WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.259 Welcome to Pomoja Ministry. Throughout this journey, 00:00:04.620 --> 00:00:07.059 we have been discovering that God's refining 00:00:07.059 --> 00:00:10.240 work reaches much deeper than our circumstances. 00:00:10.960 --> 00:00:13.839 We began by asking, what if the intervention 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:17.899 was about you? Then we discovered the fire reveals 00:00:17.899 --> 00:00:22.120 what success can hide. We learned discipline 00:00:22.120 --> 00:00:25.699 protects vision. And in our last conversation, 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:29.179 James chapter three showed us how refinement 00:00:29.179 --> 00:00:32.460 must eventually reach our mouth because something 00:00:32.460 --> 00:00:36.159 as small as a spark can burn an entire forest. 00:00:36.619 --> 00:00:40.679 But today, I want us to go backward. Before the 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:45.000 fire. Before the public failure. Before the destructive 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:48.179 decision. Before the relationship collapses. 00:00:48.899 --> 00:00:51.799 Before the leader falls. Before the ministry 00:00:51.799 --> 00:00:55.659 is damaged. Before the family is wounded. Before 00:00:55.659 --> 00:00:59.000 somebody wakes up asking, How did I get here? 00:00:59.799 --> 00:01:03.159 Because collapse rarely begins on the day everybody 00:01:03.159 --> 00:01:06.239 sees it. There was often something much smaller 00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:10.719 before it. A thought, a conversation, an attraction, 00:01:11.239 --> 00:01:15.579 an offense, an image, a relationship, a resentment, 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:20.120 a private compromise, a seed. And perhaps the 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:23.219 greatest danger of the seed is that it does not 00:01:23.219 --> 00:01:25.920 look like the harvest it is capable of producing. 00:01:26.620 --> 00:01:31.219 Today, We are talking about the seed that weakens 00:01:31.219 --> 00:01:35.180 resistance. Remember this universal and biblical 00:01:35.180 --> 00:01:39.260 truth. Before there is a harvest, there is always 00:01:39.260 --> 00:01:43.099 a seed. We have spoken before about the theology 00:01:43.099 --> 00:01:46.700 of seeds. Some seeds enter our lives without 00:01:46.700 --> 00:01:50.180 our knowledge. Some seeds enter with our knowledge. 00:01:50.379 --> 00:01:53.959 And some seeds remain because we continue entertaining 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:57.599 and watering them. Jesus repeatedly used seeds 00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:00.799 to explain spiritual realities because seeds 00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:04.900 carry something extraordinary, potential. When 00:02:04.900 --> 00:02:08.080 you hold a seed, you are holding something much 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:11.819 larger than what you can currently see. A seed 00:02:11.819 --> 00:02:15.580 does not look like a tree. A seed does not look 00:02:15.580 --> 00:02:19.580 like a field. A seed does not look like a harvest. 00:02:20.379 --> 00:02:23.659 But the harvest is already contained within its 00:02:23.659 --> 00:02:27.870 potential. That principle works in both directions. 00:02:28.590 --> 00:02:31.650 A good seed can eventually produce something 00:02:31.650 --> 00:02:35.509 beautiful, but a destructive seed can also produce 00:02:35.509 --> 00:02:38.810 something far larger than the original compromise. 00:02:39.490 --> 00:02:42.430 That is why wisdom does not only examine what 00:02:42.430 --> 00:02:46.449 something is today. Wisdom asks, what could this 00:02:46.449 --> 00:02:51.039 become if I keep feeding it? Remember this truth, 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:54.819 the enemy does not always need you to fall today. 