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Hi and welcome to the Via Zion 
Sermon podcast. 

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We are a local church based here
in Chennai, India. 

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We are so glad you are with us 
and hope that this will 

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encourage, inspire and instill 
fresh faith in you. 

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As Spring sets in, we believe 
that God is leading His people 

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into a time of harvest and 
fulfilled promises. 

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Since a harvest involves reaping
what was sown in previous 

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seasons, it implies that even 
the harmful weeds that have 

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sprung up need to be harvested 
and disposed of. 

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When we do that, we can 
genuinely thrive and be a 

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blessing to others. 
As you listen in, will you look 

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deeper at yourself and ask God 
to reveal what things need to be

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uprooted and removed from your 
life? 

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Hi, church. 
It's my joy to bring the word of

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God to you today, even as we 
celebrated Resurrection Sunday 

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last week. 
I don't know about you, but I 

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was so expectant. 
Because the resurrection means 

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everything to us. 
It is the hinge on which all of 

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our beliefs lie. 
And ever since then I've been 

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having the sense that spring is 
really here. 

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You know spring world over is 
very pivotal. 

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It's very real in Chennai. 
We it's almost like summer has 

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started. 
But when you look at what spring

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really is about, spring is about
new life springing up across the

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earth. 
It's about the spring rains, 

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it's about the spring harvest. 
A lot of the plants in India, a 

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lot of the crops in India are 
being harvested at this very 

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time as we speak. 
And I believe that as much as 

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spring is here, I believe that 
God is bringing about a great 

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harvest in this season and we 
need to be very expectant for 

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that. 
And what does this harvest look 

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like? 
It looks like the harvest of 

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souls. 
It looks like a lot of the seeds

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that we have sown in previous 
seasons are going to be brought 

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to fruition in this season. 
It's going to be growing. 

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There's going to be a lot of 
increase. 

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There's going to be a lot of 
blessing. 

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But it it begs us to look closer
at what this harvest will look 

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like in each of our lives. 
And so that's what we're going 

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to be looking at today. 
We're going to be looking at 

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what this harvesting will look 
like in each of our lives. 

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This past week, one of our 
intercessors sent me a word for 

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the month of April, and it was 
from the book of Leviticus, from

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the chapter 26. 
And while I have claimed that 

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for myself, as I was reading the
rest of the chapter, I this one 

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was really got highlighted to me
and I want to share today from 

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that verse Leviticus, chapter 
26, verses 3 to 5. 

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This is what it says. 
If you follow my decrees and are

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careful to obey my commands, I 
will send you rain and its 

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season and the ground will yield
its crops and the trees their 

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fruit. 
Your threshing will continue 

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until grape harvest, and the 
grape harvest will continue 

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until planting, and you will eat
all the food you want and live 

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in safety in your land. 
It's so interesting that all of 

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us want safety. 
All of us want to have all that 

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we need, but so often we forget 
the first parts, which is follow

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my decrease, be careful to obey 
my commands, which is you know 

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what God speaks to us, what God 
is speaking to us through His 

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word. 
So often we remove that, and yet

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we're expecting and waiting for 
all the perks of following Him. 

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And today God is calling us into
this beautiful place of 

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obedience and submission so that
He can bless us so that He can 

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increase the harvest of our 
righteousness. 

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And it looks, if you look here, 
it says your threshing will 

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continue until grape harvest, 
and the grape harvest will 

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continue until pruning, meaning 
there will be continually a 

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blessing that is poured into our
lives spiritually and in every 

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other way that we are looking 
for. 

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But this requires a very huge 
intention on our part. 

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We need to be very intentional 
about pursuing God, hearing God,

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obeying God, in order for this 
harvest to happen. 

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Now, I have to ask you this. 
When a harvest happens, if you 

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have even watched a documentary 
or you watch farmers work when 

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they're harvesting, the first 
thing they're looking for is 

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they look for the weeds. 
They look for the things that 

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could choke out the good 
harvest, and then they pluck 

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that out. 
We have a gardener who comes 

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once a month just to check on 
the plants that I so-called 

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maintain. 
And the first thing he does is 

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he comes to our We have a small 
little patch of lawn. 

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He first sits on the lawn and 
with an implement, he looks for 

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all the weeds. 
He goes at it from the root, 

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pulls the weeds out, and then he
tends to the healthy grass. 

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And I believe that God is 
calling us to look at ourselves 

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first before we look at the 
harvest before, because the 

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harvest is his concern. 
It's what he does. 

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But there is another part of 
this, which is where God 

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examines our lives for those 
weeds, and He wants us to 

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address it. 
He wants us to give him 

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permission to uproot those weeds
before they take over our lives,

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so that the harvest is truly 
full, so that the harvest is 

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truly plentiful, and so that it 
is. 

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It is all that God wants out of 
our lives. 

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I love this verse from Isaiah 5,
verse seven. 

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That's going to be the crux of 
what we're going to be looking 

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at. 
It says the nation of Israel is 

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the vineyard of the Lord of 
Heaven's armies, the people of 

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Judah, His pleasant garden. 
He expected a crop of justice, 

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but instead he found oppression.
He expected to find 

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righteousness, but instead he 
heard cries of violence. 

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Today I would ask that you would
picture your life to be a garden

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if your life, every aspect of 
it, was a large garden that that

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God the Father himself, is 
tending to very personally. 

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And I want us to look closer at 
what this garden actually holds.

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This garden ideally should have 
flowering trees. 

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It should have huge shrubs, it 
should have those medicinal 

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herbs. 
It should have all of those 

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things that are useful for our 
lives. 

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But very often these gardens of 
our life have weeds that have 

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somehow crept in and are now 
taking over large space and 

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large tracts of our land. 
And God is calling us to a place

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of looking closer at these weeds
and saying, hey, I want to help 

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you, I'm the master gardener. 
I want to help you. 

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This past week, the reason I 
even came to this place of 

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studying the scriptures was on 
Monday morning when I opened the

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newspaper. 
I made a habit of opening the 

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newspaper every morning. 
I spent about 20 minutes just 

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going through the news. 
Some of it is very depressing, 

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some of it is very enlightening.
Overall, it's a great place to 

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actually, you know, poised and 
be ready to pray for certain 

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things because the newspapers 
full of potential prayer needs. 

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So that's what I was doing. 
I was just going through and 

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this one picture really stood 
out to me and it's probably 

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going to come up on the screen 
right now. 

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This plant, it's called Senna 
Spectablis. 

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It's actually a flowering tree 
and you would have seen it all 

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around your city. 
If you're in India, you would 

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have seen it down, you know, 
tree lined streets. 

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There's a big tree with a thick 
tree trunk and it's got lovely 

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yellow blossoms and it provides 
incredible shade to any street 

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right now. 
This Monday, when I was reading 

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the newspaper, the news article 
was that this tree is now listed

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as an invasive alien tree. 
Reason being in the 80s, it was 

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planted in plantations in parts 
of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and 

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Kerala borders. 
And it was planted just to 

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shade, to provide shade to the 
coffee plantations and, you 

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know, to to line streets and to 
help out in these forested 

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areas. 
What happened was in the 80s, 

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what was planted as a shade tree
today has literally taken over 

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the entire landscape. 
So what has happened is the 

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Mudumalai Forest Reserve and 
other reserves in that area have

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been overrun by this plant to 
the extent where the ecology has

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literally become imbalanced. 
So what has happened is this 

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tree has taken up the entire 
canopy. 

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It's preventing sunlight from 
reaching the floor. 

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Grasses and shrubs that need to 
grow there for the deer and 

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other hobby was to thrive is 
missing this tree on its own. 

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The bark, its leaves, they don't
taste good. 

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It's not friendly, not inviting 
to other animals. 

