OCTOBER 2026 SERMON SERIES

Bounce Back

Part 1:

Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Nashville

October 4, 2026

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

Scripture: Micah 7:8 (NKJV)

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.

Prayer:

Lord, we give You glory and praise. Let Your Word go forth so that every yoke is destroyed and every chain is broken. Make us better because of what we are about to receive, and let somebody’s life be changed forever. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

I.          INTRODUCTION

Today we begin the series Bounce Back, and the word of God comes from Micah 7:8. The message today is The Breakdown Before the Breakthrough.

Let me start with something every person under the sound of my voice clearly understands: life has a way of knocking us down when we least expect it. You can do everything right. You can pray, you can plan, you can prepare. You can show up on time, pay your tithes, and treat people right, and still be blindsided. The diagnosis you didn’t see coming. The email that started with “after consideration.” The phone call you got at two o’clock in the morning. The relationship you poured into, but the other person didn’t pour back, and they walked away.

If we’re honest, sometimes the worst part isn’t the fall itself. It’s the voice in your head afterward that says, “You should’ve known better. You should’ve seen this coming. You should’ve been stronger.” What I’ve learned in life is that a fall doesn’t just try to hurt you; it tries to rename you. The enemy loves to take what happened to you and convince you that it is who you are. But there is a difference between an event in your life and your identity in Christ. What you went through is only a chapter. Who you are in God is the whole book.

Faith has never exempted you from adversity. Faith teaches you that you must go through adversity, but you can come out with your head up and in your right mind. The Christian life is not measured by the absence of struggle; it is measured by your ability to bounce back. And let’s be very clear: God is never intimidated by your brokenness. He has never required perfection before He releases His power. God takes flawed people and does extraordinary things through them. Look at the résumé of God’s people:

• Abraham waited through impossibilities.
• Moses carried forty years of regret before he led a nation.
• David fell publicly before he worshiped passionately.
• Peter denied Christ before he preached to three thousand on the Day of Pentecost.

When you put their stories side by side, you see a pattern. You see resurrection after ruin, restoration after regret, and victory after vulnerability. No matter what circumstance a child of God finds himself in, the lowest moment should never become a lasting monument.

Look around this room today. You are sitting next to people who have a testimony. Life has knocked them down. For some of you, grief has not let go of its grip. Some of you have been knocked down by layoffs, restructuring, businesses that didn’t make it, and an economy that keeps on shifting, and you keep going to the gas station negotiating with the gas tank. Some of you have been knocked down trying to outrun the paycheck, by betrayal in relationships, by things that got crazy in school. Some of you have even mastered how to function in the midst of it. You’ve learned how to smile and post your highlight reel on Saturday while you cry in your car on the way home on Monday.

But you’re sitting next to somebody who doesn’t look like what they’ve been through. Some people in this room and watching today have literally been to hell and back. They have testimonies they can’t even talk about. All they know is they have seen the hand of God bring them out of places people thought they would never bounce back from. They’ve seen God heal, make a way, and show up right on time, and they join those in the biblical text who could tell you: if God did it for them, He can do it for you.

Regardless of your situation, this is your bounce back season. No matter what life dishes out, you’ve got to declare, “I may be down, I may be out, but God still has the last word over my life.” Somebody shout, “It’s my bounce back season!”

Micah’s World

Many of you may not be familiar with Micah, because you don’t hear many sermons about him. He is a minor prophet, not because of the insignificance of his work, but because of the length of his book. Micah prophesied during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, in the eighth century before Christ. It was a turbulent period for the people of God. After the death of Solomon, the kingdom had divided: Israel to the north and Judah to the south. Micah lived to see the northern kingdom fall to Assyria. He saw Samaria destroyed, and Judah knew the threat was closer than it had ever been. Nations were falling, cities were being conquered, and families were being displaced. Eventually Assyria would invade Judah itself and capture its fortified cities. Micah was preaching to people who could look around and watch their world crumbling.

The writer of Ecclesiastes says there is nothing new under the sun. From one generation to the next, you can see patterns that continue to repeat themselves. So let’s take what Micah experienced and drop it into our world today, and see if there are some correlations.

Micah makes it clear that Judah’s greatest problem was not Assyria; it was what had happened to them spiritually. The nation had become deeply compromised. In chapter 2, Micah describes powerful people lying in bed planning how to take people’s houses and property. In chapter 3, the leaders who were supposed to protect the people were exploiting them instead. Judges could be influenced by money, priests taught for a price, and prophets prophesied for financial gain. Even while they talked about God, they dishonored God with their actions. That is why Micah 6:8 is such an important word for this generation:

He has shown you, O man, what is good;

And what does the Lord require of you

But to do justly,

To love mercy,

And to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8 (NKJV)

By the time we get to chapter 7, Micah is grieving. He opens the chapter crying, “Woe is me!” He describes himself like someone walking through a vineyard after the harvest, looking for fruit and finding none. He’s looking for somebody faithful and can’t find anybody. Looking for somebody with integrity and can’t find anybody. Looking for somebody he can trust and can’t find anybody. In verse 3, corruption has infected leadership. In verse 5, relationships have deteriorated to the point that Micah warns against putting confidence in close companions. By verse 6, the breakdown has reached the family: a man’s enemies are the men of his own household.

So understand the picture: pressure from enemies outside the nation, corruption from leaders inside the nation, spiritual compromise among the people, and brokenness inside the house. Everywhere Micah would normally look for stability is shaking. Then verse 7 becomes the hinge that opens up verse 8:

Therefore I will look to the Lord;

I will wait for the God of my salvation;

My God will hear me.

Micah 7:7 (NKJV)

Then Micah squares his shoulders, turns to the enemies waiting for his demise, and says, “Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; when I fall, I will arise.” Let me make that make sense. Micah is saying, “God, my world is turned upside down. Things are crazy domestically, economically, and spiritually, so I’m going to look to You, because that’s where my strength comes from. My enemies are eating popcorn, waiting for my life to fall apart, but let me send them a message: put your popcorn up. My life ain’t over. God is about to turn my situation around. It may look bad now, but I’m on my way back.” Look at your neighbor and tell them, “I’m on my way back.”

Before Micah declares his comeback, he decides where he is going to look. “I’m not going to pretend the darkness isn’t real. I’m not going to sanitize my struggle. I’m not going to ignore my opposition. But I’m going to put my confidence in the God who is able to bring me back.” The God who permits the fall is the same God who empowers the rise. Somebody shout, “This is my bounce back season!”

II.          FALLING IS INEVITABLE, BUT STAYING DOWN IS OPTIONAL

For a righteous man may fall seven times

and rise again.

Proverbs 24:16 (NKJV)

Let me use my Louisiana dialect to make this point: everybody gonna fall. I don’t care how big your Bible is or how well you speak in tongues. I don’t care how old you are. Everybody is going to have a moment in life where something hits you in your gut. You’re going to have a misstep, no matter how hard you try to avoid it. It is inevitable. Scripture teaches that the closer you walk with God, the more of a threat you are to the kingdom of darkness. The enemy never wastes ammunition on people who pose no danger to his agenda. Opposition is evidence that purpose is happening in your life.

Every person God has used significantly in Scripture ended up facing disappointment, betrayal, rejection, and delay. Joseph was in a pit long before he ended up in the palace. Elijah called down fire on Mount Carmel, but then he had to run for his life from Jezebel. Peter walked on the water before he sank in the water. None of them were exempt from the struggle. What separated them is that even though they fell, they had the power to say, “I’m not going to stay down. I’m going to get up.”

Look at what Micah says. He doesn’t say “if I fall.” He says “when I fall.” That one word changes everything. It is expectation, not exception. Solomon says in Proverbs 24:16 that a righteous man falls seven times and rises again. Somebody says, “You ain’t talking to me.” Oh yes, I am. The Bible doesn’t say the righteous never fall. It says he falls seven times. What makes him righteous is that he never allows what caused him to hit the ground to keep him on the ground. Getting up is what identifies you. Micah acknowledges the fall, but he also announces the rise. He recognizes the setback, but he prophesies the comeback.

If you would stop spending all your energy trying to justify or explain to people why you fell, and shift that energy into working on your comeback, you would see what God is trying to do. Look at your neighbor and say, “Put your energy into what God is about to do next.” Stop wasting time and energy on what happened in your past. God has something about to happen.

A. Stop Being Shocked by the Struggle

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial

which is to try you,

as though some strange thing happened to you.

1 Peter 4:12 (NKJV)

Why are you tripping? You act like this isn’t supposed to happen to you, like trouble is supposed to skip over your house. Peter says don’t think it strange. Why are you acting surprised? The fire is not strange. The fire is part of the process.

