Lindsay Roberts
Jesus spoke to Peter one day, “Get thee behind me, Satan; thou art an offence unto me; for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those than be of men (Matthew 16:23).
Now Jesus wasn’t calling Peter a devil. Peter was one of His closest followers. Peter knew that Jesus was the Christ, and Jesus had just told him that He was going to build His Church on the very kind of faith that Peter had! But, at that instant, when Peter tried to talk Jesus out of going to the Cross and dying and being resurrected three days later… Jesus recognized that the devil was speaking through Peter to Him.
Many times people… even well-meaning… come into our lives and they do not speak God’s words to us. We need to recognize that if it’s not in line with the Word of God, no matter how sincere, it’s not God. God’s words are full of faith, full of life and full of love. Peter wasn’t demon possessed. However, his words said something that was contrary to God’s purpose for Jesus’ life. We have to recognize that there will be people, even well-intended people, who will come to you and say something that is contrary to God’s purposes for your life.
How can you recognize when this is happening? Listen to what they say. Separate the message of the person from the person. Hear their words. Evaluate their message and its meaning. Judge the message of the person, not the messenger.
Tomorrow, I want to share with you four types of statements to resist in love when a person is not speaking God’s Word to you.