Have you ever been unfairly criticized or slandered? Have you faced opposition for the sake of the gospel? Do you ever feel as if trying to be faithful to the Lord has made life more difficult for you? If so, then you’re in good company. In this message from David Platt from Nehemiah 4, we’re encouraged not to be deterred from pursuing God and his mission in the face of opposition. We should expect opposition in this world as we seek to carry out God’s will according to his Word, but our ultimate enemy is not flesh and blood—it’s Satan. Therefore, we must rely on God fully as we persevere in living for Christ and in carrying out the mission he has given us. God uses everything, including opposition to the gospel, for the good of his people.
Have you ever been unfairly criticized or slandered? Have you faced opposition for the sake of the gospel? Do you ever feel as if trying to be faithful to the Lord has made life more difficult for you? If so, then you’re in good company. In this message from David Platt from Nehemiah 4, we’re encouraged not to be deterred from pursuing God and his mission in the face of opposition. We should expect opposition in this world as we seek to carry out God’s will according to his Word, but our ultimate enemy is not flesh and blood—it’s Satan. Therefore, we must rely on God fully as we persevere in living for Christ and in carrying out the mission he has given us. God uses everything, including opposition to the gospel, for the good of his people.
You are listening to Radical with David Platt, a weekly podcast with sermons and messages from Pastor, author and Teacher David Platt. If you have a Bible and I hope you or somebody around you does that you can look on with. Let me invite you to open with me to Nehemiah chapter 4. Nehemiah chapter 4, feel free to use table contents if you need to to find Nehemiah chapter 4 and, as your attorney, I want to welcome those of you in other locations around Metro DC, as well as some of you online, who are physically unable to be with us today. It's good to come together around God's Word and if you're visiting, we are really glad you are here. You are welcome here anytime. Have you ever done what was right and, as a result of doing so, life got harder for you, not easier? Specifically, in your efforts to follow God's Word and God's Spirit with faith, have you ever faced opposition to your faith or discouragement in your faith? Have you ever been slandered or accused? Have rumors ever spread about you or have people ever worked against you, including people who were once friendly to you? If you've answered yes to any of these questions, I have good news for you You're in good company with God's people throughout the Bible and, ultimately, with Jesus himself. And if you will keep your focus on God amidst these challenges, he will turn it all for your good. Or, if you've never experienced challenges like this, I have what you might think is bad news for you. Your time is coming. As you follow God with faith in this world and you do all that he calls you to do, challenges to your faith are coming and opposition is inevitable. But I would share the same good news with you. If you will keep your focus on God, he will use all these things for your good in ways far beyond what you can imagine. I want to show you this straight from God's Word in Nehemiah, chapter 4. So last week, we looked at how God's people began rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem. God's people with different gifts, from different backgrounds, doing the work God had called them to do to glorify Him. Yet as soon as you turn the page to Nehemiah, chapter 4, watch what happens. We'll just read the whole chapter, starting in verse 1.
Speaker 1:Now, when Sandballot heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged and he jeered at the Jews and he said, in the presence of his brothers and of the army of Samaria. What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore it for themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish and burn ones at that? Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him and he said yes, what are they building? If a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall here, o our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunts on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover their guilt and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders. So we built the wall, and all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
Speaker 1:But when Sandballot and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Acidites heard the repair of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward, the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry and they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them, day and night. In Judah, it was said, the strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall. And our enemies said they will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work. At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and said to us in times you must return to us. So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall and in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears and their bows, and I looked and rose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people do not be afraid of them, remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your homes. And our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan. We all returned to the wall, each to his work.
Speaker 1:From that day on, half of my servants worked on constructions Construction and half held the spears, shields, bows and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other, and each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me and I said to the nobles and the officials and the rest of the people the work is great and widely spread and we are separated on the wall far from one another, in the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet. Rally to us there. Our God will fight for us. So we labored at the work and half of them held the spirits from the break of dawn until the stars came out. I also said to the people at that time let every man and the servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day. So neither I, nor our brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes. Each kept his weapon at his right hand, all right. So let's get the picture.
