2 Corinthians 4:8-9 ESV

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

In our lives we can easily feel as though we are stuck. Stuck in the middle of… We can find ourselves in what feels like the in-between. Because the in-between is always hard and feels like a great big “NOT YET”, we often get stuck

Title: Restarting Your Story

In our REBOOT series we’ve talked about: 

The ongoing need for spiritual REBOOTS, how they are activated. 

The importance of regular updates that bring us back into alignment with The LORD. 

TODAY: Restarting your story when you feel like you have stalled somewhere in the middle.

In the computing world there is something that is colloquially known as “the spinning wheel of death.” That moment when you are right in the middle of a project and you click on something and that little spinning wheel starts spinning and never stops.  Or the loading screen that never stops loading.

In 2020, you are no doubt feeling as if things are on pause. Perhaps you have felt “things will be better after the election” or “If Covid-19 will just go away our lives can return to normal.” “If Only…”

We often become stuck in our stories as if God has forgotten about us.

God is not a part-time novelist that will get back to writing when he gets some free time. 

How easily we get sidetracked from the work that God is doing.

Jesus said “ In this life you will have trouble…” (John 16:33 NIV)

For the majority of us we occupy the space of trouble land! 

“Jesus said I would have trouble!” OF ALL THE THINGS JESUS SAID,

THIS IS THE ONE PROMISE YOU REMEMBER AND LIVE BY?

John 16:33 (NIV) In this world you will have trouble. But 

Take heart! I have overcome the world.

There are countless stories in the Bible where people must have felt stuck somewhere in the middle of their stories.

• Joseph: Dreamed of greatness, sold into slavery eventually imprisoned.

• Moses: Raised in the palace, condemned, wandering in the desert.

• Daniel: carried away by an invading enemy.

• Job: Wealthy and content, loses EVERYTHING.

• David: Giant killer and hero, running from a tyrant king.

In every case they became stuck and felt like their stories were over

or , at least they were forgotten. 

Psalm 13:1 (ESV) 

How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? 

DOUBT AND FEAR ARE THE ENEMIES OF YOUR STORY

Doubt and fear are never the key ingredients to success.

Doubt and fear make you do really dumb and unproductive things.

• David ran from King Saul and hid out with the Philistines

• Moses tried to convince God that He made a mistake choosing him.

It is time that we restart our stories!

WE MUST FAN INTO FLAMES THE GIFT OF GOD INSIDE OF US

(Reference to 2 Timothy 1:4)

Our stories can become stuck because we let the fire die down. FAN THAT FLAME!

RESTORATION/RENEWAL ALWAYS BEGINS WITH REPENTANCE

Jesus coined the phrase “born-again.” There is no better reboot. A clean slate, a new creation.

You are not stuck in your story. You can restart your story now!

2 Corinthians 4:7-11 (MSG)

If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us.

Our ordinary lives are the vessels for God’s Extraordinary work through us!

Scriptural Context of Ezra: 

● Israelites sanctioned by Cyrus, King of Persia to return to Jerusalem

● Fully funded to rebuild the wall, Temple, resume worship/festivals 

● Resume Jewish life in the region 

● Area residents disliked Cyrus, but disliked Israel even more 

● Attempted to hinder the rebuilding process with the following strategy 

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. 

Title: BREACH POINTS 

In our REBOOT series we’ve talked about: 

The ongoing need for spiritual REBOOTS, how they are activated. 

The importance of regular updates that bring us back into alignment with The LORD. TODAY: Defending your life from the ongoing attack of the enemy and the impact of his lies.

Scripting attacks seek to insert malicious code in order to lead users to interact with false information that leads to false data, hijacked links and fake websites in order to steal resources or cause system failure. Cyber security specialists have dedicated significant resources in order to identify and secure common breach points where the attacks take place. 

Real life has some very common parallels. God has given us His Word, the code for abundant living but the enemy our our souls attacks all of us at common breach points, seeking to inject his malicious code to pollute our lives with his word, which is nothing but lies designed to reroute our lives into a less-than experience, steal our resources and cause personal failure on any level possible. 

