Simon Says What?
Scripture Reading: Matthew 16:13-23
13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His
disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others
Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the
living God.”
17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah,
for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in
heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will
build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19
And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you
bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth
will be loosed in heaven.”
20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He
was Jesus the Christ.
21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to
Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it
from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an
offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things
of men.”
I’m sure Yeshua knew there would be those who would question who He is. He
takes the time here to lay it all out for us. Put all the cards on the table, so to
speak. First He asks who men say He is. So they throw out some of the ideas
they have heard around. John the Baptist, Jeremiah, Elijah. Then He puts them
on the spot by asking them directly who they say He is. Now here comes fearless
Simon, the one who had the courage to get out of the boat and actually walk on
the water. He puts it all out there. Any question of who He is should be gone for
these disciples. He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. God was able to use
Simon to relay this knowledge because Simon was willing to be used.
This is where Yeshua renames Simon to Peter which means rock, but not because
he was big and strong. And not because he was supposed to be Jesus’ earthly
replacement, as some believe. As if there is any possibility of Him being
replaceable. No, He renamed him because of this information that came through
him. This information, not Peter himself in the flesh, is the rock upon which the
church is to be built. The knowledge of Jesus Christ, Messiah, Son of God.
After this, He begins telling what He’ll have to go through; the suffering, the
death. And here comes Simon Peter again but this time to rebuke the Master.
Isaiah 45:9 - “ Woe to him who strives with his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’?
What in the world was Peter thinking to attempt to rebuke the Master who he had
just confirmed was the Messiah, Son of the Living God? You see, Simon Peter
was willing to be used, but by whom is he being used this time? Yeshua makes it
abundantly clear saying, “Get behind me Satan!” This time it is the enemy who
was using him, though only a few paragraphs before it was God.
A few years ago I came across a study titled Fear vs. Love. The writer made
some excellent points that have stuck with me. We have heard that the enemy
uses fear to influence us while God is a God of love. The writer of this study was
like, either you are being used by God, or you are being used by the
enemy…period! I agree with the spirit of the comment but believe there is more to
it than that. As we see in the scripture reading today with Peter, it can be a
constantly changing thing. It’s not an absolute science. Someone who is not
saved can have an urge to do something good and do it. And in the same way,
someone who is saved can let themselves get angry or offended and be used by
the enemy.
This is why we have to be extra careful. At any time we are susceptible to be used
by the enemy against the kingdom. We have to put on the full armor of God to
protect ourselves.
Romans 9:21 - Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the
same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
The lump of clay can be made into a vessel of honor or a vessel of dishonor. The
clay is obviously us. Just as Peter was used for honor and then for dishonor, so
can we be. We must stay on our toes not to allow the enemy a foothold.
Psalm 139:10-13
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
You see, God has been working on us from the moment we were in our mothers’
wombs. Before our mothers knew of us, He knew us. He has been molding us
and forming us all along the way. Have you ever watched someone making a jar
or something on a potter’s wheel? It may not look like much at first, but as they
press here and smooth there whatever they are making begins to become more
clear. But just let the wrong area be press or poked in the wrong way and what
was once a thing of beauty becomes a big mess. The enemy wants to press and
poke and ruin what God intends for His glory. But the only way he can come in is
if we open the door to him and allow him. We are ambassadors for Christ and as
such it would dishonor Him if we allow ourselves to be used for dishonor by the
enemy.
Revelation 12:11-12
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of
their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12
Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the
inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you,
having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
They overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Do you
know what it means to overcome? I have watched my son and others play video
games. There are times when they will get to a particularly difficult level. I can
remember my son saying that he could not get passed a particular bad guy or
whatever. Then invariably he’ll come back some time later and say, “I did it! I got
to the next level.” At which point he goes into details that leave me clueless. The
point is that he overcame the level, the challenge. The ‘they’ is the believers,
those whose names are in the Lamb’s book of life. The verse says that they
overcame by the blood of the Lamb, the blood of Jesus.
Okay, we know of the importance of the blood of Christ but look at what comes. It
says and the word of their testimony. Our testimony is put in the same breath as
the blood of Jesus. We have to be confident in the knowledge that the enemy,
though it may seem that he can overcome us, cannot overcome us when we are in
Christ.
Isaiah 54:17 - No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the LORD.
No matter what the enemy sends against us those two things will overcome, the
blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. None of the weapons of the
enemy will prosper. We probably have an idea of how important the blood is but
do we realize how important our testimony is to the kingdom? How do you think it
affects our testimony when we allow ourselves to be used by the enemy? Make
no mistake unbelievers are watching you.
2 Corinthians 5:20 - Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though
God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be
reconciled to God.
We cannot forget that we are ambassadors for the kingdom. We represent our
Master. We must learn to recognize the tricks of the enemy so we can resist his
attempts to use us, because he is certainly going to try his best to use us. Let us
be aware of the things that can influence us so we can learn to control those
things.
Proverbs 13:17 - A wicked messenger falls into trouble,
But a faithful ambassador brings health.
Let us be the faithful ambassador that brings health and not the wicked
messenger.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: September 7, 2008
Scripture Reading: Matthew 16:13-23
13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His
disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others
Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the
living God.”