Look at the life of Jesus. In Matthew 3, Jesus is baptized, heaven opens, and a voice comes down from heaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Then, one chapter later:

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness

to be tempted by the devil.

Matthew 4:1 (NKJV)

How can He experience affirmation in chapter 3 and attack in chapter 4? Because just because heaven spoke over you in one season doesn’t mean the devil won’t attack you in another. Just because you got a word and shouted on Sunday doesn’t mean the devil isn’t waiting on you Monday.

But I’ve got good news: don’t interpret your adversity as abandonment, because God is still with you. Whatever season you find yourself in, you are not by yourself. Look at somebody and say, “God is right there.”

• He never left Israel at the Red Sea.
• He never left Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace.
• He never left Peter in that prison, or Daniel in the lions’ den.
• When Paul and Silas were in that prison, He was right there.

My grandmother used to sing, “He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own.” Whatever you’re going through, God knows all about it, and He’s right there in the midst of it. So stop asking, “Why is this happening to me?” and start asking, “What is God trying to produce in me?”

B. Refuse to Let Embarrassment Become Entanglement

Outline references: Peter: John 18;  The Angel at the Tomb: Mark 16:7

The enemy’s strategy goes well beyond making you fall. His goal is to convince you to stay where you fell. He knows one mistake will never destroy your future, but shame can. Guilt leads you to repentance; shame tries to convince you that you are beyond redemption. Shame says you are what you did. Grace says you are forgiven. God says you are His own. Grace says you’re awful. God says you are a lot.

A lot of people recover from the event but never recover from the embarrassment of the event. We live in a screenshot generation, where your worst moment can hit the group chat before you even make it home. People will replay it, repost it, and remind you of it. If you’re not careful, you’ll replay it too, until your memory becomes a chain around your future. Some of you are still imprisoned by the opinions of people who never had the authority to define you in the first place.

Can I push this a little further? Who told you that what happened to you was something you had to be ashamed of? Who decided this part of your story had to be hidden? Who taught you that if people knew the truth about what you’ve gone through, they would think less of you? Some of what we call embarrassment isn’t conviction from God; it is simply conditioning from people.

Some of us grew up with the mentality that what goes on in this house stays in this house. I understand family privacy. Everything doesn’t belong on Facebook, and everybody doesn’t deserve access to the intimate details of your life. Privacy is wisdom, but secrecy can become bondage. Privacy says everybody doesn’t need to know my business. Secrecy says nobody can know, because if they find out, something must be wrong with me.

Some of us were taught secrecy in the name of protecting the family. Don’t tell nobody what Daddy’s going through. Don’t tell nobody what Momma’s going through. The marriage is in trouble and we need counseling, but don’t tell nobody. Without realizing it, we learned how to protect an image while we were bleeding behind it. We learned how to look whole while we lived wounded. And here is the danger: what started out as “don’t tell nobody” eventually becomes “don’t ask nobody for help.” Secrecy becomes entanglement, because you cannot heal what you are committed to hiding.

Let me make an important distinction. I’m not telling you to tell everybody everything. Everybody isn’t safe, and everybody isn’t mature enough to handle your vulnerability. Jesus had the multitude, He had the twelve, and He had the three. Some things you just take to the grave. And some of you worry about people being in your business while you post a whole soliloquy on Facebook. Some things you just have to be quiet about. But hear me well: there ought to be somebody safe enough and spiritually mature enough that you can open up and share with. Have you ever considered that the part of you that you’re trying to hide may be the very part God wants to use to help somebody else experience His power and redemption?

I pray that we get delivered from cookie-cutter testimonies. Let’s tell the real testimony. You ain’t always been a bishop. You ain’t always been a pastor, a deacon, or an elder. Let’s talk about all your body count. Let’s talk about all the times you woke up and didn’t know where you were. It’s easier to sit in your righteous indignation and look down your glasses at people in the midst of a struggle, but when you tell your real testimony, they’re able to see that if God brought you out of that, He can bring them out too. Look at your neighbor and say, “You have no idea what God has brought me from.” Take fifteen seconds and give God glory that you don’t look like what you’ve been through.

We create narratives in church that everything is perfect, and people feel they can’t come because they’re struggling, so they walk in shame and guilt. You have no idea how many people in this house have already done what you did, ten times over. If it had not been for the grace of God! So you don’t have to be embarrassed to say:

• My marriage is in trouble.
• I almost gave up.
• I almost committed suicide.
• I almost walked away from school.
• I’m in a place I’ve never been in my life before.
• I tried something I should have never tried.

Just be honest. God will take that testimony, turn it around, and use it to bless somebody else. So if you’re looking for the perfect church, this ain’t it, and when you find it, don’t join it, because you’re going to mess it up. We’re all doing the best we can.

III.          DARKNESS IS A SEASON, NOT A SENTENCE

Weeping may endure for a night,

But joy comes in the morning.

Psalm 30:5 (NKJV)

Micah says, “When I sit in darkness.” This is not a sentence; it’s just a season. Some of you have interpreted your dark season as something that will last forever, and I get it, because darkness can magnify your fear and minimize your faith. Darkness will tempt you to believe that if you can’t see yourself, maybe God can’t see you. But please understand: God does His best work in the dark.

• A baby comes out of the dark of the mother’s womb.
• The diamond on your finger came out of the dark of the earth.
• Jesus spent three days in the dark of a borrowed tomb before resurrection changed everything.

Micah says, “When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.” He does not deny the darkness; he names the darkness. Faith is not pretending my pain does not exist. Faith is believing that God’s presence is greater than the pain I’m going through. Biblical faith does not require denial; it requires dependence. It is not denial of reality; it is confidence in a greater reality.

Notice that Micah does not say the Lord will immediately remove the darkness. He says the Lord will be a light in the darkness. Sometimes God changes your circumstance, and sometimes God changes you in the circumstance. Some of us prayed for God to take us out of seasons that later turned out to be the most important seasons of our lives:

• We learned compassion because we suffered.
• We learned patience because we had to wait.
• We learned dependence because our own strength ran out.

Don’t let a temporary season become a permanent conclusion. Just because you’re in the dark doesn’t mean the darkness lasts forever. Spring time cannot stop Fall from coming. No kind of night can stop the morning from coming. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

A. Do Not Build Permanent Theology Around Temporary Trouble

Somebody here has mistaken a season for your destiny. You’ve got to stop speaking permanent language over your current situation. Don’t build a permanent theology around temporary trouble. Somebody shout, “It is temporary!”

One of the dangers of prolonged pain is that you start believing it’s going to last forever, and you start crafting a theology and a construct of God around what you think is permanent: “It’s always going to be like this. That’s just the way my life is. God has allowed it, so I just accept it.” But be very clear, people of God: this is not the will of God for your life. What God is allowing you to go through was never meant to destroy you, only to develop you. When you build your theology around your faith and not around your fear, you are able to declare, “I am not going to look like what I’ve been through. God is still writing my story. He is the author and the finisher of my faith.”

B. Learn How to Sit in the Dark Without Surrendering to the Dark

What I’ve got to learn is how to sit in the darkness without surrendering to the darkness. Can I sit in it for a while without allowing it to sit in me? That’s what Micah says: “I may be sitting here now, but I am not going to be consumed by this situation.”

Outline references: Elijah: 1 Kings 19

One of the most powerful texts in Scripture is 1 Kings 19. It is a conversation about spiritual warfare and clinical counseling. After one of his greatest victories, the prophet Elijah finds himself running from Jezebel. Under the broom tree, Elijah says, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life.” But watch what God does. He doesn’t rebuke him. He doesn’t preach a sermon to him. He simply sends an angel to wake him: there is food right there; eat. After he eats, he goes to sleep. The next day the angel comes back and says, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”

The most powerful spiritual thing you can do when you find yourself in a dark place is eat something, go to sleep, and let God deal with the rest. In other words, take care of yourself and let God take care of it. Some of you are up at two o’clock in the morning on the computer trying to figure it out. You’re sleep-deprived, your blood pressure is up, your anxiety is up, because you’re not sleeping and you’re not eating. There comes a moment when you’ve got to say, “Wait a minute. The Bible says God neither slumbers nor sleeps, so I might as well go to sleep.” Touch your neighbor and say, “Go to sleep. Let God deal with this.” You’ve got to take care of yourself.

The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 1:5 (NKJV)

IV.          YOUR ENEMIES DO NOT GET THE LAST WORD. GOD DOES.

Your enemy does not get the last word,God does. One of the biggest temptations after a setback is letting the voices around you get louder than the voice of God within you. Let me say it slowly: every fall attracts an audience. And nowadays the audience comes with a comment section. Your enemies will always celebrate your struggle and stay quiet during your successes. You can be doing great things and never hear from them; they’re watching, they just don’t like it. But the moment something happens in your life, they break their ankles getting to the comment section. They come out like cicadas. There will always be critics who sit back and decide that one mistake canceled your purpose.

