In this episode of Coffee with Phil is sharing about how tension and pressure create personal growth opportunities.
If you find yourself struggling with the discomfort of pressure and tension in your life, then maybe it’s time for you to join Phil as he discusses how those experiences can provide you with opportunities to grow.
If you’re the kind of person that only worries about feeling good today, you definitely won’t want to be challenged by Phil in this podcast. But, if you’re game, grab yourself some time and enjoy coffee with Phil.
BONUS CONTENT
- Book: John Eldredge – Resilient
- Item: The Cullinan Diamond
- Bible Reference: Esther
- Podcast: CWP. 37.
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Well, hi, and welcome to the podcast, straight into it today, episode 37, Coffee with Phil Episode 37, and the title of today’s session that we’re having together is, tension and pressure produce diamonds. I’ll be honest, I’ve had this subject on my list of ideas for some time, because I’m always dealing with tension, and I’m always dealing with pressure. But just recently I’ve had a couple of other things going on that have really brought to home how important the subject is, and so we’re gonna talk at the beginning about diamonds.
So, let’s talk about diamonds. Diamonds are a valuable gem, as you may well know. Diamonds are formed naturally under the surface of the earth, and I’ll talk about that in a minute. But if you wanted to know some interesting facts, the largest ever diamond to be found was found in a mine in South Africa in 1905, and it was 10 centimeters long, it was 6 centimeters wide, and it was 6 centimeters deep, it weighed 620 grams. Now, there’s just no way to put a value on what that diamond would be worth, in its raw form, and it had a couple of flat edges on it, which made people, experts, believe that it had actually broken off something larger at some point. But this is massive. You think about 621 grams is a big piece of diamond. In 1908 It was worked out that it would be best to prepare this diamond for show, and the way to do that would be to cut this diamond into large pieces, this is called the Cullinan diamond that was named after the man who owned the mine where it was found.
It took 14 days to cut this diamond up and it was a precarious tasks, because if you think, in 1908 they didn’t have the technology, or the lasers, or anything that we would have today, we, I’m not a diamond guy. But this guy who was in charge of it used a knife blade to score it, and made a cut deep enough to get a blade into. But he had to strike the diamond to split it. So, if you just imagine, in crude terms, we would call that a hammer and a chisel. But get this, the guy had on standby, he had physicians, a doctor, and a nurse on standby, because he was worried about what would happen to him when he split this massive diamond, the largest ever diamond recorded in history to be found, and sure enough, he split the diamond and fainted straight away. That’s a funny story. The diamond was cut into nine major stones, each with names and numbers, and 96 minor stones. So, they’ve made a lot of things out of this.
Now point of interest, I’m gonna give you some information, and I’m gonna explain later why I’m telling you this. But the largest major stone was called the Cullinan number one. That changed hands several times, it’s a large piece of stone there. And it is actually now embedded at the top of the cross, or near the cross, on the sceptre of the sovereign king of England. Now that’s an interesting point. I want you to think about that, holding it in your mind for soon. And the Cullinan number two, which is the next largest stone that is cut out of this diamond, is on the crown of the sovereign of the United Kingdom, and I will again explain why that’s important to you soon, so keep listening, dear friend.
Tension & Pressure Produce Diamonds.
OK, so the first thing I want to talk about is this. The headline for my first point would be tension and pressure produces diamonds. Now, how is a diamond made? This is a little bit of a different segue for us to take today, but a diamond is produced as a natural process beneath the earth. They’re not manufactured, they’re natural process. Now, if you are someone who believes in God as the creator, then you’re going to agree with me when I say this is something that we would call the work of God.
Now, if you’ve got half a brain, you’re going to start to connect these points with my life, and your life, our journey, as God produces us as his handiwork, to be the diamonds that reflect his glory. Now natural process that happens out of sight. Diamonds are produced, some, 200 kilometres or more beneath the surface of the earth. Most of the good work that happens in our livestreams happens out of sight, and did you know that when you get to 200 kilometres below the surface of the earth, the heat, the temperature is 900, maybe even as much as 1300 degrees Celsius as you get closer to the core of the earth, that’s where all the hot stuff is the, that, you know, comes out of volcanoes. But did you also know that when you get that deep into the earth, the pressure that is going on at that depth is 50,000 times the pressure that you would experience at the surface of the Earth, which is what we would call the Earth’s atmosphere.