00:02:55.479 --> 00:02:59.120 Sometimes we imagine temptation as an immediate 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:02.180 attempt to make someone abandon everything they 00:03:02.180 --> 00:03:06.180 believe. But often the process is much more subtle. 00:03:06.900 --> 00:03:09.900 The enemy does not necessarily need you to destroy 00:03:09.900 --> 00:03:13.460 your marriage today. He only needs you to become 00:03:13.460 --> 00:03:16.340 comfortable with a conversation that should have 00:03:16.340 --> 00:03:20.199 ended. He doesn't necessarily need you to abandon 00:03:20.199 --> 00:03:24.240 your calling today. He only needs you to tolerate 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:27.340 something that slowly weakens your convictions. 00:03:28.120 --> 00:03:31.439 He doesn't necessarily need you to stop praying 00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:35.840 forever. Maybe he only needs you to become comfortable 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:40.219 continually postponing prayer. He doesn't necessarily 00:03:40.219 --> 00:03:43.930 need you to reject God's word. Maybe he only 00:03:43.930 --> 00:03:46.969 needs other voices to become louder than God's 00:03:46.969 --> 00:03:50.810 voice. He doesn't necessarily need you to become 00:03:50.810 --> 00:03:55.110 bitter overnight. He only needs you to keep replaying 00:03:55.110 --> 00:03:58.689 the offense. He doesn't necessarily need you 00:03:58.689 --> 00:04:02.469 to become dishonest immediately. He only needs 00:04:02.469 --> 00:04:06.009 the first small compromise to become acceptable 00:04:06.009 --> 00:04:10.090 because once something becomes acceptable, resistance 00:04:10.090 --> 00:04:14.099 begins changing. Resistance can be trained in 00:04:14.099 --> 00:04:18.079 both directions. This is something we need to 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:21.060 understand. You can train yourself to resist 00:04:21.060 --> 00:04:24.920 temptation, but you can also train yourself not 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:28.759 to resist it. Every time you establish a boundary 00:04:28.759 --> 00:04:33.100 and honor it, resistance becomes stronger. Every 00:04:33.100 --> 00:04:36.279 time you obey conviction, resistance becomes 00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:39.959 stronger. Every time you walk away, resistance 00:04:39.959 --> 00:04:43.879 becomes stronger. Every time you tell yourself 00:04:43.879 --> 00:04:47.399 no, because purpose matters more, resistance 00:04:47.399 --> 00:04:51.660 becomes stronger. But the opposite can also happen. 00:04:52.459 --> 00:04:55.199 Every time you violate a boundary and nothing 00:04:55.199 --> 00:04:58.920 immediately happens, the next violation can become 00:04:58.920 --> 00:05:02.660 easier. Every time you ignore conviction, its 00:05:02.660 --> 00:05:06.500 voice can become easier to dismiss. Every time 00:05:06.500 --> 00:05:09.819 you return to the same temptation, familiarity 00:05:09.819 --> 00:05:13.839 increases. Every time you justify compromise, 00:05:14.600 --> 00:05:17.800 resistance weakens. This is why compromise is 00:05:17.800 --> 00:05:21.220 so dangerous. It does not merely affect one decision. 00:05:21.399 --> 00:05:26.000 It can train you for the next one. Think about 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:30.259 how compromise often develops. The first time 00:05:30.259 --> 00:05:33.720 always felt different. The first time you were 00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:37.879 uncomfortable. Something inside you said, this 00:05:37.879 --> 00:05:41.930 isn't right. Your conscience was disturbed. You 00:05:41.930 --> 00:05:44.649 prayed about it. You thought about stopping. 00:05:45.290 --> 00:05:48.370 Maybe you even promised yourself, this will never 00:05:48.370 --> 00:05:52.449 happen again. But then it happened again. And 00:05:52.449 --> 00:05:55.509 the second time did not feel exactly like the 00:05:55.509 --> 00:05:59.889 first. Then again. Eventually, the thing that 00:05:59.889 --> 00:06:03.490 once disturbed you became familiar. Then what 00:06:03.490 --> 00:06:07.410 became familiar began feeling normal. And once 00:06:07.410 --> 00:06:10.550 something feels normal, We begin finding language 00:06:10.550 --> 00:06:14.850 to justify it. It's not that serious. Everybody 00:06:14.850 --> 00:06:19.329 does this. Nobody is perfect. God knows my heart. 