Typically, when sending a letter to a government official, it would be a closed letter so that no one else could see the contents. However, Sanballat sought to pressure Nehemiah to respond to this meeting by slandering his name. Therefore, this open letter would not only have been read before Nehemiah but, probably, all along the way till it reached Nehemiah. Sanballat lied about Nehemiah by saying he was trying to become king v. Similarly with believers, when Satan is trying to stop the work of God, slander and gossip are common tactics.
He speaks slander to anyone who will listen. He will even slander us to our own ears—offering an array of condemnation. Consider the heavenly description of Satan in Revelation Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. In the book of Job, he told God that Job only followed him because God blessed him.
Christ was slandered and accused by the Pharisees. They trumped up many false witnesses against him to lie about him. The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally two came forward. Satan commonly uses slander. He brings discord and problems to individual Christians and the church by bringing false accusations. Listen to what Nehemiah said: Often they become so focused on their problems that it weakens their hands in serving the Lord.
Therefore, Satan works relentlessly to weaken and discourage the Christian, especially through slander.
Many times in seeking to defend our own reputation, we will find ourselves drawn away from focusing on God and the work of God. Satan slanders in order to distract the Christian. The enemy will divide the church through slander, as he sends his whisperers around the church. How does Nehemiah respond to the slander? How should we respond to gossip and slander? Nehemiah resisted the devil with the truth. He simply told them it was not true. Many times we cannot do much more than that. It should be said that at times, in entrusting things to God, it might be best to just remain silent and not defend ourselves.
Because rumors are false, many times the truth will become evident. There were times when Christ was accused falsely, but instead of defending himself, he chose to remain silent and entrusted the situation to God. What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you? Certainly, we should confront lies with truth, but sometimes, in trusting God, we should allow him to be our defense cf.
The lies about Nehemiah seemed to have had very little traction. This was because Nehemiah was a man who was above reproach in the way he lived. He had a reputation for being upright. It becomes hard for anyone to lie about you if you consistently live a life that is above reproach. Listen to what Peter commanded of the Christians being persecuted in the Roman Empire: Let this be true of us as well.
Why does the enemy use slander in the lives of believers?
5 Prayers to Pray against Satanic Attack
Have you experienced slander or gossip? How did you handle the situation? One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. Or should one like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go! He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me. Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who have been trying to intimidate me. The next tactic of the enemy was to intimidate Nehemiah through false teaching.
In this scenario, Tobiah and Sanballat hired a prophet named Shemaiah to deceive Nehemiah. His intent was to get Nehemiah to protect himself from the enemy by hiding in the temple v. This was common for prophets in the Old Testament. For example, we see Isaiah prophesy naked against Egypt and Cush to demonstrate how Assyria would conquer them, take them captive, and lead them naked in order to shame them Isaiah We also see that Hosea was called to marry a prostitute to represent how Israel was adulterous in her relationship with God Hosea 1.
This utterance seemed to be written in the form of a poetic couplet in order to trick Nehemiah into sin. This is important because one of the common tactics Satan uses to try to lure people away from God and their callings is through false teaching and false prophets. Listen to what Christ said:. Watch out for false prophets. By their fruit you will recognize them.
Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Jesus said to beware of false prophets. However, they are really wolves trying to destroy. We will be able to recognize them by their fruits. The enemy has led many astray through his false teachers. In fact, Paul said this:. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.
Their end will be what their actions deserve. Paul said that these people are in the church masquerading as servants of righteousness. This is still happening today, and we must be aware of it. Consider what Paul taught Timothy about the last days:. The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. Paul said that false teachers and false teachings will be common in the last days. Essentially a new cult of Christianity pops up every day, and many people from the church are often led into them.
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If this will continue to increase in these last days, how much do Christians need discernment more than previous generations? How did Nehemiah know this was a false prophecy? How can we know? Nehemiah knew this was a false prophesy because he knew it would be sin for him to enter into the temple and close the doors. The fact that the prophet talked about closing the door indicates that the prophet was calling him to enter the Holy Place, which was only for priests Num He, no doubt, tested this prophecy by knowing Scripture. God would never tell him to enter a forbidden area of the temple.
A king in the Old Testament actually entered the Holy place to offer a sacrifice and God struck him with leprosy cf. The best protection from false teachers and false doctrine is through diligent study of the Word of God. Listen to the story of the Bereans:. Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
In serving God and man, he could not sin against them. In the New Testament, this reality is also true of us. For example, Christ taught his disciples about their identity as children of God in order that they would not struggle with fear and worry about future provisions. Listen to what he says:. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Stop living for food, drink and clothing. One of the ways we will be kept from the myriads of false teachings that will continue to increase as we get closer to the end times is by knowing the Word of God.
Nehemiah knew it would be sin to enter the holy place in the temple.
It was only for priests. But Nehemiah also knew his identity as a leader of Israel and servant of God. In what ways has knowing your identity in Christ helped set you free from various sins and temptations? I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who have been trying to intimidate me…. Moreover, they kept reporting to me his good deeds and then telling him what I said.
