WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.720 Welcome back to our continuing conversation on 00:00:02.720 --> 00:00:08.839 Refine for a Purpose. In our last conversation, 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:11.779 we talked about the places and circumstances 00:00:11.779 --> 00:00:16.079 God can use in our process. Sometimes the place 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:18.620 that once preserved us is not the place where 00:00:18.620 --> 00:00:22.399 God intends us to remain. Sometimes God says, 00:00:22.760 --> 00:00:27.000 stay and grow. Sometimes stay and forgive. Sometimes 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:31.780 stay and learn. sometimes wait, and sometimes 00:00:31.780 --> 00:00:35.899 move. We discovered that discomfort does not 00:00:35.899 --> 00:00:39.560 always mean that something has gone wrong. Sometimes 00:00:39.560 --> 00:00:42.719 discomfort can become part of God's process of 00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:46.299 preparation and repositioning. And we learned 00:00:46.299 --> 00:00:49.619 not to judge a season simply by how uncomfortable 00:00:49.619 --> 00:00:54.820 it feels, but to ask, God, what are you saying 00:00:54.820 --> 00:00:58.549 through this season? Because temporary, does 00:00:58.549 --> 00:01:02.590 not mean meaningless. And sometimes, before God 00:01:02.590 --> 00:01:05.810 changes the place around us, there is something 00:01:05.810 --> 00:01:10.390 He wants to change within us. But today, I want 00:01:10.390 --> 00:01:13.670 us to go one step further. Because there are 00:01:13.670 --> 00:01:16.250 moments in life when you look at what happened 00:01:16.250 --> 00:01:19.189 to you and there is simply no way to call it 00:01:19.189 --> 00:01:23.209 good. It hurt. It disappointed you. Someone betrayed 00:01:23.209 --> 00:01:26.829 you. Someone lied about you. Someone walked away 00:01:26.829 --> 00:01:29.709 from you. Someone deliberately tried to hurt 00:01:29.709 --> 00:01:32.290 you. You lost something you thought you needed. 00:01:32.629 --> 00:01:35.290 A door closed that you desperately wanted to 00:01:35.290 --> 00:01:38.310 remain open. You made decisions you wish you 00:01:38.310 --> 00:01:41.349 could change. You experienced seasons that left 00:01:41.349 --> 00:01:45.609 you asking God, why did you allow this? And sometimes, 00:01:46.010 --> 00:01:49.409 as Christians we rush too quickly to say, everything 00:01:49.409 --> 00:01:53.109 happens for a reason. But when you are the person 00:01:53.109 --> 00:01:56.329 going through it, that sentence can feel very 00:01:56.329 --> 00:01:59.420 different. because some things really were meant 00:01:59.420 --> 00:02:04.019 for evil. Joseph never denied that. When he finally 00:02:04.019 --> 00:02:06.739 stood before the brothers who had betrayed him, 00:02:07.140 --> 00:02:11.120 he did not rewrite history. He did not call their 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:15.180 betrayal love. He did not pretend that selling 00:02:15.180 --> 00:02:18.840 him into slavery was necessary behavior. He did 00:02:18.840 --> 00:02:21.919 not excuse what they had done. He looked directly 00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:25.439 at them and said, you meant evil against me. 00:02:25.550 --> 00:02:31.409 but God meant it for good. Genesis 50 -20. There 00:02:31.409 --> 00:02:34.189 are two intentions in that sentence. You meant 00:02:34.189 --> 00:02:38.669 it. God meant it. The same event. Two different 00:02:38.669 --> 00:02:42.650 intentions. And that distinction changes everything. 00:02:43.129 --> 00:02:46.370 And that is where I want us to continue today. 00:02:47.189 --> 00:02:49.949 Because perhaps there are things in your life 00:02:49.949 --> 00:02:52.770 that you have been interpreting only according 00:02:52.770 --> 00:02:55.560 to what people intended. You know what they wanted. 