The offensive mind
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Matthew 16:21–25 (NKJV)
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.”
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
Jesus began to show his desciple where he was going in the Spirit,
Jesus had to come to fullfill the will of God, he was being led by the spirit to the cross, his mind was on the things of God.
Peter, having heard Jesus speak about where he was going and what was going to happen to him rebuked him.
What Jesus found as an offense was not Satan per say, but rather the mindset he represented. “For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men”
The Mindset that is concerned with the things of men is offense unto God
When we allow ourselves to be captivated by this mindset, our life becomes an offense to God.
The firts thing that we can glean from this passage of scripture.
Jesus is going where the spirit is leading and he is leading his desciples where he is going
Peter being captive of thhis mindset, the mindset of the flesh, the human mindset was coming in contradiction of where the spirit is leading.
The spirit is leading to the cross, the carnal mind was leading Peter away from it
When you are in the carnal mindset, whenever the cross is raised, you do not embrace it you run away from it.
The desciples because they were in this mindset there was part of Jesus life they were not willing to embrace, the cross.
when it finally came for the hour of suffering and crucifiction they ran.
If you operate in the carnal mind, in the mind that is set of earthly things. You will find yourself following Jesus to a certain point and when it comes to the cross you will run.
some people are afraid to face the cross, because they don’t wan’t to die to self, they wan’t to save theirl life, they love it
Matthew 16:24–25 (NKJV)
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
23 But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.
24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.
For Christ to be glorified in hour life, the hour of death must come, the hour of the cross must come.
You must fall to the ground and die, die to self, die to your desires, die to your ambition, inorder to produce much spiritual grain.
But if your love your life you will lose it, and if you hate your life in this world you will keep it for eternal life.
You have to hate the life that you have in this world, inorder to face the cross and die with Christ.
It is this love of self that is keeping us from bearing fruit in the kindgom of God, the love for this carnal mindset that is keeping Christ from being glorified in our life.
Christ wants to be glorified in our life this year but inorder for him to be so, we have to face our cross.
Jesus Christ did not die so you can live for your self.
14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;
15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
The love of Christ (the cross) compels you to die from him that died for you. Is the Cross compelling you today.
You are to no longer live for yourself but dor him who died and rose for you.
Christianity is not about living for self, whatJesus can do for you but what you can do for him for what he has done for you.
Today if the love of Christ is compelling you say hallelujah.
The carnal mind described
Romans 8:5–14 (NKJV)
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
Two things that we need to put in persepctive.
There are two way in which you can be in the flesh.
Someone who is alein to the new life in Christ, who has not been baptised in Jesus name and filled with the Spirit of God. Is always going to operate in the carnal mind and hence he will not be able to please God in anyform or shape
Someone who is born again but has not put to death the deeds of the body by the continual renewal of the Holy Ghost and by contual total submission to the HolyGhost.
This person goes in and out of the carnal mind and the spiritual mind
Sometimes we can sense our mind being consumed with earthly things, and being sometimes offended at the things of the spirit.
whem we are in this carnal mind, our desires also begin to change for the moment.We begin to desire eartly things, pursue earthly things.
Colossians 3:1–7 (NKJV)
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,
7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
Those who chose to live according to the Spirit, who yeild their lives to the things of God and not of men, they will glorified with Christ. There is glory prepared for those who surrender their life for the things of the spirit.
You need to put to death what needs to be put to death.
Luke 12:15 (NKJV)
15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
The parable of the sower.
Luke 8:11–14 (NKJV)
11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.
14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
The carnal mind is a cursed ground, it brings forth thorns and thistles.
when we operate in the carnal mind, that mind will produce thorns, desire of this world, the cares and pleasures of this life.
The word which is sown does not bring fruit, Christ that is sown in our life does not bear fruit because it is choked and killed by this thorns.
Therefore, you have to kills this thorns before you receive the word of God.
There will be those who hear this message and it will not produce anything in their life because they have allowed their heart to grow thorns that is going to kill this word
The second things God revealed to me by his Spirit concerning the passage of scripture in Matthew 16:21-25
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.”
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
Peter represents those in the Kingdom of God that constantly move between these two mindset.
Sometimes they are mindful of the things of the Spirit and sometimes they are carnal
These type of people can be come a cause of stumbling or a rock of offense to those who are completely and totally being led by the spirit of God. Thos who have set their mind, without a shadow of doubt, to follow where the spirit lead and even to the cross.
I have message for this type of people
Those of you who have not been willing to totally yeild yourself to the will of God, you who are mindfull of the things of this world. You who are self centered, always thinging about yourself.
Change your self, decide which road you want to take, because you are becoming a rock of offence not only to God but to those who whiish to to follow the spirit.
Either be totally carnal or be totally spiritual. Eaither live totatlly to yourself, think totatlly about yourself, or live totally to God.
Or else God will remove you from his presence
Isaiah 57:14 (NKJV)
14 And one shall say, “Heap it up! Heap it up! Prepare the way, Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people.”
Those who are following the spirit
This mindset will try to take hold of you and deter you from where the spirit of God is leading you
Even to the point of the cross.
30 save Yourself, and come down from the cross!”
A message for those who are attracted to those who preach worldly things
Philippians 3:17–21 (NKJV)
17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.
18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.
20 For our citizenship (KJV conversation) is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
We have a pattern and example to follow, the Apostle Paul and all those who are among us and walk according to the pattern of the Apostle Paul. ( we will see these pattern later )
They are the enemies of the cross of Christ because they preach earthly things.
They preach for your belly, to satisfy your belly, and by doing so they keep people from the cross, from denying themself. From laying down their life for the sake of Christ.
Their destination and all those who hear them and follow their pattern is destruction.
Do you want your end to be glory or destruction.
14 But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Are you crucified to the world
Has the world been crucified to you.
In other word, are you dead to the world and the world to you.
Prayer
Let us dedicate our life today to God.
if you have lived a life of an offense to God repent
If you been running away from the cross, embrace it to day ask God to embrace iT
if you have almost stubbled and be led astray from the path set before by the spirit of God because of stumbling block in the church, let God restore you.
If you have choked the word of God and killed what was suppose to bear fruit, because you heart and mind was consumed with the desires of this world . Kill those desires today by the renewal of his spirit.
if you have not experience the infilling of the Holy Ghost and you will like to be filled with his spirit come and pray.