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So we're excited about it. All right, let's go to the Word of God. I got a few minutes. Y'all got a few minutes to talk back to the preacher today. Matthew, chapter number 16, verse number 21 is where we're gonna begin the reading of God's word. It reads like this. From that time on, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day, raised to life. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. Never, Lord, he said, this shall never happen to you. And Jesus turned and said to Peter, get behind me, Satan. You're a stumbling block to me. And you do not have in mind the concerns of God, merely human concerns. I want to talk from this subject in our time together, family, in this goated volume 2 series called Self Sabotage. Here's the topic of today's teaching. This is where I draw the line. This is where I draw the line. I want to start this sermon with a statement that many of you may find startling. Here it is. It's on the screens for my note takers. Salvation not only saves your soul, it should shift your standards. I can say this with confidence because the Scriptures reveal salvation offers us more than just rescue from sin sin, it offers us a revelation of ourself. In other words, when we get saved, God not only shows us him, God also shows us us. And this revelation of who we are in Christ should lead to the elevation of the standards that we have in life. New creatures in Christ should have new standards, standards for their life. And your standards aren't rules, but your spiritual standards are a reflection of whether or not you actually believe what God says about you. He says you're the head, not the tail. Your standards reveal if you believe it. He says, you're above only, not beneath. Your standards reveal if you believe it. He says, you are chosen and beloved. Your standards reveal if you believe it, he says, I will supply all of your needs. Your standards reveal if you believe it. He says, fret not thyself because of evildoers. Your standards reveal whether or not you believe it. Because standards aren't rules. They're a reflection of what you and I believe. Standards aren't your goals, they're the ground stand. Standards aren't the ceiling, they're the floor. Standards aren't the most we want. Standards are the least we will allow. And in many instances, there are individuals who don't reach their God given goals, not because their goals are too high, but because their standards are too low. But I feel a shift in the 1215 service today where somebody in this room is sensing that since I'm shifting seasons, I gotta shift my standards to match the season that I'm in. If you feel a shift getting ready to happen in your standards, why don't you take 15 seconds and just praise God for the shift? Because the standard has to match the season. The standard has to match the season. And when standards are low, self sabotage will always be high because your standards are the object of spiritual warfare. Satan is after your standard. And the word spiritual warfare is a word that's regularly used in church but rarely explained. And so for you to understand what I mean when I say spiritual warfare, it means I've got to share with you a principle of biblical interpretation called the principle or the law of first mention. This principle, this law simply suggests that the first time something is mentioned in the Bible, your first exposure to a concept in the Bible sets the precedence for how that concept should be understood all throughout the rest of scripture. So I cannot properly understand spiritual warfare without revisiting the first time spiritual warfare is mentioned in the Bible. Any teaching about spiritual warfare that is not consistent with the first instance of spiritual warfare we see in the Bible is in danger of being in error. It doesn't matter who wrote the book, it doesn't matter who did the podcast, it doesn't matter who did the teaching. If, if a person's presentation of spiritual warfare does not align with the first time it's mentioned in scripture, it's in danger of being in error. And the first instance we see a spiritual warfare in scripture is in Genesis chapter three with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Uh huh. And here's what Adam and Eve's interaction with Satan in the Garden of Eden teach us about spiritual warfare. It teaches us that spiritual warfare doesn't begin with demonic possession. Spiritual warfare begins with Satanic suggestion. Are y'all okay? 12, 15. I said spiritual warfare doesn't begin with demonic possession. Spiritual warfare begins with Satanic suggestion. Because in the Garden of Eden, what do you see? You see Satan making a suggestion. Come on here. And Adam and Eve succumb to the suggestion that Satan makes, and they end up sabotaging their spiritual success because they succumb to a satanic suggestion. The suggestion always precedes the oppression, and the oppression always precedes the possession. Are you following me here? Yeah. So. So we see in scripture here that the issue with Adam and Eve wasn't demons. We