“ True Believers Like Wheat ” and “ The Wicked Like Chaff ” “John answered them all, ‘I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am 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 chaff with unquenchable fire’” (Luke 3:16–17). Let us meditate on this passage and receive its spiritual lessons: (1) When the people, who had long awaited the coming of the Messiah, began to wonder in their hearts whether John the Baptist might be the Messiah (Luke 3:15, Modern Translation ), John testified clearly that he was not the Messiah, but that the One coming after him was. (a) John 1:8 says: “He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light” ( Modern Translation : “He was not the light himself but came only to bear witness to the light”). (i) The purp...
3 C’s of Leaders (1) The first “C” is Conviction. If we do the Lord's work without conviction, one day we will have to lean left or right. Especially in the work that the leader wants to do, if he doesn’t have conviction in the words of the Holy Spirit, those who follow him cannot help but be anxious. Therefore, the leader must first be sure whether it is the will of the Lord or not. (2) The second “C” is Confidence. The leader who has conviction that it is the Lords’ will has confidence. Therefore, he is confident that what he is doing is what the Lord wants him to do. So he doesn’t get discouraged, shaken, and confused by what anyone says. The basis for this confidence is the assurance given by the Holy Spirit. We have confidence because we believe that it is the Lord’s will, and we are confident that the Lord will faithfully accomplish it through us. (3)...