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Three Leavens That Jesus Warned About | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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  Well, Mimi, please in your bibles in Mark chapter 8
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  beginning in verse 11, mark 811 the.
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  Word of God reads in verse 11. The Pharisees came and began to
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  argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him,
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  and he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, why does this
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  generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign
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  will be given to this generation.
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  And he left them gone into the boat again and went to the other
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  side. Now they had forgotten to bring
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  bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
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  And he cautioned them, saying, watch out, beware of the leaven
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  of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.
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  And they began discussing with one another the fact that they
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  had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said
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  to them, Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread?
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  Do you not yet perceive or understand?
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  Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see and
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  having ears? Do you not hear?
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  And do you not remember when I broke the five loaves for the
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  5000? How many baskets full of broken
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  pieces did you take up? They said to him 12 And the
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  seven for the 4000 how many baskets full of broken pieces
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  did you take up? And they said to him seven.
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  And he said to them, do you not yet understand the latter
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  portion of this text we'll deal with at another time?
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  The focus of our time together will be one verse, and that is
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  the verse that we see here in verse 15.
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  And he cautioned them saying, watch out, Beware of the 11 of
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  the Pharisees and the 11 of Herod.
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  Now turn with me briefly to Matthew 16-6 at the parallel
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  account of this very same scene, and notice with me a difference
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  that Matthew emphasizes on that will help make this message more
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  complete. Matthew 16 verse 6.
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  Jesus said to them, Watch and beware of the leaven of the
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  Pharisees. And sad you sees.
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  Lord, we pray again. Open our eyes to your word.
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  Help us behold the wondrous things out of your law.
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  Lord, may this message not just win our attention, may it win
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  our affections for Christ. May there be a special grace
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  upon the delivery of this word. May there be a special grace
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  upon our hearts to receive it with obedience and joy.
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  And may you be glorified in it all.
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  In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
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  Amen. What I want to speak to you
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  today about is very simple. When combining Mark 8:15 with
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  Matthew 16 six, it is clear that Jesus issues a warning to his
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  disciples about three different groups of people, the first the
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  Pharisees, the second the Sadducees, and lastly Herod
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  himself. And this exhortation was not
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  random. This was something that was
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  given immediately after. The Pharisees themselves
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  encountered Jesus yet again, aggressively seeking to argue
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  with him, demanding A miraculous sign in order for him to prove
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  his claim. And so, after Jesus feeds the
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  4000, there was a challenge, a challenge from his enemies.
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  Jesus after that just dismisses them, leaves and then he speaks
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  to the disciples about the Pharisees and others.
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  But what was it that He was warning about it exactly?
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  Was he asking his disciples not to retaliate with antagonism?
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  Was He cautioning his disciples not to overlook the fact that
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  there are these people who are after us, after me?
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  And perhaps, you being my closest followers, remember that
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  they are scheming for my death. Nothing of the sort.
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  What Jesus was warning about concerning the Pharisees in
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  these other groups of people was about their leaven.
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  Now the Lord here is not giving some kind of instruction about
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  ingredients for food. You know that very well.
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  Jesus looks at these people and he understands something more
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  influential about them, and so he looks to his own and he tells
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  them that there is something that they need to be aware of,
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  and it's spiritual. Though they interpret it
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  materially, right there, after he talked about the leaven,
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  they're start speaking about bread.
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  It opened up the subject, and the Lord gives him this rebuke.
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  How are you guys even talking about bread?
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  He says. No, you have to be aware of the
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  leaven of these three groups. And leaven, as you know, is a
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  fermenting agent that is largely used for what?
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  For dough to rise. And it is a consistent biblical
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  metaphor from beginning to end. To describe corrupting spiritual
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  influence, whether that influence is immorality or
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  doctrinal error. And so that's what we know
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  concerning Jesus. He's cautioning and
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  communicating that these three parties believed and behaved in
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  a manner that could subtly impact the spiritual health not
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  just of others, but of his own followers.
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  These are not three specific sins.
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  Instead, they are three types of false teachings.
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  They are twisted ideas to cause you to think something that
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  would warp your testimony. And now one could say that the
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  major and the main influence of this coalition of groups is is
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  unbelief in the person of Jesus Christ.
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  And you would be right in a general sense, because that's
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  what the context communicates. But we have to remember that the
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  Pharisees, the sad you sees. And Herod were distinct in their
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  ideas. They each emphasized a certain
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  shade on the spectrum of Levin, And what we will seek to do
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  today is to understand these Levins individually, since
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  they're prevailing threats today.
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  If you think that this is just a danger and apparel for the
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  disciples, then you have to understand that this is the Holy
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  Spirit's warning to us as well. This is a warning to disciples.
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  Jesus didn't turn to the world and say beware of the leaven of
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  these groups of people. He looks to his own.
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  He and he says with urgency and sobriety both in Mark and
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  Matthew. What?
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  Watch out, watch and be aware this is not a distant danger.
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  This is an ever present problem. And it seeks to be sprinkled on
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  you without you even realizing. It seeks to seep in and to cause
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  things to rise in you that you don't want to rise in you.
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  And so to you, I say with the same urgency and unction as the
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  Lord Jesus. Watch out, be aware and realize
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  that these threats are still alive and well today.
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  And praying into this message, my prayer, is that the word of
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  God would expose any of these Levins living in the home of
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  your heart. Because it's possible.
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  It's possible for even disciples of Jesus to know the corrupting
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  factors of what these parties represent.
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  And if you see that there is some of this in you, that you
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  would go beyond that and say, OK, Lord, now purge me, cleanse
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  me, wash me, and make me unleavened.
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  In fact, that's the language of the Apostle Paul to the
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  Christian Church in First Corinthians 5, seven.
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  He speaks to this church because there was contamination in the
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  midst, there was sin that was tolerated by an individual, and
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  they had the ability to cause others to also not just tolerate
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  it, but to imitate it. And So what does Paul use?
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  He uses Old Testament language and he says in this verse
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  cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump.
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  As you really are unleavened for Christ, our Passover lamb has
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  been sacrificed. Here's what this verse tells me.
