207 - God is Your Protector and Defender#
207 - God is Your Protector and Defender
(JP Text Group - Organized by the Little Prince of Heaven)
Brothers and sisters, peace in the Lord.
Psalm 121:1-8
A Song of Ascents. 1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; 8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Let us begin with a prayer:
Heavenly Father, we thank You! Thank You for giving us this word. We lift our eyes to You and look to You. Our help comes from You. You will keep our feet from slipping, for the One who protects us does not slumber or sleep. No matter what problems we encounter, when I come into Your dwelling place, into Your presence, I can enjoy Your rest, regain strength from You, receive Your provision, and You will protect me from all harm. Thank You and praise You! For You are my Lord! You are my loving Father. I completely surrender this time to You; please help and renew each one of us. Thank You and praise You! In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen!
The topic of sharing is: God is Your Protector and Defender.
In this world, we will encounter people who oppose us, criticize us, judge us, or some who try to slander us and belittle us. Human nature is to want to refute the other party. When these people judge and slander us, our first instinct is to prove them wrong. Many people feel they must defend themselves, after all, it is about their reputation. However, the problem with this approach is: if you win against one person, another will appear. There will always be someone against you, always someone trying to embarrass you. If you keep defending yourself, you will become distracted and engage in battles that should not be fought, easily tempted into conflict.
What if someone insults you on WeChat or Weibo? What should you do? Ignore it? We would want to retort, even if it means saying something unpleasant, because we want to protect our reputation and let them know they have messed with the wrong person. But do you know how much energy it takes to retaliate against those who do nothing but criticize you? The only purpose of doing this is to prove to these people that you are a good person. You should spend your energy achieving your dreams and goals instead; the key is not to defend yourself, for God has said He will protect you.
Just like the scripture we discussed today, I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He is your protector. When temptations, trials, and problems come, learn to hand them over to our God and let Him protect you; do not defend yourself. Many times we find that the more we argue, the more problems arise. When God lifts you up and vindicates you, there will certainly be no problems.
Romans 12:17-21 tells us,
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
In life, we often encounter these issues: the world always repays evil with evil. When others attack me or speak ill of me, I want to retaliate even harder. But the Bible tells us: we are children of God, we are under grace, and we should overcome evil with good. Where does our goodness come from? This person is clearly targeting you, mocking you; how can good come out of you? There is only One who is good, and that is our Lord Jesus Christ. Our God is good, so God says do not repay evil for evil; that is what the world does. We should pay attention to doing what is right in the eyes of everyone.
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. How do we live at peace with everyone? When someone wrongs you, the Bible tells us not to take revenge ourselves. Taking revenge sometimes does not work and can make you feel worse. Do not take revenge; rather, yield and let the Lord’s anger take its course. This means that when you yield, God will personally vindicate you; when you do not defend yourself, our Lord will personally defend you. Therefore, the Lord says, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay.” Amen!
What should we do when we encounter enemies? Verse 20 tells us: So, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
Brothers and sisters, is this easy? It is very difficult! You think, this is clearly an enemy! Why should I feed him? Should I let him eat and then insult me again? If he is thirsty, why should I give him a drink? So he can drink and then belittle me again? The Bible tells us the reason: Is it to maintain your enemy? No, it is for your own sake.
Consider this: when someone is constantly insulting you, you say, “Are you thirsty? Here, let me pour you a glass of water,” proving that your heart is not wounded by their malicious words. God does not want these evil words to enter your heart, so the Lord says: do not take revenge; let Me handle it. He wants your heart to be filled with His goodness. Amen!
Christians should not be harmed by the slander or malicious words of some people. Why would you argue against their slander? Because you believe it. If someone says you are ugly, you believe it and think, “I must be ugly!” Have you ever thought that you are a unique existence in this world? There is no one else exactly like you!