00:02:55.900 --> 00:02:58.240 You know what they tried to do. You know what 00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:01.080 happened. You know how much it hurt. But maybe 00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:04.159 you still don't know what God intends to do with 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:07.699 it. So today, our continuing conversation on 00:03:07.699 --> 00:03:10.939 refining for a purpose is, you meant for evil, 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:16.080 but God meant it for good. And now, listen to 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:20.120 me carefully. They had a plan, but God had a 00:03:20.120 --> 00:03:23.819 purpose. Joseph's brothers had a plan. Originally, 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:27.800 Some wanted to kill him. Eventually, they sold 00:03:27.800 --> 00:03:30.979 him. They wanted to remove him. They wanted to 00:03:30.979 --> 00:03:33.979 silence the dream. They wanted Joseph out of 00:03:33.979 --> 00:03:37.060 their lives. From their perspective, getting 00:03:37.060 --> 00:03:40.460 rid of Joseph would solve the problem. But they 00:03:40.460 --> 00:03:43.360 did not understand something. They could touch 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:47.280 Joseph. But they could not cancel what God had 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:50.719 spoken concerning Joseph. They could remove his 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:54.110 coat. They could throw him into the pit. They 00:03:54.110 --> 00:03:57.250 could sell him to strangers. They could separate 00:03:57.250 --> 00:04:00.509 him from his father. They could change his immediate 00:04:00.509 --> 00:04:03.909 circumstances. But they could not separate him 00:04:03.909 --> 00:04:07.449 from the purpose of God. And perhaps that is 00:04:07.449 --> 00:04:10.530 where somebody listening to me today needs to 00:04:10.530 --> 00:04:13.789 begin. People can make decisions that affect 00:04:13.789 --> 00:04:17.170 your life. People can hurt you. People can reject 00:04:17.170 --> 00:04:20.930 you. People can lie about you. People can misunderstand 00:04:20.930 --> 00:04:24.939 you. People can close doors People can even temporarily 00:04:24.939 --> 00:04:28.579 change your circumstances, but nobody possesses 00:04:28.579 --> 00:04:31.680 enough authority to rewrite what God has purposed 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:34.720 concerning your life and understand me carefully. 00:04:35.339 --> 00:04:38.079 That does not mean everything people do to you 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:41.759 comes from God. Joseph did not call their betrayal 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:45.639 good. Their intention was evil. God's intention 00:04:45.639 --> 00:04:49.720 was good. That distinction matters. Christianity 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:53.350 does not require us to call evil good. in order 00:04:53.350 --> 00:04:56.949 to believe in the providence of God. Their intentions 00:04:56.949 --> 00:05:00.089 do not have to become God's intentions for God 00:05:00.089 --> 00:05:05.529 to remain sovereign over the outcome. And now 00:05:05.529 --> 00:05:08.730 consider this. The pit didn't look like purpose. 00:05:09.149 --> 00:05:11.689 We know Joseph's ending. That makes his story 00:05:11.689 --> 00:05:14.910 easier for us to read. We know Egypt is coming. 00:05:15.329 --> 00:05:18.029 We know Pharaoh is coming. We know promotion 00:05:18.029 --> 00:05:21.459 is coming. We know the famine is coming. We know 00:05:21.459 --> 00:05:23.879 his brothers will eventually stand before him, 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:26.620 but Joseph didn't know any of that while he was 00:05:26.620 --> 00:05:29.819 sitting in the pit. And that is important, because 00:05:29.819 --> 00:05:33.259 providence usually makes more sense looking backward 00:05:33.259 --> 00:05:36.240 than living forward. When you're in the pit, 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:40.360 all you see is the pit. When you're serving in 00:05:40.360 --> 00:05:43.079 Potiphar's house, you don't necessarily know 00:05:43.079 --> 00:05:46.300 why you're there. When you're falsely accused, 00:05:46.620 --> 00:05:49.600 You don't see how the accusation fits anything 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:53.199 God promised. When you're sitting in prison after 00:05:53.199 --> 00:05:56.180 doing the right thing, you may even begin wondering 00:05:56.180 --> 00:05:59.519 whether doing the right thing was worth it. But 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:02.360 God was working through a story Joseph could 00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:06.459 not yet understand. The pit moved Joseph toward 00:06:06.459 --> 00:06:10.579 Egypt. Egypt moved Joseph into Potiphar's house. 