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  It tells me that it's possible for you and I to be unleavened,
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  free from corruption, whether that is sexual immorality or any
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  other debauchery or even doctrinal error.
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  It's possible for you and I, because of the grace of Christ,
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  to be cleansed from top to bottom.
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  That's encouraging to me. And yet it's a reality that must
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  be pursued. It's something that you and I
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  have to engage in. It's something that we must be
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  watchful and on guard about to ask the Lord, Lord, if there's
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  any of this Levin me, help me remove it.
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  And this is not optional in the Christian life.
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  Actually, it's so fascinating when you study the Old Testament
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  and you see in Exodus 12, the introduction of the Passover
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  feast. Passover points to justification
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  right? The blood of Christ.
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  That helps us escape the wrath of God.
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  But immediately after the Passover feast, you and I are
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  instructed about the feast of what?
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  Unleavened bread? Where there was a series of days
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  that the Jews who also observed the Passover would cleanse their
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  house from any of this fermenting agents in their own
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  home. Because Levin represents sin.
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  And what's amazing about that is when you come to the New
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  Testament. These two feasts are so closely
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  connected, they overlap even in the days that they are
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  celebrated that they were seen as almost one feast.
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  And you see that I can show you in the New Testament how even
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  the disciples and preparing for the feast of the Passover, they
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  interchangeably use the the words Passover and the Feast of
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  Unleavened Bread. And that is that is not a
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  contradiction. That is not poor writing.
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  That is Holy Spirit strategy. Do you know why?
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  Because if Passover represents the justification that we have
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  in Christ, then the unleavened bread feast speaks of our
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  sanctification, where you and I are called following Passover to
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  cleanse ourselves from sin. And the fact that even the New
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  Testament brings these two feasts together as an
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  inseparable thing proves that you and I also in the salvation
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  of Jesus Christ cannot separate the reality of you being
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  cleansed from sin. Do you understand that?
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  You cannot claim to plead the blood over your life and yet not
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  actively remove leaven from your life, and that that's just
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  another point to make against those who claim that you can
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  believe on Christ and not need to repent from your sin.
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  You have so many points to to argue against such a thought.
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  You can't separate the Feast of Unleavened Bread with Passover,
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  and you can't separate practical sanctification from
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  justification by faith. There are many types of leaven,
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  and Jesus here speaks of three three that are embodied and
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  exemplified by different parties, and so let's deal with
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  each of these individually. #1 The leaven of the Pharisees What
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  is the leaven of the Pharisees? What about their way of life and
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  their teachings that must be rejected and on guard for the
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  Pharisees? We've talked about them enough
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  to know that they they exemplify self righteousness and many
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  other marks do they have that describe them?
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  But one of them is not just self righteousness but personal
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  hypocrisy. And those two tend to go hand in
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  hand. Personal hypocrisy, the practice
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  of being an actor in the realm of spirituality and religion.
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  That is confirmed by the words of Jesus and Luke.
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  Chapter 12, verse one. That is the emphasis that he
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  wants to put on the leaven concerning the leaven of the
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  Pharisees. Here's what he says in Luke
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  12/1. And the second part of that
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  verse, if you're taking notes, this is a great reference to
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  confirm this truth, he began to say to his disciples.
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  First, beware of the 11 of the Pharisees, which is what?
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  Hypocrisy. Hypocrisy.
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  The first thing that Jesus warns about to his own disciples is
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  this. Beware of being infected with
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  the influence of living as a hypocrite.
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  As a hypocrite. Now, most of you know why
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  hypocrisy is wrong. Most of us in here despise
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  hypocrisy. Even the unregenerate criticized
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  hypocrites, especially from those who are in powers position
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  of powers, whether that's ecclesiastical power positions
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  or political. Everybody hates hypocrisy.
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  Everybody knows what is even hypocris hate hypocrisy.
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  They don't think they're hypocrites, but they can point
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  out everybody else. And so it's generally understood
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  what it means to be a hypocrite. It's a word that.
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  Was anciently used for an actor. You would wear one mask and then
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  you would take that mask off on the stage because that's how
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  they did plays and and acts. And then you put on another mask
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  and then you were somebody else and you acted and you sounded
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  differently. That is precisely what the Lord
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  is alluding to. Beware of the 11 of hypocrisy.
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  And what's so fascinating about this warning is because it's
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  it's more subtle than we might think.
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  We might all say Amen. Yeah, OK, that I don't want to
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  be a hypocrite, but it looks much more subtle that you might
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  perceive. Its influence is much more
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  discreet than you might imagine, and I want to just briefly show
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  you a couple of examples through the Pharisees of how hypocrisy
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  can live in us and we don't even realize it.
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  How hypocrisy might be dominating us, how this 11 might
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  be infiltrating our blood, our testimony, our practical
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  Christian walk, and we may not even see it turn with me.
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  For one example in Luke Chapter 14 verse 5, Luke 14-5.
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  Jesus is going to ask a very direct question to the Pharisees
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  in the context of him healing a man with dropsy.
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  Here's Jesus invited at a dinner, and there are many
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  distinguished guests, namely Pharisees and others like them.
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  And in the presence of this dinner is a man with a disease.
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  And Jesus wants to, in his compassion, heal this man.
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  And he does heal this man, Not just at dinner.
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  Dinner on the Sabbath. And you know what the Pharisees
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  believe about the Sabbath? They had such overpowering,
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  manmade tradition that even somebody being healed could not
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  be permitted. That was a work.
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  And so Jesus, disregarding their Oral Law, takes advantage of the
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  situation, heals this man, and makes a statement.
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  I'm the Lord of the Sabbath, right?
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  But in this specific context, he brings a question to these to
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  these men who are stunned by the audacity of this.
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  This figure with such authority, And here was the question after
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  healing and verse five of Luke 14 And he said to them, Which of
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  you having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a
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  Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out.
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  And they could not reply to these things.
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  If your son or an ox fell on into a well on the Sabbath,
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  wouldn't you even you Pharisees? Make it top priority to save and
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  rescue and they had nothing to say.
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  What's the Lord getting at with this?
