281~ SEASONS OF HARVEST ~ SEALED BY FIRE ~ PART 4

We welcome you to the We Are Zion sermon podcast.

We are a church based out of Chennai, India.

We are thrilled that you tuned in today and hope that you will

be refreshed, revived, and energized by what you hear.

Our desire is that you will live life with a renewed sense of

purpose that stems from a vibrant faith in Jesus.

The year 2025 is 1 where we will be positioned by God to possess

our promise. We are celebrating all that God

has done and has promised to do over the next few weeks.

Every word that God has spoken will come to pass.

Everything that you have sown into will begin to reap its

fruit. The harvest is here and it's

plentiful. Can we lean into the Lord of the

harvest and hear what He has to say to us?

Let's get into God's word today we're going through this entire

series called Season of Harvest, and today we're coming to the

last part. Last week we saw about

winnowing, and I just want to go back to that same verse, Luke

Luke 3:16–17

chapter 3, verses 16 to 17. It says John answered them all.

I baptize you with water, but one who's more powerful than I

will come, the straps of whose sandals I'm not worthy to untie.

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 he will burn up the shaft with unquenchable fire.

So last week when we saw what the winnowing fork, there were a

couple of things that we saw. We saw that it's God's Kingdom,

it's his shaft, it's his wheat, and he's taking them into his

barn. Everything is all, it's all

about God. But even as you're concluding,

one of the things that we thought was we can't do go

through harvest without going through fire.

How many of you can agree? A lot of you are probably in the

midst of a fire, so probably hesitating to raise your hand.

But fire plays an important role even in the farming community.

And it's interesting the previous verse, it says he says

I'm not unworthy, I'm not worthy to untie.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

There is a fire in each and every one of us the minute we

accept Jesus Christ into our lives.

How many of you can agree? And even as you are getting the

baptism done and as you are seated in the church, the the

fall back was to the day when we committed our lives, when we got

baptized. You know, that was the thing I

was remembering. And even as I was remembering

that, I, I was so overjoyed in the fact that many others have

the same story where we all can go back to that day.

There's a fire, but how many can you say that fire is

extinguished a bit? Or, you know, it was probably

big. Now it's just small.

How many, if you can agree? Or do you have seasons where you

go through that? Or some of us are in this weekly

cycle. Sunday, it'll be on fire.

We would have told 100, Praise the Lord, and then by Monday to

Friday it will be a dim. It's typically like a stove.

You know, we have a cook in our house.

And so yesterday, even as she was leaving, I told Tina at the

end of the day after her tenure. I don't know when that will be.

She may not have learnt to cook properly because we just agree

with whatever she cooks and gives us.

You know how it is, but she might learn English from Tina,

you know. So by because I have a lot of

you heard last week, we've fostered a dog, apparently is

what my wife's saying. But the way she's holding it and

hugging it now everyone in the family is hugging.

I'm sure now that's another added expense in the family.

You know, it's funny. How so as the interesting thing

what she was telling was ma'am, she's not listening to what I'm

saying, but when I say sit, she's understanding sit.

So she knows English, ma'am. So she's learning English really

well is what she said. So I just realized that a flame

and one of the, the reason I'm bringing her up is she doesn't

believe in SIM cooking. We have in five years, we've

just been what, 7 years we've bought stuffed up and last year

we have to replace it purely because of the fact that it's

always on high. It's always on high weather,

whatever it is, you know, And so the, the vessels become black in

between. And you can realize how much

patience Tina has, but I don't have that patience because for

me, it's like whenever I see it, that time I'm like, I'm getting,

I'm losing it because everything tastes a bit burnt and all that.

But at the end of the day, we will never be in a position to

say I'm always on fire for God. You know, there are there are

times when we regulate it, but a lot of times, I believe

especially today, in 2025, in September, I don't know how many

of you can see based on whatever is happening geopolitically,

whatever is happening across the nation, we hesitate to light

that flame brighter or, you know, flame a bit more higher

because what will others think? All the Christians are getting a

bad rap already. They think we are like this, we

are like that and so we dumb it, we dull it down a lot.

But today as I was reading this passage, if the Holy Spirit is

inside of us, he will continuously keep lighting that

fire because he's the wind. He's the wind.

And I just before we go into that, if you look into that, it

says in the, the Greek word over here for the Spirit says wind

and for fire it says for which is the fire of God, which

transforms all it touches. And so when God keeps something

within us and when that wind acts as an accelerant, things

change. So last week we saw the wind

removes the chaff. When when knowing happens, it

removes chaff. And So what happens if our

identity is secure in God, we remain.

If we are, if we know whose we are, we fall down because you're

confident in knowing who he who we are in Christ.

But when fire, when the fire has to spread, that's why you

realize we'll all have a reference point saying back in

the day, I did so much for God. When I was 20, I was all on fire

for God. At 25 I found a girl and then

the fire died. Or we have some story like that.

But the truth is the fire has to continuously keep moving which

means the Spirit of God should be breathing upon it.

How many of you actually spend time in a BBQ pit?

Not we don't have a BBQ pit, but at least in our so-called BBQ

anytime. What is the hardest part?

Light. After you light that first cold,

spreading that fire across is the hardest part.

Before, you know, before we found the hack of using a hair

dryer, we used to use our exam boards.

You know, it used to be really painful because by the time you

do all the work, you don't feel like enjoying eating what is

being cooked. But the minute there's

continuous wind that's coming, fire starts spreading.

