Spiritual Leavening Agents

Galatians 5:9, “A little yeast leavens the whole lump of dough.” During this week of unleavened bread (Ex. 12:15) we are to rid our homes of leavening agents, and not eat anything that contains leaven. Most of us know that leaven is a representation of sin. Fasting from leaven for a whole week can put things into perspective for us, if we truly desire to be more holy, more like Him. If leaven is a representation of sin, then we should seek out how we can remove any type of sin from our lives! I like to call these types of sin “spiritual leavening agents”. In reality, one only needs a very small amount of yeast (leaven) to make a loaf of bread. Without the yeast, it will be flat. The yeast or leavening agent is what makes it rise and become puffed up. This is applied the same way spiritually. If we only have a little bit of sin in our life, it will eventually take over and destroy us. The little bit of sin will form a root deep inside, and plant more seeds of sin, which will ferment and spread throughout our entire body. Sometimes we don’t even know that it’s there until years and years later (or maybe never). This is why this time of introspection is very important. We do not want to become consumed with our sin. We do not want any hidden sin! So let’s break down what these “leavening agents” are, and how we can get rid of them.

Proverbs 6:16-19, “These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speakers lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” We see here that the first abominable sin unto God is pride. My friends, we possess more pride than we think. Sometimes when I think about it, it’s scary. Even the smallest form of pride can stem off into another form of sin, into another, which results back to pride, most of the time unknowingly! If anyone is seeking to remove sin from their life, I would suggest starting with the “main leavening agents” in the above verse! We are imperfect beings, but created to strive for perfection. Paul exclaims several sins that we fall short of every day: “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatters, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I tell you about these things in advance — as I told you before — that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” Galatians 5: 19-21 We also know that the breaking of His commandments concludes in sin.

We will never be perfect, but we can strive for perfection, because Yeshua is perfect, and we are supposed to be more like Him. Striving for purity and obtaining a pure heart and mind is such a beautiful thing. It gives us a glimpse of how everything was supposed to be from the beginning of time, before sin was established. It reminds us how beautiful God is because He is the purest of them all. He surpasses our understanding and loves us enough to give us His statues and commandments to help guide us to the path of purity. God delights in us when we make an effort to be more like Him; not just doing the simple easy things like reading His Word and praying, etc. But rather, truly seeking to go deeper and pull up the sinful roots in our life so that we can be more like Him. Isaiah 59:2 declares, “But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have made Him hide His face from you so that He does not listen.” This verse is saying that our sin builds up walls between us and God, so that He does not hear our prayers! If we continue to let sin build up in our life, knowingly or unknowingly, our relationship with God will become so hidden under all the “leaven” in our life, that all we can see present is ourself and the walls that we’ve built. Do we want this? Of course not.

When we remove leaven from a loaf of bread, we have flat bread. When we remove leaven from our lives, we have less of us and more of Him. The sin “puffs” us up into something we weren’t created to be. When we remove that sin, it humbles us and puts us into a place of remembrance of Who we’re living for, and Whom we are serving, and Who is greater. We should fall on our face (automatically removing the pride, because we are demonstrating Who is higher), and seek the humility to rid ourselves of all the “leavening agents”, knock down the walls that we built over time, and free ourselves of the bondage that we put ourselves in! We are unfortunately sinful creatures, and disappoint God every day. However, He is faithful and true to His Word and gives mercy and compassion every day. He created an outlet for us to be forgiven and continues to give us chance after chance. “Therefore, submit to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, double-minded people!” James 4:7-8 The above verse is a promise! Perhaps you’ve been praying for God to draw near so that you can hear Him, or know what is next. Maybe you’ve been disappointed because it’s been so long since you’ve heard or felt Him near. But God says for you to draw near to Him and then He will draw near to you. He makes us work in order to obtain the full blessing. If you want to be close to God, as well as pure and holy, then rid yourself of sin, no matter how long it takes. This brings humility and will draw you near to God. He will then take you under the protection of His wing, and guide you to the path of purity.