And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me. We have already dealt with this a little previously, but since it happens twice in this passage, I think it needs a separate point. We just read it in Nehemiah 6: In bringing a false prophet, Tobiah and Sanballat were ultimately trying to make Nehemiah intimidated or it can be translated frightened, which would have led him to sin.
Tobiah also tried to intimidate him through the sending of letters v. Behind the tactic of slander, false teaching, and the letters, the enemy was ultimately trying to make Nehemiah afraid. Satan also constantly tries to do that with us. He is always trying to promote fear, anxiety, and worry in those who follow God. In fact, Peter compares Satan to a roaring lion seeking whomever he may devour. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Why does a lion roar? The roar is strategic to paralyze his prey with fear, so he can attack and devour it. In the same way, Satan commonly uses fear to try to devour believers. Tobiah and Sanballat were trying to use fear to immobilize and paralyze Nehemiah. The enemy tried to attack him with the threat of killing him. The enemy was trying to use fear to hinder the work of God. Our enemy, Satan, uses fear for similar purposes with us. Why does Satan use fear as a tactic with believers and leaders specifically?
So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you. In Matthew 25, the person with one talent never used his talent. His reason was fear; he was afraid. We see this same excuse all the time with believers. They are afraid of failure; they are afraid of success; they are insecure about their abilities.
Fear keeps them from doing the work of God. In fact, we commonly see this tendency with many God called for service. We saw this with Moses and Gideon. Both struggled with fear when God called them to serve. Similarly, many Christians are paralyzed by some type of fear which limits their usefulness. The enemy uses psychological warfare.
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We see this in the Parable of the Sowers. The worries of this life fear kept the Word from ever producing fruit in the thorny ground. The Word of God is ineffective in many Christians because of the thorn of worry. Maybe they hear the Word and agree with it, but their fears keep the Word of God from producing fruit. They are worried about the future, about the past, about family, about career, etc. These worries hinder the work of God in them.
It chokes the power of the Word of God. He was tempting Nehemiah to fear with the hope that he would run into the temple and sin against God, weakening the people and causing them to doubt his leadership. Abraham was afraid of losing his life because of his beautiful wife, so he lied to Pharaoh and said she was his sister.
Abraham was afraid to not have a child, so he married a second wife, Hagar, and sinned against God. Fear led him into sin, and it is the same for us. Their fear weakens their hands in the work. Listen to what Paul told Timothy: Paul tells Timothy, God has not given you that spirit of fear. He is calling Timothy to recognize that his insecurities, probably in ministry, were not from God. We should not accept fear as from God. Certainly, there are healthy fears, such as the fear of the Lord, but fear that keeps us from serving God or trusting him is not from the Lord.
In fact, Paul commands us to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts Col 3: Paul did not simply tell Timothy to reject fear, he also gave him reasons. Look again at what he said: He has given you love for people who are difficult. He has given you discipline to get the task done. Timothy, there is no reason to be afraid.
2. A Prayer to Defend Your Mind
Look at the resources God has given you. In two of the times that Nehemiah was tempted to be afraid, both the open letter and the false prophet, how did he respond? Remember what Paul told the Philippians:. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Are You Under Attack? God Is With You! - FaithGateway
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. We combat it by: This is the reason so many are crippled by fear and kept from doing the work God has called them to do. They have chosen to be anxious, chosen to be afraid. They have chosen to not pray about everything.
They complain, they get mad, they get angry, and therefore, the enemy still wins the victory. The promise of peace only comes to those who practice all these disciplines. Nehemiah battled fear through prayer and we must as well. There are events that are happening to you and your family through which the enemy wants to immobilize you with fear; he wants to cripple you with worries.
However, God wants you to have peace so that you can continue serving him. What are common fears that the enemy attacks you with? How do these fears immobilize or affect you? How is God calling you to get free from these fears in order to better serve him?
So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God. Also, in those days the nobles of Judah were sending many letters to Tobiah, and replies from Tobiah kept coming to them. For many in Judah were under oath to him, since he was son-in-law to Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah.
It says in verse 15 that the wall was completed in fifty-two days and all the surrounding nations were afraid because they realized God had helped. The enemy attacked again immediately. The next attack came through the nobles of Judah, who would have been very influential, as Judah was the royal line.
They were bound to Tobiah through marriage and were sharing everything Nehemiah said with him. At the same time, they continually spoke good words about Tobiah. However, these good words were ingenuous, as Tobiah kept sending intimidating letters to Nehemiah v. Attacking immediately after a victory is a common tactic of Satan. Look at what it says: The devil is always looking for an opportune time. Though Jesus had won the victory, Satan was still looking and ready to attack. I think a good picture of attacking after victory is seen with Jesus and Peter in Matthew Peter had been blessed by God; this was a great victory.
However, only minutes later, he would stumble greatly. Christ told the disciples that he would be crucified and raised from the dead. Peter immediately rebuked Jesus saying that he would not die. Similarly, in 1 Kings 18, Elijah had a tremendous victory over the priests of Baal, as God sent fire down on the altar, and Elijah had all the priests killed. However, in 1 Kings 19, Queen Jezebel promised to, likewise, kill Elijah, and he ran for his life.
