WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.660 Welcome to Pomoja Podcast, the place where stronger 00:00:03.660 --> 00:00:07.080 lives are built, faith is strengthened, hearts 00:00:07.080 --> 00:00:10.119 are encouraged, and Christ -centered homes are 00:00:10.119 --> 00:00:13.240 shaped through ordinary conversations that become 00:00:13.240 --> 00:00:17.539 extraordinary encounters with God's truth. One 00:00:17.539 --> 00:00:22.839 conversation, one story, one revelation at a 00:00:22.839 --> 00:00:28.390 time. I'm your host, Barry Mwamba. Over the past 00:00:28.390 --> 00:00:31.210 three conversations, we have followed one remarkable 00:00:31.210 --> 00:00:33.630 pattern that appears again and again throughout 00:00:33.630 --> 00:00:36.609 scripture. Joseph discovered that the prison 00:00:36.609 --> 00:00:40.210 was never the end of his story. Moses learned 00:00:40.210 --> 00:00:43.049 that the wilderness was never a punishment but 00:00:43.049 --> 00:00:46.689 a preparation. Esther realized that the palace 00:00:46.689 --> 00:00:49.509 had become the place where God had positioned 00:00:49.509 --> 00:00:54.369 her long before she understood why. Daniel proved. 00:00:54.570 --> 00:00:57.689 that Babylon could never redefine a heart that 00:00:57.689 --> 00:01:00.689 had already been surrendered to God. Different 00:01:00.689 --> 00:01:04.349 people, different generations, different circumstances, 00:01:04.870 --> 00:01:09.209 the same God, the same forge, the same preparation. 00:01:10.530 --> 00:01:13.810 Today we arrive at another servant whose story 00:01:13.810 --> 00:01:16.829 raises a question that many believers quietly 00:01:16.829 --> 00:01:21.530 ask, but rarely say aloud. Why does God sometimes 00:01:21.530 --> 00:01:25.370 seem to hide the very people he has called? Why 00:01:25.370 --> 00:01:28.590 would God reveal such an extraordinary assignment 00:01:28.590 --> 00:01:32.109 only to allow years to pass before that assignment 00:01:32.109 --> 00:01:37.849 begins? If God has spoken, why the silence? If 00:01:37.849 --> 00:01:41.909 God has called, why the waiting? If the assignment 00:01:41.909 --> 00:01:45.670 is so important, why does nothing seem to happen? 00:01:46.689 --> 00:01:49.950 No one illustrates that question more powerfully 00:01:49.950 --> 00:01:54.180 than the Apostle Paul. Most of us remember the 00:01:54.180 --> 00:01:57.719 road to Damascus. We remember the bright light, 00:01:58.260 --> 00:02:01.659 the voice of Jesus, the dramatic conversion, 00:02:02.099 --> 00:02:05.200 and the complete transformation of a man who 00:02:05.200 --> 00:02:08.819 had once persecuted the Church. It is one of 00:02:08.819 --> 00:02:11.699 the greatest turning points in the New Testament, 00:02:11.960 --> 00:02:15.460 but what happened after Damascus, that is the 00:02:15.460 --> 00:02:18.659 part of the story we often overlook. Because 00:02:18.659 --> 00:02:22.360 after such an extraordinary encounter with Christ, 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:26.460 we naturally expect Paul to begin preaching immediately, 00:02:26.759 --> 00:02:29.979 planting churches, writing letters, and changing 00:02:29.979 --> 00:02:35.099 the world. Instead, he disappears, for years, 00:02:35.699 --> 00:02:39.360 almost silently. And I have often wondered why. 00:02:39.879 --> 00:02:43.500 Why would God reveal one of the greatest missionary 00:02:43.500 --> 00:02:46.849 assignments in history? and then allow years 00:02:46.849 --> 00:02:50.090 of hidden preparation before sending Paul to 00:02:50.090 --> 00:02:53.750 the nations. Perhaps because Damascus was never 00:02:53.750 --> 00:02:57.009 the completion of Paul's preparation, it was 00:02:57.009 --> 00:03:02.849 only the beginning. There is something fascinating 00:03:02.849 --> 00:03:05.669 about the way God works throughout scripture. 00:03:06.289 --> 00:03:09.689 We often imagine that once God reveals an assignment, 00:03:09.889 --> 00:03:13.689 everything should begin moving quickly. We assume 00:03:13.689 --> 00:03:17.090 that calling should immediately lead to opportunity, 00:03:17.469 --> 00:03:20.849 that revelation should immediately produce influence, 00:03:20.849 --> 00:03:23.889 and that an encounter with God should immediately 00:03:23.889 --> 00:03:27.110 place us on the platform He has prepared. But 00:03:27.110 --> 00:03:29.949 the Bible repeatedly tells a different story. 