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REFINED FOR A PURPOSE — CONVERSATION X CAN GOD TRUST YOUR INTEGRITY? · PAMOJA PODCAST | PAMOJA MINISTRY, A LIFE OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES

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  Welcome back to our continuing conversation on
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  Refined for a Purpose. In our last conversation,
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  we discovered that what people intend concerning
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  our lives does not have the final authority over
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  our story. Joseph could say, You meant evil against
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  me, but God meant it for good. We learned that
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  the pit was not the ending. The false accusation
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  was not the ending. The prison, was not the ending.
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  And sometimes what looks like rejection may contain
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  redirection. What looks like delay may contain
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  preparation. What looks wasted may still be used
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  by God. But perhaps one of the most important
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  things we discovered was this. Joseph did not
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  simply come out of prison. Joseph came out prepared
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  for Pharaoh. And today, I want us to go one step
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  further. Because it is possible to spend so much
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  time praying for God to change our circumstances
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  that we never ask what God is trying to change
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  within us. We pray for the door. We pray for
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  the promotion. We pray for the opportunity. We
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  pray for the ministry. We pray for the marriage.
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  We pray for the business. We pray for influence.
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  We pray for resources. We pray for greater responsibility.
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  But perhaps heaven is asking another question
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  if I give you what you are asking for Can your
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  character carry it? Because sometimes the greatest
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  danger is not that you will never reach the place
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  you prayed for Sometimes the greatest danger
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  is reaching it before your character is ready
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  to survive there Joseph eventually had power
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  Daniel eventually had influence David eventually
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  had a throne Moses eventually led a nation. Peter
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  eventually became a leader in the early church.
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  But before we become fascinated with where God
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  took them, we need to examine what happened to
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  their character along the way. Because perhaps
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  the fire is not only preparing the blessing,
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  perhaps the fire is preparing you for the weight
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  of the blessing. And that brings us to our continuing
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  conversation today. Can God Trust Your Integrity?
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  Listen carefully. I'm not asking. Have you ever
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  failed? If that were the definition of integrity,
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  many of the people God used throughout scripture
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  would immediately be disqualified. David failed.
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  Moses failed. Peter failed. Abraham failed. Jacob
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  failed. Yet God continued working in their lives.
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  So integrity cannot simply mean that you have
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  never made a mistake. Integrity goes deeper.
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  Integrity is about what remains true about your
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  character when your character is tested. Who
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  are you when nobody is watching? Who are you
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  when compromise would be easier? Who are you
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  when you're angry? Who are you when you have
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  power? Who are you when you are hurt? Who are
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  you when somebody offers you something you desperately
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  want, but receiving it would require compromising
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  what you believe? Who are you when doing the
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  right thing costs you something? Because integrity
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  is rarely revealed when doing right is easy.
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  Integrity is revealed when compromise would be
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  easier. Look at Joseph. Before Joseph ever stood
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  before Pharaoh, he stood in Potiphar's house.
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  Genesis 39 tells us that Potiphar trusted Joseph
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  with practically everything under his authority.
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  Then temptation came. Potiphar's wife attempted
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  to seduce Joseph, and Joseph said, how then can
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  I do this great wickedness and sin against God?
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  Genesis 39 .9. Notice something. Joseph's integrity
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  was tested before his promotion. Nobody from
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  his family was there. His father wasn't watching.
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  His brothers weren't watching. There was no church
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  congregation watching. There was no audience.
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  There was no social media. There was no public
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  reputation to protect. Joseph was far from home.
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  And he still understood, God sees me. Joseph
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  ran. And ironically, doing the right thing did
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  not immediately make his life easier. It sent
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  him to prison. Think about that. He protected
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  his integrity and still suffered. And this is
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  where integrity becomes expensive. Sometimes
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  doing the right thing does not produce an immediate
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  reward. Sometimes telling the truth creates problems.
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  Sometimes refusing compromise costs an opportunity.
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  Sometimes setting a boundary costs a relationship.
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  Sometimes refusing to participate in wrongdoing
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  makes you unpopular. Sometimes integrity will
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  cost you something before it gives you anything.
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  But Joseph teaches us. Never sacrifice tomorrow's
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  purpose for today's opportunity. Because Potiphar's
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  wife could offer Joseph a moment. But God was
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  preparing Joseph for a nation. And there are
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  moments when you must decide whether you want
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  what is being offered now more than you want
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  what God is preparing later. But Joseph is only
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  one dimension of integrity. Because integrity
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  is not tested only through temptation. Sometimes
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  integrity is tested through suffering. Look at
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  Job. God said something extraordinary about Job.
