What is leaven?...
Leaven is a symbol of evil DOCTRINE, evil PRACTICES, evil LIFE, and evil TEACHING. It is never good throughout God's word. Spiritually, it works in the unseen realm to bring impurity and pollute the things of God in our lives. It dilutes the things in the Kingdom of God
Let's take a look at the different types of Leaven:
1) Leaven of the Pharisees - Jesus explained in Matthew 16:6 what to beware of. He explains what that leaven is in verse 12. He noted that it was the poor doctrine of the Pharisees (as well as the Sadducees). He also spoke further in Luke 12:1 about what the leaven of the Pharisees is........ HYPOCRISY. Don't do as I do --but do as I say. Dictatorial leaders often think that they have some sort of "spiritual immunity" for believing and following the Word. Many times they will expect extra grace towards them when they "get side tracked" or "mess up", but will refuse that same grace to the congregation. After all, "I am God's man (or woman)". This leads us tomightily in spiritual gifts and the supernatural. Yet they were called CARNAL by Paul throughout 1 Cor. 3rd chapter. He mentions their carnality many times. In 1 Cor. 5:6-9, Paul admonishes the leadership to NOT even eat with a brother guilty of sexual immorality because of what it can do to the flock. It is interesting to me that when a Pastoral dictator is involved in sexual sin, and a person from the congregation chooses to leave because of this, how the person that leaves is the one marked as evil or divisive, yet those involved in lewd behavior are the ones who should be disciplined. If the leaders are admonished to be on the look out for sexual immorality and deal with it, how much worse is it when the leadership are the ones involved in it. Sadly, you are told not to judge or "cast any stones", rather than make
a bit more talk about leaven spoken of in Matthew 16.
2) Leaven of the Sadducees - the way I remember the difference between the Pharisees and Sadducees is this; The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, so they were sad, you see. These religious leaders did not believe in the power of God. BAD DOCTRINE like that will ultimately keep you from walking in a thriving relationship with a good God. Paul spoke of his words not being eloquent, but that he ministered in the power and demonstration of God. (1 Cor. 2:4) A bit of a side note here...... I have noticed in the last few years that many Christians have deemed their churches or services as a great success because the preacher can really "preach". I personally believe that Paul was not that great of a public speaker. I think he had something much better, he knew God intimately! Read the defense of his ministry to the Corinthians in 2 Cor. 10:10. I wonder if God thinks a service is good because the people are all hopped up on some soulish high, yet have no power to live for God.
3) Leaven of Herod - In Mark 8:15, Jesus added another mention of leaven, the leaven of Herod. Most commentators seem to narrow down the leaven of Herod to either political power or WORLDLINESS. I think it might be both actually. It's not ok to live in a worldly manner. Some people call it legalism (which I think is a farce) but God calls us in the New Testament to a separated, holy life. Not a life that is a mirror image of the world. Carnality and sin are still something to be grown out of and delivered from.
4) Leaven of Sexual Immorality - The Corinthian church was noted as a church that was used righteous judgment for your own life and guard your family.
1) Leaven of the Pharisees - Jesus explained in Matthew 16:6 what to beware of. He explains what that leaven is in verse 12. He noted that it was the poor doctrine of the Pharisees (as well as the Sadducees). He also spoke further in Luke 12:1 about what the leaven of the Pharisees is........ HYPOCRISY. Don't do as I do --but do as I say. Dictatorial leaders often think that they have some sort of "spiritual immunity" for believing and following the Word. Many times they will expect extra grace towards them when they "get side tracked" or "mess up", but will refuse that same grace to the congregation. After all, "I am God's man (or woman)". This leads us tomightily in spiritual gifts and the supernatural. Yet they were called CARNAL by Paul throughout 1 Cor. 3rd chapter. He mentions their carnality many times. In 1 Cor. 5:6-9, Paul admonishes the leadership to NOT even eat with a brother guilty of sexual immorality because of what it can do to the flock. It is interesting to me that when a Pastoral dictator is involved in sexual sin, and a person from the congregation chooses to leave because of this, how the person that leaves is the one marked as evil or divisive, yet those involved in lewd behavior are the ones who should be disciplined. If the leaders are admonished to be on the look out for sexual immorality and deal with it, how much worse is it when the leadership are the ones involved in it. Sadly, you are told not to judge or "cast any stones", rather than make
a bit more talk about leaven spoken of in Matthew 16.