Micah understood that, which is why he addresses his enemies before he addresses his circumstances: “Do not rejoice over me, my enemy.” Micah had a sense of discernment; he knew exactly who was in his world. When you’ve been in this thing a long time, you learn that everybody who smiles in your face is not your friend, and at a certain level of discernment, you know exactly who your enemy is. So Micah speaks directly to his enemy: “Don’t you rejoice over me, because I won’t be here the next time you see me.”

A. Do Not Respond to Critics with Explanations. Respond with Elevation.

Outline references: Paul: Acts 28;  David;  Joseph;  Jesus

Micah doesn’t argue with the enemy, and he doesn’t defend himself. He doesn’t waste energy trying to convince people who’ve already made up their minds. He simply announces what God is about to do. There comes a point in your maturity when you have to stop explaining yourself to people who’ve already decided they’re not going to understand you. One of the biggest mistakes we make is giving emotional real estate to people who have no spiritual authority in our lives. You keep replaying the conversation. You keep rehearsing the criticism. But hear me well: the opinions of people have never had the authority to override the purpose of God over your life. You are not who they say you are. You are who God says you are. That means:

• The diagnosis does not have the last word.
• Disappointment does not have the last word.
• The divorce does not have the last word.
• The financial setback does not have the last word.
• That class you failed does not have the last word.
• Your depression does not get the last word.
• Your critics do not get the last word.
• Even your past does not get the last word.

God gets the last word. That’s why you don’t respond to your critics with explanation; you respond with elevation. The fact that I keep showing up is evidence that whatever was sent didn’t take me out. If I keep showing up, I’m going to keep on striving and keep on winning. The way you respond to your critics is to keep showing up and keep blowing up. Look at somebody and say, “Keep showing up and blowing up.” Keep going to the next level. Keep doing what God told you to do. Don’t come down to entertain people who are negative in your life. Stop chasing validation and start chasing the purpose God has placed on your life.

B. Say It Before You See It

God . . . calls those things which do not exist

as though they did.

Romans 4:17 (NKJV)

Outline references: Abram;  Gideon;  Ezekiel;  Jesus

As I close, the Bible says Micah made this declaration: “I will arise.” As simple as that sounds, go back and listen to the context. Politically, economically, socially, spiritually, and even domestically, everything around Micah has gone crazy. He is like a man on his back in a dark hole, with people all around him eating popcorn, waiting to see how this plays out, and Micah says, “I will arise.” He preaches to himself. He speaks to himself. He speaks to where God is about to take him.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV)

In other words, you’re about to learn, people of God, how to speak yourself to life and not speak yourself to death. Micah does what Romans 4:17 says: he calls those things which do not exist as though they did. Speak to where God is about to take you, not where you are right now. Speak yourself across that stage. Speak yourself into that house. Speak yourself out of that hospital. Speak yourself out from under the pressure and out of that negative situation. Open up your mouth and speak where you are going. Micah’s testimony is that whatever situation I find myself in, I’m going to come back.

I’m fascinated by how some people have such a level of resilience. If I could pass the mic around this room, you would be blown away by some of the testimonies of what people have come back from. What is it that makes people resilient enough to bounce back?

Those who play basketball with me know I’m a real basketball player. Your pastor can ball; I’ve got witnesses. All I need is a pick. The only reason I’m here pastoring you and not playing for the Philadelphia 76ers is the permissive will of God. If it were my way, I’d be in Philadelphia right now. Nevertheless, I appreciate y’all.

Here’s a simple illustration. This ball responds because I am in control of it. My hand is over it, and I’m going somewhere. The harder I hit the ball, the higher it bounces. The harder I slam it, the higher it goes. The ball only responds the way it does because it’s reacting to what I just did to it.

Now here is the same ball, the same brand, in the same hand. But if I throw this one down, it doesn’t do anything, because this ball doesn’t have what that ball has inside of it (this ball is not aired up. It’s not about the brand. It’s not about the name on it. It’s not about how much it cost. That ball has something on the inside that this ball does not have. That’s why, when the devil throws some of you down, you fall flat and never bounce back: you don’t have what’s on the inside. Those of us who bounce back don’t do it because of our money, our degree, or our flex. We bounce back because greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.

The devil said, “I’m going to kill you,” but the harder he threw me down, the higher I went. Every time he tried to destroy me, every time he tried to silence me, I bounced back. The devil is a liar. Your future is about to bounce back. Your family is about to bounce back. Everything God promised is about to bounce back.

Wait a minute, I forgot to tell you something. Micah addressed his enemy while he was on his back in the dark and said, “I will arise.” That means the same enemies who saw him on his back would have to watch when God raised him up. The Lord prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies. God is going to give them a front-row seat to your bounce back.

Outline references: David at Ziklag: 1 Samuel 30

V.          CLOSING INVITATION

This is a different kind of word, for people who, like Micah, can say, “Pastor, everything I thought was stable is shaky right now. I came in today because I had had enough. God, You gave me a word. You let me know that this little chapter is not the entire story, and You’re still writing my book. I’m not going to speak permanent language over something temporary. And God, You put me in a community of people who identify with some of my struggles. There’s no space for shame here, only space for family. By the grace of God, we are what we are.”

Today I’m talking to somebody God spoke to who needs a relationship with Jesus Christ. He’s the best thing that could ever happen to you. Maybe you’re saying, “Pastor, I want to dedicate my life to Jesus. I’m ready to make that decision. I want to get my fire back and be where God wants me to be.” Today is your day to say yes.This is your bounce back season.

Have a blessed new week with the Lord! ❤️

September 2026 Sermon Series

The Courage To Do It

Part 4:

Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Nashville  |  September 27th, 2026

Scripture: Acts 16:22–26 (KJV)

²² And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.

²³ And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:

²⁴ Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

²⁵ And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

²⁶ And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.

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

Prayer:

Lord, our spirits are open now. God, we’re ready to receive what You have for us. Now open up our hearts, that we might be blessed, and we give You glory and praise. And it’s already done, that somebody’s life be changed forever. In Jesus’ name. Somebody say amen.

I.          INTRODUCTION

Today, as we come to the conclusion of this series, we have learned the power of courage and what it means to do what God has aligned us to do:

• The courage to stand up
• The courage to speak up
• The courage to get up

Today I want to talk about the courage to represent. Because when you represent, it means that you stand in the place of another. You literally speak with their authority. You carry their name and reflect their character into places where they’re unable to be present physically.

Every time you and I walk out, we must recognize that we are Kingdom representatives. We represent more than ourselves. Everything you post, everything you say, how you act when you sit next to someone, how you deal with someone in the grocery store, how you deal with someone who cuts you off on I-65 at 2:00 in the afternoon, has a lot to do with whether you understand the responsibility that comes with being a Kingdom representative. It is important, because there has to be continuity between what we do in here and what people see us do out there. If there is no continuity, then we discredit our testimony. Paul puts it this way. He calls us ambassadors:

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ,

as though God did beseech you by us.

2 Corinthians 5:20 (KJV)

An ambassador, then, does not speak of himself, does not operate on his own agenda, and does not change his message based on the mood of the country he has been sent to. He represents the government that sent him, even when the culture he is standing in does not agree with him. And that’s a word for somebody today, because God has called us to represent Him even when culture may not agree with what He says we should do. It is difficult sometimes, standing in a world that doesn’t want to stand. It’s difficult being a voice in a world that doesn’t want to hear truth. But it is important for us to understand that God has given us an assignment and a mantle to represent Him, to be Kingdom representatives. And today I want to help you understand that’s exactly what we are.

In Acts chapter 16, Paul had been forbidden to preach in Asia, and he received a vision:

And a vision appeared to Paul in the night;

There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying,

Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

Acts 16:9 (KJV)

And so then Paul and Silas obeyed, and they landed in a place called Philippi, capital of Macedonia. Now, it is important to note that Philippi was a Roman colony, and it was proud, proud of its Roman identity, its customs, and its culture.

Their first convert, however, was Lydia. Paul preached the gospel of Jesus Christ, and Lydia, who was an entrepreneur (she must be studied by all entrepreneurs), was a seller of cloth, royal cloth, fabrics, and she made much money. But when she heard Paul and Silas preach, she was converted, because there was power in the name of Jesus Christ. Now, the Bible says of Lydia in verse 14 of chapter 16 that the Lord opened up her heart. And so everything seemed to be aligning. Can you imagine that? Paul and Silas are now squarely in their assignment. Everything is aligning. The ministry is beginning to take root.

