WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.399 There are seasons of life you never would have 00:00:02.399 --> 00:00:06.019 chosen, seasons of pressure, waiting, disappointment, 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:10.160 correction, failure, betrayal, seasons when you 00:00:10.160 --> 00:00:13.980 pray, God, why am I going through this? You ask 00:00:13.980 --> 00:00:17.719 God to change the situation, remove the pressure, 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:22.039 open the door, defend you, restore you, bring 00:00:22.039 --> 00:00:27.000 you out. But what if, while you are asking God 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:30.780 to change what is happening around you, God is 00:00:30.780 --> 00:00:33.880 doing something within you. What if the fire 00:00:33.880 --> 00:00:36.600 is revealing what success would have allowed 00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:40.500 you to hide? What if the waiting is developing 00:00:40.500 --> 00:00:43.359 something you will need when the door finally 00:00:43.359 --> 00:00:48.859 opens? What if correction is not rejection? What 00:00:48.859 --> 00:00:52.200 if the crack God is showing you is not evidence 00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:56.460 that you are finished? But mercy, revealing what 00:00:56.460 --> 00:00:58.740 must be repaired before it becomes a collapse. 00:00:59.229 --> 00:01:04.189 What if, even after failure, mercy still has 00:01:04.189 --> 00:01:07.469 something to say? Welcome to a new season of 00:01:07.469 --> 00:01:12.109 Pamoja Ministry, Refined for a Purpose. This 00:01:12.109 --> 00:01:14.430 season is about the person who walks into the 00:01:14.430 --> 00:01:17.689 fire and the person who eventually walks out. 00:01:18.150 --> 00:01:22.269 Because fire reveals things. It reveals character. 00:01:22.930 --> 00:01:27.310 It reveals integrity. It reveals pride. It reveals 00:01:27.310 --> 00:01:30.799 weakness. It reveals what happens when compromise 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:34.540 becomes easier than obedience. And sometimes 00:01:34.540 --> 00:01:38.799 the fire reveals you to you. You thought you 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:43.000 were patient until you had to wait. You thought 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:47.120 you had forgiven until you saw them again. You 00:01:47.120 --> 00:01:50.340 thought you were humble until somebody corrected 00:01:50.340 --> 00:01:54.459 you. You thought you had self -control until 00:01:54.459 --> 00:01:57.930 temptation came at the right moment. you thought 00:01:57.930 --> 00:02:01.489 you trusted God, until God didn't answer the 00:02:01.489 --> 00:02:05.569 way you expected. But listen carefully, God does 00:02:05.569 --> 00:02:08.789 not reveal the impurity simply to throw away 00:02:08.789 --> 00:02:12.789 the gold. Sometimes exposure is an invitation 00:02:12.789 --> 00:02:16.370 to refinement. Throughout this season, we will 00:02:16.370 --> 00:02:19.430 walk through the lives of Joseph, David, Peter, 00:02:19.650 --> 00:02:24.250 Moses, Daniel, Jacob, Paul, John Mark, and others. 00:02:25.009 --> 00:02:27.919 People who were called. but still had character 00:02:27.919 --> 00:02:31.900 to develop. People who were used by God, but 00:02:31.900 --> 00:02:35.360 still needed correction. People who experienced 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:39.620 failure, but discovered mercy. People who endured 00:02:39.620 --> 00:02:43.080 waiting, and later understood that preparation 00:02:43.080 --> 00:02:47.560 was also progress. We will talk about integrity 00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:51.740 when nobody is watching. The small crack before 00:02:51.740 --> 00:02:55.360 the public collapse. The correction we sometimes 00:02:55.360 --> 00:02:59.080 mistake for rejection. The failure that makes 00:02:59.080 --> 00:03:03.000 us wonder whether purpose is over. The mercy 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:07.099 that meets a genuinely repentant heart. The blessing 00:03:07.099 --> 00:03:10.900 we prayed for. And whether our character is strong 00:03:10.900 --> 00:03:15.000 enough to carry its weight. And finally, the 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:18.340 things the fire revealed that cannot follow us 00:03:18.340 --> 00:03:22.639 into the next season. Because maybe you are not 00:03:22.639 --> 00:03:25.979 simply waiting for the blessing. Maybe you are 00:03:25.979 --> 00:03:30.460 being prepared for its weight. Maybe the wilderness 00:03:30.460 --> 00:03:33.099 is teaching something the palace will require. 