Opposition to the Kingdom part 4 - Lessons from The Mustard and the Leaven

Let's take our Bibles. Let's turn back to Matthew 13. Matthew chapter 13. We're going to be where we were last week and that is in verses 31 to 33 and I'm going to ask you to turn to another verse, Galatians chapter 1. And I want you to put your eyes on some verses because this is going to help us in application in a certain portion of the message tonight. But Matthew chapter 13 verses 31 to 33 we'll read those verses a little later on. Now last week I took a slightly different approach in our study of these kingdom parables. First of all, I covered two parables.

I covered two parables that would be the parable of the mustard seed, the mustard plant, and also the parable of the leaven. And then second with my different approach, I really did not get into the meaning of the parables. Now I did cover part of the meaning by just stating there are two approaches, there are two interpretations. Some see these as teaching positive things and some see them as negative. And we're going to get into that in a minute. But the third thing that I did do, the third thing that I did was that I didn't give the title of the message.

I'll always give a title for a message, but I didn't give one last week and I did that on purpose. Now there are two things that I shared last week that we need to have in our minds and I'm going to add to one of these. And these are observations that I want us to see. First of all, the fact that these two parables have produced two completely different interpretations. None of the parables, none of the other parables have been interpreted in such opposite ways. Now the different interpretations are simple.

Some interpret these parables as representing positive growth in the kingdom, while others interpret these parables as representing negative growth in the kingdom. But the reasons why that different people take these positions can really go deep and they can go complicated. And if you do some additional study and listening and reading, you will run across that. But the second observation I want you to see tonight is this. Jesus did not give an explanation to these two parables. Jesus did explain the parable of the sower. He did that in public in front of the crowds.

Jesus did explain the parable of the weeds, but only to his disciples in private. But notice something here. I didn't really get into this last week. Remember that I did call your attention to the context of the parable of the mustard seed in the leaven. Both of those parables are in between the giving of the parable of the weeds and the explanation. There's sandwich there. I think you see that. But notice that the disciples did not ask Jesus for an explanation of the mustard seed and the leaven. They did not. Look at verse 36.

"Then he left the crowds and he went into the house and his disciples came to them saying, 'Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.'" He had already given the parable of the weeds or the wheat and the tare. He had given the mustard seed and the leaven, but they did not ask Jesus to explain the latter too. Now what is my point here? Why do I point that tidbit of information out? The disciples did not seem to struggle with the meaning of the mustard seed in the leaven. It doesn't seem that they struggle. I think it was because of their Jewish culture that they did not struggle here.

That is why I told you last week to really keep in mind the Jewish context. Remember I said we can't look at this through the lens of our culture. We have to look at it through the lens of their Jewish culture. And I think we must see this teaching through the lens of their culture, their minds, the Old Testament teaching, their lives. I think we have to really do that. Also I want to point out the context. I think that how these two parables are situated between the parable of the weeds and the explanation tells us something. I think this is all meant to be together.

And of course scholars do tell us that all these parables were given at one time. Now before we go any further, I want to point out why this study is important. I'm not talking about one parable, I'm talking about all of these kingdom parables. Studying these parables and understanding their meaning will make you a better equipped Christian. It will make you a better equipped Christian. You will have a better understanding of what a true convert looks like. You'll have a better understanding of what a false convert looks like. You'll have a better understanding of the true nature of the church.

You will have a better understanding of how Satan works in opposition to the church. And for our context, for our context you will be a better church member. You will have a greater understanding of the church which will make you a better Christian and a better church member. I'll give you an example. Jared this week was able to minister to someone through the parable of the sower. He was telling me about that. And he referenced things that we studied and took that understanding and he ministered to someone outside of the context of the church, this church.

They're a Christian, but in my mind I thought yes that's made him a better Christian and a better church member. I want all of you to be able to take what we study here and use it in our culture and in your family. That could go a lot of different places, but I think you see that in that example. Now last week I gave you several points of instruction in your assignment. Remember the assignment? Now I'm not gonna ask for a show of hands. I just saw somebody nod their head. I gave you an assignment to read and to study and to make a personal determination as to the meaning of these two parables.