Fire starts spreading. And so today, when the Holy

Spirit is the wind, when He is in the wind in our lives, he

acts as the accident, which means there's suddenly an

increase of oxygen supply. That's where the fire starts

going. And I believe because of he's

that he's allowing us to burn brighter because he's allowing

us to breathe. Whatever anxiety that you're

going through, you still are able to flourish through that

because the Holy Spirit is able to blow his wind.

I believe also he drives, he drives the fire forward.

When the Holy Spirit is moving, it's always in a trajectory.

That's why these winds the the forest burning when it happens,

the minute there's a strong wind, they're scared because it

moves forward. I believe we all need the wind

of the Holy Spirit in our fire so that we can move forward.

If you stop dreaming the God dreams.

If you've been lacking and seeing God, I'm, I'm just, I

feel so stuck. You open the news, what is the

new say Manny 90,00,000 for H1B visa and then suddenly every

what is the next thing? People are scared.

Monday, I don't know tomorrow I don't know what the stock market

is going to be like. And then you're like thinking,

have I got stocks in IT companies?

And if you're going down the trajectory, you will always be

anxious. But if you have the wind of God,

you'll realize God, this is something far bigger.

Help me see things more clearer. Greener pastures are where you

are, not what a country is. Greener pastures are not which I

need to go searching for. It's when I search your will and

plan I find it. It also says.

I was just reading up on the whole thing.

It says it also transports embers when there's wind which

blows and when it carries what happens, it carries burning

embers and sparks along the distance.

And I believe what is deposited in US will cause others to

spark. You won't know the impact and we

don't know, and we don't need to know the impact.

A lot of us are trying to have a good dashboard here on earth

where our dashboard is only in heaven.

The book of heaven is where God will have the report of what

we've done. Let's not try saying, oh, I LED

50 people to Christ. I did that.

Quietly do what God's calling you to do.

Quietly do it. What quietly do what God's

calling you to do? It also says it preheats fuels,

which means the wind can bend flames over the fuels,

preheating them before the main fire front arrives.

I believe God prepares the way before we even start.

You know, even as we were here in this, as I was driving back,

I was telling Tina, look how beautiful God is when his

children need to get baptized. He prepares the church for us.

We didn't have to strive. I didn't.

I just had to. All I had to do is get a get on

a call and tell pastor he said opened up, God prepared.

This is where he preheats. He goes before us and he does

something for us. So during the season of harvest,

it's cyclic. Not all of us are reaping at the

same time. Some of us in the midst of

sowing, some of us in the midst of waiting.

Some of us are in the midst of reaping.

But it's lifelong. It's seasonal.

I'm not going to be doing harvest only when I'm single.

No, I won't be doing till I'm old age, you know, till one of

us goes to be with the Lord and then I can go to be with the

Lord. That's what we we talk about

that a lot because if we don't talk about it, we won't move

towards living about it. Start believing what Gods

calling you to do today? Start believing.

And so, and the reason I want to ask you today is today is a fire

lacking the accelerant. Is our fire lacking the

accident? Are we having the wind of

disbelief rather than the wind which the Holy Spirit is?

Are we having the wind of despair even before something

good happens? We're just looking at the

negative side of it and we are blowing a different kind of

wind. Are we having the wind of just

not wanting to burn? But we've just kept certain

walls up so that to know wind comes in so that we'll be OK

with this. I just want to go, you know, to

I was just reading the story of a couple called Adrenalin and

Anne Judson who actually were missionaries to boot, Burma,

Myanmar. And this happened in the in

17/18/26 is when they all passed 1826 and 1850.

And this is what the story says. And at the age of 25, Adiniram

Judson was the first American missionary to Burma.

He and Anne married two weeks before they boarded a ship bound

for India before they eventually were able to make their way to

Burma. Judson would spend the next

nearly 40 years of his life living among the and witnessing

to the Burmese people until her death.

Anne was a friend of many and even more fluent in Burmese

language than her academically inclined husband.

Judson's efforts were slow going.

He was imprisoned and tortured, but he never gave up on his

God-given calling to reach Burma for Christ.

Before his death, Adinaram Judson had not only established

several churches in Burma, but he had also given Burma one of

the greatest gifts, the Bible in their own language.

The minute the fire starts burning in you, ask God.

God let the Holy Spirit blow the wind on it, blow the wind on it.

We're not here to it's not the reason I'm saying this is we can

be in a we can be in a place where God's called and the

impact is far beyond a lifetime, far beyond a lifetime.

Ask the accident, ask the Holy Spirit may the accident move or

yes. When the minute we say yes, he

does far beyond what we can think or imagine.

Every stage, the transformation that we're talking about is not

a one time transformation. It's a lifelong transformation

that happens. A lot of us are looking for that

one time transformation. That's what the world sells.

You go to the gym, which I've gone to many.

I keep telling you guys, they love me.

The coaches love me because they look at me as this immediate pet

project. They're like the minute I come

in, Sir, How are you, Sir? OK, first one month they'll

grill me, they'll make sure I do ask for that, that that sheet

they've given. Then after that, say, so you're

not reducing. Get this.

As a personal trainer, I'm like, I can't handle.

I just needed space. And then what happens eventually

because of that much pressure, I slowly start giving up.

This is in 18 years of marriage. You can ask Tina.

