Welcome to Pamoja Ministry. In our first conversation,
we asked, what if the intervention was about
you? What if while we were asking God to change
what was happening around us, God was using the
fire to change something within us? Then in our
second conversation, we discovered another truth.
The fire reveals what success can hide. Pressure
can expose anger. Waiting can expose impatience.
Authority can expose pride. Opportunity can expose
appetite. Opposition can expose our reactions.
And our words can reveal what is really happening
within our hearts. But now we have to go somewhere
deeper. Because revelation without response does
not produce transformation. It is one thing for
God to show you something. It is another thing
for you to do something about what He has shown
you. And this is where we arrive at one of the
foundational principles of this entire theology.
Discipline protects vision. Remember this truth.
God gives vision, but it is our responsibility
to steward it. When God gives someone a vision,
there is God's part and there is our responsibility.
God calls. God gives grace. God empowers. God
opens doors. God provides opportunities. God
gives gifts. God anoints. But after God entrusts
something to us, we become responsible for how
we carry it. The Bible repeatedly speaks about
stewardship. And stewardship means that something
valuable has been placed into your hands that
does not ultimately belong to you. Your calling
is something to steward. Your family is something
to steward. Your influence is something to steward.
Your body is something to steward. Your relationships
are something to steward. Your opportunities
are something to steward. Your words are something
to steward. Your time is something to steward.
Your vision is something to steward. And if something
is valuable enough to steward, It is valuable
enough to protect. That protection requires discipline.
This statement must be highlighted in our hearts.
Anointing does not cancel discipline. Sometimes
Christians speak about anointing as though anointing
automatically protects someone from failure.
But scripture does not teach us that. A person
can be called and still make destructive decisions.
A person can be gifted and still become careless.
A person can experience the presence of God and
still struggle with appetite. A person can carry
revelation and still struggle with pride. A person
can pray powerfully and still need boundaries.
A person can preach truth and still need accountability.
The presence of a gift does not prove the absence
of weakness. And this is why spiritual maturity
requires more than discovering your gift. You
must develop the character capable of carrying
it. Paul understood this. In 1 Corinthians chapter
9, Paul compares the Christian life to an athlete
preparing for competition. Athletes exercise
self -control. They train. They establish routines.
They deny themselves certain things. Not necessarily
because those things are evil, but because there
is something greater they are pursuing. Then
Paul says, I discipline my body and keep it under
control. Think about who is speaking. Paul, an
apostle, a man who encountered Christ, a man
who carried extraordinary revelation, a man through
whom God performed miracles. And Paul still understood,
I must govern myself. Why? Because anointing
does not eliminate appetite. Calling does not
eliminate temptation. Vision does not eliminate
weakness. And spiritual experiences do not eliminate
the need for discipline. Remember this, self
-discipline is not self -sufficiency. Now we
must be careful here. When I speak about self
-discipline, I am not teaching independence from
God. Christian self -discipline is not, I am
strong enough without God. It is exactly the
opposite. Galatians chapter 5 identifies self
-control as fruit of the spirit. That means genuine
Christian self -control. develops through a life
surrendered to the Holy Spirit. We need Him.
We need His conviction. We need His wisdom. We
need His strength. We need His warnings. We need
His guidance. But the Holy Spirit's involvement
does not eliminate human responsibility. He may
convict you. You still have to respond. He may
warn you. You still have to listen. He may show
you the boundary. You still have to respect it.
He may reveal the relationship. You still have
to make the decision. He may expose the seed.
You still have to stop watering it. He may show
you the exit. You still have to walk through
the door. Grace empowers obedience. Grace does
not make obedience unnecessary. Self -discipline
is learning to police yourself because there
is something you want to preserve that is greater
than the temptation standing in front of you.
It is the ability to tell yourself, no. Not because
you don't have the opportunity. Not because nobody
wants you to do it. Not because someone is watching.
But because you know what you are carrying. That
changes everything. Self -discipline says, I
could say it, but I won't. I could respond, but
I don't need to. I could go there, but I won't.
I could entertain this conversation, but I won't.
I could satisfy this appetite, but I won't. I
could retaliate, but I won't. I could expose
what I know, but I won't. I could take advantage
of this opportunity, but I won't. Why? Because
there is something greater at stake. My relationship
with God, my family, my marriage, my children,
my testimony, my character, my ministry, my calling,
my future, my vision, my purpose. Some things
are simply too expensive. A question. Remind,
what is the real price of temptation? Temptation
usually advertises pleasure. It rarely advertises
price. It shows you the moment. It hides the
consequences. It shows David Bathsheba. It does
not show him Nathan standing before him. It does
not show him the turmoil coming into his household.