Now I want to pick up here with one of the points of instruction. It was number two in the list. I said to keep these two parables in line with the rest. All of these parables in Matthew 13 flow together. They all have different meaning, yes, but there is a consistent stream of thought. They're all tied together. Now listen, notice how they flow together. In the first parable, the parable of the soils, Jesus shows us the beginning of the kingdom. Jesus shows us that one of the four that heard the gospel actually understand and receive and believe. The soils represent four different types of human hearts.

Only one in four truly believe and two are false converts. But that's the beginning of the kingdom. In the parable of the weeds, Jesus shows us the opposition to the kingdom and how it begins. Satan can't destroy the wheat. He can't destroy true kingdom work and true kingdom Christians. But he counterfeits and he counterfeits true Christians. Satan sows illegitimate Christians right next to the true Christians and they are in the world and they are in the church. And in the parable of the mustard seed, Jesus shows us continued opposition to the kingdom. Satan continues his opposition to the kingdom by doing two things in the parables.

In the parable of the mustard seed, Satan produces false growth in the kingdom. In the parable of the leaven, Satan produces false influence in the kingdom. So after the kingdom is established, this is the church age folks. After the church, the church age is established. This would be the church in the world. We understand that. Satan then comes along and he attacks internally. He attacks internally through false Christians on the inside. That's the weeds. Through his agents, the weeds, he attacks externally through false kingdom growth. That's the mustard plant.

And he continues to use his agents, the weeds, by attacking internally through false influence. That's the leaven in the flower, leaven in the dough. So you see my interpretation. Yes, I am saying that I interpret these parables to illustrate continued opposition to the kingdom. I see the parable of the mustard seed and the leaven as negative in their meaning. Now that is why I didn't give you the title of the message last week. I wanted you to think about what this may teach and what Jesus is trying to show us. So last week's title was opposition to the kingdom and basically stating the parables.

The parable of the mustard and the parable of the leaven. Now tonight, it really just flows with what we've been looking at. And that is opposition to the kingdom, lessons from the mustard and the leaven. Lessons from the mustard and the leaven. Now I have said this. I am taking our time here. And I'm teaching some of these parables in two messages because I'm trying to help us get all that we can get. Let's go back and let's read the verses and let's just dive in. Because we do have a lot more information tonight. Starting in verse 31.

He put another parable before them saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and he sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it is sown, it is larger than all the garden plants and it becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." Then he told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flower till it was all leavened or all affected." Now here is my approach. I want to quickly restate the parables and their physical meaning.

And then I will explain what I believe Jesus is teaching here and I will give us some lessons from the interpretation. The interpretation dictates the application. Number one, the parable given, the mustard seed and the mustard plant. That's obvious. Verses 31 to 32. I say it's the parable that's given, the mustard seed and the mustard plant. Now it is hard to simply call this parable the parable of the mustard seed because the seed and the plant are a part of what Jesus is teaching. You see? Both are a part. Now remember what was unusual about the mustard plant.

The mustard seed was the smallest of the garden seeds that they knew but the mustard plant grew more into a shrub or a small tree than any of the garden plants. Physically the plant grew unusually large for a garden plant. Some say abnormally large for an herb or a garden plant. It could be seen as a monstrosity in its size. And there are two things that we must see here. There are two things that Jesus was pressing here to form the interpretation. First, the smallness of the mustard seed. It was the smallest of seeds that they knew.

It was so well known for its smallness that it was used all the time in this proverbial fashion to communicate smallness. And I gave you this hypothetical illustration last week. In that day if you wanted to say something was really small all you had to say is your brain is as small as a mustard seed. Obviously that's an insult. But you get the comparison. But then second, the unusual side of the mustard plant. For a garden plant it was unusually large. It could get to be a monstrosity. A garden plant could get so big that birds could come nest in it.

Scholars say that there are reports that they could get so big that even a man could ride a horse under its branches. Now here's the million dollar question. What was Jesus teaching? What was the meaning? To answer that question we need to understand certain things in the parable and what they represent. First of all, the actual mustard seed. The mustard seed represents the very humble beginning of the kingdom. The beginnings of the church and the church age and its humble beginnings. It represents the humble beginnings of the gospel work which birthed the work of the church and the church age. Look at the humility and the smallness of Jesus.

