POWER STUDY - B55

[Albert Finch]

Influencing Our Thinking
(Read 2 Timothy 3:1-5 and Luke 21:1-8; 10:18-24)

Matthew 13:33 33He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”

(Leaven is a picture of influence on our minds. Leaven in the natural realm causes dough to rise. The fire in our lives, similarly, causes the leaven in our lives to be exposed and brought to the surface. If your mind is permeated by Kingdom leaven as Jesus talks about in Matthew 13:33; then the kingdom reality of faith will come to the surface.)

Mark 8:13-21 13Leaving them, He again embarked and went away to the other side. 14And they had forgotten to take bread, and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. 15And He was giving orders to them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 16They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17And Jesus, aware of this, said* to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? 18 Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, 19when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They said* to Him, “Twelve.” 20“When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they said* to Him, “Seven.” 21And He was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

(In saying “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod” He was warning them about influences of the mind that can rob us of the understanding of revelation and renewal. Three kinds of leaven are mentioned in the above verses: the leaven of Herod, the Pharisees, and the Kingdom!

Herod’s leaven: The leaven of Herod is a atheistic influence based on the strength of man and man based systems. Like politics, popular will, and persuasion. Herod’s leaven excludes God entirely. It’s statements of faith are a cynical “God helps those who help themselves”. You find yourself in a boat without bread; the person under this influence would advise, “next time write a list and remember to bring bread.” You are the answer to your own problem. Take responsibility for yourself. Be a self made person. Herod’s leaven represents one of the big problems in the church: practical atheism.

Large numbers of Christians are practical atheists who disbelieve in an active God. Believers face situations daily without bringing God into the picture. Like Herod, they say there is no divine intervention in practical living. They are professing Christians but they live like their atheistic neighbors whenever they face a problem.)

Mark 6:1-6 1Jesus went out from there and came* into His hometown; and His disciples followed* Him. 2When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? 3“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him. 4Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” 5And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6And He wondered at their unbelief.

John 9:2-3 2And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” 3Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

(The Pharisees leaven: The leaven of the Pharisees represents the religious systems. It embraces God in theory but not in practical experience. The concept is essential to the Pharisitical mind, but the experience of God is completely removed. The Pharisees have God in form without power. If you found yourself in a boat without bread the Pharisee would say, “God in His sovereignty has arranged for you to be in the boat without any bread so you can identify with those who also have no bread in this hour.” Pharisees provide explanation not solution; they say the bakery closed when the last apostle died. They refuse to let God be active right now on earth. They insist that you pray, but also insist that you should have no hope of God answering.

Their’s is a Russian roulette god: spin the chamber and maybe you will get an answer……or maybe not. People under the influence of Pharisee leaven can know Jesus the wrong way. Today countless millions in the church have been satisfied with Pharisee’s leaven. They are content with some documentation, with some brand of church, but they are entirely unplugged from an active, invasive, here-and-now God. Under the influence of this leaven many Christians find explanation for physical illness that does not bring the power of God into the picture. They say, “that person is tormented by that particular affliction, but with the lifestyle he leads, it is no wonder.” They feel a cocky sense of understanding at explaining the problem at yet they are powerless to provide a solution, and they will vilify anyone who tries.

The disciples fell into this too. They asked Jesus, “Rabi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2) Jesus refused to discuss the question with them. He said, “Neither this man or his parents sinned but that the works of God should be revealed in Him.” (John 9:3) People do not realize that when God redeems a situation He does it so thoroughly that it looks like He created the problem as an opportunity for His power or glory to be seen.

The same could be said of sin. Yet, God did not make a person sin just so His glory could be revealed. When Jesus is at hand a problem takes on purpose. Without His redemptive touch, the problem is just another work of the devil. Jesus was so focused on solutions that He did not even entertain the Pharisitical debate.)