Dear Church,
In yesterday’s message from Mark 8, we saw that in vs 15, Jesus gives a warning that is easy to hear… and easy to miss. This is what he said, “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” As I mentioned yesterday, this leaven wasn’t just yeast; it was a small piece of dough carried over from the previous batch, like sourdough. In the ancient world, that little portion would be worked into a new lump… and before long, the whole batch would rise and “puff up.”
The Pharisees and Herod lived in two different worlds; Herod was about political power and control, and the Pharisees were about religious power and control. Both of them worked against God and stood as an impediment to the kingdom of God. They both saw the kingdom as something that would rise and “puff up,” not something to surrender to. And Jesus says: Watch out. Why? Because that is how sin and pride work. Subtle… quiet… but shaping everything. And if we are honest, the same two yeasts can be present in our lives, in the life of the church also. When influence matters more than obedience. When recognition matters more than repentance. When control matters more than surrender. It may wear different clothes…but it carries the same danger. A little of it… can shape a lot of us.
So, the danger boils down to our carnal tendency to define and live out His kingdom in our own terms; here we are bordering dangerously close to the posture of Satan. Whereas the bible is Crystal clear that God’s kingdom comes through being poor in Spirit, being meek and hungry for God’s righteousness, being merciful and pure in heart, being peacemakers, and being persecuted for righteousness’ sake. Do you see it? This is not a Kingdom you climb into with power and dominance; this is a Kingdom we fall into, on our knees.
I also want to say how encouraged I am with the fact that nearly 30 of you have already signed up for our Fasting & Prayer on Wednesday, April 29 (not this Wednesday, but the next). You’ll be hearing more details soon, but this matters deeply.
As our church seeks clarity in vision and direction, we don’t want to move ahead of God; we want to align with Him. And that kind of clarity is not produced by strategy alone…it is formed in surrender.
Let’s come ready, not just to ask God to bless our plans… but to yield ourselves to His will.
As always, be encouraged –
Mathews