Speaker 1:There are three main antagonists here to Nehemiah and the work that God's people are doing. Nehemiah actually introduced them to us at the end of Nehemiah 2. So if you turn back there to verse 19,. Before the work even started, nehemiah told us when Sanballah, the Horonite, and Tobiah, the Ammonite servant, and Geshem, the Arab, heard of it, they jeered at us and despised this and said what is this thing that you're doing? Are you rebelling against the king? So a little background on these three guys. Sanballah was likely the governor of Samaria at this point. Tobiah was either governor of Ammon or he was jockeying for that position, and Geshem may have been the most powerful of them all as a leader of Arabian tribes that controlled Moab and Edom. Now here's the picture the Bible gives us of these guys.
Speaker 1:As they worked against God's people, these three men were characterized by losing power and waning influence. If you look all the way back to Ezra, chapter 4, a similar group of leaders conspired to get the Persian king, artaxerxes, to stop the building of the temple in Jerusalem, and it worked. With their power and influence, they persuaded the king to stop the work, least temporarily. But this time Nehemiah came with letters from the same king, artaxerxes, saying the Jewish people had authority to rebuild these walls, which meant that the people opposing this work, who used to have power and influence, didn't have it anymore, which led them to make baseless accusations and exaggerating claims. They started in chapter 2 by saying Nehemiah and the people were rebelling against the king, when Nehemiah actually had papers from the king. By chapter 4 they're saying it's impossible for the stones in these walls to even be rebuilt, and what they're rebuilding wouldn't stand if a fox walked on it.
Speaker 1:You don't ever see these men sitting down with Nehemiah to understand what and on whose authority he's doing these things. We're actually looking at the work they're doing and considering why they're doing it. Instead, they just lob attacks from the outside and when those don't work, that leads to escalating actions and increasing anger. When one tactic doesn't work, they try another one, another one, another one. It's like they're looking for every angle they can find to attack Nehemiah and the work God is calling his people to do, and the more the tactics didn't work, the angrier they got. Verse 7 says they were very angry, which leads to verse 8. They plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. So now they are gathering others to increase the attacks, gathering others to increase confusion. To support their cause they enlist the ammonites and the acidites and not just people outside. So we're going to look at this more in a few weeks.
Speaker 1:Let me just show you Nehemiah, chapter 6, verses 17 through 19. Moreover, in those days, the nobles of Judah inside God's people sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah's letters came to them, for many in Judah were bound by oath to him, to Tobiah Because he was the son of the law, he was the son of the scribe, his relationship family-wise, and it says in verse 19, they spoke of his good deeds in my presence and reported my words to him. Tobiah sent letters to make me afraid. So you see people inside God's people working with those outside God's people to oppose Nehemiah and this work, almost like it was their noble duty to uphold the status quo from the past and keep this new work from happening. Yet in all of this don't miss the point the real enemy was not sandballons or Tobiah or Geshom or anyone else inside or outside. The real enemy was the same enemy who, since the beginning of the Bible and in every single generation up to today, is actively opposing the people of God who are working for the glory of God. The real enemy was and is today, satan himself.
Speaker 1:That's why the Bible later says in Ephesians, chapter 6, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, against Tobiahs and Amonites and Gesshoms, but against the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Do you know what Satan's name means? It means adversary. Do you know what the devil means? It means the slanderer. The Bible calls Satan our adversary, the devil, the slanderer, the deceiver, who is actively working at all times through every possible avenue to destroy the people of God doing the work of God, and he may use this kind of picture in your life, or he may use a million other pictures in opposition to your faith.
Speaker 1:Just think right now of any ways you are facing challenges in your faith or opposition to the good work God has called you to do for his glory. And the word of Nehemiah, chapter 4, for all of us is do not be surprised when you are doing the work God calls you to do and his word. And I phrase that very intentionally because doubtless some people in this opposition group thought and almost certainly claimed that they were doing God's work when in actuality their tactics were clearly not in line with God's word. But this is the reality whenever we are doing work God has called us to do according to his word. But we've seen the last couple of weeks working in all the ways God is calling us to glorify him in our lives and our marriages and our families and our schools and our workplaces, working to spread the gospel and do justice and love, mercy and make disciples of the next generation and all the nations.
Speaker 1:Do not be surprised when people question, accuse, slander and or ridicule you. Sandball asked five questions in Nehemiah 4-2 and one verse that leads to Tobias ridicule about a fox breaking these walls in verse 3. What are these feeble Jews doing? Who do they think they are? These incompetent rebels? It's like name calling. This is what Satan does. Revelation 12 calls him the accuser of God's people. His name means slanderer.