2) Leaven of the Sadducees - the way I remember the difference between the Pharisees and Sadducees is this; The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, so they were sad, you see. These religious leaders did not believe in the power of God. BAD DOCTRINE like that will ultimately keep you from walking in a thriving relationship with a good God. Paul spoke of his words not being eloquent, but that he ministered in the power and demonstration of God. (1 Cor. 2:4) A bit of a side note here...... I have noticed in the last few years that many Christians have deemed their churches or services as a great success because the preacher can really "preach". I personally believe that Paul was not that great of a public speaker. I think he had something much better, he knew God intimately! Read the defense of his ministry to the Corinthians in 2 Cor. 10:10. I wonder if God thinks a service is good because the people are all hopped up on some soulish high, yet have no power to live for God.
3) Leaven of Herod - In Mark 8:15, Jesus added another mention of leaven, the leaven of Herod. Most commentators seem to narrow down the leaven of Herod to either political power or WORLDLINESS. I think it might be both actually. It's not ok to live in a worldly manner. Some people call it legalism (which I think is a farce) but God calls us in the New Testament to a separated, holy life. Not a life that is a mirror image of the world. Carnality and sin are still something to be grown out of and delivered from.
4) Leaven of Sexual Immorality - The Corinthian church was noted as a church that was used righteous judgment for your own life and guard your family.
5) Leaven of the Galatians - Legalism. In Galatians 5:9, Paul speaks that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough. What did Paul speak of to the Galatians since almost the very beginning of the letter? LEGALISM, trying to be justified by works of the law. We are to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and we shall be saved! You cannot add anything to the finished work of Christ to be justified. You also cannot take away anything from the finished work of Christ. I think that the equation for salvation looks like this...... Faith in Jesus Christ + nothing = Salvation!!!!! The do's and don’ts will strangle you until you die a slow, painful death. Trying to measure up, even in good, wholesome, spiritual endeavors will kill your faith. "If I don't pray long enough or read my Bible enough, I will not be accepted by God." "If I don't tithe, God will kill my kids." "If I miss church, bad things are going to happen to me." These are crippling fears that simply are not true. I am not encouraging anyone to back off of these important aspects of Christianity, yet a mindset that says "I must do these things to get God to answer my prayers or to accept me" is allowing the legalistic leaven in.
I find it quite interesting that Jesus told the people to beware of leaven emanating from the life of leaders. Then Paul warns the leaders not to allow leaven into the congregation without dealing with it. I don't think that Jesus was trying to make us paranoid about leaders. I am not of the persuasion of some that have been hurt in the church experience - that all leaders are evil and are problematic. I don't believe that for a moment. There are many, many good men and women in ministry that have a heart to fulfill the call of God on their lives and are doing just that. I also believe the significance of the warnings about leaven deserve our attention.
Do you think it is the wisdom of God to remain part of a church whose leadership consistently violates God's principles set forth in the New Testament in the things mentioned? I have heard all of the excuses: But where would we go? I have so many friends there. My kids would be devastated... Do not become ensnared in your soul when you are making a spiritual decision. I wonder how many times God told me to get out of a particular church, but instead of listening for the voice of the Spirit, I would hear the words of the pastor in my mind, and I would feel like "I am crazy, it just must be me".
