Jesus asked his disciples who do men say that I am? There were varying answers and then he asked them “but whom say ye that I am?”
Peter answered and said Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Then Jesus tells them about the death burial and resurrection and Peter’s response to this was not from God.
Mat 16:22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
Mat 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
This set of verses is a good example of the voices that influence our lives:
We need to be made sure we are listing to God instead of other people, Satan, and even our own reasoning. However, our connection with God is not just one way. We are assured that God hears our voice.
Our message from God today is that he speaks to us more than we know. His messages come in a variety of ways. Sometimes, it is “thus saith of Lord” and in others, it is a gentle voice, a small nudge, or a revelation.
Some people say they have never heard from God, but the Bible says that God wants open communication with us.
I remember a time when hardly anyone had cell phones and if you did have one you practically had to stand under a cell tower to get reception. Now most adults and some small children have cell phones, but we occasionally still have a problem with spotty reception. In the old days cell phone carriers had their marketing teams produce commercials with people repeating the phrase “Can you hear me now?” over and over into their cell phone. Occasionally, I find myself saying those exact same words when I lose reception.
Sometimes, I am curious if we feel like we have lost reception when it comes to God speaking to us? This is the kind of thinking that causes doubt. God wants us to know that he still speaks to us.
Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
We are blessed when God shares his thinking with us.
It is easy to listen to other people and allow them to mislead us. Sometimes people may share information with us that is not accurate. In some cases, they are not intentionally lying to us, they are simply sharing what they believe. In other cases, people just lie.
Mat 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
Mat 16:14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
We are blessed when we trust in God instead of man.
Most of us can say we have never heard the audible voice of Satan. In fact, when Satan influences people he implants thoughts or uses other people to spread his lies. When Jesus tells his apostles about the death burial and resurrection Peter’s response was directed by Satan.
Mat 16:22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
Mat 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offense unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
There are many examples of Satan influencing men: he provoked David to number Israel, he tempted Jesus in the wilderness, and he entered Judas to betray Jesus; but let’s focus on what he tries to do to keep us from God’s word. Let us look at the parable of the sower.
Mar 4:3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
Mar 4:4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
Let’s look at the explanation of those that fell by the way side.
Mar 4:14 The sower soweth the word.
Mar 4:15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
God has equipped us to defeat Satan
What would you say if God said, “Can you hear me now?”
First United Pentecostal Church of Tuscaloosa
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