Until they meet this person in verse 16. The Bible says there was a certain damsel, a certain damsel, a young girl between her late teens and early 20s, who was possessed with a spirit of divination. And Paul says, she brought her masters much gain through soothsaying, or fortune-telling. People would line up for miles just to get their fortune told. They would pay her masters much money, and they would exploit this girl for personal gain. And when Paul cast the demon out of the girl, then all hell breaks loose.

In verse 19, when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers and the magistrates, tore off their clothes, commanded them to be beaten, threw them in prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And now watch this: they did not end up in prison because they were out of the will of God. They’re in prison because they were in the will of God. They were not locked up because they misrepresented God. They were locked up because they were representing Him.

And somebody needs to hear this today, because I need you to understand: the attack that you are experiencing is not because you have missed God, not because you’re outside of the will of God. The attack you’re experiencing is because you are squarely in the will of God, doing what God has called you to do. And today I want to show you what it looks like to have the courage to represent.

II.          PURPOSE WILL ALWAYS ATTRACT PERSECUTION

Here’s what I want you to get today. Purpose will always attract persecution. Let’s be very clear, people of God. Paul was walking in his assignment. When God first called Paul on the Damascus Road, his name was Saul. He had a conversion experience in Acts chapter 9, and this word was spoken over him when he was called, in verse 15. Ananias says to Paul:

He is a chosen vessel unto me,

to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

Acts 9:15–16 (KJV)

God begins to speak this word about who Paul would be. In the same breath, in verse 16, God speaks of his suffering. Did you see that? The same conversation that announced his purpose was going to come to pass, it’s the same verse that announced his persecution was going to be a part of it. His assignment and his attack would always travel together.

And I think you need to understand, Paul got it clearly. That’s why he mentored Timothy, and he tried to tell his mentee:

Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus

shall suffer persecution.

2 Timothy 3:12 (KJV)

Notice: if you live godly in Christ, you will suffer persecution. Do you know the enemy is always threatened by people who walk in purpose? And you need not be naive, because you are experiencing attack because the attack on your life is a direct result of the assignment upon your life. And if the devil isn’t bothering you, it means you and the devil are running in the same direction. But whenever you turn your back on the devil, and you are moving and you are progressive, you will soon discover somebody chases you. And when you are moving and doing what God has called you to do, get ready, because persecution will come with your purpose. Jesus tried to help us understand that, right? He tried to tell His disciples:

In the world ye shall have tribulation:

but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

John 16:33 (KJV)

He never promised a life without opposition. He just promised us victory in the middle of it.

It was Joseph. Joseph had a great assignment on his life, given him young. He had a dream, and he was going to do great things for God. But in chapter 37 of Genesis, verse 24, his own brothers took him and cast him into a pit. David was picked on by his brothers, but would go on to do great things in Israel. But watch this:

And Saul sought him every day,

but God delivered him not into his hand.

1 Samuel 23:14 (KJV)

Nehemiah, minding his own business, and God told him to build the wall and rebuild the wall. He did this, and:

But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall,

he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.

Nehemiah 4:1 (KJV)

Every time purpose shows up, pressure is right behind. Some of you have been confused, because the very moment you got serious about God, that’s when you started experiencing attack after attack. The moment you started tithing, that’s when your transmission went out. The moment you started coming to church, that’s when folks in your house started tripping. The moment you started praying more, that’s when you started experiencing more spiritual attack. But can I tell you, you want to give God glory, because your persecution is nothing but confirmation that you are where God wants you to be. Look at somebody and say, “All the hell the devil’s taking me through, all the attacks I’m experiencing in this season, it’s nothing but confirmation.”

A.    You’re Too Anointed to Avoid It

And let me help you understand something, people of God: you’re too anointed to avoid it. Acts chapter 16 and verse 17 says that the young woman who had the divination, the fortune-telling spirit, followed Paul and Silas, and she cried out, and she said these words:

These men are the servants of the most high God,

which shew unto us the way of salvation.

Acts 16:17 (KJV)

And the Bible says she did this for many days. Now, what she said was true, but the spirit that said it was not of God. And this is a deep revelation, because Paul understood the devil will sometimes tell you the truth if it helps build his platform.

But in Acts chapter 16 and verse 18, Paul was grieved, and he turned. One translation says he was greatly annoyed. He was not annoyed at the girl; he was annoyed at the spirit operating in her and the men who were making money off of her bondage. And she was young, a young woman being exploited by a spirit on the inside of her and a system on the outside of her. And Paul refused to walk by and let this system operate in her another day.

And that’s what the anointing does. The anointing will always make you uncomfortable and will always annoy you whenever you are in the presence of something that is misaligned with the will and purpose of God for your life. And some of you think you’re tripping when you walk in somebody’s house and you say, “It just don’t feel right in here.” You better believe it. You better believe, when you meet somebody and all of a sudden you say, “Something is a little off,” you better believe it’s giving you an indication. Anything that is not aligned to the will of God, it will always annoy. And some things ought to annoy you. You’re never comfortable around anybody who is being exploited, anybody that’s being oppressed, anybody that’s being abused. I’m never comfortable around that. That’s what the anointing of God does.

And watch this: what happens when deliverance disrupts somebody’s economy? Because they’re not angry because the girl is hurting; they’re angry because healing affected their income. As long as she’s bound and profitable, nobody complained. But the moment she gets free, the system becomes furious. Sometimes representing means having enough courage to confront not only what has a person bound, but to confront the systems beneath it that helps keep them bound. And Paul turned to that system, and Paul turned to that spirit, and he said:

I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.

And he came out the same hour.

Acts 16:18 (KJV)

I think you missed that. Paul said, “I command you to come out of her in the name of Jesus Christ,” and the Bible said that same hour he came out. Paul did not negotiate with the demon. He did not hold a panel discussion. He did not say, “Let’s have coffee and talk about it.” He did not say, “Can we set up a Zoom call?” Paul said, “No, I’m gonna deal with this right now. Devil, you are coming out.” See, I’m trying to help you understand the authority that we have as believers, so you’re not sitting around here like some Christian softy, sitting around letting the devil just run through your house and run through your job and run through your mind.

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions,

and over all the power of the enemy:

and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Luke 10:19 (KJV)

Jesus says in Mark chapter 16:

And these signs shall follow them that believe;

In my name shall they cast out devils.

Mark 16:17 (KJV)

Church, you’ve got to recognize we are not a powerless people who are serving a powerless God. We have authority, because we got heaven and earth backing us up. You’ve got to stop co-opting your authority to other people. You feel like you can’t cast out demons, and you’ve got to have the pastor or the deacon or the elder or somebody else come lay hands on you or come cast out demons. You better recognize the authority you have as a believer. I’m not coming to enable you; I came to empower you.

Somebody shout, “I have authority!” I got authority to cast every devil out of every one of my children. I got authority to walk on that campus and declare the name of Jesus. I got authority to lay hands on myself and believe God for my own healing. I got enough authority to believe that there is power. You’ve got to understand the authority you’ve got. Go wipe your nose, take your hand, and say, “In the name of Jesus!”

Because let me tell you something: the same authority that was in the hands of Jesus was also in the mouth of Jesus. Can I preach like I feel it sometime? He used His hands, and sometimes He used His mouth, but they were all the same. There were times when He laid hands, and there were other times He spoke. And sometimes, when your hands can’t get there, your mouth can get there. Your baby’s in school, and you may not be able to get to him, but you can say, “In the name of Jesus.” Somebody knows what I’m talking about. Sometimes you’ve got to do a drive-by prayer. Who am I talking to? I have authority. I have authority. I ain’t playing. I ain’t playing with the devil, y’all.

Let me throw this out for free; let this sit with you this week. Paul is anointed. The devil is in the girl, and the devil follows Paul and Silas with language that Paul and Silas are familiar with. And everybody that’s trying to be in your crew using Scripture is not always on God’s side. You better hear me. Just because you can quote Scripture, and just ’cause you follow me around, don’t mean you’ve got an invitation into my house. Because I know the anointing will always reveal truth to me. Tell somebody: it may take a while, but the anointing will show you what’s real and what’s not.

B.    Don’t Let the Attack Break You

But don’t let the attack break you. Look at what it cost them. They cast a demon out, and verse 22 says the multitude rose up together against them, the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded that they be beaten in public. Verse 23 says they laid many stripes upon them. This was the Roman rod, y’all. The Roman rod. Paul wrote these words:

Thrice was I beaten with rods.

2 Corinthians 11:25 (KJV)

They were stripped of their clothing, stripped of their dignity, stripped of their rights, stripped of their reputation in front of the whole city. Then verse 24 says the jailer thrust them into the inner prison. Not just the regular prison; he put them in the hole and made their feet fast in the stocks. Everything about this scene was designed to humiliate them, to silence them, to break them.

But here’s what I want you to know: they were beaten, but they weren’t broken.

• They were bruised
• They were bleeding
• They were bound

But when midnight came, they were still breathing. I want to talk to somebody today who’s still breathing, because as long as you’ve got a pulse, it means that God ain’t done with you yet. Years later, Paul would put it this way:

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed;

we are perplexed, but not in despair;

Persecuted, but not forsaken;

cast down, but not destroyed.

2 Corinthians 4:8–9 (KJV)

That ain’t theory, y’all. That’s called a testimony. Because I want you to better understand, when you look at some of the stuff you’ve gone through, you look at some of the diagnoses, some of the divorces, some of the betrayal, some of the layoffs, the funeral you never expected you were going to have to deal with, and some of you have survived it today. And people look at you right now and have no idea some of the trauma you had to go through, and you been here looking like you ain’t even been through it, and they’re trying to figure out, “How did you survive?” Today we have come to tell you how we survived it. Because Isaiah says:

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper.

Isaiah 54:17 (KJV)

I need somebody to shout, “No weapon!” It doesn’t mean the weapon was not formed; it just means the weapon’s intent did not come to pass. You are not a victim of what tried to break you; you are a survivor. Survivors carry a sound the rest of the prison needs to hear.

III.          PRAYER GIVES YOU STRENGTH TO PERSEVERE

And here it is. Watch it. Here it is. Prayer gives you strength to persevere. How did you make it? Prayer. Verse 25 opens up with those famous words: “At midnight Paul and Silas prayed.” Before we hear about the song, before we hear about an earthquake, before we hear about open doors, we start hearing about prayer.

And I want you to hear something. I want you to get this: they did not have the strength to break out, but they had sense to cry out. There are a lot of people who want to say… You need to understand, prayer works like this: sometimes you’re expecting God to get you out of a situation, and God is trying to change you within the situation. God changes us within it. And sometimes the first answer to your prayer is that God changes what’s happening on the inside of you before He changes what’s happening around you. Sometimes nothing around you changes, but God changes you on the inside, and all of a sudden now you’ve got a situation: same prison, same chains, same midnight, but you’ve got a stronger prisoner.

Let me tell you what prayer does. Prayer gives you strength to persevere when every natural resource has run dry. Jesus said these words:

Men ought always to pray, and not to faint.

Luke 18:1 (KJV)

That tells us, y’all: if you don’t pray, you gon’ faint. Let’s break it down. You see, a lot of people make fun of prayer: “That’s all they want me to do is pray. Every time I go, they all just say pray. Pray, something else will be…” That’s what culture has done. It has so minimized prayer, because nobody ever taught you the power of prayer. The Bible says:

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

James 5:16 (KJV)

Everything we’ve got is a result of prayer. Who am I talking to? Somebody can testify: I’m in the house I’m in because I prayed. Somebody: I’m in school because I prayed. My money came in when I needed it to come in because I prayed. I was on my back in the hospital, and somebody prayed for me. Somebody ought to give God glory. Who knows there is power in prayer? Nehemiah prayed. Daniel prayed. Jesus prayed. Hannah prayed. There was a certain strength in prayer. Wait a minute, let me break it down:

• There is a revelation that happens in prayer
• There is resilience you get from prayer

Let me see if I can educate some of you. I know we’re in an AI, iPhone, and Android generation, so many of you may not have any context for this, but Google it. There was a thing in every neighborhood at one time called the phone booth. Now, I know you have no idea what I’m talking about, but just stay with me. It was probably about six-foot-five in height, and it was square, and it had glass on all sides, and it had a phone inside. The doors opened up, and it had a little, you know, like a little iron or wire kind of cord, and it had a phone, and it was attached to a phone book. And depending on what neighborhood you were in, the phone book was either attached or missing. Somebody knows what I’m talking about.

Nevertheless, the phone booth. If you wanted to make a call, you had to go into the phone booth, put a quarter in, and dial a number. Now, when it got dark, at midnight, when you couldn’t see the phone book or you couldn’t see the number, you’re trying to figure it out in the dark. But the way to see it is you had to get in there far enough and close the door, because when you closed the door, the light (somebody here knows), the light would come on. And that’s how prayer works. People of God, you’ve got to get on up in there sometime. You’ve got to shut some stuff down, and the light… and God will speak to you, and God will start showing you stuff you’ve never seen before. Who am I talking to? Is anybody here today?

But wait a minute: that’s the revelation, but there’s also resilience. Because last time I checked, Clark Kent used the same phone booth. And when Clark Kent went into the phone booth, he was natural; he came out of the phone booth Superman. Which meant that he went in one way, but he came out another way. And somebody can testify: I may go in in the natural, but when I come off my knees, I come out with supernatural power. Prayer works for me.

A.    Keep Your Connection in Your Crisis

So keep your connection in the crisis. They’re in a prison. They’re in the inner prison, and yet they’re in a place where, statistically, they’re not supposed to even see anything, but they still have a connection. Their ankles are tied up, but they still have access. Their feet are tied up, but they still have faith. Then I’m gonna keep my connection, even in the dark. And some of you right now, you’ve got to recognize that these are seasons, but God says, “Don’t lose your connection.” I don’t care how tough life gets for you; don’t you lose your connection.

Because some of you right now, if you lost your Wi-Fi signal, you’d have an existential crisis. Some of you, if your phone gets to 1%, you will leave a meeting, step out of class. You will be like, “I’ve got to get my phone. Is there a charger?” f your phone goes off, you can’t function no more. That’s how it ought to be. Some of you right now, you go through life and you are at 1%, and you’re watching me right now, and you’ve been running away from God: running away from church, running away from your prayer life, running away from worship. But baby, some of us got sense enough to know the reason why we tuned in, and the reason why we watch, and why we’re in this place today: because life has drained us to 1%. And I came here today because I need I need to get plugged in. I need a charge. I can’t make it without Him. I can’t move without Him. Am I talking to anybody here today? Don’t lose your connection.

B.    While You’re Praying, God Is Moving

Watch this: while you’re praying, I want you to remember something. God is always moving. While they’re in there praying, God is not a God who’s passive and static. God is a God who’s moving. He’s already shown us that He’s a God who moves. When Peter was locked up in prison, God already gave us an example: the angel of the Lord, when the church was praying at Mary’s house, the angel of the Lord was already moving. While you’re praying, somebody say, “God is already moving.” Come on, say it again. Say, “God is already moving.”

People of God, I want you to understand something. This is so powerful: While I’m praying, God sees and he is making something happen on my behalf. I already know that God is up to something. And so right now, while you’re praying, sometimes you’ve just got to wait it out and know that when you pray, that very moment you’re praying, God is actively moving in your situation to make a thing come to pass.

IV.          PRAISE UNLEASHES POWER

Here’s the final thing: praise unleashes power. Now, this is just for a few people. Now, the Bible said they sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them. OK. prayer connected them to God; praise unleashed power in the prison. And the prisoners heard them. OK, I know you’re not getting it, because in my opening I was very specific about telling you it was a Roman colony, a Roman culture, and so it’s a Roman jail. In Roman jail cells, the walls are thick. They’re not in a general-population prison; they’re in these pods, whereby the walls are thick between each pod. And so the fact that Paul and Silas sang meant that their voice, or their praise, was audible enough that it permeated the stone walls, so that people who were similarly situated heard something positive coming from two men who were locked up in the same situation.

I can only imagine the stories of those who were in the prison, who were telling stories of gloom and doom, those who were telling stories that were so depressing. But somewhere, permeating the brick walls, they heard praise coming forth, and praise was permeating the walls. There is no shame in praise. Some people might try to say they are just quiet, but when we saw you at the concert, or saw you at the game, we couldn’t tell what denomination you were. We couldn’t tell if you were Baptist or Pentecostal. All we knew is you were out there making noise. So when you think about what God has done in your life, and what you need God to do in your situation, somebody ought to understand: a closed mouth don’t get fed. I need you to look at your neighbor and say, “If you won’t do it, I’ll do it for us all.”

A.    Your Praise Triggers a Supernatural Response

The Bible says that when they began to praise God: (I’m gonna give you 30 more seconds, because God’s waiting on your sound; I said God’s waiting on your sound), The Bible said when they began to praise God, the Bible says suddenly there was an earthquake in the prison. Can I tell you something? Praise releases a “suddenly.” And that’s something somebody needs in your life. You don’t need it to happen next week. You don’t need it to happen next month. You need it to happen suddenly. I’m looking for somebody that needs a sudden breakthrough. Open up your mouth and give God glory.

• God is about to turn it around suddenly
• God’s about to bring healing suddenly
• God’s about to bring your tuition in suddenly
• God’s about to approve that grant suddenly
• God’s about to approve you for that house

Anybody here got a “suddenly”? Praise my God!

B.    Your Praise Breaks Chains of People in Proximity

But wait a minute. I know what’s happening. Some people are still looking at you, and they’re saying, “I wish you’d sit down; you make too much noise.” And, “See, that’s why I don’t like going to church, because those people are too rowdy.” But can I tell you something? Your praise breaks the chains of people in proximity. Because the Bible says that when they praised God, everybody’s chains came off. Which meant that everybody in proximity got a blessing because two people praised God. I’m the person on the pew who can say that when I praise God, I connect. I see your chains coming off. I feel chains falling off. Chain of sickness, chain of death, chains of depression falling off. Somebody open up your mouth and give God glory!

But I got one more praise. Look at your neighbor and say, “I got one more praise.” Come on, tell him, “I got one more praise.” Here is the final praise, y’all. The Bible says that when the soldier who was in charge of watching them thought that the prison doors were opened, and saw that the chains had come off, he was very aware that under Roman rule, if you let prisoners escape, you would be executed. And so he decided, “I’m gonna take my own life.” But when Paul saw him, Paul said, “Do yourself no harm, because we are all here.”

I need you to look at your neighbor, take him by the hand, and tell him: after everything you’ve been through, tell him, “You’re still here.” Tell him, after the mess that they took you through, you’re still here. After the divorce, after the lie, after the shame, after the setback, after the breakup, after the bankruptcy… Somebody ought to give God praise! When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all that He’s done for me, my should cries Hallelujah! I thank God for saving me.

And what I believe, people of God, is that if we start praising God in here, God’s about to shake up Nashville. God’s about to shake up this city. I need you to grab somebody by the hand on both sides and tell them, “I feel a shaking. I feel a shaking. God is shaking up my campus. God is shaking up my neighborhood. God is shaking up everything, and every devil’s got to go.” Now, somebody ought not wait until the battle is won.  I need you to open up your mouth and give Him glory!

Represent. Represent God on your campus, at your school, on your job, represent. They’re not supposed to like you. They don’t even know why they don’t like you, but we know. It is because of your assignment. They don’t like you, but you’ve got to keep on doing what you’ve got to do. How’d you make it? Because I prayed through it. Somebody was praying for me. Somebody’s praying for you. My praise ain’t no plaything, y’all. It ain’t no plaything for me. This thing is real. When I look over my life, all I can say is, “God, You’ve been good.” Has God been good to anybody here?

Listen, I don’t care what you’ve gone through. When God wants to break your chains, He’s ready to bring you into purpose and blessing. I see Royce up here singing, and y’all know Royce’s testimony, how we prayed Royce through. And now Royce just got accepted into Berklee School of Music. Prestigious Berklee! Man, I’m so proud of you. I mean, this is what God will do. Because after you come through all of what you go through, it’s got to go up from here. Go up from here.

V.          CLOSING INVITATION

There’s somebody right now. Listen to me. Just as His goodness is running after you, I need you to come to this altar. If you need a relationship with Jesus Christ, if you need to rededicate your life to Jesus, if you say, “Pastor, I heard this word, and I need it. I need a church home for me and my family,” all you have to do is give your life to Him.

I believe chains have fallen. I believe it’s time for you to make that decision. Come on. I need you to move right now. I need you to come. The Bible says:

To day if ye will hear his voice,

harden not your hearts.

Hebrews 3:15 (KJV)

Have a blessed rest of your week with the Lord! ❤️

The Courage To Do It

Part 3:

Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Nashville  |  Weekend Series  |  September 2026 Sermon Series

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

September 20th, 2026

Scripture: John 5:1-9 (NKJV)

1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.

3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.

4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.

5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.

6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”

7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”

9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.

 And that day was the Sabbath.

Prayer

Father, we thank You for what You have for our lives today. We pray, God, that our hearts will be open, that our spirits will be open to receive the revelation that is about to go forth today. We need to hear from You. So, God, in Your Word today, we ask that we be made better because of what we are about to receive. We thank You for being a God who speaks to us right where we are, and we believe that we are going to be changed because of what we are about to receive. We give You glory. We give You praise, because we believe somebody’s life is about to be changed forever. In the name of Jesus we pray, let every heart say amen.

I. INTRODUCTION

There are moments in all of our lives when life knocks us down. If we could pass this microphone around, people would testify, “You know what? I know what it feels like to be knocked down.” Knocked down financially, knocked down emotionally, knocked down spiritually, knocked down physically. Being knocked down is one thing, but how you respond to it is another. It is incredibly important to understand that whenever you have been knocked down, the enemy’s intent is for you to stay down, to create a sense of hesitancy about any possibility of ever coming back to the place God would have you to be. Sometimes you try, and you try, and you keep getting disappointment after disappointment. It can be demoralizing, frustrating, irritating. Somebody here today, you have tried, and you put everything in motion to do what you thought you needed to do, and yet you experienced that gut punch, and you are right back at square one. This is what happens to people of God. This is what opens up a whole new understanding of resilience.

This is what is important for us all to understand in this season. It is not so much about being knocked down. It is about understanding that God is a God who wants to help you get up. God is doing His work today, because I need you to understand that regardless of whatever circumstances knocked you down, being knocked down, staying down, is not your destiny. Your destiny has everything to do with where God is about to take you. So it is important to get this Word today, because we are introduced to a man in John chapter 5 who finds himself down. The Bible declares that we meet him in Jerusalem, by the sheep market, at a place called the pool of Bethesda. It has five porches, and five is not by accident, because the number five represents mercy, it represents grace. Put a pin there.

And while he is there, he is not alone, because it is a holiday. It is a gathering of people who have various maladies. Everyone who shows up at the pool has something wrong with them. Some are blind, some have leprosy, a variety of different ailments. Something is wrong with everybody who shows up at that pool. Something is wrong with everybody who shows up at 7594 Old Hickory Boulevard, Whites Creek, Tennessee. Something is wrong with somebody who is sitting in your row today. I don’t need you to feel any kind of way that something is wrong with you, because I need you to look at your row and say, “Something is wrong with all of us.” All of us have a condition. All of us have something we need to deal with today.

We are going to find out that God not only is aware of your situation, but that God has the power to turn your situation around. Here at this pool there is one man, and the Bible says that he has been there, watch this, for 38 years. Can you imagine? Thirty-eight years, going at a certain season to this place. People take him there. What is interesting is that he goes there because at a certain season a certain angel comes down and troubles the water, and whoever gets into the pool first is healed of whatever malady they have. It was a mad fight down there. There was no hospitality. There was no chivalry. It was every man for himself. Some days he would go and think, “This will be my year,” and then somebody would jump ahead of him. Other days he thought he had the right position. He thought, “This is going to be it. I did everything. I planned it out. I had a master plan laid out. Now it’s my time.” And as soon as he thought it was going to be his time, somebody else jumped in ahead of him. Thirty-eight years of going back and forth, back and forth, experiencing the same result. Frustrated, irritated. And now the Bible says that Jesus comes by.

The Bible says that He knew how long he had been in that situation. I want you to understand something, people of God: Jesus knows how long you have been dealing with what you have been dealing with, even if the people around you have no idea. He knows how long you have been crying. He knows how long you have been on your face believing Him for a miracle. But guess what? He not only knows about it, He is about to do something about it. Because the Bible says that Jesus walks up and has a conversation with that man. Don’t miss your shout right here. There are a lot of people at the pool, a lot of people with various maladies, but guess who is there? It is that man’s day. Because when it is your time, no devil in hell can stop it. When it is your time, the Lord will skip over all the people just to get to you. And somebody who is watching me right now, God says it is your time. I am speaking to you. Don’t let the crowd confuse you. You are here for a reason, because God wants you to know that He knows exactly how long you have been there.

6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”

And Jesus comes with a question: “Do you want to be made whole?” What kind of question is that to ask somebody who has been down like that for 38 years? “Do you want to be made whole?” It seems comical to ask someone that. But Jesus is not asking this question because He is seeking information. He is asking this question because He is trying to measure the man’s expectation. Can you see your situation beyond where you are right now? Can you see your life beyond the pain you are experiencing right now? There is something greater on the other side. I just want to know: are you expecting it to happen? And I believe this house is full of people who have expectation. Do you wonder why the atmosphere was off the chain today? It is because people came in today not for business as usual. We have somebody here who is expecting God to do something. I am believing that before I leave out of here, something is about to happen in my life. God is about to turn my situation around. I believe in this crowd that you won’t leave here the same way you came. Who am I talking to? I am just looking for the section that is expecting something. I am looking for the people who are not saying the same old thing. I am expecting a miracle. I see the invisible. I feel the intangible.

7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

Now look at the man’s response to Jesus: “Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to help me.” I don’t have nobody to help me. Jesus is giving him a declaration and he is giving Jesus his dilemma. It is a paradoxical situation, because on the one hand he is in a place of mercy, but he is living in misery. What does it mean to be in a place of mercy and expectation but privately carry a place of misery? Today I want to have a real conversation with you, because how Jesus brings this miracle to pass is, I believe, going to be so impactful to many of us. And it begins with recognizing what knocked you down.

II. RECOGNIZE WHAT KNOCKED YOU DOWN

You are not there because of nothing. Something happened in your life, and you have got to be honest about it. What was it that allowed this man to be in this particular condition? What knocked him down? What caused him to be on his back that many years? Sometimes when you are really sensitive to this, you have a level of empathy, and you do not walk into people’s lives, look at their situation, and make judgment calls. You don’t walk by the pool of Bethesda and say, “What’s wrong with all those people?” The question is not what is wrong with you. In the words of Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey in that great book, the real question is, “What happened to you?” Because what happened to you is a story that a lot of people don’t want to sit down and learn about. People just classify you and make judgment calls about you without knowing that you inherited some stuff you never intended to inherit. You have been through some stuff that people don’t understand. If they understood what you are going through, they would understand how you ended up in the place where you are today. You are sitting next to a story. You are a story. And guess what? God can handle your story. God can handle your scars. Even when people can’t handle it, God says, just be honest about what you are dealing with.

• Admit it
• Accept it
• Abandon it

How did you end up in this situation? It is OK to say, “God, this hurts.” I don’t have to over-spiritualize this. I don’t have to walk around like everything is fine all the time. Everything ain’t fine all the time. Some people just walk around, every time you ask how they are doing, “Hallelujah, praise the Lord.” Hey, I have some days like that. But some days it is not “hallelujah.” Some days it is, “I’m almost depressed. I’m bitter some days. I don’t feel like being bothered by life. I’m trying to figure this stuff out.” Who am I talking to? Whatever it is, God can handle it. You have to recognize what made you fall. You have to admit it. I have got to be honest about what happened. I cannot heal from what I am hiding. I admit it, but I don’t accept it as my permanent reality. I accept the fact that something happened to me, and I recognize that it hurt. I am not in denial about what hurt me, but I will not stay here. I may be right here now, but the next time you see me, I won’t be where I am right now. I wish I had somebody who could see what you’ve got to do. You have got to learn to face what happened without allowing it to define you.

A. You have to face what happened without allowing it to define you.

Notice something about him that is quite intriguing. The Bible says there was a man by the pool of Bethesda, but the Bible never gives him a name. It is interesting, because he is defined by his condition. So many people allow themselves to be defined by their condition. You are not what happened to you. You are who God created you to be. But if you allow yourself to be confined by your condition, the woman with the issue of blood, the man by the pool of Bethesda, the blind man unclear: “a mess”, you will hear, “Why can’t you call me by my name? Why do you have to call me blind?” Because people always want to associate you with your condition. But when you understand who God called you to be, you don’t respond to people who like to label you based on your condition. You are not who they say you are. You are who God says you are. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are a royal priesthood. You are a chosen generation. You know who you are. You do not allow yourself to be incarcerated by people’s understanding of who you are, tied to your condition.

B. You can get so used to being down that down becomes normal.

Watch this. There comes a time in your life when you have got to declare over your life that you are not going to normalize this. Because you can get so used to being down that down becomes normal. Thirty-eight years in the same situation, and if you are not careful, watch this, the danger of being down so long is that you can actually forget what it feels like to be up. Sometimes the greatest enemy is not the thing that knocked you down. Sometimes the greatest enemy is becoming comfortable on the floor. Because if you have been down long enough, you will start decorating the floor. You start organizing your life around the floor. You become a private hater of anything better that is not on the floor. People on the floor start looking at you like, “Why aren’t you on the floor?” I am not on the floor because that is not my destiny. Because what happens is you have normalized the floor, so what are you trying to do? You are trying to bring people who are up in the tree down to the floor. People up in the tree ain’t coming down to the floor. They are trying to get you to come up to the tree.

It is called normalization, psychologically and sociologically. Normalization is what happens when repeated exposure to something causes you to adjust to it. Even something that was once painful, unusual, and unacceptable now becomes ordinary. In other words, you can live with something so long that you stop recognizing that you are living beneath what God intended for you. And I want you to understand that normalization moves you into the space of adaptation, because adaptation is how you learn to function in environments that are not healthy. You learn how to survive things that were never supposed to be permanent. Just because you have learned how to adapt to something or survive it doesn’t mean that is the thing God has for your life. You can adapt to the moment. You can adapt to the dysfunction. You can adapt to the disappointment. You can adapt to rejection. You can adapt to living paycheck to paycheck, but that ain’t God’s plan for your life. I am not going to sit back and say, “This is just how I am.” The devil is a liar. This is what happens to some of you: “This is just how I am.” That is not how you are. That is not who God wants you to be.

• You experience it
• You endure it
• You accommodate it
• You normalize it
• You defend it

Let me show you how this works. First, you experience it. Something happens, something knocks you down. Then you endure it. You learn how to live with it. Then you accommodate it. You start changing your behavior because of it. Then you normalize it. You stop seeing that there is something that needs to change. Then you defend it. You begin explaining why you have got to stay the way you are. That sounds like the conversation you had with your cousin. You are defending dysfunction. Are you defending dysfunction because you have normalized something? You have adapted to it. Being down is all you know, and in a new environment where everybody is down, you wake up and everybody is down, and everyone you hear is talking down. Everybody is living down. Everybody is loving down. Guess what, all you’re going to do is go down. I just talked to somebody about this the other day. Declare over your life that this is the last day you’ll see me this low. Look at somebody and tell them, “This is the last day you’re going to see me this low. Am I talking to anybody here? I am on my way.

This normalization, this institutionalization, is so tricky. You have got to be careful. Why do you keep going back? Why do you keep calling that number that should have been deleted? Israel knew Egypt was bad. God delivered them from Egyptian bondage, from the taskmaster Pharaoh, and when they got out of Egypt, they could not let go of the concept of romanticizing it. Each of us does that, because they remembered the food in Egypt. “At least we ate in Egypt.” But you forgot how much the food cost in Egypt. And some of you romanticize seasons and forget how much they cost you in your life. You forget how many years it took off of your life. I am not talking to anybody here today. That is why I just have to tell somebody, you ain’t going back to Egypt. Don’t go back. Don’t go back. Don’t go back. I don’t care what it looks like. Don’t you go back. God has something greater in store for your life.

And people of God, hear me. Sometimes God has to interrupt your routine to let you know that you have been in this place long enough. God has interrupted. I know it is uncomfortable for you, and sometimes you feel like you are under attack, but God is just disrupting your routine. You have been there long enough. You have cried long enough. You have been hurt long enough. You have been in this situation long enough. You have been down long enough. Now it is time for you to get up. Pick up your bed. It is time for you to go forward and walk. And watch this. It is time for you to get up. Your get-up season begins right now.

III. RELEASE WHAT HAS KEPT YOU DOWN

And watch this. Jesus shows up. I want you to pay attention to this. Jesus says, “Rise, take up your bed, and walk.” You must follow the progression of the text. The text says that Jesus knew how long he had been in that situation. He knew what case he was in, meaning that He understood his case, as a clinical term. You have a file. I know what is in your file. I know what you are spiritually, emotionally, physically. I know exactly where you are. And watch what happens. This is so important. The man could only default to this: “Sir, I don’t have anybody, when the water is troubled, to help me get in. I’m all by myself down here. Nobody down here will help me.” There comes a moment when you have got to ignore, watch this, foolishness and walk in faith. You have got to ignore what you see and walk in what you know. If you notice, Jesus says, “Do you want to be made whole?” The man says, “Sir, I have no one to help me,” and Jesus immediately says, “Take up your bed. Get up and walk.” What is Jesus trying to show you? He is trying to help you understand that, if you pay attention, this miracle is not going to happen by your system. It is going to happen by the Savior. You missed this. You are so codependent upon what you thought was going to happen. You thought the pool was going to bless you. I am not here to help you get positioned by the pool. I am here to tell you I created the water in the pool, so I am getting rid of the pool. The pool could never bless you.

A. Stop carrying what God is trying to change.

8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”

God told me to tell somebody, your miracle is about to come in an unorthodox way. It will not come the way you thought. You say, “I ain’t got nobody to help me. I ain’t got nobody to help me. I ain’t got nobody to help me.” And you are talking to the answer. You missed that. You sound like Mary and Martha when Jesus showed up at Lazarus’s tomb and they said, “If You had been here.” “I am the resurrection.” The One you need is standing in front of you. If you knew the man like you knew the man, you would be giving God glory. Because God will show up, but the system can’t do it. When the system doesn’t have the money, God will get you the money for the system. When the system doesn’t have a spot for you in the program, God will get you a spot in the program. With the systems that you don’t qualify for to get the house, God will fix it so they lower the price and make you qualify.

But you have to understand something. The man’s bed is krabattos, the Greek word for a bed. He is not on a Posturepedic. He is not on a king-size or queen-size bed. He is on a small mat, a thin, uncomfortable mat. He has normalized making something comfortable that wasn’t intended for comfort. The mat was for an overnight stay, not for the long haul. Some of you were giving tenure to stuff God intended to be temporary. Jesus says he is blind, because he is so into the matt. I am going to change your association with the thing that has been carrying you. I am going to show you what this looks like. For 38 years this bed has been carrying you, but now I am going to swap it. What has been carrying you? I need you to carry it. Can I talk to somebody right now? The very thing that has been carrying you, God is about to flip that fate, and now you are about to carry it. Who am I talking to? The thing you have been depending on is going to have to depend upon you. You have no idea what your future looks like. Touch your neighbor and say, “My future looks bright.” You have got to start carrying stuff you never even imagined. Somebody give God glory. What used to carry you, now you are carrying. Now you have authority over it. I want you to hear this. He is carrying it up. “Rise, take up your bed.”

When the Lord shows up, you ain’t got no choice but to look up. Sometimes you can be so low you ain’t got no choice but to look up. But you have got to pay attention to the progression., because Jesus tells him, wait, “Rise up.” You have got to pay attention, because if you study it, “rise up” is one part of the verse and “walk” is another. Are you seeing the text now? So “rise up” means get up, it means change your posture. Look like you may be in it, but I feel something happening. Who am I talking to? I may be at the same address, but I feel something happening. I may be in the same situation, but I feel something moving in my life. And wait a minute, wait a minute. “Take up your bed.” Take this thing here. I need you to start rolling it up. Put it on your arms.

B. Forgiveness is part of getting free.

Watch this now, before we leave. There was a place by the sheep market with five porches, mercy. It is a colony of hurting humanity, and if you know anything about hurt, hurt people hurt people. Jesus was aware of his case. He was aware of what he was physically, psychologically, relationally. Are y’all getting this? So now we have got to get to the place where forgiveness happens, because forgiveness is a part of getting free. I can’t let you leave Bethesda with bitterness in your heart, because according to your case, you are holding on to what the people did to you. They stepped over you. They walked over you. Somebody manipulated a relationship with you. Some got close to you to get what they wanted, and when they got what they wanted, they left you. Some people disrespected you. You have been down here 38 years, you are an OG, and they still walk over you, step over you, like you don’t even exist. What does that do to a person? How does that deal with a person’s heart? You become jaded and bitter, and you have a different posture about people. Jesus says, no, no, no, no, I am not letting you leave here with that in your heart. I am not going to let you leave here until you learn how to leave the residue behind. I am going to let you leave the pain behind, because that ain’t real deliverance if you leave here but you are still carrying what people did to you in your heart. Touch your neighbor and say, “God is about to teach me forgiveness.”

Listen, and forgiveness is not waiting on the people in Bethesda to tell you they are sorry, because if you are living waiting on an apology, you are going to be down there another 38 years. Forgiveness is not about waiting on an apology. Forgiveness is about you releasing them from the obligation so you can get that out of your heart and turn that thing over to God. I can still forgive you, but I can also limit access to you. I can forgive you, but I ain’t inviting you to the picnic, because once you burn me, that is all I need. Am I talking to anybody here today? I came to tell somebody, before you walk out of this place, you have got to let it go. Tell somebody, let it go. Let it go. You have got to stop letting people live free in your mind. Let it go. You have got to stop walking around still harboring what happened to you. You have got to let it go.

Listen. There is a lady who went through a divorce, and she is so bitter about what happened in the divorce and what happened in the marriage. Someone asked later how she was doing, and she kept talking about how painful the divorce was and what the person did to her, and the person stopped her and said, “When did he stop hurting you?” She kept on talking, and then it hit her: “When did he stop hurting you?” It resonated with her. The question was really causing her to reflect, because the papers were all signed, the property was already divided. He had moved on with his life, and she is still talking about what happened. She can’t move on with her life, because she is so immersed in the toxicity and pain of what somebody did to her. God is about to take that stuff out of your heart. What God is about to take you to, He is about to purify your heart. It is time to let it go. Whatever people did to you in Bethesda, you have got to turn that thing over to God and recognize, “Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord,” and He is the Lord that pays. Some people forgot what they did. They are living their best life, and you are still hung up on what happened to you. There comes the moment when you have got to let that stuff go. Paul put it this way:

Philippians 3:13-14 Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Somebody shout, “Let it go!”

IV. RISK THE COURAGE TO GET UP

A. You have to move before you feel ready.

So here he is. He is on his way out. But I am going to tell you, the Bible teaches us the final thing that you have to have: the courage to get up. Getting up is risky. It is risky because he has spent 38 years on his back, and now he has to be on his feet. But you have got to move before you feel ready. When the Lord says get up and go, sometimes you have got to move before you even think you are ready to go. You don’t think you are ready to go back to school, but go in anyway. You don’t think you are even ready to apply for that job, apply anyway, because somebody knows all you need is one word from God. I can tell you something: the miracle is in your movement. The miracle is in your movement, because when he got up, the Bible says “immediately.” Can I tell somebody, God is about to do something in your life immediately. The moment you start making a move in the right direction, the moment you start doing what God tells you to do.

9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.

B. When you get up, don’t go back to where you fell.

I want you to see the man now. The thing that was holding him, now he is holding it, and now look at where he is going. He is leaving this place of pain. And guess what? When you get up, don’t go back to where you fell. I came to tell somebody, in this season you have got to declare, “I am not going back to the madness that I fell into.”

Can I help you understand what the real shout is? Don’t miss this. Look at him walking out of this place, the five porches, watch this, five porches around one pool, everybody depending upon the system, but he is now on his way out, walking. But please understand this, he ain’t just walking. He has walked through a system that everybody else is depending on. Let me see if I can make it make sense. For 38 years, other people decided where he was going to be. For 38 years, somebody said, “I’m going to put you on porch number one.” Somebody said, “I’ll put you on porch number four. We’ll just figure this out.” For 38 years he had no say in where people put him. But now, guess what, he is walking out on his own accord. He is walking wherever he wants to go, because this time he is going to go as God leads him to go, not as people dictate to him. In this season, when God gives you a miracle, God is going to give you a miracle in a way that is going to blow people’s minds.

Because there were two people who got a miracle that day. Here it is: one person got a miracle because they waited for the troubling of the water, and the system gave them a miracle, and we celebrate that. Congratulations. But there was another person who got a miracle, and they can’t tell you how they got the miracle, except this way: they didn’t go by the system. They got the miracle because the Savior touched their life. And when the person who got touched by the Savior has to see the person who went by the system, the person who went by the system is scratching their head, trying to figure out, “How are you in the same program? How are you in the same neighborhood? How are you making the same money?” “I’m making it because I didn’t go by the system. I went by the Savior.” And somebody here, God is about to blow your mind. Am I talking to anybody here? Look at your neighbor and tell them, “I don’t go to the pool. I’m not depending on the system, baby. Everything I have is because of God.”

So I came to tell you, you get up! Get out of that place. First, it is time to walk it out this time. Don’t just walk into your destiny. It is time to walk into your peace. It is time to walk. And come home. It is time. Home is not a building. Home is an alignment. Home is a place where joy is, in peace. Home is a place where everything begins to feel like I am exactly what God wants me to be. Home is a place where God got me off my back, and God put me on my feet, and God made me walk by systems that I didn’t have to depend on no more, because my blessings do not come from a system. My blessing comes from the Savior.

CLOSING INVITATION

Today, the Lord knew how long you have been in this situation. He brought you to this place today because He wants to talk to you. Can you rise up and walk and come home? I need a relationship with Jesus Christ. Rise up. Come home. He can handle it. Did you hear today, and you say, “Pastor, I heard this Word, I need to recommit my life. You were talking to me, that was me. I’ve got to let go of some stuff”? Come on and give your life to Christ.

Have a blessed new week with the Lord! ❤️