He spoke another parable to them, "The kingdom of
heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until
it was all leavened."
Insights: Today we conclude with the second lesson from
the parable of the leaven. The lesson is
the positive influence of the kingdom comes from within. Remember when I shared with you the word fomenting
which means to stimulate, to provoke, to agitate and to generate growth. Jesus injects us into the world, the massive
dough, and we begin foment by bubbling and boiling. The reason we bubble and boil is because Christianity
troubles the world. It influences it for good but it's sometimes painful for
the world to endure it. Think about the city
of Thessalonica when they said, “These men who have turned the world upside
down have come here also.” Or in
Philippi they said, "These men are Jews and they are disturbing our
city." The gospel is good, but it
has been disturbing, agitating, and provoking people for two thousand years. Remember from the parable of the wheat and
the weeds that Jesus has left us here to influence this lost world. We begin from very small starts (like leaven)
and grow into a world changing force for the Lord God. Do you realize that when the church met in Jerusalem,
it took them seven years before they established the first mission church in
Antioch? Now 1600 new churches start a
week around the world (and that is an old statistic as well as the next
two). 95% of the population of the world
has all or part of the Bible in their own language. 90% of all the tribes on the face of the
earth have had the opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, in spite of the weeds, in spite of the
birds that snatch the seed, in spite of scorching sun of persecution, there's
some good soil. In spite of the presence
of the weeds which have been over sown, the wheat is growing. In spite of all this evil opposition, the
mustard seed grows and the leaven influences.
These entire thoughts sum up really what our Lord said in Matthew 16:18
when He said, "I will build My church and the gates of hell will not hold
it in." Christ is building His
kingdom. Christianity will win, Jesus
will reign, evil will be destroyed, evil men will be sent to eternal hell and
the kingdom will come in its eternal fullness.
Beloved, let what is within you shine before the world.
Questions:
- Are you allowing the power of the gospel to foment
within you?
- From this transformation are you actively sharing your faith with others?
Prayer: Father, all
that matters at the end of the day is You and Your glory. Let me have boldness in my faith as I share
what is inside of me to the rest of the world. Amen.
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