00:03:30.310 --> 00:03:33.289 Joseph received the dream before the prison. 00:03:33.810 --> 00:03:37.110 David received the anointing before the throne. 00:03:37.490 --> 00:03:41.050 Moses encountered the burning bush after 40 years 00:03:41.050 --> 00:03:45.400 in Midian. Esther became queen long before Haman 00:03:45.400 --> 00:03:49.319 appeared. Daniel settled his convictions long 00:03:49.319 --> 00:03:53.639 before the lion's den. Now Paul meets Jesus on 00:03:53.639 --> 00:03:56.680 the Damascus road and everything appears ready 00:03:56.680 --> 00:03:59.740 for ministry to begin. Yet instead of sending 00:03:59.740 --> 00:04:03.379 Paul immediately into public leadership, God 00:04:03.379 --> 00:04:07.819 allows him to enter another hidden season. Why? 00:04:08.139 --> 00:04:11.699 Because an encounter with Christ, as life -changing 00:04:11.699 --> 00:04:15.360 as it is, is not the same thing as being prepared 00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:18.720 for the full weight of an assignment. Paul's 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:22.860 heart had been transformed in a moment. His understanding 00:04:22.860 --> 00:04:27.920 would be shaped over years. He had seen Jesus. 00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:31.480 Now he needed to learn Jesus. He had received 00:04:31.480 --> 00:04:34.579 a calling. Now he had to become the man who could 00:04:34.579 --> 00:04:38.500 faithfully carry it. That distinction is so important. 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:42.519 God does not simply call people. He forms them. 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:46.600 He does not merely reveal purpose. He develops 00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:49.800 the person who will fulfill it. I think one of 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:52.839 the greatest misconceptions among believers is 00:04:52.839 --> 00:04:57.420 the idea that once God speaks, delay means something 00:04:57.420 --> 00:05:01.490 has gone wrong. Yet throughout scripture, hidden 00:05:01.490 --> 00:05:04.930 seasons are rarely signs that God has forgotten 00:05:04.930 --> 00:05:08.910 his servants. More often, they are evidence that 00:05:08.910 --> 00:05:12.930 he is still preparing them. Paul's hidden years 00:05:12.930 --> 00:05:16.290 remind us that visibility is not the measure 00:05:16.290 --> 00:05:20.449 of fruitfulness. Some of God's deepest work takes 00:05:20.449 --> 00:05:24.790 place where almost no one is watching. The world 00:05:24.790 --> 00:05:28.800 celebrates public success. God often celebrates 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:32.939 private formation. And perhaps that is why so 00:05:32.939 --> 00:05:36.420 many of God's greatest servants spent years in 00:05:36.420 --> 00:05:40.779 places history barely records. Those years were 00:05:40.779 --> 00:05:44.120 not empty pages. They were the workshop where 00:05:44.120 --> 00:05:47.259 heaven was preparing men and women for assignments 00:05:47.259 --> 00:05:52.439 that would one day influence generations. If 00:05:52.439 --> 00:05:56.259 Paul's hidden years teach us that God often prepares 00:05:56.259 --> 00:05:59.800 His servants away from public attention, another 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:03.500 question naturally follows. What was God doing 00:06:03.500 --> 00:06:07.240 during those years? What changes inside a person 00:06:07.240 --> 00:06:10.920 when heaven seems quiet? What does God build 00:06:10.920 --> 00:06:14.300 in the hidden places that cannot be built in 00:06:14.300 --> 00:06:18.180 the spotlight? That is where our journey continues. 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:23.019 As we continue Paul's story, I cannot help but 00:06:23.019 --> 00:06:26.220 ask another question that has challenged me personally. 