believe in demons, the Bible teaches, but their issue wasn't demons. Their issue was their decisions. And some things the saints are blaming on demons. And the truth of the matter is that's not a demon. That was your decision. The devil was involved, but he made a suggestion, and you made a decision. It's in the text. It's in the text. I said it's in the text. I said it's in text. In the text, you see human desire, then satanic deception. No, no, no. Wait a minute. Human desire. Do you see Satanic disguise? I'm in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve are in a garden. You ever been around a garden? Wave at your boy. Wave at me. Wave online. Wave at me. You ever been around? Okay, Satan comes in the garden. Watch this looking like a snake. Wave your hand again if you've ever been around a garden. Not abnormal for snakes to show up in a garden because the devil show up looking like he belong. Come on here. Are we in the book? I'm unpacking this for you. I want you to see the devil. Don't show up looking like the devil. That's a tactic of spiritual warfare. Y'all miss what I just. A tactic of the. A tactic of Satan working is for Satan to disguise himself in a way. What we don't see is him working. It look normal, but it's a snake. He shows up. Not with horns. Don't show up with horns. He shows up looking like Help. Here to help you. I'm here to take you to another level. I'm here to help you scale your business. I'm here to help you build your brand. Yeah. So there's human desire, then there's satanic disguise. Then there's satanic deception. No, no. If you eat that, you won't die. Then there's satanic distortion, which isn't an outright lie, but it's twisting of the truth. God knows in the day that you eat, you will be like him. Well, According to Genesis 1:26, they already made in his image and in his likeness. So there's human desire, satanic disguise, Satanic deception, Satanic distortion, a human decision to eat the fruit, and then life destruction. But Genesis 3 doesn't just reveal that Satan engages in spiritual warfare. It reveals how he engages in spiritual warfare. Are y'all ready for this? The other services got real quiet about this time, but I know this. 12:15, this. Okay, I said, y'all ready for this? I want to show you something because Adam Compromised a spiritual standard. But I want to show you what the devil used to get him to do it. Let me hold the book. When I say this, I just feel better. He weaponized a relationship to orchestrate self sabotage. I'm trying not to run. I got 12 minutes. Are y'all all right? Did Adam get the fruit from Satan? He got it from Eve. Because Satan will weaponize relationships to orchestrate self sabotage. The devil knows they won't lay down their standard for me, but they might lay down their standard for them. Oh, so let me use them to get them to lay down a standard. They would not lay it down any other way. So I'm going to send someone in disguise, and I'm going to engage in deception, and then I'm going to have them engage in distortion. So they rationalize their dysfunctional behavior. And then they make a decision that leads to self destruction. And then they're going to be mad at God when they're the ones that's responsible for eating the fruit. He weaponized a relationship. He did it in the Garden of Eden with Adam. I said, he did it in the Garden of Eden with Adam. I said, he did it in the Garden of Eden with Adam. And he tried to do it in the text with the second Adam. Who's the second Adam? Paul calls Jesus the second Adam or the last Adam. So he tried it with the first Adam, and it worked. But he tried it with the second Adam, and it didn't. He tried it with the first Adam, and it worked. And he tried it with the second Adam, and it didn't. He tried it with the first version and it worked. But then he tried it with the new version and it didn't work. And some things that the devil tried on the first version of you will not work on this version of you. Because this, this is where I draw the line. This is where I stop letting you talk to me like that. This is where I stop letting you use me like that. This is where I stop letting you devalue what God has put on the inside of me. This we see it right here in the text. What he did successfully with the first Adam, he tried to do with the second Adam. Matthew, chapter 16. Contextually, Jesus in Matthew 16 has asked his disciples a question. He say, hey, y'all, come here. They say, what's up, Jesus? He say, I know the street's talking. Who do men say that I am? And they stop start telling him what they heard. He said, cool. Now who do you say that I am? I want you to See the importance of this question? Okay, so he asked the disciples, who do people say that I am? Then he asked them, who do you say that I am? I know what they say, but what do you say? Because we're at a point in our journey where we at chapter 16, and some stuff's getting ready to turn. And I need to know before some things turn, that you know who I am. Come on here now. Now, why I'm asking you this in chapter 16? Because we've been through enough chapters. Well, you