Welcome to Pamoja Podcast, the place where stronger
lives are built, faith is strengthened, hearts
are encouraged, and Christ -centered homes are
shaped through ordinary conversations that become
extraordinary encounters with God's truth. One
conversation, one story, one revelation at a
time. I'm your host, Barry Mwamba. As we arrive
at this conversation, I cannot help but look
back over the incredible journey we have shared
together. We stood beside Joseph in the prison
and discovered that God's promises are not canceled
by injustice. We walked with Moses through the
wilderness and learned that God's delays are
often seasons of divine preparation. We entered
Esther's palace and realized that God's providence
is already positioning His servants long before
the assignment becomes visible. We followed Daniel
into Babylon and discovered that God can prepare
His people even while the world is trying to
redefine them. We watched Paul disappear into
hidden years and learned that heaven often builds
the servant before revealing the ministry. We
wept with Peter in the courtyard and rejoiced
with him beside the Sea of Galilee as we discovered
that failure surrendered to Christ can become
another instrument in God's forge. Every one
of those stories has taught us something beautiful
about the way God prepares his servants. Yet
every one of those stories has also been pointing
beyond itself. Because Joseph was not the final
Joseph. Moses was not the final deliverer. David
was not the final king. Esther was not the final
savior of God's people. Daniel was not the final
faithful witness. Paul was not the final apostle.
Peter was not the final shepherd. Every one of
them was pointing us toward Jesus Christ. Today
we arrive at the greatest forge in history. Not
because Jesus needed to become holy. Not because
he needed to become worthy. Not because he needed
to be refined. Jesus entered the forge because
the salvation of the world require perfect obedience.
That changes the entire conversation, because
everything we have studied until now has been
about servants being prepared for their assignment.
Today we discover the servant whose assignment
was established before the foundation of the
world. And perhaps we will understand something
that has amazed believers for centuries. The
cross was never Satan's greatest victory. It
became his greatest defeat. The darkest day in
human history became the brightest day in God's
redemptive plan. The place that looked like complete
humiliation became the place of Christ's greatest
exaltation. The enemy believed he had won. Heaven
knew redemption had arrived. And that is where
our journey truly begins. As I continue reflecting
on the life of Jesus, I realize that his story
is fundamentally different from every servant
we have studied so far. Joseph needed the prison.
Moses needed the wilderness. Esther needed the
palace. Daniel needed Babylon. Paul needed the
hidden years. Peter needed restoration after
failure. Every one of them entered the forge
because God was preparing them for the assignment
that lay ahead. But when we arrive at Jesus,
everything changes. Jesus did not need to become
wiser. He did not need to become holier. He did
not need to become more obedient. He did not
need to be purified from sin. The Bible describes
him as the spotless lamb of God. The one who
was tempted in every way as we are, yet without
sin. His life was already perfect. His obedience
was already complete. His relationship with the
Father had never been broken. So the question
naturally arises. Why the cross? Why the betrayal?
Why Gethsemane? Why the false accusations? Why
the scourging? Why the crown of thorns? Why the
nails? Why the abandonment? Why would the only
perfect man who ever lived walk willingly into
the greatest suffering history has ever witnessed?
The answer changes everything. Jesus did not
enter the forge because he needed to be transformed.
He entered the forge because we needed to be
redeemed. That is one of the greatest distinctions
in all of scripture. Every servant we have studied
was shaped by the fire. Jesus entered the fire
to rescue those who could never survive it on
their own. He walked into our judgment. He carried
our condemnation. He bore our sin. He endured
the separation that we deserved. The forge that
should have consumed us fell upon him. That is
the gospel. Sometimes we become so familiar with
the cross, that we forget how astonishing it
really is. The king of glory willingly exchanged
his throne for a manger. The creator entered
his own creation. The judge stood before human
judges. The one who spoke the universe into existence
remained silent while false witnesses accused
him. The author of life allowed himself to be
nailed to a cross by the very people he had come
to save. None of that happened because events
had slipped out of God's control. Every step
was intentional. Every moment fulfilled what
had already been written. Every wound carried
purpose. This was not heaven reacting to Satan.
This was heaven fulfilling redemption. Peter
would later preach that Jesus was handed over
by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge. Isaiah
had already seen it centuries before. He was
pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed
for our iniquities. The punishment that brought
us peace was upon him. Long before Bethlehem,
long before Calvary, long before Pilate, the
Father already knew. The cross was never an emergency
plan. It was the eternal plan. That changes the
way we read the entire Bible Joseph suffering
begins pointing toward Christ Moses's deliverance
begins pointing toward Christ the Passover lamb
begins pointing toward Christ the sacrifices
begin pointing toward Christ David's rejected
kingship begins pointing toward Christ Isaiah's
suffering servant begins pointing toward Christ
everything has been quietly leading us here.