This has been a recurrent thing. Got married that time I was

working. And so when I was working, what

happened was our company had this policy that if you they had

tied up with fitness one, I know how many of you know that time

fitness one was there and that time the fitness one on Omar was

in Ascenders office and was close to our place.

And if I take a couple's package, it's half the fee.

So our Indian mind is OK, why take one?

We'll take half. So I take Tina and go.

And no one is bothered about Tina.

They're only bugging me. They're like, you know, and so

and it's so tempting because that time in Ascenders only KFC

was there next to us, next to fitness one was there.

It was so tempting, but then within a month, Caleb, we got

pregnant with Caleb and then that's it.

That went down. And because I had to give it to

her cravings and things like that, you know, you buy 1 rice

and then she doesn't finish and then we have to finish it.

You know, all that one thing after the other.

But the reason why I'm saying this is on Earth we can go about

transformation. A physical transformation can be

so short lived and you know how much effort it takes to

maintain. For all those of you who are in

a protein diet and doing all the different kinds of fast, you

know how hard it is. But I want to talk about the

spiritual transformation. The season of harvest is not a

one time. Oh, in 2025 we had a great

harvest. No got every season, every

season. We need a season of harvest

every season. Lot of us don't talk about the

season of harvest during Lent, probably because you're fasting

and things like, no, every time there has to be a testimony, a

word of God's goodness on our lives, faithfulness on our

lives. And so today, this

transformation, as we look, we're going to look into a

parable, which is the main part of the sermon.

But I wanted to bring to an attention that I would rather be

on God's side of the fire here on earth than to be eternally in

fire the minute I think about the fire, because quite a time,

a lot of time when the fire keeps coming, this parable, I

would rather be handled by God and fire here on earth than be

left to deal with fire eternally.

And so when we look into this passage today, I just want us to

see what is God moving us to do because there's something God is

wanting us to change in US internally.

A lot of us are in different stages that keep saying that in

each stage He wants us to do so. If you can turn with me from

Matthew chapter 13 verses 24 to 30.

Matthew 13:24–30

This is the parable and this is what it says.

And Jesus told them another parable.

The Kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his

field, but while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and

sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.

When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds

also appeared. The owner's servants came to him

and said, Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field?

Where then did the seeds come from?

An enemy did this, he replied. The servants asked him, Do you

want us to go and pull them up? No, he answered, because while

you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.

Let's both grow together until the harvest.

At that time I'll tell the harvesters, first collect the

weeds and tie them in bundles to be burnt.

Then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.

You know one of the things that we also see when Jesus goes on

to explain that in verses 36 to 43, He says, then he left the

crowd and mentored in the house. His disciples came to him and

said, explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.

He answered, the one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man,

because out of Jesus only goodness comes, and so he sows

good in our lives. The field is the world and the

good seed stands for the people of the Kingdom.

The weeds are the people of the evil 1 and the enemy who sows

them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the

age and the harvesters are angels.

As the weeds are pulled up and burnt in the fire, so it will be

at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his

angels and they will weed out the Kingdom, weed out his

Kingdom, everything that causes sin and all who do evil, they

will throw them into the blazing furnace where there will where

they'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of

their father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

You know, one of the things when we read this parable is it's

scary because we on this side of eternity, we'll have to deal

with the weed. A lot of us many a times are

trying to pray the weed out. How many of you have done that?

Lord remove this person out of my life.

Lord, remove this sickness out of my life.

Lord, remove this particular ailment out of the middle.

Lord, remove this particular patch on my skin.

Some of the things in this or you know even our our own

issues. I know how many of you I

sometimes feel out this angry issue which has been the

generation which I've seen. Lord, please can you remove from

me? But it all it matters to do the

minute I drive over here and I go and one guy cuts me off, the

unholy words that just come out of my mouth is like very bad.

I'm I, I'm so I'm feeling bad about my and that doesn't come

in English. It comes in Tamil.

So it's even more worse. And that's what I know I'm not

saved. This transformation that I'm

really struggling with is not is it's so difficult to be lived

out. I and I'm being honest here

because I can preach up a storm here, but I'm still struggling

as you are struggling, as you are struggling, you won't

believe it. This this week I was out of the

country and we were on a filming project.

And as we were there, we were in this we were, we had to do go

from a city to another, another city and it's a 5 hour journey.

And so we landed on Monday and we are going on this and this

driver, I know, I mean, I've not seen a driver like that.

And, you know, and we were seated in the back and I was

going with my friend David. And both of us was just like he

said, guess I don't think you can sleep.

I said, yeah, I definitely can't sleep.

And he was just going through it.

And then I thank the regional director not telling me because

as you're going, the highway is dark, it's empty.

And he's just driving crazy, going behind the truck, cutting

them left and right. And then he after he reached, I

asked him why is he driving like this?

He said no. Because you had expensive gear

in the car, the driver was scared that because there's a

lot of decoys on this road. So usually what happens is they

come with a car, they'll suddenly stop you bang, and then

they'll you'll end up having an argument and then someone from

the back will come and then all that can happen.

And so he was scared and that's why he was also driving like

that. But I was like, I understand the

decoys thing, but there were so many close calls.

But as we are in this journey, I'm just starting to realize

that transformation has to happen so much with them because

your worst fears start coming out at the unexpected times.

Things where you're supposed to speak life, you suddenly are

speaking death. You know, there are sometimes in

our own lives where Tina's telling something that this is

what she wants to believe in. And then my logical sense,

because being a spouse, I'm speaking death over what faith

is being spoken out of. It can happen to anyone.

