The Hidden Leaven: God's Slow Work Within

Jul 12, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Like Leaven Hidden in Three Measures of Flour

The kingdom’s work in us is often quiet, unseen, and gradual. Just as yeast permeates dough without fanfare, God’s Spirit works invisibly in our hearts, reshaping attitudes and healing wounds we may not even recognize. This process requires trust, not speed. Over years, we look back and realize how deeply we’ve been changed by the steady invasion of grace. What feels slow is divine wisdom—transformation too sudden might overwhelm us. [57:16]

“He told them still another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.’” (Matthew 13:33, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you sensed God’s quiet reshaping in your life recently? How might patience with His timing soften your frustration over unresolved struggles?

Day 2: Laughing in the Interrogator’s Face

Trials are not detours but workshops where God forges endurance. Like the Iranian prisoners who found joy amid torture, believers learn to rejoice not in pain but in the proven character it produces. Hardships expose shallow faith and train us to hold ground against despair. What the enemy means to break us becomes the gym where our spiritual muscles grow. [01:05:36]

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2–4, NIV)

Reflection: What current trial might God be using to deepen your capacity to endure? How could choosing joy reframe your resistance to this struggle?

Day 3: The Cardiologist’s Unwelcome Prescription

God’s healing often comes in doses we can bear. Just as the pastor’s heart condition required gradual treatment, our inner brokenness is disentangled slowly to avoid overwhelming us. God peels back layers of hurt, sin, and doubt with surgical care, knowing our limits. His patience is mercy, not neglect. [01:13:57]

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6, NIV)

Reflection: What area of your life might God be tenderly unraveling rather than instantly “fixing”? How does His gradual approach invite your trust today?

Day 4: Mustard Seeds and the Weight of Glory

Small beginnings matter. A mustard seed’s insignificance belies its potential, just as our feeble prayers and faltering steps are part of God’s grand cultivation. What feels unremarkable—daily obedience, whispered thanks—is the leaven of the kingdom. Over decades, saplings become shelters. [57:44]

“He also said, ‘What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants.’” (Mark 4:30–32, NIV)

Reflection: What “small” act of faithfulness have you undervalued? How might God be magnifying it beyond your sight?

Day 5: From Glory to Glory, Not Explosion to Explosion

Transformation is a mirror, not a fireworks show. As we behold Christ, the Spirit rewires us incrementally—anger softens, fear loosens, love expands. These shifts are often imperceptible, like a face aging day by day. Yet one day, we awake and recognize His likeness in our reflection. [01:20:16]

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18, NIV)

Reflection: When you compare your heart today to a year ago, what subtle shift in your desires or reactions hints at God’s quiet work?

Sermon Summary

Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to leaven that a woman hid in three measures of flour until the whole lump was leavened. The leaven works unseen but it works. The image insists that a quiet, hidden influence moves through the whole life until it is all affected. The kingdom does not arrive with fireworks; it spreads, it permeates, and it transforms.

The leaven’s pace exposes a common frustration. A long-time believer still meets old attitudes and reactions and wonders why it is not all sorted out instantly. The kingdom answers with time and testing. Romans 5 says tribulation produces perseverance, perseverance proven character, and character hope because the love of God is poured out in the heart by the Spirit. James adds a hard command that trials be counted as joy, because endurance gets forged and a person becomes mature, complete, lacking nothing. The kingdom grows people into strength, not into softness.

Endurance looks like resolve under spiritual pressure. Some saints, like those imprisoned in Evin, learned to laugh at fear and endure interrogation because Jesus was using the worst place as the best mission field. Scripture calls that proven character. Spiritual warfare then stops being theory and becomes lived grit. Resist the devil and he will flee. That kind of resistance needs guts and staying power.

The leaven also moves with mercy. God does not dump every hidden wound or sin on the table at once. Healing is disentanglement. Like Israel taking the land little by little and like a surgeon teasing cancer off organs before the main removal, the Lord brings things up in stages so the ground gained can be held. Shock upon shock would crush a soul, so the Spirit uncovers and heals in sequence. That is kindness, not delay.

