How the Enemy Attacks- Plot 2

When you are obedient to God and His purposes, then you are also in opposition to God's enemies and those that the enemy uses to strategizes against God's Kingdom. Great! It's assured by Jesus in the Bible that Christian will face persecution, hardship, and attack. Satan will oppose us when we pursuing God and build His Kingdom. The principles of how the enemy attacks and the antidote to those plots are found in Ezra and Nehemiah, which Lifehouse studied in January.

The enemies first attack - friendship and flattery.

His second line of attack is just the opposite - insults and ridicule.

When friendliness and flattery don't work to slow you down or stop God's work in your life, then expect mocking and insults.

Here's some humor to illustrate this second plot of the enemy.



Now, for a less sacrilegious example straight from the Bible,


When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?”
3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!” Nehemiah 4:1-3, NIV.

Do you notice the patter when you read? Sanballat and Tobiah were angry, so they ridiculed the people, mocked Nehemiah, and made fun of their "great efforts" and belittled them.

Plot 2 - what does the enemy hope to accomplish through insult and ridicule?

• to discourage us,
• to make us feel like failures,
• to make us doubt God and His power in us,
• so that we'll give up and stop working for God's Kingdom.

Nehemiah's response and our principle to overcome the enemy's strategies?

Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Nehemiah 4:4, NIV.

The antidote to Plot 2?

• in face of discouragement, prayer and worship!
• when feeling like failure, depend on God's strength rather than our own!
• in face of doubt, endure by faith! 
• in face of temptation to quit, NEVER GIVE UP! If it's God's work, then it's worth all sacrifice and any price. Endure hardship until the end!

Prayer is the antidote to worry and fear. Trust God, depend on God. Hand the situation over to Him. Read Psalm 36-37 to hear King David's response when he faced this attack of the enemy.

Why does the enemy attack in this way?

There is pride, selfishness, and genuine evil in the world. Someone people genuinely don't like it when others are about God's Work and care about His Church and His people. Nehemiah explains why his enemies opposed him.

When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites. Nehemiah 2:10, NIV.

The lesson in the "why"? When you are about what God is about, care about what God cares about, and are passionately engaged in the Work of God, don't take attacks PERSONALLY! Understand that the enemy of God will attack anyone that is doing the Work of God. The attack is against God and His Church not against you specifically.