We know: 

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

● John 8:44 (ESV) ...he is a liar and the father of lies. 

● Luke 4:13 (ESV) ....until an opportune time. 

● Genesis 4:7 (ESV) ...sin is crouching at the door. 

● 1 Peter 5:8–9 (ESV) ...the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 

● 2 Corinthians 2:11 (ESV) ...so that we would not be outwitted by 

Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. 

Every one of us have been the victim of his lies and deception. 

Illus: 7th grade, Lynn Michaud, Ricky’s lies to her to win her over 

Israel had been given the green light by heaven and earth, by God and man, to return to their home land, to rebuild and to reoccupy. But the enemy fought their script, looking to inject malicious code by engaging several common breach points: 

BREACH POINT: INSERT MALICIOUS CODE WHERE NO OTHER CODE EXISTS 

Ezra 4:5 (ESV) 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. 

● There are many things we have never experienced before and counsellors play a key role in navigating them 

● People Of The Land hied counsellors (foreigner and Israel) 

● There will be people in your world with a giant pro-them agendas that requires anti-you. ● They may not have made a blood oath with Satan, but He is behind the narrative. ● They look to inject their code where you have yet to establish code.

Illus: our greatest concern for our kids - someone else building their value system - homeschool 

● Hosea 4:6 (ESV) My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge… 

● Amos 8:11 (ESV) “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. 

There has never been more access to God’s Word than there is today! 

DEFENSE: 

● Study God’s Word daily; understand it’s context; consider life application ● Study Basic Doctrine 

BREACH POINT: OVERWRITE TRUTH WITH MALICIOUS CODE 

Ezra 4:2 (ESV) “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.” 

● POTL were playing the long game 

● Lied about who they were in order to shift thinking and later the actions

● Get you to participate in something that leads to your downfall. 

ILLUS: engaged young woman whose boyfriend kept disappearing to fast and pray TRUST, BUT VERIFY. 

When this is slow to work, scripting attacks introduce temptation: the risky “click-here” link

● Trojan Horse - looks like a reward, but invites the enemy into your otherwise protected city. 

Numbers 22-23 Balaak King of Moab, wanted to destroy Israel 

● Brought in the prophet Balaam to curse them, but three times he was unable

● Balaam suggested tempting them with the women of Moab 

Often the best strategies to get you to participate in WRONG is to show you the REWARD only available to you by doing the WRONG thing 

● “I know God’s word says A, B and C, BUT…” 

● It’s in that moment you are exchanging God’s truth for your new truth! 

● Romans 1:24–25 (ESV) ...they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

Malicious code works overtime to get Christians to embrace things that are wrong: ABORTION ● What about if someone was raped - less than 1% of the time 

What about if the mother’s life is in danger - less than 1% of the time. 

Illus: Elaine Stimpson 

99% of abortions are after the fact contraceptives 

○ 2017 - 862,000 abortions - 20% of all pregnancies end in abortion 

○ 2,363 abortions per day - 

○ 7,700 people die per day 

○ 25% of deaths every day are the result of murder in the womb. 

○ 431,000 abortions during COVID - died because of abortion 

○ 210,000 died during COVID - but only 12,000 die of COVID 

○ More babies die of abortion in a week than people died soley of COVID in 6 months 

Illus: Christian mom who wanted teenage daughter to abort baby - how will people look at me? 

Christians buy into the, “I know it’s not right, but it’s still better than…. 

This child is going to be deformed 

○ What level of deformity is acceptable? 

○ Down syndrome? 

○ Heart condition 

○ Blonde hair, black skin? 

○ Illus: Matthesius’ daughter 

● Not wanted” 

● Will be unhappy” 

● Someone can’t afford” 

● Contributes to overpopulation” 

● Places additional stress on the world’s food supply 

Let’s use these same arguments on old people, or sick people… your grandmother. What does God’s word say about the child in its mother’s womb? 