You say: “Here, have a glass of water. After you drink it, go do whatever you need to do.” There is no need to let their wrong conclusions take root in your heart. This is what God tells us in the Bible; you need to think about how you are viewed in God’s eyes. You are His treasure; He is your protector. Amen!
Lift your eyes to Him! Focus on Jesus; how does Jesus see you? If Jesus says you are ugly, then you are truly ugly; if Jesus says you are despicable, then you are indeed despicable. But in the eyes of the Heavenly Father, is that how you are? No, you are loved by God, you are righteous, you are holy. Amen! No matter what others say about you, you must persist in knowing what your identity is. You cannot let others say, “I don’t see you as a person,” and you respond, “Maybe I’m not a person.” We cannot change this principle.
Brothers and sisters, no matter how others slander you, you must believe: in the eyes of the Heavenly Father, you are precious. And you must believe one thing: He is your protector, the One who protects you does not slumber or sleep; He is always watching over you. Hallelujah!
So here it says, if your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. Because in doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.
This is the way to overcome evil with good. First, you must have the goodness of Jesus Christ within you to do such things; otherwise, if someone says something to us, we will retaliate. Do not worry about those rumors and negative comments; they will only distract you. That is the enemy trying to tempt you away from your path, wasting your time and energy.
In life, there are many battles that are wars without gunpowder, but no matter how good you are, how loving, how kind, how excellent, there will always be people who do not like you, trying to ruin your reputation. Do not pull yourself into these meaningless battles.
Was Jesus not perfect? When Jesus was working, did everyone agree with Him? No, many were slandering Jesus! Jesus did not do anything evil, yet many still slandered Him with malicious words. When He went around preaching the gospel of the kingdom, healing the sick, supporting the fallen, and encouraging the discouraged, Jesus was doing good deeds, right? Yet He was still falsely accused and misunderstood. How did Jesus defend Himself? Did He defend Himself?
1 Peter 2:22-25
22 He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. 23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
This is Jesus. Our example to follow is the Lord Jesus! When Jesus encountered those who slandered and misunderstood Him, He did not defend Himself. How far did the Pharisees go in their accusations against Jesus? They called Him a deceiver, said He was crazy, and even used extremely malicious words to say He had no father, that He was a bastard, slandering Jesus with such words. If we heard such words, would we not feel hurt?
He did not defend Himself in this matter; He committed Himself to the One who judges justly. Brothers and sisters, should we not entrust all our matters to our Lord? He is our judge. Amen! When we entrust everything to the Lord Jesus, to our Heavenly Father, He will personally vindicate you. Jesus Christ bore our sins on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds, you have been healed.
The meaning of this passage is: how Jesus was, we should be as well. Do not harbor malice or bitterness in your heart. When Jesus suffered, He did not threaten revenge; He simply entrusted Himself to God. No matter what circumstances He faced, Jesus was always filled with peace. You need to start learning to hand over all your situations, all the past negativity, and others’ evaluations of you to God. Do not waste too much time trying to defend yourself or prove your character to others. It is unimportant; why must you prove to others who you are? Our Lord knows who you are. Hallelujah!
Do not worry about how others view you. Today, if I wear this outfit, how will people see me? Today, if I have this hairstyle, how will people see me? Know what your mission is; hand everything over to our Heavenly Father. He can vindicate you more effectively than you can vindicate yourself.
Jesus did not retaliate, did not fight back, nor did He try to persuade them to change their minds. You must believe one thing: some people will never support you; no matter what you do, they will not like it. They will deliberately misunderstand you, not want to understand your perspective, and will not give you any leeway. When you encounter such situations, do not be discouraged. If you only react to those who like to criticize and judge you, will you not be more energized to confront them? Do not fight battles that should not be fought; do not worry about how others view you.
Do not let what others say in the media trouble you for days. This has always been the case and still is. Recently, a friend encountered such a situation. Someone posted a message in their friend circle, and he felt that the person was talking about him. This kind of condemnation is quite severe; in fact, the person was not talking about him but someone else. He said to that person, “Why did you say that about me?”