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And what is happening is it has 
spread prolifically because its 

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roots are so far reaching, its 
seeds are so powerful that it 

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moves from place to place, and 
it has started infiltrating 

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healthy tracts of land. 
And what they've done now, this 

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end of December 2023 and the 
beginning of 2024, what they 

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have done is they've had to 
actually uproot tons of this 

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tree. 
They've actually cleared 21,000 

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tons of this particular tree and
they've reclaimed 493 hectares 

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of land. 
And what ecologists are saying 

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is they're finding that nearly 
now, after, you know, they 

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cleared everything, nearly 15 
species of grass and five 

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species of legumes are now 
growing in those cleared traps 

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of land which were unable to 
grow all of this time because 

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these guys had just overrun the 
place. 

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Interestingly, also they found a
new wild rice variety which is 

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starting to grow in those 
spaces. 

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Ecologists are so excited, they 
say the forests are coming alive

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again, all because this one tree
became like a weed and overtook 

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the entire land. 
It invaded, It decimated land, 

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It made it unusable. 
It required harsh clearing of 

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the land. 
It required a harsh uprooting. 

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I was looking at pictures online
of these, of some of the work 

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that's been happening with this 
weed. 

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Someone actually showed a 40 
foot long root of this tree. 

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No wonder they were so well 
planted. 

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No wonder they were able to 
spread so prolifically. 

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They were well and firmly rooted
in those spaces. 

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And today, I believe God is 
asking us to look at the Cena 

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Spectablis and ask which plants 
have you allowed into the garden

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of your lives, which has overrun
your heart, overrun your life, 

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which is literally taking up so 
much room that I don't have room

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to grow the things I want to 
grow in your life. 

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If you don't believe me, if you 
don't believe the importance of 

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the weeds in our life, I want to
just read a parable that Jesus 

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said to his disciples, he shared
it with them. 

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They didn't understand it, so he
explained it to them. 

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They were a bit slow, like us. 
And so we're going to be reading

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from Matthew chapter 13 as I 
read. 

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I want you to just picture what 
Jesus is talking about, Matthew 

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chapter 13 verses 2413 says. 
Jesus told them another parable.

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

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

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sowed weeds among the wheat and 
went away. 

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When the weeds sprouted and 
formed heads, then the weeds 

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also appeared. 
The owner's servants came to him

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

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Where did the weeds come from? 
An enemy did this, he replied. 

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The servants asked him. 
Do you want us to go and pull 

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them up? 
No, he answered. 

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Because while you are pulling 
the weeds, you may uproot the 

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wheat with them. 
Let both grow together until the

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harvest. 
At that time I will tell the 

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harvesters. 
First collect the weeds and tie 

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them in bundles to be burned. 
Then gather the wheat and bring 

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it into my bun. 
Verses 36 to 43. 

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Jesus goes on to explain the 
parable. 

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They asked him. 
Explain to us the parable of the

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weeds in the field, he answered.
The one who sowed the good seed 

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is the Son of Man, the field is 
the world, and the good seed 

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stands for the people of the 
Kingdom. 

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The weeds are the people of the 
evil one, and the enemy who sows

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

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age, and the harvesters are 
angels. 

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

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

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angels and they will weed out of
his Kingdom everything that 

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causes sin and all who do evil. 
They will throw them into the 

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blazing furnace where they will 
be weeping and gnashing of 

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teeth. 
Then the righteous will shine 

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like the sun in the Kingdom of 
their Father. 

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Whoever has ears let them hear. 
Jesus was talking about an end 

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time harvest. 
But very important to highlight 

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here is that there are two 
things that Jesus talks about 

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that needed wedding out. 
He said I will remove, they will

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remove things that cause sin and
all who do evil in each of our 

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lives. 
When I talk about this harvest 

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that God is doing right now, 
we're not going right to the end

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time. 
The end time harvest is real. 

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But even in the season of 
harvest, even in the spiritual 

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spring that we're all in, many 
of us are walking out of exiles,

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walking out of wilderness 
seasons, and we're walking 

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towards promised land areas that
God is actually bringing 

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fruition and fulfilment to His 
promise. 

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00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:49,240
But in that harvest, there's a 
side project that is happening 

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and that is the removal of these
weeds in our life. 

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We need to allow God to do that 
because it's so important. 

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It is so important that the 
harvest happens in fullness. 

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What happens is if I don't give 
room for the Lord to actually 

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remove the weeds in my life, 
there will be huge parts of my 

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life which will be unproductive.
There will be huge parts of my 

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00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:15,960
life where there is stuff that 
is dogging me and holding me 

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00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:18,600
back. 
He wants me to step into the 

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00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:22,800
promise entirely free, entirely 
ready for what's next to not 

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00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:24,800
being held back by what was in 
the past. 

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And so it's so important that we
allow God to remove these two 

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things from our lives. 
The first thing is the things 

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00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:33,280
that cause us to sin. 
If you have questions on that, 

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00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:35,600
go to the Book of Ephesians, Go 
to 1 Corinthians. 

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Go to Two Corinthians. 
He talks about the stuff that 

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holds us back. 
Slander, gossip, bitterness, 

250
00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:46,040
envy, anger, lust, greed, things
that are common to all of us, 

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00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:50,400
none of us are exempt, and he is
so desiring to remove these 

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00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:53,240
things that cause us to sin. 
Bitterness is a huge thing. 

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00:13:53,240 --> 00:13:55,960
It talks about a root of 
bitterness, Paul writes. 

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00:13:56,120 --> 00:13:58,800
Make sure this root root of 
bitterness doesn't take root in 

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00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:01,240
you, because if it does, it will
corrupt everything. 

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00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:05,160
So it's so important that we 
allow him to remove the things 

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00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:07,800
that cause us to sin. 
The second thing that Jesus 

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00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:11,000
himself says is the ones who are
evil, the ones of the enemy. 

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00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:15,200
There will be people that the 
enemy places in your life very 

260
00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:17,360
strategically. 
They may look like good 

261
00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:19,800
associations. 
They may look like, you know, 

262
00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:21,600
very healthy business 
associates. 

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00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:24,680
They may look like they're, you 
know, lucrative for you. 

264
00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:26,760
But you need to be very 
discerning. 

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00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:29,520
If they're from God or if 
they're from the enemy, you need

266
00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,560
to be discerning, but who needs 
to be in your life and who 

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00:14:32,560 --> 00:14:35,040
shouldn't? 
And that's what this harvest 

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00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:36,960
will look like. 
You will find that when you give

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00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:40,680
God room, he will subtly remove 
certain people from your life, 

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00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:44,320
and while it will be painful and
jarring, once we have 

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00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:46,280
surrendered to him, we just kind
of go with the flow. 

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00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:48,080
We trust that he knows what he's
doing. 

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00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:51,440
You will find that he will alert
you to things that you have been

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00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:54,720
harboring in your heart or in 
your life, attitudes, postures, 

275
00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:58,120
mentalities, and he'll he'll 
convict you about them. 

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00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:02,400
Things that you've been using as
a cushion, protecting yourself 

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00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:06,600
and emotion, a certain stance. 
He will address it and say, I 

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00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:09,720
want that out because for this 
new season, for this season of 

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00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:11,680
spring, I don't want that in 
your life. 

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00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:15,800
And so it's so important that we
come to this place of surrender 

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00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:19,080
and say, Lord, I'm here. 
As much as I'm stepping to the 

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00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:21,960
harvest, I want you to also 
approve things from my life. 

283
00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,480
Why does God want to approve 
things from yours and mine? 

284
00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:28,240
Can't he just leave, you know, 
sleeping dogs? 

285
00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:29,800
Like, why can't he just leave it
be? 

286
00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:35,200
Leviticus chapter 18 verses 24 
to 25 explains to us about what 

287
00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:38,640
things that are left dormant, 
what it does to us. 