● Psalm 139:13–19 (ESV) For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my 

soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you. Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me!

If you have had an abortion, there is forgiveness for you. 

It’s possible that it was malicious code injected when you didn’t know it was wrong It’s possible that it was malicious code injected to overwrite what you knew to be wrong. 

But abortion cannot continue under the cover of a woman’s right to choose. The choice can be and should be made prior to conception, not after.

Introduction: 
Today I’d like you to take a journey with me through the book of Nehemiah. If you don’t know who he is, you will by the end of my message. He was given an assignment from God, one man, to reboot the dream of a nation. Today, as the church, we are called to be a Nehemiah.

Title: Dream Reboot

Chapter 1

• The book opens after a remnant of Jews had returned to Jerusalem from Babylon with Ezra. They went back to rebuild the temple of God.

• Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the King Artaxerxes. It was a highly trusted position, during a time of war and treason. He poured the king drinks. 

• One day his brother and his friends came to visit Nehemiah. He asked how things were going with the Jews that had returned.

• His brother reported that things were not going well. They are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem had been torn down and the gates had been destroyed by fire.

• Nehemiah begins to pray. “God remember what you told Moses? If you disobey me, I’ll scatter you, but if you come back to me no matter where my people are I’ll put them back in place, those I choose to mark with my name.” Let the king be kind to me today.”

Chapter 2

• He went in to serve wine to the king. He asked Nehemiah, “Why are you sad?” This was his opportunity, though he was terrified. He proceeds The city of my family is in ruins and the city gates are down. 

• “What do you want?”

• Send me to Judah where my family is buried so I can rebuild its wall and gates. He went as far as to ask the king for letters to validate this quest. The letters represented the king’s orders for safe journey and provision of materials for the rebuild. On top of that, the king sent an army escort for safe travel.

• The enemies Sanballat and Tobiah heard what was going on, they became angry that anyone would come to help the people. They began to mock their efforts.

• Nehemiah arrived and had been there for three days before doing anything. He finally went out at night, assessed the damage and came up with a plan. 

Nehemiah’s Dream Reboot 

• 2:17-18 He went back to the people and said “Jerusalem is a wreck. Let’s rebuild the wall and set the city gates. Let’s not live in this disgrace any longer.” The people were eager to get started. They agreed and said, “Let’s get started!”

• v. 19 The enemy showed up. “Ha, what do you think you are doing?”

• v.20 Nehemiah responded “God will help us. He will make sure we succeed! You have no say in this!”

Chapter 3

• The rebuilding of the wall and gates begin. People jumped in and worked together.

• Why was the rebuilding of the wall so important?

• With no wall, the city was vulnerable to attack. They appeared weak and open for an enemy to get in. The thought was to build the wall only to half it’s height, to begin, and enclose it. This way if an enemy was going to try to get in, they would have to first scale the wall. They would have to work to get in. As they completed a portion of the wall, they then restructured the gates. The plan was to work till they were completely closed in.

• God had a dream for the Jews. To set them up in land flowing with milk and honey. He would bless them and provide all they needed. This is what they were fighting for. It was worth protecting. Nehemiah and the people were working to keep the dream alive!

Chapter 4 

1-2 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall he exploded in anger, vilifying the Jews. In the company of his Samaritan cronies and military he let loose: “What are these miserable Jews doing? Do they think they can get everything back to normal overnight? Make building stones out of make-believe?” 3 At his side, Tobiah the Ammonite jumped in and said, “That’s right! What do they think they’re building? Why, if a fox climbed that wall, it would fall to pieces under his weight.” (MSG)

• V 4-5 How did Nehemiah handle it? He did not engage with the enemy but prayed instead.

• v. 6 The people kept on working, they were almost done, things were coming together, they had a heart to work.

Nehemiah 4:7-9 “When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repairs of the walls of Jerusalem were going so well—that the breaks in the wall were being fixed—they were absolutely furious. They put their heads together and decided to fight against Jerusalem and create as much trouble as they could.” (MSG)

• v. 9 The people countered with prayer and set a round-the-clock guard against them.

