Friends, I felt moved this time, to give a message which may seem a little odd, a little strange, and it concerns the winnowing process, and I've entitled it God's Winnowing Winds. And I feel there is a good reason why this seemed to be laid upon me, because there is a process, a winnowing process, that's very important in the economy of God.

1. WHAT IS A "WINNOWING" WIND?

Well, of course, there is
(a) definition:
It is, of course, the process which uses the force of the wind to separate some useful portion from that which is relatively useless to us. Of course, while we have to go through the procedure of seeding the crop in furrows which have been cut for the purpose, watching for the rain to come, and when the ear is sprouted, and the full grain appears, reaping, then binding in sheaves, and on the garner floor, separating the kernels from the chaff, animals can bypass these steps, internally processing the raw grain and the straw too. Mankind is not so equipped as to allow a similar usage. But if we demand of the ox that it assist mankind in preparing the grain for our use, The Bible commands that we should not muzzle the ox which tramples out the grain to prevent it obtaining a share of our food.

Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary says: "winnow" - To separate the chaff from the grain by wind: to fan: to examine: to sift: to blow upon: (Milt.) to set in motion: (rare) to flap, flutter ... [A.S. windwian, to winnow]

The New Bible Dictionary explains: FAN: (Heb. mizreh, 'fan'; Heb. zara, 'to scatter', (which is where we get a seed, the idea of a seed) 'to winnow'; Gk. ptyon, 'fan'). A long wooden fork used by threshers to toss grain into the air so that the chaff is blown away (e.g. Is. xxx. 24; Je. xv. 7), a method still found in some remote areas of the Middle East. Thus John the Baptist employed an easily understood figure of speech in depicting Christ as the great Winnower who would separate evil from good (Mt. iii. 12; Lk. iii. 17).

And, in case you don't have a Bible handy,
KJV Matthew 3:12: says: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

and KJV Luke 3:17: says: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
(I just thought you would want two witnessses!)

(b) The Biblical Picture as background:
May I paint it for you?
Let us imagine ourselves back in Bible times, in a month of harvest, observing the farmer using a Fork to lift and toss the grain into the air, and feeling the soft Wind which blows away the light and flaky chaff on an ancient rooftop or in an open space of hard ground at the threshing floor. Alternatively, we might imagine, if the day is still and hot, that the farmer might be using a Sieve to toss and sift the grain, and thus to part it from the chaff which floats to one side. Perhaps the relatively heavier weight of the solid kernels of grain is being employed in the process of division whereby the activity of tossing the mixture allows the grain to be thrown farther and again caught in the sieve as the lighter chaff falls away, and separates. Perhaps a Fan is being used to supply the needed vehicle to drift the chaff aside.

I hope you don't think I'm just talking about physical wheat, because we're talking about people also.

2. THE SAME PRINCIPLE OF REMOVAL APPLIES IN A MORE GENERAL CONTEXT. Creation of any type generally requires the removal of some portion of the original mass of material. We see this in the physical realm in processes which involve:

And I have listed: SAWDUST
There is a need to blow away sawdust when one is cutting a carefully drawn line on a fret-saw or similarly when using a band-saw (although a wind is almost a part of the operation in that instance), so that one may observe the accuracy of the cut as it proceeds. Whenever one is creating anything of beauty out of wood, one will desire to sand-paper away those lumps and rough surfaces which are not required, and indeed which tend to detract from the final appearance of the artwork. There is then, a need for sand-paper, or perhaps in the case of a particularly hard material, a rasp to remove that which is not part of the design. The detritus tends to build up, and this must be blown away if we are to see accurately just how far, and in which parts, the work is approaching the perfect measurements which are laid out in the design drawing.

In STONECARVING
When carving a stone monument, the chips which prevent the figure within from being exposed to view must be eliminated, and we let them fall where they may. They might find a use as ornamental dressing in a footing, or a garden patch, perhaps, later. How much more, then, is it mandatory that, when creating The Stone Kingdom, The Almighty must eliminate that which will detract from the appearance of the whole.