Philippians 1:6 sets the faith posture. He who began a good work will complete it until the day of Christ. The dough will be fully baked when Jesus returns. Second Corinthians 3:18 names the process. With unveiled face, the believer beholds the Lord and is being transformed into the same image from glory to glory. The action is the Spirit’s. The call is to stay in the process. Over a year, a person looks back and sees different responses and wonders when the shift happened. The leaven did it. The Holy Spirit invaded quietly, established Christ’s rule inside, and unblocked the wells. When life feels stuck, prayer asks the Spirit to reactivate and unblock so the hidden work advances.

Key Takeaways

1. Leaven works unseen yet total. The kingdom’s influence is quiet but relentless. It does not announce itself with noise, yet it reaches every corner of a life until all is leavened. Hidden grace is still real grace, and delayed visibility is not denied activity. [57:16]
2. Trials grow endurance and character. Suffering is not wasted time but formation time. As trouble presses, perseverance is forged, and perseverance hardens into proven character that carries hope without collapse. Joy in testing is not denial; it is trust in what the Spirit is building. [61:57]
3. God heals by disentangling, little by little. Mercy paces the surgery. The Lord exposes and removes in an order a soul can bear, so ground gained can be held. Rushing would re-injure; patience consolidates freedom. [76:21]
4. Stay in the fight; resist the devil. Endurance is spiritual muscle. Resistance is not a mood but a stance that holds when accusations and pressures come. Authority flows through those who do not run but stand their ground. [66:40]
5. He finishes what he starts. Philippians 1:6 and 2 Corinthians 3:18 anchor hope when progress feels slow. The Spirit is perfecting what Christ began, moving a believer from glory to glory. The dough will be fully baked at His appearing. [77:01]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[42:16] - Opening prayer of thanks
[57:01] - Kingdom parables in Matthew 13
[57:16] - Leaven hidden in the dough
[59:13] - Quiet, pervasive kingdom work
[60:50] - Trials that build character
[61:57] - Count it joy in testing
[64:50] - Endurance in Evin Prison
[66:40] - Resist the devil with grit
[67:40] - Little by little, hold ground
[77:01] - He who began will complete
[79:42] - From glory to glory
[81:18] - Call for prayer to unblock wells
[84:39] - Ministry model: unblock the wells

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Matthew 13:33 (ESV): "He told them another parable. 'The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.'"

Observation Questions

What does the parable of the leaven emphasize about the way the kingdom of God works in a person’s life? [Refer to the sermon’s emphasis on "quiet, hidden influence"]([57:16]).
According to the sermon, why might God choose to heal or transform someone "little by little" instead of all at once? [Example given: "disentangling" trauma like surgery]([16:21]).
How does Romans 5:3-5 (referenced in the sermon) connect enduring trials to developing hope?

Interpretation Questions

Why might a slow, hidden process (like leaven) be more effective for lasting spiritual growth than sudden, dramatic change?
The sermon mentions believers in Evin Prison who "laughed at fear" during trials. How does enduring hardship with joy demonstrate the work of the Holy Spirit? [See example]([01:04:50]).
What does it mean practically to "resist the devil" (James 4:7) in a situation where fear or temptation feels overwhelming?

Application Questions

When have you looked back and realized God was quietly transforming an area of your life without you noticing it at the time? How does this encourage you in a current struggle?
Is there a trial or recurring challenge where you’ve struggled to "count it joy" (James 1:2)? What small step could help you reframe your perspective this week?
The sermon compares healing to "disentangling" surgery. Are there areas where you’ve tried to rush God’s process? How can you practice trusting His timing instead?
What does "staying in the fight" against spiritual opposition look like for you right now? Name one practical way to "stand your ground" this week.
Philippians 1:6 says God will finish His work in you. How does this truth change how you view your imperfections or slow progress?