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  In Job 2 -3, God says that Job still held fast
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  to his integrity even after extraordinary suffering.
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  Job lost possessions. He lost children. He lost
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  health. His life became almost unrecognizable.
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  And yet the question surrounding Job's story
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  was essentially... Will his relationship with
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  God survive when life stops rewarding him? That
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  is another kind of integrity. It is easy to worship
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  when everything is working. It is easy to testify
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  when the doors are opening. It is easy to say
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  God is faithful when the prayer has already been
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  answered. But what happens when heaven feels
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  silent? What happens when you don't understand?
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  What happens when you prayed and the situation
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  became worse? Job struggled. Job questioned.
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  Job grieved. And later, God corrected some of
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  Job's understanding. But through the devastation,
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  Job did not simply abandon God. His integrity
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  was being tested through suffering. And this
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  teaches us integrity is not only about what you
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  refuse to do when tempted. It is also about who
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  you remain when life hurts. But there is another
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  test. Can your integrity survive scrutiny? Daniel's
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  enemies hated his influence. They wanted something
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  they could use against him. Daniel 6 -4 tells
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  us that officials tried to find grounds for charges
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  against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs.
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  Think about that in today's language. They investigated
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  him. They examined his administration. They searched
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  for negligence. They searched for corruption.
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  They searched for misconduct. They wanted evidence.
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  And scripture says, they could find no corruption
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  in him because he was trustworthy and neither
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  corrupt nor negligent. What a testimony. Daniel's
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  integrity survived an adversarial examination,
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  not an examination conducted by friends trying
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  to protect him, an examination conducted by enemies
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  trying to destroy him. Imagine somebody examining
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  your decisions, your records, your conversations,
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  your financial dealings, your treatment of people,
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  your workplace conduct, your private messages,
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  your public statements. Not because they like
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  you, because they are looking for something they
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  can use against you. Daniel's enemies searched,
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  and they could not find corruption. Eventually
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  they realized that if they were going to attack
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  Daniel, They would have to attack him concerning
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  his faithfulness to God. That is extraordinary
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  integrity, and it raises an uncomfortable question
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  for us. Would our integrity survive investigation?
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  Now bring this into the world we live in today.
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  We live in a generation where almost everything
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  leaves a trail. Messages can be saved, screenshots
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  can be taken, conversations can be recorded,
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  cameras are everywhere, posts can resurface years
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  later. Private behavior can suddenly become public
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  information, and sometimes people spend enormous
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  energy protecting their image while neglecting
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  their character. But hear me carefully. Social
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  media does not create the crack. It amplifies
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  what was already there. The screenshot is not
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  the integrity problem. The behavior inside the
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  screenshot is. The recording is not the integrity
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  problem. The conduct captured in the recording
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  is. The exposure may be painful, but sometimes
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  exposure simply reveals something that character
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  should have addressed earlier. So perhaps we
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  should stop asking, how do I protect my image?
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  And start asking, God, refine my character. Because
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  image is what people think you are. Character
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  is who you actually are. And integrity is when
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  those two are increasingly becoming the same
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  person. Let me ask it another way. Would your
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  integrity survive the screenshot? Not because
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  everybody deserves access to your private life.
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  They don't. Not because every accusation is true.
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  It isn't. Not because every recording tells the
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  entire story. It doesn't. But because integrity
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  asks us to live with an awareness that who we
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  are privately matters before God, even if nobody
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  else ever sees it. Samuel understood something
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  about this. When his leadership was nearing its
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  conclusion, Samuel stood before Israel and essentially
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  invited them to examine his public service. In
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  1 Samuel 12 he asked, Whose ox have I taken?
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  Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated?
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  Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I
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  accepted a bribe? Samuel was essentially saying,
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  examine my record. That is powerful. He wasn't
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  claiming sinless perfection. He was talking about
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  integrity and stewardship and leadership. He
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  could stand before the people he had served and
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  invite examination. And that brings us to another
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  dimension. Can God trust you with power? Power
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  reveals things. Money reveals things. Authority
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  reveals things. Success reveals things. Sometimes
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  we think hardship is the greatest test of character.
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  It isn't always. Sometimes success is more dangerous.
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  than suffering. When you have no authority, humility
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  is easier. When you have no money, financial
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  stewardship can remain theoretical. When nobody
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  knows your name, pride has fewer opportunities.