00:06:26.920 --> 00:06:29.800 What exactly was God doing during those hidden 00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:32.810 years? If Paul had already encountered Jesus 00:06:32.810 --> 00:06:36.149 on the road to Damascus, if Ananias had already 00:06:36.149 --> 00:06:39.350 laid hands on him, if God had already declared 00:06:39.350 --> 00:06:43.050 that this man would carry his name before Gentiles, 00:06:43.170 --> 00:06:46.089 kings, and the people of Israel, then why did 00:06:46.089 --> 00:06:49.370 heaven seem so quiet afterward? What was left 00:06:49.370 --> 00:06:52.470 to prepare? After all, Paul already knew the 00:06:52.470 --> 00:06:55.410 scriptures better than most people of his generation. 00:06:55.629 --> 00:06:58.589 He had studied under Gamaliel, one of the most 00:06:58.589 --> 00:07:02.389 respected teachers in Israel. He possessed extraordinary 00:07:02.389 --> 00:07:06.110 intelligence, remarkable discipline, and an unwavering 00:07:06.110 --> 00:07:10.250 passion for what he believed. From a human perspective, 00:07:10.750 --> 00:07:14.370 Paul appeared ready. Yet God's perspective was 00:07:14.370 --> 00:07:18.069 different, because knowledge alone is never enough 00:07:18.069 --> 00:07:21.490 to carry a divine assignment. Character must 00:07:21.490 --> 00:07:24.189 become strong enough to sustain what knowledge 00:07:24.189 --> 00:07:28.740 cannot. I often think about the contrast between 00:07:28.740 --> 00:07:32.199 the man who entered Damascus and the man who 00:07:32.199 --> 00:07:35.680 eventually stood before kings, wrote letters 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:38.860 that would shape the church for 2 ,000 years, 00:07:39.579 --> 00:07:42.300 and willingly laid down his life for Christ. 00:07:43.079 --> 00:07:46.579 They were the same man, but they were not the 00:07:46.579 --> 00:07:50.079 same person. Something had changed, something 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:54.269 had been formed, something had been forged. That 00:07:54.269 --> 00:07:57.970 transformation did not happen overnight. It happened 00:07:57.970 --> 00:08:02.329 quietly, patiently, and almost entirely outside 00:08:02.329 --> 00:08:06.470 the public eye. I believe those hidden years 00:08:06.470 --> 00:08:09.410 became Paul's classroom with the Holy Spirit. 00:08:10.410 --> 00:08:12.829 For years he had studied the law through the 00:08:12.829 --> 00:08:16.850 eyes of a Pharisee. Now he had to read the same 00:08:16.850 --> 00:08:19.889 scriptures through the eyes of Christ. Every 00:08:19.889 --> 00:08:23.449 prophecy he had memorized, every sacrifice he 00:08:23.449 --> 00:08:27.230 had taught, every promise made to Abraham, Moses, 00:08:27.449 --> 00:08:30.730 David, and the prophets suddenly carried an entirely 00:08:30.730 --> 00:08:33.470 different meaning because they all pointed to 00:08:33.470 --> 00:08:37.090 Jesus. Can you imagine that journey? Imagine 00:08:37.090 --> 00:08:41.070 opening the scroll of Isaiah again, reading Psalm 00:08:41.070 --> 00:08:45.830 22 again, studying Genesis again, returning to 00:08:45.830 --> 00:08:49.940 the writings of Moses again. only this time, 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:54.460 seeing Christ everywhere. The man who once believed 00:08:54.460 --> 00:08:57.700 he understood scripture was now discovering that 00:08:57.700 --> 00:09:01.460 he was only beginning to understand it. Perhaps 00:09:01.460 --> 00:09:05.000 that is why God allowed the hidden years, not 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:08.480 because Paul lacked intelligence, but because 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:12.100 revelation takes time to reshape a person. God 00:09:12.100 --> 00:09:15.610 was not simply giving Paul new information, He 00:09:15.610 --> 00:09:18.590 was transforming the way Paul saw everything. 00:09:19.149 --> 00:09:22.070 And isn't that exactly how God often works in 00:09:22.070 --> 00:09:25.929 our own lives? Many of us pray for God to use 00:09:25.929 --> 00:09:29.029 us, while God is quietly changing the way we 00:09:29.029 --> 00:09:32.529 think, the way we see people, the way we understand 00:09:32.529 --> 00:09:35.889 His Word, and even the way we understand ourselves. 00:09:36.190 --> 00:09:39.429 From the outside, it may appear that nothing 00:09:39.429 --> 00:09:42.509 significant is happening, yet beneath the surface, 00:09:42.830 --> 00:09:46.210 the Holy Spirit is laying foundations that will 00:09:46.210 --> 00:09:49.370 one day support an assignment far greater than 00:09:49.370 --> 00:09:52.769 we can presently imagine. The hidden years remind 00:09:52.769 --> 00:09:56.230 us that spiritual maturity cannot be rushed. 