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