177 - The Parable of the Kingdom 7 - The Parable of Leaven#
177 The Parable of the Kingdom 7 - The Parable of Leaven
(JP Text Group - Ren Wei Compilation)
Today we continue to share the seventh lecture on the parables of the kingdom: the parable of leaven.
Matthew 13:33: He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until it was all leavened.”
Let us first pray for our gathering today:
Heavenly Father, we thank you especially! We praise you! Thank you for preparing this time for us to share your word here. We especially bless this time, allowing each of us to gain something, pouring your words into our hearts, helping us understand the mysteries of your kingdom, so that more people can be changed through us, manifesting your glory in us. We completely entrust this time to the Holy Spirit to personally guide us and open the hearts of each one of us. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen!
This passage records the seventh parable about the kingdom. Why did Jesus use parables? Because the kingdom cannot be clearly expressed in our words; it can only be illustrated with earthly parables to show what the kingdom is like. We cannot say that the kingdom is “leaven”; the kingdom and “leaven” are certainly different. It indicates that some aspects are like the kingdom. The parable of leaven is different from the parable of the mustard seed, but they share a common point: the kingdom is a process of development from small to large.
In the parable of the mustard seed, we know that although the mustard seed is very small, its vitality is very strong. The emphasis in the parable is on the ultimate result of the kingdom. In the parable of leaven, it mentions leaven, which people use when making steamed buns; sometimes they also use yeast. In fact, the principle is the same. When people put leaven or yeast into a lump of dough, at first, there is no noticeable change; the dough does not show any visible alteration, but this change is a process that develops from the inside out. It also tells us: The growth of the kingdom is actually a silent process that starts from within.
When the woman goes to leaven the dough, she mixes a little leaven into three measures of flour and then covers it with a blanket. While the woman rests, changes begin to occur inside the dough; life is continuously spreading within. By the next day, when she uncovers it, the whole lump of dough has risen. The molecular structure of the dough has changed; this small amount of leaven has infected all the flour inside, and all the flour has become like that small amount of leaven.
This tells us that the gospel of the kingdom may not appear as we imagine. Why doesn’t it let us see it all at once? In fact, it is all happening inside first. After we believe in the Lord, the change in life is also like this. It starts with an internal change, and by the time it is visible externally, the internal change has already occurred completely. The outside of the leaven does not show any change, but inside it is continuously infecting the particles of the other flour, and eventually, all the flour becomes exactly like the leaven.
In this parable, we see: The change of life and the growth of the kingdom is a process from the inside out. Just like the church, which starts out insignificant, who could have imagined that the twelve disciples led by Jesus could spread the gospel to the ends of the earth? The gospel began with those twelve people, one passing it on to another.
As a result, from the time of Jesus until now, two thousand years have passed, and countless people have accepted Jesus. But we know that this looks like leaven; there has never been an advertisement about the kingdom on television; it is constantly changing from below. This gospel has reached us today. The gospel of the kingdom began with the disciples, passed on one by one, and its influence is from the inside out, spreading globally to this day.
The scripture says, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven.” What does leaven mean in the Bible? In the Bible, “leaven” is generally related to “sin.” In the Old Testament, it is mentioned that there should be no “leaven” in the bread, symbolizing its relation to sin; “leaven” represents the negative aspect.
Some interpret the “leaven” in this parable as the corruption of the church. Different people see different scriptures and draw different conclusions. Many say, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven; sin continues to expand, and eventually, the whole church becomes corrupt.” This seems reasonable: at the beginning, the church established by Jesus was indeed flourishing. But you cannot say, “Today’s church has been completely infected by sin.” If this is the interpretation, where is the manifestation of Jesus’ power?
Let us all receive according to our understanding! Although this is a fact, we also recognize that there are indeed many problems in the last days of the church. However, based on the context, in this chapter, the Lord Jesus has been talking about the parables of the kingdom and has not mentioned the issue of the church's corruption. So when reading the Bible, we need to have a correct understanding and choose a reasonable interpretation to accept. Let’s look at a passage of scripture and see what kind of way Jesus used when preaching?
Matthew 12:18-19:
“Behold my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.”