00:09:56.590 --> 00:10:00.190 Fruit grows slowly, roots grow even more slowly, 00:10:00.429 --> 00:10:04.110 yet both are necessary. No one admires the roots 00:10:04.110 --> 00:10:07.330 of a tree because they cannot be seen. Everyone 00:10:07.330 --> 00:10:10.570 notices the branches, the leaves, and the fruit. 00:10:11.110 --> 00:10:13.970 Yet the greater the tree God intends to grow, 00:10:14.090 --> 00:10:17.710 the deeper the roots must first become. Otherwise, 00:10:17.909 --> 00:10:21.350 when the storms arrive, the very success we prayed 00:10:21.350 --> 00:10:24.350 for could become the reason we fall. Perhaps 00:10:24.350 --> 00:10:27.570 that is one of the reasons God hides His servants 00:10:27.570 --> 00:10:30.690 before revealing them. He is not delaying their 00:10:30.690 --> 00:10:33.539 assignment. He is strengthening the roots that 00:10:33.539 --> 00:10:36.559 will support it. When I look back over Joseph's 00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:40.009 life, I see the same principle. The prison. was 00:10:40.009 --> 00:10:42.909 strengthening his roots before the palace ever 00:10:42.909 --> 00:10:45.769 became visible. David's years with the sheep 00:10:45.769 --> 00:10:48.789 and in the caves were deepening roots that would 00:10:48.789 --> 00:10:51.850 later support the throne. Moses's wilderness 00:10:51.850 --> 00:10:55.309 was driving his roots deeper than Pharaoh's palace 00:10:55.309 --> 00:10:58.870 ever could. Daniel's years in Babylon established 00:10:58.870 --> 00:11:03.379 convictions that no empire could uproot. Now 00:11:03.379 --> 00:11:07.000 Paul teaches us that hiddenness itself can become 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:11.299 one of God's greatest workshops. Because sometimes 00:11:11.299 --> 00:11:14.440 the greatest thing God accomplishes during a 00:11:14.440 --> 00:11:17.740 season of waiting is not changing our circumstances, 00:11:18.519 --> 00:11:24.559 it is changing us. Eventually, the hidden years 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:28.399 came to an end. The man whom God had been quietly 00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:31.080 shaping would finally begin the assignment that 00:11:31.080 --> 00:11:33.700 had been spoken over his life on the road to 00:11:33.700 --> 00:11:37.139 Damascus. But something remarkable happened. 00:11:38.019 --> 00:11:41.559 The forge did not end when Paul's ministry began. 00:11:42.539 --> 00:11:47.299 In many ways, it became even hotter. Because 00:11:47.299 --> 00:11:49.919 the servant who had been prepared in hiddenness 00:11:49.919 --> 00:11:53.340 would now be prepared through suffering, persecution, 00:11:53.659 --> 00:11:56.639 and prison. And that may be one of the greatest 00:11:56.639 --> 00:12:00.340 paradoxes in the kingdom of God. Sometimes the 00:12:00.340 --> 00:12:03.799 assignment is not the end of the forge. Sometimes 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:08.700 it is only the beginning. As I continue reflecting 00:12:08.700 --> 00:12:13.100 on Paul's life, I realize there is another misconception 00:12:13.100 --> 00:12:17.080 that many of us quietly carry. We often imagine 00:12:17.080 --> 00:12:20.639 that once God's assignment begins, the difficult 00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:24.039 season should finally come to an end. We assume 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:27.360 that preparation belongs to the past, and that 00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:30.340 ministry should now become easier because we 00:12:30.340 --> 00:12:33.600 are finally walking in the purpose God has revealed. 00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:37.779 Yet Paul's life completely dismantles that expectation. 00:12:38.220 --> 00:12:40.679 The moment Paul stepped into his assignment, 00:12:40.940 --> 00:12:44.409 he did not step out of the forge. In many ways, 00:12:44.669 --> 00:12:48.029 the forge became even more intense. From city 00:12:48.029 --> 00:12:50.990 to city, he experienced opposition that most 00:12:50.990 --> 00:12:54.409 of us can scarcely imagine. He was misunderstood 00:12:54.409 --> 00:12:57.690 by those who once trusted him and rejected by 00:12:57.690 --> 00:13:00.730 many who could not accept the gospel he preached. 