Speaker 1:And don't be surprised when you do the work God calls you to do in his word and groups conspire against you. A common enemy can make fast friends as different groups come together to oppose this work. Satan wants people conspiring from all sides against the work of God and don't be surprised when rumors spread that threaten you as the efforts to stop this work escalate. They start attacking, threatening to attack and kill God's people in verse 11, which leads in verse 12 to these villagers running into Jerusalem to tell them 10 times you must return to us. One commentator said this expression 10 times is like Nehemiah saying if they told us once, they told us a thousand times all the threats against us which you'll notice. They didn't just tell in Nehemiah, they told us so. Words spreading everywhere among God's people, which leads to this last picture.
Speaker 1:Don't be surprised when, after all these things, discouragement grows within you. And Nehemiah 4, the people begin to wonder are we feeble? Can we do this? Verse 10 says in Judah, it was said, the strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There's too much rubble. By ourselves, we will not be able to rebuild the wall. Maybe we can't, maybe we shouldn't. Now they're threatening to kill us. Is it worth it? Should we stop? Which is exactly what not just Sandballad and Tobiah and Gesshib and others wanted to happen. It's what Satan wanted to happen all alone.
Speaker 1:The devil did not want the walls around the city of Jerusalem to be rebuilt and the people of God in them to be restored. And I don't know how all of this has played out or will play out in your life, but I do know this the same adversary, satan, is actively at work in your life. I saw this couple of Friday nights ago in our prayer gathering when we basically took a survey and the overwhelming majority of people who came into the room that night came in discouraged in some way in their lives. And so eye-opening like I look out across this room and other rooms where we're gathered today and I realize most of you are discouraged about something in your life or in your faith right now. Don't be surprised by this.
Speaker 1:Discouragement is what Satan wants in your life. He does not want you to follow God with faith and courage. He does not want you to thrive in your relationship with God and he doesn't want you to lead anybody else to relationship with God. He wants to destroy your life. He wants to destroy your marriage. He wants to destroy your family. He wants to destroy your future. He wants to destroy you and the lives of all the people around you, in your home, in this church, in our city, far from this city, among the next generation, among the nations, which means he wants to keep you and me us from doing all the good work God is calling you and me to do for His great glory.
Speaker 1:Notice, god's people did not face this opposition when they were sitting back in the status quo with the rubble of Jerusalem's walls around them. They only faced this opposition when they stepped out and did the work God called them to do. Mark it down. The devil wants you to sit back and settle for status quo in your faith. Go to church, live like the world, coast your way to heaven. That's the devil's plan for your life as a Christian. You rise up, you start to build your life and your family and your work on the word of God and the call of God, to spread the gospel and make disciples and do justice and show mercy to those in need and live every day for the glory of God in your school and your workplace, in this church and this city among the nations, you will be met with the forces of hell. The devil and all his demons will do everything they can to discourage you in every facet of your life, to keep you from doing the work God's calling you to do in your life. So what do you do? How do you press on when opposition to your faith is coming from all sides?
Speaker 1:Here's how Nehemiah and the people of God and Nehemiah 4 pressed on in ways that God, throughout his word calls us to press on One pray, firstly and continually. I love verse 4. Right after all these questions, this ridiculing taught from Tobiah Nehemiah. He doesn't even say I prayed. He doesn't say so I sought the Lord. Instead, he just starts praying. So Sam Ballad says all these questions, five different questions. Tobiah makes this mocking and verse 4 says here O our God, do you see this? Nehemiah did not engage Sam Ballad or Tobiah in their questions, accusations, slander or ridicule. Instead, he immediately turned to God and prayed. This is where we must start, first and foremost, and continue, above everything else, when the plots escalate in verse 8. They're plotting together what is.
Speaker 1:Verse 9 says and we pray to our God and notice how he prays. He prays for God's help for his servants and for God's justice for his enemies. We don't have time today to do a whole theology of prayer along these lines, but it is right to pray for God's help as we do the work God calls us to do, and it is right to pray for God's justice on those who oppose his work. We see both those prayers throughout the Bible and at the same time, those are not the only prayers we see throughout the Bible, because we also see prayers for God's mercy toward his enemies. Jesus on the cross. Father, forgive them, these who are mocking and crucifying me, for they know not what they do. At the same time, jesus specifically denounces religious people who persist in their self-righteous rebellion against God. So, yes, it's right to pray for God's justice and for God's mercy on those who are opposing his work, trusting that in the end his justice will reign as his work will be accomplished.