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  Is there something deeper here than just a record of
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  conversation? There's a principle here.
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  It reveals something about the leaven of the Pharisees, at
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  least one component of it, and it is this.
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  Pharisees and the leaven of the Pharisees encourages people to
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  apply strict standards on others while being lenient on their
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  preferred persons or property. This unfortunately happens even
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  in Christian circles today, right where you apply you,
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  preach, you teach you even disciple others with a standard
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  of spirituality that you are unwilling to apply on yourself
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  or on even those that are closely related to you in some
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  way. Parents are in danger of doing
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  this. Pastors are in danger of doing
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  this. They may preach or demand a set
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  of convictions on others, but don't expect the same level of
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  commitment from their own spouses or from their own
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  children. Or certain individuals are very
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  vocal, very vocal, about what other Christians should do
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  pertaining to Gray areas in our faith, not black and white Gray
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  areas, matters of personal conviction and conscience.
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  I've met people like that, but the moment someone related to
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  them does the opposite of what they expect, what happens?
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  Their whole value system shifts, doesn't it?
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  Their whole belief system changes because now it hits
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  home. Now now it's something that
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  deals with you. That is the leaven of the
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  Pharisees. So discreet, willing to
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  criticize others, whether that be their family, their marriage,
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  their churches, their ministries, but don't apply the
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  same rules to themselves or when in their own world those rules
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  are not honored the way they probably thought they should be.
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  Oh, all for a sudden now you're open minded.
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  All of a sudden now you're lenient and and you're merciful
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  and you're gracious. What changed?
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  Well, it's your ox now. It's your son now that fell into
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  the well. And so Jesus exposes here that
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  part of the 11 of the Pharisees is partiality.
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  Partiality is a major ingredient of this 11 and so beware of
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  that. Beware of being black and white
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  with others. But when the same issue arises
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  in your own ministry or home, you are different and you shift
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  and you change and you pivot. This is something that marked
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  the Pharisees. There's another example I would
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  like to show you. And since we're in Luke, let's
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  go a couple chapters later and Luke 16, Luke 1614, the
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  Pharisees who were lovers of. Money heard all these things and
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  they ridiculed him and he said to them.
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  You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God
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  knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is
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  an abomination in the side of God.
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  What a powerful state. What is exalted among men is an
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  abomination in the side of God. But we're not touching on that
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  part. Jesus looks at the same group of
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  people and says, you are those who justify yourselves before
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  men. Now where is that coming from?
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  What does that mean? And the best way to get clarity
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  is to connect it with the previous verse.
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  The Holy Spirit gives us commentary about the hearts of
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  these Pharisees and what was it? They loved money.
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  That's another mark of a Pharisee.
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  They loved money. They adored it.
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  They accumulated it through unjust means, through lies.
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  They loved money and Jesus. Knowing this about their hearts
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  makes a link. They loved money, and Jesus
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  makes this charge and lighted that commentary to say that
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  these religious leaders were masters.
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  At rationalizing their idolatry and their covetousness.
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  So follow with me. Here they were lovers of money.
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  And then Jesus says you are those who justify yourselves
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  before men. The connection is in their love
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  for money in serving mammon. They were still capable and very
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  good at trying to make excuses for their love for money.
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  Is love of money wrong? Yes, According to the Bible,
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  money's not wrong. Savings not wrong.
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  Spending's not wrong. Hobbies and leisure is not
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  wrong, but loving money. And these Pharisees understood
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  that to a degree. But at the same time, they were
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  good at making excuses for their wrong.
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  That's part of the leaven of the Pharisees.
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  Jesus shows that the Pharisees are notorious for refusing to
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  admit that they are in error, but instead campaign to
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  continually justify themselves before men.
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  So what does it look like? Despite your sin, despite your
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  mistake, this leaven convinces you that you are always in the
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  right. Always.
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  Like you sinned, evidence, plain and clear witnesses, all
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  conscience, word of God. But you're still in the right.
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  You're always a victim. Always, in every situation.
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  It you are always the victim, you justify yourself.
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  And even when there is a display or demonstration of sinful
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  behavior, attitudes you justify still even in that justify how?
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  Well, perhaps through the idea of the pretense of righteous
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  motivation, Right? It's not clear, but I wonder and
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  it wouldn't surprise me. The Pharisees ungodly pursuit
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  and gain of wealth, was explained as a sign of God's
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  blessing. God.
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  God has blessed us. This is why we have what we
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  have. Or like Corbran, right when they
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  would refuse to honor their father and mother and claim that
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  it was devoted to God. They also, probably in their
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  love of money, explained that this was something for the
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  purposes of God that always selfishly enjoyed.
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  They they were experts at always justifying themselves before
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  men. That is what the leaven of the
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  Pharisees can do to Christians. It can inflate their ego like it
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  inflates bread and makes them think I'm right.
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  Always perpetually unbroken perfection.
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  And I'm always able to find a reason to why, even if what it
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  is is wrong, it's in fact justified.
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  When I when I thought about this, when I meditate on this,
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  it proved further the absolute treasure and value of humility.
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  If you want to know the absence of this Levin in your own heart,
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  if you want to know the absence of this Levin in another's
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  hearts, and I wouldn't be too worried about another's heart as
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  much as your own in mind. Do you want to know how it's
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  missing? You want to know how by the Holy
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  Spirit's grace, by the word of God, by your watchfulness, that
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  Levin has no place in you. You can say I'm sorry, I made a
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  mistake. Thank you.
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  I made a wrong. I was in the flesh when I did
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  that. I was operating in my own
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  wisdom. When I did that, I reacted and
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  anger unrighteously. I wasn't thinking.
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  I was selfish. If you can say that, I can tell
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  you got confidently my brother, my sister.
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  That's a good healthy sign that this leaven is not in you.
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  But for the Pharisees, they justified themselves always,
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  regardless of their hypocrisy. They were able to justify their
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  hypocrisy. I read something.
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  You know what book I read recently in the Bible?
• 23:59
  Zephaniah. And I read something in
• 24:02
  Zephaniah that that I perhaps never saw before, and it deals
• 24:08
  with one of my favorite doctrines, the fear of the Lord.
