The Three Leavens
(9 minutes)
Now, the disciples had forgotten to take bread with them, except for one loaf of flatbread. And as they were sailing across the lake, Jesus repeatedly warned them, "Be on your guard against the yeast inside of the Pharisees and the yeast inside of Herod!" But the disciples had no clue what Jesus was talking about, so they began to discuss it among themselves, saying, "Is he saying this because we forgot to bring bread?" Knowing what they were thinking, Jesus said to them, "Why all this fussing over forgetting to bring bread? Do you still not see or understand what I say to you? Are your hearts still hard? You have good eyes, yet you still don't see, and you have good ears, yet you still don't hear, neither do you remember. When I multiplied the bread to feed more than five thousand people, how many baskets full of leftovers did you gather afterward?"
"Twelve," they replied.
"And when I multiplied food to feed over four thousand, how many large baskets full of leftovers did you gather afterwards?"
"Seven," they replied.
"Then how is it that you still don't get it?"
(Mark 8:14-21)
In this scripture, Jesus gives the disciples a very important warning. One that the disciples didn't understand at the time, but that we should really try to receive today because it's still a reality for us. He tells the disciples to be on guard against two leavens that exist in the world. The leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. Jesus is saying that the most dangerous things on the earth (which surprisingly is not behavior) are these two leavens or systems that are at war with a heart that loves God.
"Leaven is the influence from the world that you're receiving from. You can either be receiving the leaven from the Kingdom of God, or the leaven from the Pharisees, or the leaven from Herod. What does this mean? What do those two terms stand for? The leaven of Herod is the political leaven, it's the political realm. It's for those of us who think our answers are going to come from who we vote for on November 4th. It's the leaven of sitting on Fox News or CNN and consuming political ideologies continuously, as if that's your answer, as if that's what's controlling your life...The leaven of the Pharisees is the religious system that tells you that you can have a form of God, but you cannot be close to Him, you cannot be intimate with Him, and He has no power in your life." (Pastor Tim)
What do you believe the most dangerous thing in the world is? What, on the earth, threatens the love affair between you and Yahweh the most? We must have a shift here, because the political and religious leavens would have us convinced that the most dangerous thing on the earth is the people who don't think or behave like us, but the danger lies much deeper in the leaven or influence that these two systems have on our heart. This is an area where we need to change our thinking. Jesus is telling us to be on guard against the political leaven and the religious leaven, because they are at war with the leaven of the Kingdom of God that's expanding within you. These two leavens will squash what the Kingdom is trying to produce is us.
Why is it so dangerous?
Because the unrenewed mind can be deceived into believing that it has a real relationship with Yahweh, but all it really has is a relationship with the political and religious spirit, something similar but not the same. A form of godliness, but it's devoid and empty when it comes to the power to see anything changed. The political and religious leavens only have words and thoughts and ideas, but never any fruit. The Kingdom of God actually has the power to produce the transformation that it preaches. Again, Jesus didn't pray for people to be healed, He healed them. What are we carrying? The leaven of the Kingdom of God, or the leaven of Herod and the Pharisees?
I'd say that's the most dangerous thing in the world - thinking you have a real relationship with God, when you're really in a relationship with something completely different. It's Jacob thinking he's intimately connected with Rachel, when he's really been in bed with Leah the whole time.
The Kingdom of God is right here and right now. It's available to us in every moment. Yes, it will require us to metanoia, to have our thinking changed. We can't keep our old perspective and inherit the Kingdom of God. Our unrenewed mind will always be at war with what the Kingdom is trying to produce in our heart. It's the goodness of God that leads us into the place of metanoia. It's encountering Abba's goodness that draws us into the place of having our minds renewed. And as we allow this process to take place, we need to be on guard against the two leavens that would try to creep into our love affair with Him - the political leaven and the religious leaven.
Do you know what activates leaven? Heat.
As we experience adverse situations and difficult circumstances, the leaven that's inside of us activates and expands. The storm has an interesting way of revealing what leaven has the most influence in our lives. When difficulties arise, what is our perspective? Like the disciples, do we only see what we don't have and what we lack? Or do we have a Kingdom perspective, that is imagining all the ways that Abba can get glory from the situation?
Our hearts and minds were made to partner with the Kingdom of God to bring restoration, healing, and hope to ruined cities. But the first place we have to partner with the Kingdom of God is in our own lives. It must become a way of life in us first.
Abba's goodness is inviting us into metanoia today. Let's take the walk with Him!
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Worship: "Good Good Father" by Housefires
Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place
Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!