00:06:10.819 --> 00:06:13.790 Potiphar's house developed responsibility. The 00:06:13.790 --> 00:06:17.449 false accusation moved Joseph into prison. Prison 00:06:17.449 --> 00:06:20.629 connected Joseph with Pharaoh's officials. One 00:06:20.629 --> 00:06:23.670 encounter in prison eventually created a connection 00:06:23.670 --> 00:06:27.449 to Pharaoh. And Pharaoh positioned Joseph exactly 00:06:27.449 --> 00:06:30.269 where he needed to be before the famine arrived. 00:06:30.889 --> 00:06:33.290 Joseph couldn't see the chain while he was living 00:06:33.290 --> 00:06:37.449 inside it. But God could. And maybe that is where 00:06:37.449 --> 00:06:40.490 you are right now. Maybe you are looking at one 00:06:40.490 --> 00:06:42.990 piece of your life and trying to understand the 00:06:42.990 --> 00:06:46.470 entire picture. But hear me, you don't know what 00:06:46.470 --> 00:06:49.850 God is working behind the scenes. This is where 00:06:49.850 --> 00:06:53.379 faith becomes difficult. We want God to explain 00:06:53.379 --> 00:06:56.139 himself while he is working. We want to know 00:06:56.139 --> 00:06:59.620 why this, why now, why them? Why did you allow 00:06:59.620 --> 00:07:02.399 it? Why didn't you stop it? Why did that door 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:05.720 close? Why did I have to experience that disappointment? 00:07:05.959 --> 00:07:08.259 Why did I have to go through this particular 00:07:08.259 --> 00:07:11.839 fire? But sometimes God does not give us the 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:15.959 explanation while the story is unfolding. Sometimes 00:07:15.959 --> 00:07:19.160 he asks us to trust the author while he is still 00:07:19.160 --> 00:07:24.000 writing. Joseph spent years living inside circumstances 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:27.240 that seemed completely disconnected from his 00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:31.319 dream. Yet heaven had not forgotten Joseph. God 00:07:31.319 --> 00:07:34.620 was working behind scenes Joseph could not see. 00:07:35.339 --> 00:07:38.680 And while Joseph was being prepared, God was 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:42.839 also preparing circumstances around him. A famine 00:07:42.839 --> 00:07:46.779 Joseph knew nothing about was coming. A nation 00:07:46.779 --> 00:07:50.319 would need administration. His family would need 00:07:50.319 --> 00:07:54.579 preservation. Entire populations would need food. 00:07:55.399 --> 00:07:58.660 And suddenly we discover that the dream God had 00:07:58.660 --> 00:08:02.279 given Joseph years earlier was connected to something 00:08:02.279 --> 00:08:06.740 much larger than Joseph's personal success. Joseph 00:08:06.740 --> 00:08:10.259 may initially have understood the dream in terms 00:08:10.259 --> 00:08:14.019 of what would happen to him. Eventually he discovered 00:08:14.019 --> 00:08:17.139 that his position was about what God intended 00:08:17.139 --> 00:08:21.120 to accomplish through him. Listen again to Genesis 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:34.080 50 -20. There it is, purpose. God wasn't merely 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:37.639 trying to make Joseph successful. God was positioning 00:08:37.639 --> 00:08:40.580 Joseph to preserve lives, and this is important 00:08:40.580 --> 00:08:44.240 because sometimes your purpose is bigger than 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:47.259 your pain. Think about Joseph arriving at the 00:08:47.259 --> 00:08:50.360 palace. Imagine if Joseph had arrived there bitter. 00:08:50.740 --> 00:08:53.639 Imagine a wounded man with enormous authority. 00:08:53.919 --> 00:08:57.019 Imagine a betrayed man controlling the food supply. 00:08:57.320 --> 00:09:00.960 Imagine a man carrying unresolved hatred suddenly 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:03.919 possessing governmental power. Joseph could have 00:09:03.919 --> 00:09:06.559 become dangerous. He eventually possessed enough 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:09.080 authority to retaliate against the very people 00:09:09.080 --> 00:09:11.820 who had hurt him. But perhaps this is another 00:09:11.820 --> 00:09:15.000 reason the refining process mattered. God wasn't 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:18.200 simply bringing Joseph to power. God was developing 00:09:18.200 --> 00:09:20.779 the man who would know what to do with power 00:09:20.779 --> 00:09:23.460 when he received it. The pit was doing something. 00:09:23.820 --> 00:09:26.340 Potiphar's house was doing something. The false 00:09:26.340 --> 00:09:29.100 accusation was doing something. The prison was 00:09:29.100 --> 00:09:31.600 doing something. The waiting was doing something. 