• They were working hard, it was a big job. The people were getting tired. Their spirit was weakening. Fear and Discouragement saw their opportunity to set in. 

Nehemiah 4:10 “But soon word was going around in Judah, The builders are pooped, the rubbish piles up; We’re in over our heads, we can’t build this wall. 11-12 And all this time our enemies were saying, “They won’t know what hit them. Before they know it we’ll be at their throats, killing them right and left. That will put a stop to the work!” The Jews who were their neighbors kept reporting, “They have us surrounded; they’re going to attack!” If we heard it once, we heard it ten times.” (MSG)

• v. 13 So I stationed guards at the most vulnerable places with swords, lances and bows.

Nehemiah 4:14 “After looking things over I stood up and spoke to the nobles, officials, and everyone else: “Don’t be afraid of them. Put your minds on the Master, great and awesome, and then fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.” (MSG)

• v. 15-18 The enemies plans were frustrated. The people went back to the wall and went to work. 

• ½ young men worked while ½ stood guard.

• Military officers served as back up for everyone working

• Common laborers were to hold a tool in one hand and a spear in the other

• Each builder had a sword strapped to his side as he worked

• Nehemiah kept a trumpeter with him to sound an alarm; if heard, the people were to all gather together in that place

• “Our God will fight for us!”

• The people worked by day and guarded by night. 

• They slept in their clothes and kept a spear in their hand, even when getting water.

Nehemiah had to reboot the dream God had given to His people!

• You have one enemy, the devil. He has one goal in mind and will stop at no means to accomplish that task. He wants to kill your dream!

John 10: 10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. (NLT)

1 Peter 5: 8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (NLT)

3 Take Aways from Nehemiah 4:14:

1. Fear/discouragement – will intimidate, lie, stop your momentum and try to kill   your dream.

Isaiah 41:10 “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” (NLT)

2. Mind – Your mind will need to stay focused on your dream.

Isaiah 26:3“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (NLT)

3. Fight – be prepared to fight for your dream.

Ephesians 6:13 “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.” (NLT)

Closing:

Nehemiah 4:27-29 When it came time for the dedication of the wall, they tracked down and brought in the Levites from all their homes in Jerusalem to carry out the dedication exuberantly: thanksgiving hymns, songs, cymbals, harps, and lutes. 31-36 I had the leaders of Judah come up on the wall, and I appointed two large choirs. One proceeded on the wall to the right…38-39 The other choir proceeded to the left. I and half of the people followed them on the wall.” (MSG) 

• What did the enemy say early on? “Why, if a fox climbed that wall, it would fall to pieces under his weight.”

• The enemy does not have the final say in anything concerning you and the things of God!

Do you need a dream reboot? If you are child of God, your dream is God given. Like Nehemiah, you need to fight for it. If you feel like your life is not worth a dream, God has one for you!

205 Billion Apps will be downloaded this year...

The most used app - Facebook with 2.3 billion active users

The average person has between 60-90 apps on their phone.

• They use on average 25 apps during the month

• They use on average 10 apps 96% of time

Most apps are deleted within a week...

• 77% of all apps are deleted after 3 days

• 90% of all apps are deleted after 30 days

Why do people download and then delete apps?

• Use lots more resources than expected ($, memory and battery)

• Don’t function properly - cause problems while using or to other experiences

• Don’t live up to their promises

• Interrupt - notifications, updates

• Vulnerable to dangers (bad material, spyware,

• Deceptive

Their presence creates a negative user experience, so they are deleted.

REALITY: We are far better at recognizing and deleting bad apps from our phones than we are at recognizing/removing bad apps that we develop during our life journey. But to become the person God wants us to be to experience all that He has for us, we have to participating in this process of deleting bad apps, because they are there.