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  When nobody depends on your decisions, leadership
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  integrity has not yet been fully tested. But
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  what happens when people begin calling you important?
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  What happens when your decisions affect other
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  people's lives? What happens when you control
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  resources? What happens when people cannot easily
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  challenge you? Nehemiah understood this. As governor,
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  Nehemiah had access to privileges previous governors
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  had used. But in Nehemiah 5, he explains that
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  because of the fear of God, he did not exploit
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  the people the way others had. He had the right
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  to certain benefits. But he understood that having
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  authority does not mean you must use every privilege
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  available to you. That is integrity. Integrity
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  asks not only, can I do this? Sometimes integrity
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  asks, should I? And that question becomes especially
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  important when nobody around you has enough authority
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  to stop you. But now we have to confront something
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  else. Because there are people listening. who
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  are thinking, I have already failed an integrity
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  test. Maybe you lost your temper. Maybe you lied.
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  Maybe you compromised. Maybe you made a decision
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  that embarrassed you. Maybe something was exposed.
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  Maybe you damaged someone's trust. Maybe your
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  private character did not match your public confession.
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  What then? Does integrity disappear forever?
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  Look at David. David committed devastating sins,
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  adultery, deception, abuse of authority, and
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  ultimately, actions connected to Uriah's death.
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  Scripture does not sanitize David's failure.
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  God sent Nathan to confront him, and when David
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  was confronted, eventually he said, I have sinned
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  against the Lord. Psalm 51 gives us the language
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  of a man whose failure had been exposed. Create
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  in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right
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  spirit within me. This is important, because
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  integrity is not pretending you never failed.
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  Integrity also reveals itself in how you respond
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  when your failure is exposed. Do you lie? Do
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  you blame? Do you manipulate? Do you attack everybody
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  who tells the truth? Do you protect your image
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  at the expense of repentance? Do you become humble
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  enough to say, God, this is in me, change me?
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  There is a difference between protecting your
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  reputation and allowing God to restore your character.
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  Sometimes conviction is mercy. Sometimes God
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  exposes a crack privately because he loves you
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  too much to allow it to become a collapse publicly.
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  And perhaps that is why some of the uncomfortable
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  things God has been showing you during this season.
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  are not evidence of rejection. They may be evidence
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  of refinement. Peter learned this. Peter believed
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  he was stronger than he actually was. He told
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  Jesus that even if everybody else fell away,
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  he would remain. But pressure exposed something
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  in Peter. Fear came, and Peter denied Jesus three
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  times. The rooster crowed. Peter realized what
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  he had done, and he wept. But Peter's story did
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  not end beside that fire. After the resurrection,
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  Jesus restored Peter. And eventually, the man
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  who denied Jesus under pressure became a man
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  who could publicly proclaim him. What happened?
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  Peter discovered his weakness and weakness acknowledged
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  before God can become a place of transformation.
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  That is why integrity is not arrogance. A person
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  of integrity does not walk around saying, I would
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  never do that. A mature person understands, without
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  the grace of God, without the Holy Spirit, without
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  discipline, without boundaries, without wisdom,
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  I am capable of making terrible decisions. That
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  awareness produces humility, and humility protects
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  integrity. This brings us to something we cannot
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  ignore. The Holy Spirit produces self -control,
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  but you must practice discipline. Galatians 5
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  includes self -control among the fruit of the
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  Spirit. The Holy Spirit works within us. He convicts.
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  He transforms. He strengthens. He produces new
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  desires. But scripture also repeatedly calls
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  believers to obedience, discipline, vigilance,
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  and wisdom. You still decide whether to send
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  the message. You still decide whether to say
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  the words. You still decide whether to walk into
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  the room. You still decide whether to remain
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  in the conversation. You still decide whether
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  to entertain the temptation. You still decide
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  whether to tell the truth. You still decide whether
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  to apologize. You still decide whether to walk
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  away. Spiritual maturity is not passive. Sometimes,
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  the most spiritual thing you can do is stop yourself,
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  control your tongue, control your anger, walk
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  away from temptation, refuse the conversation,
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  put down the phone, leave the room, set the boundary,
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  tell the truth, apologize, accept correction.
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  Because discipline protects things that emotion
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  can destroy in seconds, and now perhaps we can
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  see the progression, God refines your character.
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  Character develops through discipline. Discipline
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  strengthens self -control. Self -control protects
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  integrity. Integrity makes you trustworthy. And
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  trustworthiness increases your capacity to carry
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  responsibility. That is why this conversation
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  matters. You may be praying for greater responsibility
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  while God is working on your reaction. You may
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  be praying for influence while God is working
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  on your tongue. You may be praying for financial
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  increase while God is examining your stewardship.