Brothers and sisters, when encountering such situations, do not put all the bad labels on yourself. Amen! Learn to sweep away the negative things; do not think about how to refute or retaliate against the other party when you are angry. There is really no need to think about what words to leave in the comments below. You must believe: our Heavenly Father is your defender; you have a true defender in the Most High God!
In such situations, should you not take a step back? If you hire a lawyer, the lawyer stands in front of you. When the judge asks, “Tell me your motives,” and before the lawyer can speak, you jump up and say, “I have no motives.” What do you need the lawyer for? Let the lawyer speak. Who is your defender? The Holy Spirit, Jesus! Why do you rush out? If you rush forward, your lawyer will not speak because only one person can speak. You must know that Jesus is your defender; do not always rush forward. Let Jesus take the lead.
When you understand this, you will say: Heavenly Father, I hand this matter over to You. I will no longer worry about what others say about me. I will not waste energy trying to change their minds because they do not like me anyway. You are my protector; You are fighting for me. In the Bible, there is a man named Mordecai. Haman tried everything to destroy him. Mordecai was a Jew. At that time, Haman was a man of lowly status who had risen to power, highly regarded by the emperor, who rewarded him with much money and a high position, saying that everyone must bow to him.
Yet Mordecai refused to bow to Haman. When Haman saw that Mordecai would not bow, he thought, “This one Mordecai not bowing makes all my wealth and honor seem worthless.” You can see how pitiful Haman was! With such a high position and so many people bowing to him, he could not see that just because one person would not bow, he felt that everything he had was worthless. Where was the focus? It was all on Mordecai.
How many times have we been deceived in this way? In fact, you already have many good things, yet you cannot see them. Just because of that one small issue, you fixate on it and become increasingly angry. In the end, look at how twisted Haman became! He called his relatives over and devised a plan to build a gallows five cubits high to hang Mordecai on it, to relieve his anger.
Just because Mordecai would not bow to him, he thought, “Not only do I want to kill Mordecai, but I want to annihilate his entire nation. This nation deserves to be exterminated.” Just like Hitler said: the Jewish people are an inferior race, and I must wipe them out completely.
Haman had the same idea back then: I not only want to kill you, but I also want to eradicate your entire nation. In such situations, when you are not as high in status, wealth, or influence as others, what can you do? Mordecai could only do one thing: pray to God. At that time, Mordecai told Queen Esther: “You must go to the king.” Esther had a classic line: “If I perish, I perish.”
At that time, praying could be life-threatening. After praying, if she went to see the king and he did not agree, she would die. Not only would Esther die, but the entire Jewish nation would perish. In such a life-and-death moment, all the Jews did not plead with Haman but prayed to God. Mordecai firmly believed: his God was his protector, his God was his defender. Amen! He believed that our Lord would surely turn the situation around. He only prayed before God, and did the situation completely turn around? Yes, it was completely reversed.
At that time, God did something remarkable; the king could not sleep that night and called for his servants, saying, “Bring me the historical records to read.” Who reads historical records when they cannot sleep? What is the point? It is better to listen to a story. Yet, coincidentally, he read about how Mordecai had protected the king. The king said, “Is there such a thing? Did he receive a reward?” The servants said, “No.” Is this all just coincidence?
No, because behind it were a group of people praying, and God began to work. Amen! So, brothers and sisters, God actually works through people. When you encounter a huge problem that seems unsolvable, pray to God, and He will send others to resolve the issue. So when you pray, pay attention to the changes in the people and environment around you; that is God already at work. Hallelujah! The entire situation turned around completely because of Esther’s situation; this is what we mean when we say: believe that God is your protector and defender.