Acts 8:21–23 (ESV) (Peter to Simon The Magician) ...your heart is not right before God.  Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.  For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”

The Setting Of Acts 8

Acts 8:3 (ESV) But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Acts 8:4 (ESV) Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

• When bad things happen, God redeems them in the lives of believers for His and their good.

• I fully expect for God to use COVID for good!

Acts 8:5 (ESV) Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.

• On of the original 12 disciples

Acts 8:6–8 (ESV) And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did.  For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city.

• Words win over the mind,  but a demonstration of power wins over hearts.

• Words alone has to rely on a well crafted argument - information

• The church today has a lot of information, but little demonstration.

• It has crafted an argument as to why there is no demonstration

• Samaria already had a ton of information

  • John 4:16–18 (ESV) Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”  The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’;  for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”

  • John 4:19–20 (ESV) The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”

    • John 4:24 (ESV) God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship John 4:24 (ESV) God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

  • John 4:25 (ESV) The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.”  

    • John 4:26 (ESV) Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

  • John 4:29 (ESV) “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”

• Leonard Ravenhill - “A man with an experience of God is never at the mercy of a man with an argument.”

• L. H. Hardwick - A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an opinion.” 

It’s important for us to declare truth, but it’s critical for us to look for moments to see the power of God released.

• “THERE WAS MUCH JOY IN THE CITY - REVIVAL!

  • Revival is more the result of the positioning of people for God to move rather than the moving of God.

OUR LIFE APPS ARE WRITTEN ONE EXPERIENCE AT A TIME.

During the early stages of our life, every different experience becomes the lab in which we write the code for the app for navigating similar related experiences in the future. These include our interactions with:

• Friendships

• Money

• Family

• Loneliness

• Rejection

• People in authority: men/women

• Sexuality

• Discouragement

• Success

• Failure

• Self image

• Criticism

• God

• Church

APART FROM GOD, OUR APPS ARE FLAWED.

We have experiences.

We lack information.

We misunderstand.

We are deceived.

We get bad input.

We formulate responses.

We are prepared for a similar situation, incorrectly.

Acts 8:9–11 (ESV) But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great.  They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.”  And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.

• His whole life  was based on deception for gain - magic

• A means to wealth and fame.

• He wanted this fame so badly that he lied and told them he was someone great

• He clearly began this as a young man - And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.

• Everyone (least to great) paid attention to him  - self made rockstar

• We love to be deceived (magician, haunted houses, 

• We are so hungry to see greatness that we listen to people with the confidence to say, “I am GREAT!”

• “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” (supernatural, spiritual)

• Every culture without the power of God is hungry/thirsty for a replacement

• Ripe for a con: someone to convince them through deception of a replacement and their representation.

• Simon has developed his app for now and for the future!

Acts 8:12–13 (ESV) But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.  Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.

JESUS SAVES, 

BUT OUR BAD APPS CAN LIVE ON,

Acts 8:17–19 (ESV) Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.  Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money,  saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

If only our salvation meant that all of the bad code were removed!

Similar experiences trigger bad apps.

Functioning in a bad app leads to bad outcomes.

We get trapped as we revert to what we know instead of what God wants to do.

That’s exactly what Simon did!

Can you recognize the activation of a bad app in your life?

TRUST GODS CATALYST FOR  DELETING OLD APPS AND DOWNLOADING NEW ONES.

God loves you

He wants better for you.

He is unwilling to leave you as you are.

Discipleship is the process of having our flawed apps deleted and replaced with His new ones.

Life will bring along a catalyst to expose the bad app.

• Reading the Bible

• Listening to a sermon.

• Reading a book.

• The voice of the Holy Spirit.

• Spiritual leaders.

Trust the catalyst and allow the surgery to happen there.

The catalyst for Simon required spiritual leadership.

Acts 8:20–23 (ESV) But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!  You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.  Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.  For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”

Can you trust your spiritual leaders to be the catalyst for transformation?

Acts 8:24 (ESV) And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

Closing: 2 Corinthians 7:1 (ESV) Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

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,