Look at the humility and the smallness of the disciples. Look at the humility and the smallness of the beginning of the church. Look at the humility and the smallness of the gospel message. Look at the humility and the smallness of their methods, you see. Everything about the beginning of the church and the church age had very humble and small beginnings from the Messiah to the message of the Messiah to the leaders, to its followers, to their methods. The mustard seed represents the very small humble beginnings of it all. But then second, the mustard plant.

The mustard plant represents the very unusual abnormal growth of the kingdom, the church. Now that is not representing a particular time period of the church. That's not representing a particular place where the church is located. This speaks of the eventual growth of the church throughout the entire church age. Through the entire church age. If we study the church throughout the ages, we see the ebb and the flow of the church. We see the success and the seeming defeat of the church. We see the church victorious at certain times and at certain places. But we also see the church beaten down and seemingly defeated at certain times and places.

You see what I mean? But if we study the church throughout the ages, we see that the church grew to be this abnormal and unusual thing that is comprised of so much. What is defined as a church and what constitutes the church really became and has become a monstrosity compared to its beginnings. To its beginnings. But then third, the birds of the air. The birds of the air represent Satan's workers, Satan's messengers. These are the weeds. These are the illegitimate Christians that are placed right there by the wheat, by the true Christians. Now notice how important it is to interpret these parables together.

Jesus said in his explanation of the parable of the sower that the bird that snatches the gospel seed away is the evil one. That's in chapter 13 verse 19. Then in the parable of the weeds, the weeds are the sons of the evil one. And that's in verse 38 and 39. By implication, it has to be Satan who plants those seeds, right? Well, here we see the continued work of Satan. Because of the influence of the weeds in the church, the church becomes overgrown. It becomes abnormally organized, which gives room for what? Satan's followers, those secret, subversive agents of Satan, Satan's workers, they are weeds.

Now I want to offer you two pieces of biblical evidence that prove my interpretation of the birds. First, Jesus had already stated that the birds represent the work of Satan. He already said that. And to me, if we interpret the birds to mean something different in the parable of the mustard seed, then we violate the harmony of the teaching. And if we do that, we violate the consistency of the parables as they are taught together by Jesus. Then second, the background, the context. In the Old Testament, birds were often seen as a work of evil. Two illustrations or two examples.

In Genesis 1511, the birds came down upon Abram's sacrifices and he ran them off. In Deuteronomy 28, when curses that were to come upon Israel were spoken of for their rebellion, the text says that your carcasses, speaking of Israel, their carcasses shall be meat to the birds of the air, speaking of the pagan nations. So notice the meaning of the parable. The mustard seed represents the small, the humble beginnings of the kingdom, the church age. The mustard plant represents the unusual monstrosity that the church would become during the church throughout the church age. The birds represent Satan's subversive secret agents.

Because of the unusual growth of the church, there is room given for Satan's workers. I think I've referenced William McDonald before. I mentioned that he has this one-volume commentary. It's a good resource. It's called the Believer's Bible Commentary. Sometimes I look at what he has to say. And notice what he says, and I'm quoting, "Here the Lord forewarned the disciples." Remember, he's equipping them. I think he's right. "Here the Lord forewarned the disciples that during his absence," remember he's leaving, the kingdom's been entrusted to them.

"During his absence, the kingdom would experience a phenomenal growth." And I'm still quoting, "They should not be deceived nor equate growth with success." It would be an unhealthy growth. Of course, he's speaking of the illustration of the parable. And I think you can see that my interpretation allows for a flow, a consistency, a harmony from the parable of the sower to the parable of the weeds and into the parable of the mustard seed, the mustard seed, the mustard plant. They are all linked together to communicate Satan's opposition to the kingdom. The opposition is internal with false converts illustrated by the weeds.

It is external by the false growth illustrated by the mustard plant. Now, what does that say to us today? We don't have mustard plants, and I don't think you have mustard plants with birds making nests in your yard. What does this speak? How does this speak to us today? How do we apply this today? We must understand that the church in our day, we must understand the church in our day. We must understand the church and church history as well. And this teaching helps us understand the church throughout history, all throughout history, and it helps us understand the church in our day. But where do we start?

