Lessons from Leaven

I'm with me now to Matthew chapter 13, and today I'd like to consider together the words of verse 33, Matthew 13 and verse 33.

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

! He told them another parable, the kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour till it was all leavened.

As you'd expect, I'm usually asked a number of questions about my retirement, the most common one being, how is retirement?

How many times I've answered that question, I'm sure everybody who's retired has found the same after they retire.

But another question is, what are you doing with yourself in your retirement?

Well, I'm preaching most weeks, but one thing I've taken up doing since I retired is making bread.

Making bread. And I enjoy making bread.

Making bread is a very interesting process.

Okay, I've got a bread machine.

I don't have to do all that kneading, all that pulling and manipulating of dough and waiting for ages until the whole thing's ready to go in the oven.

You shove it all into the machine and it does the work for you.

Even the baking of it.

You just take out the finished loaf.

But you need to be sure that you've put all the ingredients in that the loaf requires.

And that they are in exactly the right measurements according to what you're given in the guidance for making the different types of bread.

If you don't keep to the guidance accurately, your bread's not going to turn out the way it should be at all.

But it's an interesting process.

And one of the most interesting things about it, as in making of bread at any time, is the use of yeast.

Yeast nowadays, you can still get the old type of yeast, but yeast nowadays is mostly dried yeast, just powder.

And that has to be added to all the other ingredients or else the bread will not rise.

And yeast has fascinating properties.

It's a fascinating material.

It has a fascinating in its substance, in the way it works.

Because as soon as it begins to work, it affects, as we'll see today from the study, the whole batch of ingredients or the dough, if you like, as it's mixed together.

The yeast does its own work so that eventually it produces what turns out to be a loaf of bread.

And the Bible uses yeast, or leaven as it is here.

This is the word leaven that's used, the same thing, leaven, yeast.

The Bible uses that illustratively.

It uses yeast to illustrate, for example, the workings of sin.

Because just as yeast works and spreads through the whole batch of dough, so sin is like that in our lives individually or in the life of any group of people.

If it's left unrepented of, undisturbed, it'll grow in its own way.

Sin is never static.

It's never a neutral negative thing.

It always has growth properties unless the growth is stemmed by the addition of grace or the power of God.

But yeast is also used positively, as it is in this verse here.

The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until it was all leavened.

The positive element that yeast is, is also used here in the Bible to emphasize a positive result.

The yeast was put into the batch of dough until the whole batch was leavened and ready just to be put in the oven to be baked as bread.

That's the good use of this illustration, the use of the illustration in a good sense in the Bible.

So what does that actually tell us today?

What are we learning from this brief verse or reference to yeast?

Well, two things.

Look at the second one mostly.

But first of all, yeast is actually a living organism.

You might not think that as you take the wee sachet of powdered yeast or dried yeast and put it into the dough.

But yeast retains its own properties so that when the liquid is added to it, it begins then to use, it begins then to affect the whole batch of dough.

And if you take what used to be the yeast that was kept in a little jar or a little bottle, you just took a little bit of it, added it to the dough,

and the bit that you left behind still kept on growing, you could use it again and again.

It has in itself this property.

It is itself a living organism.

That's what makes it so fascinating.

That yeast has within it the properties that it shows once it begins to work.

And that's true of the kingdom of God.

Now, the kingdom of God, we could spend ages actually trying to define what the Bible means by the kingdom of God.

But the kingdom of God is essentially where God's influence or God's grace reigns and spreads throughout humanity,

spreads throughout any people or even any individual.

Where the grace of God is at work, the kingdom of God is in that person,

the kingship of God is being shown in that person,

allegiance to God as king is evident in that person,

or in a congregation like yourselves, where you find that congregation growing spiritually.

That's the advancement of the kingdom of God.

The God as king is made evident through the way you're showing allegiance to him as a congregation.

And whenever you find the influence of God through his people advancing,

the kingdom of God is seen in that.

