Hypocrisy!
It’s the poisonous yeast that lives inside of me. It’s true! When I read the first paragraph in Chapter 12 of the Book of Luke, I immediately thought of people like YOU, instead of me! It’s a travesty! As the crowd gets bigger, people begin stepping on each other - and that is when Jesus gave His warning! He said, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees - their hypocrisy!” Luke 12:1 Wow! Thank you Holy Spirit for opening my spiritual eyes and allowing me to see! This message has really spoken to me, on so many .... levels! First, let me address the fungus! Biblical yeast is a symbol of sin. It represents the evil world that we live in. It also represents the hearts of men, who live outside the will of God. And since leaven is symbolic of sin, we are to develop a taste for unleavened bread. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat of my flesh, and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life in you.” John 6:53 The Feast of Unleavened Bread symbolizes how we are to live - through honest reflection and Godly mediation - attached to God’s promises, instead of scurrying around like foolish men. Repentance shows Jesus what our heart reflects! It’s the recognition that we have digested leaven, and the request that He remove it from us. So here is the second level revelation, this poison is not just a toxin that gets into the body via swallowing, inhaling or absorption through the skin! No - this venom has a specific purpose to kill the souls of men; and it is intentionally injected through a bite or a sting from Satan, the Prince of Demons! Why do you think Satan is portrayed as a snake in the Garden of Eden - Or a Great Red Dragon in the Book of Revelation? I am guessing it is biblical symbolism, not literalism - but maybe I am wrong? Paul eloquently states, “Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man. What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will forever last. But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? ” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:48-57 Sin - it's the sting that results in death, and hypocrism stems from satanic stronghold of deceitfulness. It's humans accusing humans of their flaws, like the religious Pharisees who went around pointing their finger at others for not obeying the law. So , here is the third level of insight to the hypocrisy plight... me not paying attention to the log in my own eye! I mean, really, isn’t this what hypocrisy means, a pious posturing of our affected superiority! Perhaps this is why we are not called to judge, but to love. How can we see clearly if we are constantly looking at the falsity in other human beings! I’m my opinion, this has to be the underlying meaning of pure deceit! My favorite Bible story is found in John 8, when Jesus defends a woman stuck in the stronghold of adultery - who is viciously attacked by the religious leaders and the Pharisees. Once again, we see a crowd gathering around Jesus, and “As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd and said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” John 8:1-11 Imagine that! A crowd of two - where Jesus is the only judge standing with you. I wonder what would Jesus do? Would He seek to condemn, or would He speak in love, to convict you? This is probably why men are NOT to point and accuse, because they don’t have a righteous view. I cannot wait to ask Him what He wrote in the sand. I can only imagine it was an act of love, written thoughtfully for the One that He loves. So once again, third level vision shows such a deeper level of Holy Spirit wisdom. Mark 7 says, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” So the question is, How do you know when your log is removed? How do you know when you have been given the authority to accuse? The TRUTH is found in Romans 2, unless you are God you do NOT have the right! Even though you are covered by the blood of Christ, there is nothing about you that is righteous! Only God is Just! And He has given all authority to His Son, Jesus. He is the only One who has the right to administer God’s righteous judgement! And only Holy Spirit has the ability to convict. “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on TRUTH. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” Romans 2:1-4 So, this is what I learned - Hypocrisy is a sign that Satan's venom is still inside, and it's my own flesh that needs to be redefined. I pray that the Lord will continue to give me spiritual eyes to see, the log that blocks the vision of looking at me. There is no way I can obey the Law, because in my humanity I am not pure. But through His blood, I am justified; and through Holy Spirit I am sanctified. This is how I rely on getting by, Holding onto Spirit and Truth that honors God. Father, help me not be a hypocrite. Help me have a heart that your light reflects. Processing my own hypocrisy is so pivoting. This is exactly what I needed! A true Holy Spirit cleansing from the yeast injected by religious men and Pharisees - the venomous sting of hypocrisy! Help me to see the log in my own eye, so that I can show your love to this hurting world.
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