should be clear now. If you still questioning. There's nothing else I can do to answer questions at this point. And some of us have to realize the importance of getting to a point where you recognize the danger of being connected with people who don't know who you are. Oh, gosh. You asking me to go there? You don't know who I am? You asking me to do that? You don't know who I am. You're asking me to give. Come on here. You don't know who I am. And some of us are confused because you're conflating people knowing who you were with them knowing who you are. So Peter says, you are Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus responds to Peter and says, okay, flesh and blood didn't reveal that to you. My Father who's in heaven had to reveal that to you. In other words, the only way you're able to get me is because of God. It took God to help you get me that the only way you can see me, right, is God has to help you see me. Did you hear what? Did you hear what I just said? Because there were other people that were seeing him, but they didn't see him. The Pharisees were seeing him, but they didn't see him. They were looking at him, but they didn't see him. But there was something that God had placed on the inside of him. God the Father had assigned to him and Peter. And Jesus says to Peter, only God. And here's some of our struggle. You try to have people get you who hadn't got God. It take God to help you understand me? It help God. It takes God to help you see me. He says, flesh and blood didn't reveal that to you, but my Father who's in heaven. So this is amazing exchange that Jesus has with Peter. But check this out. Don't hold your amens. Now, I got five minutes and 47 seconds. Don't hold the amens. Here it is. Watch what happens. Y'all ready for this? He goes from being Praised in one moment, to rebuked in another, because the text says after this exchange, from that time on, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and must suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests, the teachers of the law, that he must be killed on the third day and raised to life. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him and said, never Lord, this shall never happen to you. And Jesus turned to Peter and said, get behind me, Satan. Now let's be honest, that response is a little extra. I mean Peter's just like, I'm just saying I don't want you to die. Like I say, I want you to die. You call me a devil. That's a lot, Jesus. But he's not calling out Peter, he's calling out Satan. He's not calling Peter a devil, he's letting Satan know, I see you trying to weaponize this relationship. How so? He's not talking to Peter, he's talking to Satan and says, satan, you're trying to use this relationship. Says, I see what you're trying to do. And so Jesus response to this shows us that the way you resist. I'm dontario. Satan weaponizing. No I'm not. I got three minutes. Satan weaponized. I need all three of these things. The way you resist Satan weaponizing relationships is to make sure you raise and hold biblical relational standards. Because the enemy wanted to use good intentions to cause Jesus to abandon an assignment. So I want to show you three things I see Jesus did in the text that we can apply to our own lives. This is the teaching ministry. I'm a teacher, so I want to give you some practical points. Biblical truth for everyday life. So here it is. Here's the first thing I see Jesus did. He refused to confuse biblical love with toxic loyalty. Why does loving you have to kill me? That's not love, that's toxic. Let me go to this side. Let me. No, I'm coming right back here. I said, why does love, why does loving you have to kill me? He didn't confuse biblical love with toxic loyalty. And if I had time, oh if I had time, if I had time, I would show you how the enemy will use people to weaponize your relationship with God against you, to manipulate you into self sabotaging behavior. And so they try to. Are you hearing what I'm saying? They'll say things like, and you supposed to be a Christian and I am and I'm still not giving you money. Let me go to this side. Yeah, and you still can't get my money. They try to weaponize Jesus loved Peter, but he wouldn't allow his love to make him so loyal that he compromised a spiritual standard. Love not the same as loyalty. When that loyalty requires you to compromise truth, when the loyalty leads you away from God, it's not biblical. It's toxic and toxic. Loyalty is when your commitment to someone else overrides your commitment to God. It's when saying yes to people becomes more important than saying yes to purpose. And Jesus didn't rebuke Peter because he stopped loving him. He rebuked Peter because he refused to let that love turn into bondage. Love without boundaries becomes manipulation. I can't believe you wouldn't do that for me. I can't believe you asked me. You say, if I love you, I would do it. I say, if you love me, you wouldn't ask me to. You gonna pay my bills if I lose this job? You go, y'all aren't talking to me. Number two. Number two, he refused to confuse cultural niceness