The kingdom of God shows itself and grows in that.

Well, here is what he's saying.

The kingdom of God is like leaven,

like this yeast that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour.

And as it's true of the yeast that it has,

as a living organism that has this property in itself,

it makes it a very suitable illustration for the kingdom of God.

Because the kingdom of God, it doesn't depend on us to grow.

Yes, it's something in which we contribute our life,

and in which we contribute as we'll see the things that we can bring to others about the gospel and about Christ.

But the kingdom of God has within itself the properties of growth.

Because God is at work in the growth of his kingdom.

The spirit of God is at work in the growth of his kingdom.

Where you have the word of God,

where you have the faithful preaching of the word of God,

where you have the sacraments,

where you have prayer,

where you have God's people worshiping together,

where you have that witness and commitment to God going on in any congregation or any individual.

There you have, within that commodity,

the principles, if you like, of growth, of effectiveness.

You add the power of God.

You add the grace of God.

And all of that comes together for the advance of the kingdom.

The kingdom has within itself the capacity, the influence,

that by the grace of God, by the work of God's Spirit,

it becomes a living force.

It moves in such a way as to bring people into its provisions.

The kingdom of God is like leaven.

It has in itself that capacity.

It's a living organism.

It's not neutral.

It's not static.

It's not negative.

It's positive.

And it has that capacity.

But secondly, more fully,

the kingdom of God, like yeast,

yeast is a change-bringing organism.

Not just a living organism.

It's a change-bringing organism.

When you add yeast to the batch of dough,

it immediately begins to change things.

It permeates for a start.

It permeates the whole batch.

You see what the verse is saying?

This woman took this leaven and she hid it.

She placed it in three measures of flour until it was all leavened.

She didn't actually do this and then almost immediately try and bake the dough into bread.

She left it until it was all leavened,

until the yeast had done its work through that whole batch of dough.

And Jesus is saying,

that is what the kingdom of God is like.

In other words,

your Christian influence is designed to permeate that society,

that batch of human dough, if you like,

into which God has placed you as an individual,

into which God has placed you as a congregation.

You are here in this town,

you are here in this community,

as God's living organism,

God's living yeast,

God's living leaven,

so that you see yourselves as a congregation,

as actually placed for a purpose,

where God has placed you here in Stornoway,

so that the influence of your life will permeate the whole batch of humanity,

hopefully, prayerfully,

that God has placed you amongst.

That's the growth that you're praying for and looking for.

It's designed to permeate the whole of society around you.

You don't leave any aspect of that society out.

You don't leave any kind of person out of that influence

of the grace of God working through you.

The doctrines that you believe in,

the lifestyle of a Christian,

all of those things are designed to act as the leaven in the part of the dough.

And your part and my part is to be that leaven in our society.

You leave the change to the Holy Spirit.

You can't bring about the conversion of any individual.

Nobody can.

But you have to be,

as Jesus put it elsewhere,

in the position of making disciples.

Bringing the leaven of your Christian life and influence

to bear upon the people around you.

You're leaving the work of regeneration,

the work of bringing to life spiritually,

to the Holy Spirit.

You can't do it anyway.

But the Holy Spirit is not going to do

what the Bible requires you and me to do.

That's to be leaven in society.

It's a bit like what Jesus says elsewhere,

you are the salt of the earth.

Just like salt has an influence

on the whole,

whatever food you're adding salt to,

it doesn't just salt a tiny wee bit of it,

it spreads through the whole lot.

It affects the savor of the whole thing.

So the leaven spreads throughout the dough.

So the congregation that you are in this world,

that God has given you to be,

and where God has placed you,

you're a congregation to act as leaven

in this society around you.

And just like the leaven begins to activate the moment,

you actually add the water to it,

so actually you are to seek the blessing of God,

as you've been doing.

I mean, this congregation itself

has so many things going on,

as I've mentioned, in prayer.