BUILDING
When building a construction, a building, we generally lay a foundation by digging and removing some soil and rubble first, in order to prepare a sure footing for our work.

Even when AUTHORING A BOOK
There is a similar need, when one is writing a book. One has to clear away unwanted paragraphing when it is found that it does not apply in the particular placement that it temporarily holds in the preliminary draft. It must perhaps be shifted, or even eliminated, in order to create a more perfect expression of one's purpose. Likewise, one eliminates spelling errors, by taking away those letters which are out of place. They may have much value elsewhere in the document, but not where they appear!

Even when PRESERVING FOOD
When preparing preserves, one will eliminate the flies from the vicinity also, that they don't become part of the jam!

3. THE SAME PRINCIPLE OF REMOVAL APPLIES TO SPIRITUAL EQUIVALENTS:
Scripture speaks of The Holy Spirit, and the word used for this aspect of God is the same Hebrew word, "ruach", as can be employed when refering to the wind in nature.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN HISTORY, AND HAPPENS TODAY:
Thus, we may find in the concept of that farmer’s harvest scene a picture of something which The LORD is doing, and has been doing, all down through history. For example, God used the alertness of the relatively few men REMAINING with Gideon, who drank from cupped hands which was the sign distinguishing those who were to form the 300 with torch, pot, trumpet and sword, in the night, whose presence with The Almighty would route the enemy. Periodic harvests will probably increase the total size of the mixed heap but then must come the winnowing of grain from chaff. It is also noteworthy that the parables of the wheat and tares, and the parable of the sower are also appropriate to consider in this context. We can see the symbolic process of separation in those stories which tell of the way in which The Almighty, even in this present hour, is separating out those He would use from among the rest.

LET US REMEMBER THAT WHEN THE ALMIGHTY WAS PREPARING A PRIESTLY NATION FOR HIS PURPOSES, HE CALLED ABRAM AND SARAI, (both), AND FROM AMONG THEIR PROGENY, THE LORD MADE PARTITION AND SELECTION A CHARACTERISTIC OF HIS ACTIVITY ALL DOWN THE GENEALOGICAL CHAIN.

SETTING ASIDE ISHMAEL AND THE OTHER SIX SONS OF ABRAHAM, HE CHOSE ISAAC FOR THE "SEED." Ishmael and the other brothers were not descended from Sarah. FROM ISAAC, SETTING ASIDE ESAU, HE CHOSE JACOB (ISRAEL) AS PROGENITOR OF HIS NATIONAL "WIFE." It appears that Esau was a rebel, caring little for the birthright. FROM TRIBAL ISRAEL, HE CHOSE THE TRIBE OF LEVI IN PLACE OF ALL OF ISRAEL’S FIRSTBORN. Levi stood with Moses when many of Israel were worshipping the Golden Calf.

HE CHOSE JUDAH TO PERPETUATE THE SCEPTRE, AND JOSEPH TO HOLD THE BIRTHRIGHT. Judah was willing to take the place of Benjamin as a servant, and thus best qualified to rule. Joseph was sold to slavery but saved those who sold him, his national family, when holding magisterial powers of retribution.
FROM JOSEPH HE SELECTED EPHRAIM BEFORE MANASSEH. FROM THE EIGHT SONS OF JESSE, HE SELECTED DAVID TO BE KING OVER ISRAEL - the youngest.

Now, AN APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING WHY:
In order to set ourselves on the pathway towards obtaining some satisfying answers to these problems and questions, I think we might take ourselves back to those lands so long ago and far away, to see just what sort of lives people had back there, and to consider that these "tales" arrive at our doorstep, so to speak, out of the misty golden Bible stories for some very real purpose.

Let me ask you if you have ever considered a picture of those poor people who had to harvest wheat, or some other grain by hand, and then were left in possession of many grains of precious barley, wheat, or some such crop, but needed to make it all useful.