00:06:19.970 --> 00:06:23.810 We are only friends. I'm just looking. I'm just 00:06:23.810 --> 00:06:28.009 venting. I can stop whenever I want. And without 00:06:28.009 --> 00:06:32.670 realizing it, something has happened. The temptation 00:06:32.670 --> 00:06:36.290 may not have become stronger. Your resistance 00:06:36.290 --> 00:06:40.529 may have become weaker. This statement is true. 00:06:40.910 --> 00:06:45.170 Compromise changes the boundary. Imagine a line 00:06:45.170 --> 00:06:48.149 in the sand. At first, you know exactly where 00:06:48.149 --> 00:06:51.310 the boundary is. You refuse to cross it. Then 00:06:51.310 --> 00:06:55.110 one day, you step slightly across. Nothing dramatic 00:06:55.110 --> 00:06:59.509 happens. So you move the line. Now yesterday's 00:06:59.509 --> 00:07:03.509 compromise becomes today's boundary. Then you 00:07:03.509 --> 00:07:07.779 cross again and move the line again. Eventually 00:07:07.779 --> 00:07:10.639 you can be standing somewhere you once promised 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:14.379 yourself you would never go. And because the 00:07:14.379 --> 00:07:18.100 movement happened gradually, you may not recognize 00:07:18.100 --> 00:07:22.319 how far you traveled. That is the danger of progressive 00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:26.019 compromise. Very few people wake up one morning 00:07:26.019 --> 00:07:30.500 and decide, today I will destroy everything God 00:07:30.500 --> 00:07:33.920 has given me. It usually doesn't happen like 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:37.759 that. They move the boundary. then moved it again, 00:07:37.899 --> 00:07:41.560 then again, until eventually the distance between 00:07:41.560 --> 00:07:46.660 conviction and behavior became enormous. Samson 00:07:46.660 --> 00:07:50.879 gives us a powerful picture. Samson did not lose 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:54.480 his strength in one day. We often remember the 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:59.120 final scene. Delilah, the haircut, the Philistines, 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:03.519 the loss of strength. But Samson's collapse did 00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:07.259 not begin with the haircut. Long before Delilah, 00:08:07.660 --> 00:08:11.180 there was a pattern. Samson repeatedly moved 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:14.019 toward things connected to his vulnerabilities. 00:08:15.040 --> 00:08:18.600 He repeatedly played near boundaries. He repeatedly 00:08:18.600 --> 00:08:21.100 trusted his strength while neglecting wisdom. 00:08:21.939 --> 00:08:24.540 And perhaps one of Samson's greatest dangers 00:08:24.540 --> 00:08:28.579 was this. He kept surviving his compromises. 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:32.830 That can become dangerous. Because when consequences 00:08:32.830 --> 00:08:35.970 do not immediately follow compromise, we can 00:08:35.970 --> 00:08:39.529 mistake God's mercy for permission. You cross 00:08:39.529 --> 00:08:43.750 the boundary and nothing happened. You compromised 00:08:43.750 --> 00:08:47.389 and the ministry still functioned. You made the 00:08:47.389 --> 00:08:50.909 decision and people still respected you. You 00:08:50.909 --> 00:08:54.470 neglected prayer and the gift still worked. You 00:08:54.470 --> 00:08:57.230 entertained the relationship and your life did 00:08:57.230 --> 00:09:01.700 not immediately collapse. So you assume Maybe 00:09:01.700 --> 00:09:06.299 this isn't really dangerous. But delayed consequences 00:09:06.299 --> 00:09:10.639 do not transform compromise into wisdom. And 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:13.639 mercy should never be interpreted as God's approval 00:09:13.639 --> 00:09:16.460 of what his word has already warned us about. 