288
00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:41,240
Do not defile yourselves with 
any of these things. 

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00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:44,440
For by all these the nations are
defiled, which I'm casting out 

290
00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:46,760
before you. 
For the land is defiled, 

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00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:50,320
therefore I visit the punishment
of its iniquity upon it, and the

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00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:54,680
land vomits out its inhabitants.
The the power of the sins of 

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00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:59,600
people on a land. 
The Amorites, Jebusites, the the

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00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:02,680
guys who lived, the Girgashites,
all of these guys lived in 

295
00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:06,720
Canaan. 
Their sins were so terrible the 

296
00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:10,560
sins had corrupted the physical 
land and so God was actually 

297
00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:13,040
going to clear them out for the 
Israelites to settle there. 

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00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:15,960
He made it very clear he was not
clearing them out because of the

299
00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:17,680
Israelites righteousness. 
Not at all. 

300
00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:21,200
He was clearing them out because
of their unrighteousness and he 

301
00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:25,120
was purging the land because the
the land had become defiled 

302
00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:26,960
today. 
The things that could corrupt 

303
00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:32,000
us, that lust, that greed, that 
anger, that bitterness. 

304
00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:34,720
We'll corrupt the garden of our 
lives. 

305
00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:38,120
It'll corrupt every area of our 
life if we let it overrun the 

306
00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:40,360
place. 
And that is why God wants to 

307
00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:44,360
uproot it, so that the land of 
our hearts, the land of the 

308
00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:46,840
landscape of our lives, will be 
cleared. 

309
00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:52,720
The problem with invasive weeds,
the problem with these invasive 

310
00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:57,320
attitudes and and addictions and
associations is that they will 

311
00:16:57,320 --> 00:16:59,680
take over the good land and 
overrun it. 

312
00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:02,200
And it leaves the land unfit for
anything else. 

313
00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:05,359
Even if you want to grow in 
faith, even if you want to grow 

314
00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:08,599
with with with Christ at the 
centre, you want to have greater

315
00:17:08,599 --> 00:17:12,000
capacity, greater impact. 
These routes will be 

316
00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:15,119
detrimental. 
Your life is too precious for it

317
00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:17,960
to be defiled by these things. 
God is calling you into a place 

318
00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:21,720
where you will clear the land so
that the stuff he wants to plant

319
00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:27,000
will take root and multiply. 
How do we know that these huge 

320
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:29,320
weeds are actually occupying 
space and allies? 

321
00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:31,520
You may say. 
Well, my life seems OK. 

322
00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:33,960
I'm at peace. 
I'm doing the things I want to 

323
00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:35,560
do. 
God is using me. 

324
00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:38,480
I know that I'm stepping into 
greater impact, greater 

325
00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:41,360
direction. 
I have more, you know, clarity. 

326
00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,360
All of that maybe. 
But you know the evidence of a 

327
00:17:44,360 --> 00:17:47,960
harmful weed in our lives is by 
the fruit that we are bearing. 

328
00:17:48,120 --> 00:17:51,240
The fruit we bear often will be 
poisoned. 

329
00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:54,520
It could be a little toxic. 
How do we know this? 

330
00:17:54,520 --> 00:17:57,280
Luke chapter 3 verses 9 is what 
John the Baptist says. 

331
00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:01,520
He says the axe is already at 
the root of the trees and every 

332
00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:05,280
tree that does not produce good 
fruit will be cut down and 

333
00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:09,280
thrown into the fire. 
He talked about Jesus coming to 

334
00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:13,680
earth, and in Jesus there was 
going to be conviction that came

335
00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:15,400
upon people. 
They would have to repent, they 

336
00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:18,920
would have to turn, and they had
to bear fruit in keeping with 

337
00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:22,840
repentance, which means when my 
heart is so humble before God, I

338
00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:26,000
know that when he's addressing a
root issue, he's addressing a 

339
00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:30,080
weed issue in my life. 
I come to him and say, Lord, I 

340
00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:33,800
know that my fruit has not been 
good because bitterness will 

341
00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:38,920
always bear bitter fruit. 
Anger will bring about a very 

342
00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:41,320
toxic fruit. 
It doesn't bring about good 

343
00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:43,160
fruit. 
And the fruit is what others 

344
00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:46,640
taste. 
The fruit is by which God is 

345
00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:49,960
made known to the world. 
If my fruit is toxic, I don't 

346
00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:53,760
bring him a good name. 
So it's so important that we 

347
00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:56,480
identify these things and go 
deeper with ourselves. 

348
00:18:56,480 --> 00:19:00,360
Go deeper with God in our lives.
There are four different ways I 

349
00:19:00,360 --> 00:19:05,240
believe that weeds show up. 
Firstly, you know a weed shows 

350
00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:09,120
up as stuff from a previous 
season that started out helpful 

351
00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:11,200
or necessary. 
Like I said this this particular

352
00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:14,520
plant, Senna Spectablis, was 
planted in the 80s as a share 

353
00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:16,480
tree. 
It was originally known as a 

354
00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:19,120
share tree. 
It's come, it comes from the 

355
00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:21,120
family of Cassia. 
So it's actually a good tree. 

356
00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:23,240
It's not a bad thing, but it 
was. 

357
00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:26,120
What was necessary for a 
previous season became invasive 

358
00:19:26,120 --> 00:19:30,200
in the next. 
In our lives, there were certain

359
00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:31,720
seasons. 
Maybe you were in a wilderness 

360
00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:33,000
season. 
Maybe you in a season where it 

361
00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:35,640
was the dark night of the soul. 
Maybe it was a season of 

362
00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:37,560
tremendous growth and and 
blessing. 

363
00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:40,400
And there were some things that 
came into your life as a result 

364
00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:44,440
of that, and you let it stay, 
You let it rest, and it took it 

365
00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:47,720
took ground, it planted itself, 
it rooted itself, and it's 

366
00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:49,840
grown. 
Now, as you move into another 

367
00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:52,760
season, have you been discerning
enough to know whether you 

368
00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:55,000
needed that or whether it's time
for it to go? 

369
00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:58,440
It's so important because it's 
one season. 

370
00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:01,200
God may have taught you how to 
compartmentalize things and 

371
00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,400
operate, but maybe in the next 
season God is saying no, I want 

372
00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:06,640
those compartments broken 
because I want to work in all of

373
00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:09,120
it. 
Maybe in one season you were so 

374
00:20:09,120 --> 00:20:12,360
comfortably numb. 
You had learned to bifurcate 

375
00:20:12,360 --> 00:20:15,080
what was happening around you. 
You learned to stay numb and 

376
00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:18,400
isolated in your mind and heart.
But God is calling you now into 

377
00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:22,880
season of feeling things. 
Maybe there was a season when 

378
00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:25,960
you had to be very silent. 
When things were spoken over you

379
00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:27,880
and you kept quiet, things were 
spoken about you. 

380
00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:30,520
But God is saying now I want to 
use your voice. 

381
00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:32,000
I want you to open up your 
mouth. 

382
00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:36,160
I want you to speak up for me. 
Maybe you came out of a hidden 

383
00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:39,640
season, but now God is saying 
no, I'm exposing you. 

384
00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:43,360
I want you on that platform. 
I want you to lift your voice 

385
00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:45,720
up. 
It's so important that we 

386
00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:48,240
understand the some of the 
things which were helpful in a 

387
00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:52,080
previous season may not be 
applicable or even necessary in 

388
00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:56,160
the next season and it requires 
that we identify it for what it 

389
00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:58,120
is. 
That's one kind of weed. 

