7 Things the Devil Wants You to Believe
Matthew 16:13-23
13Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
21From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. 22And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
I find this to be one of the oddest sequences of events in scripture. First, we have the anointing of Peter and his proclamation that Jesus is the Christ, then immediately following that we find Jesus rebuking Peter and his words. What was the big difference? The difference is found in Jesus’ own words: For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven and For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.
Here is a list of 7 things Satan uses to confuse us:
#1. The church is a building, a pastor and an organization.
There is even danger in thinking church is not a building, but a congregation. I think we understand the social implications of this thinking, but we must resist the urge to be drawn into this vein of thought. The church is not a building or a pastor, or a congregation, the church is a proclamation. The proclamation of Peter’s words, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
#2. The church is weak and dying.
This is not true because the potential for the church to create positive change in the world is greater now than ever.
By using political influence, by being able to advance the gospel to closed countries through teaching the English language, By holding a greater wealth than ever before, the proclamation that Jesus is the Christ reaches farther than ever before in history. With the internet, we can have a greater impact to a more diverse audience than ever before.
The Devil points out all the things we haven’t done. But we have a choice; we can choose to focus on our failures or our possibilities. I read a quip, If we are trying to fail and succeed, were we successful? I believe that is some people’s rally cry. A suggestion is made about a new ministry and wham you are hit with 40 reasons it won’t work. This is what we have run up against with the Community Soup. We contact the Health Department and say this is what we want to do and we are slammed with paper work and regulations. Not one single person has said, “Let’s see what we can do to make this happen.” Optimism may not be a strong enough to bridge every obstacle, but pessimism won’t budge out of its own tracks.
#3. The Gospel is a philosophy for weak-minded people.
When a man has a heart mummer, is it only the weak-minded that can take medicine to control the rhythm of his heart? If a woman has cancer is it only the weak-minded ones that can seek the council of a qualified physician and follow the prescribed path to recovery? If a person is spiritually dying, is it the weak-minded who seek healing? No, when we are faced with illness, the sane thing to do is to fight for health and healing with everything we find moral and comforting. It is the weak-minded who sit back and say, “I have a better way.”
The gospel is not a philosophy to give poor, weak-minded people hope in this life; it is the power of God to give repentant people salvation & hope for the next life. The gospel is not a philosophy for weak-minded people it is the only medicine prescribed by the Creator to restore people who are separated from Him.
#4. Children are a noisy, expensive, burden on the church.
The truth is the greatest Christian leaders that the world will ever know are currently in elementary school, middle school, and high school…thus making youth and children’s ministry one of the greatest mission opportunities that the local church can invest in. How can I say children are the greatest Christian leaders? Well actually I didn’t, God is the one who said, “A little Child shall lead them.” And Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Mark 10:15) and, Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:4).
Children are not a noisy, expensive, burden, they are role models for adults, they are not optional, they are indispensable.
#5. Church leaders are weak and lack vision
This may be true in some congregations, but in the congregations I’m familiar with, the appearance of weakness and visionless leadership is the result of love and kindness. I was recently on a boat, a 35”pleasure boat. In case you don’t know, that’s a big boat. When we returned to the marina and were attempting to put the boat back in its own slip, I gained a whole new respect for people with large boats. I thought I would be helpful and hook the pike-pole on a cleat and pull the boat back into the slip. I have done it before on smaller boats, but you can’t do that on a big boat. Take my word for it, it’ll pull your arms out of the sockets! This is how turning a church can be for the leadership. A small agreeable bunch can be easily lead in a new or corrected direction. But one that has a lot of force pulling in a direction, even the wrong direction can be hard to redirect. Have you ever been on a boat when the captain decided to abruptly change directions without warning and time to prepare? It’ll throw you down, maybe right over the side.
So it is with church leadership, Satan wants us to change direction and jerk people around, maybe throw a few overboard. God wants us to reach out in new directions, but not at the cost of leaving others behind.
Often times the appearance of poor leadership is simply the leaders waiting for the followers to get ready for a change in direction.
#6. As long as I’m in the right church, I’m okay
It is important to note Matthew 16:15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am? This is not a question on denominations, spiritual gifts, human sexuality, the right to life, race, gender, age or background; this is a question about following God’s leading. (Matt. 16:17) Blessed are you, … For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
Do you know Jesus? Not that you know about Him or have heard of Him, or know who you want Him to be, but do you know Him? Have you experienced the rush of being born-again. Have you heard His voice as He placed the gospel of Christ in your life and set you free from the burden of sin?
#7. You have plenty of time
Plenty of time to get your live straight.
Plenty of time to get your affairs in order.
Plenty of time to tell God how you truly feel.
Plenty of time to fix things and mend bridges.
Plenty of time to accept Christ’s teachings.
Plenty of time to prove that my own ideas are the right ones.
Satan says you have plenty of time.
The Bible says 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, 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.
And it says in 2 Peter 3:10, But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
I gave you 7 lies Satan tells, 7 things he wants you to believe, but the truth is we will all stand before God and answer for what we have done in this life whether good or bad.
Choose good.
7. Choose to live as though time will end at any moment. Cast all grudges and hatefulness aside.
6. Choose to be a righteous person who makes a difference for good and for God. Don’t settle for only aligning yourself with good people.
5. Choose to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
4. Choose to enjoy life with a youthful attitude.
3. Choose to trust in God, even when the world is calling you foolish.
2. Choose to stand strong in your faith
1. And let your faith be based on your convictions as the word of God guides you. Life is not a popularity contest. You won’t earn points with God by being charming, you win with God when you call His Son your Savior.