00:13:01.370 --> 00:13:05.669 He was beaten, imprisoned, falsely accused, driven 00:13:05.669 --> 00:13:09.389 from cities, shipwrecked, hungry, exhausted, 00:13:09.809 --> 00:13:12.629 and repeatedly faced the possibility of death. 00:13:12.960 --> 00:13:16.820 If anyone had the right to ask God why ministry 00:13:16.820 --> 00:13:21.100 had become so difficult, it was Paul. Yet something 00:13:21.100 --> 00:13:24.580 remarkable stands out. Paul never interpreted 00:13:24.580 --> 00:13:27.620 suffering as evidence that God had abandoned 00:13:27.620 --> 00:13:31.580 him. Instead, he repeatedly saw it as part of 00:13:31.580 --> 00:13:35.049 the calling itself. That challenges me, because 00:13:35.049 --> 00:13:38.350 our natural instinct is often to measure God's 00:13:38.350 --> 00:13:41.409 presence by the absence of difficulty. When life 00:13:41.409 --> 00:13:44.570 becomes hard, we begin asking whether we missed 00:13:44.570 --> 00:13:47.769 God's will. We wonder if we took the wrong path 00:13:47.769 --> 00:13:52.009 or misunderstood His voice. Paul teaches us a 00:13:52.009 --> 00:13:54.629 completely different perspective. Faithfulness 00:13:54.629 --> 00:13:58.230 to God's assignment does not always remove hardship. 00:13:58.509 --> 00:14:01.750 Sometimes it leads us directly into it, not because 00:14:01.750 --> 00:14:04.690 God is displeased with us, but because he is 00:14:04.690 --> 00:14:07.850 accomplishing something that comfort alone could 00:14:07.850 --> 00:14:11.259 never produce. One of the most beautiful examples 00:14:11.259 --> 00:14:14.440 of this appears while Paul is sitting in prison. 00:14:14.659 --> 00:14:17.600 Imagine that scene for a moment. The man who 00:14:17.600 --> 00:14:20.700 had traveled thousands of miles preaching the 00:14:20.700 --> 00:14:24.480 gospel suddenly finds himself confined within 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:28.019 four walls. His freedom has been taken away. 00:14:28.259 --> 00:14:31.500 His missionary journeys have stopped. His plans 00:14:31.500 --> 00:14:34.500 have been interrupted. From a human perspective, 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:38.100 it appears that his ministry has been severely 00:14:38.100 --> 00:14:42.279 limited. But heaven sees something entirely different. 00:14:42.860 --> 00:14:46.279 While chains restrained Paul's body, they could 00:14:46.279 --> 00:14:50.159 not restrain the word of God. Those prison walls 00:14:50.159 --> 00:14:53.059 became the place where some of the most influential 00:14:53.059 --> 00:14:56.480 letters in the history of Christianity were written. 00:14:57.220 --> 00:15:00.820 Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon 00:15:00.820 --> 00:15:04.480 were not produced in moments of comfort and convenience. 00:15:04.820 --> 00:15:08.159 They were born in confinement, in uncertainty. 00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:11.720 and in circumstances that many people would have 00:15:11.720 --> 00:15:15.120 considered a setback. Can you imagine if Paul 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:17.840 had spent those years complaining instead of 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:21.039 writing? Can you imagine if he had concluded 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:24.820 that prison meant God's plan had failed? The 00:15:24.820 --> 00:15:28.019 church would have lost treasures that have strengthened 00:15:28.019 --> 00:15:32.700 believers for nearly 2 ,000 years. Instead, Paul 00:15:32.700 --> 00:15:35.519 understood something that every servant of God 00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:38.830 eventually has to learn. The assignment is never 00:15:38.830 --> 00:15:42.889 limited by our circumstances. God's purpose is 00:15:42.889 --> 00:15:45.490 greater than the place where we currently find 00:15:45.490 --> 00:15:48.429 ourselves. That is exactly what we have been 00:15:48.429 --> 00:15:52.169 discovering throughout this entire series. Joseph 00:15:52.169 --> 00:15:55.470 thought prison had interrupted his future, yet 00:15:55.470 --> 00:15:59.649 prison became the doorway to the palace. Moses 00:15:59.649 --> 00:16:02.330 thought the wilderness had delayed his calling. 