GET OUT OF THE WAY!
Has anyone ever told you to get out of the way? Hopefully they said it a little more tactfully than that but we've probably all heard it at some point in our lives. Usually this happens because someone is doing something or going somewhere and we are impeding their progress.
Most of the time we're not intentionally trying to be in someone's way. Often times we're actually trying to help but we're just in the way. Then there are times when we are purposely trying to get in the way because we don't want whatever is happening to be carried out.
I had a conversation with someone this past week about the times when God wants us to get out of the way. Sometimes when God wants to do something in or through us we can get in the way of that. We allow things like fear, doubt, worry or anxiety to get in the way. We play the 'what if' game. Sometimes it's pride and selfishness that causes us to get in the way of what God is trying to do.
Sometimes it's impatience; we're trying to make something happen in our time. Sometimes it's sin; that will certainly get in the way of what God is doing. God's always working; always trying to accomplish things. And he graciously desires to have us be a part of that work. But sometimes we get in the way. Not personally, it's the things that we put in the way-our excuses, our own agenda, our priorities, etc. One of the people that got in the way a few times was Peter. Let's see how he got in Jesus' way.
1) Get out of the way, Pete!
In last week's sermon we learned that Peter bounced back from denying Christ and he went on to be a great Apostle and leader of the early church. But he had some lessons to learn before that. One of them came when Jesus announced what was going to happen to him.
Matt. 16:21-26, "From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"
If two people are not on the same page with something that different way of thinking or different focus will get in the way. Peter's focus was not on the same page as Jesus'. As soon as he heard that Jesus was going to suffer and die he sprang up and communicated his disapproval. Peter rebuked Jesus! Talk about feeling strongly about something.
Have you ever done that? Jesus revealed something to you and you stubbornly and emphatically resisted? It's interesting how we can disagree with Jesus while addressing him as 'Lord'.
Then Jesus responds by rebuking Peter. Why? It seems Peter is just upset that his Lord is going to suffer and die. That sounds noble. Jesus should be thanking Peter for his passionate care and concern, right? But he doesn't do that. So there must be something here that we're not seeing.
Satan was using Peter to try to get in the way. Jesus said he was a stumbling block to him; he was trying to trip him up. Jesus identified the spirit behind Peter's words and tells Satan to get behind him, i.e. get out of the way. He wanted Peter and the others to realize that what Peter said though seemingly loving was actually a detriment.
Jesus said Peter had in mind the things of men, not God. Peter was only thinking from the natural, not the supernatural. That's the most common way we are not on the same page as Jesus. Jesus is always thinking of things from the spiritual perspective. So when Jesus is saying something to us and we counter it, disagree with it or resist it, we're thinking from a worldly perspective.
Say God moves us to talk to someone about the gospel. Our response is, 'what if they get mad at me', 'what if they laugh at me', 'what if they ask me something I don't know'. These thoughts are understandable but they stem from the natural mind, not the supernatural. If God's moving us to speak then he wants us to be on the same page and trust that he will help us.
That's what Philip did in Acts 8. When the Holy Spirit told him to go and stand by the chariot the Ethiopian Eunuch was in I'm sure it didn't make sense to him. But instead of dismissing it he acted on it. Vs. 30 says he ran up to the chariot. And because he was on the same page as the Holy Spirit the Ethiopian got to hear the gospel. He believed and was baptized.
If we let panic, worry, fear, doubt or anxiety get in the way then we won't carry out God's plans. If God is making it clear that he wants us to make a certain decision but we are making excuses, playing the 'what if' game then we are reacting with worldly thoughts and are therefore, getting in the way.
When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and told him his plan to use him to speak to Pharaoh and lead his people out of Egypt, Moses resisted. In Ex. 4:1 he asks, 'what if they don't believe me and say, 'the Lord didn't send you'? That's a legitimate question. So God gives him a couple of signs to show how he was going to work through Moses to prove he was sending him.
Then Moses objects, stating he wasn't good with words. God countered by asking him who gave man his mouth? Moses' natural reality was he was slow of speech, as he put it. God's supernatural response was he could and would take care of that. Then, in vs. 13, Moses said, 'Oh please, Lord, send someone else to do it'. Vs. 14 says God's anger burned against Moses. That's how Aaron came into the picture.
If I was Moses I probably would've reacted the same way. But when God is telling us to do something he wants us to respond with faith and obedience. God knows our weaknesses and he wants to work with us to overcome those but he's looking for us to be on the same page with him so we can do great things for him.
Getting back to Peter, we see he was also being selfish. Jesus said if we are going to follow him we need to deny our own will; we need to be willing to suffer for his sake. Peter's will was to keep Jesus with him. Part of his concern may have been, 'if Jesus is crucified what will that mean for me? Will they crucify me too?' Peter's concern is valid, but it's selfish, it doesn't fit with what Jesus is calling us to do.
Paul said in 2 Tim. 3:12 that if we want to live a godly life we will be persecuted. Not that we should go looking for it but if we are in a situation where we know that could happen and we run away from it, we're getting in the way of what God wants to accomplish. We don't want to hear about persecution; we don't want to hear about suffering; we want comfortable Christianity. We don't want to be challenged; we don't want to be taken out of our comfort zone.
But if we're going to be on the same page as Jesus we need to let go of our will so we can fulfill his; otherwise we'll get in the way. God wants us to be a witness but if we avoid those opportunities because it's uncomfortable then we're in the way. He wants us to follow the way not get in the way.