00:03:34.580 --> 00:03:37.360 Maybe the small assignment is strengthening your 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:41.139 shoulders. Maybe the closed door is developing 00:03:41.139 --> 00:03:44.620 discipline. Maybe the correction is protecting 00:03:44.620 --> 00:03:48.840 your future. Maybe God is preparing your character 00:03:48.840 --> 00:03:52.599 for responsibilities you cannot yet see. But 00:03:52.599 --> 00:03:56.699 we will also be careful with suffering. Not every 00:03:56.699 --> 00:04:00.039 painful thing comes from God. Not every closed 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:03.819 door is divine correction. Not every hardship 00:04:03.819 --> 00:04:07.340 means promotion is coming. And scripture does 00:04:07.340 --> 00:04:11.139 not require us to call evil good. The betrayal 00:04:11.139 --> 00:04:14.599 does not have to be good. The injustice does 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:17.370 not have to be good. The failure was not good. 00:04:17.790 --> 00:04:20.990 The loss can still hurt. But here is the hope. 00:04:21.589 --> 00:04:23.750 The fire does not have to be good for God to 00:04:23.750 --> 00:04:27.550 bring good through it. God can redeem. God can 00:04:27.550 --> 00:04:32.670 restore. God can redirect. God can teach. God 00:04:32.670 --> 00:04:35.990 can transform. God can take what was meant for 00:04:35.990 --> 00:04:39.930 evil and refuse to allow evil to have the final 00:04:39.930 --> 00:04:43.610 word. That is why throughout this season one 00:04:43.610 --> 00:04:46.949 declaration will keep returning. God doesn't 00:04:46.949 --> 00:04:50.610 waste the fire. Maybe the fire will expose something 00:04:50.610 --> 00:04:54.490 that needs to change. Let it change. Maybe God 00:04:54.490 --> 00:04:58.329 will confront your pride. Listen, maybe conviction 00:04:58.329 --> 00:05:02.250 will reveal a crack. Don't defend it. Maybe you 00:05:02.250 --> 00:05:06.750 failed. Repent. Maybe trust needs to be rebuilt. 00:05:07.170 --> 00:05:10.709 Become trustworthy. Maybe you need stronger boundaries. 00:05:11.050 --> 00:05:14.110 Build them. Maybe you need greater discipline. 00:05:14.329 --> 00:05:17.649 Practice it. Maybe you have been protecting an 00:05:17.649 --> 00:05:21.370 image while neglecting your character. Stop protecting 00:05:21.370 --> 00:05:25.430 the image and allow God to refine the person. 00:05:26.290 --> 00:05:30.129 Because your gift may open a door, but your character 00:05:30.129 --> 00:05:33.149 must help you remain faithful once you enter 00:05:33.149 --> 00:05:38.029 it. Your talent may create opportunity, but integrity 00:05:38.029 --> 00:05:42.329 must sustain you. Your anointing does not eliminate 00:05:42.329 --> 00:05:45.540 your responsibility. to live a disciplined life. 00:05:46.139 --> 00:05:49.839 And perhaps the question is not simply, God, 00:05:50.139 --> 00:05:53.379 when will you change my season? Perhaps another 00:05:53.379 --> 00:05:57.339 prayer needs to rise. God, what must change in 00:05:57.339 --> 00:06:01.379 me before my season changes? This season is for 00:06:01.379 --> 00:06:04.800 the person in the fire, the person recovering 00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:08.579 from failure, the person receiving correction, 00:06:09.420 --> 00:06:12.579 the person waiting. The person preparing for 00:06:12.579 --> 00:06:16.040 greater responsibility. The person asking whether 00:06:16.040 --> 00:06:20.079 God can still use them. The person who has survived 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:23.740 something, but knows survival alone is not enough. 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:27.000 And by the end of this journey, maybe you will 00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:30.240 look back differently. Maybe you will realize 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:35.399 the fire exposed me, but it did not destroy me. 00:06:35.740 --> 00:06:38.800 Correction humbled me, but it did not mean God 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:43.259 abandoned me. Failure wounded me, but mercy did 00:06:43.259 --> 00:06:47.360 not leave me there. Waiting frustrated me, but 00:06:47.360 --> 00:06:50.360 preparation was happening. The wilderness tested 00:06:50.360 --> 00:06:54.600 me, but God was still present. And maybe the 00:06:54.600 --> 00:06:56.819 greatest miracle will not simply be that you 00:06:56.819 --> 00:06:59.800 came out of the fire. Maybe the miracle will 00:06:59.800 --> 00:07:03.639 be who came out. More humble, more disciplined, 00:07:04.480 --> 00:07:08.779 more prayerful, more discerning, more compassionate. 00:07:09.449 --> 00:07:12.449 more aware of your weaknesses, more dependent 00:07:12.449 --> 00:07:16.430 upon God, more committed to integrity, not perfect, 00:07:16.870 --> 00:07:21.649 but refined. So come with us, bring your questions, 00:07:22.329 --> 00:07:25.610 bring your scars, bring your failures, bring 00:07:25.610 --> 00:07:28.730 your dreams, bring the things you are asking 00:07:28.730 --> 00:07:32.389 God to change, and have enough courage to also 00:07:32.389 --> 00:07:36.790 pray, God, while I am waiting for you to change 00:07:36.790 --> 00:07:40.769 what is around me, Do not leave unchanged what 00:07:40.769 --> 00:07:44.829 needs to change within me. Because maybe the 00:07:44.829 --> 00:07:48.209 fire was never your destination. Maybe it was 00:07:48.209 --> 00:07:51.170 part of your preparation. Maybe you are not being 00:07:51.170 --> 00:07:54.449 destroyed. Maybe something is being developed. 00:07:54.870 --> 00:07:58.209 And one day, you may look back and finally understand, 00:07:58.750 --> 00:08:03.670 God did not waste the fire. I was, I am, and 00:08:03.670 --> 00:08:07.879 I am still being refined for a purpose. This 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:11.540 is Pomoja Ministry, stronger lives, deeper faith, 00:08:11.959 --> 00:08:14.800 Christ -centered homes. Find Pomoja Ministry 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:17.560 on your favorite podcast platform and on YouTube 00:08:17.560 --> 00:08:23.759 at, at Pomoja9924. The journey begins here. Refined 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:26.560 for a purpose. You are not alone.