He became depressed and even asked for God to take his life. Right after his greatest victory came his greatest defeat. Satan is always looking for an opportune time and typically that comes very shortly after a victory. Many Christians go to the mountain top only to stumble quickly down to the valley. This is a common tactic of the enemy. As one who worked with youth over seven years, I saw this many times. The students would go to a retreat and get on fire for God, and it was right after the high that they would come stumbling down.
It was right after the mountain top experience that they had a valley experience. They would have a major fight with a friend or family member, stumble on the Internet, start dealing with depression, etc. Satan likes to attack right after a victory. Many couples stumble into an argument right after leaving a Spirit-filled service. Many are tempted right after getting out of their devotions and going to work. Satan attacks right after a victory.
I think part of the reason this is common is because it is right after a victory that we have a tendency to let down our guard and relax. Scottish minister Andrew A. How can we more wisely protect ourselves from this tactic? The last tactic the enemy used against Nehemiah was infiltration through compromise. As mentioned, the nobles of Judah were under oath to Tobiah through marriage. Like other Samaritans, Tobiah was ethnically mixed. He was part Jewish and part Ammonite cf. It is obvious that the nobles were compromising. This is not only seen in the fact that they gave their daughter to someone from the surrounding nations, which was forbidden by God, but also in that they were praising Tobiah who had been antagonistic to Israel from the beginning.
I think we see this in the church all the time, especially amongst our youth. But not only do they watch and listen, they praise it. They boast about it. They honor those who dishonor God. Those who forsake the law praise the wicked. It just says that the nobles kept reporting the good Tobiah had done and sharing what Nehemiah said.
In fact, Nehemiah later shares that this compromise was still happening many years after the completion of the wall, even after all the reform in chapters When we get to Nehemiah Israel had given a room in the temple to a person who was not a priest which was clearly forbidden. In addition, in chapter 13, the Israelites again started to marry foreign women, which was also forbidden by God. It was the same compromise Solomon committed, which eventually led Israel away from God and into judgment.
It can stay rooted for years, causing havoc amongst an otherwise healthy harvest. Why does the enemy work so hard to bring compromise amongst believers? Look at what Paul says: Compromise and sin quickly spread throughout a congregation or ministry. Paul said that it must be removed because it will spread. David said that those who compromise lose the blessing of God on their lives. Only the one who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked is blessed.
What is the counsel of the wicked? This includes things we read, watch, listen to, or meditate on. James says that friendship with the world is enmity with God 4: Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.
I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. How many times have I kicked and pouted to God because life was not going how I wanted? How many times have I thought to myself, That is not fair! While I may have read in my Bible that we are in a spiritual war, that truth had not fully adjusted my expectations of this life.
To accept that life is supposed to be hard is the beginning of joy. It reminds me of Gone with the Wind. Her food is brought in to her extravagant bedroom on silver trays. But when she gets home to Tara after the war, she gets her hoe in the dirt and tries to get corn to grow, telling everyone around her to quit complaining. Because of the war, her reality was different, and therefore she lived differently.
She went from pouty and spoiled to an intense work horse. But honestly, I think most people are craving something bigger than comfort and an easy life. I think, if you are still reading this, you are someone who feels that. You might watch movies and shows such as Braveheart or Band of Brothers and you realize there is something deeply moving about war, about fighting for something worthy of death, about living lives that matter for something big. I think we watch those things and long to participate in something bigger than PTA and cheering for the Mavs. I think God wrote that into our souls.
I know — it still sounds insane to me too. We have one foot on the earth and one foot in heaven. You are fighting rulers and authorities and cosmic powers over this present darkness.
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You are fighting the forces of evil in heavenly places. I grew up thinking that it was not very Christian to talk about the devil too much. I think it matters. I think when cosmic evil dark forces are fighting you… it is good to at least have a heads-up. It changes the way you live; it changes the way you fight. Maybe it makes you need God. In the bathroom, punching the air, I needed a Rescuer.
I needed my God. We are not fighting flesh and blood; we are fighting arrows launched to us by dark forces who want to annihilate us.
Are You Under Attack? God Is With You!
It helped me be more able to forgive when I realized we never are really fighting people. My friends, my husband, they love God and love me, but the devil knows if I feel alone, unsafe with people in our church, unsafe at home with my husband, I quickly unravel. Forgiveness becomes easier when I realize people are not my enemies. Something about war makes us better.
We live more thankful, less numb. God has bigger purposes in allowing us to suffer, bigger than just winning. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Honestly, we grow up through suffering. And most of us need to grow up. Zac and I made up. He is my best friend again, but we continue to walk through attacks. We will all continue to face discouragement, loneliness, criticism, and suffering.
You protect yourself with Me. You remember I am bigger. You remember I win. You put My Word, My truth, in front of you. Protect yourself with Me and My righteousness. And then, you run. Let your feet carry you into battle building My name, sharing My love, telling My story, showing My glory.