17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah,
for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in
heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will
build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19
And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you
bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth
will be loosed in heaven.”
20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He
was Jesus the Christ.
21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to
Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it
from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an
offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things
of men.”
I’m sure Yeshua knew there would be those who would question who He is. He
takes the time here to lay it all out for us. Put all the cards on the table, so to
speak. First He asks who men say He is. So they throw out some of the ideas
they have heard around. John the Baptist, Jeremiah, Elijah. Then He puts them
on the spot by asking them directly who they say He is. Now here comes fearless
Simon, the one who had the courage to get out of the boat and actually walk on
the water. He puts it all out there. Any question of who He is should be gone for
these disciples. He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. God was able to use
Simon to relay this knowledge because Simon was willing to be used.
This is where Yeshua renames Simon to Peter which means rock, but not because
he was big and strong. And not because he was supposed to be Jesus’ earthly
replacement, as some believe. As if there is any possibility of Him being
replaceable. No, He renamed him because of this information that came through
him. This information, not Peter himself in the flesh, is the rock upon which the
church is to be built. The knowledge of Jesus Christ, Messiah, Son of God.
After this, He begins telling what He’ll have to go through; the suffering, the
death. And here comes Simon Peter again but this time to rebuke the Master.
Isaiah 45:9 - “ Woe to him who strives with his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’
Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’?
What in the world was Peter thinking to attempt to rebuke the Master who he had
just confirmed was the Messiah, Son of the Living God? You see, Simon Peter
was willing to be used, but by whom is he being used this time? Yeshua makes it
abundantly clear saying, “Get behind me Satan!” This time it is the enemy who
was using him, though only a few paragraphs before it was God.
A few years ago I came across a study titled Fear vs. Love. The writer made
some excellent points that have stuck with me. We have heard that the enemy
uses fear to influence us while God is a God of love. The writer of this study was
like, either you are being used by God, or you are being used by the
enemy…period! I agree with the spirit of the comment but believe there is more to
it than that. As we see in the scripture reading today with Peter, it can be a
constantly changing thing. It’s not an absolute science. Someone who is not
saved can have an urge to do something good and do it. And in the same way,
someone who is saved can let themselves get angry or offended and be used by
the enemy.
This is why we have to be extra careful. At any time we are susceptible to be used
by the enemy against the kingdom. We have to put on the full armor of God to
protect ourselves.
Romans 9:21 - Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the
same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
The lump of clay can be made into a vessel of honor or a vessel of dishonor. The
clay is obviously us. Just as Peter was used for honor and then for dishonor, so
can we be. We must stay on our toes not to allow the enemy a foothold.
Psalm 139:10-13
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall fall on me,”
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
You see, God has been working on us from the moment we were in our mothers’
wombs. Before our mothers knew of us, He knew us. He has been molding us
and forming us all along the way. Have you ever watched someone making a jar
or something on a potter’s wheel? It may not look like much at first, but as they
press here and smooth there whatever they are making begins to become more
clear. But just let the wrong area be press or poked in the wrong way and what
was once a thing of beauty becomes a big mess. The enemy wants to press and
poke and ruin what God intends for His glory. But the only way he can come in is
if we open the door to him and allow him. We are ambassadors for Christ and as
such it would dishonor Him if we allow ourselves to be used for dishonor by the
enemy.
Revelation 12:11-12
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of
their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12
Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the
inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you,
having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
They overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Do you
know what it means to overcome? I have watched my son and others play video
games. There are times when they will get to a particularly difficult level. I can
remember my son saying that he could not get passed a particular bad guy or
whatever. Then invariably he’ll come back some time later and say, “I did it! I got
to the next level.” At which point he goes into details that leave me clueless. The
point is that he overcame the level, the challenge. The ‘they’ is the believers,
those whose names are in the Lamb’s book of life. The verse says that they
overcame by the blood of the Lamb, the blood of Jesus.
Okay, we know of the importance of the blood of Christ but look at what comes. It
says and the word of their testimony. Our testimony is put in the same breath as
the blood of Jesus. We have to be confident in the knowledge that the enemy,
though it may seem that he can overcome us, cannot overcome us when we are in
Christ.
Isaiah 54:17 - No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the LORD.
No matter what the enemy sends against us those two things will overcome, the
blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. None of the weapons of the
enemy will prosper. We probably have an idea of how important the blood is but
do we realize how important our testimony is to the kingdom? How do you think it
affects our testimony when we allow ourselves to be used by the enemy? Make
no mistake unbelievers are watching you.
2 Corinthians 5:20 - Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though
God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be
reconciled to God.
We cannot forget that we are ambassadors for the kingdom. We represent our
Master. We must learn to recognize the tricks of the enemy so we can resist his
attempts to use us, because he is certainly going to try his best to use us. Let us
be aware of the things that can influence us so we can learn to control those
things.
Proverbs 13:17 - A wicked messenger falls into trouble,
But a faithful ambassador brings health.
Let us be the faithful ambassador that brings health and not the wicked
messenger.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: September 7, 2008