00:16:02.460 --> 00:16:05.340 Yet the wilderness became the place where he 00:16:05.340 --> 00:16:09.500 learned to depend entirely upon God. Esther could 00:16:09.500 --> 00:16:12.580 never have imagined that becoming queen was part 00:16:12.580 --> 00:16:17.080 of God's plan to preserve an entire nation. Daniel 00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:20.159 never realized that Babylon would become the 00:16:20.159 --> 00:16:23.080 platform through which kings would witness the 00:16:23.080 --> 00:16:26.100 sovereignty of the living God. Now Paul teaches 00:16:26.100 --> 00:16:29.240 us that even prison can become a pulpit when 00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:33.360 God is writing the story. That is extraordinary. 00:16:33.940 --> 00:16:36.899 Nothing had changed about God's assignment. The 00:16:36.899 --> 00:16:40.259 location had changed. The method had changed. 00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:43.559 The audience had changed. But the purpose remained 00:16:43.559 --> 00:16:46.980 exactly the same. Perhaps that is one of the 00:16:46.980 --> 00:16:49.940 greatest lessons we need to embrace today. We 00:16:49.940 --> 00:16:52.840 often become discouraged when God changes the 00:16:52.840 --> 00:16:56.080 way he accomplishes his purpose through our lives. 00:16:56.220 --> 00:16:59.580 We expect his plan to unfold according to our 00:16:59.580 --> 00:17:03.460 timeline and our preferred methods. Yet throughout 00:17:03.460 --> 00:17:06.799 scripture, God continually demonstrates that 00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:10.140 he is never limited by geography, opposition, 00:17:10.819 --> 00:17:15.500 rejection, imprisonment, or delay. When one door 00:17:15.500 --> 00:17:18.759 closes, he simply reveals another way for his 00:17:18.759 --> 00:17:23.079 purpose to continue moving forward. Paul's prison 00:17:23.079 --> 00:17:26.140 was never the end of his ministry. It became 00:17:26.140 --> 00:17:30.000 another chapter in the forge. And perhaps that 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:33.900 is why his letters continue speaking today. They 00:17:33.900 --> 00:17:37.259 were not written merely by a brilliant theologian. 00:17:38.099 --> 00:17:41.000 They were written by a servant whose faith had 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:44.660 been tested, refined, purified and strengthened 00:17:44.660 --> 00:17:48.180 through every season God allowed him to experience. 00:17:49.240 --> 00:17:52.000 That is why his words still carry such weight. 00:17:52.740 --> 00:17:58.799 They were forged before they were written. Paul's 00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:01.019 hidden years prepared him for the assignment. 00:18:01.700 --> 00:18:04.240 His sufferings deepened him within the assignment. 00:18:04.779 --> 00:18:07.940 His prisons expanded the assignment. Nothing 00:18:07.940 --> 00:18:11.240 God allowed in Paul's life was meaningless. Nothing 00:18:11.240 --> 00:18:16.099 was accidental. Nothing was wasted. As we conclude 00:18:16.099 --> 00:18:19.700 this conversation, there is one final truth that 00:18:19.700 --> 00:18:22.759 brings every part of Paul's story together and 00:18:22.759 --> 00:18:25.920 reveals why God sometimes chooses hiddenness 00:18:25.920 --> 00:18:30.160 before influence, suffering before impact, and 00:18:30.160 --> 00:18:33.859 waiting before fulfillment. And perhaps it is 00:18:33.859 --> 00:18:36.599 one of the most encouraging lessons we have discovered 00:18:36.599 --> 00:18:39.579 so far in this journey through Forge for Your 00:18:39.579 --> 00:18:44.190 Future assignment. As I come to the end of Paul's 00:18:44.190 --> 00:18:46.990 story, there is one thought that continues to 00:18:46.990 --> 00:18:50.269 grow stronger in my heart. I no longer believe 00:18:50.269 --> 00:18:53.170 that God's greatest objective was simply to make 00:18:53.170 --> 00:18:55.950 Paul one of the greatest missionaries in history. 00:18:56.470 --> 00:18:59.190 That certainly happened, but I do not think it 00:18:59.190 --> 00:19:02.890 was God's highest goal. God was preparing Paul 00:19:02.890 --> 00:19:06.029 to look more like Christ. When you begin reading 00:19:06.029 --> 00:19:09.130 Paul's letters, you notice something remarkable. 