Get Behind Me Satan

Get Behind Me Satan

Out of all of the disciples, I think I like Peter the best. He reminds me a lot of myself. Peter always had good intentions, but his mouth was always getting him in trouble with Jesus. I am the same way. I speak before I think and end up sticking my foot in my mouth. Jesus warns us that what comes out of our mouths or what we speak can be very harmful and evil. Have you ever spoken badly of someone just because they spoke badly of you? Have you ever told a little white lie to make yourself look better? Have you ever said you would do something knowing that you wouldn’t? What we say will either uplift others or it will tear them down. Have you ever repeated gossip or started a rumor? I have seen careers destroyed and even churches fold because of unfounded rumors and gossip. All of this comes from Satan. We need to stop and tell Satan to get behind us.

Please stand as we read our scripture for today.

Mark 8:31-38

31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.

32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.

36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?

37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels."

(NIV)

(Prayer)

Peter didn’t see the big picture. When Jesus was telling His disciples about what must happen, Peter only heard that Jesus was to be killed. He didn’t want his Master, his best friend to leave him. Peter didn’t realize that if Jesus didn’t do this, then any of them or us could never enter into the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus knew from where Peter received his thoughts and why Peter rebuked Him. Satan had given Peter these thoughts, because Satan knew that he was domed if Jesus died on that cross.

Today Satan knows that he is domed, but he wants to take as many people with him as he can. So Satan is using every tactic that he can to mislead us. We need to learn to say "Get behind me Satan."

A woman went to her pastor for marriage counseling. The pastor asked why she wanted to divorce her husband. She told him that she was tired of being married and wanted out. The pastor asked her if her husband was having an affair. The woman said "no." The pastor then asked her if her husband was beating her. The woman replied "no." The pastor told the woman that if she really wanted out of the marriage, then get a divorce.

Someone should have told that pastor that he sounded like Satan and to get behind me.

Many of our Christian denominations are being influence by Satan. There are denominations that are blessing homosexual marriages. There are denominations that are ordaining homosexuals as pastors. There are denominations that are trying to ordain transvestites. God’s word is very clear concerning how He views these matters. We must start kicking Satan out of our churches.

There was a young Christian girl that went off to college. She had never used drugs, never drank alcohol or never had sex. She was a perfect daughter for some lucky parents. When she arrived at college, she continued to attend church and started to hang out with Christian friends. One night her Christian friend invited her to a party. When she arrived, she saw people smoking pot, others drinking beer and still others engaged in sexual immorality. She began to rebuke her friends for their non-Christian behavior. Her friends came back with the rebuttal, "aren’t you a Christian and have been saved by grace?" She said "yes." Her friends then said "you have been saved by grace and are no longer under the law, so you can do anything you want." The young girl agreed.