Speaker 1:Which leads to the second action Nehemiah, others, nehemiah and others take here in Nehemiah 4 that God calls all of us to take throughout his word Fear God, not people. Even when physical attacks are threatened and God's people start to get worried that you catch, verse 14. Nehemiah looked and rose and said the nobles officials, the rest of the people, do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord. I love that line. I just pictured Nehemiah saying guys, I've heard what Sanballat and Tobias said, but just remember the Lord Yahweh, who is great and awesome, in other words, much bigger than Sanballat and Tobias and, for that matter, much bigger than all the Ammonites and Ashtadites put together. Remember him, because he's fighting for us. Nehemiah gives them instructions about where to gather for battle. See them, verse 20, in the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet Rally to us. There, our God, the Lord, will fight for us, and when you realize God is fighting for you, you realize you don't have anything to be afraid of. This is so important.
Speaker 1:At that same prayer gathering two Friday nights ago, the majority of the room said we're living in fear of something. We went around the room, just called out things people were afraid of in their life the future, the unknown, other people, other people's perception of them, relationships falling apart, losing a job, growing old, dying. The list just kept going and as I listened I was just so struck by all the different angles that Satan will come at you and me to tempt us to fear. So just think for a moment right now. Just be honest. And the way we did these surveys, it was so helpful that everybody just got to put down what they wanted without anybody else knowing that we just called it out. So just imagine for a second, completely honest. What fear do you have in your life? Is there any fear at all you have in your life? Just picture it right now. Just picture it right now and with that picture of whatever you might fear in your lives.
Speaker 1:Hear the Word of God to us today.
Speaker 1:Remember Him. Remember your Lord, who is for you in such a way that you can be free from all fear. Whatever you have in your mind is not bigger than the Lord, amen. Jesus says the same thing in Matthew 10, 28, to His disciples he's sitting them out and he's saying I'm sitting you out like sheath among wolves. And he says do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. He just said don't fear those who can kill you Like he just said the worst thing that could happen to you is you die. Is that encouraging? When you're about to go out, worst thing in the app is gonna be killed. How is that encouraging? The only way that's encouraging is if you know the one who has conquered death.
Speaker 1:Fear Him, who could destroy both soul and body and hell. Think about this. Hear this from God and all light of all the challenges and oppositions to God's work in and through your life that may come your way. Fear God, not people. Remember the Lord is your judge, not other people. The Lord is your defender, no matter what they say. He has the final say. The Lord is your deliverer. He will bring you through. The Lord is your provider. He will give you everything you needed, every moment you needed. The Lord is your protector. You can trust in Him. So fear Him, not them, amen. Fear Him, amen, not the devil. Remember the devil may be a lion on the prowl looking to devour, but he is a lion on a leash. He's a defeated foe and he knows his end is near. He cannot ultimately stop the work of God's people for God's glory, which leads to the third action Nehemiah and others took that God calls us all throughout His Word to take stay on guard, stay on guard.
Speaker 1:Verse 9 in chapter 4 says we pray to our God and set a guard as a protection against them, day and night. So it's not just pray, fear God and do nothing. Nehemiah set a guard. As the chapter unfolds from here, people are stationed at critical points with weapons, and the last two verses of the chapter describe how people stayed through the night within Jerusalem as a guard and how, as they were guarding, they kept their clothes and their weapons ready for battle at all times.
Speaker 1:This picture is so good. It's exactly what God specifically calls us to in the New Testament 1 Peter, 5, 8 and 9. Be sober-minded, be watchful, on guard your adversary. The devil prowls around like a royal light, seeking someone to devour. Resist him. Firm in your faith, be on guard in your faith. Picture, just like everyone in God's people on those walls. We can never let our guard down in the work God calls us to do in His Word.