390
00:20:58,120 --> 00:21:01,880
The second kind of weed is the 
stuff with deep roots and 

391
00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:04,560
poisonous seeds. 
It's interesting this particular

392
00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:08,080
like I said, they found these 
plants with 40 foot long roots 

393
00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:11,000
and the root is huge. 
You couldn't have just removed 

394
00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:13,280
it by shaking the tree a bit. 
They had to dig deep. 

395
00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:16,920
They had to go really deep in 
order to uproot it as a whole, 

396
00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:20,400
because even if a little bit of 
the root is left, this plant has

397
00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:24,040
a way of regenerating itself. 
Not only that, they found that 

398
00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:27,360
even when things were uprooted, 
the tree continued to 

399
00:21:27,360 --> 00:21:29,200
proliferate. 
They found out that it was 

400
00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:37,000
producing millions of seeds. 
Seeds are the smallest of all 

401
00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:40,840
small things they hardly seen. 
Roots, on the other hand, are 

402
00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:43,240
very, very noticeable, but 
again, hidden beneath the 

403
00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:45,200
ground. 
Each of us have things from our 

404
00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:49,720
childhood, from our adolescence.
Things sometimes generationally 

405
00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:53,160
pass even through the womb to 
us, and these are the things 

406
00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:55,440
that no one else sees, but 
they're very real because they 

407
00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:58,560
have an impact on our lives. 
The roots are the things that 

408
00:21:58,560 --> 00:22:02,960
have held us fixed in certain 
mindsets, in certain spaces, in 

409
00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:06,560
certain addictions. 
For the longest seeds are the 

410
00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:09,280
things that we have 
unconsciously or consciously 

411
00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:11,880
passed on to others. 
You know, as parents, we have 

412
00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:15,560
this capacity to pass on our 
mindsets to them, our mind 

413
00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:18,360
blocks to them. 
Those are the seeds. 

414
00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:22,000
We are rooted in certain things,
but we're proliferating our 

415
00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:26,800
ideas, our doctrines, things 
that may not be of God to 

416
00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:31,520
others. 
That's another kind of weed that

417
00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:35,240
we need to address. 
Some of the things that we have 

418
00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:37,640
allowed. 
Maybe generationally, certain 

419
00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:40,400
things were passed on. 
You can always say, well, 

420
00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:44,920
alcoholism runs in my blood. 
Maybe you're saying I come from 

421
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:48,200
a family of those who are 
envious, who covet what others 

422
00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:51,680
have, Or maybe we come from 
people who are very angry by 

423
00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:55,960
nature, our whole people group, 
we behave like this. 

424
00:22:57,040 --> 00:22:59,080
I don't know what your deep 
roots look like. 

425
00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:01,800
I don't know what it looks like 
generationally. 

426
00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:04,960
For you, What you carry into 
this new season matters because 

427
00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:07,480
your roots matter. 
What have you been unconsciously

428
00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:11,400
passing on to others around you?
People in your cubicle? 

429
00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:14,240
People who work with you, People
who work for you? 

430
00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:16,440
What are you passing on? 
What are the seeds that you are 

431
00:23:16,440 --> 00:23:20,120
dropping here and there which is
causing weeds to grow up in 

432
00:23:20,120 --> 00:23:24,080
other people's lives as well? 
The third kind of weed that 

433
00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:28,720
sometimes shows up is the stuff 
that is preventing others from 

434
00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:33,200
thriving around us. 
When they were clearing the 

435
00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:36,520
tracts of land, they found that 
this particular tree didn't 

436
00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:40,240
allow other trees to grow around
it because it was hogging up all

437
00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:43,640
of the nutrients from the soil. 
Other trees were having minimal 

438
00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:46,400
nutrients. 
And a lot of times when stuff is

439
00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:51,120
in our life, the weeds of our 
life when left unchecked, when 

440
00:23:51,120 --> 00:23:54,400
left, are unuprooted. 
When they just left unaddressed.

441
00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:57,480
They start to harm the way we 
interact with others. 

442
00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:00,400
They make us so toxic to others 
very unconsciously. 

443
00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:03,000
We don't realize it, but after a
while you notice people are 

444
00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:05,440
avoiding you. 
People don't meet up as much or 

445
00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:06,920
people are very guarded around 
you. 

446
00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:09,640
Growing up, I remember my 
brother and I when we used to 

447
00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:11,200
fight and say mean things to 
each other. 

448
00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:12,840
My father used to say this one 
thing to me. 

449
00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:16,480
He used to say, if you guys are 
so difficult with each other, if

450
00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:19,200
you're so hypersensitive to each
other, people will put you on a 

451
00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:21,760
shelf. 
How many of you today can say, 

452
00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:24,400
honestly that you feel like 
someone has put you on a shelf? 

453
00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:27,160
They don't want to reach you. 
They want to keep you out of 

454
00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:30,160
reach just because they don't 
know how to manage you? 

455
00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:35,480
Maybe some of the weeds in your 
life are preventing others from 

456
00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:38,520
thriving around you. 
What could some of this stuff 

457
00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:39,320
be? 
It could be you. 

458
00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:41,560
You're hypersensitive. 
You get offended by anything 

459
00:24:41,560 --> 00:24:44,520
they say. 
Maybe you're insecure of those 

460
00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:46,360
who are doing well off compared 
to you. 

461
00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:49,960
Maybe you're envious of what 
others have. 

462
00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:53,160
You're distrustful and 
suspicious because of others who

463
00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:55,680
have hurt you, so you're 
distressful and suspicious of 

464
00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:58,320
everyone. 
Maybe you become abrasive 

465
00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:00,160
because that's your protective 
mechanism. 

466
00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:03,320
You protect yourself, maybe a 
quarrel. 

467
00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:05,280
Some You pick a quarrel at the 
drop of a hat. 

468
00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:09,720
It's interesting because this 
particular weed starts off very 

469
00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:11,960
small, which is scrolling 
through WhatsApp. 

470
00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:14,880
Status is you're going through 
Instagram, you look at Facebook,

471
00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:16,960
you see someone else doing 
better, you see them on that 

472
00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:19,120
holiday and that's when it 
starts. 

473
00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:22,720
It's just one seed and before 
you know it, it's grown into a 

474
00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:25,280
full blown tree. 
When you start meeting them, 

475
00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:27,600
you're abrasive, you're 
quarrelsome, you say things, you

476
00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:32,920
slander them, you gossip, You 
start coming across so toxic 

477
00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:36,000
that people start avoiding you. 
They endure you in the name of 

478
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,760
Christian love, but people are 
wary around you. 

479
00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:41,480
That's a symptom of a weed in 
your life. 

480
00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:46,920
The 4th kind of weed that we lot
of times find is when the stuff 

481
00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:49,400
is so overgrown that it blocks 
the light. 

482
00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:53,600
The forest reserves where these 
were originally planted are now 

483
00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:56,440
completely the canopy was 
covered by this plant. 

484
00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:59,680
So what had happened is the 
canopy was so thick that 

485
00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:02,280
sunlight couldn't reach the 
bottom of the forest floor. 

486
00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:05,360
And So what happened was the 
deer and the rhino and other 

487
00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:09,360
things which need the plants on 
the forest floor to feed on. 

488
00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:12,840
There was none of that. 
So these animals were migrating 

489
00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:16,560
and going to places which had 
more sunlight and more flora at 

490
00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:20,000
their level. 
The eco ecosystem as such had 

491
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:23,840
got an imbalanced just because 
of this unchecked weed. 

492
00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:29,240
And I wonder how many of us have
allowed these huge weeds of 

493
00:26:29,240 --> 00:26:34,400
greed, of lust, of insecurity, 
whatever it looks like for you. 

494
00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:37,640
I don't know what it is, but 
whatever it is, has it started 

495
00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:40,200
blocking the light of God's 
revelation? 

496
00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:44,720
Has it started blocking the 
light of heaven from percolating

497
00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:48,440
through and bringing life? 
Because the power of Jesus is 

498
00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:49,840
that he is the light of the 
world. 