• 24:13
  And when I saw this, it added yet another component about the
• 24:16
  fear of the Lord that blessed me.
• 24:17
  And I hope it blesses you. And so go to Zephaniah.
• 24:21
  If you don't know where it is, ask your neighbor.
• 24:22
  Where's Zephaniah? They will help you.
• 24:26
  Hint, it's on the left side. You go to Zef and I I want you
• 24:30
  to see something in chapter 3. There is always something to
• 24:36
  learn in the scriptures. I'm telling if you want.
• 24:38
  To grow in Revelation. This might blow your mind.
• 24:40
  You're ready. Read your Bible.
• 24:42
  Read it. Cover to cover.
• 24:43
  Don't skip any parts. Don't you dare.
• 24:47
  Should make that a quality or condition for membership.
• 24:50
  Yeah, you can't skip any parts of the Bible.
• 24:53
  You got to read it cover to cover.
• 24:56
  Zephaniah 3, verse seven. Look what it said here.
• 25:00
  The Lord speaks. I said.
• 25:03
  Surely you will fear me. You will accept correction.
• 25:08
  Then your dwelling would not be cut off according to all that
• 25:11
  I've appointed against you. But all the more they were eager
• 25:14
  to make all their deeds corrupt. You see the parallelism.
• 25:19
  You see the truths connected in the first two lines?
• 25:21
  I said, surely you will fear me. You will accept correction.
• 25:27
  Do you want to know if you fear God?
• 25:31
  You were able to accept correction sitting home, right?
• 25:37
  I told you, it's much more subtle.
• 25:40
  All the Pharisees, they're crazy.
• 25:41
  There is such religious, filthy rebels.
• 25:46
  Yeah, but Jesus warned his own Beware of their 11 I saw this
• 25:50
  and I thought to myself, Lord. I hope to believe.
• 25:54
  I fear you. I hope to believe that I honor
• 25:57
  you. And yes, this correction comes
• 25:59
  from God if you accept God's correction.
• 26:01
  But God's correction can come through God's people who love
• 26:05
  you enough to bring God's word to you to be the eyes in the
• 26:07
  blind spots of your life. And so if you really fear God,
• 26:14
  which means to stand in awe of God when correction comes your
• 26:18
  way, you are more willing to analyze it, consider it, and if
• 26:25
  it is legitimate to accept it. I'm sorry, yes, perhaps the
• 26:32
  parties you've offended. But ultimately, at the end of
• 26:35
  the day, the God fearing person will find a place in his home,
• 26:38
  find a corner, take a ride, go on a walk and say Lord, because
• 26:42
  I fear you, ultimately I offended you.
• 26:45
  I'm sorry, Lord. I'm sorry, Larry.
• 26:48
  And you talk to your father. You talk to your father, not to
• 26:52
  your boss. Your father.
• 26:56
  And that's why I heard from others, and I try, by the grace
• 26:59
  of God, to make this a discipline.
• 27:02
  You'd be amazed to know how people who don't even know
• 27:04
  you're willing to offer you correction through different
• 27:09
  means these days. Messages and letters and people
• 27:13
  that don't even put their names in the correction that they're
• 27:15
  trying to give. But I've heard from wise men to
• 27:19
  say that even your enemies, even those who seek to persecute you
• 27:23
  and discourage you and what they say to you, be willing to look
• 27:28
  deeper and ask Is there any truth in this?
• 27:33
  Is there any truth in what my enemies are saying about me,
• 27:35
  though their motives might be wrong, though they want to hurt
• 27:38
  me and bring me down. Is there anything in this that
• 27:40
  might be true that I can, I can bring to the Lord and say Lord,
• 27:45
  if this is true, remove it from me.
• 27:49
  Surely you will fear me. You will accept correction,
• 27:52
  Pharisees justifying themselves always, even when they're wrong.
• 27:57
  There are times where you are justified, so don't take it to
• 27:59
  the other extreme where every time somebody says something to
• 28:02
  you, I'm a Sinner. No, there are legitimate cases
• 28:05
  where you're standing in the right and people would still try
• 28:07
  to blame you. But this is different.
• 28:10
  This is clear, blatant, open sin, inexcusable.
• 28:14
  And yet you were able. Because that's what the leaven
• 28:16
  of the Pharisees does. It encourages, it strengthens
• 28:21
  hypocrisy and self righteousness and Jesus looks his own.
• 28:25
  He says be careful, this can sneak in and you might not even
• 28:29
  realize it. There's much more to say.
• 28:32
  We can make this whole message about the Pharisees alone, the
• 28:34
  leaven of the Pharisees. But let me make this concluding
• 28:36
  thought before we move on. Jesus had the most conflict and
• 28:41
  issues with the Pharisees out of the three groups.
• 28:44
  Yeah, he dealt with the sad you sees and he dealt with Herod.
• 28:47
  But the Pharisees were a constant threat and I argue that
• 28:50
  so is the 11 of the Pharisees. Hypocrisy is the most prevalent
• 28:56
  among the followers of Jesus. Christ you know, And Mark he
• 28:59
  says, the 11 of the Pharisees and the 11 of Herod and Matthew
• 29:03
  He says 11 of the Pharisees. And the 11 of the sad you sees
• 29:05
  which one did he repeat? Which one is brought forth in
• 29:08
  both gospels? Not sad, you sees not Herod
• 29:10
  Pharisees. That emphasis says something.
• 29:16
  I must be extra alert concerning this particular 11 May God help
• 29:21
  us. The 11 of the Pharisees, the 11
• 29:25
  of the sad you sees. Now we we, we studied Mark long
• 29:29
  enough to know who the Pharisees are.
• 29:30
  But who are the sad you sees? Well, they were an influential
• 29:35
  Jewish political and religious party in Jesus' day.
• 29:38
  Affluent men, elite class. Wealthy, great pedigree, and
• 29:45
  they operate in places of power as well.
• 29:47
  And they, they expressed this party, the scientists, they they
• 29:50
  had faith in God. And they would confess that
• 29:53
  though they were liberal in their theology, they only held
• 29:55
  to the first five books of the Old Testament, the Torah, the
• 30:00
  Penituch was something that they held, not the extra books like
• 30:03
  the Pharisees. And so they were very limited in
• 30:05
  their view. They're very conservative in a
• 30:07
  sense that they just held to these books and these books
• 30:10
  alone. And the proof of their looseness
• 30:14
  in their spirituality is even shown in their interaction with
• 30:17
  Jesus. The Sadjuses don't show up like
• 30:18
  the Pharisees do early on in Jesus's ministry.
• 30:22
  They come later. Why did they come later?
• 30:24
  Because they're not interested in this rabbi that's going
• 30:27
  around teaching things. The moment they became concerned
• 30:29
  is when they saw how this message and movement might get
• 30:32
  them in trouble with Rome. And these Sadjuses love to
• 30:36
  interact with Rome and to be in good standing with Rome and.
• 30:40
  And so this is who we're dealing with.
• 30:42
  And these people were more involved with in politics than
• 30:44
  they were in worship to the true God.
• 30:50
  And not much is written about the sad you sees within
• 30:52
  Scripture. But what we have is enough to
• 30:54
  understand what Jesus was referring to when he warned
• 30:56
  about their 11 And it's found in Acts of all places and Acts 23
• 31:02
  verse 8 here is an ingredient concerning the 11 of the sad you
• 31:08
  sees and beware of this 11 the. Holy Spirit says in Acts 23, for
• 31:19
  the sad you see, say that there is no resurrection, nor Angel,
• 31:25
  nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.
• 31:30
  This is a difference between these two parties, and with this
• 31:34
  we can decipher the essence of their eleven, their false
• 31:37
  teaching that produces false living.
• 31:41
  And here's how we summarize it. The 11 of the SAD, you see is
• 31:44
  not if you don't believe in the resurrection or don't believe in
• 31:47
  angels or don't believe in life after death.
• 31:48
  The 11 of the SAD you see is the belief and practice that you
• 31:53
  have the authority to subtract from God's word instead of
• 31:58
  honoring the whole council of God.
• 32:02
  It is the spiritual disease that encourages selective
• 32:05
  interpretation and subjective application of the scriptures
• 32:11
  these. Highminded, educated men could
• 32:16
  not get themselves to believe in the supernatural aspects, at
• 32:22
  least to this extent. Yes, you saw miracles take place
• 32:25
  in the first five books of Moses, but what they really had
• 32:28
  issue with is this idea of eternal life, this idea that
• 32:34
  there is a spiritual realm that parallels with this physical
• 32:37
  world. And so, to their liking, they
• 32:40
  dismissed these things. They ignored these things.
• 32:43
  They chose what they wanted to believe.
• 32:45
  And how many, you know, ministers and ministries are
• 32:47
  doing the very same thing? How many are infected with this
• 32:50
  leaven in our very day? It's everywhere.
• 32:55
  May not be the same doctrines, but with clear doctrines
• 32:57
  nonetheless. And yet, just like the leaven of
• 32:59
  the Pharisees, there is a subtlety about the leaven of the
• 33:03
  side you sees that you and I must be concerned with.
• 33:06
  We can miss it. We can miss how we can slip in
• 33:11
  and begin to cause things to arise within us that we don't
• 33:14
  want to arise. There is the outright denial,
• 33:18
  right? There's the outright denial of
• 33:19
  theology, whether that's the resurrection, the spiritual
• 33:22
  realm, life after death, which some unashamedly confessed.
• 33:25
  And then there are those who may claim to believe core tenants of
• 33:29
  the faith but practically deny them.
• 33:34
  Practically deny them because. They they don't have a grip
• 33:38
  about how these truths that they might believe actually shape
• 33:45
  your day-to-day actually have any influence.
• 33:49
  In other words, it's not a subtraction of God's Word and
• 33:54
  what it says, but a subtraction of how God's Word should shape,
• 33:59
  should shape your life, your living.
• 34:03
  And the fruit of the side you sees proves that it's clear.
• 34:05
  It's so obvious. As I said earlier, they didn't
• 34:08
  even show any interest in the person of Jesus until the latter
• 34:10
  portion of his three-year ministry.
• 34:14
  They weren't too concerned. They weren't as confrontational
• 34:16
  until near the end. You remember that question that
• 34:20
  they asked about the resurrection?
• 34:21
  Hey, here's this woman. She got married and that
• 34:23
  husband's gone and she gets married again.
• 34:25
  And who whose husband will she have in in the resurrection?
• 34:28
  I think that's near the end of Jesus ministry.
• 34:33
  And so these people were entangled in the here and now.
• 34:36
  They were consumed and preoccupied with politics and
• 34:39
  the social spheres of life. They weren't concerned as much
• 34:42
  with religion, with spirituality, and none of us
• 34:49
  would be able to argue against the possibility of those who
• 34:51
  confess belief in eternity in the spiritual world but live the
• 34:54
  same. And that's the reality that I'm
• 34:58
  trying to point to. There are some who might
• 35:02
  verbally say I believe these things, but at the core of their
• 35:06
  being, they don't really believe these things.
• 35:12
  And it shows. It shows.
• 35:16
  I told you what book was I reading is Effenia is Effenia
• 35:20
  again showed something to me that that I believe helps us
• 35:24
  understand this truth a little bit more.
• 35:26
  So if you're still there in Zephaniah, go to not chapter 3,
• 35:28
  but chapter one. I want you to see something in
• 35:30
  chapter one of the Prophet Zephaniah.
• 35:41
  What I'm trying to say is, are those who confess to believe
• 35:44
  these things any better than the side you sees?
• 35:47
  If they live in the same way that the side you sees lived, if
• 35:50
  they had a world view in the same way that the side you sees
• 35:53
  lived in their world view, my answer is no.
• 35:55
  They're not any better. Look what Zephaniah says in
• 35:58
  chapter one, verse 12. God says at that time I will
• 36:02
  search Jerusalem with lamps and I will punish the men who are
• 36:07
  complacent, complacent those who say in their hearts the Lord
• 36:13
  will not do good, nor will he do ill And so the Lord says through
• 36:19
  the prophet that there is a a searching that's going to go out
• 36:22
  in the land and the holy city of Jerusalem.
• 36:25
  And my target for my discipline are those who are complacent.
• 36:28
  The NA, the NASB uses the phrase those who are stagnant in
• 36:32
  spirit, those who are inactive, those who have no life, those
• 36:40
  who are not interacting with the truths that they claim to
• 36:45
  believe in, and the characteristic of the
• 36:49
  complacent. This is what blew my mind away
• 36:52
  because it really offered an answer that.
• 36:55
  That I wrestled with for many years.
• 36:59
  What are one of the characteristics of those who are
• 37:01
  in a perpetual rut spiritually? You know those people, you know
• 37:06
  who I'm talking about, those who just they're complacent.
• 37:11
  So no matter, no matter what you preach, no matter what you do,
• 37:16
  no matter what you say, nothing can get them out of that place.
• 37:20
  It's just and if it. If it does, it's just like a
• 37:22
  little 2nd and then it just. Like a little look, a little
• 37:24
  Wick on a candle just disappears.
• 37:26
  How I've always wondered, like, how.
• 37:29
  And here's what Zeph and I says. Here's a characteristic of those
• 37:32
  kind of people who are complacent, stagnant in spirit.
• 37:36
  They say in their hearts, the Lord will not do good, nor will
• 37:42
  He do ill What does that mean? Here's what it means.
• 37:47
  It's not a denial of the existence of God, but the lack
• 37:50
  of belief of how he can intervene in the affairs of men.
• 37:58
  This inside shows that people who become spiritually dull,
• 38:01
  self-sufficient, consume with the materialism of this life is
• 38:07
  because down down, deep inside they don't really believe God
• 38:12
  can be known and can be made known.
• 38:16
  He won't do ill, He won't do good.
• 38:18
  He doesn't interact with us. He's there.
• 38:22
  But we can't. We shouldn't expect him to do
• 38:24
  things here and now. You know what's so amazing?
• 38:29
  Read your Bible closely. They didn't say that with their
• 38:31
  mouths, did they? It says who?
• 38:35
  Say in their hearts, down deep inside you.
• 38:42
  Really. Don't believe it?
• 38:44
  That's the leaven that Jesus is warning about unbelief.
• 38:51
  Unbelief that contaminates and corrupts your zeal and your
• 38:56
  passion and your dedication. Could that be the reason why
• 38:58
  people don't pray? Could it?
• 39:01
  I'm just offering it. I'm just as a suggestion based
• 39:03
  on what's up. And I say, could that be the
• 39:05
  reason why people don't take the commands of Jesus seriously?
• 39:07
  Could that be the reason why people don't devour the
• 39:10
  scriptures? Could that be the reason why
• 39:11
  people don't Orient their life around serving the Great
• 39:14
  Commission and loving him and honoring him and making him
• 39:17
  known? Could it be?
• 39:18
  Because, truth be told, they don't really believe how God can
• 39:24
  manifest his blessings. If they do, Zef and I, you know
• 39:29
  what He would say. Yeah, The complacent are those
• 39:33
  who say in their hearts, God really won't do anything.
• 39:37
  He's there. Yeah, yeah.
• 39:42
  I praise God I saw this, I said. That makes sense.
• 39:45
  That makes sense. These people claim to believe,
• 39:51
  but that they really believe. So this is where I I want to
• 39:55
  encourage you because if you resonate with this, if you
• 39:58
  resonate with constant and consistent complacency, perhaps,
• 40:06
  perhaps. You have a little bit of this
• 40:09
  leaven in you, maybe, and if you ever might become complacent, I
• 40:18
  hope that you never forget what Zef and I says here.
• 40:20
  Search deeper. Ask more honestly if you lost
• 40:24
  sight of the God who is always on the move, if you lost sight
• 40:29
  of the God who is working behind the scenes, if you lost sight of
• 40:32
  the God who is fulfilling his will on the earth and willing to
• 40:35
  use you to make a portion of that a reality, ask yourself,
• 40:39
  did I lose sight of that? And if you did, it's because
• 40:43
  that Levin got in there the same idea that the sad disease had
• 40:49
  this God. There is nothing to expect here
• 40:52
  as much there's nothing to expect after this.
• 40:56
  And in Zephania's case, in context, that bred complacency
• 41:00
  among the people of God. So you see, lukewarmness and
• 41:06
  indifference is not always because you're familiar with
• 41:11
  things. Sometimes it's a faith issue.
• 41:16
  I don't believe. I really don't believe.
• 41:19
  That's why I don't get excited about the things.
• 41:20
  Like I don't get excited. Why?
• 41:22
  Because you really don't believe.
• 41:24
  That's why I don't participate. Why?
• 41:26
  Because you really don't believe.
• 41:28
  Not just because you're busy. That can be won because down
• 41:31
  deep inside there are crumbs of the 11 of the side you see.
• 41:38
  And Jesus, his grace, his mercy, is willing to help us cleanse
• 41:42
  that even out. Let's come to the last 11 that
• 41:45
  Jesus warns about the 11 of Herod.
• 41:49
  If you remember in our original text Jesus not only warned about
• 41:52
  the Pharisees, but about Herod. Now this is probably the most
• 41:55
  interesting of all three. And the reason why it's the most
• 41:58
  interesting is because the Pharisees in the sad you sees
• 42:00
  had some kind of tie to the religion of the Jewish people.
• 42:06
  They had some kind of relationship between the God of
• 42:08
  Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But when we come to.
• 42:10
  Herod Herod is a secularist. Herod is just this public figure
• 42:16
  that had no overlap with the religious life of the Jewish
• 42:21
  people. At least we might think so.
• 42:24
  And so we think to ourselves, What does this figure have to do
• 42:27
  with my spirituality? What is this man at this time?
• 42:31
  What kind of threat does he propose?
• 42:34
  What kind of danger does he offer?
• 42:37
  There's something about him. Obviously, Jesus knew something
• 42:39
  about Herod. As distance as he was away from
• 42:42
  Israel's worship in God's commands, that was noteworthy.
• 42:47
  And if you stay within the boundaries of the Gospel of
• 42:49
  Mark, you have enough to work with to see and to understand
• 42:53
  what it is that Jesus Jesus is cautioning.
• 42:56
  Do you remember the last mention of Herod before this?
• 43:00
  The very last mention of Herod by name is in Mark chapter 6 and
• 43:06
  Mark 6 verse 22. This is the last time Herod was
• 43:09
  mentioned before. He warned about the Levin of
• 43:11
  Herod in Mark 6/22, for when Herodius, his daughter, came in
• 43:21
  and danced. She pleased Herod, she pleased
• 43:25
  Herod and his guests, and the king said to the girl asked me
• 43:29
  whatever you wish and I will give it to you.
• 43:35
  The 11 of the Pharisees is hypocrisy.
• 43:39
  The 11 of the sad, you see, is a level of unbelief, whether it's
• 43:42
  outright unbelief or subtle unbelief.
• 43:45
  The 11 of Herod is worldliness. It's worldliness.
• 43:52
  You can say that it is blatant, hedonistic enjoyment of the
• 43:56
  things of this life. But it's more complicated than
• 43:59
  that. Remember what I'm trying to make
• 44:02
  a point about is that how each of these 11, they're much more
• 44:05
  subtle than you might think. The worldliness that Herod was
• 44:08
  living in was much more deceptive and dangerous than the
• 44:12
  plain old atheistic sinning. So Mark 6/22, he was, he was
• 44:18
  pleased by the dancing of his stepdaughter which is sensual
• 44:22
  and inappropriate and perverted. But then two verses earlier we
• 44:28
  read in Mark 6/20. For Herod feared John, knowing
• 44:31
  that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe.
• 44:34
  When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed.
• 44:37
  And yet he heard him gladly, that word gladly in the
• 44:41
  original, is with pleasure. So here was able to watch the
• 44:47
  show of his stepdaughter with his guest with pleasure.
• 44:51
  And he was able to, a few days earlier sit under the powerful
• 44:55
  convicting preaching of John the Baptist and also enjoy it with
• 45:01
  pleasure. This makes sense.
• 45:05
  Now. The danger that I believe the
• 45:08
  Lord is alluding to is not just adopting an inappropriate
• 45:10
  relationship with the world, but with it, a distorted
• 45:13
  relationship with the word of God.
• 45:18
  Harrod's problem was not that he enjoyed John's preaching.
• 45:21
  That wasn't the problem. His problem was that the reason
• 45:24
  why he enjoyed it. When he heard John preach, it
• 45:28
  was as though it was another form of entertainment like
• 45:31
  anything else. And so the value that John
• 45:35
  offered Herod was no greater than it being an emotionally
• 45:39
  stirring and intellectually stimulating experience.
• 45:42
  That's it. It was a sight to see, right?
• 45:46
  I mean, think about the outfit he wore.
• 45:48
  Camels, hair, leather belt, crazy man locus in his teeth,
• 45:52
  cheeks stained with honey and just rebuking Pharisees, calling
• 45:59
  them Vipers and calling even Roman soldiers to repentance
• 46:03
  like. That's a sight to see.
• 46:05
  It's not the crazy guy that's holding out evil signs out there
• 46:09
  in the name of Christianity. This guy was getting the
• 46:11
  attention of the government. This guy was causing politicians
• 46:17
  to be scared. This guy was causing law
• 46:20
  enforcement and the oppressive government to bend the knee in
• 46:24
  some way. This guy was causing the whole
• 46:26
  nation to leave their homes and their cities and their markets
• 46:30
  into the desert to hear him preach.
• 46:33
  Like this was a national spectacle.
• 46:36
  So it's not a surprise that Herod is like, I want to see
• 46:39
  this guy. Who's this guy?
• 46:42
  I just just imagine, imagine a local church, not no bigger than
• 46:46
  this, right? And lineups down the street,
• 46:50
  traffic, people coming to hear a man with a prophetic voice.
• 46:57
  So here it comes. This is not any indication that
• 47:02
  he was yearning to be changed, yearning to come in preparation
• 47:05
  for the Messiah. It was entertainment.
• 47:09
  He enjoyed it. It moved him on the soul level,
• 47:14
  but not in the Spirit. And this is a problem, not just
• 47:18
  in Herod's life. This is a problem.
• 47:19
  And 11:00 that even from the days of old was present and is
• 47:23
  still present today. You know God spoke to his
• 47:26
  prophet Ezekiel. And he gave Ezekiel an insight
• 47:29
  to how the people of his day heard his preaching.
• 47:31
  Can I show it to you? It's an Ezekiel 33.
• 47:34
  And here's our final text before we pray.
• 47:38
  Ezekiel 33. Look at verse 30 of Ezekiel 33.
• 47:47
  Ask for you, son of man, your people who talk together about
• 47:50
  you by the walls, at the doors of the houses, say to one
• 47:53
  another each to his brother. Come and hear what the word is
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  that comes from the Lord. That sounds good.
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  So you have guys gathering together, like let's go hear the
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  word of the Lord, OK. Amen.
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  Let's go do it. And they come to you as a
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  people. Come and they sit before you as
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  my people, and they hear what you say, but they will not do
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  it. For with lustful talk in their
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  mouths they act. Their heart is set on their
• 48:24
  gain. Does that sound like Herod?
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  Come, let us hear the word of the Lord.
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  But their heart is set on gain. Verse 32.
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  And this, this part, this description.
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  Oh, it's it's a beautiful description for this point.
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  And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with
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  a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument.
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  For they hear what you say, but they will not do it.
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  When this comes and come at will, then they will know that a
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  prophet has been among them. Here's the translation, Ezekiel.
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  When you preach, the reason why people come to hear you preach
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  is because you are, like, to them, a concert.
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  You were like to them a show. You're a gifted speaker.
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  You're bold. You do these strange acts to
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  demonstrate truth and to convey these illustrations, laying on
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  one side, doing another thing, cutting your hair, throwing it
• 49:24
  up in the air. And so you are, to them, a form
• 49:29
  of entertainment because though they say they want to hear the
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  word Lord, their heart is set on gain.
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  That's Herod. That's the leaven of Herod.
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  The leaven of Herod gets into you and convinces you and I that
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  we're spiritual because we like hearing men of God.
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  We like hearing music about God, you know, Even the heathen enjoy
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  some of the contemporary Christian stuff.
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  I was actually just listening. I don't know how I stumbled upon
• 50:03
  it. Just two guys on a podcast
• 50:05
  talking, and they were talking about.
• 50:06
  I won't name the Group A contemporary Christian group
• 50:09
  that's been in a lot of heat lately, and they're expressing
• 50:13
  how powerful the music was, and they're throwing out cuss words
• 50:17
  while they're talking about it. I won't.
• 50:20
  I won't entertain your imagination of ages.
• 50:24
  I couldn't hear, I couldn't even imagine.
• 50:25
  I was like, they're just the language was unbelievable and
• 50:29
  yet they're they're trying to express the powerful music in
• 50:33
  the name of God, because that's all it is.
• 50:37
  It stirs the emotion. It gets them to another place,
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  was the language of another. But they're still in sin, and
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  that's what the leaven of Herod does.
• 50:49
  It convinces you and I that we are spiritual just because we
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  enjoy things about God, the delivery of God's word, the
• 50:59
  music that sounds heavenly and edifying and pure.
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  And yet we can enjoy the world just as much, if not more.
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  And so if I hear the word, if I sing the word, but there isn't a
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  sense in which I'm desired to be conformed to the word, then
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  maybe there's a little bit of this leaven in me.
• 51:21
  Jesus said, watch and beware of the leaven of hypocrisy, the
• 51:27
  leaven of unbelief, the level 11 of worldliness, but a
• 51:33
  worldliness that deceives you. Because you can still say I
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  enjoy the things of God, the people of God, but I am still
• 51:41
  not of God. I'm still not walking with God.
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  Heavy message, a message nonetheless.
• 51:51
  And here's the call to action. Let's not be like the Pharisees
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  and attempt to justify ourselves without examination.
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  But may we together come before the presence of God, say, Lord,
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  if there is any of this alive in me, I pray that you cleanse it.
• 52:10
  You know your heart. God knows your heart.
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  Is it the leaven of the Pharisees?
• 52:17
  Is it the leaven of the side you sees?
• 52:19
  Do you really, really, really, really.
• 52:21
  Come on, listen. Do you really believe God?
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  One way to know is how I interpret his commands, his
• 52:36
  promises, how I view the problems that come my way.
• 52:39
  Where is God in my thinking when that comes?
• 52:43
  When it seems like an unsolvable thing, When it seems like an
• 52:45
  overwhelming situation? Is God here?
• 52:52
  Is God here? Lastly, the 11 of Herod.
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  I pray that every person who's sitting here today doesn't just
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  enjoy hearing God's word, but enjoys hearing God's word
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  because you want to be like God and live for God and walk in his
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  ways. Lord, we ask that this
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  afternoon, with these warnings that have been given to us, we
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  would humble ourselves before you and we would hear the words
• 53:19
  of Jesus who said watch out and beware, Lord, if we are free
• 53:23
  from this leaven. We praise you, but we do not
• 53:25
  boast in anything. We just ask that you keep us
• 53:27
  safe from these ever present dangers and perils.
• 53:33
  We asked, Lord, that we would be what Paul said.
• 53:34
  We could be unleavened, totally clear, free from it all.
• 53:43
  Lord, we do not feel condemned this afternoon.
• 53:47
  We rejoice in knowing that you are for us, not against us, that
• 53:52
  if you do not love us, you would not have warned us.
• 53:55
  And so, Lord, with this message we sit back.
• 53:58
  We think we do what the nation of Israel was called to do, and
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  to go into the homes and cleanse it all out.
• 54:06
  Whatever is there. We open the cupboards, we go
• 54:09
  down the quarters of our conscience.
• 54:11
  We examine our ways. And like that feast, by your
• 54:15
  power and mercy we cleanse it all out today.
• 54:18
  And so, Lord, if anything needs to be cleansed, let it be
• 54:20
  cleansed now. Let it be brought to the altar,
• 54:22
  let it be consumed. And may we celebrate what that
• 54:25
  feast points to, that through the Passover we are able to know
• 54:28
  sanctification. We are able to know freedom, not
• 54:31
  just from the penalty, but from the presence and the power of
• 54:35
  sin in our hearts. We love you with all that's
• 54:38
  within us. In Jesus name, Amen.
• 54:41
  Amen. The music team will come in a
• 54:44
  moment. But I encourage you.
• 54:45
  I encourage you as they come. Come, don't worry, just pray.
• 54:52
  Just meditate on the words of the Lord.
• 54:55
  Meditate on Zef and I-1. If there's complacency, Lord, is
• 54:58
  it because I believe you won't do ill or won't do good?
• 55:01
  Meditate on Zef and I3 where surely you will fear me, for you
• 55:05
  will accept correction. Ask the Lord for the strength
• 55:08
  that when rebuke comes, and it will come at some point.
• 55:10
  If correction comes even from those who are not for you, that
• 55:13
  you and wanting to honor God with your life.
• 55:16
  Saying, Lord, is there any truth in this?
• 55:17
  Because ultimately you're my motivation and so help me
• 55:20
  perceive what is in me that needs to be changed and altered.
• 55:24
  Lord, please ask God for that. We're here to meet with God.
• 55:27
  We're not the sad. You sees somebody jokingly said,
• 55:29
  no wonder they're called sad. You see, sad.
• 55:31
  You see, they don't believe in the resurrection.
• 55:33
  They don't believe in life. You're not as sad you see.
• 55:37
  So believe God, believe that he hears you and he sees you and
• 55:41
  that he can impart something into you.
• 55:42
  Now and then we will sing. So if you like this, play
• 55:46
  softly. You know you can play softly.
• 55:48
  But at this time, just pray, seek the Lord.
• 55:50
  We will stand and sing and we will go our own way.