When Jesus preached, He was despised. Some called Him a false deceiver, others said He was a bastard, and even His family thought He was crazy. Did His mother not go to find Him? She said, “Come back quickly; I heard people say you are crazy.” His own mother thought her son was insane! Today, many people believe in Jesus, and their mothers might say: “Are you crazy? We can believe in Jesus, but we cannot believe in Him so crazily.” This is also a form of contempt towards you.
She does not know what you are doing; you should pray to the Heavenly Father for her and bless her. Amen! The Bible says Jesus remained silent, meaning He never worried about His reputation. He would not worry about being misunderstood, knowing that people would pick at His faults, judge Him, and also knowing that those religious leaders would not believe in Him and were indignant. Yet Jesus continued to do what He was supposed to do, diligently fulfilling what the Father wanted Him to do. Amen!
We are the same. If you are constantly troubled by what others think, asking why they do not respect you, why they describe you that way, “I am not that kind of person!” You feel the need to persuade them to have a correct view of you. If you spend all your energy on such matters, you will become distracted and miss the blessings God has for you. Amen! Why not let God protect you and let the Holy Spirit work? Let God personally deal with those spreading rumors; is that not better? Why do these things yourself? When God acts, those friends who embarrass you and those problems will be completely resolved. You must know that God knows what your problems are.
Let’s look at a passage from Numbers 12:1-3:
1 Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. 2 “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this. 3 Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.
Brothers and sisters, here we see something we do not want to see. At that time, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, and the number of people was about two million. Leading a group of two million people is not easy! Every day there were people opposing Moses, people disagreeing with him.
But this time was different; this time the opposition came from his own family. When an enemy attacks you, you might think it does not matter; they are just those kinds of people, and you do not know them. You can forgive them; their harm may not be too great. But when your family attacks you, the harm is the greatest. Because they know your most sensitive spots, they know exactly where to poke you. Moses’ brother and sister personally stirred up trouble, trying to embarrass Moses.
What was the problem? Perhaps Moses’ first wife had passed away, and later he married a Cushite woman, who was a black-skinned African. His own brother and sister saw that he had brought in a dark-skinned woman, and our law clearly states that you cannot marry foreigners. Why did you do this? So his brother and sister could not stand the Cushite woman and began to slander Moses.
Brothers and sisters, in the face of such problems, did Moses argue with them? Did Moses assert his position: “How dare you oppose me? Do you not know who I am? I brought down ten plagues in Egypt; I performed many miracles! How dare you doubt me?” How many pastors speak like this? “I have been preaching for decades; how can you say I am wrong?” Isn’t that dangerous? Immediately, a debate would ensue. But Moses did not use his past achievements to argue with his brother and sister; he was a very humble man. When his family challenged him, Moses remained silent and prayed to God.
The Bible tells us that Miriam and Aaron slandered him because of the Cushite woman he married. Do you know that slander is a bad word? Criticism or pointing out your problems is one thing, but slander is more serious; it means to attack with malice. They exaggerated the matter and challenged him. Brothers and sisters, slander is not a good word!
How did they slander Moses? They said, “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t He also spoken through us?” What does this mean? Do not think Moses is better than us. I tell you, what Moses can do, we can do too; God speaks to Moses, but He also speaks to me! He also speaks to Aaron! What is so great about Moses? This is a problem of order.
Brothers and sisters, under grace, is there no order? Do not despise the preaching of the prophets. What does this mean? He may not have as much knowledge as you, may not understand as much as you, may not be as wealthy as you, but do not forget that he has the Spirit of God within him, and God will work through him. We must not look down on him. Amen!
You cannot despise someone just because they are young. What can they possibly say? In terms of eloquence, Aaron is more eloquent than Moses; Miriam was even more remarkable; she was probably the leader of the women’s group, similar to today’s women’s director. After they crossed the Red Sea, she gathered all the women to sing and dance, praising God! She was probably leading the praise, truly remarkable.