00:09:18.519 --> 00:09:21.419 Be careful when gifting makes you feel invincible. 00:09:21.879 --> 00:09:24.899 This becomes especially dangerous for gifted 00:09:24.899 --> 00:09:28.379 people. Because sometimes the gift keeps working 00:09:28.379 --> 00:09:31.639 while the person carrying it is weakening. Samson 00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:35.820 would compromise and then still experience extraordinary 00:09:35.820 --> 00:09:39.559 strength. Imagine what that can do psychologically. 00:09:40.179 --> 00:09:43.480 I still have my strength. The preacher still 00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:47.019 preaches. The singer still sings. The leader 00:09:47.019 --> 00:09:51.279 still leads. The business still grows. The platform 00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:55.429 still expands. People are still applauding. Doors 00:09:55.429 --> 00:09:59.190 are still opening, and because outward success 00:09:59.190 --> 00:10:03.190 continues, the person assumes inward compromise 00:10:03.190 --> 00:10:07.570 is not serious. But success is not always evidence 00:10:07.570 --> 00:10:11.250 of spiritual health, and continued gifting is 00:10:11.250 --> 00:10:15.049 not permission to ignore character. Remember 00:10:15.049 --> 00:10:17.870 what we have been learning. The fire reveals 00:10:17.870 --> 00:10:21.639 what success can hide. Sometimes success allows 00:10:21.639 --> 00:10:25.059 a dangerous seed to remain underground for years. 00:10:27.620 --> 00:10:30.720 Think about the story if King David in the rooftop. 00:10:31.779 --> 00:10:34.980 When David saw Bathsheba, the visible failure 00:10:34.980 --> 00:10:38.399 occurred quickly. But the principle reaches deeper. 00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:41.779 A king who should have been at war was at home. 00:10:42.379 --> 00:10:47.340 He saw, he desired, he inquired, he sent, he 00:10:47.340 --> 00:10:51.100 took. Notice the progression. There were multiple 00:10:51.100 --> 00:10:54.000 places where the sequence could have stopped. 00:10:54.740 --> 00:10:57.940 Seeing did not have to become inquiry. Inquiry 00:10:57.940 --> 00:11:01.399 did not have to become sending. Sending did not 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:05.159 have to become taking. This is important because 00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:09.399 temptation often has exit points, and discipline 00:11:09.399 --> 00:11:12.940 recognizes them early. The longer you continue 00:11:12.940 --> 00:11:15.480 down the sequence, the more difficult stopping 00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:19.720 can become. So wisdom asks, Where is my earliest 00:11:19.720 --> 00:11:24.039 exit? Not. How close can I get without falling? 00:11:24.740 --> 00:11:29.019 But how early can I protect what God has entrusted 00:11:29.019 --> 00:11:32.820 to me? Look at Eve's conversation before the 00:11:32.820 --> 00:11:36.200 fruit. We often focus on the moment she ate the 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:40.000 fruit. But Genesis 3 records something before 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:44.279 the eating. A conversation. The serpent questioned 00:11:44.279 --> 00:11:49.830 God's word. Did God actually say? Then the boundary 00:11:49.830 --> 00:11:53.629 began being reconsidered. The seed entered through 00:11:53.629 --> 00:11:56.289 conversation before the fruit entered through 00:11:56.289 --> 00:12:00.669 appetite. That is powerful. Because sometimes 00:12:00.669 --> 00:12:03.830 the dangerous thing is not yet what you are doing. 00:12:04.370 --> 00:12:07.169 It is what you have allowed yourself to repeatedly 00:12:07.169 --> 00:12:11.830 consider. A conversation can plant a seed. An 00:12:11.830 --> 00:12:15.610 idea can plant a seed. A voice can plant a seed. 