Do you remember the record where Peter rebukes Jesus for telling the disciples He was going to die in Jerusalem? Of course you do. Turn with me to Matthew 16.
(21) From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
(22) Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
Do you get the feeling that Peter didn’t like what he heard? This must really have upset him if he is willing to tell Jesus that He’s wrong and what he just said is not going to happen.
(23) But he (Jesus) turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Now, so many of us read how Jesus responds to Peter without giving it too much thought. In fact, we often glossed over it. But listen, really listen, to what Jesus says: “Get thee behind me Satan.”
Wait a minute. Jesus is having a meeting with His disciples. Where is Satan? What is happening that our natural eyes don’t see? Satan has infiltrated the meeting. He’s stirring up the thoughts and emotions that disagree with what Jesus is saying.
What is he trying to do? He’s trying to cause division between Jesus and his disciples and among the disciples themselves.
Are you sure about that Bro. Barry? Yes and we see it in Jesus’s response: “Get thee behind Satan: thou are an offense to me…” What was the offense? You’re your finger here and turn to John 5:30. Let’s look at the last part of the verse. “I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”
So what was the offense? Satan was using Peter to try and get the disciples to rebel against the Father’s will for Jesus. So what do we often don’t take the time to understand? It was Peter talking, but it was Satan’s message that he was delivering.
Is it possible that Satan still influences people’s thoughts and emotions today? Is it possible that he still influences people’s actions today? Is it possible that he still speaks through people and they are not aware of it just as Peter wasn’t aware of it?
Yes. Yes. And yes.
As we look at what’s happening in our country today, it’s time for us, Christians, to look at the one who is masterfully “pressing the buttons” and “pulling the strings.” It’s time for us to look beyond the faces that we see.
As you may know, I mean, who doesn’t know – all four police officers involved in the death of George Floyd have received criminal charges. The looting and rioting that erupted as a result of his death has also led to the deaths of at least four police officers, the death of a retired 77 year old police officer and many injuries.
And what saddens me so is that the resulting chaos overshadowed the legitimate peaceful protests. The chaos saddens me but it doesn’t surprise me.
There is a lot that should bother us about this situation, ladies and gentlemen.
First, so many in the Church are ignorant of the spiritual hate-monger who is behind the scenes pulling the strings. His name is Satan, the devil, the deceiver, that old dragon. We should not expect the world to understand what is happening, but we, the Church, have no excuse. We should know better!
Second, in the midst of all of this chaos and confusion, I don’t recall seeing those who say they are Christians, including pastors and ministers, on social media or the mainstream media putting the real culprit on “front-street.”
Third, what is becoming a more and more clear and sobering reminder to me is that the Church seems to be oblivious to what we are truly witnessing – a spiritual attack on this country that the devil has been patiently waiting for but eager to launch.
And ladies and gentlemen, this is a spiritual attack that cannot be defeated if the “soldiers” – you and me – who are supposed to be “on alert,” are not ready to engage the enemy. Sadly, this what I see happening.
Let’s take a few minutes to pull back the curtain to see how Satan is operating.
Satan’s MO, his mode of operation, is unmistakable. He is the enemy of the mind and emotions. None compare to him. Ladies and gentlemen, that is not an understatement. What he does is take situations like the death of George Floyd and liberally dowses peoples’ emotions with the most flammable and easy to ignite accelerant in our society today – an accusation of racism.
Now don’t misunderstand me. I know that racism exists in this country. So do you. And I’m not minimizing the role it plays in how we respond to tragic situations like we just witnessed in Minnesota.
But what I am saying is this: Satan doesn’t care about the accusation. It is only a means to what he is truly after. Satan only cares about what the accusation of racism will produce – division and mistrust, not in society in general, but in the Church.
One thing we need to get straight in our thinking right now, ladies and gentlemen. Everything Satan does is primarily aimed at weakening the Church, its power and its ability to win people to Jesus Christ. No one else matters. He doesn’t care about the lost. He already has them. He’s after you. He’s after me.
And we see this clearly in Mark 3.
(24) And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
(23) And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
What is it that a divided kingdom or house cannot stand against? It will not be able to withstand an all-out attack of an opposing force. In this passage, Jesus has been accused of casting out a devil with a devil, so He’s teaching a lesson about how division can undermine a unified response to an enemy’s attack.
And this lesson – it’s really a warning to the Body of Christ, God’s kingdom, God’s house. A kingdom or house that does not stand with a single, unified voice will not be able to stand at all when it is under attack. Are we not seeing this play out today?
Ladies and gentlemen, when we are at odds with each other, when the Body of Christ is divided in how it responds to situations like what we are seeing in our country, Satan knows that what he is doing is working.
So Satan watches with glee as thoughts of anger and retaliation rise in the minds and hearts of Christians. After all, the last thing he wants is for us to look at him and see the knowing smile and wink of the instigator.
It’s time to do something about this, we say to ourselves. It’s time to find a way to stop such senseless tragedies. So we protest. Peacefully. We march. Peacefully. And we listen to the voices that continue to add liberal doses of the accelerant – we hear racism, but it’s really division and mistrust – that continue to stoke the emotional flames.
“Bravo. Bravo.” The enemy of the soul relishes these times when many in the Church unwittingly agree with his plans. “This is cause for celebration,” he says as he walks into the parlor, sits in his easy chair, slowly unwraps his favorite cigar and pours a glass of his finest champagne. The first part of his plan is going very, very well. And the absolute best part: God’s people are helping!
