Get Behind Me Satan!

               

                When I realized what I was reading, I almost couldn't believe it. What I saw seemed as if it was profoundly disrespectful. As a matter of fact, it seemed to be borderline heartless, cold, and downright distasteful. This normally wouldn't have shaken me so much, had what I was witnessing been performed by anyone else. This act, however, was executed by Jesus. I stopped and asked the question: Isn't He supposed to be our example? How could He do this?

                The act I am referring to is the famous rebuke of Peter. The story begins as Jesus asks His disciples a simple question. Who do men say that I am? The disciples throw out various comments they have heard. Peter however, he is different. He has a revelation. He boldly declares that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus is so taken, He comments that this could not have been revealed to him by any man or process of cognition. This revelation was given to Peter by God the Father. Jesus then exhorted His disciples to tell no one.

                So far so good, right? However, Peter had a tendency to put his foot in his mouth. Jesus went on to explain some very difficult concepts to His disciples. He explained to them that He would have to go up to Jerusalem. Once there, He would suffer many things of the elders and priests. He would be falsely accused, He would be mocked, He would be mistreated, and He would be shamed. Ultimately, He would have to die and then be raised on the third day. This proved to be too much for Peter. Like many great friends out there, he went out of his way to do something he perceived to be in the best interest of his friend. He rebuked and attempted to convince Jesus that there must be an alternative course of action.

                Now we arrive at the part of the story that I simply could not believe. While I had read and heard this account on multiple occasions, the book of Mark offers a phrasing that brings out a shocking element of the story. Peter gets up and takes hold of Jesus, rebuking Him (Matthew 16:22). As Peter attempts to talk Jesus out of what he perceives to be a bad decision, Jesus doesn't just rebuke him. Jesus actually begins by facing him and then turns his back to Peter. Before Jesus speaks he fully turns his back on one of His most passionate followers. Talk about making a powerful point! In this position, facing the other disciples with Peter now standing behind Him, He rebukes Peter with the famous words, "Get thee behind me Satan!"

                "But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men." (Mark 8:33)

                This takes the situation to another level. It would be one thing if Jesus quietly rebuked Peter to conceal his error and bring private correction. Frankly, even if He wasn't quiet about it, had He at least said it to Peter's face, as I had always presumed, it wouldn't have been so extreme. The idea that Jesus first turned His back to the disciple, and then rebuked Him to everyone else, now that just seemed cold. That is, until I realized what the Lord was illustrating.

                In this case Peter represents any number of people, things, or responsibilities that have a degree of importance in our lives. There is no doubt that Peter was important to Jesus. However, sometimes these things, and even the most well meaning people in our lives become tools in the hand of the enemy. The fact that Jesus rebuked Satan and not Peter clearly indicates that Peter's actions were inspired by the devil, even though He didn't perceive it that way. The words that came out of Peter's mouth were a temptation to Jesus. The Bible is clear that Jesus was tempted in all points and we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

                What Jesus illustrated with his actions becomes a powerful lesson in how to overcome temptation. We first turn our back to it, then we begin to rebuke it. Let me explain. Let's say someone is trying to quit smoking. Does it make more sense to throw away all of the cigarettes in the house first and then pray for God's grace to overcome the temptation? Or does it make more sense to keep a pack of cigarettes in every room of the house, meaning the person is rebuking the habit every time they reach for the next cigarette?

                Sometimes temptation can be so strong in our lives that we have to first turn our backs to it so that our prayers and rebukes are not hindered. Jesus loved Peter so much that he turned His face from him before rebuking the devil! This was no easier for Jesus than it was for Peter. What we need to understand is that attacks often come through those that are closest to us. The devil is extremely intelligent, and seeds deception wherever possible. He will use the most well meaning people at times to seed advice and counsel into our lives that is entirely at odds with the leading of God. He will use what sounds like good advice to point us in the opposite direction of God's purpose for our lives. It is a difficult lesson.

                There are times when following the Lord will require us to turn our backs on the advice and counsel of those closest to us. We may even need to rebuke it. Jesus illustrated this with Peter. The most important thing to Jesus was fulfilling the purpose given to Him by His Father in heaven. God wants you to fulfill your purpose as well. Thus we need to learn to turn our backs on temptation when necessary.