2) You're in the way again, Pete!
Fast forward to when Jesus was with the disciples in the garden of Gethsemane. Judas and his entourage show up to arrest Jesus. They knew when Judas kissed Jesus that was their cue. So when he did that, Mt. 26:50 says the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. Peter wasn't having it.
Matt. 26:51-54, "With that, one of Jesus’ companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?”
We know from John's gospel that the one who cut off the ear was Peter and the one who's ear he cut off was Malchus'. Jesus tells Peter to put his sword back. Have you ever had someone say to you, "you're not helping"? We might involve ourselves in a conversation, thinking we're helping until one of them turns and makes it clear that we're not. We might hear, 'you're not helping' when we're trying to help someone do something and we're just making it worse.
When Peter attacked Malchus he thought he was helping but he wasn't. He thought he was doing Jesus a favor; he thought he was coming to the rescue. Jesus lovingly rebuked Peter and let him know he didn't need him to rescue him. If that was the plan he would call upon the Father to send legions of angels to rescue him.
We know from Luke's account that Jesus healed Malchus' ear. Although Peter got in the way, Jesus brought some good out of it and provided a miracle for Malchus as well as a teachable moment for him and the others about who Jesus really was. It would no doubt be impactful but that didn't excuse the fact that Peter still got in the way of the plan.
"How then would the scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" Peter wouldn't have known he was getting in the way of scripture being fulfilled but Jesus wanted him to know that when he goes off on his own and has emotionally charged reactions he is getting in the way of God's divine plan.
Jesus could've brought him back to that earlier moment when he was telling them about his upcoming crucifixion and Peter rebuked him. Peter is acting the same way now as he did in that situation. In essence, Peter cutting off Malchus' ear was his way of reiterating, 'Never, Lord, this shall never happen to you'. So, Jesus had to rebuke him again and remind him of the plan and that he was once again getting in the way.
Jesus is basically telling Peter, 'I don't need you and your sword to come to my rescue. I'm not being apprehended because I'm powerless against it; I'm letting this happen; this is how it's supposed to be'. Sometimes we think we're helping God when we're not. Bill McNabb, "You defend God like you defend a lion: you get out of his way."
When God reveals his will to us but we think we know a better way we're just getting in the way. We have to understand that we're not doing God any favors. God wants us; but he doesn't need us. If we humbly get that we'll understand we really bring nothing to the table except our willingness to be used by him. We get in the way when we incorporate our intellect, thinking our plan is better than the one God came up with.
One reason Peter got in the way was because he had an emotional response to the situation. He saw Jesus being arrested and his fear and anger took over and he went into fight mode. He could've ran up to Jesus and said, 'what's the plan; what do you want us to do here?' Jesus probably would've told him to stand down because this is part of the plan. Luke's version shows how this played out.
Luke 22:49-51, "When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him."
The disciples asked Jesus if he wanted them to fight but Peter didn't wait for a response, he just took matters into his own hands and sprang into action. Jesus' sharp response made it clear he did not approve. How often do we fail to wait for the Lord's response and we jump into action, doing what we feel is right? When we do that we're getting in the way.
When we are getting in the way of God's plan he will say, 'no more of this'. We need to have rational responses to situations, not emotional ones. Emotional reactions often make things worse, thus impeding the progress of God's plan. Then he may have to clean up our mess before he can resume like Jesus did with Malchus' ear.
Peter was stubborn and strong-willed. This is okay when it applies to staying firm in the truth and doing God's will. But when it's about selfishness and pride it's another story. Peter was being stubborn when Jesus lowered the sheet with all the animals.
Acts 10:9-16, "About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air.
Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven."
Peter's in a trance but he knows it's Jesus talking to him, telling him to kill and eat. This sounds absurd to Peter because he had always followed the Jewish dietary laws. But Jesus tells him it's okay, he has made all animals clean. But Peter wouldn't budge because the next verse says this happened three times and then the sheet was gone.
Although his reluctance was understandable since he hadn't eaten anything unclean before, this is Jesus telling him to do it so that should've been the end of the matter. But we know from past situations that just because Jesus said it didn't mean Peter immediately accepted it.
The sheet of animals was to communicate to Peter that gentiles were included in the plan of salvation. It was imperative that Peter got this since the Centurion Cornelius under God's directive, had sent his men to Peter to bring him to Ceasarea. The new covenant meant that things had changed and Peter needed to get on the same page with Jesus. Thankfully, Peter got the message and he went with Cornelius' men and saw the proof that the gospel was for the gentiles too.
This event was important because after this Peter needed to convince the Jews throughout Judea. Once he told them his story they accepted his testimony. Had Peter remained stubborn and was unwilling to go with them to see Cornelius it would've gotten in the way of what God was trying to do in bringing Jews and gentiles together under the new covenant in Jesus' name.
Have you ever gotten in the way of progress because you weren't willing to change the way you had always done something? When we are stubborn and unwilling to do things a different way, we can get in the way of what God is trying to do. Sometimes change is not good, but when it's clear that God is the one initiating it, our response shouldn't be, 'surely not, Lord', but rather, 'yes, Lord'.
Our hearts and minds need to be open to what God is doing. We need eyes to see and ears to hear. We want to be a part of God's wonderful agenda. We're humbled that he wants to use us. Satan wants to use us to get in the way of what God is trying to accomplish. Let's make sure that doesn't happen.
