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REFINED FOR A PURPOSE — Conversation II: The Fire Reveals What Success Can Hide · PAMOJA PODCAST | PAMOJA MINISTRY, A LIFE OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES

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  Welcome to Pimoja Ministry. In our first conversation,
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  we asked a difficult question. What if the intervention
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  was about you? What if, while you are asking
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  God to change what was happening around you,
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  God was using the situation to change something
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  within you? We discovered that sometimes the
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  greatest testimony of the fire is not simply,
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  God brought me out. Sometimes the greater testimony
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  is, Look at what God brought out of me through
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  the fire. But that leads us somewhere deeper.
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  Because before something can be removed, it must
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  first be revealed. And sometimes there are things
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  inside us that we cannot see while everything
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  is going well. Success can hide them. Comfort
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  can hide them. Position can hide them. Money
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  can hide them. Applause can hide them. Even ministry
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  can hide them. But pressure has a way of bringing
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  hidden things to the surface. And maybe that
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  is another reason God allows the fire. The fire
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  reveals what success can hide. There is something
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  important we must understand about pressure.
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  Pressure does not always create the reaction.
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  Sometimes pressure simply reveals what was already
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  there. If I squeeze an orange, an orange juice
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  comes out. The pressure did not create the juice.
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  The pressure revealed what the fruit contained
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  and life can work the same way. Someone offends
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  you and suddenly anger comes out. Someone challenges
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  your authority and pride appears. Someone receives
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  something you wanted and jealousy rises. Someone
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  misunderstands you and immediately you feel the
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  need to defend yourself. God makes you wait and
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  impatience begins speaking. A door closes and
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  suddenly Your faith becomes unstable. Someone
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  criticizes you, and words come out of your mouth
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  that surprise even you. We often say, look what
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  they made me do. But perhaps the more important
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  question is, why was that reaction available
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  inside me? The person may have provoked you.
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  The situation may have been unfair. The treatment
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  may have been wrong. But the fire may have revealed
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  something that still needs God's attention inside
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  you. That does not excuse what someone else did.
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  It simply refuses to allow someone else's wrongdoing
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  to prevent us from examining ourselves. That
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  is maturity. To know what was in your heart,
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  Deuteronomy 8 2 says, remember how the Lord your
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  God led you all the way in the wilderness these
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  40 years to humble and test you in order to know
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  what was in your heart. That scripture is extraordinary.
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  The wilderness was not merely about destination.
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  It was also about revelation. God was revealing
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  Israel to Israel. They had witnessed miracles.
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  They had watched the Red Sea open. They had seen
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  Pharaoh defeated. They had experienced supernatural
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  deliverance. But miracles do not automatically
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  produce maturity. You can experience the power
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  of God and still have areas of your character
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  that require transformation. Israel had left
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  Egypt. But under pressure, Egypt began appearing
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  in their conversations. When they became hungry,
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  Egypt appeared. When they became thirsty, Egypt
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  appeared. When Moses stayed too long on the mountain,
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  Egypt appeared. Whenever circumstances became
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  uncomfortable, they started remembering the place
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  from which God had delivered them. Why? Because
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  although they were geographically outside Egypt,
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  there were still things inside them that had
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  been shaped by Egypt, and the wilderness exposed
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  them. There are moments when one of God's greatest
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  revelations is not a revelation about somebody
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  else It is a revelation about you and that revelation
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  can be uncomfortable Because we usually know
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  ourselves according to our intentions God knows
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  us according to what is actually inside our hearts
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  We say I would never do that until the right
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  circumstances arrive We say money could never
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  change me until money arrives. We say power would
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  never change me until authority arrives we say
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  I don't care what people think about me until
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  people stop applauding we say I have forgiven
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  them until their name comes up again we say I
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  trust God until God doesn't answer according
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  to our timetable and sometimes God allows circumstances
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  that reveal the difference between who we believe
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  ourselves to be and who we actually are not to
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  condemn us to refine us because you cannot surrender
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  something you refuse to recognize. We often talk
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  about surviving adversity, but Scripture also
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  warns us about surviving success. Deuteronomy
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  8 does something fascinating. God warns Israel
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  that after the wilderness there will be houses,
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  food, land, increase, prosperity, and then Moses
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  warns them, Do not forget the Lord. Why? Because
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  sometimes the wilderness makes you pray in ways
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  prosperity does not. Need keeps you dependent.
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  Success can make you believe you have become
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  self -sufficient. When everything is falling
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  apart, we often know we need God. But what happens
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  when everything starts working? When people know
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  your name? When the ministry grows? When your
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  influence expands? When your financial condition
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  changes? When you become the person giving instructions
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  instead of receiving them? when doors begin opening.
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  That is another kind of test. Sometimes adversity
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  reveals weakness. Success reveals character.
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  This is especially important in the Kingdom of
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  God. A gift can function while character is struggling.