And as I came to know,

when I was ministered here,

these eight happy years that I was with you,

the number of things that are going on alongside with,

alongside of the preaching of the gospel,

the worship of God every Lord's Day,

every midweek,

alongside of that,

fits all of these activities

that you have going on in the congregation.

That is really part of the way

the leavening influence of the gospel is at work.

Because in the work you have with young folks,

with older young folks,

with the smaller ones,

the tiny ones,

think of all that as leavening influence.

Think of all that as an activity that's going on

with a view to bringing about the leavening,

the spiritual development of the whole batch of people

that you are.

And everybody has their own bit to contribute to that.

You know, that's how it is for our situation in life as well.

We're placed by the Lord in order to seek to bring

an influence by his blessing to the community around us.

You know, our tendency,

the tendency certainly of the world around you

is to think that people's problems are entirely external.

And that if you improve people's conditions externally,

then you'll find a difference in their way of life,

in their outlook on life,

in their behavior in life.

Well, people's behavior may to some small extent

be affected by their environment

and by the situations that they have from day to day outwardly.

But people's behavior begins from in here.

It begins from within the soul.

And unless that is turned around and changed,

that person's not going to be much different

to what they always have been.

But here is where the leavening influence

of the gospel, of the Christian gospel,

of the Christian life,

as it's set in society,

it's aiming at, by God's blessing,

affecting people so that they'll begin

to think deeply about life,

that they'll turn to the Lord,

they'll become new creations in Christ.

And you're a leavening influence

towards that objective.

And if I may say so,

one of the rewarding things

that I've done more recently

is to speak at the Road to Recovery

that David leads here in the town.

And one of the encouraging

and really thrilling things about it

is that that work is based on the gospel.

That work is based not on changing

people's outward circumstances,

though, of course, that's not neglected.

But the work is that people

will come to know the Lord,

that people will come to have their lives

changed by the grace of God.

And the leavening influence

of a Christian influence

is designed to bring people

to that point,

by God's blessing,

that the leaven of the lives

of those who are seeking

to help those with needs

such as addictions,

will come to see them converted,

come to see them

coming into the kingdom themselves

and becoming part of it.

The kingdom is like leaven,

which a woman took

and hid in these measures of flow

until it was all leavened.

And you know that should be

our objective as well.

Even if we're convinced

that the world is not going to be

completely changed

before the Lord comes,

we should still have it as our objective

to see as much change

as possible taking place.

And that means through your influence

as a congregation,

through your influence as individuals,

that you seek God's blessing

to bring the change about.

So that permeates,

the leaven as it permeates,

the whole measure

of the batch of dough,

so the kingdom is designed

to infiltrate,

to permeate,

to go through society

and communities.

But secondly,

it's a change-bringing organism

because as you see yeast at work,

one of the things you see

is that the yeast transfers

its own properties,

if you like,

to the whole batch of dough

into which you place it.

Because the batch of dough

is there static.

It doesn't move.

It doesn't change.

As soon as you add the yeast to it,

it begins to change.

And the change is brought about,

not just brought about by the yeast,

but the yeast is seeking

to transform that batch of dough

into like itself,

to grow,

to increase,

to change in its substance indeed,

to some extent.

And that's the same with the gospel.

When you introduce the gospel

into human society,

into human communities,

into human individual experiences,

that gospel enters into that life

or these lives

as yeast is entered

into the batch of dough.

It immediately begins,

if God blesses it as we pray,

to influence the whole batch.

And it begins to transform

that whole batch

into what it's like itself

because the yeast of God's gospel

or the life that God gives

to his people

is something that has

divine properties.

You could be mistaken about that

and I don't want to mislead you,

but of course,

it doesn't mean we are made

into something other than human beings

when we come to know the Lord,

when we have a spirit working within us,

when we're changed from being dead sinners

into living disciples, saints.

