On last night Pastor Mixon spoke about purpose and when certain things transpire in life how God is in the mix. He spoke about people walking out on us and when we're rejected how these are mechanisms that strip us of our identities. This is God setting us apart. Being saved is an act of separation in itself.
He also spoke of the scripture in Luke where Jesus tells Peter about the Devil wanting to sift him as wheat but He would be praying that his faith doesn't fail him.
I have heard this scripture many of times. I even have heard preachers preach about the sifter you use in making a cake and how the lumps of the flour are broken down. However, on last night I felt the need to go home and study the act of wheat sifting.
Why would He reference wheat sifting and the failing of faith together? Was there a correlation?
Sifting wheat is a process......a diabolical method. Sifting occurs to separate the usable from the unusable. Before sifting, wheat has to already be separated. I,e. - God would not even considered us being sifted prior to our salvation. Sinners aren't tested. Only believers. Think about it - - testing only occurs before a qualification process. Before sifting, a farmer looks at the ones with the fewest chaff. Chaff is the dry, scaly casings that cover the grain. It is not edible by humans. I would say that the chaff represents our flesh. Our dry and scaly flesh is no good to God.
Nonetheless, the two processes of wheat sifting that locked my attention were: winnowing and threshing.
1. Winnowing - the act of removing weevils and pests. The old fashion way of doing this was to throw the wheat into the air and the lighter chaff would be blown off, leaving the heavy grains to fall to the threshing floor.I would consider this our praise. Praise proceeds worship. Praise confuses the enemy. Imagine going through and still blessing God, still ifting up your hands - Weights are lifted. Once the weights are lifted, we are released to move. When we are weighted in our flesh, we often are stuck in a stand still. A car in neutral doesn't gain any ground. I could go on and on here but you get my drift.
2. Threshing - the act of separating grain from straw. The old fashion way of doing this would be to spread wheat onto a floor made of stone and beat it with a flail. I would consider this to be our worship. Only after I have praised him can I truly worship Him. I found it funny that a threshing has to be made of stone. Old people used to sing a song about on Christ the solid rock I stand. When I am grounded on Him, it is easy to go through. I can take anything because through Him I am already a conqueror. He actually said that I was MORE than a conqueror.
Also, note that in wheat sifting there are different types of processes according to the expected results. Sometimes wheat is used for rice or cereal or oatmeal. Furthermore, your story may not be as good or bad as the next person, but you don't know what their expected end is. That's why it's important that we keep hope for our OWN expected in.
In closing, the Devil may intended the sifting for our bad. He thought he was going to destroy you, but God allowed (notice the Devil had to ask to sift you in the first place) the sifting in order for YOUR purpose to be fulfilled.
Until next time,
Lady M
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