You Too Can Win!

Greetings,

                Let's face it. You want to win. That's why you read motivational articles and listen to motivational speakers. Even watching others win can be fulfilling. Winning is exciting! No one needs to tell you that. This is why people compete to win. Everyone wants to win because winning brings many benefits. It brings recognition, emotional highs, awards, and commemorative plaques.

                I personally believe that winning and the desire to win is actually inherent to human nature. Think about it. Nobody competes to lose. Even little children grasp this concept. Winning means victory, and with victory comes positive emotions. Even in the odd case that people are competing to quote on quote "lose", the ability to "lose" changes its significance in that the one who loses actually wins. If people are competing, there is a winner, and thus winning is inherent to human nature.

                The proper question is not: do you want to win? The answer to this question is yes. Instead, the right question is: are you winning, and if not, why not? This means that regardless of what has happened, you want your marriage to win. The circumstances may make winning in this area feel so far from reality that you think you want to lose, but remember that losing is against your nature.  You want to win in your job. You want to win with the house you buy. You want to win with the friends that you have. You want to win in the relationship you share with your children. You want to win period!  Therefore, if you are not pursuing victory in your life, you are living contrary to your nature.

                Why is this important to understand? Sometimes people can experience enough loss that they forget their inherent nature. For instance, maybe they lost their first love. They lost their parents before graduating high school. They lost their first child to a rare disease. They lost their virginity to a rapist. They lost, and it corrupted the way they view themselves and their ability to win. Therefore they begin to live contrary to their nature. They accept defeat and they learn coping mechanisms. This is the person that considers themselves a "loser." Sure enough, as this person continually makes decisions out of this flawed perspective of their identity, others will begin to consider this person a loser as well.

                You may know a so-called "loser". Maybe you are a so-called "loser". Either way, to live the life of a  "loser" is to live a life contrary to human nature. This is important to understand, because if you have considered yourself a loser, then this is your wake-up call. Put simply, you too can win! Stop living contrary to your nature! If you  are reading this and thinking: who are you to tell me I can win...then I have news for you. Your circumstances no longer have to be your problem. I have a solution that trumps everything you've suffered and endured. I have a solution that will liberate you from every blockade and barrier that has ever held you back in life. Are you ready for it? His name is Jesus.

                Now before you wave your hand and tell yourself, "I've heard that  before," let me ask you a question. Have you really? The problem is, if we think we know Jesus and we are still losing we are truly living a life of deception. We are living in a void of lies and using our own will to enforce our failing approach to life. Allow me to explain how this works. Jesus is the ultimate example of victory. Out of His own mouth came the words, "I have overcome the world."

                So what does this have to do with you? Everything—and now it's time to learn why. In the book of 1 John 5:4 it says, "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." Here is my point. If a person is born of God they overcome the world—period. Moreover, the victory that overcomes the world is our faith. In other words our ability to trust God becomes a major determining factor in our ability to win!

                Let me put this another way. God is your maker. He knows that He designed you to win. Hopefully at this point you have also realized that you were designed to win. So what's your problem? Why do you keep losing? Why does your marriage fail? Why did you lose that promotion? Why couldn't you even win the friendly game of Monopoly last night? I am partly joking about that last item, but here is my point. The problem is that you were not born into winning circumstances. It is called the curse, it is called death, it is called original sin.

                In other words God designed humans to be winners. When Adam and Eve sinned in that garden, death entered and the curse of sin came upon us. This placed us in a state whereby losing  became a very real aspect of life. This created a dichotomy in that while losing is a very real part of life that can be difficult to overcome, there is an element of our very nature that longs to win in every situation. So how is Jesus the solution to this problem? He came to destroy the power of death and remove the curse. He did this so that we could reign in life through Him. "For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17)."

                Do you know what I call reigning in life? I call that victory! I call that winning. Jesus is the game changer. Jesus came to replace fallen realities with new creation realities. As a new creation in Christ... you too can win!