Speaker 1:So I always think about just one example of how, if people are accusing you or slandering you or spreading rumors about you or doing any number of things sinning against you, how tempting it can be if you let your guard down, to sin in the way you respond to those things, either in our words or actions or even just in our thoughts and our desires. Personally, I have felt this temptation many times and too many times have given into it, and I've been so helped by something that Tim Keller, fore, pastor of Redeemer Church in New York City, who's now with the Lord, that he wrote that I read and reread all the time and I want to share it with you. It's a long quote, but I think it will help you. I hope it will. Keller wrote.
Speaker 1:Several people have asked me how do you deal with harsh criticism? In each case, the inquirer had felt stung by what they felt were unfair attacks on him or her. In this internet age, anyone can have their views censured unfairly by people they don't even know. So what do you do when that happens? Here's the gist of the counsel I give when people ask me about this. For years I've been guided by a letter by John Newton. Context. Newton was an 18th century pastor who wrote to him Amazing Grace and is known for his work to abolish the slave trade in England.
Speaker 1:So, keller writes the biggest danger of receiving criticism is not to your reputation but to your heart. You feel the injustice of it and feel sorry for yourself. And attempts you to despise not only the critic but the entire group of people from which they come those people, you mutter under your breath. All this can make you frowder over time. Newton writes Whatever makes us trust in ourselves, that we are comparatively wise or good so as to treat those with contempt who do not subscribe to our doctrines or follow our party, is a proof and fruit of a self-righteous spirit within us. So how can you avoid this temptation?
Speaker 1:First, you should look to see if there is a kernel of truth in even the most exaggerated and unfair broadsides. There is usually such a kernel when the criticism comes from friends. There is often such truth when the disapproval comes from people who actually know you. So even if the censure is partly or even largely mistaken, look for what you may have indeed done wrong. Perhaps you simply acted or spoke in a way that was not circumspect. Maybe the critic is partly right for the wrong reasons.
Speaker 1:Nevertheless, identify your own shortcomings. Repent in your own heart before the Lord for what you can, and let that humble you. It will then be possible to learn from the criticism and stay gracious to the critic, even if you have to disagree with what he or she has said. And then he writes. If the criticism comes from someone who doesn't know you at all, it is possible that the criticism is completely unwarranted and profoundly mistaken. I am often pillored, not only for views I do have, but even more often for views and motives that I do not hold at all. When that happens, it is even easier to fall into a smugness and perhaps be tempted to laugh at how mistaken your critics are. Pathetic, you may be tempted to say Don't do it. Even if there is not the slightest kernel of truth in what the critic says, you should not mock them in your thoughts. First, remind yourself of examples of your own mistakes, foolishness and cluelessness in the past, times in which you really got something wrong. Then, second, pray for the critic that he or she grows in grace. Newton talks about it like this If you account your critic a believer, though greatly mistaken, in the subject of debate between you, the words of David to Joab concerning Absalom are very applicable.
Speaker 1:Deal gently with him, for my sake. The Lord loves him and bears with him. Therefore, you must not despise him or treat him harshly. The Lord bears with you likewise and expects that you should show tenderness to others from a sense of the much forgiveness you need yourself. In a little while you will meet in heaven. He will then be dearer to you than the nearest friend you have upon earth is to you now. Anticipate that period in your thoughts and, though you may find it necessary to oppose his errors, view him personally as a kindred soul with whom you are to be happy in Christ forever.
Speaker 1:He closes. He says whatever you do, do anything you can to avoid feeling smug and superior to the critic. Even if you say to yourself you are just shrugging it off and you are not going to respond to the criticism, you can nonetheless conduct a full defense and refutation in the courtroom of your mind, in which you triumphantly prove how awful and despicable your opponents are. But that is a spiritual trap. Newton's remarks about this are very convicting the best of men are apt to be pleased with representations that hold up our adversaries, to ridicule and, by consequence, flatter our own superior judgments. Controversies, for the most part, are so managed as to indulge rather than to repress this wrong disposition.
Speaker 1:I hope your performance will savor of a spirit of true humility and be a means of promoting it in others. This is just one example and it's part of the cultural waters we swim in to not approach even criticism or differences or disagreements with humility and with honor. Be on guard. Just because our culture speaks one way does not mean we speak that way. Just because our culture lobs and accuses and ridicules does not mean that we, as the people of God, do these things even in our own minds. May the spirit of Christ cause us to show a spirit of true humility. Be on guard when all kinds of challenges and oppositions come to your faith from all kinds of sides, ultimately leading to this fourth action the Nehemiah and God's people took that God clearly caused us to take throughout His Word. Keep doing the work. Then a war.