00:19:09.349 --> 00:19:12.990 The man who once relied upon his own accomplishments 00:19:12.990 --> 00:19:17.309 gradually became a man who boasted only in Christ. 00:19:17.829 --> 00:19:20.690 The Pharisee who had once found confidence in 00:19:20.690 --> 00:19:24.250 his education, his reputation, and his religious 00:19:24.250 --> 00:19:27.289 achievements eventually wrote that he considered 00:19:27.289 --> 00:19:30.829 all those things loss compared to the surpassing 00:19:30.829 --> 00:19:35.009 greatness of knowing Jesus Christ. That transformation 00:19:35.009 --> 00:19:37.890 did not happen on the road to Damascus alone. 00:19:38.109 --> 00:19:41.490 It was forged through years of walking with Christ. 00:19:41.869 --> 00:19:45.390 It was forged through disappointments, persecutions, 00:19:45.869 --> 00:19:49.230 imprisonments, unanswered questions, painful 00:19:49.230 --> 00:19:53.089 sacrifices, lonely journeys, and moments when 00:19:53.089 --> 00:19:56.569 Paul had nothing left to depend upon except the 00:19:56.569 --> 00:20:01.609 faithfulness of God. The Holy Spirit was removing 00:20:01.609 --> 00:20:05.029 everything that Paul could rely upon apart from 00:20:05.029 --> 00:20:09.569 Christ until Christ himself became enough. Perhaps 00:20:09.569 --> 00:20:13.170 that is one of the deepest works God accomplishes 00:20:13.170 --> 00:20:16.990 in every servant he calls. Before he entrusts 00:20:16.990 --> 00:20:20.690 us with greater influence, he patiently removes 00:20:20.690 --> 00:20:24.549 every foundation that cannot sustain the weight 00:20:24.549 --> 00:20:27.970 of his assignment. He teaches us not to place 00:20:27.970 --> 00:20:31.170 our confidence in our gifts, our intelligence, 00:20:31.529 --> 00:20:35.250 our experience, our position, or even our past 00:20:35.250 --> 00:20:39.130 victories. Instead, he slowly brings us to the 00:20:39.130 --> 00:20:43.569 place where our confidence rests entirely upon 00:20:43.569 --> 00:20:46.990 him. That is why Paul could eventually write, 00:20:47.369 --> 00:20:51.029 I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 00:20:51.690 --> 00:20:54.589 Notice that he did not say he was born content. 00:20:54.859 --> 00:20:58.960 He said he had learned. Learning implies a process. 00:20:59.259 --> 00:21:03.359 It implies experiences. It implies seasons that 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:06.500 God intentionally used to teach lessons that 00:21:06.500 --> 00:21:09.680 could never be learned in a classroom. He also 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:13.039 wrote, I can do all things through Christ who 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:16.519 strengthens me. We often quote those words when 00:21:16.519 --> 00:21:19.980 we are pursuing success, but Paul wrote them 00:21:19.980 --> 00:21:23.349 while reflecting on seasons of hunger. need, 00:21:23.710 --> 00:21:27.930 abundance, suffering, and uncertainty. His confidence 00:21:27.930 --> 00:21:31.589 was not built upon favorable circumstances. It 00:21:31.589 --> 00:21:36.109 was built upon the unchanging presence of Christ. 00:21:36.289 --> 00:21:39.630 That is the forge. The forge teaches us that 00:21:39.630 --> 00:21:43.130 God's presence is greater than our circumstances. 00:21:43.509 --> 00:21:46.670 The forge teaches us that His faithfulness is 00:21:46.670 --> 00:21:50.150 not measured by how comfortable our lives become. 00:21:50.349 --> 00:21:54.170 The Forge teaches us that his purpose continues 00:21:54.170 --> 00:21:57.410 moving forward even when our plans appear to 00:21:57.410 --> 00:22:00.670 stand still. When I step back and look at Paul's 00:22:00.670 --> 00:22:04.390 entire journey, I realize that nothing God allowed 00:22:04.390 --> 00:22:09.410 was random. Damascus was necessary. Arabia was 00:22:09.410 --> 00:22:13.250 necessary. The hidden years were necessary. The 00:22:13.250 --> 00:22:16.769 missionary journeys were necessary. The imprisonments 00:22:16.769 --> 00:22:20.500 were necessary. Even the chains became instruments 00:22:20.500 --> 00:22:23.140 through which the gospel reached places Paul 00:22:23.140 --> 00:22:27.319 could never have imagined. Nothing was wasted. 