And so as we are in this journey for transformation, some of

these weeds will have to live by.

And we have to be careful because when we read this, what

this weed is, the weed looks like the wheat plant.

It looks like the wheat husk, but inside it's, it's called,

it's called Darnell or a poisonous ryegrass weed.

And inside it looks black. The fruit of it is black.

So after distance, it look like, oh wow, there's a big harvest

there. But as you go close is when the

weed is seen what's inside. And so today as we meditate on

this, in fact, the Greek word for the weed is weed is, which

means fall sweet. So a lot of us can look like

we've got it right, we've got it going.

But what is actually happening inside is very important.

Are we really a loving? Because what happens when you

read it says it's the most toxic thing before the harvest, it

poisons, it causes lethargy, deep sleep, and even death.

That is what spiritually it can cause.

When we read it, when we read and understand it bears a close

resemblance to eat. It looks black inside.

And these are aspects of our life and we leave unchecked.

What the enemy is slowly telling us will suddenly start bringing

out that fruit. And so as we look into this

verse, it's clear that God is doing something in US.

God is the chief harvest. I would say He comes in, he sees

everything, He's allowed it. And that's what that's where

free will comes in. When you look at God of

creation, He created Eden, he gave, he put us there.

But when sin came, it's easy for God to take it out.

But then everything around seems orchestrated.

God allows us to go through certain things and so internally

can we align our hearts so that God can work through us in turn,

externally, what is aligned being said, will start showing

externally, will start showing externally through the fruit

that we bear. I believe the storehouses should

have all of us in it. Whatever is not making it to the

storehouse goes into fire. And even as we read, fire is

being used mostly when you look at all these agricultural lands

and farmers, when they talk, they use the minute there's an

infestation on their harvest, they use fire to kill

everything. They kill everything.

And so sometimes this fire that we feel will be like God's

wanting some things out of our lives to be deadened.

It's used to manage farm lands by removing weeds.

It's also sometimes used for improving the better, to get a

better yield of the land. Nutrients grow better.

In our men's Bible study, we've been going through this entire

series and he mentioned about the silversmith.

And ever since he mentioned about it, I've just been reading

upon it because I was really intrigued by that one statement

he mentioned, which I'll mention later.

But the heating process, the, the whole thing with fire, when

I was thinking and meditating on it, I was saying, God, I would

rather go through fire in your hands because there's something

beautiful come. And so the silversmith has a

whole bunch of processes through which it goes.

And you might think I'm switching between a farmer and a

silversmith. The reason being, if Jesus is

the chief harvester, he also knows how to handle the fire.

And so today, if my fire is lacking for for a lot of us in

this day and age, our fire is lacking because sin has overcome

us. We've given into the pleasures

of the world. We've given into alcohol, into

probably being unfaithful with our spouse.

Or we are probably just thinking of work Oregon.

We're just thinking, you know what, let me just get by this.

Or we're not taking responsibility.

That's on self. Or probably it could be a

marriage or it could be the the things around us with our work

life or in places for us with community, our church life.

God is wanting a fire to burn the same everywhere, everywhere.

He wants us to be whole. That's what being whole looks

like. If I come here and preach and I

mistreat my wife, what I'm preaching is hollow.

If I, who can talk to my wife Phil, but I run my kids down and

I'm, you know, not being a good parent, I am again being hollow.

If I'm good in all of this, but don't know how to handle my

house order, if I'm in debt and if I'm not handling finance in

this country, that's definitely a hollow site.

And so God wants to walk through the fire that he puts us through

to remove certain things. How many of you really want

things to change from your generation onwards?

We can't change about. Let's come to that term because

that was at one point I remember talking to my parents about

something, but they just sound probably are just anxious and

they just brushed it off and then I didn't know what to say

after that. So I so then I got why are you

going to them? Come to me.

It starts with you. It starts with you, what you can

do. And so they've lived their life

and I can't change. So a lot of us are trying to go

and rewrite our past or take identity from the past.

If you look at many people I'm talking to, they talk about

their past so strong, they feel like because they have language

about their past, that's your identity now.

No, your identity starts right where here you are because God

can rewrite that. That doesn't have to be your

identity. And so today when we give our

hands to the person who can handle the fire, well, he wants

to do great things. So the first thing he does is

anyone who actually has gone to a Goldsmith or a silversmith

will realize they take the entire ornament or the gold bar

and they put it into a vessel and they heat it up fully.

So the first thing is we are heated by a masters Craftsman.

What happens when we allow him to heat?

He just doesn't have a candle lighting.

No, he's heating. He's putting it in all high

flame and heating us up so that we really melt.

And I believe this is where a hardened heart, when we come to

the Saviour starts melting. How many of you experienced

that? I really experienced that hard

things. I, I'll tell Tina, you know,

this is what I've decided. This is what I'll do.

Then two days later she'll ask whatever you decide.

I said no, I just read the word and then things changed.

The minute you bring God into the mix, things change.

God can't operate with hardened hearts.

And so today, if there are hardened areas in your life,

allow God to come, he can set things.

It might look like fire, it'll look like self condom.

You're you're you're talking to yourself.

God is like walking to you directly and saying this is what

you need to change. It's not a day problem.

It's a you problem. It's confronting because the

fingers not pointed at anyone, but right at you.