                                                                                                                ___

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Authority on the Job

Greetings,

                There it is. It's the same sarcastic smile you are greeted with every morning. Yuck! The receptionist, who puts on an air of friendliness for everyone else, makes no effort to hide her distaste about you. It's no mystery as to why she does this. She gave you the same air of friendliness until she found about you and the C-word. That's right, the day she found out you were a Christian everything changed. Unfortunately it wasn't just her.

                Others began to act funny around you. Then you started getting accused of being ignorant and judgmental. You weren't consciously judging anyone, but you were labeled because you are Christian. Suddenly, you became a magnet for negativity. Why would people intentionally ostracize you? Why would people go out of their way to tell dirty jokes right in front of you as often as possible? Could it be because you are Christian? Of course.

                It can be challenging to balance our spiritual persuasions while working in a secular field. There is no doubt that the easiest thing to do with our religious convictions is to keep them to ourselves. The reason is because when we begin to become vocal with our coworkers about what we believe, people can begin to respond negatively. So what can we do about this?

                I have found myself in several awkward situations at the various jobs I have held in the past. I don't expect this to change for jobs that I will hold in the future. Since I tend to be rather straight forward about my relationship with Jesus, this is something I have simply come to accept. However, I have learned that there is an edge that I will always have over those that seek to create problems for me. I have an awesome prayer life!

                "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." (Ephesians 6:12)

                While I do not discount practical tips and tricks for making peace and keeping friends, there is a very real spiritual element to every situation. On this note we must always remember that our battle is not against people, but against evil spirits in the kingdom of darkness. As a matter of fact, what I have learned is that there are key evil spirits that oversee the activity occurring in just about every business. These spirits are usually things like alcoholism, drug abuse, gossip, revenge, hatred, slander, antichrist, jezebel and so forth. It's usually very easy to tell what kind of spirits are in operation by simply having a keen eye and picking up on the obvious. If you know what everyone did last weekend (without any specific individual telling you their own story) it is pretty easy to conclude that a spirit of gossip is at work. If there is a strong rebuttal every time the name of Jesus is brought up, there is probably a spirit of antichrist.

                "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (1 John 4:3)

               

                In order to circumvent the strategies of the enemy, we must remind ourselves about who we are in Christ. We must then exert the authority that Jesus has given us. In Him we have been given power over the power of the enemy. This is relevant for every setting and situation. It doesn't matter if we are not in the church building. God intends for us to partner with Him to the end that the works of the devil are destroyed. As it is written:

                " Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:19)

                Whenever I am working a secular job I make sure to bind all of the evil spirits and activities I have identified (or that the Lord has pointed out to me). This is not something I do only once on my first day of work. This is something that I do daily during my morning prayers. I have found that when I bind the works of darkness and loose the things of God, my work environment is radically changed in my favor. It actually positions me for favor with my superiors. Moreover, it breaks the spiritual resistance to the testimony of Jesus Christ. This means that it is much easier to engage coworkers, pray with coworkers, and even lead coworkers to Christ. Now that is what I call the ideal work environment!

                "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 18:18)

Submission and Authority

Greetings,          

                As the author of the book Wounded by Leadership I believe that I am uniquely qualified to speak to the issues of authority and right submission. No one wants to submit to injurious leadership and authority. Moreover, it is not easy to submit to new leadership after painful past experiences. Right submission to leadership is a difficult thing because it appears to leave us in a compromised situation, where we are subjected to the consequences of other's inadequacies. For some, the sheer volume of their bad experiences has led to the question, "What is the point? Why should I bother submitting to leadership when it feels so much easier to grow in Christ alone?"

                I have been down this same road—several times. From one situation to the next I have felt like spiritual leadership and authority figures have oppressed me, slowed me down, gotten in my way, and limited the work that God wanted to do through me. I have felt unacknowledged, unappreciated, and I have repeatedly felt like a threat. Why should you or I bother with submission if this is what it seems to yield? Furthermore, what does this have to do with spiritual warfare?

