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PAMOJA MINISTRY — REFINED FOR A PURPOSE CONVERSATION XV — DON’T WASTE THE FIRE · PAMOJA PODCAST | PAMOJA MINISTRY, A LIFE OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES

• 0:00
  Welcome back to our continuing conversation on
• 0:03
  Refine for a Purpose. In our last conversation,
• 0:09
  we talked about when failure doesn't cancel purpose.
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  We discovered that failure does not have to become
• 0:16
  the final definition of a surrendered life. Repentance
• 0:20
  matters. Consequences matter. Accountability
• 0:24
  matters. Transformation matters. But mercy also
• 0:28
  matters. Peter failed. but Jesus restored him.
• 0:32
  David failed, but God did not abandon his work
• 0:34
  in him. John Mark walked away, but later became
• 0:38
  useful again. Paul carried a painful past, yet
• 0:42
  could say, by the grace of God, I am what I am.
• 0:46
  And we ended with an important truth. Sometimes
• 0:49
  God does not restore you by returning everything
• 0:52
  exactly to the way it was. Sometimes God restores
• 0:57
  you first, your character, your humility, your
• 1:01
  discipline, your dependence upon Him, your ability
• 1:05
  to carry responsibility differently. And that
• 1:08
  brings us to another question. What happens when
• 1:12
  the door finally opens? What happens when the
• 1:15
  prayer is answered? What happens when the opportunity
• 1:19
  comes? When the promotion comes? When the relationship
• 1:23
  comes? When the resources increase? when the
• 1:27
  ministry grows, when influence expands, when
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  the thing you spent years asking God for finally
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  arrives. We spend a lot of time talking about
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  how to survive difficult seasons, but perhaps
• 1:43
  we don't talk enough about how to survive successful
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  ones, because adversity is not the only thing
• 1:50
  that tests character. Blessing tests character
• 1:54
  too. And sometimes the blessing carries weight.
• 1:58
  So today I want us to talk about the weight of
• 2:02
  what you prayed for. Because character must become
• 2:06
  strong enough to carry the blessing. Sometimes
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  we pray for things we are still becoming ready
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  to carry. Think about some of the things we ask
• 2:15
  God for. God, increase me. God, promote me. God,
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  enlarge my territory. God, Give me influence.
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  God, bless my family. God, grow the ministry.
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  God, open the door. God, give me financial abundance.
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  God, give me leadership. God, give me the opportunity.
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  Those prayers are not necessarily wrong, but
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  every blessing carries responsibility. If you
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  ask for leadership, you are also asking for responsibility.
• 2:51
  If you ask for influence, you are asking for
• 2:54
  accountability. If you ask for resources, you
• 2:58
  are asking for stewardship. If you ask for a
• 3:02
  family, you are asking for sacrifice. If you
• 3:06
  ask for ministry, you are asking to carry people.
• 3:10
  If you ask for promotion, you may also be asking
• 3:13
  for pressure. If you ask for greater visibility,
• 3:18
  you are also asking for greater scrutiny. Sometimes
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  we ask God for the blessing while imagining only
• 3:25
  the enjoyment. God may be looking at the weight,
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  and perhaps that explains some seasons of preparation.
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  Maybe God is not simply asking, do you want it?
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  Maybe the deeper question is, can you carry it?
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  Joseph didn't just need to survive the pit. He
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  had to be ready for the palace. We have talked
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  about Joseph throughout this season, but look
• 3:52
  at his story again from another angle. Joseph
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  received the dream when he was young, but he
• 3:59
  did not immediately receive the responsibility
• 4:02
  represented by that dream. Between the dream
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  and the palace, there was a pit. There was slavery.
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  There was Potiphar's house. There was temptation.
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  There was false accusation. There was prison.
• 4:18
  There was waiting. And eventually, there was
• 4:21
  Pharaoh. Genesis 41 tells us Pharaoh placed Joseph
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  over Egypt. Think about the responsibility. Joseph
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  was no longer managing Potiphar's household.
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  He was helping manage the resources of a nation.