We start not by examining the church around us. We do not even start by examining church history. We don't even start by listening to the experts. We start by looking at the scriptures. We start with the scriptures. A couple of questions here. I want you to let it roll over in your mind. How do we know the message of the church? How do we know the methods of the church? How do we know who should lead the church? How do we know the theology of the church? How do we know the purpose of the church? How do we know how to tackle the problems of the church? How do we know how the church should function in the world?

All of those questions and more, they're found where? At the latest conference? From the hottest theologian? The latest book? No, they're found from where? The scriptures. Now there's nothing wrong with those things. But I'm showing you that we start where? With the scriptures. We start examining the church and the church throughout church history by examining the scriptures. We start with the scriptures and then we move out to what is around us and even back through church history, you see? Now today, in the American church, there is a big movement to be more inclusive in the church.

There are many seeming respected leaders that want to include women in a greater way. There are many that want to include women as pastors and leaders in the church. Well, what do the scriptures say? The scriptures do not allow for women to be pastors. The scriptures do not allow women to teach men in the church. The scriptures do not allow women to govern the church. The scriptures do not allow women to have authority over men in the church. The scriptures do allow women to teach and to serve in a whole host of ways. Specifically, the scriptures do allow women to teach children and other women, but not men.

They would even say, "Not young men." Well, what's the conclusion here? All that branch of American evangelicalism and the church that allows and promotes unscriptural roles for women, it is nothing more than this big branch off the mustard plant with birds perching in it. And some of you will know exactly what I'm talking about. And the pastor of all of that branch is Beth Moore. She is. Part of that movement to be more inclusive in the church is a movement to include gay Christianity. I don't know if I have all of the letters. I could have left one off.

LGBTQ affirming ministers and LGBTQ Christianity and ministries and affirming and including all that. Well, what do the scriptures say? The scriptures say in 1 Corinthians 6-9 that those who practice homosexuality should not inherit the kingdom of God. So the conclusion, all of that branch of so-called American evangelicalism in the church that allows and promotes a place for that in the church, it is a gross part of this mustard seed plant. It is a gross part of branches with birds perching all in it. And listen, there are many branches of the mustard plant that are not a part of biblical Christianity. Some are easy to identify.

Some are difficult to identify. And some can be impossible. Remember the weeds? Can't always tell their weeds. A couple more here. There's this big push for social justice in the church, a blending of social justice in the gospel that's far into the scripture. All of that is a big branch. You can't do much study here without theologians dealing with the Catholic church, what the Catholic church means, what it is. It's under the umbrella of Christian. All of that is a branch with birds of the air perched all in it. Now listen, there are many different branches of the mustard plant that are all around us.

And sometimes we can see them and sometimes they are missed. Another way this applies, sometimes whole denominations are a branch. Sometimes parts of a denomination are nothing more than branches for birds to come and nest in them. Para-church ministries are bad about this. They can't even operate in the life of a local healthy church. And so they're just this big branch for all kinds of birds to come perch in it. Now let me clarify something. Am I saying that all denominations and denominational work and para-church ministries are unbiblical and bad? No, that's not what I'm saying.

I'm just saying that in much of that kind of work there are room for birds. If it can't function under the authority of a local church, I've got a problem with it. I'm just saying that much of that work is room for birds. Much of that work is this big bureaucratic branch of so-called Christianity. Now before I move on, remember the beginning of the parable. Jesus said at the beginning of these two parables, the church and the church age is like this. He's talking about the church and the church age. It is like this. It's like the mustard seed. It's like the leaven, you see? Now what is my point?

Kingdom work as seen in the scriptures, is seen as the local church. All throughout the ages, the local church evangelizing the lost and forming local churches. And those churches networking to do what? To evangelize more lost people and to start more churches and then continue. Look, and it's just all, that's all you see. And what do they continue to do? They work hard to promote spiritual health in those churches. That's what Paul did in three missionary journeys, starting at Antioch. That's all he did. Look folks, that's why I love the ministry of anchored in truth. They have adopted, and we're a part of that, a biblical model.