with kingdom kindness. I'm gonna have to come back and do a whole teaching on this because this is something the enemy used in my life. Cultural niceness versus Kingdom kindness. Nice is a cultural construct. What it means depends on who you ask. For some people, no is the same as being mean. That's not nice because I told you no. The Bible calls us to kindness. And the opposite of niceness isn't rudeness, it's realness. The opposite of niceness isn't meanness, it's maturity. Because cultural niceness is a behavior rooted in societal expectations of politeness, agreeableness, and conflict avoidance. It prioritizes keeping the peace over telling the truth, managing appearances over pursuing authenticity, making people feel comfortable at the expense of personal conviction and spiritual integrity. It says, don't rock the boat when we all know the boat's sinking, we on the Titanic. But Kingdom kindness is the fruit of the Spirit, rooted in love and truth and in the character of Christ, is compassionate but not compromising. It's tender, but it's truthful. It seeks the highest good for others, even when it requires courageous conversations and uncomfortable confrontations. Kingdom kindness is not in love with being liked. And Second Way Church's distortion of biblical love has made us reckless with our hearts. We've been taught to give unlimited access to people, regardless of their fruit, and to endlessly extend trust without evidence of trustworthiness. And we call that Christlike love. But Jesus himself, while loving everyone, did not entrust himself to Everyone. And at some point, what we are calling giving the benefit of the doubt is refusing to see fruit he didn't confuse. And I want you to just. I want you to reflect. Just sit still for a moment. I want you to think, how many times have you and I confuse cultural niceness with kingdom kindness? That's warfare. It ain't the demon that's killing you. We're giving demons way too much credit. Come on here, Number three. He refused to let his care become a cage. He cared for Peter, but he didn't let that care become a cage. That stopped him from carrying out his purpose. Here's the thing. Some of you like me. You love really hard. You're generous with your heart. And that's great for everybody but us. Where my real sex. Like, everybody's having a great time like this. And we're like, this kind of. This is trash. It's not. You know what I mean? It's like this. Everybody having a good time. You're like, man, wow. And sometimes your care for people will cause you to end up unconsciously in a cage. Because you care for them so much, you assume a line of responsibility that only God's responsible for. So Jesus is like, peter, I love you, but I have to leave because I got to go to the Father. But I trust God, the same one who's taking care of me. I trust him to take care of you. I can't let my care become a cage. That's warfare. The enemy will use good things in bad ways. Come on, let's be honest. And sometimes your good heart has been responsible for you living through some bad times. That's the warfare. But today the Holy Spirit is speaking to us. I need to shift those standards. I'm getting ready to pray something. This is the only service I need. Everybody still for two minutes. It's the only service I feel this prompting right now. Let me obey this prompting. I want to pray for some people. Because you can't shift the standard until you close the door on that season. There are some wounds God got to deal with because if not, the pain of the past will keep you imprisoned to a season that keeps your standards at a state and in a place that's less than God's best for you. You can't shift until you heal. So I'm getting ready to pray for you because your good heart has caused you some bad pain. And it doesn't mean people were evil. It just means they were imperfect. Some of them unequipped to handle a heart like yours. They don't understand it. And whatever you don't understand, you end up abusing. I hear you, Holy Ghost. I hear you. And you've been stuffing that pain in the closet of your soul. And God's like, at some point we got to clean that out. Because if you don't, it's going to make you less generous. And generosity is your calling. Your good heart is your asset. And the devil wants to take that asset. And what God's trying to show you is I don't want you to be less generous. I want you to be more wise. Don't be less generous. Don't let the devil use pain to shape you into somebody different than who God's called you to be. And listen to me, I speak this word over you. Is what Paul told believers at Ephesus. What you make happen for another man or woman, God will make happen for you, he didn't say they would make happen for you. So when you're good to people, you don't obligate people, God obligates himself. He says, I'm gonna make it happen for you. You got a harvest coming. And that harvest is who you've been to others. God almighty God's gonna send somebody to get after you. So I'm going to pray this prayer. It's going to be our benediction. If you're here today and you've never made decision.