Is this referring to Jesus Christ? Yes, it is Jesus Christ. The scripture says that Jesus Christ is chosen and beloved by God, “He will proclaim justice to the Gentiles,” referring to when Jesus Christ preached the gospel to the world, He did not deliberately exaggerate or advertise Himself, nor did He instruct His disciples to proclaim loudly. How did Jesus do it? He did not quarrel or cry aloud; this was His way of preaching the gospel. When we share the gospel with others, we should also imitate Jesus, first not to argue with them.
We previously talked about the “universal key” principle, which we should apply in life: First agree with them. For example, when we share the gospel with someone, and that person says, “Christians are all liars, all fools.” Upon hearing this, you first agree with them, saying, “You are absolutely right! I used to think that way too.” Then you tell them how you changed later. When Jesus Christ tells us that when He proclaims justice to the Gentiles, He does not argue; we need to learn this wisdom: when sharing the gospel with others, we must not argue.
The second point is not to cry aloud. Today, we cannot preach the gospel like John the Baptist, shouting in the wilderness, “The kingdom of heaven is near! You must repent!” Is that feasible? I estimate that if you shout like that for two days, you will be arrested. Wouldn’t that disturb the peace? So we need to be wise. I have indeed seen such “loud” people; one person was on a bus, shouting with a loudspeaker, “The kingdom of heaven is near! You must repent!” As a result, they were taken away shortly after.
Jesus could have shouted at that time, but when you see how Jesus preached the gospel, He started with a few disciples, first explaining the mysteries of the kingdom to them. “And no one heard his voice in the streets” does not mean that Jesus did not go out; it means that Jesus’ initial work was very unremarkable, and people did not think that this person called “Jesus” had any significant ability.
Mark 3:10-12:
For he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.
Is this not the way Jesus initially preached the gospel? For us, sometimes we wish everyone knew about us! Jesus indeed healed many people at the beginning; many who had diseases wanted to come and touch Jesus to be healed. Jesus performed miracles for them, and the unclean spirits were also afraid of Him; they cried out before Jesus to promote Him, but Jesus strictly ordered them not to make Him known.
Someone asked: What would happen if Jesus had been revealed at the very beginning? It’s quite simple; if Jesus had been revealed at the start, the obstacles He would face would be enormous. Do you understand this? Therefore, when we start preaching the gospel to others, we need to learn the wisdom of preaching the gospel from Jesus: do not argue, do not show off, do not cry aloud, but first spread the gospel, allowing some people to change first, letting some people taste the grace of the Lord, and come to know the power of Jesus Christ.
Luke 8:53-56:
And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But taking her by the hand, he called, saying, “Child, arise!” And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.
At that time, a man’s daughter had already died, and when Jesus went, He said that the girl was not dead but sleeping. When people heard Jesus say this, they began to laugh at Him. But after Jesus went in and began to pray for the girl, she immediately got up. By this time, it was already in Luke 8; why at this time did Jesus perform miracles and still not let others know? You see, this is a miracle of raising the dead. After Jesus performed the miracle of raising the dead, He was not persecuted because not many people knew about it. At that time, the religious leaders, Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes did not persecute Jesus.
Because at that time, Jesus’ ministry was like leaven, constantly changing from within. Many people had already been changed by Jesus, but from the outside, this lump of dough did not show any significant change; however, the work was already in progress. So when the girl was raised, Jesus said not to tell anyone.
Eventually, when Jesus’ ministry was nearing its end, He also raised someone: Lazarus. Many people knew about this, and it could no longer be hidden. Jesus knew that His gospel ministry was about to end; this lump of dough had fully risen and could no longer be hidden. What was once at the bottom of the bowl was not visible; now the whole lump of dough was leavened and could no longer be concealed. When Jesus said, “Lazarus, come out,” the Pharisees were also present, and from that moment on, the Pharisees and religious leaders resolved to kill Jesus.
Both are miracles of “raising the dead,” but there were no issues earlier. Jesus was very wise in His actions. Jesus did not allow them to speak because, at that stage, He did not want those opposing Him to hinder His preaching of the gospel. This is a wisdom we need to possess. Jesus Christ is the most standard and perfect servant of God and the best example of preaching the gospel throughout history. God bears witness that “He does not quarrel or cry aloud; nor does anyone hear his voice in the streets.” This is a very low-key work, a work done in secret.