It does not show him the years of consequences
attached to one decision. Temptation says, look
what you can have. Discipline asks, what could
this cost? And mature people learn to calculate
beyond the moment. Because sometimes five minutes
can affect five years. One conversation can affect
a marriage. One message can destroy trust. One
uncontrolled reaction can affect a career. One
financial decision can affect a family. One moment
of anger can destroy a relationship. One secret
compromise can eventually threaten a public assignment.
This is why discipline is not punishment. Discipline
is protection. This statement is true. Character
is built in the private no. We often celebrate
public victories, but character is usually developed
privately. Nobody applauds when you close the
door on temptation. Nobody knows when you delete
the message. Nobody sees when you decide not
to respond. Nobody celebrates when you walk away.
Nobody hears the conversation you refuse to participate
in. Nobody knows that you could have retaliated
but chose restraint. Nobody knows that you were
angry and decided to pray before speaking. Nobody
knows you wanted something badly but refused
to violate your convictions to obtain it. There
is no audience. There is no microphone. There
is no applause. But heaven sees something happening.
Character is being built. Every disciplined knows
strength in something inside you, and every repeated
compromise weakens something inside you. That
is why small decisions matter. This principle
connects to the theology of seeds we explored
in our Season 2. We have talked before about
seeds. Some seeds are planted without our knowledge.
Some are planted with our knowledge, and some
seeds we continue to entertain and water. Now
we can see why that theology matters here. Because
whatever you repeatedly entertain begins training
your appetite. And whatever repeatedly trains
your appetite can eventually weaken your resistance.
The first compromise may trouble you deeply.
The second becomes easier. The third becomes
familiar. Eventually, What once convicted you
can begin feeling normal. And once compromise
becomes normal, discipline becomes increasingly
difficult. This is how dangerous seeds work.
They rarely announce, I have come to destroy
your future. They arrive small, a conversation,
an image, a thought, a resentment, a relationship,
an appetite, a private habit, a justification,
a secret. and then we water it, until eventually
the seed begins producing something powerful
enough to challenge our self -control. This is
why discipline sometimes means starving the seed.
Stop feeding what you are asking God to deliver
you from. Let's explore the life of David when
desire became more important than vision. We
touched David in our previous conversation. But
now let's look specifically at discipline David
had a kingdom David had authority David had a
family David had a relationship with God David
had a history with God David had survived battles
that should have killed him David had purpose
and yet for a moment Desire became more important
than everything attached to his purpose That
is what lack of discipline does. It shrinks your
vision until all you can see is the appetite
immediately in front of you. In that moment,
David was not thinking about the kingdom. He
was not thinking about his family. He was not
thinking about Uriah. He was not thinking about
consequences. He was not thinking about tomorrow.
Desire had narrowed his vision to now, and discipline
does the opposite. Discipline widens your vision.
Discipline says, look beyond this moment. Remember
who you are. Remember what God entrusted to you.
Remember who is connected to you. Remember where
you are going. Remember what this could cost.
Let's examine Peter's life. Passion without control.
Peter loved Jesus. There is no question about
that. Peter was passionate, committed, bold,
ready to fight. And when soldiers came to arrest
Jesus, Peter drew his sword and cut off the servant's
ear. Peter thought he was defending Jesus, but
Jesus had to correct Peter. Why? Because sincere
passion without self -control can still produce
damage. You can mean well and still react badly.
You can love God and still need discipline. You
can believe you are defending something righteous
and still respond in a way that does not reflect
the character of Christ. And maybe that is why
God sometimes refines our reactions. Because
passion must come under government. Listen to
James 3. Can you govern something small? A bit,
a rudder, a spark. Small things governing larger
things. And maybe James is teaching us a principle
that reaches beyond the tongue. If you cannot
govern the small thing, eventually the small
thing may govern something much larger. One sentence
can redirect a relationship. One appetite can
redirect a marriage. One habit can redirect a
ministry. One reaction can redirect a career.
One compromise can redirect a calling. The size
of the seed does not determine the size of the
harvest. That is why discipline matters. Remember
this. You need boundaries before you need them.
One of the greatest expressions of discipline
is boundaries, and boundaries work best when
established before temptation arrives. Do not
wait until you are emotionally attached to decide
what relationships are appropriate. Do not wait
until you are angry to decide how you will respond
when offended. Do not wait until money arrives
to decide what integrity means. Do not wait until
authority arrives to decide how you will treat
people. Do not wait until opportunity arrives
to establish sexual boundaries. Do not wait until
thousands of people know your name to develop
accountability. Do not wait until the fire starts
to purchase the extinguisher. Prepare before
pressure. Because discipline established in peace
becomes protection during war. What are you protecting?