So I pray that we will allow ourselves to be heated by the

master Craftsman because this is where change starts.

So today when we hand over ourselves to God and say God,

I'm willing to be heated, what happens myself gets heated.

Every pride, every identity that I have gets melted down

suddenly, even my marriage. All this while I just thought of

my own interests. But then when I've allowed

myself to the master Craftsman, he we start having

conversations. What are we called to do?

What should we do for his Kingdom?

What should we do for the family?

Suddenly, because we both have done this, now we're I'm

allowing him into my parenting. Also.

There have been seasons in my life where I've just been like a

bulldozer just going with parenting.

And Tina said no, that's not the way She'll talk about it.

The next day I visibly will remember God leading me to

passages where he'll confront me to change the way I parent.

If you're struggling, go back to your master Craftsman.

He can change you. He can change you because the

it's not you're not operating out of here, but you're

operating out of the fact that God you want to give wholeness

into the next generation. For those of you who are

struggling with your parents, take that heart and heart and

allow the master Craftsman to work in.

And for those who are struggling with work life, you feel like

you're striving. You feel like you're trying to

catch up to your supervisor, to your superior, just so that you

don't get blacklisted, you don't get laid off.

Bring it back. If you, you feel like you're

living one life Monday to Friday and another life Saturday and

Sunday, tell God, God, I want to live the same life across the

entire week. I want to ask also for those of

you who've who've who've had the past of church life being hard,

take that hardened thing and allow it to the master

Craftsman. Let him mould you.

Let him breathe his accident on you.

You'll start realizing the body is far bigger.

The bride that he's wanting to come is far bigger, far whiter

than he ever possibly thought. Let God one or two instances

think that this is what churches all around lot of the pastor

friends are in the when you see who I'm following are putting

post after post saying church members don't please come to

church just because your pastor did not address about Charlie

Kirk and his death and all that. It doesn't stop there.

It doesn't stop there. We have to be there.

Things will come, things will happen, but that can't deter us

from being who God has called me to be.

Israel left Egypt. They knew they were going to the

promised land, but they didn't know that they'll have to go

through so many hardships. The minute we are saved, we are

confirmed that our book is in the eternal life, but we don't

know that we'll go through a lot of struggles.

And I believe that journey is very important for us to realize

that. In that journey, what are we

starting to grumble about? Because when you look in One

Corinthians chapter 810 verses 8 to 12, there are a couple of

things that Paul tells the Corinthian church that

Israelites started doing the minute they went out of Egypt.

First one, they were testing God, so idolatry came in other

gods. There was sexual immorality

versus 8 onwards says neither should we commit sexual

immorality as some of them did, which caused the death of 23,000

on a single day. Nor should we provoke the Lord

as some of them did by putting him to outrageous tests that

resulted in the death from snake bites day after day.

And we must not embrace their ways by complaining, grumbling

with discontent as many of them did and were killed by the

destroyer. All the tests were they endured

on their way through the wilderness are a symbolic

picture, an example that provides us with a warning so

that we can learn through what they experienced.

For we live in a time when the purpose of all the ages past is

now completing its goal within us.

So beware if you think it could never happen to you, lest your

pride becomes your downfall. There's this interesting line

that says over there, which I think I'm starting to see

patterns happening in our time. All the tests they endured on

their way through the wilderness are a symbolic picture, an

example that provides us with a warning so that we can learn

through what they experienced. Church is a place where people

will tell what they've experienced, what they've gone

through. Receive it when someone is

talking to you, don't think you can figure it out on your own

because some of these experiences I would rather learn

from someone who's already been on that journey that me

experience sitting because my pride was far too out there.

And so when I'm talking about this heating thing, a lot of

time, what God does in all of these situations that I

explained is pride. A pride is the one that gets hit

because there's so much in us that we think we can make it

right. Where I can get the best deal, I

can figure it out. I know contacts, I know this.

I know I think I can God. That's why God's saying no.

Let's see. Let me put you through the fire.

Let me see what you're really made-up of.

And I pray that we will change. We'll allow God to transform us.

And mind you, this happens across stages.

This happens across stages. It doesn't happen only to the

one who is between the baby face of Christian.

No, it also happens to the one who's walked the Christian life

for 30-40 years. They also go through this

because sometimes the obedience that we have towards Christ can

become the prideful thing that we have in front of God.

We start looking down on others, we start looking down on others

we start looking down on. And this is where God, we have

to constantly take it back. Oh, that person doesn't look

like he reads the Bible for that person.

Oh, I don't think they don't come for prayer.

So I don't think they have a prayer life.

God deals with our spiritual pride first.

Anything that's internal. The very fact is it's all built

on pride. So God takes that and is wanting

to deal with that first. The second thing that he does in

in terms of this process is they, it's called dross removal.

The minute you start burning anything impure because India we

have gold that we also have covering whom you have bought

covering. My wife and me are getting

married said she wanted she didn't want gold to this one.

So she said she got covering. But the only problem with

covering is after you wear it for 8 hours straight, it'll

cause it'll cause skin irritation and itching.

And so I remember all the thing that she had after a point, she

wear it for a wedding and then there'll be a lot of red patches

over here because she would have endured the fakeness of that

ornament that she was wearing and many a times the real gold.

Also, there's a lot of impurities within.

And so when the burning happens, this draws comes up.

How many of you felt felt. Sometimes when God is actually

putting you through the ringer, he's dealing with one area of

your life specifically. How many of you felt that?