My prayer for the reader is this: Do not push away that still, small, gnawing voice of the Lord from you. If you keep doing so, soon your conscience might be too callous to hear it. The pink elephants will not go away because you ignore them. It is time to call on our church leadership to be accountable for following the Word of God that they teach.
On the natural level, leaven's primary feature is that it rises and inflates. On a spiritual level, this embodies pride… that which puffs up, that which inflates, that which thinks more highly of itself than it ought to think. This explains the uncompromising rejection of leaven at the Passover. (Exodus 12) Any who partook of leaven during that holy season would be rejected from Israel. Why such a harsh decree??? Because the Passover was not about Israel, their plans, their hopes, their dreams… the true Passover was about the Lamb that God provided, and the blood of the Lamb that delivered Israel from the death angel that was plundering Egypt. Hence, “leaven” must be purged, and the delivering power of God celebrated.
ReplyDeleteNow, in the New Covenant, Jesus has become our "Passover." (I Corinthians 5:7) And, so too, is "leaven", pride, & hypocrisy forbidden. Our walk with the Lamb, Jesus Christ, is not about us… our measures, our vision, our mantles, & our levels... our walk with God is about celebrating the Lamb, and the blood of the Lamb, that delivers. Pride must be cast out, like the devil was cast out of Heaven for that very sin. (Ezekiel 28:14-17)
Other negative traits might be tolerable, or even useful, in small, greatly diluted doses. Depression, for example, has been declared a grave sin, for man is commanded to serve God with joy; but a small dash of melancholy, counterbalanced by a hundredfold helping of joy, may serve a positive function, reflecting a necessary concern over ones shortcomings and the commitment to rectify them. The same applies to anger, stubbornness, chutzpa, and a host of other negative character traits: as a rule, they are undesirable, yet in the proper context and in the right proportions, each has its positive applications. Arrogance and pride, however, are of such spiritual toxicity that we must forgo any attempt to exploit them, and must totally eradicate them from every crevice of our hearts.
Thank you “openwater 415” for addressing the “pink elephant” of leaven (pride) that permeates the house.
@Aware - WOW! I am a Pastor and have never heard leaven explained that way. Great job. Hope you don't mind but I will undoubtably steal that thought sometime . . . .
ReplyDeleteQuestion:
ReplyDelete"Depression, for example, has been declared a grave sin"
Could you explain this a little more? Is having clinical depression and that being a "grave sin"?
(As is anger, etc etc etc). I understand the "proportion" thing - I'm just trying to assimilate this into my understanding of Mental Illness and treatment.
Thank-you ahead of time.
I'm at a big crossroads; do I stay or do I go? I have been attending CC for five years. At first it was real refreshing, I think the people make you feel so overwhelmingly welcomed you want to keep coming back. The messages were good too. They just seemed to hit the nail on the head. I came in open-minded, but was aware of MP's past. I tried to be unbiased, but I don't think I ever felt real comfortable saying the past never happened or we all make mistakes. As the years passed, the theme for me seemed to become giving-centered and MP's wants/desires/opinions centered, but not God centered. Of course, the word was spoken, but I never felt that it was truly used as God wanted. It seemed the verses were just random picks, in order to prove the validity of tithing or whatever change MP thought everyone should be making. I just stopped feeling comfortable. I started feeling like he was brainwashing everyone. I can't count how many times he wanted everyone to run and repeat what he said to 5 or 6 individuals. And the messages we were relaying were never things I felt had taken place. I was basically running around telling people I am some new person/ on some new level, when I never felt any of that. It kind of made me feel like the whole CC mentality is to speak things that are never going to happen. I really don't get it anymore. Are we there for God, or are we there for MP and his agenda? With the rumors flying around these days too, it has really messed with my faith. I just do not understand how God allows things like this to happen; how he doesn't open everyone's eyes to what really is happening.
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous 11:28 am:
ReplyDeleteGod never authors nor covers up dysfunction --in fact He publically exposes what is not dealt with in private for everyone single one of us. Such is the case with the “state of affairs” and Spiritual Abuse being openly revealed at Cornerstone. Rotten FRUIT does not “just happen” over night; it TURNS that way little by little over time.