Moses certainly could not sing as well as she could; he was not as eloquent as Aaron. Every day he would say, “God said… God said…” Did they not memorize the Ten Commandments? They recited it every day. His two relatives said, “We know all about what you are doing, but what I can do, you may not be able to do!” Is that the meaning? In such situations, one person looks down on another.
Moses did not defend himself. The Bible tells us that the Lord heard this. You must believe: when others slander you, does God hear? God hears. God knows about this matter, but you must also know another thing: He is your protector; He is your defender. Amen!
Let’s look at verse 9: The Lord became angry with the two of them.
Moses did not take action to defend himself; he simply prayed to God. Therefore, the Bible says Moses was very humble, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth. What does humility mean? It means gentleness and meekness; Jesus was also like this. The Bible says Jesus is gentle and humble, riding into the city on a donkey, a young man as meek as a lamb.
Moses was like this; he did not defend himself because he knew what his mission was. Let’s look at how when Moses did not defend himself, God began to act. God became angry with the two of them. Why did God become angry? Was it because these two killed, set fires, or committed adultery? The reason is simple: because they despised the reputation of God’s servant, Moses. Amen! Immediately, Miriam broke out in leprosy, and her whole body was afflicted.
Everyone thinks: Why did Miriam have this problem? Many people say: “Today I say something about you, and I am better than you…” In fact, God made Miriam break out in leprosy not to kill her! If He wanted her dead, He could have killed her directly. Why did He let Miriam break out in leprosy? Some might pray: “Be careful; if you offend me, I will pray to my God to make you break out in leprosy, make you sick, and let you die.” This carries a curse.
In the past, I had a slight conflict with a pastor because of differing views in the Bible. He insisted that when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, they walked through mud; I said no, they walked on dry ground. The pastor said, “What do you mean? I have been preaching this for decades; are you saying I am wrong?” I said, “You are right, you are right,” but is he wrong?
The Bible clearly states that the Israelites crossed the Red Sea on dry ground. I may not remember anything else, but I truly remember that. However, the pastor was aggressive, and I felt embarrassed to say anything further. I said I was wrong, but the pastor did not let it go. What was the next sermon about? It was that sermon. I clearly knew: I admitted I was wrong, but he still would not let it go. What did the pastor say? “Dare to challenge the authority of the pastor?” Do you know why Miriam broke out in leprosy? Because she challenged Moses’ authority. I thought: “Isn’t this just like me?”
Now I want to ask you, why did God let Miriam break out in leprosy? It is not that God wanted to take revenge on Miriam! That is not the meaning! Many people say it is because she despised Moses, but there is another reason. She indeed despised Moses and did not respect him. Why did God let her break out in leprosy? Leprosy signifies something evil. At that time, the Bible recorded that Miriam had leprosy all over her body. The Jews believed that wherever there was uncleanness, leprosy would appear. Miriam had leprosy from head to toe, which signifies what? Her problems were greater. Amen! Do you understand what I mean?
When Miriam looked down on Moses, she saw that he had a small problem, but she did not realize that her problems were much greater. When she attacked and slandered Moses, she did not realize that in God’s eyes, she was nothing, merely someone lifted up and used by God. God allowed her true self to be revealed: “Look at your true state! You have no part that is good, yet I still use you!” This was the purpose of God allowing Miriam to have leprosy; it was not to kill her. After isolation, she was healed and returned; this is the reason.
God used this matter to tell Miriam: you have no qualification to judge my servant Moses! He indeed made a mistake in this matter, but it was only this matter; you actually have more problems, yet I still use you. Aaron was very wise; when he saw that Miriam had leprosy, he knelt down and said: “Lord! Forgive me; I am just a mere mortal; I made a mistake. Why must it be like this? Why attack others from the beginning?”
Brothers and sisters, those who attack others with the law should see that their problems are greater. But do not take action yourself; do not say: “Dare to attack me? Let my God make you break out in leprosy!” This will cause problems; do not pray like that!