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:20.299 A relationship can plant a seed. Repeated exposure 00:12:20.299 --> 00:12:24.899 can plant a seed. And once planted, the seed 00:12:24.899 --> 00:12:30.820 asks for water. What are you watering? This may 00:12:30.820 --> 00:12:33.419 be one of the most important questions of this 00:12:33.419 --> 00:12:37.919 entire conversation. What are you watering? What 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:41.960 are you repeatedly thinking about? What conversations 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:45.980 do you continually return to? What offense do 00:12:45.980 --> 00:12:51.019 you continually replay? What fantasy do you continually 00:12:51.019 --> 00:12:54.700 entertain? What relationship do you keep feeding 00:12:54.700 --> 00:12:58.860 emotionally? What content repeatedly enters your 00:12:58.860 --> 00:13:02.399 mind? What resentment receives your attention 00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:06.379 every day? What secret appetite are you negotiating 00:13:06.379 --> 00:13:10.200 with? What compromise are you continually explaining 00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:13.899 away? Because attention is water. Repetition 00:13:13.899 --> 00:13:18.399 is water. Access is water. Justification is water. 00:13:18.860 --> 00:13:22.460 Secrecy can become water. And eventually, the 00:13:22.460 --> 00:13:27.000 thing you keep watering will grow. Do you know 00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:30.399 that an offense can be a seed too? We should 00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:33.039 not limit this conversation to obvious moral 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:37.559 temptation. Offense is a seed. Someone hurts 00:13:37.559 --> 00:13:41.799 you. The pain is real. But then you replay it. 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:45.879 You rehearse the conversation. You imagine what 00:13:45.879 --> 00:13:49.080 you should have said. You tell another person, 00:13:49.620 --> 00:13:54.240 then another. Each retelling adds water. Eventually, 00:13:54.700 --> 00:13:58.600 pain can become resentment. Resentment can become 00:13:58.600 --> 00:14:02.080 bitterness. Bitterness can begin influencing 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:04.919 how you interpret everything the person does. 00:14:05.620 --> 00:14:09.039 Now even neutral actions appear hostile. The 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:12.909 seed has grown. This is why forgiveness is not 00:14:12.909 --> 00:14:16.309 pretending nothing happened. Sometimes forgiveness 00:14:16.309 --> 00:14:19.190 is refusing to continue watering what happened. 00:14:21.389 --> 00:14:23.830 This truth has been taught to us since we were 00:14:23.830 --> 00:14:29.129 kids. Bad company can water bad seeds. First 00:14:29.129 --> 00:14:33.529 Corinthians 1533 warns, bad company corrupts 00:14:33.529 --> 00:14:37.230 good character. Notice the language. Corruption 00:14:37.230 --> 00:14:41.100 is often a process. People influence what becomes 00:14:41.100 --> 00:14:45.139 normal to us. Spend enough time around compromise, 00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:48.379 and compromise can begin to feel reasonable. 00:14:49.100 --> 00:14:52.700 Spend enough time around gossip, and gossip begins 00:14:52.700 --> 00:14:56.279 sounding like conversation. Spend enough time 00:14:56.279 --> 00:14:59.940 around dishonesty, and dishonesty becomes strategy. 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:04.139 Spend enough time around bitterness, and bitterness 00:15:04.139 --> 00:15:08.080 becomes discernment. Spend enough time around 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:11.259 people who constantly dishonor boundaries and 00:15:11.259 --> 00:15:15.379 boundaries begin looking extreme. This does not 00:15:15.379 --> 00:15:18.419 mean Christians isolate themselves from everyone 00:15:18.419 --> 00:15:22.080 who struggles. Jesus loved and reached people 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:25.279 everywhere. But there is a difference between 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:28.480 loving