The cross is not simply another story in the
Bible. It is the center of the Bible. It is the
place where every promise, every prophecy, every
sacrifice, every covenant, and every forge finally
meet. And perhaps that is why every servant we
have studied has felt strangely familiar. Because
none of them were the destination. They were
signposts. Every one of them was whispering the
same name, Jesus. If the cross was always God's
plan, another question immediately follows. When
Jesus stood before Pilate, when he remained silent
before his accusers, when the crowds mocked him,
when Satan believed he had finally won, who was
really in control? Because what appeared to be
the greatest defeat in history was, in reality,
the greatest victory heaven had ever planned.
That is where our journey continues. As I continue
reflecting on the cross, I cannot help but imagine
what it must have looked like from heaven and
what it must have looked like from hell. To everyone
standing around Calvary, it appeared that evil
had finally triumphed. The religious leaders
believed they had silenced Jesus forever. Pilate
believed he had solved a political problem. The
Roman soldiers believed they were carrying out
another execution. The crowds believed they had
eliminated a false prophet. Even the disciples
believed everything was over. Darkness covered
the land. Hope appeared to have died. And I cannot
help but wonder what Satan himself thought. Perhaps
he believed this was his greatest victory. After
all, from the very beginning, he had tried to
stop God's plan. He tempted Adam and Eve in the
garden. He stirred Pharaoh to kill Hebrew children.
He sought to destroy Israel throughout its history.
He moved Herod to slaughter the infants of Bethlehem
in an attempt to eliminate the promised Messiah.
Again and again, he fought against the unfolding
purposes of God. Now the son of God was hanging
on a cross, mocked, rejected, bleeding, surrounded
by people who believed he had failed. From every
human perspective, this looked like complete
defeat. Perhaps hell celebrated. Perhaps the
kingdom of darkness believed the battle was finally
over. But what Satan could not see was that God
was accomplishing his greatest work precisely
through the event the enemy believed he had orchestrated.
That is the mystery of the cross. The very instrument
Satan imagined would destroy God's plan became
the instrument through which God's plan was fulfilled.
The cross did not interrupt redemption. The cross
accomplished redemption. Think about how extraordinary
that is. The nails did not prevent Jesus from
becoming king. They became part of his coronation.
The crown of thorns did not rob him of his authority.
It exposed the blindness of those who mocked
the true king. The cross did not reveal God's
weakness. It revealed a love so powerful that
it willingly absorbed hatred without returning
it. Even death itself believed it had finally
closed its gates around the Son of God. Yet death
was unknowingly opening the doorway to its own
defeat. The Apostle Paul would later declare
that if the rulers of this age had understood
God's wisdom, they would not have crucified the
Lord of Glory. What an astonishing statement.
The enemy acted without realizing he was serving
the very purpose he was trying to prevent. That
has always been God's pattern. Joseph's brothers
sold him into slavery, believing they had ended
his dreams. God used their betrayal to preserve
nations. Pharaoh oppressed Israel, believing
he was securing Egypt. God used that oppression
to reveal his glory through the Exodus. Haman
built the gallows for Mordecai, believing he
would destroy God's covenant people. The gallows
became the place of Haman's own judgment. The
religious leaders condemned Jesus, believing
they were protecting their position. Instead,
they became unwilling participants in the greatest
act of redemption the world has ever known. Do
you see the pattern? The enemy repeatedly mistakes
God's silence for God's absence. He mistakes
apparent weakness for defeat. He mistakes waiting
for surrender. And every time, God is writing
another chapter that completely overturns his
expectations. That is why I hear these words
echoing through the cross, when the devil thought
he was humiliating Jesus. He was walking into
his own greatest humiliation. When he thought
he had finally silenced the Son of God, he was
opening the door through which salvation would
be preached to every nation. When he thought
death had won, death itself began losing its
authority. When he thought he had secured victory,
he sealed his own defeat. Because on the third
day, The stone was rolled away, the grave was
empty, the lamb became the lion. The crucified
Savior stood alive forevermore, and the one who
had humbled himself unto death was exalted by
the Father, and given the name that is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, in heaven and on earth and under
the earth. and every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
That is why the cross is not simply another forge.