But it does mean

this gospel,

this grace of God

that works through the gospel,

this grace of God

that is at work

in the life of God's people,

it has its own divine properties.

It's not been manufactured

by human beings.

It's not something

the church has brought about

in the course of history.

It's not something

that any individual,

however talented,

is actually able to produce

or reproduce.

It is God at work.

And God's work

is always like himself.

It always bears a similarity

to him.

And as the yeast

is entered into

the batch of dough,

so it begins to change

that batch of dough

to be like itself.

It transforms that batch

from within

and it spreads out

throughout it,

as we've said,

until the whole batch

is affected.

You don't find

any other philosophy

that has that capacity.

It doesn't matter

what religion

you look at in the world

with Christianity.

Whatever influences

it has,

it may very well

have a lot of influence

as you can see

in our own society.

There are many religions

and ideologies

that have influences

that bring people

to follow them.

But it doesn't have

the divine capacity

to change human life

from within.

It doesn't have

within it

that capacity,

that divine power

which the Spirit

of God

uses and shows

in people

being born again.

That's why

it's so important

that you and I

and this congregation

act as leaven

in this community.

Because you're

carrying with you

in the gospel,

in your own Christian life,

when you're committed

to the Lord,

you're carrying with you

a power

that cannot be

reproduced

or replicated

by any other power

on earth.

And you have to believe

that that power

is the power

that's able to change

people's lives

radically.

What's going to change

this society

we belong to today

with all its dreadful

excesses,

with its rampant

secularist way

of looking at things,

with all its atheism,

with all the hate

that there is there

for the gospel,

for the things of God,

for the people of God,

for the church?

What is it that's

going to change

church buildings

that for centuries

were associated

with the gospel

and being now changed

into mosques

or whatever else

use they're changed into?

What's going to reverse that?

What's going to change that?

And friends,

we need to see

these changes.

Otherwise,

that's just going to go on

month by month,

year by year,

and we'll be left

with a spiritual wilderness.

What's going to change it

is the gospel,

the power of God

unto salvation.

How do we actually

set about

living to that end?

Well,

being,

yeast being,

leaven in the world.

having an influence

with people

alongside you,

neighbors,

work colleagues,

school friends,

but you and I

have to be the yeast

that looks to change

society by the blessing

of God.

To see the kingdom

of God advance.

That's what we were

praying for with the

children,

wasn't it?

Where,

in the Lord's Prayer,

that's one of the elements

in the Lord's Prayer.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done

on earth

as it is in heaven.

Let your kingdom come.

We can't be praying,

let your kingdom come,

and then standing aside

as if that's going to happen

without us being concerned

to live as yeast

or leaven

in this world

for Christ.

God's not dependent

on us.

Yes,

God can work

without us.

God can do many things

without us.

But that's not how

he's revealed

in the Bible

as operating.

He operates

through the life

of his church.

He operates

through God's people

living as yeast

in the society

where they're placed.

Transferring

the properties

of spiritual life

by God's blessing

to those that presently

don't have it.

it's a change

bringing organism.

It transfers

its properties

to the whole batch.

Thirdly,

finally,

it actually grows.

Are we

too used

to seeing

the church

decrease?

Are we in danger

of saying,

well,

that's just how

God has planned it.

That's just how

God is.

That's what providence

has brought about.

Yes.

Are we satisfied

with that?

Are we saying,

that's how it must be?

Are we seeing

ourselves as just

no longer acting

as yeast

in society?

Have we lost

our vision

that the church

is meant

to grow

and not

to be reduced?

I know

everything's

under the authority

and the providence

of God

under the complete

and utter authority

of God

that he rules

sovereignly

over every event,

over every eventuality,

over every turn

in the church's life

and experience.

That's how it's

always been.

But let's not

lose

our vision

of growth.

Let's not

lose our vision

that the kingdom

of God,

the rule

of God

through his people

is meant

to lead

to growth.