someone and allowing someone to shape 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:32.279 you. Not everybody should have equal access to 00:15:32.279 --> 00:15:35.440 your inner life. Some people are being influenced 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:40.100 by you. Other people are influencing you. Wisdom 00:15:40.100 --> 00:15:45.000 knows the difference. There is a danger we must 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:49.820 avoid in our Christian life. The danger of normalized 00:15:49.820 --> 00:15:53.779 compromise. One of the enemy's greatest victories 00:15:53.779 --> 00:15:57.700 is not always getting you to love sin. Sometimes 00:15:57.700 --> 00:16:02.539 it simply gets you to normalize compromise. Sometimes... 00:16:02.570 --> 00:16:05.710 It is simply getting you to stop being disturbed 00:16:05.710 --> 00:16:09.250 by compromise. When something that once bothered 00:16:09.250 --> 00:16:12.809 your conscience no longer bothers you, pay attention. 00:16:13.190 --> 00:16:16.110 When you begin hiding things you once would have 00:16:16.110 --> 00:16:19.629 openly discussed, pay attention. When you become 00:16:19.629 --> 00:16:23.250 defensive whenever someone questions a relationship, 00:16:23.509 --> 00:16:27.269 pay attention. When you have to explain why something 00:16:27.269 --> 00:16:31.480 is acceptable continually, pay attention. When 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:35.120 you need secrecy to maintain something, pay attention. 00:16:36.120 --> 00:16:38.820 When prayer makes you uncomfortable because you 00:16:38.820 --> 00:16:42.539 already know what God may address, pay attention. 00:16:43.059 --> 00:16:45.980 When you avoid people who hold you accountable 00:16:45.980 --> 00:16:49.600 and gravitate toward people who affirm everything 00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:53.600 you do, pay attention. Those may be signs that 00:16:53.600 --> 00:16:58.500 resistance is weakening. Don't wait for the harvest 00:16:58.500 --> 00:17:01.700 to deal with bad seed and its ramifications or 00:17:01.700 --> 00:17:05.940 consequences. This is where refinement becomes 00:17:05.940 --> 00:17:10.420 mercy again. God may expose the seed before the 00:17:10.420 --> 00:17:14.359 harvest. And sometimes we become frustrated because 00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:17.500 God interrupts something we were enjoying. But 00:17:17.500 --> 00:17:20.220 what if the interruption is protection? What 00:17:20.220 --> 00:17:23.849 if God exposes the relationship early? What if 00:17:23.849 --> 00:17:27.349 God confronts the habit early? What if God makes 00:17:27.349 --> 00:17:30.569 you uncomfortable early? What if someone asks 00:17:30.569 --> 00:17:33.910 the difficult question early? What if conviction 00:17:33.910 --> 00:17:36.990 becomes strong before the consequences become 00:17:36.990 --> 00:17:41.029 visible? Do not despise that. That may be divine 00:17:41.029 --> 00:17:44.250 intervention. God may be stopping at the seed 00:17:44.250 --> 00:17:47.990 level. What would have been devastating at the 00:17:47.990 --> 00:17:52.069 harvest level? The Holy Spirit often warns early. 00:17:52.519 --> 00:17:55.359 One blessing of walking with the Holy Spirit 00:17:55.359 --> 00:17:58.660 is that he does not always wait until disaster. 00:17:58.980 --> 00:18:03.579 He warns. A discomfort. A scripture. A conviction. 00:18:04.039 --> 00:18:07.619 A thought that keeps returning. A trusted person 00:18:07.619 --> 00:18:11.119 asking a question. A boundary you know you need 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:15.059 to establish. Sometimes we want dramatic revelation, 00:18:15.500 --> 00:18:19.220 but the Holy Spirit may simply be saying, Stop. 00:18:19.700 --> 00:18:24.619 Don't go there. In this conversation, this relationship 00:18:24.619 --> 00:18:28.099 is becoming dangerous. Don't send that message. 00:18:28.579 --> 00:18:31.640 Don't keep looking. You need accountability. 