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  Someone can preach and still have unresolved
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  anger. Someone can sing beautifully and still
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  struggle with pride. Someone can lead and still
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  have unhealthy appetites. Someone can pray powerfully
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  and still lack discipline. Someone can understand
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  scripture and still mistreat people. Someone
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  can carry tremendous influence while privately
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  becoming spiritually weak. And because the gift
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  continues functioning, we can mistakenly assume
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  everything is fine. But God's gifts should never
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  become evidence that we no longer need refinement.
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  The gift can attract people. Character determines
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  what happens when they arrive. The gift can create
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  opportunities. Character determines what we do
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  with those opportunities. The gift can produce
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  influence. Character determines whether that
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  influence becomes a blessing or a danger. This
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  is why God cares about the vessel. Consider David.
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  David knew how to fight when enemies were in
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  front of him. He faced Goliath. He survived Saul.
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  He lived in caves. He endured rejection. He fought
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  battles. He depended upon God. But 2 Samuel chapter
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  11 begins with an interesting detail. It was
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  the season when kings went to war, yet David
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  remained in Jerusalem. Then one evening David
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  walked on the roof, and he saw Bathsheba. Think
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  about this. Goliath could not destroy David.
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  Saul could not destroy David. The Philistines
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  could not destroy David. The wilderness could
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  not destroy David. But when David reached a place
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  of comfort, another battle appeared. Not outside
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  him, inside him. The warrior who had demonstrated
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  extraordinary discipline while running for his
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  life failed to govern desire when he possessed
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  power. And this is why refinement matters. Sometimes
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  your greatest threat is not the enemy standing
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  in front of you. Sometimes it is the appetite
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  living within you. David's position gave him
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  access. His authority gave him power. An uncontrolled
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  desire turned access into opportunity for compromise.
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  Then compromise required concealment. Concealment
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  produced manipulation, and eventually one moment
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  affected a household, a family, a kingdom, and
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  generations. The seed looked small. The harvest
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  was enormous. The higher you go, the more character
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  matters. This is why character cannot be treated
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  as optional. At lower levels of responsibility,
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  an undisciplined decision may affect you. At
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  higher levels, the same weakness can affect hundreds
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  or thousands of people. Influence magnifies both
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  strengths and weaknesses. Authority magnifies
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  character. Money magnifies character. Visibility
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  magnifies character. Opportunity magnifies character.
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  This is why sometimes God delays what we are
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  asking him to release. Maybe God is not saying,
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  you cannot have it. Maybe God is saying, I need
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  to prepare you to carry it. Because the blessing
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  you are praying for may create access you have
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  never had before. And new access requires new
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  discipline. This is where James 3 becomes important.
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  James chapter three speaks about something incredibly
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  small, the tongue. James says a bit can control
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  a horse. A small rudder can direct a large ship.
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  A small spark can set a great forest on fire.
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  And then James turns our attention to the tongue.
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  Why? Because something small can determine the
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  direction of something much larger. That is the
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  theology of discipline. You don't always lose
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  a vision through one enormous decision. Sometimes
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  something small repeatedly left undisciplined
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  begins steering the entire vessel. A sentence,
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  a reaction, an appetite, a conversation, a relationship,
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  a private message, a secret habit, a moment of
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  anger, a refusal to apologize, one small spark,
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  and suddenly an entire forest is burning. James
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  is teaching us something bigger than speech.
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  Maturity requires government over self. And if
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  God is preparing us for greater influence, He
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  must teach us to govern what we already possess.
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  Can God trust your mouth with your next level?
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  Think about this carefully. Maybe before God
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  increases your influence, He wants to refine
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  your speech, because greater influence means
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  your words travel farther. When nobody knows
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  you, One careless statement may affect a few
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  people. When thousands listen to you, the same
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  statement can affect thousands. When you become
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  a leader, your words can create culture. Your
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  words can encourage. Your words can destroy.
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  Your words can heal. Your words can humiliate.
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  Your words can protect. Your words can expose
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  things that should have remained confidential.
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  Your words can start battles that wisdom could
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  have prevented. So maybe God is refining your
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  tongue because he intends to increase your voice.
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  Can you remain silent when you possess information
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  that could embarrass someone? Can you control
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  your response when someone disrespects you? Can
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  you refuse gossip when participating would make
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  you feel accepted? Can you apologize? Can you
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  receive correction without immediately defending
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  yourself? Can you disagree without becoming destructive?
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  Can you possess authority without using words
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  to humiliate people beneath you? These may look
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  like small things. James says, look at the rudder,
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  small thing, large ship. One thing is sure, the
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  fire reveals your reactions. One of the clearest
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  measurements of refinement is not simply what
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  you believe, it is how you react. Your reaction
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  when you are offended. Your reaction when you
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  are corrected. Your reaction when somebody says
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  no. Your reaction when you are overlooked. Your
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  reaction when somebody else receives recognition.
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  Your reaction when God makes you wait. Your reaction
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  when someone misunderstands you. Your reaction
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  when you have the power to retaliate. Because
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  reactions reveal what polished appearances can
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  hide. And sometimes God allows the fire to reach
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  our reactions. Not because He wants to embarrass
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  us, because He wants to heal us. One thing is
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  true. Exposure can be mercy. This is something
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  we need to understand. When God exposes something
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  inside you, don't immediately interpret the exposure
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  as rejection. Exposure can be mercy. Imagine
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  discovering a crack in the foundation of a house
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  before adding another floor. You might be disappointed
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  that construction must stop. But discovering
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  the crack before expansion is mercy. Because
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  expansion would have magnified the weakness.