Maybe this is the question we need to ask ourselves.
What is important enough for you to discipline
yourself to protect it? If your marriage matters,
protect it. If your children matter, protect
them. If your calling matters, protect it. If
your ministry matters, protect it. If your testimony
matters, protect it. If your health matters,
protect it. If your relationship with God matters,
protect it. If division matters, protect it.
And sometimes protection looks like saying no.
Sometimes protection looks like leaving. Sometimes
protection looks like silence. Sometimes protection
looks like accountability. Sometimes protection
looks like confession. Sometimes protection looks
like deleting something. Sometimes protection
looks like ending access. Sometimes protection
looks like apologizing. Sometimes protection
looks like refusing to be alone with something
you know has power over you. Sometimes protection
looks like recognizing, I am not as strong around
this as I thought I was. That recognition is
not weakness. That recognition can become wisdom.
This is a good one. Don't test yourself unnecessarily.
There is no spiritual award for standing unnecessarily
close to temptation. Joseph did not remain in
Potiphar's house trying to demonstrate self -control.
He ran. Sometimes the most disciplined thing
you can do is leave. You don't have to prove
that temptation no longer affects you. You don't
have to revisit what God delivered you from.
You don't have to maintain unnecessary access
to someone who repeatedly weakens your boundaries.
You don't have to sit beside the fire to prove
you cannot be burned. Sometimes wisdom says run,
and running is not cowardice when you are running
toward purpose. Discipline today protects tomorrow.
Maybe you don't see the full vision yet. Maybe
you don't know how far God intends to take what
he has placed inside you. Maybe you don't know
who will someday depend upon your decisions.
Maybe you don't know how many people will eventually
be affected by your character. That is why discipline
today matters. The private decisions you make
now may be protecting a public assignment you
have not yet entered. The boundaries you establish
now may be protecting a family from pain years
from now. The habit you confront now may be protecting
a ministry you have not yet built. The anger
you surrender now may be protecting people you
have not yet been called to lead. The humility
God develops now may be preparing you for authority
you do not yet possess. You think God is dealing
with something small. God may be protecting something
enormous. We there refined for responsibility.
Now perhaps we understand the fire differently.
God is not merely refining us so we can say,
I became a better person. He is refining us because
purpose carries responsibility. The greater the
vision, the greater the responsibility. The greater
the influence, the greater the responsibility.
The greater the authority, the greater the responsibility.
The greater the access, the greater the responsibility.
And therefore, the greater the purpose, the more
seriously we must take character. God may anoint
you for the assignment, but you must learn to
steward the person carrying. the anointing. You
must guard your heart, guard your eyes, guard
your relationships, guard your appetites, guard
your mouth, guard your reactions, guard your
private life. Not because you live terrified
of failure, but because you understand the value
of what God has entrusted to you. Always remember
this truth. Discipline protects vision. So today,
I want you to look beyond the temptation. Look
beyond the moment. Look beyond the emotion. Look
beyond the opportunity. Look beyond the appetite.
And see the vision. See your family. See your
children. See the people God may call you to
serve. See the assignment. See the years of prayer.
See the sacrifices. See the purpose. And when
something temporary asks you to exchange all
of that for a moment, remember, Some things are
too expensive. You have something worth protecting.
And perhaps this is one reason God allowed the
fire to expose your weaknesses before He expanded
your influence. He was not rejecting you. He
was preparing you. He was teaching you to govern
yourself before giving you greater responsibility.
He was teaching you to say no before opening
bigger doors. He was strengthening your character
before expanding your territory. Because the
purpose requires more than gifting. The purpose
requires more than passion. The purpose requires
more than vision. The purpose requires character.
And character is developed through thousands
of decisions nobody else may ever see. The private
no. The quiet restraint. The boundary. The surrender.
The apology. The decision to walk away. The refusal
to compromise. The willingness to obey the Holy
Spirit when nobody else would ever know. If you
didn't, that is discipline. And discipline protects
vision. You are not simply learning to control
yourself. You are learning to protect what God
has entrusted to you. You are being prepared.
You are being strengthened. You are being disciplined.
You are being refined. Refined for a purpose.
This is Pamoja Ministry. And in our next conversation,
we are going even deeper into one of the smallest
things capable of creating some of the greatest
consequences. The tongue. Because James tells
us that a tiny spark can set an entire forest
on fire. And if discipline protects vision, then
we must learn to discipline our words. Conversation
four, taming the tongue when refinement reaches
your mouth.