Sermon Clips

71s

#GodIsCompleting

“``And doesn't matter how bad you think you are and how imperfect imperfection you are, he'll complete it. He's in the process of doing it. It's unseen, and I guarantee you you you continue in the journey. In a year's time, you'll be different, and you'll realize that you're different. And the work of the kingdom is invisible. It's supernatural, but but the working of the holy spirit is invading our lives to establish his kingship and his rulership inside of us. And to me, it's the most amazing thing as a Christian that I don't have to try to be better because he's making me better. He's actually doing it. He's doing it inside you. He's actually bringing perfection into your life, but it's a process.”

51s

#TakeGround

“You know, it's like Israel taking going into the promised land, and they had to do it little by little because you have to hold the ground once you've gained it. It's like in a war, you go in and you defeat an enemy, and you gain a little bit of territory, but it takes time to consolidate that territory and to consolidate the authority over it, and and it is like that in our lives. If if God just came in and just blasted everything out of your life and made you perfect and complete and totally healed, you would have difficulty holding everything that has happened to you. It takes time in order to consolidate what God has done inside of you.”

44s

#StayInTheProcess

“You may not feel it because it's a so it's a slow process. He doesn't wanna explode everything out in the open straight away because because he's got to entangle your life and disentangle your life and stuff in your life, but he's doing it, and he's changing you and I from glory to glory. Isn't that remarkable? What a faith position. He who began the good work in you, he will complete it into the day of the coming of the lord Jesus Christ. He's doing it in you, but you have gotta stay in the process. Keep letting him do that work.”

52s

#HiddenTransformation

“And and the trouble is we all struggle with issues. We all struggle with attitudes and responses, and we do something and we wish we hadn't done it that way, and we wrestle with who we are on the inside. the the work is slow, and and it's so unseen. We we we don't know what's happening, but, you know, sometimes you'll you'll think about it like this, you know, a year's time, and you think about what we were like a year earlier, and we realize that we've changed, and we're responding differently, and we don't know why we've responded differently. But you see, that's the work of the kingdom of God, of the seed of the word of God in our hearts. It's unseen. It's invisible, but there is a work that is always happening.”

55s

#EnduranceBuildsUs

“And so the testings and the trials, it produces endurance. There's a lot of people that can't endure anything. You know, one little problem comes comes along, Jesus doesn't love me. I'm not gonna continue to follow Jesus. I mean, that's childishness. Right? That's actually weakness. But what God is looking for is people of strength, people of character, people who've got endurance within them, people who are prepared to face life, and instead of getting all in a huff about it, and all depressed about it, and all reactionary about it, to get those attitudes out of us so that we might be strong, and we might be able to endure, and we might be able to stand.”

76s

#GradualDisentanglement

“But you see, when you become a Christian, just like when I looked at my heart, a process of disentanglement has to take place. And it's a gradual process because if you rip everything out at once, it could kill you. Excuse me. That's just five demons came out. cancer, but sometimes cancer will wrap around different organs in your body, and you gotta disentangle it before you can actually get the cancer out. So there has to be some operations before the main operation. Do you understand? And what's in your heart is so interconnected with everything else that's inside of you, it has to disentangle, and and the Lord has to take time in dealing with us in our lives in order to get the disentanglement to happen.”

44s

#ResistAndStand

“I was talking to somebody just yesterday at the at the camp, and and I said, well, the issue that you've gotta learn is you gotta learn how to do some spiritual warfare. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and wicked forces, and you gotta understand, you gotta have some endurance, you gotta have some some guts, you've gotta have some character to say, am gonna resist the devil, and he is gonna flee from me because I will endure and I will not be moved.”

47s

#HealingTakesTime

“Don't forget we're talking about the leaven and goes into the dough and enters into your heart, and has an unseen work, but it takes a bit of time to work, And there's another reason why it all takes a little bit of time to work, and and I learned this probably forty years ago that I discovered that when you've got a person who's been deeply traumatized by whatever reason, and it could be abuse of some sort or whatever, and and it dramatically impacts them that if you were to deal and expose everything that's in their lives at once, they wouldn't have the capacity to be able to endure that.”

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