Satan's Strategies Against The Church

We're just so glad that we will be meeting again 16th of May, one week away, and our nation is beginning to open, for which we are glad. Also, we've been working on our building. We'll be moving into a new building next Sunday morning. That'll be the first time we moved out of the old one that was such a blessing. We move into the new one, and we're grateful to the Lord for all of these things, all of his provision, to be able to do this. Please do be in prayer. There's one thing here I just want to draw your attention to, is that next weekend, we're calling a fast again, specifically Saturday. Now, if you want to do it Friday, or if you don't want to do it Sunday, that is fine, but we're just saying the 15th of May. I'm saying this for these also in other countries who join us. There's many last time wanted to join us. We didn't give them enough warning, but they fasted the week following. For those that watch in on the videos, we would ask you, there's many who consider this their church, although they're not meeting with us here in Limerick. We're going to join together in the fast next weekend. You can go online and see our teaching on fasting as well. If you can't manage Saturday, do it Friday or do it Sunday. We have personal needs here in the church. Candace is fighting this issue of cancer in her body. That is a primary thing we're fasting and praying about. We're looking for God's mercy. We're looking for a miracle from heaven. Also, there's others writing from other countries who have very serious needs in their own bodies or in their families. We are going to lift up all the needs. We don't need to mention them by name, but we are joining together. Whatever country you're in, whatever place, whatever situation, we are going to together come before God and pray for a breakthrough in our midst, all of our individual lives. We want to do that unitedly as one people. That will be on Saturday. Then on Sunday, we'll be meeting again. That's the first time churches have opened up in Ireland. It's been the only country in Europe to keep the churches locked down. It's very serious what's happening in our world. To have 200 born-again evangelical churches in this nation call the government to repentance two weeks ago and to say, this isn't good enough and we will break the law. I really do believe that has impacted this decision and what's happening at the minute. They may swing away from that, but I assure you the churches in Ireland are beginning to stand. I'm thankful there is a backbone, more than I ever expected. Let's pray. Let's fast next weekend, whether it's a meal, whether it's three days you take, whatever it is that's good in your heart before the Lord. If you're pregnant, we advise carefulness with those things. There's a fast that you don't need to abstain totally, but you can be a part of that. Here this morning, I want to take you to the last message in our series on spiritual warfare. Very shortly, I'm going to start two new series, one on the Wednesday nights, one on Sundays. They're two very important series, especially the ones we're going to start shortly on Sunday morning. I've sat on this for I think a few years, been wanting to preach it and it's burning within me. I believe it's time to teach it and preach it in this church. It's going to be very, very edifying and encouraging, but I want to bring this series on spiritual warfare to an end. I've got so much more I could say, I would like to say, but I believe we've said enough for this time at the moment. I want you to turn to the book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament as we go to the Word of God this morning. If you find 1 and 2 Chronicles, then Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, you're going to find Nehemiah there. You'll be able to find it, but turn it to Nehemiah chapter 2. My message here this morning as we finish up, and this is my title, Satan's Strategies Against the Church, and I'm going to give you six in number. I know there'll be others, but these are specific attacks, strategies of Satan against the church wherever it is found. We're not dealing with ley lines, anointing door handles, finding out the names of powers and principalities over cities. What we're going to deal with this morning is the strategies of Satan that are revealed in the written Word of God. I actually taught this message about five years ago in the year 2016 when we dealt with the 10 gates of Jerusalem and Nehemiah and the people rebuilding, but I've always felt an importance with this message to come back to it. In the future, I'm going to take this message and preach six messages on it. I'm going to break it down. I believe it's so important, but here this morning, I want to give a reminder. That series on Nehemiah was fundamental to the raising up of a church in Limerick City. It was basic and fundamental. I believe that it was God's message concerning his church in this city. Even if someone belongs to some other church, I believe it's his message, the message of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the gates, but I'm pulling one of those messages out because you