Do you know how God’s people are helping? Number one, we are not on our knees praying and interceding for our country. We are not standing in the gap against the corrosive and divisive rhetoric that we’re hearing over and over again. Number two, we are not taking the truth of God’s Word and declaring it against the chaos and confusing we are witnessing.
Now I want you to see what else Satan does in these situations. He brings in his people. He turns his attention to influencing the people who don’t know God, but who will see an opportunity to advance their own agendas. They are just like him. They don’t care about George Floyd. He was simply the opportunity.
Ladies and gentlemen, you’ve seen the news clips. These people are agitators all too eager to use the looting and rioting to further stoke division, not just in Minneapolis, but in cities across the country. They destroy dreams. They destroy the innocent. Now the anger and unrest is no longer about George Floyd. It has morphed into what Satan has desired all along – schism within the Church.
Now, do you want to know what goes unnoticed in all of this?
The rioting, looting and destruction of property are not happenstance. They are well coordinated attacks planned and orchestrated by Satan, but carried out by people who don’t know they are being played. They believe they are right to loot and riot against “mom and pop” business owners – against the innocent – who have not wronged them in any way.
And Satan sits back in his easy chair and says, “Bravo. Bravo.” He calls for the principalities and lieutenants responsible for the chaos. “It’s time to celebrate,” he says. The room slowly fills with hearty laughter, cigar smoke and the sound of clinking champagne glasses.
And why not? They have been able to capture the minds and emotions of those mostly likely to respond with anger, hostility and hatred. And all they did was supply the division and it was enough.
The master politician
The devil is the master politician who plays both sides of the isle. Peaceful protesters. The rioters and looters. All help to facilitate his plans. He works slowly and methodically in the realm of the spirit to prepare the way for tragedies like Minneapolis, and not so long ago, Ferguson, Missouri.
Marching. Protesting. Rioting. Looting. Listen to me: He loves them all because they allow him to go unnoticed!
If the devil is the one fueling division in our country, who has the power and authority to stand against him so that tragedies like these become less and less opportunities for him to sow division?
Christians.
Turn to Ephesians 6. All of us know these scriptures.
(11) Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
(12) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
(13) Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
The peaceful protests, the rioting and the looting are the result of Satan spewing his lies in the hearts and minds of those who are blind to how he operates. But, the Church has no excuse for not knowing why things are happening. None.
We have an enemy who desires to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10) in the Body of Christ an understanding of what happened when we received the new birth and a revelation of the power and authority over his kingdom that we possess.
His primary goal is to get us to ignore him, dismiss him, as being behind what we are seeing. And so far, ladies and gentlemen, he’s done a masterful job of doing just that.
Christians.
We are the only ones who can enforce victory on the one Jesus has already defeated. Look at Colossians 2:15 – “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”
But so many Christians don’t know the devil’s MO. They don’t recognize his attacks. They don’t recognize his movements. And they don’t recognize that it all starts in the realm of the spirit. All they see are the people unwittingly executing his plans.
We must take a stand. We can’t stay silent any longer!
Church, we have to stand up against this evil and exercise the authority we have as sons and daughters of God. We have to confront the enemy of the soul where we can defeat him and his plans. And that will never happen with marches, protests or speeches that don’t include prayer and the releasing of our authority the same way Jesus did in the wilderness.
You know the record. When the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, it was with the idea that He could make His own decisions – to separate his will from the will of His Father. Is that not an attempt to create division? But Jesus wasn’t having it. His response was simple: “It is written.” (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10)
What is written for us today?
“It is the spirit that quickeneth (gives life); the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63)
Right now, the Church is allowing those who are being influenced Satan to call the shots in our country. Why do I blame the Church? We are the only ones who can end this. And we do that by praying and speaking God’s life into our country. We need to speak God’s life against the operation of the devil. And we must speak God’s life against the principalities that, right now, have dominion in this country.
When we pray, when we speak, we are giving our Father access to what He needs to move in our country. Ezekiel 22:30 speaks to this. “And I sought for a man (person) among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land (our country), that I should not destroy it: but I found none.”
Do you know what’s so amazing to me about this verse? The Lord said He only needed one person to stand in the gap before him – one voice! The word “before” is “face” in the Hebrew and it paints the image of two people standing face to face in agreement on an action. The Lord was looking for someone who would stand with Him and bring about His truth to the nation of Israel.
Now here’s the instruction for us: We need to stand face to face with our Father to bring His truth and His life to our nation.
Ladies and gentlemen, when we speak life, we are giving our Heavenly Father access to our authority to move in our country in a way that marching, protesting, speeches and legislation cannot.
When we speak life, we are giving our Heavenly Father access to our authority to calm the emotions and change attitudes in a way that marching, protesting, speeches and legislation cannot.
Today, let’s give our Heavenly Father what He needs so He can do what needs to be done for our nation. Let’s pray. Let’s release our authority by declaring His Word, His truth, over the enemy’s lies and wickedness. This is how we stand face to face with our Heavenly Father and fight with Him for our country!
Brothers and sisters, we have the authority and we have the backing of heaven when we release our authority. Satan wants to divide us. But we are not having it! Let’s end this! Let’s give our God some praise up in here!