00:18:32.519 --> 00:18:36.619 Tell someone. Walk away. And discipline means 00:18:36.619 --> 00:18:40.380 responding while the seed is still small. You 00:18:40.380 --> 00:18:44.700 don't have to prove how strong you are. This 00:18:44.700 --> 00:18:47.500 connects directly with our previous conversation 00:18:47.500 --> 00:18:51.549 about discipline. You do not need to keep temptation 00:18:51.549 --> 00:18:55.509 nearby to prove you are delivered. You do not 00:18:55.509 --> 00:18:58.869 need to maintain access to what repeatedly weakens 00:18:58.869 --> 00:19:01.829 you. You do not need to demonstrate that you 00:19:01.829 --> 00:19:04.730 can handle a relationship that continually moves 00:19:04.730 --> 00:19:09.569 your boundaries. Joseph ran, and sometimes running 00:19:09.569 --> 00:19:13.109 is the evidence of wisdom. There are things you 00:19:13.109 --> 00:19:16.910 overcome by resisting, and there are things scripture 00:19:16.910 --> 00:19:20.680 tells you to flee. Sometimes the strongest person 00:19:20.680 --> 00:19:24.359 in the room is the person who knows I should 00:19:24.359 --> 00:19:29.740 not stay here. Listen to me carefully. This is 00:19:29.740 --> 00:19:33.920 a call to restore your resistance. What if you 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:37.319 recognize yourself in this conversation? What 00:19:37.319 --> 00:19:41.220 if resistance has already weakened? What if the 00:19:41.220 --> 00:19:43.839 thing that once disturbed you has become familiar? 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:48.390 What if boundaries have already moved? What if 00:19:48.390 --> 00:19:51.569 you have already watered the seed? Then hear 00:19:51.569 --> 00:19:54.670 me carefully. This message is not announcing 00:19:54.670 --> 00:19:58.789 your destruction. It is inviting you back. The 00:19:58.789 --> 00:20:02.230 fact that God is revealing it may itself be evidence 00:20:02.230 --> 00:20:06.450 of mercy. You can stop watering the seed. You 00:20:06.450 --> 00:20:10.089 can close the door. You can confess. You can 00:20:10.089 --> 00:20:13.390 repent. You can establish the boundary again. 00:20:14.029 --> 00:20:17.930 You can seek accountability. You can remove access. 00:20:18.329 --> 00:20:21.529 You can return to prayer. You can return to the 00:20:21.529 --> 00:20:24.950 Word. You can ask the Holy Spirit to restore 00:20:24.950 --> 00:20:28.549 sensitivity to your conscience. You can begin 00:20:28.549 --> 00:20:32.130 strengthening resistance again. God's refining 00:20:32.130 --> 00:20:38.009 fire does not only expose, it purifies. Don't 00:20:38.009 --> 00:20:41.369 confuse mercy with permission. Maybe God has 00:20:41.369 --> 00:20:44.049 protected you from consequences you deserved. 00:20:44.569 --> 00:20:48.670 Thank Him. Maybe nobody knows. Thank him. Maybe 00:20:48.670 --> 00:20:52.490 your family is still intact. Thank him. Maybe 00:20:52.490 --> 00:20:56.289 your ministry survived. Thank him. Maybe your 00:20:56.289 --> 00:21:00.410 reputation remains. Thank him. Maybe the door 00:21:00.410 --> 00:21:05.009 is still open. Thank him. But do not turn mercy 00:21:05.009 --> 00:21:08.950 into permission. Mercy is an invitation to repentance. 00:21:09.890 --> 00:21:13.730 Mercy says, you still have time to change direction. 00:21:14.250 --> 00:21:17.289 Mercy gives you another opportunity to protect 00:21:17.289 --> 00:21:20.789 what compromise was beginning to threaten. And 00:21:20.789 --> 00:21:23.650 perhaps the most mature response to mercy is 00:21:23.650 --> 00:21:28.410 not, I got away with it. It is, God gave me another 00:21:28.410 --> 00:21:33.150 opportunity to get it right. Listen to me carefully. 00:21:33.990 --> 00:21:38.750 You must protect the seed of purpose. There is 00:21:38.750 --> 00:21:41.430 another seed in your life, not only the seed 00:21:41.430 --> 00:21:44.660 of temptation. There is the seed of purpose. 00:21:45.180 --> 00:21:48.440 There is something God planted in you. A calling. 00:21:48.839 --> 00:21:52.440 A vision. A family. A ministry. An assignment. 