Yeah, we can cover it up and say pride, but then suddenly you'll

say no, this is a weird expectation that you have.

This is not a God expectation. This is a you expectation.

Why are you having this expectation of this person?

So that you can control them. Oh God, I thought I was not

controlling. No, but that's what's happening

internally. God starts revealing the deepest

motives of your heart. He starts and these are areas

which which only you can personally do with God.

This can't be done in open heavens because we'll start

comparing. This is what happens between a

Monday to a Saturday, Monday to a Saturday where he's starting

to work in and through you, Gheshum.

Why is that white life so important for you?

Can't you tell the truth, Gheshum?

Can't you be consistent in this area?

Why are you demanding so much of this person?

Why are you fudging that one thing which no one sees?

He starts working that in those small nitpick areas that that

selfishness that we start introducing it in different

themes of our lives. You know, many times as a

husband and a father, we have so many ways of drawing our

selfishness. We, we demand it in different

ways. I don't know about you, but

sometimes when I tell my kids to do certain things, I'll make it

like you have to do this for me, you know, and I sometimes God

has to no guess room. You're just lazy.

You need to get up and do it. And so there are so many things

now I just have decided to get up and do it because there'll be

a time when they leave the house.

That time I only have to get up and do it.

So I might as well learn to do that now.

But motives really matter. Motives, Dr. our actions.

So I pray that this draws removal that God's wanting to

do. God does it.

God does it and we willingly give ourselves draws is removed

from us. When we are heated, it rises to

the surface so that God can remove it.

But if you don't allow it, that starts reacting and we start

spilling that around with many others.

What is being exposed happens because you're allowing God to

bring it out. And I pray that this will only

happen. This happens only when we open

God's Word. I know, but I'm not come to a

place of spirituality where God just speaks to me and I have a

very clear mind to understand what He's immediately speaking.

I'm not come to that kind of a spiritual level yet.

So for me, every time when I open God's Word is when He's

showing me my flaws. So I pray today that as he, as

we open God's word, because the word of God says that it

penetrates bone and marrow. When we read Hebrews 412, it

says for the word of God is alive and active, sharper than

any double edged sword. It penetrates even to the

dividing soul and spirit joins and marrow.

It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

So I pray that as we move in the space of allowing the master

Craftsman to handle the fire in our lives, that he will remove

the dross out. He will remove the dross out.

For those of us who've been used to using people, you know, we'll

give them food and then we'll control them, or we'll do this

one favour for them and then we'll control them.

God, that's all dross. That's all things that God wants

to take out. Do it out of the love that you

have for God, not for people. Have it forgot.

It overflows onto people. Let's not get equations mixed.

The third thing we see is when the dross is being reported

observation by the master Craftsman, the the the

silversmith of Goldsmith. They're carefully observing that

thing and what a comforting thing to know that in this

process God is going to observe us.

We lot of times think God's not seeing us.

How many of you have that narrative in your head?

How many middle children here in the house today?

All the middle children will feel they're not seen.

How many of you had that fight? You're not I'm here, but you're

not. I don't even feel seen.

I feel ignored. But a lot of times our narrative

of God is also that that God does not see me.

But when we are in committed to something like this, when we

give ourselves to God, when he's removing us, he's carefully

watching us because he's wanting us to not crumble and break.

His entire end objective is so that we flourish in his hand.

He's kind, a God is kind. He's a God who never sleeps.

He hold us. He holds us at the palm of his

hand. Psalm 121 versus 2 to 4.

It says, my help comes from the Lord, the Maker of the heaven,

heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip.

He who watches over you will not slumber.

Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor

sleep. And all the heavy sleepers in

the house said, Amen, you know, so we've got this new foster dog

home and this dog cries in the night.

And I remember the first day the dog came home, I know why she

was crying. But then Tina told me, Geshom,

the dog is crying, you need to get up.

I said, no, I'm not getting up. I just turned around and I

slept. I said I can't be bothered and I

remember her going. And then the emotional one in

our family, Calvin from Top came all the way down.

Both were sitting over there and spending time with the dog AT2O

clock in the night. And so the the the more I think

about it, we all have a time frame when we're really alert.

But imagine that God never sleeps and he's working.

How many of you sometimes sleep on certain things and wake up

with such clarity? I believe sometimes when you're

saying God, this is really disturbing me, working me.

Lord, he gives you clarity when you wake up.

Amen. So I think your best, the

problem is not to sleep it through the problem, but just to

ask committed to God so God can speak to you because I believe

in this. God really wants us to change

for the good. Leighton Ford says this.

He says God loves us the way we are, but too much to leave us

that way. And I pray that we'll, we'll,

we'll give ourselves, we'll, we'll be on that path.

We'll be committed to that journey we'll take.

We'll stay the course. We won't tap out.

You know, one of the beautiful things is when, when you read

Genesis 1, it says the Spirit of God is hovering over the earth.

There was chaos and God brought things into existence.

Just imagine the very fact that God's hovering over us right

now. The Spirit of God, the accident

is hovering and he can turn any chaos into something beautiful.

Any chaos, any chaos in our mind, any chaos in our heart,

any chaos in our body, any chaos spiritually, He can turn it

around. Any worry that you have of the

future, any worry that you're having of God.

I don't know what my children will do from now on.

God saying I can change it. Would you commit it to me?

