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Rebuilding and Satan’s Strategies

Ezra 4

Introduction:

• Whenever you begin to really follow Christ there will be opposition.

• Whenever you begin to do a new work that will bring good changes in your life or family, you can expect opposition.

• Jeshua is the spiritual leader, a priest, of Aaron’s line.

• Ezra will not show up until the 7^th chapter.

• About 50,000 have returned, just a small percentage of the people.

• These are the pioneers, the most passionate, who have traveled 900 miles through the desert.

• We saw that many are old, over 60 years old, and they remember the old temple of Solomon.

• Last week we looked at them laying the foundation of the temple in the rebuilding process.

• Then they worshipped:  They shouted and wept.

• Look back at Ezra 3:12-13.

• They are worshipping the Lord with all their hearts!

• When you begin to have a regular time of praise and worship, when you make Jesus Lord of your life, you can count on the enemy showing up.

Ezra 4:1

• They all come in different shapes and sizes.

• You are going to decide to pray and then the phone rings, the dog does his thing, dishwasher breaks…

• Don’t be surprised.

• Sometimes people decide to tithe, and the car breaks down.

• Don’t be surprised!!  You’re right on track!

Vs. 2

• Esarhaddon is the Persian satrap, the delegated Assyrian governor under Cyrus, who has been assigned Jerusalem.

• The accusers are the Samaritans who have remained in the land.

• The days of Esarhaddon are around 660 BC, and the Assyrians, when they sacked Israel, believed in displacing people.

• They would take the Jews out, but leave a remnant.  Then they would bring in foreign peoples and have them intermarry.

• But the Samaritans never fully followed God all the way.  Out of this was born the Samaritans:

• They believe that Gerazim, not Jerusalem is where you should worship.
• They don’t believe in the whole Bible, but just the first 5 books of Moses.
• They had a different sacrificial system.
• It is a kind of syncretism of paganism and God.
• (There are about 200 Samaritans today).

• The first way that the enemy attacks us is to try to join us and bring compromise.

1^st Strategy of Satan:  Compromise

• Just like today…all of us are worshipping the same God today! Right?  Have you noticed?

• Satan: You can still do anything you want and be a Christian!

• But the returning Jews don’t compromise!

Vs. 3

• Zerubbabel and Jeshua are taking a stand against these adversaries and declaring what they believe…they are not going to syncretize or adapt their faith to a false religion in order to have peace.

• They looked the enemies of God in the eye and said: We will not compromise!  We are going to stand strong! We are not going to allow you to take us away from God’s covering. We will worship and serve Him only!

• I love the Apostles Creed, the oldest and most simple of all the creeds           (I taught a series on this great creed):

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.  I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord.  He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.  He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.  He descended into hell.  On the third day He rose again.  He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.  Amen.

• That’s what I believe!

• Satan will say:  Don’t be a fanatic about this stuff!!  Don’t take a stand on anything…flow with the culture.

• You will have adversaries as a believer!

• Satan’s greatest tool that he uses is the tongue and accusations will come through the tongue.

• James says that a fire is set by the tongue!  The tongue brings fire.

• Don’t be surprised when it comes your way!

• If Satan can’t get you to compromise…

Vs. 4

2^nd Strategy of Satan: Discouragement

• Out in out, blatant attacks I can handle, but discouragement is really tough!

• Satan loves to discourage, to depress, to slacken our commitment.

• There is no greater strategy of the enemy then to cause us to lose focus and feel like what we are doing is not working and is for nothing!

• Satan has a way of bringing “joy suckers” into our lives that nag us, that complain and discourage us.

• Ex.  Some of you are starting groups right now and at first few will come. As you are trying to build the ministry God has given you, you might get discouraged.

• Ex.  Some of you men are trying to lead your homes spiritually and it doesn’t seem to be working. Even when you get discouraged…Listen, don’t give up!

Vs. 5

3^rd Strategy of Satan: Foolish Counsel

• They hired counselors to discourage them with bad counsel.

• We have such counselors today who will give you foolish advice.  Be careful with the TV counselors of Oprah and Dr. Phil.

• Be very careful who you are gaining your knowledge from! 

• Questions you should ask of any counselor:

• Is it Biblical?  Does it line up with Scripture?

• Does it draw me closer to God?

• Is it growing me up in the Lord?

• Does the counselor walk the talk?  Does he/she have a lifestyle I would want to imitate?

Vs. 6

4^th Strategy of Satan:  Accusations

• They have tried:

• Compromise and it didn’t work

• Discouragement and it didn’t work

• Foolish counsel and that fails

• So, the strategy shifts to out and out accusations.

• The enemy will often start private and move to public domain.

• Ex.  When we look at the righteous stands of men like Dr. James Dobson, we see him getting shot at by the media and enemies with accusations that are fabricated, exaggerated and embellished.

• Pray for leaders like that who have chosen to stand strong for the Lord, they need our prayers.

• And this may happen to you as you stand for Christ!

Ezra now gives us a kind of parenthetical section to our story:

The Samaritans write a letter (Vs. 7-23) in Aramaic to the king of Persia with accusations against the Jews with the intent of stopping the rebuilding of the temple.

This is probably the opposition talked about in Nehemiah 1:3 that God will use to stir up the heart of Nehemiah.

Nehemiah 1:3

And they said to me, "The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire."

• This section is not in chronological order but rather recounts opposition to the temple.

Vs. 7-24

• The letter worked!

• The king made an edict that stopped the work.

• No small edict: it stops the work of 50,000 workers!

• The work will cease for 18 years.

• It seems like a defeat at the time.

5^th Strategy of Satan:  Setbacks

• There are times when we move forward and all of a sudden there is a snag.

• Oh Lord, where are you now?

• Nothing is happening?

• I can’t believe this is happening!

• But the Temple is going to happen. God has a plan.

• Lord, you have made a promise to us!  You promised through a scarlet thread coming from Rahab’s house that the Messiah would come.

• Those who were perceptive know that this Temple will be rebuilt! 

• Part of restoration is that dross being burned off in our lives while we wait.

• Restoration is partly the external work of God, but it is also internal in our lives as God makes us ready for His external blessing.

• Read alongside this book: Haggai and Zechariah will be used by God to bring the internal resolution. Read these books at the same time.  We read about Satan in these books.

• God allows setback in our lives because he is changing you internally often before He blesses you externally.

• Internal transformation often precedes external blessing!

Conclusion:

• Look at your life, is Satan trying to stop a new work in your life?  Is it a daily Quiet Time? Tithing? Obedience in an area that you have not been able to give to God before?

Satan’s Strategies:

1^st Strategy of Satan:  Compromise

2^nd Strategy of Satan: Discouragement

3^rd Strategy of Satan: Foolish Counsel

4^th Strategy of Satan:  Accusations

5^th Strategy of Satan:  Setbacks

You must decide to follow the Lord and push through to victory!

Ex.  Winston Churchill was asked to return to his alma mater, even though he had been a very poor student.  He was old then, and he gave one of his greatest speeches of all time:

“Never give in.  Never, never, never give in.”