Get Behind Me Satan!

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2-25-24

Hoonah-Hadley

Mark 8:31-38

Call to Worship Psalm 22:22-31

Daily Verse Mark 8:33

“But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.’”  As Jesus Christ, the Son of God is about His Father’s business, we often find ourselves in a business meeting, the name of the business, “Trinity”.  Don’t be surprised when the President of the company calls you into His office to meet with His CEO and COO. (Chief Operating Officer) Hebrews 12:6 and Proverbs 3:12 parallel one another, “Because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes those He accepts as His children.”  “For whom the Lord loves, He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.”  Rebuke is to criticize, reprimand, check or repress, disapprove, scold, find fault with.  Mark 8:31 “And He began to teach them…”  Jesus is among other things, a teacher, and teach He does.  Verse 31 bids us the question, not is Jesus a teacher, but what kind of students are we?  2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”  God’s word is a lifelong classroom of raising His children up in the way they should go. Prov. 4:6-7 “Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.  The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.  Though it cost all you have, get understanding.”  We recently had a sermon titled “This Is My Son, Listen to Him.”  In our beginning, our end, and all points in between, little else will be as profitable as the wisdom, understanding and insight that comes from God’s word, His Son.

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“Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.”  How soon we forget whose classroom it is, “And He began to teach them.”  Peter gets a lot of attention in scriptures, and rightfully so. If your name is Peter then take note, for the rest of us, there is a little Peter in all of us, beware lest you find yourself rebuking your Savior.  In the recent Super Bowl, 2 teams, one pitted against the other. In order to receive the crown at the end of the day each team studies their opponent to discover some weakness, expose that during the game and God willing, come out on top.  There may be better examples, but in order that we might defeat the enemy, we need to recognize there is one, expose their weakness, and take authority over them. There is an enemy, a foe if you will, he knows his opponent well, is crafty, deceitful and determined.  He’s educated in things above, after all that’s where he came from.  In fact, not only did he have a conversation with the first couple in the presence of God, he had a personal bible study with our Lord on the occasion of His temptation.  And what was our Lord’s response to each lie?  “It is written!”  How did Jesus rebuke the tempter?  With the holy script.  How are we to overcome evil, God’s word, the red letters.  John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…full of grace and truth.”  As in a football game, two teams, so it is with creation, night and day, heaven and earth, good and evil, a Savior and a deceiver, The Truth and a lie.  John 8:37-47 “…because My word has no place in you…He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him…for he is a liar and the father of lies…I tell the truth…Those who are of God hear God’s word…you do not hear because you are not of God.”  How do we overcome the enemy?  The Red Letters. We are saved by grace through faith, and faith comes from hearing, hearing the word of God. 

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When studying “Narcissistic pathological liars”, one of the tell-tale signs that someone is a liar, they tell you they are.  You know the common saying, “they just don’t get it”?  That may apply to John 8, “…you do not hear because you are not of God.”  A bumper sticker the other day: “I already know I’m going to hell…”  There were other stickers on the same vehicle, some referring to witchcraft.  One way to tell a person is “not of God”, they advertise it on the back of their vehicle.  Matt. 12:30 “Those who are not with Me are against Me, and those who do not gather with Me, scatter.”  Can’t we all get along?  No, we cannot.  Dr. VanDyne said, “You can compromise the incidentals, but not your principles.  In an attempt to get along, we compromise God’s principles.  We live in a world that is overwhelmed with compromise, and it is no secret what a dead-end street that is.  The truth of the matter is, there are those that are against Christ, and one way to identify them, they “do not gather with Him.”  Keep in mind broad is the gate (road) that leads to destruction, many enter it, its way is easy.  But narrow is the gate (road) that leads to life, hard is its way and few enter it. (Matt. 7:13-14) Observe the masses and do the opposite. Any dead fish can go with the flow, swim against the current.  Why does no one look happy in the old black and white photos, because life was hard.  We live in a world of ease and convenience, heated steering wheels, remote car starters and automatic garage door openers.  We’re a far cry from the emblem of suffering and shame.  The road to Calvary is as narrow as it gets, and should we travel there and gaze upon our beaten, crucified Savior, we’ll need to take up our crosses without our heated seats.  2 Timothy 2:1-4 “You then be strong…in Christ Jesus…Endure hardship like a good soldier of Christ.  No one engaged in warfare gets themselves involved in civilian affairs…” 

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“He rebuked Peter, saying, ‘Get behind Me Satan!  For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.’”  Jesus is teaching Peter here, He is correcting him, but He is speaking to Satan.  Satan was not only in Judas, the betrayer, but he is also in Peter, that is, he’s in his head, his mind. “For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”  When we compromise God’s principles that we might cater to the world, that’s our genetic broken, fallen nature, the exchange of the truth for a lie that took place in the beginning.  This is a monumental correction Christ is teaching us today.  Satan prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour and when we are mindful of the things of man, we are easy prey.  What is it that we are “mindful” of today? Vs.34 “Whoever desires to come after Me, let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Me.” Desire is easily a sermon in its own right, to wish, long for, crave, passion.  Vs. 34 is a mathematical equation concerning addition and subtraction, and for that equation to come to its divine conclusion you’ll need to check your pantry for desire. The subtraction involves denial of self, quite possibly the most difficult undertaking set before humanity. 2 things to remember here, the gate is narrow, the way is hard, few enter it, and, with God all things are possible.  The 3rd portion of the equation is addition, “take up your cross”.  If you desire and deny but don’t “take up” your cross, you’ll do little more than warm the park bench with your backside. Following Christ is not for the milky toast, it starts with humility and then straightens its backbone.  Understand the enemy, he’s a liar. If you are for Christ, then you must be against evil, pick a side.  “Get behind me Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of man.”  The mind is a battlefield, the workhouse of the soul, be mindful of the things of God. 

Amen!