know what? These six strategies of Satan's we'll deal with this morning. We have had to deal with them constantly over the past seven years. I'll go further. The past 15 years of my marriage, Candace can tell you we had to face these things constantly. I'm going further back over the past 29 years of me preaching. I've had to face these things constantly. All of this, it's not just a biblical teaching. It's experiential. I have proved that this is true and we as a church have. When I first preached this, you may have been ignorant of some of these things, but let's go back and let me remind you of Satan's strategies against the church. We have seen it in the past and we will see it in the future again. Reading from Nehemiah chapter two and verse nine, it says, then I came to the governors beyond the river and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me. When Simbalat the Hornanite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite heard of it, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then just moving down to chapter two, verse 19 and 20, then when Simbalat the Hornanite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite and Geshem the Arabian heard it, they laughed us to scorn and despised us and said, what is this thing that you do? Will you rebel against the king? Then answered I them and said unto him, the God of heaven, he will prosperous. Therefore we, his servants will arise and build, but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem. Let's pray together. Father, I thank you for the word of God. I thank you for this church. I thank you that you built this church, that you put the gates in place over these few years, that you've raised up divine order, a biblical order. And my God, what you put in this church, you desire to put back in the body of Christ. Lord God, you give us a message. You give us a clear truth to preach, nor God that many and other nations could be blessed as well. Call back to biblical salvation, the biblical order of the church, the truth of the written scriptures. And my God, in all of this, it's because we want to see Christ glorified, exalted. He is the head of this body, the foundation. He is the door into it. He is all in all. He is beautiful. He is precious. He is a savior, a deliverer, a baptizer, and the Holy Ghost. Lord God, he is a healer. Lord God, he is everything that we need. And he is our soon coming king. Show us, expose the strategies of Satan this morning. Let us look back over the past seven years. Lord God, let us be aware of his strategies. And Father, I pray that you expose his works and destroy them. And Lord God, protect us, inform us that we might guard the work of God in the years ahead. In Jesus' mighty name. Amen. My message, Satan's strategies against the church. We're not overemphasizing Satan in a series. We're soon going to get to plenty of preaching on Christ, but it's a part of biblical doctrine that we deal with Satan and his strategies. It says in 2 Corinthians 2, verse 11, for we are not ignorant of his devices. Speaking of Satan, that word ignorant, we're not to be ignorant of his devices. You're not to be without knowledge. You're not to be stupid. You're not to be blind, but you're to have real knowledge concerning Satan's devices. Paul was writing to the church at Corinth. He was writing to that entire church, and he said, we are not to be ignorant of Satan's devices against the church. The word device there, and this is what it means in the Greek, an intellectually purposed plan. In other words, Satan has exercised his mind. He has an intelligent plan, a well-thought-out plan against the church. And Paul says, we're not to be ignorant of these well-thought-out plans of Satan. He has an intellectual. He has methodically thought them out, and we must not be ignorant. We need knowledge of them. We need to be taught them. We need to study them in the Bible. And as we study them, it doesn't make us less Christ-centered, but it protects the work of God, that Christ might be all in all. Again, it says in Ephesians 6, verse 11, put on the whole armor of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. In Ephesians 6, concerning our warfare in the church, this was written by Paul to the church at Ephesus. So this is something the local church needs to understand. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. What are the wiles of the devil? Listen very carefully, because it's important to the entire message. What are these wiles that we are to stand against? The word wiles here in Ephesians 6 is the Greek word methodea. It's where we get our word method, or methodology from. So we see the devil has methods, or he has an entire methodology, or he has devices, or we could say strategies. That's why I've called this Satan's strategies against the church. We are not to be ignorant of these methods. Now this Greek word methodea, listen what it means. It means secretive schemes, cleverly crafted plans, or tricky strategies. I hope you understand that the Bible, the Holy Spirit is revealing the strategies of Satan. This word means cunningly hatched methods of guile. It also means well thought out, tailor made