Don't let anyone, anyone else any teaching Today I have to

also add podcasts because a lot of whether we like it or not, if

you listen to 10 different podcasts, automatically the

recommendations come. Don't let that hover around you.

Let the Holy Spirit whole just so that he can guide you.

His silent observing is a clear indicator that he's working.

His observation will be in silence many a times, but that

doesn't deny the fact that he's not working.

He is working. Some of the things that we are

starting to see in our lives, some of the things that we

prayed for, we failed to acknowledge and celebrate God.

You've answered. So a couple of the things that

we've been praying for in the last 3-4 years, we are starting

to see things happen, starting to see things happen, starting

to some of the calls estate, You know, I was sitting on a call

and she got on the call thinking it's going to be something.

But at the end we just saw it's an answer prayer for something

else. And so today you will be

surprised that God has an eye for detail.

It's just that we miss the detail entirely because we are

concentrated on a beautiful curated picture that we want to

see. God is involved in the detail

and that happens because he's looking at it, observing it

carefully. The fourth thing that we see

that happens is when this beautiful Craftsman is working.

Is it till it gets ready? You know the, the, the line that

that person said is the silversmith.

He met a silversmith and he was talking.

He said how does he know when the silver is released, when he

can see his own reflection on the silver?

And the problem with the statement of the reflection of

the master Craftsman is the fourth point.

The process we really get is many a times you're trying to,

we know God shining his light, but we want our reflection to be

there. We want, if you wanted to

showcase us. So a lot of times the struggle,

many times when I've sensed this is a struggle is God all this,

I'm doing it for your glory, but where will my glory come?

God? And then suddenly instead of

reflecting, I'm trying to hold my own signpost.

This is geshum. This is what geshum does.

And so God's asking today, what am I boasting about?

Because when we are boasting about something, God cannot be

reflected. God cannot be reflected.

So it's comes down to the fact that boasting many a times,

which I'm trying to do, is revolving around my identity.

My identity issues. No God, if I'm reflecting you,

nothing is small in front of you.

Everything is something which I can participate in.

The silver is considered pure and ready for the next stage

when it's surface becomes smooth enough to form a clear unbroken

reflection of the silversmiths face.

And I pray that God will take us to that place.

Just just imagine if my identity is 1 which reflects Christ.

If my marriage is one that reflects Christ, if my parenting

is one that reflects, if my work is like that, just imagine how

whole we'll be. But many a times you as it.

As we did earlier in the parable.

We are so concerned about the weeds that are around us that

He's planned. God will help us overcome all

that when we yield ourselves because those all will go so

many a times. Allow God to give you the

strength it's in the struggle here to give you the strength my

boasting can be only of the Lord.

And so today that's what when someone came and asked why don't

you share about this particular thing.

I said this is too early because I believe these are areas which

I really feel I'm ongoing struggling, not struggling in

I'm I'm I'm I'm ongoing allowing God to work in me.

We were sitting in a conversation with a couple of

friends and I just realized the journey that God's taken us in

this last seven years has can be a sort of pride that I look down

on others on their journey. And then God reminded me of

this, that I'm not reflecting him.

I'm reflecting my methods, my ways, my ways of doing it.

And God had to tell, no, you're not boasting about me.

This is just boasting about you. And I had to repent over there.

And so so as we work on this, let's allow God one Corinthians

one verse 2631 says, brothers and sisters, think of what you

were when you were called. Not many, not many of you are

wise by human standards. Not many were influential.

Not many were noble birth. But God chose the foolish things

of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the

world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of

the world and the despised things and the things that are

not to nullify the things that are so that no one can boast, so

that no one may boast before him.

It is because of him that you are in Christ.

Jesus was become for His wisdom from God.

That is our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

Therefore, as it is written, let the one who boasts in the let

the one who boasts boast in the Lord.

The harvest is the Lords, as we did.

Everything is of the Lord. Maybe not make it about

ourselves. The last part of this is where

God, the master Craftsman pours it and shapes it into a

beautiful ornate piece which we are reflecting Him.

And I believe that as He's pouring us out and shaping us,

each of us are called for a unique purpose here on this

earth in this entire journey. Each of us are called for that

unique as He pours and shapes. May my identity be so clear so

that I'll start witnessing to others.

When my identity is clear, I start telling others, hey, this

this part of your life, give it to God.

God can set it right because He's done it for you.

For me, when he pose and shapes my marriage, what happens?

Suddenly I'm able to start seeing and helping others.

Hey, for both of us, this, this is how God shaped our marriage.

This was the area of struggle. This was the area of deep

dependence in your God pose and shapes my work.

For all those who are freelancers here, I will tell

you this is how God shaped us. You know, in fact, this work

project that we went last week six months back for, for my

other contractor who I really who I work with often, we had

applied for a business visa for him.

We got the business visa and then the client got back a week

before the travel and said we don't want him, just want you to

come. And I was deeply, I was teased

off one thing, one, because the whole process went through and

then they said no need. But then I was also like, God, I

thought this could be something where I could have another

person come and then slowly I can phase out and then we can

build a team around this. Why did it not happen?

And then the other worst part is the minute you get a business

visa and the visa is just valid for six months, if you don't, if

it's not, if you don't make an entry in, then next time they

may not issue a visa for you. And so all these thoughts were

coming. And then out of the blue, two

weeks back, another project call came and they said, hey, we just

need you to come here. By any chance do you happen to

have a visa? And I said, yeah, we both have

business visas, one year entry, we can go in.

