Get Behind Me, Satan: Resisting False Idols and the Cares of This World
Brother Jim Shaw preaches on Jesus's wilderness temptation in Luke 4, warning that comforts, riches, and everyday cares of family and money can quietly become idols that choke out the Word of God, and he urges listeners to take the narrow road to Christ.
Deception, Comfort, and the Only Way to God
Brother Jim Shaw opens the broadcast by turning to Jesus's repeated warning in Matthew 24 not to be deceived, noting that if Christ warns believers so many times, deception must pose a real danger. He says people are often deceived through comforts, which can quietly become gods in their own right. Brother Jim states plainly that there is only one way to the Father, through the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, who suffered, died on a cross, and rose again as the Lamb of God, the extreme sacrifice. Outside of that, he says, the world is run by devils who tempt people into sin and prey on the soul and the spirit. He lists hatred, misused sexuality, bitterness, unforgiveness, revenge, and idol worship as struggles common to all people, insisting that Christ alone offers freedom from them, not any other religion or belief system.
The Wilderness Temptation in Luke 4
Brother Jim Shaw turns to Luke 4 and the second stage of Jesus's wilderness temptation, when Satan meets him directly after the Holy Spirit has led him into the desert. He describes how the devil takes Jesus to a high mountain and shows him all the kingdoms of the world in a single moment of time, each kingdom carrying its own riches, women, parties, and reputation. Brother Jim quotes the devil's offer: all authority and glory over these kingdoms would be given to Jesus if only he would worship Satan, since that authority had been delivered to the devil to give to whomever he chooses. He reminds listeners that Jesus was fully man, conceived by the Holy Ghost yet born of a woman under the law, and so was tempted exactly as any person is tempted. Unlike his listeners, though, Brother Jim notes, Jesus also carried the unique power to forgive sins.
Idols Hidden in Everyday Blessings
Brother Jim Shaw applies the temptation account to daily life, warning that people can turn almost anything into an idol: reputation, education, the medical community, women, partying, cars, houses, or a paycheck. Because Satan claims authority to hand these things to whomever he wishes, Brother Jim urges listeners to make sure that any blessing in their life truly comes from the Lord Jesus Christ rather than assuming a comfort or an addition to their life is automatically a blessing. He says the only real blessing is the revelation that Jesus died on the cross for sin and that believers have been reborn as new creations, with old things passed away and all things made new. Brother Jim describes the human body as a rental unit and a temple in which the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost dwell, urging listeners to accept that they will die and to hold onto that simple truth of Christ.
Get Behind Me, Satan
Brother Jim Shaw reads Jesus's answer to the devil: 'Get behind me, Satan, for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.' He frames this as Jesus confronting Satan directly, refusing to worship a defeated king over kingdoms destined to turn to dust. Brother Jim then turns the lesson toward his listeners, confessing how easily people set goals and visions in front of themselves, quietly reasoning that enough money would bring them what they want. He prays aloud for mercy on this tendency and warns that Satan often works by blurring vision with things rather than outright rebellion. He introduces Mark chapter 4 as the next warning, describing how the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things can enter a person's life and choke out the word of God that lives within them.
Cares of This World, Family, and Money
Brother Jim Shaw explains that the cares of this world named in Mark 4:19 can include ordinary things such as concern for children, parents, or a spouse, and he stresses that caring for family is right unless that care begins to rule a person's life above Christ. He argues that the best gift for a family is a parent or spouse who is fully sold out to Jesus, someone who recognizes every breath as a gift from God and has been born from above rather than shaped only by upbringing, education, or church attendance. Turning to money, Brother Jim calls it the closest worldly substitute for the Holy Spirit, capable of imitating peace, joy, comfort, and contentment until death forces a reckoning with eternity. He reminds listeners that life is a vapor and a blade of grass that will pass away, urging them to renew their minds with that truth, raise the shield of faith, and resist slowly conforming to the world's values.
Bearing Fruit on the Narrow Road
Brother Jim Shaw warns that when the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word of God, the result is an unfruitful life, one that fails to produce the fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control. Without that fruit, he says, bitterness, revenge, envy, and lust take its place instead. He describes the Christian life as a war and a continual trial, comparing it to how the Lord tested his people in the Old Testament and insisting that no believer can escape being tested. Brother Jim pictures this testing as a fork in the road, one path wide and easy, the other narrow, and urges listeners repeatedly to take the narrow road toward Jesus rather than the world's wide path. He closes the broadcast by calling listeners to accept Jesus Christ, live through him, and let him fight their battles, ending with a blessing and amen.