For us, when we start preaching the gospel today, we need to learn from Jesus’ way. Today, many people turn it around; at the beginning, they make a lot of noise, and as a result, they cannot cover it up in the end. Many people do not understand; there will definitely be many opposing voices. If we let many people know about Jesus at the beginning, knowing what we are talking about, when one person opposes, there will be others to explain to him. Just like now, if none of you have accepted Jesus here, and I preach to you, there will be many opposing voices, and it will be difficult for me to explain to each one. If now there is an unbeliever who comes into our church, and we all help him, it will be much easier for him to accept Jesus. This is exactly the method of Jesus Christ.
Why did Jesus not promote Himself when He began His ministry? Among the three temptations of the devil against Jesus, one mentions that the devil took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple and said to Him, “Throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands, they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus did not jump down; why not? What does standing on the pinnacle of the temple represent?
The temple was the place where the most people gathered at that time. Every year, almost all men had to come to the temple in Jerusalem to worship God. If they were worshiping God in the temple courtyard and suddenly saw someone jump down from above and land among them, and that person was unharmed, I believe everyone present would kneel down and worship Him, saying, “You have saved three and a half years of time; you can achieve all effects in one day.”
Why didn’t Jesus do such a thing? If it were us, we might be very willing to do so, to jump down from such a high temple and be completely unharmed, which would only prove that this person is God. If Jesus had done this, He would have been showing off Himself. But Jesus was always revealing the will of the Father. What we need to learn today is: do not let people think highly of ourselves; we are willing to share Jesus with more people.
Paul was also such a person. Before Paul truly preached the gospel, he had served in the church for fourteen years before he went out. The Bible mentions that Paul performed many miracles, but he had fourteen years of silent service beforehand. For three of those years, he was in the wilderness of Arabia, spending three whole years alone in the wilderness, meditating and receiving. Many of his revelations of grace were received there.
In the wilderness, God personally took him to the third heaven and showed him the kingdom, revealing the mysteries of the kingdom to him. From that moment on, Paul suddenly realized, “There is nothing in this world that can compare with the kingdom.” That is why he said, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” If you do not see it with your own eyes, how can you let go?
We have talked about how what Paul had at that time might be what we all dream of having today: Roman citizenship, a Hebrew of Hebrews… In terms of fame, status, work, and all aspects, Paul was exceptional; he had no need to suffer for the sake of the gospel.
But when he saw the kingdom, he realized that this world is only temporary, and these things will one day be destroyed. Only the rewards in heaven are eternal. So after Paul saw all this, his way of working was the same as Jesus’. At the beginning, he was very low-key, also hidden, fearing that others would think highly of him.
He hid the great price he paid for the Lord and his wonderful experiences, avoiding talking about them. If today we had experiences like Paul’s, we would probably jump up and down, telling every church, “I have been to heaven!” Paul indeed went to heaven, but after he came down, he hardly mentioned it.
Why does the Bible mention this about Paul? Because the people of the Corinthian church truly forced Paul into a corner; they even doubted that Paul’s position was real. They said that all of Paul’s service had ulterior motives. For this group of people, he had no choice but to say, “I know a brother who was taken to heaven after being in the wilderness for three years.” He did not say this experience was his own. In fact, this was referring to himself. When Paul spoke of this, he did not say, “I went to heaven.” If he had said that, the people below would have immediately responded, “I went to hell too!” So there would be no way to explain it. When Paul spoke of this, he was also deliberately hiding himself.
And the devil’s agents often worked against Paul. One time, when Paul went to a city, a woman possessed by a demon followed him around every day, saying, “This is a great servant of God! He preaches the truth of Jesus Christ…” If we had such free advertising today, we would be delighted to have her follow us around. But Paul turned around and said to her, “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, come out of her!”
Paul did not want others to promote him because he knew he was preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. The true preaching of the gospel of the kingdom starts from within. Because Paul was a missionary, when he went to a city, his initial work always started small. So everyone need not worry; this is how the gospel is raised up. Let’s look at another passage of scripture to see why Paul had to introduce this unique experience of his.
Philippians 3:1-9:
Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for the dogs; look out for the evildoers; look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.
Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.