Now every single thing can take part in some pattern of existence which we can consider "useful" for some reason. Even the detested doggie dodo on the shoe of some unsuspecting gardener can be considered as fertiliser for next year's garden flowers if properly treated! All parts of a crop can prove useful given enough time for nature to get to work and process it. The burning of chaff may augment burning twigs and sticks to serve as a source of heat energy under a pot. We know that, in the case of grain, there is always some part which is more useful than another part bearing some particular object in view. If man can eat something, we call it "food" or perhaps some similarly useful enterprise can make it into something. In our own childhood, even playing with flour and water can begin, in a kindergarten experience, to make a map with hills and valleys, and various figures of geography to both instruct and amuse little fingers. Every portion can have a use of some sort in the over-all economy. BUT WE CONSIDER SOME PORTIONS TO BE OF GREATER USE THAN OTHERS.

That flat housetop of a near eastern cottage in an ancient Biblical setting would provide the useful work-space to carry on that process of winnowing grain or other needed household operations, particularly on a hot day when the rooms within might almost glow with heat and hardly a zephyr of air stirred to relieve the strain. A sweating clay waterpot chilled by evaporation would perhaps provide a sip of water to some industrious man or woman who had to carry on the necessary work of life. Such a rooftop proved invaluable in the events preceding the invasion of The Promised Land. When the children of Israel under Joshua were about to invade the Land, there dwelt in Jericho, as you will remember, an inn keeper called Rahab. Two spies, sent by Joshua were hidden under the flax upon her roof when the king of Jericho was searching for them. She, with her family in that house upon the wall of Jericho, were alone of all the populace of that city, winnowed by The LORD to merge with the rest of Israel down the centuries of the future. The winnowing processes of The LORD would garner her progeny to His Barn.

Would you allow me to grasp the hand-hold on your imaginative powers and pull you along on a short journey back to the figure of Ruth, and those others of the household of Boaz, as they laboured through the day to reap and bind the sheaves of grain which were so precious to the people in that time and place. Winnowing of the grain would be proceeding apace as the sheaves were collected. Could not the plan of The Mighty God of all the earth encompass not only the winnowing of that "parched corn" which was "reached to her" by Boaz, but the winnowing of the maiden herself as a select portion of Israel to become grandmother to Jesse, the father of David the King?

4. HOW MAY SPIRITUAL WINNOWING BE ACCOMPLISHED?
First, there is (a) DOUBT OF GOD’S WORD
The materialism of our present day, and for the last few generations in particular, has driven out of court, so to speak, all reliance upon miracle reports such as those contained in "Holy Writ."

If God is true to His Own Holy words, and if He wants everybody to believe what He states therein, "Then WHY", we might ask, "did He place in Holy Writ the accounts of such events as those reported as having occurred in the Garden of Eden, or that of the Great Fish which swallowed Jonah in the account concerning that Prophet?

"Did He not know that these stories would raise the greatest scepticism in the honest minds of great numbers of the inhabitants of the world? Did He not understand that telling such tales would only deny credibility to the other morality stories", as we might term them, "that can be useful guides to the structuring of 'Society'"?

However, there are also other aspects of this principle. We all know of times in life, perhaps in the years when we were a lot younger and less prepared with answers from God's Word, when we have felt that some occurrence or phenomenon seemed to be inexplicable when viewed as having occurred under the hand of an All Wise and All Loving God. Others who see only the materialistic side of reality may consider that there is no God at all. They view such accounts as those in the early chapters of Genesis as a sort of folk tale or pure fiction without any basis whatsoever in real history.

We might say, as some have done when considering the tragic loss of life in an air crash, or in some other form of accident or purposed bombing incident, "why did GOD allow this to happen? There may well have been a questioning of our faith, and there may have been no immediate or apparent solution to the questions which the situation raised. Some philosophers have tried to make this the rational excuse for disbelief in God, saying "either He did care but was impotent, or else He was uncaring. In either case, He is not a God worthy of our respect and trust."

Consider how some may view the world. They learn of the Biblical accounts perhaps early in their youth and they more or less accepted the accounts as true because they had not encountered through the educative process any of those many sophisticated replies which can later deter a person from acceptance. They may go to University, and there find apparently erudite (learned) professors who ridicule any thought of the suggestion that anything in the Bible might reflect ultimate truth.

Yes, He did know. But then there was, and is, I believe, a very good reason for all such accounts. They are true, for the God Who inspired their telling is a true God. We may not be certain in every instance of Scripture just how we are to understand the meaning. We know, however that Jesus supported such accounts, and He was not a liar.

Why, then, do such accounts appear in the Bible? Why include them at all, except perhaps as an adjunct to the fertile imaginative thoughts which seek to transcend the mundane realities of our work-a-day world into some fairy story of long ago and far away.

"Further", we might continue, "Why would He allow the structure of the whole presentation to issue in such doubts for so many?"
Well, Why DID The Almighty allow scepticism such fertile soil in His great Plan for mankind? Why DID He permit the ancient prophets to tell us such tales? Was it as pure fiction? Was it to be a sort of "Parable" to show us some "deeper Truths"? What is the POINT of it all?

The answer, I believe, is found in that ancient Biblical picture of the winnowing of grain.

It is TO SEPARATE:
We need somehow to separate the two CATEGORIES, that which is of greater use, from that which we consider expendable, and of lesser value, using some process which takes advantage of the differing characteristics of the parts. The variation in weight, the "flakiness" which allows the wind to catch some particles and pull them to one side, or some other process of separation which depends upon the specific characteristics of the two must be employed to part the more useful "food" from the less useful "chaff." In order to do this there are several methods possible.

Of course, one might rub the grains between the palms of one's hands, as did the disciples on that day when the Jewish leaders accused the disciples before Their Lord of breaking the sabbath for so doing. [KJV Luke 6:1 And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.]

The sheaves of grain would often be brought up to the rooftop, there to work on the matter. On a rooftop, there would be more chance of a wind. Wind would act as a labour-saving source of energy. Of course we know what had to be done to the grain before it might be eaten by mankind.

Biblical references sometimes make use of the agricultural picture to teach lessons holding a more spiritual meaning. One of these, I believe, is that HARVESTS INCREASE BUT following the reaping, WINNOWING DECREASES the mass of that which has been gathered. Periodic harvests increase the heap before the granary, but then there must come a process which diminishes that heap, because otherwise it will include the less-desirable particles which must in consequence be set aside from that which will prove of most good to the purpose of the reaper. There is chaff which must be blown away, or alternatively be allowed to fall through a sieve. There are tares which must be separated from the wheat, which, in another manner, is in its intent similar to the winnowing wind, but the hands of the angelic reapers take the place of the mechanical action of air.

We remember the reference in Matthew 13:22 [3-23, 24-30]
"A Sower Went Forth..." Painting by Douglas C. Nesbit, B.A. © 1996
3. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4. And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5. Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6. And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8. But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10. And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11. He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15. For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
16. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
18. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
19. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
20. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
21. Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
22. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
23. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
24. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28. He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29. But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Remember also those verses in Matthew 3 and Luke 3 containing those words "His fan is in His hand... ."

In regard to GOD’s Design of such "Winds", WHAT ARE SOME OF THOSE WINNOWING WINDS? Well, these relate to the qualities of those to be separated, so we may ask WHAT QUALITIES ARE BEING TESTED?

Here are some Examples:
God’s Winnowing Winds may include tests:
- For DOUBT of God’s Words (The generation of Israel which balked at entry to The Promised Land provides us with one example of such people; Derision by some of the academic community in this day of generally academically humanistic attitudes of mind, AND The experience of doubt due to inadequate clarity of scripture passages may have a similar outcome.)
- There is Doubt because of INNOCENT PERSECUTION by Satan. (We think of Job, who persisted in his devotion though having lost wealth, children, personal health and his presumably handsome appearance. In Job 2:9 we find "Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die." That was winnowing, testing - good grain, not chaff.)
- Doubt due to DELAY in the arrival of an answer (In Luke 13:10-13 we find the account of the woman healed after 18 years;
10. And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
11. And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.
12. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
13. And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.)

There are also those who follow a teaching which appears true, but then seems to have lost its witness - the Great Pyramid, perhaps fell into this category for great numbers of adherents to B.I. teaching in the last generation, as expectation died for many when a projected date passed with barely a ripple. However it may well be that sign of which the Prophet Habakkuk wrote, and may later be found to have represented a longer term projection than those who fell away were prepared to accept. I say this when contemplating, in conjunction with that monument the words of the that Prophet in Habakkuk 2:3 "For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry."

These winnowing winds may include testing for:
- Willing hearts to express LOVE for God rather than SELF (Here, I think of Joseph in Potiphar’s house and subject to Potiphar’s wife’s demands; - Genesis 39:7 "And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me."

Into this category also, I would place the poor widow’s two mites - (Mark 12:42 "And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing." and Luke 21:2 "And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.")

There is the test for WISDOM. (We remember the young Solomon, asking for wisdom rather than other forms of personal honour and gain. We read in II Chronicles 1:11 And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king:). At that point, Solomon must have passed the test as grain.

- There is a test for valour. VALOUR is subject to the winnowing testing. (David at the challenge of Goliath to Israel and Israel’s God; could he have acted as the rest of the army of Israel that day? - I Samuel 17:26 And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? ).

- VIGILANCE may be used. (Gidedon’s 300, chosen because they scooped water in their hands, with eyes alert rather than lapping it up like dogs, and hence more vulnerable to surprise attack; the rest were either too timid to be reliable in a confrontation with the over-bearing multitudes of the enemy, or those of the remainder who were too numerous to afford God the glory, and were set aside, leaving those most prepared for the service. - Judges 7:6 "And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men: but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.") The separating process: its like a winnowing wind.

- There is a test for PATIENCE (Here we remember Joseph in the Prison in Egypt for 12 long years, and also the Parable of the Sower wherein those which have no root on rocky ground with only thin soil wither away).

There are other tests, and of course the winnowing is the test. There are other tests, including:
- PRIDE (Here Nebuchadnezzar, before the 7 ‘times’ of madness, comes to mind, as does King Herod Agrippa who accepted the praise of the multitude in Acts 12:21-23 saying he was a god, and instantly died:
21. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
22. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
23. And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.)

- There is a test for ARROGANCE (Seen in Pharaoh who "knew not Joseph", in Exodus 5:2 "And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go." and also in Korah’s rebellion in the Wilderness.)

- There is a test for LUST (David on seeing Bathsheba; II Samuel 11:2
2. And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
3. And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
4. And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
5. And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.) Well, in that one instance, David certainly fell. He wasn't proving himself the grain he should be.

- But then HONESTY is also subject to testing. (King David AND Nathan the Prophet when Nathan confronted David over Bathsheba. II Samuel 12:7 "And Nathan said to David, [and here Nathan is being tested] Thou art the man." [That was a test of Nathan; telling the King "Thou are the man, (that hath sinned)!"] and II Samuel 12:13 "And David said unto Nathan I have sinned against the LORD." So David passed that test of honesty.

Such winnowing winds may include these:
- There is a test for steadiness in ISOLATION (The Prophet Micaiah before Ahab and his prophets: 1 Kings 22:24 But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?)

(Also, Jeremiah warning King Zedekiah: Jeremiah 37:17 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.)

(There is also the example of Elijah before Ahab and the Priests and prophets of Baal. 1 Kings 18:40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.) These are testing - testing periods, testing times - winnowing winds.

- We find PRIORITIES tested by these winnowing winds: (Parable of the Sower - Matthew 13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;" - And there are seeds among thorns and weeds which strangle their commitment by Cares of this world. It is a test, - a winnowing test).

Answering the question - "WHY THE NEED FOR THESE WINNOWING WINDS?"
The Resolution of the question would appear to be that
SHRINKAGE IS PART OF THE PLAN
There is need for such to be a part of God’s Plan:

If we ask "Why doesn’t our effort to draw people to our message bear fruit in the assembling of an increasing number of adherents?", God might well reply "You are trying to make the pile of grain larger by increasing the size of the heap regardless of the quality of the ardour and conviction. I am trying to diminish the size of the pile by winnowing the chaff away from the grain."

Let us see the manner of God’s response in the way He dealt with Noah and his family, with
Abraham and Sarah, with
Lot and his family, with
Isaac, with
Jacob, with
Joseph, kept apart from his brethren, with
Moses alone at the Burning Bush, with
Joshua and Caleb, with
Gideon! The increase will come, but in God’s good time, as the good seed is planted in the earth to bring forth an harvest, some thirty, some sixty, and some an hundred-fold.

God did not keep the masses of Adamites from the Flood. He did not sweep together the people of Ur with Abraham and Sarah. He did not include Ishmael with Isaac, nor Esau with Jacob in order to increase the pile of grain. He did not keep that generation which had balked at entry to the promised land alongside Joshua and Caleb. He kept only three hundred out of the thousands who were at first in the company over which Gideon was set. Christ chose twelve out of the rest of those whose interest might have varied from curious to somewhat questioning and antagonistic. He parted them to prepare them away from the multitudes. Many there were, who later formed the Christian Community, but first, came the winnowing of the grain from the chaff, in order to provide that teaching and leadership company that was picked out and set apart for special service.

The honours were very naturally attached to their responsibilities, and were far greater because they did what they were called to do in isolation. Regarding the "End Time", God speaks of "a very small remnant."

If God wishes to create a KINGDOM, which means an entity with Himself as King, a citizenry, a code of Laws, and Lands and Resources, then this speaks of an hierarchy, in which tested individuals will be appointed to positions of trust, in the very same manner as God gave Moses the directions to appoint the 70 who were to come with him up into Sinai: Exodus 24:1 And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.) We have the picture of some, IN the Kingdom who will be accredited as "GREAT", and others who, because of fault and failure to observe and teach God's Laws, will be set in the position of being called "THE LEAST."
17. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
19. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

And don't forget that the righteousness of those Scribes and Pharisees was not measured in their scrupulous keeping of all the laws, but in their assiduous pursuit for the legal loop-holes that they though might allow them to demand entry to heaven while enjoying some deviance from obeying the law.

"Be thou ruler over ten cities..." Do you remember? In Luke 19:10-20:
10. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
11. And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear.
12. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
13. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.
14. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us.
15. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
16. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds.
17. And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.
18. And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.
19. And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.
20 And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: You can see the difference there.

In HIERARCHY:
We can’t be "all chiefs, with no Indians"... .

"A very small remnant..." Isaiah 1:9 Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.

Look about you. Are we not living in a modern Sodom, a modern Gomorrah? Lot alone with his wife and two daughters, was saved out of Sodom. It may be that the modern Sodom and Gomorrah will have to depend upon the very small remnant to fend off the ultimate catastrophy of God's final full judgment upon them. Giving them an opportunity that of themselves, they do not deserve. It is possible. Had there been ten righteous, Sodom would have been saved.

Have you in your personal lives, in your life, ever felt the breath of that winnowing wind, from the Almighty God, testing you - for service, or potential service, in His Kingdom?

Hierarchy is to be a basic structure in the kingdom... Now those who will have obeyed His Commandments will have been those who have trusted in the end result which is promised, and such will have had to come upon that trust through some WINNOWING process; some form of God's Winnowing Wind.

As Christ pointed out to those who rejected Him, ... it was"because ye are not my sheep. My sheep hear my voice... ."

In II Chron. 7:14, ... If My People... You know the verse, those winnowing winds will be moving in the proper time to permit the grain of God’s people to be separated from others who reject Him. The word is MY people... . "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Let us pray: "Heavenly Father may we all find a place in that elect and select company who are full grain, ready to bear one hundred, sixty or thirty fold. May we be fullsomely serving You here, now, in this time of Jacob's Trouble, so that there will be a very small remnant that will be of extremely important service both to the people, and hence to You. We ask that we may partake in this for the sake and in the Name, the Precious Name, of Jesus, Jesus Christ Our Lord, Our Saviour, Our Prophet, and Priest and Our coming King, and we look forward with such longing hearts, to that coming again, and we pray in His Name, Amen."