00:09:31.899 --> 00:09:34.519 God was developing character while positioning 00:09:34.519 --> 00:09:38.039 purpose. And eventually, Joseph could stand before 00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:41.019 the very people who had hurt him while possessing 00:09:41.019 --> 00:09:43.639 enough authority to destroy them. and choose 00:09:43.639 --> 00:09:47.580 preservation instead. That is refinement. The 00:09:47.580 --> 00:09:50.360 greatest evidence that Joseph had been transformed 00:09:50.360 --> 00:09:53.440 wasn't merely that he reached the palace, it 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:56.340 was what kind of man stood in the palace once 00:09:56.340 --> 00:10:00.720 he got there. And this is why I keep telling 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:03.440 you throughout this season, God doesn't waste 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:06.360 the fire. Some fires come through opposition, 00:10:06.799 --> 00:10:09.580 some through disappointment, some through consequences, 00:10:10.039 --> 00:10:13.629 some through our own mistakes. Some through circumstances 00:10:13.629 --> 00:10:16.809 completely beyond our control. And we must be 00:10:16.809 --> 00:10:20.490 careful here. Romans 8 28 does not tell us that 00:10:20.490 --> 00:10:23.190 everything that happens to us is good. It tells 00:10:23.190 --> 00:10:26.090 us that all things work together for good to 00:10:26.090 --> 00:10:29.570 those who love God and are called according to 00:10:29.570 --> 00:10:33.990 His purpose. There is a difference. The betrayal 00:10:33.990 --> 00:10:37.950 wasn't good. The slavery wasn't good. The false 00:10:37.950 --> 00:10:41.110 accusation wasn't good. The imprisonment wasn't 00:10:41.110 --> 00:10:45.159 good. But God was able to take what was not good 00:10:45.159 --> 00:10:48.899 and weave it into something that Ultimately served 00:10:48.899 --> 00:10:53.220 his purpose that is Providence God does not need 00:10:53.220 --> 00:10:56.340 evil to become good in order to bring good out 00:10:56.340 --> 00:10:59.620 of it And that means you don't have to rename 00:10:59.620 --> 00:11:03.039 what hurt you you don't have to pretend betrayal 00:11:03.039 --> 00:11:06.720 wasn't betrayal You don't have to call injustice 00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:09.559 justice. You don't have to pretend your mistake 00:11:09.559 --> 00:11:12.529 wasn't a mistake You don't have to deny your 00:11:12.529 --> 00:11:15.429 disappointment. You can acknowledge what happened 00:11:15.429 --> 00:11:18.870 and still declare, this will not have the final 00:11:18.870 --> 00:11:22.649 word over my life. But now I want to take this 00:11:22.649 --> 00:11:25.909 somewhere even more personal. Because sometimes 00:11:25.909 --> 00:11:29.549 the fire wasn't started by somebody else. Sometimes 00:11:29.549 --> 00:11:33.090 we participated in creating it. And somebody 00:11:33.090 --> 00:11:37.210 needs to hear this. Even your failure doesn't 00:11:37.210 --> 00:11:41.049 automatically exempt you from purpose. Sometimes 00:11:41.049 --> 00:11:44.409 we made the wrong decision. Sometimes we spoke 00:11:44.409 --> 00:11:47.370 when we should have remained quiet. Sometimes 00:11:47.370 --> 00:11:51.210 we trusted the wrong person. Sometimes pride 00:11:51.210 --> 00:11:55.090 influenced us. Sometimes anger controlled us. 00:11:55.570 --> 00:11:59.129 Sometimes we ignored wisdom. Sometimes we compromised. 00:11:59.950 --> 00:12:03.149 Sometimes we simply messed up. And afterward 00:12:03.149 --> 00:12:06.049 we wonder, have I destroyed God's purpose for 00:12:06.049 --> 00:12:09.809 my life? But scripture repeatedly shows us something 00:12:09.809 --> 00:12:12.809 remarkable. God knew the weaknesses of the people 00:12:12.809 --> 00:12:15.970 he called before he called them. God knew Abraham 00:12:15.970 --> 00:12:19.309 would struggle. God knew Jacob's character. God 00:12:19.309 --> 00:12:22.490 knew Moses would become angry. God knew David 00:12:22.490 --> 00:12:25.970 would fail. God knew Peter would deny Jesus. 00:12:26.789 --> 00:12:29.470 Jesus even told Peter beforehand that before 00:12:29.470 --> 00:12:32.110 the rooster crowed, Peter would deny him three 00:12:32.110 --> 00:12:35.309 times. And yet Jesus could still speak about 00:12:35.309 --> 00:12:39.370 Peter's future. Why? Because Peter's failure 00:12:39.370 --> 00:12:44.029 surprised Peter. It did not surprise Jesus. Now 00:12:44.029 --> 00:12:46.929 hear me carefully. This is not permission to 00:12:46.929 --> 00:12:50.049 sin. This is not an excuse for irresponsibility. 