499
00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:53,120
In him there is no darkness, he 
said. 

500
00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:56,640
Those who walk in the light, who
walk with me, walk in the light.

501
00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:00,120
But what happens is sometimes 
the weeds take over our lives. 

502
00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:04,480
If you've left it unchecked for 
years on end, decades on end, it

503
00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:06,960
would have cut the light in some
on some level. 

504
00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:09,640
So we can be walking with Jesus,
so to speak. 

505
00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:13,960
We can be saying, you know, 
knowing the word, we may be so 

506
00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:17,360
aware of what God is doing, but 
we may miss that there are 

507
00:27:17,360 --> 00:27:21,240
certain dark patches in our 
lives and his light needs to 

508
00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:25,520
penetrate those very spaces. 
So how do we deal with these 

509
00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:26,640
things? 
I've talked to you about all the

510
00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:29,400
different kinds of weeds that 
could show up, the ones which 

511
00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:32,000
are generationally rooted, the 
ones where we are passing these 

512
00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:35,040
poisonous seeds, the times that 
they're so overgrown, it's cut 

513
00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:39,880
the light. 
We've looked at how stuff from 

514
00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:42,280
previous season, which is not 
necessary now, has again 

515
00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:46,520
overtaken us. 
How do we deal with this? 

516
00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:49,640
If you talk to anyone who's 
actually done a bit of inner 

517
00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:52,160
healing, they'll tell you that 
it's such a hard process. 

518
00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:55,000
It's long winded. 
It is messy. 

519
00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:59,840
But when the Holy Spirit is the 
mediator of this whole process 

520
00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:02,400
of uprooting, it changes the 
equation. 

521
00:28:02,400 --> 00:28:05,000
Because the minute you and I try
to do it in our own willpower, 

522
00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:08,560
we try to address these things, 
pull it out or or, you know, try

523
00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:11,120
to, you know, really work hard 
at it, we'll find just how 

524
00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:15,280
miserably we fail. 
We're human, but we have with us

525
00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:17,640
the resurrection power of 
Christ, which is mediated by the

526
00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:20,520
Holy Spirit Himself. 
He is the one who brings it into

527
00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:22,760
our lives. 
He is the one who enables us to 

528
00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:24,280
heal. 
And he has two types of work 

529
00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:26,560
that the Holy Spirit does in 
this kind of a situation. 

530
00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:29,720
He has a restorative work and he
has a reclaiming work. 

531
00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:34,040
Restorative white, because when 
you take something out you need 

532
00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:36,560
to put something in. 
Jesus talked about how when 

533
00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:40,360
someone was set free from a 
demonic power, He said when the 

534
00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:43,240
demons were chased out he was 
clean and neat inside. 

535
00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:46,840
But then when the demon returned
to check on him what did it, he 

536
00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:49,920
says the place was so clean. 
He brought seven more demons and

537
00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:53,280
the end situation of that person
was worse because what had 

538
00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:55,480
happened was when he vacated 
something should have been 

539
00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:58,040
filled. 
When a demonic spirit was 

540
00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:00,080
removed, the Holy Spirit should 
have been filled in. 

541
00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:05,000
And so today it's so important. 
It's so important that each of 

542
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:08,240
us bring the Holy Spirit in 
because restoration only happens

543
00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:10,360
with him. 
Because when he removes things, 

544
00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:14,160
he plants things in. 
He brings in his power, he 

545
00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:17,320
brings in the love of the 
Father, He brings in grace and 

546
00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:20,800
truth and peace. 
If I don't have what He's 

547
00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:23,640
filling me up, what he removes 
me, will removes from me, will 

548
00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:26,960
leave me desolate. 
So when he removes things, he 

549
00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:29,880
adds in his presence, He brings 
in the power of God. 

550
00:29:29,960 --> 00:29:32,240
He brings in the presence of 
God, and that changes 

551
00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:33,640
everything. 
So it's restorative. 

552
00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:37,200
It's also reclaiming. 
He reclaims that. 

553
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:40,360
You know what that means? 
When a land has been overrun by 

554
00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:43,480
something and you clear it out, 
you're actually reclaiming the 

555
00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:47,120
land for something good. 
Too many of us, our lives have 

556
00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:51,000
been overrun by the enemy. 
He has taken up huge space in 

557
00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:54,000
our lives. 
But today God is saying I want 

558
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:58,080
to reclaim that for me. 
I want to occupy that with my 

559
00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:03,000
sources, my resources. 
I want to clear it so that I can

560
00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:06,800
plant good seed, so that I can 
raise a harvest of righteousness

561
00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:09,040
within you that others will 
benefit from. 

562
00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:13,280
Only the Holy Spirit can bring 
restoration. 

563
00:30:13,520 --> 00:30:15,360
Only the Holy Spirit can 
reclaim. 

564
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:19,760
We can't do it on our own. 
I love this verse from Hag from 

565
00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:23,760
Zechariah chapter 4, verse 6, 
which says he God's talking to 

566
00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:28,160
Zeru Babel and he says it's not 
going to happen by might or by 

567
00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:30,120
power. 
Zeru Babel but by my spirit. 

568
00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:32,840
God was calling Zeru Babel to 
rebuild the temple. 

569
00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:35,200
It was a huge task. 
These were people in exile. 

570
00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:38,520
They didn't know how to be free,
they didn't know how to rebuild.

571
00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:41,240
And God was saying it won't be 
because of your strength, it 

572
00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:42,600
won't be because of your 
willpower. 

573
00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:45,000
It's going to be because of me. 
And today I want to encourage 

574
00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:46,800
you. 
If you are saying I identify 

575
00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:51,320
those weeds in my life, it is 
not on you alone to fix it. 

576
00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:53,960
You have the Holy Spirit. 
He's the one who's going to do 

577
00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:56,520
the heavy lifting. 
You just need to be client. 

578
00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:59,000
You just need to come in line 
with him. 

579
00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:03,560
And so how do we deal with these
four kinds of weeds that we 

580
00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:06,000
talked about? 
The first thing is if your weed 

581
00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:09,080
was from a previous season where
it was necessary then but not 

582
00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:12,440
necessary now, you need the 
discernment of the Holy Spirit. 

583
00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:16,400
I love Proverbs Chapter 2, verse
two, it says So train your heart

584
00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:20,400
to listen when I speak and open 
your spirit wide to expand your 

585
00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:23,680
discernment and pass it on to 
your sons and daughters. 

586
00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:26,520
It's so important that we are 
discerning of the season we are 

587
00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:30,200
in. 
Do I need this particular self 

588
00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:32,240
protective mechanism in this 
season? 

589
00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:37,560
Do I need to be as silent and 
retrospective in this season, 

590
00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:39,760
introspective in this season as 
I was in the previous? 

591
00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:45,400
Do I need to be more vocal? 
Do I need to be so confined in 

592
00:31:45,400 --> 00:31:48,120
the season or can I start to 
become social again and invite 

593
00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:50,600
people into my life? 
I need to be very clear of what 

594
00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:53,840
I'm clearing out because there's
a new season ahead. 

595
00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:55,680
Am I discerning? 
Discernment? 

596
00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:58,920
Is what God wants you to do. 
Be wise about the associations. 

597
00:31:58,920 --> 00:32:01,440
Maybe there was some business 
associations or relationships 

598
00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:04,200
you built in a previous season, 
but now you've found that 

599
00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:06,520
they're a chokehold. 
They're strangling you. 

600
00:32:06,520 --> 00:32:08,360
They're keeping you from the 
purposes of God. 