A growth

in his cause.

A growth

in people

confessing him

as their Lord.

It's like leaven

which this woman

took and hid

in three measures

of flour

till all

was leavened.

In other words,

the kingdom

of God

has that

spiritual

substance

to it

that is itself

designed

to grow.

And you can

see that

in the early

church,

for example,

in the days

of the Acts

of the Apostles.

Look at the number

of people,

it's not about

numbers,

but just look

at the size

of that batch

of disciples

that left

the upper room

and went out

to follow Christ

and to bring

the gospel

into the world.

And by the time

you read

through the book

of Acts

and you see

what's happened

in Athens,

in Thessalonica,

in Ephesus,

all the other

places that are

mentioned there,

you'll find

churches established,

you'll find

churches growing,

you'll find

the kingdom

of God

advancing.

Why is that?

Because the people

of God,

the disciples

of Jesus,

took this

into the world,

they acted

as leaven

in the society

of their day.

And God

blessed that

and God

followed that

and God

took that

and placed it

into the batch

of dough

that that sinful

pagan world

was.

and as you

read the book

of Acts

you can watch

it grow.

You can see

its influence.

You can see

how seriously

people took

their Christian

walk,

their Christian

confession,

their Christian

commitment

to the Lord

and to His

cause.

You can see

it,

secondly,

you can see

it on revivals,

can't you?

If you read

these excellent

books on revival

that you find

written recently

by Tom Lenny,

he's got three

or four books

actually on revival

in different parts

of Scotland,

including Lewis

itself,

which he focuses

on quite a bit.

But as you'll see

the accounts he gives

in all of these

areas,

for example,

just of Lewis

itself,

where he has

checked it out

with people

and followed

through his research,

and you'll find

some really

astounding,

some wonderful,

some exhilarating

accounts of

individuals

used by God,

placed in the

darkness of

their own day,

and all of a

sudden,

spiritual life.

Leaven has

done its work.

People come

to think

seriously

about life.

What is life

about?

They come

to attend

church services,

and they come

to not only

attend,

but also come

with concern,

with weeping

to church services,

seeking the

Lord,

concerned

for the

name of

Christ,

more concerned

for the

glory of

God than

for themselves.

That's the

leaven at work.

And that's

God blessing

his word,

God placing

these people

as the movement

grew in the

society of their

day,

so that others

are added to

the number.

You see,

that should be

our vision as

well,

shouldn't it,

that we don't

rest until the

whole batch

is leavened,

until throughout

the course of

our lives,

at least in

this world,

we've given

what we can

and been

what we

should be

as God's

leaven in

the world.

And of

course,

that's the

case with

individuals as

well.

Once the

work starts

in an

individual's

life,

the work

of God's

Spirit,

where God,

as it were,

places the

leaven of

his life,

the leaven of

his Spirit,

into any

human soul,

it grows.

It grows.

It spreads

throughout the

whole of that

person's life

and being.

It's not just

something that

affects your

thoughts without

affecting your

conscience,

without affecting

your will,

without affecting

your love,

your emotions.

The whole of

your human

character is

affected by

the leaven of

God's life

entering into

you.

And today,

friends,

we're privileged

to have the

Gospel setting

out these terms

for us,

to remind us

that the

kingdom of

heaven is

like leaven,

that we

belong to

the movement

of the

kingdom of

heaven,

that we

belong to

that movement

that itself

is designed

to infiltrate

the world

for Christ,

to grow in

that world,

to bring

about the

knowledge of

Christ in

that world.

You put a

batch of

yeast into

a lump of

dough,

you try and

stop it

working.

It's not

easy.

Maybe not

impossible,

but it's not

easy.

Because that

yeast, as it

grows, as it

transfers its

properties, the

whole batch

grows.

You try and

stop the

spirit of

God.

Once it

works, even

through an

individual, in

any part of

human society,

you try and

stop it.

You can't do

it.

