Hello, friends, and welcome back to A Word from the Vine. I’m Pastor Loren, and today, I want to talk to you about a powerful image from Scripture that we find in the words of John the Baptist. It’s an image that’s not only striking but also sobering—wheat and chaff.
In Luke 3:16–17, John speaks of Jesus, saying:
“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Now, I know that’s strong language. Jesus with a winnowing fork? It’s an image of judgment—separating what is valuable from what is useless. The wheat, which is the good grain, is gathered into the barn, while the chaff, the useless husks, are burned.
But here’s the question: Which one are we?
We’re all familiar with the process of winnowing. It’s the practice of separating the wheat from the chaff, and it’s done with a winnowing fork. The good grain, the wheat, falls to the ground, while the chaff is blown away, discarded, and burned. It’s a refining process, and John tells us that Jesus will do the separating.
Now, this isn’t just about an external judgment—it’s about the internal work of God’s Spirit in us. You see, Jesus doesn’t just come to clear the external “roughness” of the world; He comes to clear the roughness of our hearts. The fire of the Holy Spirit isn’t just about purging sin in a general sense—it’s about refining us, about burning away everything that doesn’t belong, so that what remains is pure, holy, and pleasing to God.
And it’s not a gentle process. Fire refines. It purifies. But it also consumes. In the same way, we must allow the Holy Spirit to burn away our pride, our selfishness, our old ways, and everything that keeps us from living the life God has called us to.
But, here’s the good news: Jesus didn’t come just to separate and judge us. He came to save us. He offers us the Holy Spirit, a baptism of fire that refines us, making us more like Him.
So, how do we know if we’re wheat or chaff? The answer is in how we respond to the refining fire of God. Are we willing to allow God’s Spirit to work in us, to cleanse us, and to make us holy? Or do we resist, holding onto things that we know are harmful and temporary?
This Advent, as we prepare for the coming of Jesus, let’s allow Him to do the work of winnowing in our hearts. Let’s allow His fire to purify us so that when He returns, He finds us as wheat—gathered into His barn, ready to bear fruit for His Kingdom.
Thank you for joining me today on A Word from the Vine. Until next time, may you be refined by the fire of His Spirit, and may your heart be made ready for the coming of our Savior.
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