plans. In other words, for a particular local church like this one, like LCC, the devil has a specific strategy. He thinks out a plan, or a means of attack against this church, and against you individually. Tailor made plans. This word also means a regularly, well used, systematic way. A pathway that's regularly used, or often used. In other words, the devil uses the same thing over, and over, and over again. The devil's plans and attacks are very well thought out. They are chosen carefully, and they are used and timed very carefully. They are secretive. They are deceptive. He tries to disguise them, or bring them in secretly when you least expect them. He tries to get the timing of an attack against your life, or the church, very specific. You see, this comes out of supernatural ancient intelligence. The devil has been created, and here, for 6,000 years. That is dark intelligence. He attacked Adam and Eve in the garden, and all through until Jesus, and his wilderness temptations, and then 2,000 years of church history. The devil has intelligent plans. He has a strategy, or he has a method of attack. Now, I'm bringing you to six strategies in the book of Nehemiah. We're not going into the entire story of Nehemiah and the people rebuilt in the city of Jerusalem, but I'm pulling out these six strategies so that you see very clearly that the devil has a plan to stop God's work. I assure you, I believe God gave me this message specifically for the work in Limerick City. Nehemiah was a simple cupbearer of the Persian king. You remember that as we dealt with it. He was a man of prayer, a man with a burden. He wasn't a prince. He wasn't a preacher. Neither was he a prophet, but you know what? He was someone who cared about the things of God. He had a deep passion, a deep burden. Don't get caught up in ministries and titles. Is your heart burning for the glory of God? That's really all that matters. When he went back to Jerusalem, he stirred the heart of the people. He saw the need of the city, and God's enemies immediately were on the scene to stop him and hinder him. But you know what those enemies were? They weren't atheists. They weren't pagans. They weren't of the Persian empire. They were actually local half-baked apostates. In other words, they had a semblance of religion. They had enough to disguise them, but they didn't have enough to save them. All through the book of Nehemiah, we read the names of three specific enemies. Their names are Simbalat, Tobiah, and Geshem. These are the three great enemies of Nehemiah. It's these three men that brought forth these six strategies. The first one was Simbalat, the Hornanite. His name means strength. He was a man of great strength, the governor of Samaria, an entire region just north of Jerusalem. He gets his name, the Hornanite, from a small village or town called Beth Horan, just north of Jerusalem. It was a small village associated with Jerusalem. He should have been a local man, but you know what? He rose up to become a leader of Samaria. It was a half-baked religion that dominated the Samaritans. That's who Simbalat represents, that mixture of the real and the false, very close to Jerusalem, and yet so far away. It is apostate Christianity that he represents. His name's mentioned 10 times in this book. Second of all is Tobiah, the Ammonite. His name means the Lord is good. Have you ever met them in the church? All they talk about is the Lord is good. Beware of that man and woman when they don't deal with sin, when they don't believe in doing everything according to God's word. Tobiah was an Ammonite. That means he descended from Lot, the man who separated from Abraham. Lot made it to heaven. He was godly enough to make it to heaven. He was righteous, but through a condition of drunkenness, then of immorality, of incest, he had two boys to his two daughters. Tobiah came out of that family line. His name is mentioned 14 times in this book. Tobiah's family was a very powerful family in this region, very rich, very powerful, very influential, and he could descend himself back to Lot. But I tell you, he was a compromiser. Third of all, you have Geshem, the Arabian. His name means a shower of rain. When Geshem was around, you went, isn't he a refreshing brother? Isn't he a blessing to have around? Well, just hang around and see how he responds to the work of God. Now, Geshem is the only Arabian or Arab mentioned in the entire Bible by a specific name, Geshem the Arabian. He led an association of Arabian tribes. So you see that these three men worked together. As soon as Nehemiah came to the city of Limerick, sorry, I mean Jerusalem, as soon as he came there, these three men rose up, joined together, and imposed Nehemiah. Nehemiah was a nobody from nowhere, but he was a man with a vision, a burden, a message. He was a man sent of God, a man of prayer, a man of faith, a man of courage. And as soon as you get that sort of a man coming to a city to rebuild the work of God, I assure you, the enemies of God will unite against them. Simbalot was to the north of Jerusalem. Tobiah was to the east of Jerusalem. Geshem was to the south of Jerusalem, and we'll find out who is to the west shortly. But