However, God ALWAYS extends GRACE, MERCY and TIME to each of us; that we may repent, ultimately protecting us from our own demise. He loves us! However, when one refuses to line up his personal walk with the Word and surrender his will --sin (weeds) always creep in and take over. Then when one refuses to take ownership of that sin and the COLLATERAL DAMAGE it has caused --Pride takes over. When Pride takes over –Seducing Spirits gain control and demons are given an open door to wreak havoc.
So as Robert has said, "A portal has been opened." -Amen to that.
TO EVERYONE:
ReplyDeleteHere is my response below to another commenter from this morning.
--To Anonymous posting under "Coming out of Egypt" in regards to Michael being "REAL":
Friend, thank you contributing your respectful comment. I appreciate your honesty. I have to say --you have asked a very powerful question!
I really sense that you are entering the valley of decision. I hope that what I share doesn't necessarily "sway" one's opinion to the "other side" –for there are no “sides”. (God doesn’t take sides –He takes over.) But, I hope that what I do share…will perhaps confirm or clarify something the Holy Spirit has already been showing you.
In regards to Michael’s ability to keep it “REAL”:
In my humble observation, Michael Pitts has a very charismatic personality and was anointed by God to begin a ministry many years ago. Michael’s gift has enabled him to open the Word --to deliver it in a very real and practical way that makes it easy for people to apply it to their day-to-day lives. With that being said, I believe (for that very reason) those members who come from very traditional Protestant Churches or Catholicism –find this as a breathe of fresh air! In my book, he will always be remembered (for his desire to be himself) in his method of sermon delivery. In the past, I admired the fact that he resisted the pressure to validate himself with the likeness of the “religious sect” –he was a known non-conformist to man-made religious pressures. In the past, I applauded his aspirations to resist religious titles and stuffy words as to avoid being “validated” by those things. Yes, being who God has made you to be…is a powerful tool.
I think the problem for some is that since he has such an ability to vocally deliver his messages in a “real way”….many are confusing THAT as TRANSPARENCY. Meaning, if someone appears “real” in their approach -then surely what they are saying is HONEST and TRUTHFUL right? Not so. Never confuse being “real”, with being TRANSPARENT. Never confuse speaking “real”, with speaking “truth”. They may SEEM similar, but they are not the SAME.
Friend, may God help you to separate the voice of Man, the voice of Self, and the voice of the Father. Sometimes through the process of unfolding the truth --the confusion lies between: “What IS real/true” and “What is MY DESIRE for the real/true to BE”.
May God keep you and establish you in HIS TRUTH…God Bless.
To Anon 11:28 AM,
ReplyDeleteWell, where to begin? Thank your for your post as you are taking that first step in voicing your questions and concerns. It appears that God is enlighteneing the eyes of your understanding. We cant' tell you to stay or to go. You must look at the truth that is being presented to you in light of God's Word and pray and listen to His leading in your life. That is what true freedom in Christ is all about.
As for why does God allow these things to happen? He is a loving God and does not override our free will. He will at some point allow the consequences to take hold, in hopes that the sin and misguided behavior will be acknowledged, confessed, repented of and corrections made.
In the meantime, it seems as though the Holy
Spirit is opening your eyes. As it says in Luke 11:9, Ask and it will be given; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
You are seeking & asking and it seems that the door of truth has been opened to you. It is of no coincidence that there are so many people sharing of the same expereinces, thoughts and feelings before and after leaving Cornerstone. This many people can't be making things up and many of us haven't talked to each other since leaving and in fact don't know who the majority of these people are who are posting their experiences.
I will share with you though, that when I first began thinking about leaving, I like you was questioning so much and feeling things were not quite right in my spirit. But, I doubted myself, my thinking and told myself as I was taught by MP that it was just me, I must be listening to the wrong things and the wrong people. I must be "off" or something. I went on like that for months. I finally just made the decsion to go and trust in God to guide me from there. To obey is better than sacrifice and sometimes it is a sacrifice to obey.
The mental anguish you are dealing with comes from the nature of the way things are set up in a spiritually abusive system. Things are preached & taught by the spiritual "head, father, bishop", etc. to defend and protect the vision of the house which is made to look like it came from God. But, when you look more closely, you begin to ask yourself, "What & who is this really all about?"
Those are normal, healthy things to ask yourself. And when the answers point you more to the adoration of a man and a church than to God and the simple truths of His Word, then that is when you must make the tough decision about leaving or staying. It is also when you must make the decision whether or not to ignore the pink elephant in the room.
And ultimately that is what being at a crossroads it all about. You must stand still for a moment and look around you at the facts and make a decision as to what road to take.
My prayer for you is that you read all of these articles and keep asking questions. There are even those of us who would be willing to meet with you at some point to talk with you if that is what you need or to give you an email address for further help on a personal basis.
That is how I began my process to "deprogram' from nearly 2 decades of sitting under CStone doctrine.
I pray the God gives you peace and wisdom as you move forward in making a decision whether to stay or to go. God is a loving and gentle God and He will always point you in the direction of Him when you seek Him and His kingdom first and foremost, not what appears to be His kingdom.
I can tell you that His kingdom is not about levels and mantles and measures that nobody knows when they have arrived at this ethereal level, except that there is some hyped up emotional atmosphere that says you're there. Read the red letter words of Jesus to see what His kingdom living is all about. It's real, it's practical and it isn't always an emotional high. It's about getting face to face with sinners and the poor and living in such a way that doesn't always appeal to our flesh and emotions.
As a grown child of an Alcoholic, I am so reminded of life in the chaotic, dysfuntional place we called "home" WHEN I hear some of these comments. Not only were we allowed to talk about our concerns or feelings to anyone outside the family, but not even to eachother!! It wasn't even verbally established that it was a "no-no", but we inherently understood that it was bad!!! So here we are at Cstone and now I am bad for having questions or concerns, I am off, or have a bad spirit. Isn't this co-dependency? Is that because "our house" has an addicted father? Man, do I have alot to think about....
ReplyDeleteTo Questions, questions, questions,
ReplyDeleteInteresting analogy and comparison isn't it? I too came from an alcoholic home where you learned early on the unspoken rules of don't talk, don't trust, don't feel and for sure, don't ask questions or upset the apple cart.
It's strange that we were somehow attracted to a church with inherent dysfunction that lives by unspoken rules until you break one and then you are chastised about being out of order.
And yes, perhaps the "father" of "the house" has an adddiction or at the very least an addictive personality.
It's good to question, it shows that you are thinking and then God can begin showing you answers to your questions. Break the cycle of codependency and stop enabling those who wish to carry on the dysfunction.
My prayers are with you that you find the answers you are looking for and that God gives you wisdom and insight to what it is He desires for you to do.
Questions, Questions, Questions,
ReplyDeleteI view this the same way. I too am from an abusive and addictive home. I have been in recovery for some years now. In fact, the more self aware I become, the more I see the subtler dynamics.
There is a lot of push and pull in the structure. Anything from the outside is a threat and the family is very tight knit. My dad referred to it as being "clannish." People did not think twice about disowning their own children.
When I started seeing it more clearly, I thought I was above it all. I had the therapy under my belt. I have recovery, a group, an accountability partner. I thought I could see through everything.
Then, my issues began to get severely triggered and one day I realized I was so far in the much and mire that I didn't even see that I was contributing to the dance. I was toxic in a toxic environment.
It is all well and good to sit down and have an adult conversation about feelings and concerns. It is a challenge to sit and try to have an adult conversation with someone so enmeshed in a dysfunctional kingdom that I wanted to shoot myself in the foot by the time the conversation was over.