601
00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:10,840
They're keeping you from the 
direction that God is calling 

602
00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:13,120
you on. 
Maybe God is asking you to end 

603
00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:15,880
those relationships. 
Maybe God is moving you out of 

604
00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:18,520
someone's life because they need
to be set free to walk on the 

605
00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:20,920
direction God has marked for 
them. 

606
00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:25,400
So will you be discerning? 
In order to remove the weed that

607
00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:27,880
has taken stock in a previous 
season, you need to be 

608
00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:30,720
discerning and ask the Holy 
Spirit Lord, here I am. 

609
00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:32,920
You can deal with this as you 
see fit. 

610
00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:35,880
That's the first thing. 
The second thing, the second 

611
00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:38,240
kind of root we looked at. 
The weeds that are deeply 

612
00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:41,400
rooted, generationally, 
ancestrally, are the ones where 

613
00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:44,000
we have been, you know, 
unconsciously passing on these 

614
00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:48,080
toxic seeds to others and 
passing our views, our heart 

615
00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:52,560
issues, our attitudes to others.
Only the spirit of God has the 

616
00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:55,880
power to alert us to those 
roots. 

617
00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:59,920
We can't do it on our own. 
He helps us to identify the 

618
00:32:59,920 --> 00:33:02,160
root. 
Many times when we look at 

619
00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:05,680
ourselves and we see envy, envy 
is just probably the fruit. 

620
00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:09,120
It goes deeper down. 
It may go right. 

621
00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:11,440
From the time you were child, 
maybe you didn't have enough. 

622
00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:14,440
Maybe you always had lack. 
And so you had a tendency to 

623
00:33:14,440 --> 00:33:16,440
look at others and wish you had 
what they had. 

624
00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:19,240
So maybe you need to go right 
down to that place. 

625
00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:20,720
The Holy Spirit will take you 
back. 

626
00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:24,840
He will literally bring you into
a place of awareness of what 

627
00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:29,520
happened maybe 30 years back and
he will heal that primary wound 

628
00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:34,440
and only when he heals that will
the entire route disintegrate. 

629
00:33:34,480 --> 00:33:37,520
It will not happen by dealing 
with just the surface level 

630
00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:39,600
issues. 
And I'm so glad that today, the 

631
00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:43,760
Holy Spirit, His power when it 
is at work, and as it's the 

632
00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:49,440
resurrection power of Jesus, 
every generational curse, every 

633
00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:55,040
generational baggage was dealt 
with on the cross. 

634
00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:58,000
Everyone. 
Nothing is exempt. 

635
00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:00,480
Maybe you're saying my family's 
generation baggage. 

636
00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:02,720
You'll never guess it. 
I don't need to guess it. 

637
00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:05,720
The Lord knows He dealt with it 
on the cross. 

638
00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:08,520
It's done. 
You can walk free from it. 

639
00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:12,639
The poisonous seeds that have 
unconsciously been spilling over

640
00:34:12,639 --> 00:34:14,560
from your lives. 
You now watch your children 

641
00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:18,199
speak a similar language as you.
You watch the people who walk 

642
00:34:18,199 --> 00:34:22,080
around you also wallowing in the
same kind of self pity that you 

643
00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:24,719
wallow in. 
You need to take stock. 

644
00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:26,520
Where have I been spilling these
seeds? 

645
00:34:27,520 --> 00:34:31,159
And ask the blood of Jesus to 
wash it out, to completely 

646
00:34:31,159 --> 00:34:35,960
cleanse it so that you don't 
propagate this weed like 

647
00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:39,440
behavior in anyone else. 
That it ends with you, that it 

648
00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:41,960
stops with you. 
Maybe you've been speaking 

649
00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:46,600
gossip, slander. 
Maybe the Lord is saying enough.

650
00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:49,880
Stop. 
I want to cleanse your mouth 

651
00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:52,800
because the power of life and 
death is in the tongue. 

652
00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:56,639
I don't know how God is going to
do it for you, but I have opened

653
00:34:56,639 --> 00:34:59,720
myself up. 
I've told the Lord April D weed 

654
00:34:59,720 --> 00:35:04,920
me Lord remove every weed. 
Deep generational ones, surface 

655
00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:07,560
level ones, just the starting 
sprouts, everything. 

656
00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:11,200
D weed me because I don't want 
to step into the harvest season 

657
00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:13,360
with all of these things 
crowding me. 

658
00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:16,720
I don't want them taking up 
precious soil space. 

659
00:35:16,720 --> 00:35:19,160
I don't want them taking up 
precious and oxygen from the 

660
00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:21,120
environment. 
I want more of you. 

661
00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:22,920
I want more of your seeds in my 
life. 

662
00:35:23,080 --> 00:35:28,440
So uproot these Ephesians. 
Chapter 3 verses 16 to 17 talks 

663
00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:31,880
about what the Spirit of God 
does in removing these roots. 

664
00:35:31,880 --> 00:35:35,760
He says, I pray that from His 
glorious, unlimited resources, 

665
00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:38,600
He will empower you with inner 
strength through His spirit. 

666
00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:42,400
Then Christ will make His home 
in your hearts as you trust in 

667
00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:44,160
Him. 
Your roots will grow down into 

668
00:35:44,160 --> 00:35:48,520
God's love and keep you strong. 
Like I said, if He's uprooting 

669
00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:50,480
something, he needs to plant 
something. 

670
00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:53,520
You and I, Colossians, Chapter 
2, verses six to seven. 

671
00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:57,280
You and I need to be planted in 
Christ Jesus our Lord. 

672
00:35:57,280 --> 00:35:59,320
Our roots need to grow down into
Him. 

673
00:35:59,640 --> 00:36:04,560
Let your lives be built on Him. 
Then your faith will grow strong

674
00:36:04,560 --> 00:36:07,120
in the truth you were taught. 
You will overflow with 

675
00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:08,880
thankfulness. 
It's so important that when the 

676
00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:12,600
Holy Spirit uproots we get 
rerouted in the right things and

677
00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:14,120
we need to root ourselves in 
Christ. 

678
00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:17,120
We need to root ourselves in 
God's love so that we will 

679
00:36:17,160 --> 00:36:21,280
overflow with thankfulness. 
It's so important that we are 

680
00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:24,000
repetitive of about God's 
goodness in our life. 

681
00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:27,200
The the one of the imminent 
signs of a weed is when we're so

682
00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:30,280
repetitive of all that has gone 
wrong in our lives, of all the 

683
00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:33,280
people who disappointed us, of 
all the things at times when you

684
00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:36,160
didn't feel God in your life. 
But it's important that when I'm

685
00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:38,560
rooted in Christ, I'm 
overflowing with thankfulness, 

686
00:36:38,800 --> 00:36:42,640
that the primary repetition of 
my life is His goodness again 

687
00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:45,920
and again, His constant 
presence, his mercies which have

688
00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:49,800
been new every morning. 
It is so important to replace 

689
00:36:49,800 --> 00:36:54,160
that bitter root with a root 
that is planted in Jesus alone. 

690
00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:59,240
It is so important to hand those
poisonous seeds to God and say, 

691
00:36:59,240 --> 00:37:03,040
Lord, may your blood wash it, 
purify it, and then plant it in 

692
00:37:03,040 --> 00:37:04,840
my life so that it bears good 
fruit. 

693
00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:08,600
Because each of us have the 
power to impact someone else. 

694
00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:13,680
But what we do with it matters. 
What we do in our parenting 

695
00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:15,280
matters. 
Do I pass on to the next 

696
00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:17,680
generation all of the stuff 
that's wrong with me? 

697
00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:21,960
Or do I find healing and then 
pass that on to my children? 

698
00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:25,440
It's so important. 
What are you propagating? 

699
00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:27,440
What are you spreading around 
you? 

700
00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:31,320
The third thing. 
Remember I talked about how 

701
00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:37,360
bitter roots, weed, weeds bring 
out toxic fruit. 