It is the greatest forge in history because what
looked like the greatest defeat became the greatest
victory. If the cross revealed that God can transform
what appears to be absolute defeat into eternal
victory, Then one final question remains. What
does that mean for us? Because if every forge
we have studied has ultimately pointed to Christ,
then Christ's forge must now shape the way we
understand every trial we face. That is where
we bring this entire journey to its breathtaking
conclusion. As we come to the end of this journey,
I cannot help but see my own life differently.
When we began this series, we asked one simple
question. Why does God prepare His servants through
the fire before entrusting them with the assignment?
Along the way, we stood beside Joseph in prison.
We walked with Moses through the wilderness.
We entered the palace with Esther. We lived with
Daniel in Babylon. We waited with Paul during
the hidden years. We wept with Peter after his
failure. Every one of those servants teaches
us something extraordinary. But none of them
is the reason we can have hope today. Our hope
is not found in Joseph. Our hope is not found
in Moses. Our hope is not found in Esther. Our
hope is not found in Daniel. Our hope is not
found in Paul. Our hope is not found in Peter.
Our hope is found in Jesus Christ. Because every
forge before Calvary was preparing God's servants.
The forge of Calvary prepared salvation for the
world. That changes everything. It means that
when I enter a difficult season, I no longer
interpret it through fear, I interpret it through
the cross. If God could take the darkest day
in human history and transform it into the greatest
victory eternity has ever known, then what circumstance
could possibly be beyond his ability to redeem?
If God could bring life out of death, hope out
of despair, victory out of apparent defeat. Then
he can also write redemption into every chapter
that we have not yet understood. That does not
mean every trial is easy. It does not mean every
question receives an immediate answer. Joseph
still cried. Moses still wrestled. David still
wept. Esther still risked her life. Daniel still
entered the lion's den. Paul still carried chains.
Peter still remembered the courtyard, and Jesus
still carried the cross. The forge is real. The
pain is real. The tears are real. But because
of Christ, they are never meaningless. The cross
forever changed the way believers understand
suffering. Before Calvary, suffering often looked
like defeat. After the resurrection, suffering
became a place where God's glory could be revealed.
The resurrection became God's eternal declaration
that no darkness is final when He is writing
the story, no grave is permanent, no prison is
ultimate, no wilderness lasts forever, no Babylon
has the final word, no failure is beyond redemption,
and even death itself has lost its victory because
Jesus walked out of the tomb. tomb alive forevermore.
That is why I believe the greatest miracle of
the cross was not simply that Jesus died for
us. The greatest miracle is that because he lives,
our story can never be defined by its darkest
chapter. The resurrection rewrote the ending,
and because it rewrote his story, it can rewrite
ours. Perhaps that is why Romans tells us that
God works all things together. for the good of
those who love Him and are called according to
His purpose." Notice what Paul does not say.
He does not say that all things are good. Betrayal
is not good. Loss is not good. Injustice is not
good. Failure is not good. The cross itself was
not good because of the suffering it involved.
Yet God, in His infinite wisdom and sovereign
love, has the power to weave even the darkest
threads into a masterpiece that reveals His glory.
That has been the message of this entire series.
God never wastes the prison. God never wastes
the wilderness. God never wastes the palace.
God never wastes Babylon. God never wastes the
hidden years. God never wastes failure. And because
of Jesus Christ, God never wastes the cross.
So wherever you find yourself today, perhaps
you are in your prison, perhaps you are in your
wilderness, perhaps you are living in your Babylon,
perhaps heaven feels silent, perhaps you are
carrying the weight of a failure that no one
else knows, or perhaps you are standing at the
foot of a cross you never expected to bear. Do
not lose heart. The same God who forged Joseph,
who forged Moses, who forged Esther, who forged
Daniel, who forged Paul, who restored Peter,
and who fulfilled his eternal purpose through
Jesus Christ is still writing stories today.
He has not forgotten you. He has not abandoned
his promise. He has not canceled your assignment.
He is still forging. He is still shaping. He
is still preparing because God's greatest work.
has never been producing comfortable people.
His greatest work has always been producing people
who reflect his son. And when the day comes that
you finally step into the assignment he has prepared
for you, you will look back over every prison,
every wilderness, every hidden year, every disappointment,
every tear, and even every failure. and you will
say what heaven has been declaring all along.
Nothing was wasted. Thank you for joining me
on this journey through Forge for your future
assignment. Until next time, keep walking with
Christ, keep trusting his timing, keep believing
his promises, because the master is still at
the Forge and what he is shaping today. will
one day reveal his glory.