                Right submission has quite a bit to do with spiritual warfare. One of the basic things that we learn about the spirit realm is that everything operates according to authority. It follows that there is no authority apart from being under authority. There are also various levels of authority.

                As members of God's universal church we are grafted into His kingdom which is a spiritual government. As we "grow up spiritually" we are entrusted with greater and ever increasing authority in His name. Ever increasing spiritual authority does not come just because we want it. It comes the hard way. It comes as we walk in obedience to all that Jesus commands of us. This means that while we must always be sure to submit to Jesus first and foremost, we must prove our ability to submit to Him by submitting to those that He places over us. If we cannot submit to spiritual shepherds in the natural, what makes us think we can truly submit to all that Jesus is asking of us (since He is known to ask far more than any man)?

                Jesus modeled submission to human authorities when He was baptized by John the Baptist. Jesus did not begin His own ministry until he had gotten baptized under the ministry of "one who was not worthy to loose the shoes of His feet" (Acts 13:25). The Bible is clear that Jesus did this to fulfill "all righteousness." Righteousness means right standing with God. In order for Jesus' ministry to have right standing with God, He had to first submit to human spiritual authority. However, the model that Jesus provides for us doesn't stop at this act.

                One of the greatest lessons in faith comes from a man who wasn't even Jewish. He was a Roman centurion. When Jesus was on His way to Capernaum, the centurion approached Jesus and begged Him to heal His son. This kind of activity was a daily thing for Jesus. At this request, Jesus simply responded by saying that He would go to the child. Imagine how excited you would be if Jesus offered to personally come and heal your sick and suffering child! However, the centurion made history with his response.

                "But the centurion replied to Him, Lord, I am not worthy or fit to have You come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant boy will be cured. For I also am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my slave, Do this, and he does it. When Jesus heard him, He marveled and said to those who followed Him [who adhered steadfastly to Him, conforming to His example in living and, if need be, in dying also], I tell you truly, I have not found so much faith as this with anyone, even in Israel." (Matthew 8:8-10 AMP)

                The centurion told Jesus that He shouldn't come to his house "because he wasn't worthy". He probably said this because he understood Jewish tradition—that it was not considered lawful for Jews to be entertained by "unclean" gentiles (Acts 10:28). Although Jesus offered, the centurion provided an alternative option. He asked Jesus to simply speak the word so that his child would be healed. Then he provided his logic on the issue. He explained that he too was a man under authority. Therefore the things that he commanded were also performed.

                The centurion's explanation can seem slightly awkward at first. What do soldiers and slaves have to do with Jesus healing the sick? The answer is that both involve principles of authority. One aspect of authority means that what we command must come to pass. In order to have authority, we must also be under authority. In order for soldiers to obey the centurion, the  centurion had to be submitted to his government and ranking officers. Since the centurion was under authority, the soldiers under him obeyed his commands. If he were to defect from the Roman government, he would lose all authority to make commands.

                Likewise, in order for Jesus to perform miracles, raise the dead and heal the sick, He had to be submitted to His Father in heaven. The centurion recognized this. His logic was that since Jesus was under authority (just like him), he could have confidence that the sickness would obey the words of Jesus.

                Based on this understanding, Jesus was shocked! He was moved to say that he had not seen such great faith in all of Israel. Why would He relate this to faith? The spiritual principles relating to authority were just as real to the centurion as the natural principles relating to authority. This revealed that the centurion not only was able to understand spiritual principles, it also meant that he truly believed that Jesus was the Son of God. If he hadn't, he would not have said that Jesus was a man under authority.

            The concluding point is this. Jesus is God, yet he was still under authority during His earthly ministry. If He had to be under authority in order to have authority, how much more is this true of us? Even when we feel like our authority figures are doing us more harm than good, God is growing us and promoting us as we remain faithful. If we refuse to submit to human authority, God will never trust us with ever increasing spiritual authority. This is why right submission is important. If you are not submitted, it is my prayer that this will motivate you to get submitted. If you are reading this and have realized that right submission in your situation is impossible, it is time to pray for God to show you where to go so that right submission is made possible. God wants to trust you with increasing spiritual authority. The question is, will you respond in obedience?