KEEPING SATAN OUT
(week 11/09)
Olubi Johnson
Matthew 16:21-23 ESV From 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. (22) And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” (23) But 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.”
Here we see Satan working through Peter’s emotions to try to get Jesus not to fulfill His destiny of going to the cross to die for humanity.
Many times we give place to Satan in this way through our thoughts, words and actions when our ‘eye’ or mind or conscience is not single or sound in a particular area or issue.
Luke 11:34-35 AMP Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye (your conscience) is sound and fulfilling its office, your whole body is full of light; but when it is not sound and is not fulfilling its office, your body is full of darkness. (35) Be careful, therefore, that the light that is in you is not darkness. Here your ‘eye’ refers to the mind being enlightened by your spirit or conscience:
Ephesians 1:17-18 LITV that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him, (18) the eyes of your mind having been enlightened, for you to know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
Psalms 119:130 AMP The entrance and unfolding of Your words give light; their unfolding gives understanding (discernment and comprehension) to the simple.
When your mind has not been enlightened by the Holy Spirit through the Word in a particular area, your ‘eye’ is not sound and fulfilling its office in that area and you will be walking in darkness in that area and so Satan can think, speak and act through you in that area like he did here through Peter.
Peter sincerely cared for Jesus, but he was sincerely wrong!
His mind was not enlightened concerning God’s purpose for Jesus in going to the cross so Satan was able to use that darkness as a ‘landing site’ to speak through Peter releasing spiritual power to try to stop Jesus from fulfilling His divine purpose and assignment on the earth. The Lord Jesus had to neutralize the spiritual power or death released through Peter’s mouth by immediately rebuking him.
Proverbs 18:21 AMP Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]. [Matt. 12:37.]
Anytime you put human emotions and ambitions above divine purpose and revelation you open the door to Satan to will, speak and act through you to try to abort the plan and purpose of God:
Matthew 16:23 “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.” We do this many times ignorantly and sincerely like Peter did here. So the scripture tells us:
Ephesians 4:17-18 ESV Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. (18) They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.
Ephesians 4:27 MKJV neither give place to the Devil.
Now when Satan speaks through us in this way because of our stubbornness, pride and rebellion that hinder us from getting the light of the spirit of wisdom (Pr. 11.2) and revelation, we allow the devil to use us like he uses those who make incantations in witchcraft and idolatry:
1 Samuel 15:22-24 AMP Samuel said, Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. (23) For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim (household good luck images). Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king. (24) And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
In fact this becomes even more serious when we pray in tongues in rebellion or disobedience without the love of God because the spiritual law of exponential increase in prayer power works against us for Satan, instead of for us against Satan:
1 Corinthians 13:1 ESV If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
Deuteronomy 32:30 CEV How could one enemy soldier chase a thousand of Israel’s troops? Or how could two of theirs pursue ten thousand of ours? It can only happen if the LORD stops protecting Israel and lets the enemy win.
God stops protecting us and lets the enemy win when we are not walking in His commandment which is the commandment of love!
1 John 3:22-23 ESV and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. (23) And this is his commandment that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
When we are not walking in love we are walking in darkness and so the light in us is darkness giving place to Satan like Peter did here.
1 John 2:8-11 ESV At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. (9) Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. (10) Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. (11) But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Observe that human emotions and feelings not based on the revelation of God’s Word and purpose do not express divine love; rather they are satanic tools to remove us from God’s purpose and destiny by causing us to want to save our natural life and so lose our higher spiritual life and destiny:
Matthew 16:24-25 AMP Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also]. (25) For whoever is bent on saving his [temporal] life [his comfort and security here] shall lose it [eternal life]; and whoever loses his life [his comfort and security here] for My sake shall find it [life everlasting].
So we must learn how to keep Satan from using our human emotions and feelings to keep us from divine purpose and destiny. In our article next week we see how to diligently keep Satan out.
