Ezra 4:1–2 (ESV) Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the LORD, the God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you...”

Isaiah 54:17 (ESV) no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed.

Today’s Goal:

• To challenge you to live your life, on alert, and guarded, watching for the weapons of the enemy, forged against you, and to have the wisdom to resist them.

• To challenge you to discover undetected weapons that have made it past your security but are causing damage, and to immediately eradicate them with a simple REBOOT, so that you can step back into perfect alignment with God and the BEST LIFE He has for you.

MALWARE, (MALICIOUS SOFTWARE)

• ENGINEERED - real people, behind the scenes, intentionally creating code

• DECEPTION - trick you into onboarding

• VARIANTS: a. VIRUS, SPYWARE​, RANSOMWARE - onboard code, take something hostage and extract payment from you and those you are connected with.

• GOAL: your loss, their gain

The digital attack is real, but the everyday attack against the people, and especially the people of God and the purposes of God is very real. Consider this plot in the book of Ezra:

• (589BC - 2 Kings 25) Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon burned the house of the LORD and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem, broke down the walls around Jerusalem, and carried everyone to Babylon except the poorest of the land.

• (538BC - Ezra 1) God stirs Ezra to send people back to Jerusalem to rebuild the House of God.

• Ezra 2:1 - they return to their towns

• Ezra 3:1 - in the seventh month they build the altar, offer sacrifices and celebrate Feasts

• Ezra 3:8 - in the second year they begin rebuilding the temple

Ezra 4:1–2 (ESV) Now when the ​adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the LORD, the God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.”

• “Adversaries”

• “Approached Zerubbabel and heads of father’s houses” - fearless

• “Let us build with you”

• “We worship God as you... ever since we arrived here back in the days of Esarhaddon”

• Trojan horse approach

• This is an amazing all out nuclear assault

• THEY RECOGNIZED THE THREAT AND KEPT FROM ONBOARDING MALWARE - ​Ezra 4:3 (ESV) But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “​You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the LORD, the God of Israel​, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

• BUT THEY MISSED THE OTHER VERSIONS OF MALWARE AND FELL PREY! Ezra 4:4–5 (ESV) Then the people of the land ​discouraged the people of Judah and made them ​afraid to build and ​bribed counselors against them to ​frustrate their purpose​, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. (unti. Artaxerxes)

There is a very real focused attack, engineered for your life:

• 1 Peter 5:8–9 (ESV) ...be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him...

• John 10:10 (ESV) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

• 2 Corinthians 2:11 (ESV) so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

THREE TYPES OF MALWARE

VIRUS - SIN THAT STICKS

• you onboard code that infect your operating system, doesn’t shut down your function, but makes it problematic.

• Hebrews 12:1 (ESV) ...let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely (easily encircles)

SPYWARE - STRATEGICALLY TIMED ATTACKS

• you onboard code that waits for the perfect moment, steals key information to steal your resources.

• Luke 4:13 (ESV) And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

RANSOMWARE - ALL OUT ASSAULTS

• You onboard code that seeks to lock it all down and take you hostage, demanding payment

• Isaiah 59:19 (KJV 1900) ...When the enemy shall come in like a flood... Isaiah 54:17 (ESV) no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed.

1. live your life, on alert, and guarded, watching for the weapons of the enemy, forged against you, and to have the wisdom to resist them.

2. To challenge you to discover undetected weapons that have made it past your security but are causing damage, and to immediately eradicate them with a simple REBOOT, so that you can step back into perfect alignment with God and the BEST LIFE He has for you.

Titus 2:11–12 (ESV) For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,