Matthew 16:17,23 "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. . . . But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."
The Source of What You Say
We all know someone who "talks out of both sides of his mouth" or is "two-faced." What concerns me more is when two different things come out of my own mouth! Isn't it amazing how often we battle between what we should say and what we do say? Matthew 16 reminds us that there are two different sources for what we say.
Jesus asked His disciples, "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" Of course, there were a variety of answers. Then He asked, "But whom say ye that I am?" Peter actually answered correctly in verse 17! However, did the Lord praise Peter for being the smartest disciple or being brilliant? No! He said, "My Father which is in heaven [hath revealed it unto thee]." God gave Peter the answer. Peter finally got one right, yet he got none of the credit!
Only a few verses later, Peter rebutted the Lord's mission for coming to earth. Peter was encouraged when he answered the question of who Jesus was, but he was rebuked when he denied why Jesus came. Christ spoke to Peter directly in verse 23, but He rebuked the devil for Peter's words. In both cases, Peter did not get full credit because out of the same mouth came two completely different answers! Yes, Peter was still responsible for his words; but in one case God inspired his words, and in the other case Satan inspired his words.
What is coming out of your mouth? Is it sweet water or bitter water (James 3:11)? The devil will not inspire you to lay down your life, to pick up your cross, and to follow Christ. I am reminded (more times than I care to admit) that I say things that I don't want to say. Other times, when I say something good, I am tempted to think, "Boy, that was good!" The truth is, nothing worthwhile has come from my mouth that came naturally.
You are never just speaking for yourself. If you find yourself speaking for yourself, that means you are speaking for the enemy. He is the one who works through our sinful human nature. Every day you are speaking for somebody. Everything you say is coming from a source. In both cases in Matthew 16, Peter said what he said because he thought what he thought. On one occasion, the Lord was influencing his thinking. On the other occasion, the devil was using Peter's own selfish nature-the same nature that would later swear, deny Christ, and follow afar off.
When you speak this morning, you will speak from a source and for somebody. Who is influencing your thinking? Who is the source for what you say?
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