00:21:52.839 --> 00:21:56.259 A future. And now two seeds may be competing 00:21:56.259 --> 00:21:59.700 for water. The seed of purpose. And the seed 00:21:59.700 --> 00:22:03.420 of compromise. Both want attention. Both want 00:22:03.420 --> 00:22:07.660 access. Both want your time. Both want your imagination. 00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:11.509 Both want your decisions. And eventually, you 00:22:11.509 --> 00:22:15.710 must decide which one will I water, because you 00:22:15.710 --> 00:22:18.829 cannot continually feed what weakens you and 00:22:18.829 --> 00:22:23.170 expect what strengthens you to flourish. So today, 00:22:23.490 --> 00:22:26.230 brothers and sisters, look for the seed that 00:22:26.230 --> 00:22:29.809 weakens your resistance. Do not only examine 00:22:29.809 --> 00:22:34.150 the big things. Look for the seed. Look for the 00:22:34.150 --> 00:22:37.130 small compromise. Look for the conversation. 00:22:37.789 --> 00:22:40.809 Look for the relationship. Look for the repeated 00:22:40.809 --> 00:22:44.769 thought. Look for the offense. Look for the secret 00:22:44.769 --> 00:22:48.130 habit. Look for the boundary that keeps moving. 00:22:49.009 --> 00:22:51.829 Look for what once bothered you, but now feels 00:22:51.829 --> 00:22:56.849 normal. And ask, what is this becoming? Do not 00:22:56.849 --> 00:23:00.730 wait until the seed becomes a tree. Do not wait 00:23:00.730 --> 00:23:04.509 until the spark becomes a forest fire. Do not 00:23:04.509 --> 00:23:07.450 wait until the private compromise becomes public 00:23:07.450 --> 00:23:11.400 destruction. Do not wait until resistance disappears. 00:23:11.619 --> 00:23:14.240 If the Holy Spirit is showing you something, 00:23:14.740 --> 00:23:19.099 respond while it is small. Close the door. Starve 00:23:19.099 --> 00:23:22.880 the seed. Restore the boundary. Strengthen your 00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:27.819 resistance. Return to prayer. Return to the word. 00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:31.740 Return to accountability. Return to obedience. 00:23:32.519 --> 00:23:36.099 Because discipline protects vision. And sometimes 00:23:36.099 --> 00:23:38.960 the greatest act of discipline is refusing to 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:42.400 water something that could destroy what God has 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:46.119 spent years building. God may be exposing the 00:23:46.119 --> 00:23:48.960 seed because He is protecting the harvest of 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:52.920 your purpose. That exposure is not necessarily 00:23:52.920 --> 00:23:56.519 rejection. It may be intervention. It may be 00:23:56.519 --> 00:24:00.299 mercy. It may be refinement. You are not being 00:24:00.299 --> 00:24:04.170 exposed to be destroyed. You are being invited 00:24:04.170 --> 00:24:07.309 to surrender what cannot accompany you where 00:24:07.309 --> 00:24:11.289 God is taking you. The seed may be small, but 00:24:11.289 --> 00:24:15.150 so was the rudder, so was the spark, and so was 00:24:15.150 --> 00:24:18.130 the beginning of many things that eventually 00:24:18.130 --> 00:24:21.990 became enormous. Protect your heart, protect 00:24:21.990 --> 00:24:24.750 your boundaries, protect your character, protect 00:24:24.750 --> 00:24:28.029 your vision, and above everything, protect what 00:24:28.029 --> 00:24:31.769 God is growing within you. You are being refined. 00:24:31.819 --> 00:24:35.660 You are being strengthened. Your resistance is 00:24:35.660 --> 00:24:38.819 being restored. And you are being prepared to 00:24:38.819 --> 00:24:42.940 carry purpose. You are being refined for a purpose. 00:24:43.380 --> 00:24:47.000 This is Pamoja Ministry, and in our next conversation, 00:24:47.380 --> 00:24:50.740 we will confront what happens when the seed has 00:24:50.740 --> 00:24:54.500 been allowed to grow, and when someone's gift, 00:24:54.799 --> 00:24:57.920 influence, or anointing becomes greater than 00:24:57.920 --> 00:25:02.910 the character supporting it. Conversation 6 When 00:25:02.910 --> 00:25:05.410 Character Cannot Carry the Anointing