There’s something fascinating: if you ever go to California, look at the giant redwood trees. They grow over 100 feet tall. Those redwood trees are amazing. They are beautiful. But the roots are not deep. Their roots don’t go down; their roots go out, and they connect to each other, tree to tree. So when windstorms come, the reason why the redwood trees continue to remain for thousands of years and don’t break is because their roots, their network, are tied to each other. And some people look at how you’re able to survive what you survived; it’s because you got the right network. You got the right connection. Look at your neighbor and tell them, “I’m glad we got each other. We need each other, because we need you to be strong.” I thank God I got a community. I got somebody I’m connected to.

For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.

But woe to him who is alone when he falls,

for he has no one to help him up.

Ecclesiastes 4:10 (NKJV)

Wait a minute, wait a minute. Let me close. Let me close this way. Remember the story of Samson and Delilah? Remember that story? Samson was not supposed to cut his hair, and his strength was tied to his hair. And Samson falls for a girl named Delilah, and she’s fine. And you know she was sent by the Philistines to find out about him. And all of a sudden Samson puts his head in her lap. It goes from conversation to conversation, and he ends up in her lap, and that’s a whole other sermon. It’s always progressive. It’s always in stages.

And she cuts his hair, and when she cuts his hair, he loses his strength, his supernatural strength. The Philistines put his eyes out, took his vision. That’s a whole other sermon too. And he’s grinding at the mill like an ox; that’s a whole other sermon. But what we miss is something very powerful. Even though Samson blew it, Judges chapter 16, verse 22, I’m gonna shout by myself right here:

However, the hair of his head began to grow again

after it had been shaven.

Judges 16:22 (NKJV)

After his great mistake, after we see him in public shame, God still let his hair grow. I’m trying to tell somebody: I don’t care what you did, God will still let it grow back. Am I talking to anybody here today?

So here’s the deal. Wait a minute, wait, wait a minute. Then there’s this thing, Pastor, that’s in Hebrews 11. In Hebrews 11, I’mma give you something greater than Facebook, greater than IG, and greater than TikTok. I’m about to give you heaven’s TikTok. I’m gonna give you some tea right quick. Ready? In Hebrews 11:32, the Bible speaks of all these different people who messed up.

And what more shall I say?

For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak

and Samson and Jephthah,

also of David and Samuel and the prophets.

Hebrews 11:32 (NKJV)

Noah messed up, but the Bible never talks about his drunkenness. Noah is in Hebrews 11, because it’s called the hall of fame of faith. People, praise God. I know that he was drunk, but He never mentioned that. Guess who else is in there? Abraham’s in there. Guess who else is mentioned? Rahab. It does not mention she was a prostitute in the world. In verse 32, Samson is in there, after the mistake he made, and it never mentions the mistake. It just mentions he’s in there. Tell somebody, “I’m in here too.” Ain’t nobody talking about what you used to do. That’s why you want to give God glory, that you’re still in here.

I tried to tell you, when I opened up this series in Micah 7:8:

Do not rejoice over me, my enemy;

When I fall, I will arise;

When I sit in darkness,

The Lord will be a light to me.

Micah 7:8 (NKJV)

Y’all hearing me? Why? Because of Micah 7:19:

He will again have compassion on us,

And will subdue our iniquities.

You will cast all our sins

Into the depths of the sea.

Micah 7:19 (NKJV)

Here’s the deal in your comeback. So let me close with this. We are all pieces. David has pieces of himself. Jonah has pieces of himself. All throughout the Bible there are pieces. Peter shows up with a lot of pieces. And there are pieces of you, pieces of you that if people knew about them, they would literally get up and change seats right now. There are pieces of you that, when you think about them, you ask yourself in your own mind, “What was I thinking?”

All of us have certain pieces of ourselves. We are made up of the fragmented pieces and mistakes of our own lives. But what this sermon teaches us is that there is still utility and function in us, that God has value in us, even if there are pieces in us that we want to throw away. So I’m telling you, this is not the season to try to sanitize your testimony, trying to show up like you squeaky clean. That don’t benefit nobody. What benefits people is understanding that sometimes your greatest ministry will come out of your greatest misery, because of what you’ve gone through.

So what you went through, brokenness on your job, and you went bankrupt, and you’re trying to act like you ain’t never went through it, ’cause you don’t want nobody to know about your past: let somebody know what happened, so when they look at how God brought you back, they’ll see the whole testimony. So if you went through a season of depression, and you had contemplation, possibly “suicidal contemplation”, and you was in church getting the word but you were also struggling with mental health and somebody didn’t know that… somebody’s sitting in here going through the same thing, thinking, “I’m in this by myself.” But when you open up your mouth and testify, when you share it with somebody else, they’ll know they’re not the only one going through it. If you were that person that was acting the fool and doing crazy stuff, but God changed your life, tell your real testimony. Stop walking around like you squeaky clean. Talk to somebody and tell them what you really been through, piece by piece.

I like quilts and stuff. And this quilt here, this quilt is made up of pieces. It’s just pieces. Before it started looking like this, I’m sure it was just random little square pieces sitting around. Each one of these pieces has a different story. And if you saw one of these pieces just sitting around, you probably wouldn’t pay any attention. You’d probably say, “What is that random piece doing there?” But every one of these pieces has a story, and somebody one day meticulously decided to put these pieces together and create a tapestry that created some kind of beauty.

And so now you’re not focused so much on the individual pieces; you see that these pieces have been sewn together. And so even though they are disjointed pieces, they still have function. Even though by themselves they represent some failure, together they represent some function. And so now you look at the quilt and you begin to think about this. When you are cold, you’re not worried about where each piece came from. All you’re worried about is, will this quilt cover me? I’m not concerned about where it came from. Does it still have function?

And here’s what I’m trying to tell you, people. Look, the reason why I preach like I preach is because I ain’t nothing but a bunch of pieces that God put back together again. And I’m talking to somebody: I don’t care how many broken pieces you had in your life and how many mistakes you made in your life. When God puts you back together again, you realize something:

And we know that all things work together for good

to those who love God,

to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

CLOSING INVITATION

Look at your neighbor and tell them, “You still have value.” Tell them, “You still have function. God still can use you.” It doesn’t matter what you’ve done; God will still use you to bless somebody else.

Satan has asked for you. He wants to sift you because he knows what’s gonna happen in your family. Young man, he wants to sift you. He wants you to have anger issues so your son will grow up with anger issues. Young lady, he wants you to have issues so you’ll pass issues down to your children’s children. He wants to sift you. He wants you to get so frustrated that you call home and say, “I’m coming home; I can’t do it,” so you will live in regret, because he knows what God wants to do in your life.

The next Supreme Court justice is in the room. The next governor  is in the room. The next multimillionaire is in this house, and you’re sitting up about to walk away from what God told you to do, ’cause you can’t handle the shaking. But God loves you even beyond your mistakes. You gotta get to the point in your life where you can say, “Yeah, that was me, but look at God. I’m a product of God’s grace.”

This is a no-judgment zone. God loves you. Who would come after somebody like that? Lift your hands all over this place today. Who would do that? Just think about it. Who would do that for you?

Have a blessed new week with the Lord!