702
00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:40,480
Am I right? 
It's so important to remember 

703
00:37:40,480 --> 00:37:43,880
that fruit is what others know 
as by fruit. 

704
00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:47,440
When others taste of our fruit, 
they thrive around us as well. 

705
00:37:48,240 --> 00:37:50,920
It's so interesting that some of
the weeds in our life will 

706
00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:53,000
actually push people away 
unconsciously. 

707
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:55,680
You'll find that they don't want
to hang out with you as often, 

708
00:37:55,960 --> 00:37:57,840
or if they do hang out with you,
they want someone else. 

709
00:37:57,840 --> 00:37:59,720
There is a buffer because they 
just can't deal with your 

710
00:37:59,720 --> 00:38:03,560
toxicity on your own and that's 
a wake up call for us. 

711
00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:07,400
We need to be bearing good fruit
so that those who come around us

712
00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:10,200
enjoy tasting that fruit from 
our lives. 

713
00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:14,320
And the only way we will bear 
fruit is that the Holy Spirit is

714
00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:16,840
doing His work in our life. 
Because the fruit of the Spirit,

715
00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:20,840
as we see in Galatians 5, is 
Lovejoy, Peace. 

716
00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:22,960
And I love it in the Passion. 
Translation, I'm going to be 

717
00:38:22,960 --> 00:38:25,720
reading it from the Passion. 
This is where it says, joy that 

718
00:38:25,720 --> 00:38:29,680
overflows divine love in all its
varied expressions, peace that 

719
00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:33,800
subdues, patience that endures, 
kindness and action, a life full

720
00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:37,760
of virtue, faith that prevails, 
gentleness of heart and strength

721
00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:40,640
of spirit. 
This is not something we can 

722
00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:43,480
manufacture. 
I can't cook this up in a 

723
00:38:43,480 --> 00:38:46,080
kitchen. 
I cannot conjure this up with 

724
00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:48,160
the spell. 
This is the work of the Spirit 

725
00:38:48,160 --> 00:38:53,600
in me, and it's most often done 
under dire circumstances. 

726
00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:56,760
It's done under the hardships of
life in furnace experiences. 

727
00:38:57,400 --> 00:39:00,520
When we are going through the 
hardest season of our life, the 

728
00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:04,280
Holy Spirit is birthing these 
fruits out of us, and the ones 

729
00:39:04,280 --> 00:39:07,720
who benefit the most from our 
fruit are those around us. 

730
00:39:08,440 --> 00:39:11,440
So if you have been feeling 
others aren't thriving around 

731
00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:12,480
me, they don't want to be around
me. 

732
00:39:12,480 --> 00:39:14,960
You need to invite the Holy 
Spirit in and say, Lord, clear 

733
00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:19,320
this up, clear me up, remove 
those weeds so that I genuinely 

734
00:39:19,320 --> 00:39:23,120
love the people around me. 
So that my joy, which exudes 

735
00:39:23,120 --> 00:39:26,520
from me, attracts people to me, 
so that the patience that I 

736
00:39:26,520 --> 00:39:29,760
exhibit challenges others to be 
more patient. 

737
00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:32,400
That is what we need to be 
asking God for. 

738
00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:35,360
And the fourth kind of variety 
of weed, which I was talking 

739
00:39:35,360 --> 00:39:38,080
about when it takes up the 
canopy and cuts the light, we 

740
00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:42,280
need to ask the Holy Spirit to 
come back in, to clear that up 

741
00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:46,240
so that the light of Jesus 
shines on every part of our 

742
00:39:46,240 --> 00:39:49,880
lives. 
Proverbs chapter 20, verse 27 

743
00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:54,800
says the Lord's light penetrates
the human spirit, exposing every

744
00:39:54,800 --> 00:39:57,440
hidden motive. 
Isn't that amazing? 

745
00:39:58,200 --> 00:40:01,440
The Lord's light. 
He is the light of the world. 

746
00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:05,320
When he comes in, darkness 
cannot coexist with him. 

747
00:40:05,400 --> 00:40:07,080
He comes in. 
It's is. 

748
00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:10,720
It's a kind of brilliance that 
we cannot even experience on 

749
00:40:10,720 --> 00:40:13,080
earth. 
No light will do it, but the 

750
00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:16,320
light that Jesus brings in will 
light up everything and the 

751
00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:20,440
light brings life. 
I love Malachi. 

752
00:40:20,440 --> 00:40:23,200
The book of Malachi ends on this
note where it says the sun of 

753
00:40:23,200 --> 00:40:26,120
righteousness will rise with 
healing in his wings. 

754
00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:31,800
When the light, light comes in, 
everything it touches there is 

755
00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:36,160
life, there is healing, there is
new growth. 

756
00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:40,000
So we'll be let the light in. 
The spirit of God is the one who

757
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:43,360
brings the light of Jesus in. 
He's the one who brings 

758
00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:48,560
revelation from his word. 
He's the one who gives us access

759
00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:52,120
to the Father. 
And so it's so important that we

760
00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:57,520
invite the Holy Spirit in. 
Even as I close, I just want to 

761
00:40:57,520 --> 00:41:00,440
ask, have there been dark 
patches in your life? 

762
00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:01,760
You know it. 
You sense it. 

763
00:41:02,680 --> 00:41:05,240
Maybe your spouse says there's 
some darkness in there that I 

764
00:41:05,240 --> 00:41:07,160
see. 
Maybe it's a best friend who 

765
00:41:07,160 --> 00:41:09,520
says you need to get a bit of 
help. 

766
00:41:09,760 --> 00:41:11,880
There's something there that is 
almost like a black hole. 

767
00:41:11,880 --> 00:41:16,920
Things are getting sucked in. 
Will you invite the light of 

768
00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:21,040
Jesus to come in? 
Will you say, Lord, I'm here, Go

769
00:41:21,040 --> 00:41:23,040
for it. 
Because so often we're afraid to

770
00:41:23,040 --> 00:41:25,080
expose ourselves to the light of
Jesus. 

771
00:41:25,640 --> 00:41:28,200
Because we think it's going to 
be exposing and and it's going 

772
00:41:28,200 --> 00:41:30,720
to be detrimental to us. 
But we don't realize he's a 

773
00:41:30,720 --> 00:41:35,520
careful God and that when I open
myself up to him, the healing 

774
00:41:35,520 --> 00:41:39,600
that he does is so beautifully 
intimate that many will not see 

775
00:41:39,600 --> 00:41:40,520
it. 
No one will see it. 

776
00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:43,440
Maybe the ones closest to you 
will see it happening, but the 

777
00:41:44,240 --> 00:41:46,280
the world will not see how he 
heals you. 

778
00:41:46,280 --> 00:41:48,800
But the evidence of it will be 
demonstrated to the world. 

779
00:41:49,240 --> 00:41:52,440
But the process is a very 
intimate, very private thing. 

780
00:41:53,200 --> 00:41:55,000
So will I. 
Can I ask you that you would 

781
00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:57,400
actually invite him and see 
Spirit of God? 

782
00:41:57,400 --> 00:42:00,160
I want you to come in. 
I want you to help me bear good 

783
00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:02,200
fruit. 
I want you to light up my life 

784
00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:05,560
with the light of Jesus so that 
every dark patch is lit up. 

785
00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:08,600
Will you come out? 
And with your power, will you 

786
00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:12,160
uproot every destructive root 
for my life, the ones that were 

787
00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:16,120
come from before my time, 
generational things, uprooted. 

788
00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:20,160
Will you invite him in to give 
you discernment about the season

789
00:42:20,160 --> 00:42:23,960
you're in? 
Without discernment, without 

790
00:42:23,960 --> 00:42:26,680
vision, my people perish. 
That's what the word says. 