So, diamonds are produced out of sight, in extreme heat, and with intense pressure. Now, would you relate that to your life? Would you, like me, say that there’s some stuff going on in my world that I’m not that happy about? Well, let’s just say I might be happy, but it’s not comfortable. Usually when we’re not comfortable, we’re not happy, but some people thrive in personal growth opportunities. I can be sure of this, in my life there is a lot of work God is doing beneath the surface that people can’t see. It’s feeling like the heat has been turned up, and the pressure in some cases is intense, from time to times, and this is how diamonds are made. And perhaps what I’m suggesting to myself and to you is that we are those diamonds that God is producing.
The final thing that I want to share with you, with regards to the way diamonds are made in the natural, and this is a little bit above my pay grade, so I’m just going to keep the explanation really simple. But inside the earth there’s a whole lot of stuff going on, and there’s carbon atoms. So, carbon is part of the gas and there’s atoms, which is what makes up that gas, and those atoms are zooming around and they combine with each other overtime, and that’s what crystallises to form this hard, rock like, item, thing that we’re calling a diamond, and it forms over time. So again, as carbon atoms combine with each other overtime, let me just park that thought with you and I’ll come back to it later in the podcast.
Tension & Pressure Will Make You Shine Like A Diamond.
The second point that I’d like to share in reflection of what I’m going through is this, tension and pressure will make you shine like a diamond. I’ve been journeying through a book written by John Eldredge, and it’s called Resilient, and I’ve really enjoyed it, I’ve not read any of his work before, I’ve heard some of his teaching, and appreciated some of his insights as a counsellor, and a therapist, and someone that really helps human beings to become better human beings. So, the book is by John Eldredge and it’s called Resilient, and I would recommend it. The goal of the book, which is what I’m really searching for, is that we would turn ourselves back to Christ as the source of the life and the strength that is necessary for us to be resilient in these difficult times. And in that there is a bunch of pressure that comes on when we search for growth, or when we search for solutions inside pressure situations. And here’s what I’ve been discovering. The pressure that is around me at the moment, is squeezing what’s in me, to come out of me, so that what is in the light can be transformed by the light of Jesus and made pure.
So let me say that a different way. The pressure around me is causing things to be revealed, aspects of my life to be revealed so that Christ can do his work in me. Now this is not always comfortable. You know when you say something, or think something, or do something, and you go, Oh my gosh where did that come from? And often we beat ourselves up about it, or we get embarrassed, or we judge ourselves, or condemn ourselves and go oh you’re just not even a Christian, you’re not saved, or you’re a, just a horrible, horrible, horrible person.
Well, let me consider a different perspective that you and I might take. Let us consider a new way to look at life’s challenges. What if the pressure that’s around you, whether it’s self-induced, or God’s created a perfect storm, or whether you’re under intense spiritual attack by the enemy, whatever is going on, what if that pressure is being used by God to create an opportunity for the cleansing work that he desires for you to be made perfect? How about this? Here’s a thought that I just wrote down this afternoon. Imagine that we would believe that God is so gracious to reveal the work that’s needed inside of us, to make us more glorious, and to make us more Christlike. Wow, what a different way for us to look at tension and pressure.
So, oh, I’ve, I shared with you how I’ve had a challenging season. I’m going through a bunch of stuff, and there’s some obstacles that I keep coming up against with some of my work projects, and sometimes I feel like banging my head against the desk. Some days I feel like running outside and yelling at the sky. What if I stopped and said, OK God, what’s the work you’re doing here? What are you revealing in me that you’d like to purify? And instead of despising and not enjoying the circumstance. What if I suddenly said, hey, this is a new way that I could look at the challenge, and in doing so, allow that which is impure to be made pure by the work of Jesus. And I can tell you that’s tipped things upside down for me in a good way and allowed me to look at things completely differently.
Well, let’s add to that because I want to connect back a few of the dots and perhaps you’ve got to replay and look at some of the things that I’ve been sharing, or make sure you check the transcript that we have, we supply, click the link below, jump onto the podcast page and you can read the transcript of today’s podcast for free. You’re welcome. We’re happy to provide it for you. But here’s my point. I’m connecting some dots for you right now.
Agents Of Glory.
Here’s the third part of today’s podcast, God’s work in us will prepare us to be His agents of Glory. Now I really feel like this is the theme for today, because it’s a journey that I’m on, and I promise to share my journey with you. So, God is working in me, to prepare me to be his agent of glory. He, God wants to use us, he chooses to partner with us, not just me, you as well, every single one of us, and this work is preparing us so that we can be a demonstration of his glory.