00:22:27.880 --> 00:22:30.720 And isn't that exactly what we have been discovering 00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:34.319 from the very beginning of this series? Joseph's 00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:38.000 prison was not wasted. David's caves were not 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:42.720 wasted. Moses' wilderness was not wasted. Esther's 00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:46.960 palace was not wasted. Daniel's Babylon was not 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:50.650 wasted. Paul's hidden years and imprisonments 00:22:50.650 --> 00:22:54.450 were not wasted. Every season became another 00:22:54.450 --> 00:22:57.710 stroke of the master's hand, shaping his servants 00:22:57.710 --> 00:23:01.089 for the assignments he had prepared long before 00:23:01.089 --> 00:23:04.829 they understood them. Perhaps you are listening 00:23:04.829 --> 00:23:07.710 today while living through one of those hidden 00:23:07.710 --> 00:23:12.230 seasons. You love God. You know he has placed 00:23:12.230 --> 00:23:15.250 something in your heart. Yet nothing seems to 00:23:15.250 --> 00:23:18.950 be moving as quickly as you expected. Heaven 00:23:18.950 --> 00:23:23.190 appears quiet, doors remain closed, and you wonder 00:23:23.190 --> 00:23:27.349 whether God has forgotten what he promised. Paul's 00:23:27.349 --> 00:23:30.589 life gently reminds us that God's silence should 00:23:30.589 --> 00:23:34.970 never be confused with God's absence. The blacksmith 00:23:34.970 --> 00:23:38.329 appears quiet while he is working. The roots 00:23:38.329 --> 00:23:41.769 of a great tree grow silently beneath the ground. 00:23:42.039 --> 00:23:45.819 A foundation is laid long before the building 00:23:45.819 --> 00:23:49.759 becomes visible, and God's greatest work inside 00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:53.200 His servants is often accomplished where human 00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:57.539 eyes cannot see it. So if today you find yourself 00:23:57.539 --> 00:24:00.579 in one of those hidden seasons, do not despise 00:24:00.579 --> 00:24:04.859 it. Do not rush through it. Do not assume that 00:24:04.859 --> 00:24:07.900 because the world does not see you, God is not 00:24:07.900 --> 00:24:11.400 working in you. Perhaps He is accomplishing His 00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:14.880 greatest work right now, because when God finally 00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:17.779 reveals the assignment, He is not looking for 00:24:17.779 --> 00:24:20.720 the most talented servant. He is looking for 00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:27.700 the servant who has been faithfully forged. As 00:24:27.700 --> 00:24:30.400 we continue our journey through Forge for Your 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:33.559 Future Assignment, we now arrive at one of the 00:24:33.559 --> 00:24:37.180 most personal stories in all of Scripture. Unlike 00:24:37.180 --> 00:24:40.200 Paul, whose forge was marked by hidden years 00:24:40.200 --> 00:24:43.319 and suffering, our next servant will teach us 00:24:43.319 --> 00:24:46.960 that God can even use our greatest failures as 00:24:46.960 --> 00:24:50.859 part of His preparation. Peter loved Jesus with 00:24:50.859 --> 00:24:54.099 all his heart, yet in one heartbreaking night, 00:24:54.460 --> 00:24:57.819 he denied even knowing Him. Most people would 00:24:57.819 --> 00:25:00.920 have concluded that Peter had disqualified himself 00:25:00.920 --> 00:25:04.660 forever. Jesus had already determined otherwise. 00:25:05.140 --> 00:25:08.160 Join me in our next conversation as we discover 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:11.880 that sometimes the Forge is not a prison, a wilderness, 00:25:12.460 --> 00:25:15.619 a palace, a hostile culture, or hidden years. 00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:19.880 Sometimes. The forge is our own brokenness and 00:25:19.880 --> 00:25:22.900 we will discover that the God who prepares his 00:25:22.900 --> 00:25:26.380 servants is also the God who restores them because 00:25:26.380 --> 00:25:29.380 his calling is greater than our failures and 00:25:29.380 --> 00:25:32.740 his grace is always writing a story that is far 00:25:32.740 --> 00:25:34.619 bigger than our worst moment.