You must believe: God sees everything; He knows the suffering you endure. God sees those attackers who come to attack you. When you feel wronged, pray to God; He will not stand by. When people damage your reputation, sometimes God allows them to speak, but at the same time, God will continue to lift you up. Because the more they speak, the higher you will be lifted. They think they can hurt you, but in fact, they are helping you. One day, God will elevate you to a level where they can no longer reach you. Is this not a better way? Why eliminate these enemies? This is a very low-level way of handling things.
What is the higher way of handling it? In front of your enemies, He prepares a feast for you; this is the wise way. Amen! Your enemies are still there, but they are watching you being continually lifted up by God until they can no longer reach you. Is this not better? Why must you destroy others? Is this not how Jesus is?
The Book of Revelation records that when Jesus returns, even those who pierced Him will weep and gnash their teeth. Jesus did not kill these people; He continued to rise, allowing these people to watch until they could no longer reach Him. Amen! So God wants you to know where your mission lies; do not waste time arguing with them. In front of your enemies, He will prepare a bountiful feast for you. Amen!
The Bible also mentions a man named Nehemiah, who rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. When he went to build the walls, many people did not understand him because the difficulty exceeded our imagination. Down in the valley were two men, Sanballat and Tobiah. These two did not want the walls to be rebuilt, so they mocked Nehemiah, trying to lure him into conflict.
In Nehemiah 4:1-3:
1 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed; he ridiculed the Jews. 2 And in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?” 3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!”
Do you know what this means? You still want to build the wall? Are you joking? You still want to protect yourselves? Is this all mockery? They said even if you really brought out stones and built a wall, a fox could climb up and knock it down.
Are you angry? You are building a wall, and there are two people not working, saying, “What do you think you are doing? You are going to build a wall with stones? Even if you build this wall, a fox could knock it down. Can you continue building?” No, you cannot. Many people seem to forget that they are building their own walls. Do you know you are building your walls? What do the enemies want? The enemies want you to stop your work. They know they cannot tear down what you have built. For example, if you spend your time spreading the gospel or visiting weak brothers and sisters, the wall will be built!
They cannot tear down what you have already built because the foundation is Jesus Christ. There is only one way: to do everything possible to prevent you from building further. They start mocking you, using all kinds of malicious words to attack you, trying to make you stop your work. Do you understand?
If Nehemiah heard these words and said, “You try to pee on it and see if you can knock it down,” would that delay the project? Who would suffer the loss? It would be us. If you spend your time thinking about what malicious attackers say, will you have the heart to do your work?
Of course not. You must believe: God is your protector; He is your defender. If at that time Nehemiah had come down from the wall and spent several days fighting with Sanballat, Tobiah, and others, perhaps he could win that battle, but the rebuilding of the wall would definitely be delayed. Amen!
You need to ask yourself, is it necessary to engage in this war? To defeat the opponent, let God do it; that is more secure. Do not forget what our mission is. If you only argue to satisfy your pride and make your flesh feel good, you will argue for a moment, thinking, “If I insult you a couple of times, I will feel better.” But do not forget that you are falling into the devil’s trap, into the enemy’s snare.
You must walk the right path; your time is too precious, and the destiny God has for you is very important. Your mission is very great; you have no need to get involved in unnecessary battles. In your life, there will always be those who shout like Sanballat, and there will always be those like Tobiah who try to provoke you, saying some sarcastic words, saying things that are useless to you, to stimulate you, to make you forget that you have a true defender, Jesus Christ! To make you forget that you have a true protector, Jesus Christ! If you forget all this, you will rush down to argue with them. But once you argue, you cannot do anything else.
Brothers and sisters, think about how many people have gotten into fights over trivial matters, unable to work, neglecting their families. Is the loss not greater? If you forget our main path and stray onto a side road, the loss is actually greater.