Speaker 1:Right after we read his prayer, the next words are verse 6. So we built the wall. Boom, that's it. Just keep building the wall. Do the work. The wall was joined together to have its height for the people. I love this phrase. The people had a mind to work. It still leads to verse 15. When our enemies heard that it was known us that got a fresher through their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work, all the way to the end of the chapter, verse 21. So we labored at the work. I Love this.
Speaker 1:Stay focused on the work, just like they did, and they never forgot. At the same time, they were always at work. Write that down. Stay focused on the word that God calls you to do in his word. Stay focused on loving God's supremely, loving others Selflessly, according to his word, in your singleness, in your marriage, in your parenting, in your school, in your workplace, in your retirement. Stay focused on the work of spreading the gospel and making disciples of the next generation of the nations. I'm doing justice and showing mercy to those in need, and do not be discouraged by all the enemies attempts to keep you from Doing the work. And as you stay focused on the work, don't forget You're at war all the time. Picture your life like God's people on these walls, with a tool for building in one hand and a weapon for spiritual warfare, with the armor of God.
Speaker 1:Ephesians 6 says, in the other, the belt of truth, the shield of faith, the helmet of Salvation, the sword of the spirit, feet fitted with the gospel of peace and with confidence in the God who, as you work for His glory, according to his word, will fight for you. Did you notice me, my language in verse 15? God Frustrated their plans. They're working, god's working. Remember how I mentioned in the beginning that there's good news for you when you face opposition and challenges. Here's the good news you have a God who has power to frustrate plans. He's been doing it throughout history and he will do it for his people who are doing his work. He will take evil and Turn it for good. Do you see this? By the end of chapter 4, a chapter that's full of Opposition and threats and attacks, by the end, the people of God have Greater faith in God, greater trust in God. They've seen God help them. They have greater confidence in God, freedom from fear and discouragement, as God has taken what the adversary Intended for evil and he's turned it for good. So write that down as we close, if not physically, at least in your heart.
Speaker 1:Do not underestimate God's ability to turn evil into good. This is the gospel. God has taken our sin in the center of the world. Think about the most evil act in all of human history the crucifixion of the Son of God, god and the flesh Crucified. Yet God took that Most evil act in all human history and he turned in to the greatest news in the world for sinners like you and me we can be forgiven of our sin because of Jesus death on the cross, which he turned into life three days later when he rose from the grave in victory over sin, death and Satan himself.
Speaker 1:This is your God, this is the very foundation of your salvation, so you can trust it him. He's not only risen from the dead, he is ascended to the right end of the father right now, where he has all authority in heaven and on earth, and he has given his Supernatural Holy Spirit to live inside of you, to say every day, when you wake up in the morning, I have a spirit inside of me. That means, well, everything I face today, everything that would threaten discouragement or fear coming at me. If God is for me, none of that can stand against me. This is your life. This is your life in Christ. So Hold fast to faith, give your life to the work God calls you to do in his word, day in and day out, trusting that even that which the adversary intends for evil, he will Turn for good. What is what is God, by his spirit, calling you to do with this word today?
Speaker 1:And there's so many different directors this could go like. Maybe God is calling you to pray More intentionally, or even initially, as you face challenges in opposition. Maybe God's calling you to pray more holistic biblical prayers amidst those challenges, including prayer for your enemies. When was the last time you prayed sincerely and passionately for people who have hurt or are hurting you At the same time? I would encourage you to ask how are you discouraged or afraid right now, and how is God speaking to your heart right now to trust in him, remember him, fear him, not Damn or anything else in the world.
Speaker 1:Or are there any ways you've let your guard down in your life, or are there steps you need to take in order to be more on guard against any of the adversaries schemes in your life? And Finally, are you doing the work, your life, your family, your home, your workplace? Are you sharing the gospel? Are you building up the body of Christ? Are you making disciples, the next generation, the nations? Is there anything that God's calling you to do, remembering that the adversary would love for you just to sit back and status quo? What kind of work has got calling you into for his glory, knowing the challenges will come, but he will work for you every step of the way? We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of radical with David Platt. For more resources from David Platt, we invite you to visit radicalnet.