00:12:50.590 --> 00:12:54.529 Choices have consequences. Sin requires repentance. 00:12:55.350 --> 00:12:58.590 Character requires correction. And sometimes 00:12:58.590 --> 00:13:02.870 restoration requires a painful process. But God's 00:13:02.870 --> 00:13:05.490 foreknowledge means He does not suddenly discover 00:13:05.490 --> 00:13:08.970 our weaknesses after calling us. He already knew. 00:13:09.490 --> 00:13:13.730 And somehow, through mercy, correction, repentance, 00:13:14.330 --> 00:13:18.269 discipline, grace, and refinement, God continues 00:13:18.269 --> 00:13:22.149 His work. Look at Jacob. Because sometimes, your 00:13:22.149 --> 00:13:25.009 name doesn't have to become your destiny. Jacob's 00:13:25.009 --> 00:13:28.070 life carried struggle, manipulation, deception, 00:13:28.470 --> 00:13:32.389 and running. He deceived. He was deceived. He 00:13:32.389 --> 00:13:36.210 manipulated. He struggled. But eventually, Jacob 00:13:36.210 --> 00:13:39.509 had an encounter with God. And God changed his 00:13:39.509 --> 00:13:43.090 name. Israel. The man who entered that encounter 00:13:43.090 --> 00:13:46.129 was not supposed to leave exactly as he entered. 00:13:46.490 --> 00:13:49.789 That is refinement. Sometimes God doesn't merely 00:13:49.789 --> 00:13:52.629 want to change your circumstances. He wants to 00:13:52.629 --> 00:13:54.929 change the person walking through those circumstances. 00:13:55.429 --> 00:13:57.509 Because one of the greatest dangers would be 00:13:57.509 --> 00:14:00.730 arriving at your purpose. carrying the same character 00:14:00.730 --> 00:14:04.470 that could destroy it. And this is why I need 00:14:04.470 --> 00:14:07.149 somebody listening to me today to stop making 00:14:07.149 --> 00:14:09.830 permanent conclusions about temporary chapters. 00:14:10.929 --> 00:14:13.230 Stop writing the final chapter in the middle 00:14:13.230 --> 00:14:18.269 of the story. The pit feels permanent. The prison 00:14:18.269 --> 00:14:22.210 feels permanent. The rejection feels permanent. 00:14:23.190 --> 00:14:26.230 The failure feels permanent. The disappointment 00:14:26.230 --> 00:14:29.960 feels permanent. And we begin saying, my life 00:14:29.960 --> 00:14:34.320 is over. I missed God. I will never recover. 00:14:35.320 --> 00:14:38.379 This destroyed everything. But Joseph teaches 00:14:38.379 --> 00:14:40.879 us something different. Joseph could have called 00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:43.840 the pit the ending. It wasn't. He could have 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:46.460 called slavery the ending. It wasn't. He could 00:14:46.460 --> 00:14:48.820 have called the false accusation the ending. 00:14:48.899 --> 00:14:51.759 It wasn't. He could have called prison the ending. 00:14:51.879 --> 00:14:55.220 It wasn't. Even being forgotten by the cup bearer 00:14:55.220 --> 00:14:58.000 wasn't the ending. There was still another chapter, 00:14:58.299 --> 00:15:00.539 and somebody needs to hear me. There is still 00:15:00.539 --> 00:15:03.440 another chapter. You cannot judge the entire 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:05.700 book from the chapter you're currently living. 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:10.600 Because sometimes, purpose finally explains what 00:15:10.600 --> 00:15:14.860 pain could not. Years later, Joseph could connect 00:15:14.860 --> 00:15:18.080 the pieces. He could look backward and understand. 00:15:18.779 --> 00:15:22.000 If I had never reached Egypt, I would not have 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:25.210 been positioned here. If I had never encountered 00:15:25.210 --> 00:15:27.909 Pharaoh's officials, the connection might never 00:15:27.909 --> 00:15:30.809 have happened. If I had not learned stewardship 00:15:30.809 --> 00:15:33.629 along the way, I might not have been prepared 00:15:33.629 --> 00:15:36.389 to manage what Pharaoh eventually placed under 00:15:36.389 --> 00:15:40.490 my authority. What looked disconnected was connected. 