I want to tell everyone: believe that our Lord is your protector; He is your defender. Lift your eyes to the mountains; your help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He can keep your feet from slipping; the God who protects you has never taken His eyes off you. This means He knows all the grievances and sufferings you endure. Just say, “Lord! Help me, lift me up, and deliver me from these problems.”
The way to be delivered is simple: the first way is to take the problem away; the second way is to lift you up so that you are not disturbed by these difficulties. Which is better? Of course, the second one. If you are walking in the sea and there is a reef ahead, you can pray, “Lord! Take away this reef.” This is one way; God says, “Okay! I will take away your reef.”
As you continue to walk forward, will you encounter reefs again? Yes, you will. You will continue to pray, “Lord! I encountered another one; please take it away.” In this case, no matter when you encounter problems, you pray to God, saying, “Lord! Take it all away.” In fact, just taking away the problems does not elevate your faith, does it? No.
But God has an even better way. God sends a storm that raises the entire sea level. Which is better? From then on, as you walk forward, all the reefs will have no effect on you. Are the reefs still there? Yes, but where did they go? They are far below. Amen!
God wants to give you a strength that elevates your faith to a level where difficulties are far below. Amen! When you walk forward, you will no longer worry about these problems. Many people always say, “Lord! Why do You let me encounter these difficulties and sufferings? Why?” Do not complain about these things. Instead, say, “Lord! Grant me faith; elevate the sea level within me.” Amen! You must believe: the Lord is your protector; He has never left you.
The following verses say, “By day the sun will not harm you, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm.”
What I just mentioned about protection, many people think that protection means not letting me encounter difficulties. In fact, that is not the case; this will never elevate your faith or your abilities. What is the best way to protect? To give you strength. Amen!
For example, do you hope your child goes out and never encounters storms, or do you hope to give them the ability to say, “Leave in the name of Jesus Christ” when they face storms? Which is better? Of course, it is the second one. We do not want our children to grow up in a greenhouse, where even a slight breeze will wilt them.
God hopes His children are the latter; He gives you strength, knowing that He is your protector, your defender, and you can walk forward boldly. Amen! On your journey, there will indeed be people mocking you, but do not stop and say, “Why are you laughing at me? What is wrong with my appearance?” There is no need at all; your goal is there. Do not let the bad scenery by the roadside hinder your steps forward. Focus your eyes on Jesus Christ and run straight toward that goal.
Isn’t Paul such a person? He said, “I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” How could he do these things? He focused on that goal. When you only look at the goal, everything else becomes insignificant. Amen!
Athletes see that trophy and think, “That is mine.” In their minds, they imagine that trophy is theirs. On the field, they will run forward recklessly. Will they care about what others say? If you are running on that field and someone says, “You look so ugly!” will you care about them? Will you stop and say, “Why am I ugly?” There is absolutely no need because your mind is not on them; your mind is only on that trophy. Amen!
That is your ultimate goal. What others say no longer matters. No matter if they say, “You idiot, why are you running so slowly?” So what? We are moving forward. Hallelujah! There will indeed be many Sanballats and many Tobiahs around, but do not worry; you have a protector. Be still and know that He is your God; let God fight those battles. Amen! Think about it: when one day you receive the trophy, will you still care about what those people think? You will not care. Hallelujah!
You will indeed suffer some hardships and face some unfair treatment because of Jesus, but one day, when Jesus Christ gives you His rewards, you will completely forget the sufferings you endured in this world. Amen! In the future, in the kingdom of heaven, all the things you have done for the Lord will be remembered, while all the bad and negative things will be cleared away.
We must learn to clear away these negatives in this world so that they do not affect your current life process. Amen! The kingdom of heaven is a reality, and today’s church is a model of the future kingdom. While you are on this earth, you can live as if you are in heaven. One way to do this is to not care about those who attack you; care about how God sees you and what destiny He has for you. Amen! God will deal with those critics; do not worry. Amen!