791
00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:29,600
If you don't have discernment 
about your season, if you don't 

792
00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:32,560
know what the season entails, 
you will miss out on living it 

793
00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:34,760
to its fullest. 
Living your fullest in that 

794
00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:38,400
season. 
And so today, as we close, I 

795
00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:40,800
want to play this one scripture 
over you. 

796
00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:44,600
It comes from the Book of Songs 
of Solomon, which is from the 

797
00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:47,720
it's one of the books that King 
Solomon wrote. 

798
00:42:48,560 --> 00:42:51,760
And while it's it's a book, it's
it's like a romantic book. 

799
00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:55,480
There are very deep themes which
are brought out of it And 

800
00:42:55,480 --> 00:42:59,040
there's one verse which I often 
pray over myself and this is 

801
00:42:59,040 --> 00:43:02,640
what it says. 
Awake north wind and come S wind

802
00:43:02,840 --> 00:43:06,920
blow on my garden that its 
fragrance may spread everywhere.

803
00:43:07,240 --> 00:43:11,880
Let my beloved come into his 
garden and taste its choice 

804
00:43:12,120 --> 00:43:15,440
fruits. 
This is an invitation that you 

805
00:43:15,440 --> 00:43:17,920
can pray over the Holy Spirit 
and say, Holy Spirit, come into 

806
00:43:17,920 --> 00:43:22,880
this garden of my life, blow up 
on every tree there, every fruit

807
00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:26,760
tree, every herb, so that the 
spices, that and the aromas 

808
00:43:26,760 --> 00:43:28,600
which I lifted up are pleasing 
to you. 

809
00:43:29,240 --> 00:43:31,080
And then you invite your 
beloved. 

810
00:43:31,880 --> 00:43:37,000
You invite Jesus into the garden
of your life and say, here I am.

811
00:43:37,880 --> 00:43:40,560
Taste the fruit that is being 
born by the Holy Spirit. 

812
00:43:41,240 --> 00:43:44,680
Taste it and rejoice in me. 
Because ultimately our lives 

813
00:43:46,080 --> 00:43:48,240
must be a sweet smelling 
offering to God. 

814
00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:51,040
It must be something where God 
delights in us. 

815
00:43:52,040 --> 00:43:55,600
So can I ask that you would pray
this with me, Lord, I don't know

816
00:43:55,600 --> 00:43:58,600
what the weeds in people's lives
are, but I know that the weeds 

817
00:43:58,600 --> 00:44:01,120
are real. 
I know that the weeds concern 

818
00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:04,200
you, Lord. 
And so we're inviting you in. 

819
00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:06,640
We're inviting you in. 
Come into the gardens of our 

820
00:44:06,640 --> 00:44:08,360
life. 
Would you open the gate of your 

821
00:44:08,360 --> 00:44:11,720
garden and say, Lord, I'm 
inviting you in? 

822
00:44:11,720 --> 00:44:15,000
Come in, Inspect this garden of 
mine. 

823
00:44:15,440 --> 00:44:18,720
Take out what is not. 
A few Previous seasons were 

824
00:44:18,720 --> 00:44:20,720
hard. 
Lord, I had to build a mechanism

825
00:44:20,720 --> 00:44:23,720
to protect myself. 
I had to build certain things. 

826
00:44:23,720 --> 00:44:26,080
I had to bring certain things in
to keep me sane. 

827
00:44:26,240 --> 00:44:29,200
But, Lord, in this season I want
you to uproot what is not a few.

828
00:44:29,200 --> 00:44:31,280
Move out. 
Those who don't need to be there

829
00:44:31,280 --> 00:44:35,800
in the season, look after them, 
care for them. 

830
00:44:37,440 --> 00:44:39,680
Father. 
I pray for those deep roots 

831
00:44:40,480 --> 00:44:44,560
rooted in generational hardship,
generational addictions. 

832
00:44:46,240 --> 00:44:50,240
Remove it by your power, Father.
I pray that I will be rooted 

833
00:44:50,240 --> 00:44:53,320
firmly in Christ Jesus. 
I pray that I'll be rooted in 

834
00:44:53,320 --> 00:44:55,600
your love so that I'll be 
unshakable. 

835
00:44:55,600 --> 00:45:02,200
Oh, Father, Holy Spirit, we 
invite you in to stir us up, to 

836
00:45:02,200 --> 00:45:05,720
work in us so that the fruit of 
the Spirit are born so others 

837
00:45:05,800 --> 00:45:07,760
will taste and see that the Lord
is good. 

838
00:45:09,360 --> 00:45:12,240
We invite you in to light up our
lives. 

839
00:45:12,440 --> 00:45:17,080
Every darkened patch, every 
patch that we have closed off. 

840
00:45:17,080 --> 00:45:19,080
Saying no, Lord, this is my 
secret garden. 

841
00:45:19,080 --> 00:45:22,400
I don't want you there. 
You will not like what you see. 

842
00:45:22,800 --> 00:45:24,680
Can we open it up and say, Lord,
I'm here. 

843
00:45:26,280 --> 00:45:28,640
I want your light to flood this 
area. 

844
00:45:31,360 --> 00:45:35,400
Awake, O north wind comes S wind
blow on our gardens. 

845
00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:38,080
That the fragrance may spread 
everywhere. 

846
00:45:39,280 --> 00:45:42,400
Beloved Jesus, come into this 
garden. 

847
00:45:42,840 --> 00:45:45,240
It's yours. 
Taste, its choice. 

848
00:45:45,240 --> 00:45:47,600
Fruit. 
In Jesus name, I pray. 

849
00:45:48,040 --> 00:45:49,080
Amen. 
Amen. 

850
00:45:49,480 --> 00:45:51,440
God bless you. 
I pray that this will be a month

851
00:45:51,440 --> 00:45:53,440
of great harvest, not just this 
month. 

852
00:45:53,480 --> 00:45:55,160
I believe it's going to be a 
season of harvest. 

853
00:45:55,360 --> 00:45:58,960
So as you walk into it, going 
with courage, if you got really 

854
00:45:59,200 --> 00:46:01,480
worried after listening to this,
that's not the intention. 

855
00:46:01,480 --> 00:46:05,000
The intention is that while he 
brings about this good harvest, 

856
00:46:05,000 --> 00:46:08,000
he's also going to deal with the
things that are detrimental to 

857
00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:09,960
that good harvest. 
And he will do it with the 

858
00:46:09,960 --> 00:46:11,920
greatest care, with the greatest
gentleness. 

859
00:46:11,920 --> 00:46:14,920
So would you commit yourself 
into his hands every day? 

860
00:46:15,520 --> 00:46:17,440
Make it your friends. 
Say Lord be weed me. 

861
00:46:17,840 --> 00:46:19,360
Take away anything that's not 
from you. 

862
00:46:19,920 --> 00:46:22,400
Help me to produce a rich 
harvest. 

863
00:46:22,400 --> 00:46:25,160
May that be our focus through 
this season. 

864
00:46:25,160 --> 00:46:26,600
God bless you. 
God bless you. 

865
00:46:27,240 --> 00:46:29,080
Thanks for listening to this 
message. 

866
00:46:29,440 --> 00:46:32,920
We hope you were blessed to hear
more messages like this. 

867
00:46:33,200 --> 00:46:37,240
Make sure to subscribe and check
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868
00:46:37,240 --> 00:46:39,600
episodes. 
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869
00:46:39,600 --> 00:46:44,160
hearing, consider rating us, 
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870
00:46:44,160 --> 00:46:46,760
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871
00:46:47,480 --> 00:46:52,080
For more content from Via Zion 
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872
00:46:52,200 --> 00:46:57,240
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Remember, Whoever Finds Jesus 

873
00:46:57,480 --> 00:46:58,240
Finds Life.