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  And maybe that is what God is doing with some
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  of us. You asked Him for expansion. God revealed
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  a crack. You asked Him for greater influence.
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  God exposed an insecurity. You asked Him for
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  greater authority. God exposed anger. You asked
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  Him for a relationship. God exposed emotional
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  dependency. You asked him for financial increase.
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  God exposed poor stewardship. You asked him to
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  enlarge the ministry. God exposed an appetite
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  that could eventually destroy it. Don't despise
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  the revelation. Repair the foundation. Above
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  all, don't defend what God is trying to remove.
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  This may be one of the most important lessons
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  of refinement. When God reveals something, Our
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  first instinct can be to defend ourselves. That's
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  just how I am. Everybody does it. They started
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  it. You don't understand what they did to me.
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  I'm only human. Yes, you are human. And yes,
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  grace is real. But grace is not permission to
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  protect what God is trying to transform. There
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  are things God forgives that he still wants to
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  remove from our character. There are patterns
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  mercy covers that sanctification must confront
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  so when the fire reveals something Don't waste
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  the revelation defending it bring it to God God
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  I didn't realize this was still inside me God
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  I didn't realize how angry I was God I didn't
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  realize how much I needed people's approval God
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  I didn't realize how easily my mouth could become
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  destructive God I didn't realize this relationship
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  had so much influence over me. God, I didn't
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  realize how comfortable I had become with compromise.
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  And then pray, refine me. One thing's certain,
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  the fire is not your enemy. Maybe we have spent
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  too much time rebuking every uncomfortable season.
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  Sometimes we need discernment before we rebuke
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  the fire, because not every difficult season
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  means God has abandoned you and not every fire
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  was created by God. People can hurt us. Our own
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  decisions can create consequences. We live in
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  a fallen world. The enemy can oppose us. But
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  here is the confidence of the believer. Whatever
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  the source of the fire, God can refuse to waste
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  it. He can take what was intended to weaken you.
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  and use it to expose what needs strengthening.
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  He can take what was intended to humiliate you
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  and use it to develop humility without destroying
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  your dignity. He can take disappointment and
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  teach discernment. He can take betrayal and teach
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  boundaries. He can take waiting and develop patience.
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  He can take pressure and reveal character. He
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  can take the fire and refine the vessel. Therefore,
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  Before you ask God to remove it, ask what it
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  is revealing. So perhaps our prayer needs to
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  change again. Before asking, God, when will this
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  end? Ask, God, what is this revealing? What is
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  this pressure showing me about myself? What does
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  my reaction reveal? What does my anger reveal?
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  What does my fear reveal? What does my need to
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  retaliate reveal? What does my inability to wait
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  reveal? What does my response to correction reveal?
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  What does my private life reveal? What does my
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  mouth reveal? What happens inside me when nobody
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  applauds? What happens when somebody else succeeds?
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  What happens when I finally receive authority?
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  Because those questions are not designed to condemn
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  you. They are invitations to refinement. One
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  thing is certain, the fire reveals what success
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  can hide. Maybe success allowed you to hide it.
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  Maybe your gift compensated for it. Maybe your
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  position protected it. Maybe people were afraid
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  to confront it. Maybe applause drowned out conviction.
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  Maybe comfort made you believe it was gone. And
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  then the fire came. Suddenly you saw something.
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  Something uncomfortable. Something you wished
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  wasn't there. But don't run from the revelation.
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  God may be showing you today what he refuses
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  to allow to destroy tomorrow. The exposure may
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  hurt, but the exposure may also be protection,
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  because God is not merely interested in getting
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  you to your destination. God is interested in
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  the person who arrives there. He is preparing
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  your character for your calling, your discipline
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  for your opportunity, your humility for your
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  influence, your wisdom for your authority. Your
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  self -control for your access. Your private life
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  for your public assignment. And perhaps your
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  fire is revealing something that your success
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  would have allowed you to carry for years. So
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  don't waste the fire. Let it speak. Let God search
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  you. Let the Holy Spirit reveal you to yourself.
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  And when he puts his finger on something, don't
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  hide it. Don't justify it. Don't normalize it.
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  Don't protect it. Surrender it. Because God does
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  not expose impurities simply to shame the gold.
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  He exposes them because He intends to refine
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  the gold. You are not being refined without purpose.
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  God is preparing a vessel capable of carrying
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  what He intends to entrust to it. And in our
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  next conversation, we will move directly into
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  one of the disciplines that protects that vessel.
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  Self -discipline. Because vision without discipline
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  is vulnerable. Gift without discipline is vulnerable.
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  Anointing without discipline is vulnerable. And
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  what God entrusts to us must be protected by
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  the character we allow him to develop within
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  us. This is pimoja ministry, and this is refined
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  for a purpose.