Churches, starting churches, churches, planting churches. They don't start churches. They plant pastors. Because that's what Paul did. He planted Titus on the island of Crete. Timothy at Ephesus. And they have a biblical model. They're not just going to get out there in the peripheral with some of these other things. And when you contrast what is seen in the scriptures with what is seen today, even back in the church history, we see lots of mustard plant branches. We see lots of places for birds of the air to perch in the nest. Birds that nest produce other birds. Birds that nest produce other birds.

Now let me give you some more teaching here, okay? A few lessons, and I really want you to get this. First of all, we don't go around cutting off branches. We don't go around cutting off branches. Because we might cut something off that we're not supposed to cut off. If we do, we might cut off a part of the legitimate church. We might think it's some gross, illegitimate part of the mustard plant, and it might not be. We don't go around identifying birds. Listen, we might mistakenly attack a true servant. It could be a true servant of the master who's misled. We have to be careful there.

Remember that we don't try to go around and dig up weeds. Didn't we remember that? Didn't we study that? We remember that we don't go try to dig up the weeds, so we don't go try to cut off branches. And we don't go try to kill birds. Let me tell you what we do. We get busy in the life of our church. We get busy in the life of our local church, and then we get busy in the life of other local churches as God networks us together. Now, is the Baptist Student Union bad? No. Is a bass fishing club for Jesus bad? No. But let me tell you something.

If you pour your life into this local church, you might not have a lot of time for the bass club fishing for Jesus. Now, am I against it? No. But what I'm trying to show you is this. You find a local healthy church, you pour your life into it, then you evangelize other places, and you start local churches there, and then you promote healthy church life there, here, and everywhere else. That's exactly what Paul did. And if you do that, you'll still clear the branches. Number two, the parable given, the leaven. This is verse 33. The parable that was given, and that is the leaven.

Now, just like with the previous parable, it's hard to simply call this the parable of the leaven, because the leaven and the flower and the woman, they're a part of what Jesus is teaching here. Now, remember what was taught in the physical illustration. In their day, leaven or yeast was a part of everyday life. Baking bread was a part of their everyday life. Bread was a big part of their diet. Bread was commonly baked in the home, and the woman who baked their bread would keep back a part of the dough that already had yeast in it.

She would then take the next batch of the new batch of dough, and she would mix in the saved part from before so as to introduce yeast into the new batch. Then she would allow that new batch to ferment and to rise, and then she would bake the bread, and the process just went on day after day. It was real simple. Now, there are two things that we must hear. Jesus was pressing two things that form our interpretation. First, the smallest of the yeast, the smallness of the yeast. It only took a small amount of yeast to leaven the lump of dough.

Second, the fact that a large amount of flour or dough was affected by the yeast, specifically in the parable. Scholars say that these three measures represented a large amount of flour. As a matter of fact, one scholar pointed out that this would feed well over 100 people. So a very small amount of leaven or yeast would affect a large amount of dough or flour. Well, we've got a million dollar question here. What was Jesus teaching? What did he mean here? First, we need to look at the leaven and what it represents. The leaven, the yeast, represents sin. It represents some type of evil.

In the Scriptures, leaven or yeast almost always represents some type of sin or some type of evil. Almost 100% of the time, it represents something sinful. Specifically here, the leaven represents the introduction of evil doctrines and corruptions to the Word of God. Now, who did it? Who did this? The birds, the weeds, those illegitements. Now, I say this for three reasons. My interpretation of the yeast for three reasons. First of all, all throughout the Old Testament, leaven represents evil or some sort of evil influence. In the Old Covenant sacrificial system, leaven was excluded from every offering to the Lord that was made by fire.

It was a symbol of sin. During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, faithful Jews were to search out their homes, finding any trace of yeast, and it was to be taken out because it was a symbol of sin. But in almost every case, in the Old Testament, yeast represented sin or some kind of an evil influence. I only could come across two instances where it wasn't something evil. But second, within the earthly ministry of Jesus, he used yeast very often to symbolize sin and evil and the evil influence of the religious leaders. He did that often, he would say to the disciples, "Be careful.

Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees." He used this illustration quite a few times in his ministry. Third, Paul. Paul used it to symbolize sin and sinful influences as well. Paul described a deviation from the true gospel as a work of Satan. He said that believers should be very careful because the little yeast works throughout the whole batch of dough. And we see this in Galatians 5.9 and 1 Corinthians 5.6. So we see 1 Corinthians 11. Second, we see the flower. The flower represents the work at hand. It represents kingdom work or the work of the church and that which is influenced by the leaven.

Now, honestly, most scholars do not make much of the flower. The main point is not the flower or the dough. The main point is the influence of the yeast. The leaven represents sin, evil influence, which permeate all that it touches. You could say that the flower represents the work of the church and the work of the kingdom, and I believe it does. But third, the woman. I ran across one who saw this woman as the false prophetess. One commentator made a link between this woman and the false prophetess in Revelation 2.20. But for me, I think that that could be a stretch. Let me show you why. A question.

Is a woman the only one that could introduce sin and evil influences and sinful doctrines into the kingdom and the kingdom work? No. No. I think the woman represents any and all who introduce sin, any and all who introduce evil influences and sinful doctrines into kingdom work. This would be the influence of what? The weeds, remember? They're planted right next to the wheat, remember? This would be the influence of the birds that make their nests there in the mustard plant and they reproduce. So notice the meaning of the parable.

The yeast, the leaven, represents the small yet permeating influence of sin, sinful doctrines, sinful living into the work of the kingdom. When that seeming small, sinful doctrine, or whatever it is, gets hidden in the work of the church, it ferments and it permeates all that it touches. Warren Wiersby describes this work and I'm quoting, "Satan has worked hard to introduce false doctrine and false living into the ministry of the word of God.

From the early days of the church, true believers have battled false doctrine and hypocrisy." He goes on to say, "How sad it is that some churches and schools," and I know he's referencing Christian schools, "How sad it is that some churches and schools that were once true to the word have turned from truth to fables." That's true. Now notice the continued consistency, the harmony of this interpretation, the parable of the sower, we know that's the beginning. Then the parable of the weeds, then the parable of the mustard seed, and now the parable of the leaven, all linked together to show us what.

We see the beginning of the kingdom, now we see Satan's opposition to the kingdom. The opposition is internal, the false converts illustrated by the weeds, it is external in the false growth that's illustrated by the mustard plant, it is internal by the false influence illustrated by the leaven that's hidden within the flower within the dove. Now how do we see this in our day? We must understand sin, sinful living, false teaching, false doctrines that are brought into the church, they come in by what? By how? By who? By Satan, and by the people that Satan uses.

The weeds, the birds, the woman who hides yeast in the flower, that's all enemies of the church. It's a work of Satan. Those who are his secret, subversive agents to do what? To harm the work of the church. Now how do we handle this? Where do we start? We start by examining all that we are taught in what? In light of the scripture. I've used this illustration before, I remember as a kid when my mom used to bake, she would take flour and she had this old fashioned sifter. It must have been her great grandmother's because it looked like it had been beaten up down through the ages.

And it had a little screen at the bottom and she put that flour in there and she would always shake it and sift it. She was getting any impurity out of it. So we sift all that we're exposed to. Christian radio, this pulpit, sermons we might listen to, books that we are given at Christmas, we sift everything through what? Through the Word of God. Now here's where I want us to turn to Galatians. And I want us to see just how this applies. Galatians chapter 1, I got you to turn there, but I didn't mark my place. Galatians chapter 1, starting in verse 6. Now remember the Galatian problem.

There were some people that came in and oh they were causing problems in the Galatian church. Verse 6, Paul says, "I am astonished that you were so quickly deserting Him, that's Christ, who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. Not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we," that would be he and his traveling companions, "or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preach to you, let them be accursed, that can be translated, let them be damned.

As we have said before, so now I say again," he's repeating, "if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you receive, let them be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." Now what is happening here? Paul is refuting false teachers and false doctrines that he'd come into the church. That's what he's doing. He's refuting false teachers and false doctrines that had been hidden in the lump, i.e. the woman who hid the leaven in the flower.

Paul is telling these Galatian Christians that they should not receive any messenger or any message no matter how good their credentials are. Their doctrine, no matter how it sounds, if it's something different from what they had been taught, notice that he calls on them to do two things. Examine what they are taught, examine what they are taught against the Word, and then he calls them to examine what they are taught, and if it doesn't line up with God's Word, handle it, discuss it, talk about it, debate it, think about it. No, he says reject it. This is an all-encompassing rejection. He says that anyone does this.

He doesn't say if anyone, he says if I do it or an angel from heaven, if any of his cohorts, he says this is all-encompassing this rejection. This is a harsh rejection because he said, "Let them be accursed." That really means to devote something to the destruction of hell. He says, "Let them and what they teach be damned." This is a God-approving rejection because Paul says, "Am I trying to please God or man?" Now, a few lessons here for us as well. We must examine what we are taught, and we must know the Word. How was my mother going to get the impurities out of the flower if she didn't have a sifter?

So many people are led astray by false teaching and false teachers because they're just ignorant of the Word. So we must examine everything that we're taught and examine it by the Word of God. And look, let me show you, folks. The best place, the healthiest place to do all this is in the life of a healthy church, not a perfect church. A church with leaders who love you and who work hard in God's Word. Leaders who teach you the Word. Men who will gather around you. Older women who will help you. The healthy church, a local healthy church is where you do all this.

And we must be willing to even forgive true Christians that make a mistake or get into error because that happens. And we must be willing to reject someone who holds to true, who holds to false teaching, no matter how respected they are. And it's sad if you watch Christian leaders for very long, you'll notice that some of them go off the rails. And before long, you'll start thinking, "Where have they gone?" Now as I move to conclude, I want to conclude a lot like I did last week. I will quickly review some instruction that I gave you and I'm going to give you some additional thoughts.

And I'm going to be honest with you, there's a whole lot more we could say here. Number one, don't overcomplicate these parables. Some do that. They give meaning where they shouldn't give meaning. Some scrutinize the smallest details. I think some guys just overthink it. And then the second thing, keep these parables in line with the rest. They are meant to be understood, connected all together. Just keep them simple. I said this last week, better define the one basic meaning and let the details go. But also keep the Jewish context in mind. To me, that is what forms how we see the yeast, the leaven, and how we even see the birds.

For the Jews, they definitely saw leaven as representing sin, something evil. When he mentioned leaven, they perked up and they immediately thought of something sinful. And they also would have known the Old Testament scriptures that spoke about birds being something that represented evil as well. And remember, remember not to impose certain periods or parts of church history onto the parables so as to get your interpretation. If we look at these parables in relation to specifically the great revivals in New England with men like Whitfield and Edwards, we're going to be forced to a positive interpretation.

We're just going to think it's all positive. But I want to say something here. I want to say something. Even though I see these parables as communicating a negative part of kingdom growth, I do believe that the church is victorious. What did Jesus say? I will be on my church. I will be on my church. The church can do what the scriptures say. The church can be what the scriptures say. The church should be. And the church can do all around the world what the church is supposed to do according to the scripture. The trick is to do it God's way. That's not the trick. That's the part of obedience.

But then fifth, don't discount a scholar or writer because they see it different. To be honest with you, when I spread out all of my resources, there's some I really love that don't see this as negative. One of them is John MacArthur. He just sees it as positive. I've got quite a few that see it as negative. I've traced it back to even me and during the Reformation. And I just think that some of them miss it there. But also remember that these are not essential doctrines. If we are wrong here, that doesn't mean we're falling off the cliff of heresy, folks. It doesn't.

If you're wrong here, you're going to have a skewed view of the church, possibly. You can have a skewed view of church and church history. Now look, we know that if we alter the Godhead, we're going to get off into heresy. If we have a faulty view of the Holy Spirit, we can be like some of our Pentecostal friends. They're modalists. They get off into heresy. If we have a wrong view of baptism, like we have to be baptized to be a Christian, that works. That's heresy. But if we're off here, if we miss it here, it doesn't mean that we're off into heresy. Not that we should excuse it. We should work hard to know what is taught here.

So what do we see? Opposition to the kingdom. The weeds, it's internal. The mustard, it's external, false growth. The leaven, it's internal, it's false influence. You see? Now I will say this often. If I've stirred up a few questions, I'll be glad to meet with you and help you and walk through you with it. And you know, at the end of the day, some of you might see a couple of these things a little bit different. But I challenge you to study, hard into what we have here.