Now that’s, I don’t wanna preach, so I’m not gonna jump into a whole lot of evidence that would prove that, if you don’t believe me, then probably stop the podcast and go and listen to something else. But what I’m saying is, if we’re in a pressure cooker, if there’s tension and pressure that’s producing, that God’s goal is to produce diamonds, then the diamond will be the demonstration of his glory that others will see.
Now follow my thinking. Remember I told you about the Cullinan diamond, and I told you that the Cullinan number one is the largest major diamond that was cut off the big sucker. So, like the daddy diamond was found, it was rough and it was ready, and they prepared that into nine major stones and 96 minor stones. The biggest stone Cullinan number one, and I told you that it was embedded at the top of the sceptre of the Sovereign King well. Follow me. What if you’re that diamond? What if God is preparing you to be a demonstration of his glory and he’s placing you as the key stone at the top of the sceptre of the Glorious King who we know is Jesus? And what does the sceptre represent? Well, the sceptre of the king represents his power and authority that will move nations, and if you remember the story of Esther.
Esther went before her husband, the King, and she was fearing for her life, because if he did not receive her into the court, even though she was invited, she could be killed, and it says that when Esther stood in the outer court, the King, who was sitting on his throne, saw Queen Esther and he extended his sceptre towards her, meaning she was received and accepted. Now that sceptre is what held all the power and all the authority of the king.
What’s my point? When God works in me to prepare me to be the agent of his glory, he makes me into a diamond that he places at the top of the sceptre, so that I become the representation of the power and authority of the King in my world. And this is something that I’m bending my mind to, that I would not try and I reject it because it doesn’t make sense, but I would receive it, because it’s a revelation, truth that God wants us to be the demonstration of the power and the authority that Jesus obtained for us through his victory over death and sin.
Remember when Jesus said in the Great Commission, he said all power and authority has been given to me, now you therefore go. And he’s bestowing upon us that which he purchased for us, so that it could become something that we would use in the sake of his name, and in the sake of his Kingdom, and so I’m saying to you that the work God’s doing is preparing us to be as agents of glory, a demonstration of who he is, using his power and authority for his names sake.
Well, that’s just the beginning, because it gets better. Remember this. Remember I told you that when the big daddy diamond was cut into nine major stones, the second stone, they kept things real simple in 1908, they called it Cullinan number two, and Cullinan number two is the second largest stone, and it is embedded on the crown of the ruling sovereign, and if you follow what’s been happening in the United Kingdom the last year with the passing of Queen Elizabeth and the coronation of Charles, her first born son, to be the King of that sovereign nation. And if you look at a photo, you will notice that he’s got a lovely purple robe on, but on his head is the sovereign crown and on the top of that throne is the Cullinan two diamond.
What’s my point? God’s work in us will prepare us to be as agents of glory. God’s creating a work in you, through your pressure, and through your tension, and through the heat that’s around you, to shine you like a diamond, so that he can embed you on the crown of King Jesus, that you would represent the identity of the king.
Oh wow, here’s my revelation. God is doing a work in us that we would be produced as diamonds, and in being produced as diamonds, we would shine for all the world to see, and reflect the identity of our King, whose name is Jesus.
So, what does this mean for me? I’m like, I’m just like bending my mind to this going, wow, I can’t believe. One, I can’t believe you chose me. I can’t believe you used me. I can’t believe you’re prepared to do the really hard work to turn me from some lump of ugly stuff into a beautiful diamond, and Jesus comes and he says, hey, boy, be the diamond. Will you be the diamond? Will you allow me to take what’s happening around you, the impure that squeezed out, and would you allow me to make it pure? Would you allow me to polish you, and shape you, that you would reflect light, my light, in such a beautiful way that produces rainbows and is a beauty to the eye of all that would behold it. God is so gracious to reveal the work in us that will make us more glorious. So, what’s the message for you? Perhaps you and I should be the diamond.
Carbons Combine.
I’ve got one more thought that I want to share with you, and then an example. The final point, the fourth point I’ve got here is, you’ll remember when I told you earlier that the way diamonds are produced under the Earth, in the heat, and the pressure, that carbon atoms combine with each other overtime to form a diamond. Well, what I would say to you is this, get together with others, allow yourself to be forged with others, by the work of God, beneath the surface of the Earth, that in the in the work of God, you would allow yourself to come together in community with others, to be forged together because diamonds don’t happen in isolation. And I will tell you this, no man or woman will be brilliant alone, so get together with others.
On a flip side to that, I just want to remind you, I say this all the time, I’ve even said it to my church on Sunday. Isolation is the weapon of the enemy who will drive you away from community so he can beat you up. So, get together with others. Don’t get into that space where you hide. Don’t get into that space where you divert yourself away, or you separate yourself, or you avoid community, because all you’re doing is agreeing with the plans of the enemy and allowing yourself not to be used as a brilliant diamond. Because no man or woman will be brilliant alone.
Conclusion.
Allrighty, righty, righty, let’s wrap this up, let’s land this. I’ve got a conclusion for you, and the answer will be provided to this major question we always ask ourselves, well so what? What are we gonna do with this? And I wanna give you an example. Just last night I hosted a meeting in my office, it’s a team review, there was a bunch of people that are part of, well, something that I do, we get people together and we really debrief stuff, and it got really intense, and there was some rapid fire feedback that came our way that was pretty uncomfortable and challenging. And you know, you’ve gotta do your best not to react, you’ve gotta get defensive, you don’t want to start attacking people. So, you’re just taking notes, you write it down, ‘thanks for this, I appreciate your honesty. Thanks for being vulnerable. I really want to listen properly so we can process this’. And so what I’ve reflected on that is just four key things. If you’re feeling under pressure, like I was last night. If you’re feeling the tension of circumstances around you and the heat of the moment. And here’s four things that we did today that will help us to move forward, based on the pressure that was happening.
So, here’s the first thing. You’ve got to acknowledge that the heat and the pressure is there and it’s creating tension. So, you know, deep breath, oh my gosh, that was intense, I’m not feeling so great right now, and what are we going to do with this? But do not resist it. Do not fight back. So, the first thing is acknowledge the heat and the pressure that creates tension.
The second thing is flow with the tension. Get in the flow so that you can allow God to reveal things. Because remember I said to you that this new way to look at life’s current challenges is that God’s using the environment to squeeze that which is impure out of you, so that it can be made pure by the work of Jesus. So, you gotta flow with the tension, cause if you fight it, you will not get in the flow.
The third thing that I’d say is that you’ve gotta reconnect with the genesis of what’s going on, and that is just simply, why am I here? So last night there was a whole bunch of pressure going in this meeting, and I really felt like to just dial it back and say, guys, let’s just go around the room and each of us share why are we doing this? Why are we actually here? And it, what it did, is it really anchored us beyond the pressure of the things that people weren’t happy about, and got us onto a common ground which anchored us. And so I would say to you, and like, trust me, I’m thinking about this and the pressure I’m in. You know if I’m thinking I don’t like it, it doesn’t work, I’m not comfortable, I don’t feel safe, or I feel threatened, or I feel incompetent, or I feel like I’m always just getting stuff happening. If I go back to, why am I here? Why did God put me in this place? Why did he call me here? Did I accept a call from God to be in this situation. And for some of you that’s not as easy to do. So, what I’ve written down here in my notes is, if that’s not clear, ask this question, what brought me to this place here, now? What brought me to this place here, now. And, what that does, I found it’s a great centering technique, it pushes the tension into the right place, and doesn’t allow it to overcome you. But you can look at it with a fresh perspective once you’ve anchored yourself in the, why am I here? Or, what brought me to this place?
And the fourth and final thing that we did as a result, and which I’m suggesting that you do, as I do, that’s to make a simple plan of steps to help you move forward. Make a simple plan, of steps, that will help you move forward. And so once we did the debrief this morning we just simply wrote a list and now we’re going to work on that list, and we’re going to work on the list, because we want to shine as a result of the pressure that came.
Got an interesting podcast, I’m not sure what you think, you’re welcome to make comments, send me a message, ask questions, like reach out, like it’s good to get feedback from listeners, and feedback is the breakfast of champions, as I always say. So, thanks for being with me today. I have enjoyed sharing these thoughts, they’ve certainly challenged me, and shaped me, and I’m now appreciating in a new way the work God is doing in me, because tension and pressure produce diamonds as the fruit of God’s work. Well, God bless you guys. Thanks for being a part of this community. Don’t forget to share this community with other people, and I look forward to catching up with you soon for another episode of Coffee with Phil. Take care, see you soon.