these three, before Nehemiah came, they traded with Jerusalem. They walked into the city through those burnt-out gates. They went in, they went out. Jerusalem never caused them a problem. You know why? They could walk in and out without any interference. They could trade with the scattered remnant of God's people there. Nobody really bothered them. But as soon as they seen a man like Nehemiah, that when our days are numbered, when you begin to see a man of God come who has faith, something is going to happen. Something is really going to happen. In this story of Nehemiah rebuilding Jerusalem, we read of 38 individuals, name by name, who actually helped him. There's about 50 mentioned, but 38, we have their specific names. It doesn't take much to rebuild the house of God. This message is for you, Limerick City Church, and anyone else who listens in from the outside. Amongst those 38, there were even apocryphies, in other words, perfumers. There were guys who worked in the perfume shop. They got up on those walls and began to build, and held a sword in their hand. We're told that even certain daughters come and help with the building. There were priests left the temple and came out to the work of ministry. There were servants who were there, and even one sick son of somebody. Let me give you these six strategies of Satan against the work of God. I believe it's for this church. We have experienced this. We will in the future again. Number one, ridicule. The first attack of Satan through these enemies was ridicule, and we find that in Nehemiah chapter 2, beginning in verse 10. This first attack came before the work began. They hadn't even begun the work. Nehemiah came, and all of this is in his heart. It's burning in his heart. It's in his mind. It's in his prayers. He hasn't begun the work yet, but as soon as you get a spiritual life in a city, there comes this first attack, ridicule. That's the first attack, ridicule. Read with me in chapter 2, verse 10. When they heard of it, that Nehemiah had come there, it grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel. Do you know that you can always expose the false, the hypocrites, the happy, the compromisers, because when you get the real coming to do the work of God, these men will rise up as enemies. They're all peaceful when nothing is happening, but if you get a man of God come to the church who really wants revival, wants prayer restored, holiness, wants biblical judgment, wants to see a moving of the spirit of God, I assure you those who are compromisers will begin to hate that man. It says that these enemies were grieved in their heart with them exceedingly. They were grieved against this man. In his heart is to bless the children of Israel, to do good in Jerusalem, but in their heart they're grieved exceedingly. This is what produces ridicule. If you find someone in the church, a preacher or Christians, and they begin to ridicule the real work of God, it's because their heart is grieved. They may be laughing on the outside, but they're angry on the inside, and that's what Simbalat and Tobiah and Geshem were. They were grieved exceedingly. Verse 19, and when they heard it, they laughed us to scorn. You see how they're laughing outwardly, but it come out of a deep grievance. They're annoyed about the work of God. They hate what is spiritual. They didn't do a spiritual work. They didn't revive God's work, and so they begin to laugh outwardly. When you get this ridicule, please remember it's the work of the devil. When you find the devil in your own family ridiculing you, laughing you because you want God, I promise you the devil is behind that. They laughed Nehemiah to scorn and despised him. In other words, look down upon him. Try to make him feel little. They were treating it as if it was nothing. They just laughed, but it come out of a heart exceedingly grieved over the condition. We don't want anyone coming and reviving God's work. We are established here. We have position. We have power. We have influence. People listen to us. We don't want to lose that by some holy Jew coming and stirring everything up. Nehemiah goes further and says, they said, and what is this thing that you do? Will you rebel against the king? You see what they began to accuse Nehemiah. He hasn't even begun the work yet. They say, you're a rebel against the king. You're not being in subjection. You're not keeping the laws of the land. You're not living in the right way. You're going to cause trouble here. No, he was a man with a burning heart. He desired God's will. He was a man who had a plan to restore Jerusalem. He was a man under the authority of God in subjection to the written word of God. And yet they're accusing them of being a rebel. You see that often happens when someone desires to see God move, they begin to ridicule. They begin to laugh. They begin to mock. They begin to falsely accuse. They'll say, you're a rebellious person. You're not like us. Oh, I know where I'm not like you. Oh, I know you have faith Christians. I am not like you. I'll never be like you. I'd rather die a martyr's death than become an old, dried up prune, a backslidden, symbolic, a Tobiah that is all