Why does Paul mention this? Paul bears witness here that he is of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin. What Paul did in the past is something many people today cannot achieve, but Paul did not boast about it. Paul said, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” If a person has great achievements in this world, he will certainly say, “I did this, I did that…”
When Paul realized that only Jesus is the best, he no longer mentioned himself; he only mentioned Jesus. His way of preaching was also according to the way of Jesus Christ. Paul regarded Jesus Christ as the most precious treasure, seeing that only Jesus Christ is our ultimate hope. Everything on earth will pass away. For those who do not realize this, they will strive to earn a little more, dig a little deeper, but one day these things cannot be taken away. Our God says that one day He will roll up this world like an old garment; God will give a new heaven and a new earth. Paul understood this, which is why he said that only the kingdom is our hope.
Paul said, “I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”
Paul tells us to believe, not to boast about our past achievements, but to have faith. Paul was a very wise person in preaching the gospel. Just like leaven, it is not done with fanfare but quietly influences life, just as Jesus influenced His disciples with His own life.
In the past, I did not understand this saying. At that time, I had just believed in the Lord for a short time, and my pastor said to me: “Please remember, you are not going to learn knowledge; you are going to know His life through Jesus Christ. After you learn, you will use your life to influence lives.” When we preach the gospel, it is not enough to give the gospel to others and then be done; we must use our lives to influence their lives.
In the church, it is the same; we are not to force others to do anything, but to use our lives to influence others’ lives. When we believe in Jesus, living a joyful life every day, you will find that many people will want to be close to us, saying: “I want to have your joy and peace; how can I get it?” We can say to them, “Just believe in Jesus with me!” and use this life to influence other lives.
When you see a life in sorrow, you use a joyful life to influence them. When we see others suffering from illness, we pray with the life of Jesus Christ for them, which can bring many lives to transformation. We absolutely cannot say to them, “If you don’t believe in Jesus, you will go to hell.” Today, people do not fear hell at all. Why not? Because they have never been there; they do not fear a place they have never been. But once they have been there, they will never want to go again, but by then, it will be too late.
Our opportunity is only once; you cannot say, “I will first take a stroll in hell, and if it’s not good, I will go to heaven!” There is no such opportunity; we have no way back to do it again. We can only tell others, “Do not go there; we have a better place to go.”
While I am on earth, I can already live out the appearance of the kingdom. We use this life to influence others, allowing them to join us in living “on earth as it is in heaven.” Because we cannot live a hellish life on earth, but we can live out a heavenly life on earth. If someone can live a hellish life on earth, they will never want to go to hell again because that place is absolutely unbearable for anyone.
So we must see that the growth of the kingdom is quietly and silently growing. When houses in the world are being built, there is always a lot of noise. Only the temple, when it was built, there was not even the sound of iron. When Solomon built the first temple, there was not even the sound of hammers or chisels; this temple was built quietly.
Only in the world is there such a temple; when Solomon built the temple, there was no sound. Because at that time, Solomon had already prepared the stones, placing them there, and when it was time to build the temple, they were stacked one by one. Today, the construction of the church and the development of the gospel are also like this, quietly built up, Hallelujah!
Let’s take a look at what “leaven” represents in the Bible.
The first “leaven” refers to the “leaven of the Pharisees,” representing hypocrites.
Luke 12:1: In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.”
Some people preach not the gospel; they just want to use the gospel to maintain their own power. The Pharisees are one of them. How did Jesus evaluate this group of hypocritical Pharisees? Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.”
Their purpose was not to save these souls but to consolidate their own reputation and position. Today, there are also such people; their purpose in preaching the gospel is not for the building of this soul and life; they are just to consolidate their own power, boasting about how many people they have under them, boasting about how many churches they have established, boasting about how many believers they have; this becomes something they can boast about. But today, we are responsible for souls.
The second “leaven” is the “leaven of the Sadducees,” referring to heretical teachings.
Matthew 16:11-12:
“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” He said this not about bread, but to beware of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
What kind of teachings did the Sadducees have?
Acts 23:8: For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.
The scripture records the factional disputes. It was the same at that time. The Pharisees and Sadducees often argued in the same synagogue. In Acts, we also read such scriptures; Paul cleverly used this point. When they were judging Paul, he said, “I am on trial because of my hope in the resurrection.” As a result, the Pharisees said there is a resurrection, and the Sadducees said there is not, and right there, the two factions began to argue and condemn each other.