00:15:41.070 --> 00:15:44.169 What looked wasted was being used. What looked 00:15:44.169 --> 00:15:47.649 like delay contained preparation. What looked 00:15:47.649 --> 00:15:51.259 like rejection contained redirection. and what 00:15:51.259 --> 00:15:54.659 somebody intended as destruction became part 00:15:54.659 --> 00:15:58.379 of the road toward preservation. That is why 00:15:58.379 --> 00:16:02.059 Joseph could finally say, you meant it for evil, 00:16:02.500 --> 00:16:06.480 but God meant it for good. Not because evil became 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:10.340 good, but because evil could not defeat God's 00:16:10.340 --> 00:16:15.120 purpose. Still, I want to be careful, because 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:18.340 maybe you are listening to me and saying, Barry, 00:16:18.570 --> 00:16:22.070 I still don't understand what God is doing. And 00:16:22.070 --> 00:16:25.529 maybe you don't. Maybe you don't have enough 00:16:25.529 --> 00:16:28.669 information yet. There are chapters of your life 00:16:28.669 --> 00:16:32.350 you may still not understand. Don't force an 00:16:32.350 --> 00:16:36.490 explanation. Don't manufacture a testimony before 00:16:36.490 --> 00:16:40.210 the testimony is complete. Maybe you're still 00:16:40.210 --> 00:16:43.210 somewhere between the pit and the palace. Maybe 00:16:43.210 --> 00:16:45.950 you are doing the right thing and still experiencing 00:16:45.950 --> 00:16:48.940 consequences you don't understand. Maybe you're 00:16:48.940 --> 00:16:52.120 asking God what any of this has to do with your 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:55.100 calling. Joseph's life gives us permission to 00:16:55.100 --> 00:16:58.399 say, I don't understand yet. Faith doesn't require 00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:01.919 you to know everything God is doing. Faith requires 00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:05.039 trusting Him while you don't. Because what you 00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:08.880 can see today is only one piece of a story God 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:11.579 sees completely. And this brings us back to where 00:17:11.579 --> 00:17:14.880 we started. You are being refined for a purpose. 00:17:15.319 --> 00:17:18.940 Maybe the question isn't only God. When are you 00:17:18.940 --> 00:17:22.059 getting me out? Maybe there is another question. 00:17:22.619 --> 00:17:25.619 God, what are you producing in me while I'm here? 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:28.680 What are you correcting? What are you strengthening? 00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:32.220 What are you teaching me? What must I leave behind? 00:17:32.859 --> 00:17:35.900 What kind of person must I become for what you 00:17:35.900 --> 00:17:38.740 are preparing me to carry? Because Joseph didn't 00:17:38.740 --> 00:17:41.619 simply come out of the prison. Joseph came out 00:17:41.619 --> 00:17:44.839 prepared for Pharaoh. And that realization prepares 00:17:44.839 --> 00:17:48.809 us for our next conversation. Because if God 00:17:48.809 --> 00:17:51.930 can turn what was meant for evil toward his purpose, 00:17:52.450 --> 00:17:56.069 then we must eventually ask, what kind of person 00:17:56.069 --> 00:17:59.849 does that purpose require me to become? Joseph 00:17:59.849 --> 00:18:03.289 reached tremendous responsibility. Daniel reached 00:18:03.289 --> 00:18:06.630 extraordinary influence. Job was trusted through 00:18:06.630 --> 00:18:10.349 extraordinary testing. Samuel could invite an 00:18:10.349 --> 00:18:13.410 entire nation to examine his leadership. And 00:18:13.410 --> 00:18:16.049 beneath these lives, we begin discovering another 00:18:16.049 --> 00:18:19.910 word. Integrity. So in our next conversation, 00:18:20.509 --> 00:18:23.089 we are going to confront what may be one of the 00:18:23.089 --> 00:18:26.470 most personal questions of this entire season. 00:18:27.069 --> 00:18:30.549 Can God trust your integrity? Can God trust you 00:18:30.549 --> 00:18:33.630 with authority? Can he trust you with influence? 00:18:34.250 --> 00:18:37.210 Can he trust you when nobody is watching? Can 00:18:37.210 --> 00:18:41.150 he trust you when temptation comes? Can he trust 00:18:41.150 --> 00:18:44.109 you when you're angry? Can he trust you after 00:18:44.109 --> 00:18:46.890 you've been hurt? Can he trust you with the very 00:18:46.890 --> 00:18:49.710 thing you've been asking him to give you? Because 00:18:49.710 --> 00:18:53.170 perhaps the fire isn't only preparing the place. 00:18:53.809 --> 00:18:57.529 Perhaps the fire is preparing the person. They 00:18:57.529 --> 00:19:01.730 meant it for evil. God meant it for good. And 00:19:01.730 --> 00:19:04.250 somewhere between what they intended and what 00:19:04.250 --> 00:19:08.509 God intends, I am being refined for a purpose.