Because it's

God at

work, for

which you and

I should be

burdened.

She didn't

wait until all

things were

leavened.

Then she

could take the

batch of

dough and

use it for

bread.

God's

purpose is

for yourself

and for

myself today.

Remember how

Paul wrote to

the Philippian

church, a

church that

he loved,

a church that

loved him

greatly.

It wasn't a

perfect church,

no church is.

But when he

wrote to them

in the very

first chapter of

that short

epistle, he

said how much

he was thanking

God for them,

for every

remembrance of

them.

He was

writing to

them from

prison.

But as he

remembered them,

as he reflected

upon them,

he thanked

God for them,

for their

partnership in

the gospel from

the first day

till now.

What's he

saying?

He's saying I'm

thankful that

you became part

of the leaven,

that as God

made me leaven

in your society,

you joined

that, you

became leaven,

you influenced

others, you

were used

by God.

As he went

on to say

that it was

right for him

to think

this about

them.

For he

says where

he has

begun a

good work,

he will

fulfill it,

complete it,

bring it to

completion at

the day of

Christ.

Friends,

let's not

rest.

Let's not

lose our

sight of

God at

work.

Let's not

lose our

vision for

the gospel.

Let's

retain that

picture of

God's

kingdom as

leaven.

Let's play

individually our

own part in

being leaven

in the

society we're

placed into.

Let's pray.

Lord, our

gracious God,

we acknowledge

that we are

so often not

what we

should be,

that we

are falling

short in

every aspect

of our

life.

Yet, Lord,

as we complain

about these

things, we

pray that you

enable us to

have our

vision restored

or maintained

as to your

kingdom and its

work and its

properties.

peace.

And help us,

we pray, to

have a proper

estimate of

our own place

within that

kingdom.

Grant that you

would continue

daily to throw

our hearts to

yourself.

Remember any

here today,

Lord, who have

not yet committed

their life to

you.

We pray that you

would enter into

their life

powerfully, that

the leaven of

your gospel might

indeed carry out

its own work by

your spirit.

We pray that for

every gathering of

your church

throughout the

world today.

We pray for

your people as

they continue to

witness to you.

Lord, make them,

we pray, more

and more powerful

and effective in

the witness that

they bear.

And use us, we

pray, as your

people in the

world, even

beyond what we

are able to ask

or think, that

whatever small

ideas we may

have of ourselves,

we may know

that in the

hands of Christ

great things can

be achieved.

Hear us now,

we pray for

his sake.

Amen.

Now we

conclude our

worship this

morning singing

in Psalm 65.

Psalm 65 in

the Singed

Psalms version.

To the

Tune Huddersfield

we're singing

verses 8 to

13.

That's on

page 82.

Those who

inhabit distant

lands with

awe regard

your ways.

Where morning

dawns and

evening fades,

you call forth

songs of

praise.

You tend the

land and water

it, you make

it rich and

good.

As you

ordained, your

streams are full

to give the

people food.

You drench the

furrows of the

land, you level

off the ground, you

soften it with

showers of rain and

make its crops

abound.

And although these

verses speak

literally of

agricultural ways

and the natural

growth of things in

the land, they're

obviously transferable

spiritually as well

to the way in

which God brings

about by his

blessing that rich

spiritual growth that

we pray for.

So verses 8 to

13, those who

inhabit distant

lands with awe

regard your

ways.

Amen.

종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종종

rich and good, as you ordained, your streams are full to give the people good.

You drenched the furrows of the land, you level off the ground,

you soften it with showers of rain and make this cross a band.

You cried the year with beautifulness, your harvest overflows,

the grass that flourishes again, the hills with calmness so.

The pastures gleam with cloths and gold, the meadows covered in,

above this deck themselves with corn, they shall for joy not sing.

If you'd kind of let me get to the main door after the benediction, please.

Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit,

be with you now and evermore. Amen.

Amen.