We see that, in comparison, the Pharisees are a bit stronger than the Sadducees; they are at most hypocrites, but the teachings of the Sadducees are heretical. If Jesus did not resurrect, then what are we believing in? Paul also tells us: “If there is no resurrection, then we have no hope.”
If there is no resurrection, we might as well eat and drink and die. What hope do we have? If there are no angels, no spirits, and no resurrection, then our faith is merely a spiritual consolation. We believe in resurrection, angels, and spirits. Humans have souls and bodies; we should believe in all of this in the future.
What exactly is heretical teaching? From our perspective in the Lord, heretical teachings are evaluated based on whether they deny Jesus Christ. If they believe that Jesus Christ died but did not resurrect, then that person is certainly heretical; we also look at whether they deny the Bible, believing that the Bible is outdated and presenting their own little scrolls, saying that reading this little scroll is sufficient; this is also heretical; some deny the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; this is also heretical.
Aside from these points, other issues are merely doctrinal issues; they are factional disputes, just different viewpoints, but they absolutely cannot be classified as heretical. We cannot easily label others as heretical just because their viewpoints differ from ours; this kind of approach is “judgment.” Anyone who insults a brother is liable to judgment; anyone who insults a brother is liable to hellfire. So do not hastily condemn others, because if you are not careful, you will condemn yourself. This is the “leaven of the Sadducees,” which is a very dangerous doctrine, ultimately leading everyone to not know what they believe in.
The third “leaven” is the leaven of self-exaltation.
1 Corinthians 5:6-8:
Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:6-8 ESV)
The Corinthian church was a very chaotic church. The people in this church had many gifts, but because they did not have the word of God, a group of very proud people emerged. Today, many people in the church are particularly eager to pursue anointing, power, and miracles; they are not rooted in the word of God and often boast, which ultimately leads to mutual comparison.
In the Corinthian church, there were all kinds of gifts; some spoke in tongues, some interpreted tongues; it seemed very healthy, but they often boasted, and the church that attacked Paul the most was also this church. So Paul told them, “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?”
If a self-exalting person appears in the church, others will be infected. When Paul faced such situations, he said, since you are unleavened dough, do not live in the old way; by believing in Jesus, you become a new lump, and you must celebrate the festival without the old leaven or malice. These things had already happened in the Corinthian church. This tells us that today, when we believe in Jesus, we need to be renewed in our minds and behaviors by the words of Jesus Christ so that we can influence others with our lives.
The “leaven” mentioned above and the “leaven” referred to in this article are different. The three types of “leaven” mentioned above are all negative; sin is contagious, and those corrupting influences also affect lives. What Jesus taught us is the gospel of the kingdom, so we do not need to promote the works of the devil, nor do we need to proclaim heretical teachings, and we should not often boast.
The three “leavens” mentioned above do not need to be promoted. First, we do not need to care about how the Pharisees are; that is not our focus. Our focus is on Jesus Christ. Second, we should not promote heretical teachings; this is what religious people love to do; wherever there is heresy, they immediately go to promote it. Truth is truth; there is no need to undermine others to prove oneself; this is great pride. We also do not need to boast because we want to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ, using the life of Jesus Christ to influence those around us.
The people on the platform are like the believers below.
There was a pastor in a church who always preached about demons; he preached about how many kinds of demons there are in the Bible, what the works of demons are like, and how to cast out demons. The messages released from the platform were always related to demons. As a result, the believers in that church were often possessed by demons. One time, while this pastor was preaching, he was possessed by a demon and fell from the platform. The believers looked at him and, being experienced, said, “The pastor is possessed by a demon.” As a result, the believers rushed up to pray for the pastor, saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ, bind the demon, bind, bind…” After a while, the pastor woke up, stood on the platform, and continued preaching about demons.
Think about whether the focus was wrong? Their focus was wrong. Whatever you focus on, your life will be like that. If we focus on Jesus Christ, do you still need to promote demons? As long as you keep your heart filled with Jesus, the demons will naturally flee. Just like a lamp, although the room is very dark, as long as we turn on the light, the darkness will leave by itself. You do not need to say, “It’s so dark! It’s so dark!” If you shout this, the room will still be very dark; the best way to handle it is to turn on the light. For us, no matter what problems we encounter, if we focus on Jesus, He will solve the other problems.