Interestingly, when Nehemiah rebuilt the wall, the temple of Jerusalem was built on the mountain; it was built on the mountain, while the critics were at the bottom of the mountain. What does this mean? Here is a spiritual principle: when you start responding to others’ criticisms and arguing with them, you will come down from the mountain and begin to go downhill. When you defend yourself and try to prove you are right, you will leave your original high place and descend to their level.
You say, “I am a noble person; I do not associate with them.” When someone insults you, you immediately retaliate with even harsher words. In fact, you have already lowered yourself to their level, diminishing your noble stature to align with them. Do you understand what I mean? Know who you are; you are a child of God, you are loved by God, and you have a great mission from God. There is no need to argue with them. Because they are idle, being used by the devil, they will look for opportunities to mock you, belittle you, and provoke you, hoping you will fall. This is precisely the work of the devil: to destroy, steal, and kill! He hopes you forget who you are and come down from the mountain to be like them; then they will be quiet.
Just like when Noah and his family built the ark, the ark was built on the mountain. Have you ever seen anyone build a ship on a mountain? He built the ark for nearly 120 years. Did no one know they were crazy? Did he not have relatives? They would say, “Noah, come down quickly! Look at what your children have become! You all do nothing but build a ship on the mountain! Come down; stop being crazy!” Did Noah come down? No.
You must know that you are walking steadily on high ground; God has lifted you up. Do not come down; if you come down, you will be like them. When you forget your identity, you will end up like them. What is the outcome? You will argue, get angry, and live under curses every day. What is the point?
We should be like Noah; no matter how others comment, he continued his work without stopping, fulfilling God’s mission. They kept building the ark as God instructed. When the ark was completed, the eight of them entered the ark, and God personally shut the door. At that time, it began to rain outside. What happened to those who mocked them and did not believe in Noah? They all died.
Let those who attack you, do not believe in you, and mock you be. We will preach the gospel to them; if they do not listen, let them be. But do not argue with them; you can bless them in the name of Jesus Christ. If they say, “I do not believe in your Jesus,” you still bless them until one day they truly see that you are right. By then, it will be too late. So do not forget your mission; do not neglect the path you must walk. Amen!
Do not leave your high place; do not come down to be like them. You must understand that you have a defender, and that is our Jesus Christ. You have a mediator before the Heavenly Father. You know He will fight for you, just like Jesus. He does not respond to critics but continues to do His own thing, just like Nehemiah stayed on the mountain; like Noah, he continued to build his ship, focusing on what was most important. Perhaps today you have come down; that is okay. Quickly return to your mountain; quickly return to God’s dwelling place. Because you must believe there will always be critics; those people will never understand you, and there will always be those who oppose you.
I encourage you to think: God is your protector. You place your reputation and fame in Jesus’ hands. God has arranged everything for you; those who will cheer for you will find like-minded friends. Find your friends who will walk this heavenly road with you. Amen! Do not let those who do not share your vision slow your steps. Do not do this. You must believe: God has a great mission for you. Hallelujah! Thank and praise the Lord!
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise You. We will indeed encounter those who oppose us, those who criticize, judge, and even slander us. But I will not argue for myself; I will focus my eyes on You. My protection comes from You; my help comes from You. You have already lifted me up high; I am at Your right hand. You will lift me up; no one can pull me down.
My destiny is to enjoy Your blessings and to be able to share Your blessings. Heavenly Father, help me and lead me through this week. In Christ Jesus, even when I encounter people like Sanballat and Tobiah, I will not leave my path. I will not go downhill; I will not leave my current mission. I do not wish to descend to their level. You are my protector; You are my defender. Therefore, I would rather yield and let You vindicate me.
You will arrange better friends for me, arrange better paths for me, elevate my faith, and let Your love dwell in my heart. Thank You and praise You! You give me a kind of faith to overcome the evil around me with Your goodness. Thank You and praise You! Thank You for giving me Your word. Thank You and praise You! All glory be to You. In the name of our Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen!