|
The Parables of Matthew
Changed From The Inside Out
Matthew 13:33
Introduction: Amazing Transformations
What Not To Wear is a popular television program on
TLC (The Learning Channel). The concept for the show is straightforward.
Friends or family members nominate someone they think dresses poorly for a
makeover. Camera crews follow the unsuspecting person for a few days in order
to show the viewing audience just how horribly they dress. High drama comes
next as the hosts of the show ambush the person—who now often feels a bit like
a victim. The person is taken to New York to buy a new wardrobe. Of course,
before that happens the hosts go through the person’s closet to critique the
current wardrobe before tossing it in the trash barrel.
It’s at this point where the absolutely fascinating starts to take place.
The hosts begin to train the person on how to shop for the right kind of clothing.
The complete lack of self-assurance quickly becomes apparent. The outer
clothing only reveals the insecurity of the inner person. With some basic
training on how to accentuate some good features the person heads out to shop
for two days. Some good choices and many bad choices are made. The hosts come
to the rescue again during the first day and do further training. With shopping
completed the person is also provided with professional hair and make-up
treatments. When the reveal takes place the person looks completely different.
In fact, they not only look like a new person they act like one.
The transformation of the personality is the highlight of the show. The
person gushes platitudes like, “I never dreamed something like this was possible.”
Or, “I was always inside waiting to come out, but now that I have I never want
to go back.” Or, “I have a new confidence. This has completely changed the way
I live.”
I want to investigate with you this morning the
even more amazing transformation that takes place when we invite Jesus to take
up residence in our lives.
The Difficulty of Personality Change
Personality change isn’t easy. We are
conditioned to be who we are by our learning experiences and the people around
us. Many authorities contend that personality is set before any formal
education and is impossible to change. I sometimes talk about the need to re-parent
a person for true change to take place. What do I mean by that? It means for the
person to change we need to take them back to the very beginning and start the
process of raising him or her all over again—hopefully correcting the mistakes made
the first time around. I suppose in the end I’m saying it’s impossible to do.
After all, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks or as the prophet Jeremiah
wrote,
Can an Ethiopian change the color of
his skin? Can a leopard take away its spots? Neither
can you start doing good, for you have always done evil.
Jeremiah 13:23 NLT
My purpose today is to challenge the assumption that it’s impossible
to change a person’s basic make-up.
Personality is the sum total of who we are.
Personality expresses who we are on the inside. It is that which defines us and
distinguishes us. People know us by our personalities. My personality is where
you see who I am. It is the product of all that’s happened to me, around me and
inside me. The events in the environment, the people around us, the practices of
the culture, and the scope of education all are used to shape personality.
There are some people we emulate. There are other people where we resist
everything they represent. It’s all part of the process of becoming who we are.
Any change in personality must include a transformation of our values, goals,
attitudes and how we feel about ourselves.
That’s where Jesus comes in. He can change our personalities.
Jesus never talked about personality. That’s a
word we use. But, the one thing Jesus is about is changing people. The change
He makes is radical and it is complete. He calls us to follow Him so He can
remake us in His own image. He does this for a purpose—to prepare us for what
He wants to do through us to transform others.
The Parable of the Leaven is Jesus’ story about
the transformation of personality and the resulting power of a Christ-centered
person. It illustrates the changes made in us as a result of the Kingdom of
God. It encourages us to go as a changed person to affect the world. I think this
is good synopsis. The parable of the
leaven tells how the gospel gets into us and, then, how we are to get the
gospel into the world.
He told them still another parable:
"The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a
large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough." Matthew
13:33 NIV
The Importance of Yeast
We all understand the importance of yeast in
making bread. While we have packages of yeast that can be added to make bread,
the very best bread comes by keeping a small piece of dough from the previous
batch. It is added to the new mixture so the yeast contained in the starter has
time to ferment and spread through the entire mixture.
Having lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over two decades, I will
testify to the importance of yeast. Bread makers in other parts of the country
have tried to duplicate the sourdough bread made there but those who know say
that the climatic conditions combined with the yeast make bread that cannot be
matched. Some of the San Francisco bread makers still use a starter batch that
goes back to the beginning. The yeast spreads through the ordinary baking
ingredients transforming it into a savory, mouth watering delight! Add a little
clam chowder and a view of the Bay from Fisherman’s Wharf and you have
everything that’s needed for a great day.
The symbol of yeast is often used to represent
evil in the Bible. Jesus later warns the disciples about the yeast of the
Pharisees and the Sadducees (Matthew 16:5-12). They think at first Jesus is
talking to them about bread, but He is warning them that a small amount of
error can quickly spread and spoil everything. Another familiar way we express
this warning about the spread of evil is that one rotten apple spoils the whole
barrel.
A Parable of Hope
Jesus uses yeast in this parable as an example of the transforming
power of the kingdom of God in the lives of people. It only takes a little to completely transform a person. This is an
illustration of hope. It describes Jesus’ ministry on earth and how He
continues the miracle of transforming the lives of people as He works in us so
we can work in the world.
The Incarnation of Jesus is the yeast God
introduced to start the process. The power of God was kneaded into the dough of
humanity. What started as a curious sensation in Bethlehem became the fullness
of God infusing new life into humanity. Just as yeast works in the dough, the
gospel was at work creating new life. Jesus infused something completely new
into the mixture. He introduced the Kingdom of God. He taught the rule and
reign of God in every aspect of life. His words were words of life. His death caused
a power surge in the universe and His resurrection released its pervading
dynamic to infuse all of life with His presence through the Holy Spirit. The
life of Christ was like dough rising, getting everything ready for the best
that was still to come.
Kingdom people are the leaven of God in society. You as an individual are important. The dough of humanity now consists of
over 6 billion individual parts. The yeast has the potential to transform each
and every particle of the dough. The Lord leavens us so we can leaven society.
The leaven of Christ enters our lives when we
accept His love and forgiveness. We are accepted by God just as we are. He
doesn’t leave it there. Once the yeast enters our lives it begins to work on
every aspect of our person. Everything is touched as Christ’s love penetrates our
total person. Focus on this: The fact
that He has taken charge is comforting; the process of transformation is often
very uncomfortable.
He starts with what we are—where we are. Our previous experiences are exposed to His scrutiny. He brings our
relationships and how they affected us into focus. One by one He moves through
the hallways of memories affirming the positive and helping us to forgive and
move past anything that has warped us. Then, He helps us to see ourselves as we
are—how we come across to other people.
He helps us to enjoy the strengths of our
personalities. He penetrates our attitudes, experiences and habits that hinder
our growth and hold us back. The master Potter works on the clay with His
loving hands helping us to see how we would look, sound and act if our negative
traits were surrendered to Him.
And so, the yeast works almost unnoticed at first. The
attention is far more on the Lord who is the yeast. Our desire grows to become
more like Jesus. This is what it’s all about! Jesus, living in us, takes us on the exciting
adventure of becoming like Him. Our task
is not to develop Christian virtues but to surrender ourselves to Christ. From
that place of surrender the virtues of Christlikeness take root and grow.
People often complain, “If only I could get
myself out of the way, I could be more of the Christian I ought to be.”
Ridiculous! That’s like dough refusing to be dough. The dough only changes as
the yeast works. We change as Christ works. He is in us and we are in Him. Once
the yeast works in dough it’s impossible to separate it into what was once
dough and once yeast. The two are inseparably intermingled. The union is unseen
but it is complete.
A personality inventory helps to clarify how
thoroughly the yeast has leavened the dough. There are some questions listed in
the further study to ask.
·
How would I describe my personality?
·
If I could change one aspect
of my personality, what would it be? ·
How would those who really
know me describe my personality? ·
What would they suggest changing? ·
Would I like anyone else
to have my personality? Why or why not? ·
What are five assets of my
personality?
·
What are five liabilities?
Asking these questions is preparation for prayer.
What I’m suggesting is some yeast infused prayer where we listen to the Lord
with a somewhat prolonged, uninterrupted time of silence. Picture your
personality and ask God for His picture of how He wants the yeast to work in
your life to liberate you.
The last part of the inventory is to keep a
record where you write down what you’re learning about yourself.
I benefited from an assignment given to me by a pastor when I was still in
seminary. As we talked, it was apparent to him that I was terribly introverted.
Perhaps you have noticed that ministry is people oriented. Some change was
necessary in my personality. It became a focal point for prayer and action. He
gave me the assignment of greeting people at the door for the next six months.
That’s where I learned the power of a few simple questions. Asked the right
question, people love to talk about themselves. While not a major change, it
shows personality can be changed. Now, when I take personality tests I usually
score at least as a mild extrovert.
Can People Actually Change?
It is still claimed, however, that a person
doesn’t change. The criminal justice system deals with high rates of
recidivism. Drug addiction refuses to loosen its chokehold on people. One
summary provides this grim forecast.
“If a man is a philanderer, he
will be a philanderer to the end. It is only in novels that a miracle occurs in
the last chapter that makes the drunkard reform and become sober, the grouch
sunny and sweet-tempered, the miser generous and open-handed, the shrew so mild
that butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. In real life these things never happen.
People continue to be what habit and usage have made them.”
That’s tough. Well, I’m here to tell you I don’t agree. It’s not just in novels. Jesus changes lives. He makes us new
and different. Drug addicts may struggle with humanistic approaches but success
soars when an organization like Teen Challenge infuses the yeast of Christ into
the dough.
People can be changed. Look at the disciples. They were a batch of unleavened dough. They were insecure,
insensitive, arrogant and competitive. Jesus invited them to follow Him so that
they might be with Him (Mark 3:14). The yeast began to work. It slipped into
the cracks and corners of their personalities. Peter the Denier became Peter
the Rock. John, a Son of Thunder, became the Disciple Jesus Loved.
The most dramatic example of Christ’s power to change
personality is found in Saul of Tarsus. He was a rigid, determined, compulsive
teacher of the law assigned to persecute Christians. One day he encountered one
of those he was hell-bent on destroying. Stephen was martyred for his faith. As
he was dying he invited his persecutors,
"Look," he said, "I see
heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand
of God." Acts
7:56 NIV
I think that made an impression on Saul because
Luke, who identified the great care he took in compiling a record of these
events, provides this note.
And Saul was there, giving approval to
his death. Acts 8:1 NIV
The work the yeast had done in Stephen started
to work in his executioner.
The real change came when Saul met the Leaven
Himself on the road to Damascus to persecute the Christians there. Blinded by
the glory of heaven, he staggered into the city where Ananias, whom Paul
intended to imprison, kneaded the dough with prayer as the Heavenly Leaven
transformed Saul the Persecutor into Paul the Apostle.
Paul testifies how the yeast worked in his life.
If anyone else thinks he has reasons
to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of
the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard
to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic
righteousness, faultless.
But whatever was to my profit I
now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a
loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain
Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes
from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that
comes from God and is by faith. Philippians 3:4b-9 NIV
What the Lord did in Paul became the compelling
appeal of his message.
This means that anyone who belongs to
Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new
life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
He explained how it happens.
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of
this world, but let God transform you into a new person by
changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s
will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans
12:2 NLT
Paul left no doubt as to how sweeping this
change is.
Since you have heard about Jesus and
have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature
and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead,
let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature,
created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Ephesians 4:21-24 NLT
Before we close this morning I am going to give
you the chance to act as God’s leaven. Have you experienced the transforming work of God as His
yeast permeates your personality? Are you one who could offer a message of
hope to someone else that people really can—and do—change because you have?
Conclusion: Becoming Yeast
The transforming work Jesus has done in us as leaven He wants us to be
in the world. Once we have been infused with leaven,
we are His starter agent designed to act as yeast in the lives of others. We
are kneaded into the dough of society. Our influence in others is like Christ’s
influence in us—pervasive, penetrating and permeating.
Our personality is the window for the world to
see what happens in someone who follows Jesus. Leaven is observable only as
it’s working; not after the bread is baked. God doesn’t call us to be perfect;
He calls us to allow others to see the leaven of heaven doing its work.
This parable is at the same time a source of
confrontation and comfort. We are confronted by what Christ wants to do in our
lives. But, the hope is even greater. No one among us needs to stay as we are.
Jesus is in the business of changing lives (and that’s even better than the
best sourdough bread in the world!).
| 