KINGDOM of GOD - Parable of Leaven

Blessed Children of the Most High, I like to continue going through each parable that Christ likens to the Kingdom of God. I find this series interesting that Dr/Pastor Ralph Wilson has put together. I like to share some thoughts again I believe the Lord is putting on my heart (as I always like to acknowledge Gods goodness and never take any credit for anything He inspires me or leads me to do in the first place). It's amazing that God can give one sentence and we can make it an entire message to give Hope and meaning to what He is saying. An example is we read in Matt 13:33 He talks about the Kingdom of God is likened to mixing the dough until it was all leavened. This leavening agent is like a yeast that causes raw dough to rise. In the Old Testament, God often told the Isrealites to refrain from eating anything leavened (Exod 12:14-20) which was a form of sin and hypocrisy (1 Cor 5:6-8; Matt 16:5-12). In the Old Testament, it was a sign of keeping the law that was written. In the New Testament, Christ talks about the leaven as not necessarily keeping the law by doing, but keeping the commandments and His doctrine within our hearts instead because we now live under Grace. In Matt 16:5-12, Jesus talks to His Disciples about being aware of the yeast of the Pharisees. They thought He was talking about actual bread when Christ is actually talking about the false teachings of the Pharisees (vs 12) because they felt righteous by keeping the Law rather then believing Christ. Christ often confused the Pharisees. As one example of many, He taught them that it was better to do good then to just follow a bunch of rules and regulations, like saving a donkey from the well on the sabbath day (Luke 14:5). The Pharisees thought they were justified by keeping the law while forsaking what was really important. The yeast of the Pharisees were much different from the Yeast of Gods Word. The parable about the Kingdom of God being like dough that was mixed and leavened, I like to think of this as a symbol and sign for the important of Unity and Doctrine. In order for the mixture to be leavened, it has to mix together with the Yeast of following Gods teaching (not the yeast of anyone elses teaching). This reminds me that when we make up the Church, we need to mix with one another and be of one mindset (Phil 2:2) because we follow Christ and not just some form of doctrine because Christ is The Way, The Truth and The Life (John 14:6) and there is no other way that we can ever inherit eternal life. Also in this simple parable, this tells me that when we don't mix and we keep to our separate little groups, we don't allow the Yeast of Gods teaching to work properly for the Church in order to rise. When you bake a bread, you need to mix all ingredients thoroughly and add the yeast in order for the dough to rise to its fullness in order to have its best effect. Otherwise your dough will remain stagnant if the ingredients are not well mixed. Therefore, this is telling me that we need to mix with one another and come to the place and understanding that "WE NEED EACH OTHER" and see our need for each other to be of one mind by only allowing the Yeast of Gods Word be our Doctrine which is how the Church is able to grow (rise). Just like the ingredients that don't mix or allow the yeast to have its full effect, you can't expect to enjoy the freshness of eating bread the way we like to eat fresh bread. It's the same as this parable tells us. When we don't mix well (not being unified with one another by following what God teaches us), and not allowing the fullness of Gods Word (His Yeast) within us, we cannot expect the Church to grow either. Like I mentioned, it's amazing that God can say so much in one sentence. I believe I only scraped the surface of the full meaning of this short parable and I am certain there is much more to say about this. Understand this, that Christ speaks in parables so that those who have a heart after Him and will spend time seeking Him and His leading are the only ones who grasp the true meaning of the parables. It has to do with our heart towards Him and not being an intellect (read Matt 13:10-17). The ones who don't allow Him to have any place in their hearts don't ever receive the richness of His wisdom and knowledge for them. Allow God by asking Him to move your heart to reverently fear Him to keep His commandments (Eccl 12:13). When we do, He promises to reveal the secrets and richness of His Kingdom to you when your heart is right towards Him (Matt 13:11; Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10). I welcome any further comments you may have concerning this. God bless to All. Richard Poulin Answers2Prayer Ministry Encourager