The “three measures of flour” in this article symbolize the world, while the woman represents the “Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit hides Christ, which is the mystery of the kingdom, within us. The Holy Spirit renews us through the words of Christ, renewing us through the life of Jesus Christ, thereby influencing our entire being. It is “leaven” that changes “dough,” not “dough” that changes “leaven.”
So when we share the “leaven” of the kingdom, it is Jesus Christ. In Adam, we are all sinners, and we can never change this fact by ourselves. To change this tragic situation, there must be a sin offering to atone for us; the Passover lamb, Christ, has already been sacrificed. When Jesus Christ was killed, we became a new lump; through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who is the Passover lamb, we become a new lump by believing in Jesus.
In other words, in the past, you had a bad temper, many problems, and very poor family relationships. But since you started believing in Jesus, He has placed the “leaven” inside you, and you have now become a “new dough.” Your life is different from your past life; as long as you are willing to let Jesus renew you and let the “leaven” continue to grow within you, the change in your life is only a matter of time.
Jesus Christ, who had the form of God, became flesh and dwelt among us. As long as people believe in Him, believe that He died for our sins on the cross, and believe that He resurrected from the dead three days later, we can escape the old life by believing in what Jesus has accomplished. Today, it is not by your “dough” trying to change yourself; you cannot change. For example, if there is half a bowl of dough, you let it change by itself; it cannot change. Unless a life enters, and you put “leaven” into it, it will naturally change. This is the change of life for us Christians.
It is impossible for a sinner to change or cleanse himself, to strive to become holy; he cannot change because that is his life. But when Jesus places His life into this sinner, everything about him will be changed.
The Bible says, “You are to be separate from the base and become precious.” How can one be separated from the base and become precious? How can a broken pot become invaluable? You cannot say to bury the broken pot in the ground; it will still be a broken pot after being buried for ten thousand years. The simple way to increase the value of a clay pot is to place a priceless treasure inside it, and then its value will be the same as that of the treasure inside. If a person wants to separate from base things and become a precious vessel, the method is simple: accept Jesus Christ, let the Holy Spirit enter you, and your value will be the same as that of the Holy Spirit.
When we believe in Jesus, although our outer flesh remains the same, inside we are new; the Holy Spirit inside is a new spirit, and He will change you completely. This is also an important aspect of our healing; the Holy Spirit in you is renewing you every day.
The world also thinks they are renewing themselves every day. After a year, they say they are a year older; at a certain age, they say they have reached menopause… They are also positioning themselves and constantly renewing themselves. But we are different; we believe that when the Holy Spirit is in us, He will restore us. Whatever aspect of us needs to be restored by Jesus, let the “leaven” continue to ferment in this dough until eventually, the whole person radiates the power of Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:16-17:
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
We have the Holy Spirit inside us; our past life has already died; now it is a new life. Our words, our thoughts, and intentions have all become new; God has created a new person for us. When we accept Jesus, the life of the kingdom is already within us; we must know this. We need to let the life inside us take effect; many miracles can occur after you renew your thoughts.
For example, many people say that giving birth must be very painful and difficult. But in fact, it is not always like that; there are also painless deliveries. The Bible records that after Adam sinned, God said to Eve, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing.” This proves that childbirth is painful, and everyone acknowledges this information. However, after the New Testament, God says, “You will be saved through childbearing.” This means you are different from unbelievers; they think giving birth is as painful as slaughtering pigs, but you are different; you can give birth smoothly through Jesus.
Today, we cannot recognize people, Jesus, or ourselves as we did in the past. We need a new perspective to understand ourselves because the kingdom is already within us. We should recognize this and influence others. If we do not recognize the life of Jesus within us and do not feel that Jesus is remarkable within us, you naturally cannot see His power. In fact, Jesus lives in us today, and He is greater than all.
After we believe in Jesus, He lives in us; we are now new creations, and He has completely changed us, making us into new people. This is a change from the inside out. The only thing that cannot change now is this body; God does not allow this body to change. This body will die, and after death, God will also resurrect it, transforming it into a glorious body. The inside of you is already new; you need to recognize this and let God change you from the inside out.