I left years ago. I promise you, I STILL have a lot to think about.
To Anonymous 8:03... Thank you pastor, please feel free to use any insight I may have shared. I am glad it was a blessing to you.
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous 11:30... thank you for your question seeking clarity. I believe the point you wanted me to refine was my statement: "Depression, for example, has been declared a grave sin." Please know that this statement was part of the periphery of my point and not the main point that I was trying to express. As a result, I must apologize for any misunderstanding. I do not believe clinical depression to be a grave sin, nor do any ministers with whom I associate... therefore I probably, in retrospect, should have worded it a little differently. What I was thinking when I wrote that was that many have declared depression, as well as any type of sickness and disease to be proof that one lacks "faith." That is why I wrote it in that fashion. This thought process, though, is not a part of my belief system, so I should have steered clear of that phraseology.
Having said that, however, I will share with you that I do not believe depression is a healthy, or desirable, emotional state in which to live on a consistent basis. If one is dealing with depression, whether it is situational, clinical, or a truly spiritual battle, they should seek help, but rest assured, this is not sin and God cares, immensely. Psalm 34:18 says that “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” This is just one passage that shows us that God is more compassionate toward those who are hurting spiritually, emotionally, and physically than we can even imagine.
Thank you Anonymous 11:30 for allowing me to explain.
I would like to share a few thoughts for people struggling with their decision to stay or leave.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all God has not given men dominion over another person. Gen. 1:26 gives us the list of things man can dominate, and another human being is not on the list. The doctrine taught by many in the independent church world is way outside the authority of scripture. Spiritual authority is not to make the rebel conform, but is the responsibility to set a Godly example,give Godly counsel, and pray for the people God has given you a leadership role over. Spiritual covering can only be given us by the Lord Jesus himself. When manipulators spin their webs of deception, they are always self serving and never Christ centered. When you hear things like; "If God has called you here you can't leave, and if he hasn't you can't stay," It makes it very difficult to leave a toxic situation because you've already determined your being there as divine ordination.
The litmus test for any minister is found in the Gospel of John 1:29-37. The climax in verse 37 teaches that the disciples of John the Baptist heard him speak and followed Jesus. Men called of God to lead in the body of Christ should know their assignment is not to cause people to live vicariously through them, but to empower people to live wholly dependent on Christ. That doesn't mean do away with the five fold ministry offices. God set them in the church for a purpose, but we should be careful not to be deceived by men motivated by their own agenda and need to be worshiped.
At the end of the day God allows you to choose what church you feel to serve in. The center of God's will is salvation. If your saved you cannot be more central to the heart and will of God. It is important to make the right decision because we rise or fall to the level of the people we associate with. If you don't like what your seeing in the ethics and morals of your current leadership, leave immediately and trust God to show you where your tribe is located. You'll never find it staying.
Be blessed everyone
To Berean:
ReplyDelete"The litmus test for any minister is found in the Gospel of John 1:29-37. The climax in verse 37 teaches that the disciples of John the Baptist heard him speak and followed Jesus. Men called of God to lead in the body of Christ should know their assignment is not to cause people to live vicariously through them, but to empower people to live wholly dependent on Christ. That doesn't mean do away with the five fold ministry offices. God set them in the church for a purpose, but we should be careful not to be deceived by men motivated by their own agenda and need to be worshiped."
--Well said friend!! Thank you...
Aware:
ReplyDeleteI was the one asking about depression (etc). Thank you for the clarity. I was just a bit confused... I do not believe I have ever heard things stated in that matter. I am "on track" now. :)
This quote
"Having said that, however, I will share with you that I do not believe depression is a healthy, or desirable, emotional state in which to live on a consistent basis."
Actually made me chuckle! Thank you,, I needed that! No, it isn't healthy or desirable.
Your elephant post was wonderful.