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