Philippians 3:20-21:
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
Our greatest hope is the return of Jesus Christ. At that time, Jesus will transform our bodies and take us to a certain hidden place in heaven, while the world will be in disaster. If we are still alive at that time, our bodies will be transformed in an instant, and we will meet the Lord in the air. We will also be able to see everything happening on earth, where there will be three and a half years of great tribulation, and all the demons will come out, but we will not be among them. We are citizens of heaven, and we await the Savior to come down from heaven and help us transform our bodies; this is our hope.
This is what makes us different from the world. We tell the world that the purpose of believing in Jesus is not just to eat better, live better, or go to heaven after death. The important thing is that after we die, we have a great hope; no matter how the world develops, God will always protect us. We are citizens of heaven; this is our life.
The change in our lives is not about shouting for change every day; it is a renewal from the inside out. How is it renewed? We continuously listen to the word, and the life inside us is renewed. As we listen to more and more words, our understanding of God increases, and in life, we will unknowingly apply God’s wisdom. When we recognize the beauty of the kingdom, we can testify to the beauty of the kingdom. We first experience God and then bear witness.
From today on, we say: “Lord, I have accepted Jesus; I am willing to see your great power in my life.” After we experience God, we will willingly testify for Jesus. If we have not experienced it, we cannot say to others, “Come to our church! Jesus is great; I heard that so-and-so was healed; I heard…” These are all others’ experiences; we need to experience it ourselves.
I wish that each of us, no matter what we encounter, even if we face the most difficult things in life, we first pray to God, we first experience Him, and after experiencing Him, our lives will change from the inside out, and the power that radiates will be different.
Today, people want joy; after work, they go to KTV to dance until they are drenched in sweat, having a great time. But when they return home, when the music stops, their hearts become even emptier. But we Christians are not like this; we have a source of joy from within, and the joy that flows from within can also supply others. This is what makes us different from the world. Therefore, we must continuously renew our lives through listening to the word, reading the Bible, and praying, recognizing the beauty of the kingdom, and then testifying to the beauty of the kingdom, using our lives to influence lives. When we experience this great power, we can serve others with this power.
There is a spiritual principle here. Generally speaking, when a person has a disease and is healed by God, after healing, their faith in healing becomes stronger. So such people generally have the gift of healing. The same goes for other aspects; when we see someone singing beautifully and praising wonderfully, they must be very willing to sing praises, and then God will allow them to experience greater power in this area.
So no matter in what aspect, we experience God once, know Him from within, and then live out this life. Preaching the gospel is also like this; we influence those around us with our lives, and the gospel will slowly rise like “leaven,” leavening the whole lump. One day, when our lives grow, it will be hard not to bear fruit.
Proverbs 4:20-23:
My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
The wisdom God gives us is to pay attention to His words, to incline our ears to His sayings, and not to let other things distract our eyes, but to look solely to Jesus. This wisdom should reside in our hearts. When we possess the wisdom of Jesus Christ, we possess life, and thus we can overcome in all things.
No matter what industry you are in, when you possess the wisdom of Jesus, others will always look at you with envious eyes; they will feel that you have something special that they do not have, and that is the life of Jesus Christ. When we possess the life of Jesus Christ, we have received healing for all our flesh. The joy and peace that God gives us are the healing for all our flesh.
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Many people live in sorrow; they do not know the mystery of the kingdom: when they receive Jesus, they receive the mystery of the kingdom and the healing for all their flesh. Therefore, we must guard our hearts and not let our hearts casually accept all sorts of chaotic things; do not always focus on demons, hypocrites, or heretics.
Focusing solely on Jesus is enough because in Jesus, we already have everything we need. Everything in this world can find answers in Jesus Christ. It says here: the fruit of life flows from the heart. When we preach the kingdom to others, we must tell them that the change of life is a change from the inside out.
For new believers, there is no need to tell them they must have good behavior or how to do things. We continuously nurture them, helping them know God, and one day they will discover that their lives have become different. They will suddenly realize that their bad temper has disappeared; this is the change in life, completely renewed by Jesus.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise you! You tell us that the kingdom is like “leaven,” and the change in life is from the inside out, a silent change. We believe that today, when we accept you, our lives have begun to change from within, continuously renewed by your words. We will become more and more like you, and our stature will reach the stature of Christ. We receive your blessings and your peace, and we can bring this blessing and peace to those around us, influencing them with our lived-out lives. For this, we thank you!
Thank you for helping us, changing us, and renewing us! All glory be to our Father in heaven! In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen!