Get Behind Me, Satan!

Hey everyone. Thank you for having me. My name is John Alexander. I’m a teaching pastor at a church here in Minnesota. I’ve spoken here a few times and I’m so grateful to be back. Let me just say: Whenever I pass by Renovation, I pray for you. I’ll shoot David a text and just express my gratitude for this church. Your senior pastor, David Sorn, is a good friend and a man I deeply admire. Today, I want to begin by asking a question: Have you ever been tempted to go the opposite direction of where you were supposed to go? To do the opposite thing you knew you were supposed to do? Of course you have. We all have. Such is life. A series of decisions and directions. One way is the way we feel like someone, something, perhaps if you believe in God, is leading us. The other way feels contrary to the way you know you’re supposed to go. The way you feel like God is leading. And yet, how often do we end up choosing the wrong direction or making the wrong choice? Too often. This last fall, I went on a serious, focused health journey. Health in all areas – emotional, spiritual, and physical. Physically, this wasn’t just an eat less sugar and run once in a while. No this was 6 months of counting macros, getting my 10,000 steps, and doing CrossFit. Why? Because I was turning 40 last November, and I felt passionate that I wanted to be in as good of shape as possible in all areas – rather than just limping into my 40s. Well, here’s one problem that got in the way: I love Crumbl Cookie. Anyone ever experience the glory of a Crumbl Cookie? Have you ever looked up the calorie and macro information in a Crumbl Cookie? Here’s a suggestion: Don’t. Right smack in the middle of being in the groove of losing some weight and feeling good about myself, my wife Emily went and got Crumbl Cookie. We are a family of 4 and often buy 4 cookies. They’re big and hearty, so we often cut them up into 4 pieces each. 4 cookies cut 4 ways is 16 pieces. Well, I allowed myself a tiny 1/4 piece and then went to bed. The next morning, I woke up and saw the cookies on the counter. 4 of the 16 remaining pieces. Which equals, 1 whole cookie. Sure, I could have maybe eaten one 1/4 and then left the final 3 pieces – maybe generously for the other members of my family. I knew that’s what I should have done. But I looked, I fantasized, and then I took. All 4. I mean, it was their fault they weren’t awake yet. Right? When they woke up, one of my kids said, “Where did my crumbl cookie go?” I said, “I have no idea.” No, kidding. I confessed, but in that moment, I didn’t do what I knew what I was supposed to do and instead took all the Crumbl for myself. Why? Because I’m a selfish, sinful, comfort seeking, Crumbl loving human being who’d rather do what I think is best for me versus what is actually best. And some of you are too – which is why you’re headed straight to Crumbl right after the service. Today, we’re continuing on in the book of Mark, specifically in Mark 8, where we’ve been for the last several weeks. And I’ll be teaching out of Mark 8:31 33. If you’d like, you can grab the bibles under your chairs, open them to page 689. We’re going to see a dilemma. Jesus is telling the disciples about what he needed to do. But then the disciples, Peter in particular, had a really hard time agreeing that’s the way things were supposed to go – especially if they were gonna follow Jesus. It definitely wasn’t the direction of personal comfort. Here’s what it says: 31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Let’s go through this a little at a time. First, notice the first two words of verse 31, He then… If He THEN or Jesus THEN is doing something, that means John Mark, the author of this book of the Bible, is intentionally trying to contrast what is happening NOW v. what was happening before. It’s critical we don’t miss this. In this section, there is a significant shift that begins to happen in Mark. Up until this point, Jesus taught broadly to crowds of people, which included his disciples, about the coming Kingdom of God. How God was working through Jesus to bring about healing and restoration. But he then? He then began to teach THEM – who? – the disciples – the 12 – specifically. A disciple was a pupil or learner. These were the 12 who were chosen by Jesus to completely obey and follow his teaching. He then began to NOW teach the disciples SPECIFICALLY that the Son of Man must suffer. Jesus is the Son of Man. He’s teaching them this whole Kingdom and reign of God that he’s ushering in is going to be brought about by suffering. Through rejection. And eventual death. This was a shift for the disciples. Up until this point, they were hopeful, like most of the Jewish community, that the Messiah would become their King. They were in agreement about that. But they didn’t have a framework for how that Kingdom would come about with any kind of suffering or death. Full credit to pastor and author David Platt who taught through this so well when I was researching this message. He said, the Jewish community anticipated a Messiah who would become King, but they had a different version in mind. Who did the Jewish people want Jesus to be? They wanted someone who would… Save their nation. From the Romans and conquering kingdoms. Give them power. Power back from the Romans, either by the sword or via politics, as David mentioned a few weeks ago. Make them prosperous. Provide them with the resources they felt they deserved. Draw the crowds. Like the scribes and priests who could draw a crowd, their King would be popular. Not demand their lives. They wanted MORE power. MORE prosperity. Not lose those things. That’s why John Mark says Jesus spoke plainly. He needed to. This wasn’t what they were expecting. There’s no sugarcoating what’s gonna happen. By the way, they’re the disciples. They follow and obey the teacher at all costs. They’re starting to put it together, wait, if Jesus is gonna suffer and die a brutal death, are we also? And Jesus is beginning to teach that the Messiah, me, the one you’ve been waiting for, actually is… The Savior of the Nations. Not just their nation. Humble son of man. Forget power, instead, he often would say, “Don’t tell anyone about me.” Why? Because they weren’t getting it yet. He wasn’t seeking to increase his earthly clout and power. Suffering Servant. Forget prosperity. I’m gonna lose it all. You may have to as well. Despised by the crowds. Sometimes after he taught, the crowds would disperse because who could follow his teaching? It felt too costly. King who will conquer by being killed. The demand on their lives was everything, even to the point of death. Because that’s the example Jesus was going to give. That’s why Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, in verse 32, took Jesus aside. Can you imagine? Hey Jesus. Can I talk with you a second? Privately? Like, did you hear yourself talking, Jesus? You just said some crazy talk. You said you’re going to suffer, be rejected, and die. But more than questioning; the scripture says Peter REBUKED him. This is a strong word. More than just a question; this is a challenge to Jesus saying, You can’t be serious. This isn’t right. You’re wrong. Verse 33: But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. Once again, this is strong. Jesus uses nearly the exact same words when he’s tempted by Satan in the desert in Matthew 4. Be gone, Satan. Peter, you are being influence by Satan. Why is he so upset? End of verse 33: “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” You care more about yourself and humans than God. That’s what Satan cares about. Jesus got tough with his words and his challenge. Speaking of getting tough with words, I coach a 13 baseball team for White Bear Lake. I’ve been this team’s coach for 5 years. I was already annoyed with them after one game. They played like they’d never played baseball before. So I said, “Have you never played baseball before?” Passive aggressive, mocking questions, are not great coaching, fwiw. But I got tough on them. Told them to show up next game, ready to play, and be prepared for the battle. For the challenge. For the game. By the way, I love these young men, deeply. Some I’ve known since they were this tall. Now their voices are cracking and some are almost as tall as me. I love them like my own son, who is on the team. But that doesn’t mean I don’t get tough on them; I do. If they’re going to become not only better baseball players but better men of character, they need tough words sometimes. I picture Jesus in a similar way. He gets tough. Challenging. Incorrectly, sometimes we think: Wait, isn’t Jesus all loving? All full of grace and kindness and kittens and golden retriever puppies? Speaking of which, we have a new golden retriever puppy. You should see his eyes. Cooper. But we don’t let his eyes deceive us. He is still a sinner who needs tough love. The same is true with us. Love is not going easy on people or refusing to correct; Love is being willing to say the hard thing and be challenging when we need it. And when do we need it? Well, if we’re anything like the disciples who lived when Jesus lived and walked where Jesus walked… All. The. Time. One of the reasons I love the Word of God so much is that while Jesus is speaking directly to the disciples, he is also directly speaking to us. For those of us who want to model our life after Jesus. For those who want to place our faith in the one who walked this earth as God in the flesh. So here’s the challenging question that’s not just for the disciples; but for us today: Do care more about the concerns of humans or the concerns of God? Let me give you 3 questions to ask ourselves to determine what we care about most: Are we more concerned about who we are in private or public? As we move through Mark, we’ll find more and more Jesus saying to the disciples; Hey, what I just told you. Shhh. Don’t go telling everyone about it. Please. Last week, we looked at Mark 8:30 after Peter confessed spoke out loud that he believed Jesus was the Messiah they’d been waiting for. After, the passage says, Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. Why would he do that? Because he cared more about who they were becoming in private before they ever went public with their teaching and ministry. And what was happening in their hearts and minds still needed to be worked out privately before they’d ever be effective publicly in the Kingdom of God. Although culturally it seems we are examining social media and our public presence to the point it makes me nauseous, maybe you too, it goes without saying in today’s world this may be as difficult as ever. To care more about what’s happening privately v. publicly out there online or in the world. Because of our ability to publicly display ourselves online, this concern has become increasingly difficult to navigate. The truth is: Me, you, everyone – cares deeply what other people think about us. Our public perception. By the way, I’m not saying we shouldn’t care. I don’t think Jesus would say: It doesn’t matter at all how people perceive you. No, I think it does matter. But here’s what I believe he’s saying: If your concern for how you’re viewed publicly is greater than your concern for how God views you privately, you’re not my disciple. Get behind me, Satan. Although I can’t read Peter’s mind and heart, I’m sure he was concerned about his friend, Jesus. He didn’t want him to suffer. But he’s also concerned about his own personal reputation. He left a lot of things behind, reputation included, to follow this guy, Jesus. Now he was gonna suffer? What would his family think? His friends? Personally, I’m hyper aware of this battle of private v. public. Especially as a pastor who speaks. The last thing I want is for my kids to see me teach or say something publicly that I don’t do my best to live out privately at home. The last thing I want is to be viewed as some sort of holier than thou pastor and Christian publicly when privately I’m a sin filled, ordinary mess. I’m also so, so tired of people becoming “disciples” of celebrity pastors or Christians. How many more celebrity pastors need to have a massive fall before we say, you know what, maybe they aren’t exactly who they say they are? I’m not casting stones, by the way. I think we’re all sinners in need of a Savior. But I am warning people, myself included: Don’t put your trust and hope in social media, in your public platform, or in someone else’s social media or public platform. Our primary concern must be about who we are becoming in private, how God sees us, and how those closest to us view us. That’s why Jesus said this in Matthew 6:5 6, “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Are we concerned more about who we are in private or public? Which leads to the second question: Are we more concerned about obedience to God or comfort of self? I think this was at the core of Peter’s concern. Listen, this is eventually the guy who will become the absolute foundation and bedrock of the Christian Church for the next 2000 years. Peter was eventually said to be crucified upside down, as he felt unworthy to even be put the death the same way of Christ. But as he’s initially learning what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, my guess is he’s pretty concerned about how difficult his life is going to become. He’s concerned about his comfort. When I first became a Christian, my primary concern was that God was going to ask me to move to Africa to become a missionary. This is pathetic and a bit self deprecating, but I’m not much for the outdoors. While Minnesota men, the stereotypical ones, love hunting and fishing and the outdoors, I’d consider myself an avid indoorsman. Sure I can handle the outdoors and camping, as long as it’s in a cabin with central heating and AC and flushable toilets. So the thought of moving somewhere to be uncomfortably warm and dirty was really concerning for me. What I didn’t have in mind when becoming a Christian was that God might call me to become a pastor. And I take some solace in the fact that I haven’t completely chosen comfort over obedience. While I don’t have time to unpack the story, there were plenty of moments where I would have rather chosen a path that could have led to higher financial success or even athletic achievement. While pastor isn’t the most uncomfortable career and calling in the world, it’s up there. That’s why, at times, full confession, I find myself wavering in my call. At the core, why? Because I want more comfort. I’m just being honest. There are times I have to dutifully (sometimes painfully), one foot in front of the other, obey God instead of choose comfort. Yes, God, I’ll be a pastor as long as you ask me to be. Yes God, I care more about doing what you want rather than what I want. At this point he hasn’t called me to Africa but if he does, I’d go! I think… Don’t come ask me to move to Africa. For every person here, the question to wrestle through is are you more concerned with your comfort or obedience to God? I love this passage of scripture in Joshua. In Joshua 24:15, Joshua says to the Israelites: “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. In other words, choose what you want, but are you really going to choose what is most comfortable for you? Is that what God wants you to do? Then he says, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” There will be several times over the course of your life that you’ll have to put a stake in the ground and say, As for me and my house, we will serve and obey the Lord. No matter the cost to my comfort. Last question: Are we more concerned about suffering or glory? In our sinful nature, we are glory seekers. We want attention. We want adoration. We want glory. But what Peter was beginning to understand. What the disciples were starting to see. What they’d eventually come to learn. Is what every disciple or follower of Jesus has to eventually wrestle with. And it's this truth: There’s an element of suffering on the path to glory. Or another way to say it: You must die to self so you can truly live. Jesus actually says in Matthew 16:25, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” We can’t follow Jesus if we hold onto our life and seek our own glory. What’s best for me, myself and I. We can only follow Jesus, truly, if we loosen the grip on our life and willingly hand it over to him. Not my will, but yours be done. That’s why Paul writes in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” What might we need to crucify? Maybe it’s: Our concern about our public perception. Our concern with being liked. Our concern with comfort. Our desire for glory. And the thing is, as we crucify those things, which can feel like suffering and death, ironically and beautifully, is the only way to life. Where suddenly, as we put those things to death, we begin to have the concerns of God primarily in mind. How he sees us and our relationship with him in private. How we obey him even if it leads to suffering. Life, true life, is found there. It might feel costly, but nothing in this world is more worthy of our praise and attention other than Jesus. No matter how much suffering we experience or endure, Jesus is the path to life. In 1967, Joni Eareckson Tada, at age 17, took a dive into a body of water that left her a quadriplegic, dramatically affecting her life. While it ruined her life physically, it has not ruined her life holistically. In fact, just the opposite: Her life of unexpected suffering has become a platform to reach and inspire millions of people with the message of Jesus. But I want you to see what she says: “Nobody likes to suffer. Not even Jesus. In fact, during His public ministry, Jesus spent most of His time trying to relieve suffering. Suffering is part of the curse that fell upon this broken world when man turned his back on God. And there is nothing easy about it; nothing winsome, nothing wonderful. And Jesus knew that.” In this point, like Joni is saying, no one should desire or purposely seek suffering. BUT, in this life, suffering is inevitable. It will happen. It does happen. And when it does, suffering becomes a megaphone for God to get real glory. As she writes, “So, today, no matter how deep or shallow your cup of suffering, I encourage you to take it willingly. Show God how much faith you have in Him by embracing His will, even when it’s hard, even when it involves pain or discomfort. For you will be offering up the clearest display of what you think God is worth. When sufferings and hardships come your way, consider how you can make God look great through them. See your afflictions as a platform from which you can make Jesus look more glorious….Taking up your cross with a gracious attitude is no doubt the highest expression of your faith in God, as well as the most glorious experience you could possibly have as a follower of Jesus Christ. And I should know.” The question is: Do we care more about the concerns of other humans or the concerns of God? Because of sin, we are all full of contradiction. We’re all a work in progress. But to get to what matters most, the concerns of God, ask yourself: Am I more concerned about who I am in private or public? Do I care more about obedience to God or comfort of self? Am I more concerned about my glory or God’s glory through my suffering? Living for the concerns of God is the pathway to true life. And today, that life is available to you. By confessing sin, receiving the forgiveness Jesus offers through his death on the cross and resurrection from the grave, and making a profession of faith today, you can choose to become a follower of Jesus, today. When I’m done praying for you and have you silently pray along with me, please come and profess that faith to a prayer team member who will be up front following the closing song. Let me pray.