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  You may be praying for leadership while God is
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  watching how you treat people who cannot benefit
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  you. You may be praying for a platform while
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  God is working on who you are when there is no
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  audience. You may be asking God, when will you
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  promote me? While God may be asking, can I trust
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  you there? And nobody demonstrates this more
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  perfectly than Jesus. Jesus was tempted. Jesus
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  was rejected. Jesus was falsely accused. Jesus
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  was misunderstood. Jesus was betrayed. Jesus
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  was mocked. Jesus possessed authority. Jesus
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  attracted crowds. Jesus experienced abandonment.
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  Jesus stood before political and religious power.
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  And through every test, his character remained
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  perfectly aligned with the will of God. Satan
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  offered him shortcuts. He refused. Crowds wanted
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  to make him king on their terms. He withdrew.
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  People insulted him. He did not allow their hatred
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  to redefine His mission. Even in suffering, He
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  remained obedient. Jesus shows us perfect integrity,
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  and we will never reproduce that perfection through
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  human strength alone. We need the Holy Spirit.
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  We need grace. We need the Word of God. We need
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  prayer. We need correction. We need community.
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  We need discipline. We need boundaries. And we
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  need the humility to remain teachable. Because
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  the goal is not to become people who are excellent
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  at hiding cracks. The goal is to allow God to
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  refine them. So maybe before we finish today,
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  there are questions we need to bring before God.
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  Can God trust my integrity when nobody is watching?
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  Can God trust my integrity when I am tempted?
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  Can God trust my integrity when I am angry? Can
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  God trust my integrity when I am hurt? Can God
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  trust my integrity with money? Can God trust
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  my integrity with authority? Can God trust my
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  integrity with another person's vulnerability?
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  Can God trust my integrity with confidential
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  information? Can God trust my integrity when
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  telling the truth could cost me something? Can
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  God trust my integrity when I have enough power
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  to retaliate? Can God trust my integrity when
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  success finally comes? And maybe the deepest
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  question Can God trust me with the very thing
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  I have been praying for? Because perhaps God
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  is not withholding your purpose. Perhaps he is
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  refining the person who will have to carry it.
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  Joseph needed more than a dream. He needed character.
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  Daniel needed more than intelligence. He needed
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  integrity. David needed more than anointing.
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  He needed character capable of carrying kingship.
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  Peter needed more than passion. He needed refinement.
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  And we need more than gifts. More than talent.
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  more than charisma, more than education, more
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  than connections, more than opportunity, we need
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  character. Because your gift may open a door
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  that your character must keep open. Your talent
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  may take you somewhere that your integrity must
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  sustain you. And your anointing does not eliminate
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  your responsibility to live a disciplined life.
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  God may give the gift. God may open the door.
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  God may provide the opportunity. But there are
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  things we must learn to preserve. So don't spend
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  your entire life protecting your image. Allow
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  God to refine your character. Don't be afraid
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  when the Holy Spirit shows you something that
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  needs correction. That conviction may be protecting
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  your future. Don't despise discipline. Don't
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  reject accountability. Don't run from correction.
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  Because sometimes God reveals the crack before
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  the collapse. And that is exactly where Our continuing
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  conversation is going next. In our next conversation,
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  the crack before the collapse. We're going to
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  talk about the small compromises we ignore. The
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  attitudes we excuse. The boundaries we slowly
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  move. The habits nobody knows about. The warning
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  signs we dismiss. The conviction we keep silencing.
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  Because collapse rarely begins on the day everybody
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  sees it. Usually something has been cracking
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  quietly for a long time, and sometimes God's
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  greatest mercy is allowing you to see the crack
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  while there is still time to repair it. So today,
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  don't ask only, God, when is my season changing?
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  Ask, God, what in me must change before my season
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  changes? Because you are not simply being prepared
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  to arrive. You are being prepared to remain.
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  You are not simply being prepared to receive.
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  You are being prepared to carry. You are not
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  simply being prepared for visibility. You are
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  being prepared for responsibility. And perhaps
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  this fire has been doing more than you realize.
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  God has been refining your character, strengthening
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  your discipline, teaching you self -control,
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  protecting your integrity, increasing your capacity,
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  preparing you for responsibility. Because the
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  question is not only whether God can get you
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  there. The question is, can God trust your integrity
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  when you arrive? You're being refined for a purpose.