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  A famine was coming. Lives would depend upon
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  decisions made under his leadership. The dream
• 4:44
  was not merely about Joseph being elevated. The
• 4:48
  dream was about Joseph becoming capable of carrying
• 4:51
  responsibility. And suddenly the years begin
• 4:55
  to look different. Potiphar's house taught stewardship.
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  Temptation tested integrity. Prison developed
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  endurance. Waiting confronted impatience. Managing
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  prisoners developed leadership. Interpreting
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  dreams prepared him to stand before Pharaoh.
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  The places that looked disconnected were developing
• 5:19
  capacities he would eventually need. Maybe God
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  was not delaying Joseph. Maybe God was developing
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  Joseph. Because Pharaoh could give Joseph a position
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  in one day. But position was not the only thing
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  Joseph needed. He needed the character to survive
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  what came with it. Sometimes God can open the
• 5:44
  door faster than your character can develop.
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  This is why preparation matters. A door can open
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  suddenly. A promotion can happen in one conversation.
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  A business can grow rapidly. A ministry can become
• 6:00
  visible quickly. Money can arrive unexpectedly.
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  Influence can expand through one viral moment.
• 6:08
  But character usually develops slowly. Discipline
• 6:12
  develops through repetition. Wisdom develops
• 6:15
  through experience. Humility develops through
• 6:19
  surrender. Self -control develops through practice.
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  Faithfulness develops over time. And if opportunity
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  grows faster than character, the blessing can
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  expose what preparation should have corrected.
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  We sometimes say, God opened the door. But perhaps
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  another prayer should be, God, prepare me before
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  you open it, because an open door without preparation
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  can become another kind of fire. The blessing
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  can expose what the battle never could. There
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  are things you discover about yourself when you
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  suffer, but there are other things you discover
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  about yourself when you succeed. Poverty can
• 7:02
  test your faith. Money can test your heart. Rejection
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  can test your identity. Popularity can test your
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  humility. Weakness can test your dependence upon
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  God. Power can test whether you still believe
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  you need Him. Waiting can test your patience.
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  Arrival can test your memory. And perhaps one
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  of the most dangerous moments in life is when
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  you finally have enough power to do what was
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  once only a temptation. When you had no money,
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  some choices were impossible. When you had no
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  influence, certain doors were closed. When nobody
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  knew your name, pride had fewer opportunities.
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  When you had no authority, nobody had to fear
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  your decisions. But what happens when you have
• 7:49
  options? What happens when people begin listening?
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  What happens when people begin agreeing with
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  you because of your position? What happens when
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  money removes limitations? What happens when
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  nobody around you wants to tell you no, that
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  is another test. Adversity reveals whether you
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  can endure without quitting. Abundance reveals
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  whether you can receive without forgetting. Moses
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  warned Israel about this. Deuteronomy 8 contains
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  one of scripture's strongest warnings about prosperity.
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  Moses tells Israel to remember God when they
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  enter the land. He warns them that they will
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  eat and become satisfied. Their houses will become
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  good. Their herds will multiply. Their silver
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  and gold will increase. Everything will increase.
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  Then Moses warns, your heart will become proud
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  and you will forget the Lord your God. Notice
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  the danger. The wilderness made them cry to God.
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  But prosperity could make them forget Him. Sometimes
• 9:00
  trouble keeps us praying. Need keeps us humble.
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  Uncertainty keeps us dependent. Then God answers
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  the prayer. The pressure changes. The income
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  increases. The door opens. And suddenly the disciplines
• 9:17
  that carried us through the wilderness begin
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  disappearing. Prayer becomes shorter. Scripture
• 9:23
  becomes occasional. becomes convenient, dependence
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  becomes confidence in ourselves, and eventually
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  we begin enjoying the blessing while drifting
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  from the one who gave us the ability to carry
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  it. Moses says later, you may say to yourself,
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  my power and the strength of my hands have produced
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  this wealth for me. Then he says, remember the
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  Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the
• 9:53
  ability to produce wealth. The warning is simple.
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  Don't let the blessing make you forget the God
• 10:00
  you needed before you had it. Maybe the real
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  test is whether you will still pray after the
• 10:08
  prayer is answered. Think about that. You prayed
• 10:12
  while waiting. Will you pray after receiving?
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  You fasted when the door was closed. Will you
• 10:19
  still seek God when it opens? You cried when
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  nobody recognized you. Will you remain humble
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  When everybody knows you, you depended upon God
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  when resources were limited. Will you still depend
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  upon Him when the account is full? You asked
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  everybody to pray for you when you were struggling.
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  Will anybody still be allowed to correct you
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  when you become successful? Sometimes we become
• 10:48
  very spiritual while we need something from God.
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  The deeper test may come after we receive it.
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  Can the blessing enter your hands without replacing
• 10:58
  God in your heart? David survived Saul, but then
• 11:04
  he had to survive being king. David knew how
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  to depend upon God while running from Saul. He
• 11:12
  knew caves. He knew danger. He knew rejection.
• 11:16
  He knew waiting. He knew what it meant to refuse
• 11:19
  to seize the throne through violence when opportunities
• 11:23
  appeared to kill Saul. That season revealed remarkable
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  restraint, but eventually David became king.
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  Now David had authority, servants, soldiers,
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  a palace, influence, power. And in 2 Samuel 11,
• 11:41
  the man who once had to run from another king's
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  power now possessed power himself. And he misused
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  it. Bathsheba, Uriah, the cover up, the tragedy.
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  David survived the wilderness. But the palace
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  introduced another test. Listen carefully. Sometimes
• 12:01
  the place you prayed to reach contains temptations
• 12:04
  that did not exist where you started. That is
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  why character must continue developing after
• 12:10
  promotion. You don't graduate from discipline
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  because God blessed you. You need discipline
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  more. You don't need less accountability because
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  you have authority. You may need more. You don't
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  need fewer boundaries because you have matured.
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  Greater access may require stronger boundaries.
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  The higher the responsibility, the more seriously
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  integrity must be guarded. Solomon shows us that
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  having wisdom does not remove the need for obedience.
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  Solomon began remarkably. When God offered him
• 12:48
  what he wanted, Solomon asked for wisdom. God
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  gave him wisdom. And scripture describes extraordinary
• 12:56
  prosperity, influence, and reputation. People
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  came from distant places to hear him. But later,
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  1 Kings 11 tells us Solomon's heart turned away.
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  The issue wasn't that Solomon lacked information.
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  He had wisdom. But wisdom known is not always
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  wisdom obeyed. And this is important. You can
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  know what is right and still need discipline
• 13:24
  to do it. You can preach boundaries and still
• 13:28
  need boundaries. You can teach integrity and
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  still need accountability. You can understand
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  scripture and still need to obey scripture. Knowledge
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  cannot replace obedience. Anointing cannot replace
• 13:43
  discipline. Success cannot replace sanctification.
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  And yesterday's wisdom does not guarantee tomorrow's
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  faithfulness. You must keep choosing God. The
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  thing you prayed for can become the thing that
• 13:59
  pulls you away from God. That sounds strange,
• 14:03
  but it happens. You pray for a business. Then
• 14:07
  the business becomes so demanding you no longer
• 14:10
  have time for God. You pray for a relationship.
• 14:15
  Then the relationship becomes more important
• 14:17
  than obedience. You pray for children. Then family
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  becomes so busy that spiritual life disappears.
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  You pray for ministry growth. Then numbers become
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  more important than people. You pray for influence.
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  Then approval becomes addictive. You pray for
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  financial abundance. Then possessions begin possessing
• 14:41
  you. You pray for promotion. Then position becomes
• 14:45
  identity. The blessing was not necessarily the
• 14:48
  problem. Disordered affection was. The gift quietly
• 14:52
  occupied the place of the giver. So perhaps we
• 14:55
  need to add another prayer to our lives. God
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  bless me, but never allow your blessing to become
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  my idol. And this is why stewardship matters.
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  Jesus says in Luke 16 10, whoever can be trusted
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  with very little can also be trusted with much.
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  Notice the language. Trust it. Sometimes we think
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  increase is primarily about desire. Jesus speaks
• 15:25
  about faithfulness. What are you doing with what
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  is already in your hands? You are praying for
• 15:31
  more money. How are you managing what you have?
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  You are praying for a larger ministry. How are
• 15:38
  you serving the people already there? You are
• 15:41
  praying for promotion. How are you handling your
• 15:44
  current responsibility? You are praying for greater
• 15:47
  influence. How are you treating people who cannot
• 15:51
  do anything for you? You are praying for a platform.
• 15:55
  How are you behaving when nobody is watching?
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  Maybe the small place isn't irrelevant. Maybe
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  it is training. Maybe God is watching what you
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  do with 10 before entrusting you with 100. Not
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  because every promotion is a direct reward for
• 16:11
  spiritual performance. Life is more complicated
• 16:15
  than that. Faithful people sometimes wait. Unfaithful
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  people sometimes prosper. But the spiritual principle
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  remains. Whatever God places in our hands should
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  be handled faithfully. Faithfulness. In little
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  things builds capacity for weight. There is something
• 16:36
  about small responsibilities. They reveal habits.
• 16:41
  How do you handle time? How do you handle money?
• 16:44
  How do you keep your word? How do you respond
• 16:47
  when nobody praises you? How do you treat small
• 16:51
  assignments? How do you behave toward people
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  beneath your authority? How do you work when
• 16:57
  the supervisor is not present? How do you handle
• 17:01
  somebody else's property? How do you handle confidential
• 17:05
  information? How do you respond when you could
• 17:08
  take a shortcut and nobody would know? These
• 17:12
  things may appear small, but character is often
• 17:15
  developed in places that look insignificant.
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  David learned faithfulness with sheep before
• 17:22
  leading Israel. Joseph managed a household and
• 17:26
  a prison before managing Egypt. Moses spent years
• 17:31
  in the wilderness before leading a nation. Sometimes
• 17:35
  the small assignment is teaching your shoulders
• 17:37
  how to carry weight. Don't despise the place
• 17:41
  where God is building your capacity. Some blessings
• 17:47
  require a stronger version of you. This is where
• 17:52
  refined for a purpose becomes deeply practical.
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  Maybe the version of you who prayed the prayer
• 17:58
  is not yet the version of you who can responsibly
• 18:02
  carry the answer. Maybe the blessing requires
• 18:05
  greater patience, greater wisdom, greater discipline,
• 18:09
  greater emotional maturity, greater financial
• 18:12
  stewardship, greater self -control, greater humility,
• 18:16
  greater ability to forgive, greater ability to
• 18:20
  handle criticism, greater ability to manage people.
• 18:24
  greater ability to say no greater ability to
• 18:27
  walk away from temptation greater ability to
• 18:31
  remain quiet when provoked greater ability to
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  stay grounded when praised so perhaps while you
• 18:38
  are praying God Change my circumstances. God
• 18:43
  is working on the person who will eventually
• 18:46
  live inside those changed circumstances. That
• 18:49
  does not mean every delay is God withholding
• 18:53
  something until you become perfect. We should
• 18:55
  be careful with that theology. Some things simply
• 18:59
  take time. Some doors depend upon other people.
• 19:03
  Some prayers are answered differently than we
• 19:06
  expect. Some waiting remains mysterious. But
• 19:10
  scripture repeatedly shows God forming people
• 19:13
  before entrusting them with significant responsibility.
• 19:18
  And perhaps that is happening in some areas of
• 19:20
  your life. Stop measuring preparation only by
• 19:26
  what you can see. Joseph could have looked at
• 19:30
  prison and said, this has nothing to do with
• 19:33
  my dream. David could have looked at sheep and
• 19:37
  said, This has nothing to do with becoming king.
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  Moses could have looked at 40 years in Midian
• 19:43
  and said, this has nothing to do with Egypt.
• 19:47
  But later, the connections become clearer. Maybe
• 19:51
  the difficult supervisor is teaching you how
• 19:53
  to lead without becoming what hurt you. Maybe
• 19:56
  limited resources are teaching you stewardship.
• 20:00
  Maybe raising children is teaching you patience.
• 20:03
  Maybe marriage is exposing selfishness that success
• 20:06
  would magnify. Maybe serving without recognition
• 20:10
  is confronting your need for applause. Maybe
• 20:13
  waiting is developing endurance. Maybe correction
• 20:16
  is teaching humility. Maybe failure taught you
• 20:20
  boundaries. Maybe disappointment is teaching
• 20:23
  you where your identity truly rests. You may
• 20:26
  not understand everything God is producing right
• 20:29
  now. But don't assume nothing is happening simply
• 20:32
  because the blessing hasn't arrived. Preparation
• 20:36
  is also progress. The blessing should expand
• 20:40
  your purpose, not shrink your soul. When God
• 20:44
  gives more, our capacity to serve should grow.
• 20:47
  More resources should create greater generosity.
• 20:51
  More influence should create greater responsibility.
• 20:54
  More wisdom should create greater humility. More
• 20:58
  authority should create greater concern for justice.
• 21:01
  More opportunity should create greater stewardship.
• 21:05
  More visibility should create greater awareness
• 21:08
  that people are watching how we live. Jesus says,
• 21:12
  from everyone who has been given much, much will
• 21:15
  be demanded. The blessing is not simply, look
• 21:19
  what I have. The blessing asks, what will I do
• 21:23
  with what has been entrusted to me? Joseph's
• 21:27
  elevation wasn't only for Joseph. His position
• 21:30
  helped preserve lives. Esther's position wasn't
• 21:34
  only about becoming queen. It placed her where
• 21:38
  courage would eventually be required. Abraham's
• 21:41
  blessing carried the promise that others would
• 21:44
  be blessed through him. Biblical blessing repeatedly
• 21:48
  moves outward, so maybe what you are asking God
• 21:52
  for is bigger than your comfort. Maybe somebody
• 21:56
  else is connected to your faithfulness. Be careful
• 22:01
  when people begin celebrating you. There is another
• 22:05
  weight that comes with blessing, praise. People
• 22:09
  begin recognizing you, complimenting you, calling
• 22:13
  your name, seeking your advice. inviting you
• 22:17
  into rooms, and praise can become intoxicating.
• 22:21
  You begin believing your own publicity. You stop
• 22:24
  listening. You become offended when someone disagrees.
• 22:28
  You interpret correction as disrespect. You begin
• 22:31
  needing applause to feel significant. That is
• 22:35
  dangerous. Remember, the people celebrating you
• 22:38
  today are still people, and you are still human.
• 22:42
  Stay grounded. Stay accountable. Stay teachable.
• 22:45
  Stay prayerful. Stay close to people who knew
• 22:48
  you before the title. And most importantly, stay
• 22:52
  close to God. Don't let public elevation create
• 22:55
  private distance from God. Maybe God is preparing
• 23:00
  you for the wait, not just the gift. There are
• 23:04
  prayers we ask repeatedly. God, when? When will
• 23:09
  the door open? When will things change? When
• 23:13
  will I finally receive what you promised? And
• 23:16
  sometimes we need faith to keep asking, but perhaps
• 23:20
  another prayer belongs beside it. God, who must
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  I become to carry what I am asking for? If I
• 23:28
  am asking for more develop greater stewardship.
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  If I am asking for leadership develop greater
• 23:35
  humility. If I am asking for influence develop
• 23:39
  greater integrity. If I am asking for resources,
• 23:44
  develop greater generosity. If I am asking for
• 23:47
  marriage, teach me covenant. If I am asking for
• 23:51
  family, teach me sacrifice. If I am asking for
• 23:56
  ministry, teach me to love people more than platforms.
• 24:00
  If I am asking for success, teach me how to remain
• 24:04
  faithful when success arrives, because I don't
• 24:08
  simply want to receive the blessing. I want to
• 24:11
  survive it. I don't simply want to enter the
• 24:14
  room. I want to remain who God called me to be
• 24:18
  while I am there. I don't simply want God to
• 24:22
  put something in my hands. I want my character
• 24:25
  to be strong enough to carry its weight. And
• 24:31
  perhaps that is why the fire had to touch some
• 24:33
  things. Maybe the fire exposed your pride because
• 24:38
  pride could not survive where God has taken you.
• 24:42
  Maybe the fire exposed your anger because greater
• 24:45
  authority would magnify it. Maybe the fire exposed
• 24:49
  your need for approval because greater visibility
• 24:52
  would feed it. Maybe the fire exposed weak boundaries
• 24:56
  because greater access would test them. Maybe
• 25:00
  the fire exposed poor discipline. because greater
• 25:04
  responsibility would overwhelm you. Maybe the
• 25:07
  fire exposed financial irresponsibility because
• 25:11
  increase without stewardship could destroy you.
• 25:15
  Maybe the fire exposed your inability to receive
• 25:18
  correction because leadership without accountability
• 25:22
  can become dangerous. What felt like God was
• 25:26
  taking something from you. May have been God
• 25:30
  removing something that could not safely travel
• 25:33
  with you. God doesn't waste the fire. Sometimes
• 25:38
  the fire is preparing your shoulders for weight.
• 25:42
  But remember, the blessing is not proof that
• 25:45
  God loves you more. We need this guardrail. Prosperity
• 25:50
  is not proof that somebody has more faith. Money
• 25:54
  is not proof of spiritual maturity. Promotion
• 25:58
  is not proof that God prefers you. A large ministry
• 26:02
  is not proof of greater holiness. And difficulty
• 26:06
  is not proof that somebody has failed. Jesus
• 26:10
  loved people who suffered. The apostles experienced
• 26:13
  hardship. Paul knew abundance and need. So this
• 26:18
  conversation is not about creating a formula.
• 26:21
  Become good enough and God will make you rich
• 26:24
  or successful. No, the gospel is not a transaction.
• 26:29
  We are talking about stewardship. Whatever God
• 26:33
  allows into your hands, little or much, carry
• 26:36
  it faithfully. Whatever season you are in, remain
• 26:40
  faithful. And if increase comes, don't let increase
• 26:45
  decrease your dependence upon God. Paul learned
• 26:50
  how to carry both. Philippians 4 is often quoted
• 26:54
  because Paul says, I can do all things through
• 26:57
  Christ who strengthens me. But look at the context.
• 27:02
  Paul says he learned how to live with little
• 27:05
  and he learned how to live with plenty. He knew
• 27:09
  hunger and he knew abundance. He says I have
• 27:14
  learned the secret of being content in any and
• 27:17
  every situation. Then I can do all this through
• 27:21
  him who gives me strength. Paul needed Christ.
• 27:25
  when he had little. Paul needed Christ when he
• 27:28
  had much. Maybe maturity is not simply learning
• 27:32
  how to survive lack. Maybe maturity is learning
• 27:36
  how to remain faithful in either condition. If
• 27:39
  I have little, Christ is enough. If I have much,
• 27:43
  Christ is still Lord. If the door is closed,
• 27:47
  I worship. If the door opens, I worship. If nobody
• 27:51
  knows my name, I serve. If people recognize me,
• 27:55
  I serve. If I am waiting, I belong to God. If
• 28:00
  I receive what I prayed for, I still belong to
• 28:03
  God. So maybe the prayer needs to change. Instead
• 28:08
  of only praying, God, give me more. Maybe pray.
• 28:12
  God, make me trustworthy with more. Instead of
• 28:16
  only, God, open the door. Pray. Prepare my character
• 28:21
  for what is behind the door. Instead of only,
• 28:25
  God increase my influence, pray. Increase my
• 28:29
  integrity before you increase my influence. Instead
• 28:33
  of only, God bless me, pray. Never let the blessing
• 28:37
  become more important than the one who blessed
• 28:40
  me. And instead of asking only, when will it
• 28:44
  happen? Ask God, what are you developing in me
• 28:48
  while I wait? Because maybe the waiting room
• 28:52
  is also a training room. Maybe the small assignment
• 28:56
  is strengthening your shoulders. Maybe correction
• 28:59
  is protecting your future. Maybe discipline is
• 29:02
  increasing your capacity. Maybe the fire is removing
• 29:06
  what cannot carry the weight. And this brings
• 29:12
  us to our next conversation. Because if the fire
• 29:16
  is preparing us for what comes next, There is
• 29:20
  one more question we must ask. What are we still
• 29:23
  carrying that cannot come with us? What habits?
• 29:27
  What attitudes? What relationships? What compromises?
• 29:32
  What ways of thinking? What bitterness? What
• 29:36
  pride? What fear? What version of ourselves belongs
• 29:40
  to an old season? Because there are things God
• 29:44
  may forgive, but still tell you. Don't take that
• 29:48
  with you. There are things that helped you survive
• 29:52
  one season, but cannot lead you into another.
• 29:56
  There are patterns that must end here. And perhaps
• 29:59
  the greatest tragedy would be to survive the
• 30:03
  fire, and then carry the impurities the fire
• 30:06
  was meant to remove into the next season. So
• 30:11
  our next continuing conversation will be, don't
• 30:14
  waste the fire. what must not follow you into
• 30:18
  the next season. Because eventually the question
• 30:21
  becomes, what was the fire supposed to remove?
• 30:26
  And once God reveals it, are you willing to leave
• 30:29
  it behind? Before we close, I want to speak to
• 30:34
  the person who has been asking God for something
• 30:37
  for a long time. Keep praying, keep believing,
• 30:42
  keep trusting. But while you wait, Keep becoming.
• 30:47
  Don't become so focused on receiving the answer
• 30:50
  that you miss what God may be developing in you.
• 30:54
  Let him strengthen your character. Let him deepen
• 30:57
  your discipline. Let him teach you stewardship.
• 31:01
  Let him confront your pride. Let him strengthen
• 31:04
  your boundaries. Let him develop your self -control.
• 31:09
  Let him teach you how to handle little faithfully.
• 31:12
  Let Him teach you how to receive correction.
• 31:16
  Let Him teach you how to remain humble. Because
• 31:20
  maybe you are not simply waiting for the blessing.
• 31:23
  Maybe you are being prepared for its weight.
• 31:26
  And when it comes, remember the wilderness. Remember
• 31:31
  the prayers. Remember the tears. Remember the
• 31:35
  lessons. Remember the people who stood with you.
• 31:39
  Remember who you were. When nobody knew your
• 31:42
  name, remember the God who carried you when you
• 31:46
  had nothing else to hold on to. And when you
• 31:49
  finally stand in the place you prayed for, don't
• 31:53
  stop praying. When you receive more, don't become
• 31:58
  less dependent. When God expands your influence,
• 32:02
  expand your humility. When God increases your
• 32:05
  resources, increase your generosity. When God
• 32:10
  gives you responsibility, increase your integrity.
• 32:15
  When God opens the door, take your character
• 32:18
  with you. Because the greatest testimony is not
• 32:21
  simply, God brought me there. The greater testimony
• 32:26
  may become, God prepared me to remain faithful
• 32:30
  when I arrived. Don't just pray for the blessing,
• 32:34
  pray for the character to carry it. Don't just
• 32:38
  pray for the door. Pray for the wisdom to walk
• 32:41
  through it. Don't just pray for increase. Pray
• 32:45
  for the discipline to steward it. And don't just
• 32:49
  ask God, when will you give it to me? Sometimes
• 32:53
  ask, God, who must I become to carry what I am
• 32:58
  asking you for? Maybe that is part of what the
• 33:02
  fire has been doing all along, preparing your
• 33:05
  shoulders. strengthening your character, deepening
• 33:09
  your roots, teaching you stewardship. Because
• 33:13
  God is not only concerned with getting you somewhere,
• 33:18
  he is concerned with who you become when you
• 33:21
  arrive. And even while you wait, you are being
• 33:27
  refined for a purpose.