Little did we know that we couldn't have been planned this

particular project that came two weeks back.

And so even as I was taking him on that thing and as we were in

that card journey, as you were telling, I was telling him

David, I don't know how God made this possible.

And right when if it if he and and he told me Geshram, I don't.

I think it's God's timing because the time when we had to

do it that time, we have just finished to 10 days of

Philippine project. We would have to go to another

country and then come back and do another project in Chennai.

It has been three weeks straight.

Should have been very tough and so as I was thinking I realized

his plans are different. So what happens is when I allow

God to pour and shape even my work.

He gives me rest even when there's a project that's not

there, he gives me rest to realize God you're in control

when he allows and pause and shapes me.

Church life looks different. Suddenly I'm starting to see

things ripple effect happen here.

Suddenly even the community looks different, everything gets

shaped, nothing is left out and that's what transformation look

like as we come to the near and when we can see him face to

face. This is where you will say,

Lord, we are being made in the image of you.

Original design doesn't happen by accident.

You don't just suddenly go back to original design.

Original design goes back only when you go back to the original

creator and you're with him. He tests, he runs test case

after test case to see how you're reacting.

He'll test you out fully to know are you really because we have a

free will. We can deny him every time.

We can do whatever we think. And that's what God's walks in

through us and that's where we see he wants to shape us today.

So I pray that we today, the promised Holy Spirit will be

their accident in our lives because as I want to conclude, I

want to conclude from this passage from Song of Songs

versus 8 chapter 8 versus 5 to 7, because there is something

about burning bright for Jesus with our flames.

Today. You and I are in this world.

We might be a minority here, but we are serving a King who is the

creator of everything who does in according to his vision.

There's no majority or minority According to him.

It's all who is created, those who obey and hear His voice,

those who hear His voice and don't obey.

And I pray that as we read this, this is where the bridegroom is

talking and talks about Jesus, in fact, more or less coming for

His bride. And this is what it says.

Who is the one? She arises out of a desert,

clinging to a beloved. When I awakened you under the

apple tree as you were feasting upon me, I awakened your

innermost being with the travail of birth.

As you longed for, as you longed for more of me.

Fasten me upon your heart as a seal of fire.

Forevermore this living consuming flame will will seal

you as my prisoner of love. My passion is stronger than the

chains of death and the grave all consuming as the very

flashes of fire from the burning heart of God place this fierce

under renting fire over your entire being.

Rivers of pain and persecution will never extinguish this

flame. Endless floods will be unable to

quench this raging fire that burns within you.

Everything will be consumed. It will stop at nothing as you

yield everything to this furious fire until it won't even seem to

you like a sacrifice anymore. And I pray today that as we

yield ourselves, God's asking us, will we do it out of that

love that we have for him? It won't be like sacrifice.

Oh God, I'm giving you just 10 minutes of my time here for no

God. I want this to be my everything,

everything. And I mean, as I started today,

I really want us to be sealed by fire just so that Satan in no

way will have any room to create hollowness in our hearts, to

create a vacuum in our hearts that's filled with contempt,

deceit, malice, jealousy, selfishness.

But rather, it will be sealed closed so that God can do his

work. And in turn, it'll come out of

an overflow of what he's done. I just want us to take some time

to, to prayerfully consider and ask God, what area of my life

have I withheld myself from you? Is it the stage where because of

my pride, I've not given of myself to your hands?

You can say, God, I'm ready to be heated by you, heated by you.

Holy Spirit, I pray right now, Lord, that you would just move

amongst us as the wind. I pray that Lord, all you need

is that spark. And I pray we would return to

that first love, the love that we have for you.

Lord Jesus, move right now. Lord, move right now.

Let the flame burn brighter. I pray, Lord, for those who've

struggled dreaming, for those who've struggled to have hope,

those who've struggled to see a future, those who've struggled

to see beyond the next day. I pray right now, Lord Jesus,

would you as the accident Holy Spirit, breathe upon them.

Lord Jesus, your wind blew upon them.

I pray Lord, for those who think, Lord, this is hard work,

that they would realize that you're doing all the hard work.

You're just wanting us to be present.

Lord, I pray that we'll be present so that you can do your

work. We'll be present so you can do

your thing in and through our lives.

Lord Jesus, be glorified, Lord, be glorified, be glorified.

Lord, I pray Lord, for those of us who are struggling to let go

of those dross like elements in our lives because we've used it

as a protective layer. I pray, Lord, we ask that you

would take it. You would take it, Lord Jesus,

our ideas, our ideologies, our comebacks, our walls that we've

built to insulate ourselves, Lord, you can move through

everything, Lord Jesus, move through everything, Lord.

I pray, Lord, if our identity is attached to everything that

we've done so far, Lord Jesus, and we've been boasting about

it, we're sorry, Lord. We thank you, Lord, that you

modelled what it is, Lord Jesus, to say those words.

Lord, in Gethsemane you said, Lord Jesus, let not our will,

but your will be done, Lord, as obediently you gave yourself to

the Father, Lord Jesus, to the will of the Father.

We give ourselves obediently to you, Lord Jesus, because we have

a deep love for all that you're doing in and through US, Lord.

Thank you, Jesus, would you work in US?

Would you work in US? Lord?

Strengthen us. Lord Jesus, in your most holy

name we pray. Amen.

Amen. Amen.

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