goodness on the outside and anger on the inside. So look at all this mockery, this laughter, this disdaining, this saying, you're rebels, being grieved in heart. How did Nehemiah respond to this first attack? He hadn't even started the work. He's only thinking, praying, believing, beginning to prepare. And they begin with ridicule. Ridicule can be a very powerful weapon. You go into a new workplace, they begin to ridicule you. So you pull back and you don't evangelize. That is a ploy of the devil. He wants to shut your mouth or he wants to stop you and your family. How did Nehemiah respond to this ridicule? Verse 20, he said, the God of heaven, he will prosper us. Therefore, we his servants will arise and build. He was determined. We are servants of God. We're not here to do our own will. We're not here in Limerick just doing this for our own benefit. We are servants of the most high God. We will rise up and build the church of God. One of the great attacks against the church is ridicule, laughter, mocking. But Nehemiah says, we're going to rise up and build. We're not listening to your mockery or your lies or your laughter. We are actually going to build. That's the greatest cure to silence and the mouth of laughter. You know what? They can laugh, but let's build the church of God in this city. Let's build a strong church in this city. I don't care if the devil laughs in your ears. Let us build together. He said, we his servants will arise and build. There is unity in this church. Do you realize this church has remarkable unity? We are blessed with unity. Our enemies don't think so. The happy don't think so. The compromisers don't think so. But those in this church, a part of this body, know that we have true unity. We have the blessing of heaven. It's so beautiful to dwell together in unity. We enjoy unity in this church. But he also said, but ye have no position, no portion, no right, no memorial in Jerusalem. So there's unity and there's separation at the same time. Since we need unity in this church, we unify together. Those who want to build a church, we are going to be utterly united. But we separate from Zimbabwe and Tobiah and Geshem. We have nothing to do with them. They have no right to tell us what to do in the church. They have no right in this church. None at all. They are compromisers. Don't let the backslidden intimidate you. I can assure you. And that's what the backslidden do. They laugh you to stop you becoming spiritual. But he says, God will prosper us. That means to push forward, to break out, or to succeed. You know what? God is going to bless us as a church. We're going straight ahead. Lots of people have laughed at us. Try to mock us. Who do you think you are? All we are, are servants of God. We have unity. We're not going to unify with those compromised bunch. They have no right to be a part of this work. Secondly, that was the first attack, ridicule. What's the second work? It's intimidation. Intimidation isn't the same as ridicule. It's a bit different. And we need to understand the difference. This was the second attack of the devil against the work of God, or stopping the building. The work had now begun. It wasn't before. It was now during the early stages of the work. What was the strategy? Intimidation. In chapter 4 and verse 1, this is what we find. It came to pass that when Simbalat heard that we builded the wall, he was wrath. That means you get so angry, your cheeks go red. You get so angry, you begin to shake. You froth at the mouth. I mean, this is extreme anger. So Simbalat, this Samaritan, this governor of the local region, when he began to hear these walls are being built, things are being fixed, spiritual order is coming back, he began to get so angry. Do you know there's some people in the church called Christians, even preachers, they get angry and then they disguise it. They begin to disguise that anger. Really, they're angry because something good is happening through genuine believers and they get so angry, but they try to disguise it. Always remember that we're not wrestling flesh and blood. We're not fighting people, but it's what is happening behind people. It says he was wrath and he took great indignation and he mocked the Jews. Again, see that anger in the heart produces mockery. A man who is angry with you will begin to make fun of you, call you names, tell you lies, make false accusations. Do you realize all of that is a cover for what is in his heart? He is angry in his heart, so all of this comes forth. It's a disguise. It's an absolute disguise. You're dealing with someone who hates the work of God, hates the spiritual. What is intimidation? We have five marks of it in chapter four, verse two. It says that Zimbalad spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria. Notice he gathered the army of Samaria. Now this is getting serious. You see intimidation, you start gathering forces against a man of God or a real church and that's what Zimbalad had done. He wanted to intimidate the work of God. It's going ahead. He's angry. He wants to stop it. What does he do? He gathers the army of Samaria and you know what he does? He begins to preach to them or ask questions, but he wants to get it to the Jews ears. Notice these five questions. This is intimidation. If the devil is going to intimidate you, you know what? He wants to begin asking questions because he wants you to stop, to get discouraged, to go, maybe nothing is happening of any worth here. Listen to these five questions. What do these feeble Jews? In other words, he's saying they're weak. They don't have any strength. I'm sure if the Jews heard this, they'd say, that's true. All I am is a weak Jew. That's all I am. We're few in number. We don't have much resources. We don't have much money between us, but you know what? We want to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. We want to see Jerusalem in revival again and this is the thing. This is intimidation. All you are are weak Jews. That's all you are. What are you going to accomplish? Your weakness will hinder you. Second question, will they fortify themselves? The word fortify means to restore or to revive. Number three, will they sacrifice? Are they going to go back again to sacrifice? Are they going to begin giving to God? They don't have much. They're bankrupt. They don't have much in their pockets. The fourth question, will they make an end in a day? The way Nehemiah is speaking, you'd think he's going to do this in 24 hours. The passion, the fire, you honestly think this can happen in a day? You see, this is intimidation. The fifth question, will they revive the stones? Those stones need revival, I promise you. Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which have been burned? In other words, look at the desecration of Jerusalem. Fire has gone through the church of our generation. It's all burnt out. The gates have been burnt out. The walls have been broken down. There is so much rubbish and do you think you're going to revive a few stones out of this? This is the five intimidations of Simbalat. He's asking questions but they're like fiery arrows aimed against the saints of God. Saints, don't let the devil discourage you. What? Are you going to see a New Testament biblical home? Are you going to be a biblical father or a biblical son or a biblical mother or a biblical Christian? Do you honestly think you're going to get baptized in the Holy Ghost? Do you honestly think this church is going to evangelize? Do you honestly think we're going to restore a testimony for God? This is how the devil intimidates the rebuilding of the house of God. It is time saints. I know most of the church don't believe this but I believe it's time for revival. Time for church order to come again. Time for a restoration. I have a vision, a burden, a message concerning revival. I know revival's coming. I know it's going to come again in our generation but most of the church, many of them good people, believe it's all over. They're just looking heavenward saying, get us out of here Lord. They don't have any expectation that God is going to move. It says in chapter 4 in verse 3, now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, close, joined at the hip with Simbalat and he said, listen to what Tobiah, Tobiah comes in on the back of this, listen to what he says, even that which they build if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall. That's what a fox will do to it. How does Nehemiah respond to this intimidation from Simbalat and Tobiah? Do you know what he done? In verse 4, he prayed. He began to pray. How are you going to respond to intimidation, questions, doubts, mockery? And how are you going to respond to those who mock the work of God? You're going to pray. Hear O Lord, for we are despised. Verse 5, for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders. You see, we're continuing to build. We're not stopping because of intimidation. We have had a lot of intimidation over these seven years. But you know what? We're going to build on. We're going to build on. This church has a burden for genuine heaven sent revival. That's why this church was established, a vessel of recovery to put back into the church worldwide what has been taken out of it. You say you're a fool for believing such things. Then I'm God's fool. I want to tell you, the carnal can mock us and laugh at us and say it's a pipe dream. It's no pipe dream. This vision and burden and preaching is burst out of the Word of God, from the heart of God. But I want to remind God this morning, it's God that they're provoking to anger. All of this intimidation, I'm going to keep building, but they're going to provoke God. They're trying to intimidate me, but they'll get God angry. You watch it. You will see it. Verse 6, so built we the wall unto the half of it. So here they keep going through intimidation. They build half of the wall. You know why I said they'd done that? For the people had a mind to work. Since this church isn't about one preacher, pastor, ministry, or me preaching the Word of God. We are a church. We do this together. We like Nehemiah. We just need a small band and we'll touch this world for Jesus Christ. What does the devil do when these first two attacks fail? When these attacks of ridicule and intimidation come to nothing? Third of all, is an all out war against the work of God. Chapter 4, verse 7, we read of other armies gathering. The Arabians, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites. These three armies begin to gather. Now you're going to have an all out war against the city of Jerusalem and this small remnant within it. There are days this church has faced an all out war. It seemed like everyone grouped together against it. These three armies joined together. The Sumerian army was already there, but the Arabian army of Geshem joined them. Then the Ammonite army of Tobiah, and then as well the Ashdodites. Now who are these Ashdodites? This is a fourth army coming in that we haven't read about yet. They're joining. This is an all out war. The Ashdodites were the Philistines and they were from the West. Now you've got four armies from the four different directions of the compass on each side, top, bottom, left, right. They're on every side. These Ashdodites were the Philistines and the Philistines in the Bible always represent the old nature, the old life or Romans chapter 7. Isn't it true when the devil is raging, when all your enemies join together, then what happens? Even your flesh rises up to join them. That's very hard in the war. When you're fighting the devil out there, you don't want the Ashdodites rising up, but they do. Please remember saints, the Ashdodites are an enemy. The Philistines are an enemy. The flesh is your enemy. In an outright war, the flesh will always side with the devil. Never be surprised of the enemy, of your flesh joining the enemy. Chapter 4 and verse 8, and they conspired, all of them together. Is there such a thing as conspiracies? There is. There is. It's very clear. If you don't believe in conspiracies, you don't know human nature. A conspiracy is a secret plan or a specially hidden plan to be broken out against your enemy unexpectedly. That's what a conspiracy is. All of these men and their armies conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to hinder the work. Please remember, when our enemies join together and attack this church, do you know why it is? It's to hinder the work. They won't say that with their lips, but when God is at work, they will not rest until they hinder the work of God. It's the work, the rebuilding of the walls that they hate. Putting in place those gates again, that's what the devil hates. You know what? He will conspire and make a secret plan. That secret plan will be all out war, bring out all of the traps, bring out all of the forces, attack suddenly in the middle of the night. How did Nehemiah respond to this? In chapter 4 and verse 9, listen to what he says again. Nevertheless, we made our prayer unto God. That's always the answer. Saints, always, when you don't know what to do, go to prayer. When the enemy comes up against you, go to prayer. When the devil is coming in on your family, your relationships, your workplace, go to prayer. When this church comes under attack, let's go to prayer. We're going to do it for all those that join with us. Fast and pray next weekend. Let's get a victory. Let's raise up testimonies. Pray for one another. We made our prayer unto God and we set a watch against them night and day because of them. So they're watching and they're praying. They're guarding the city night and day, not just during the day, but nighttime as well. You know what the great danger here with all out war is, is discouragement. When the enemy joins together, when the enemy marches against you, when it's an issue of life and death, discouragement can hit your heart. In chapter 4 in verse 10, it says, and Judah said, this is the people of Israel. They're in the city. Judah said, the strength of the bears of burdens is decayed. We're moving all this rubbish, but you know what? Our strength is going. And there is much rubbish so that we are not able to build the wall. The enemy on the outside, discouragement on the inside. It is true that the strength was decreasing. It is true that there is much rubbish. And here Judah begins to say, we are not able to build the wall. That's when you need people in the house of God say, yes, we are. Yes, we are. See when someone in this church begins saying, I don't think we can reach the loss. I'm not sure we're going to have revival. I don't know if my family is going to get saved. I don't think God still heals the sick. You know what? We need a Nehemiah to say, oh yes, I know the will of God. Don't get discouraged. I know the enemy marches against us at certain times at the night season. There is a conspiracy to stop the building of the wall. Saints don't agree with the enemy. When the enemy comes against you, find out what he's saying and take the opposite position. Do you hear me? What the devil is speaking to you personally about your life? You better write down and write down the exact opposite. Will you do that after this meeting? Will you find a quiet place and begin to write down all the lies the devil is telling you, all the attacks, all the impossibilities, and then write out the opposite statement. And I assure you, that's God's will for your life. It also says in verse 11, and our adversary said, they shall not know, neither see, till we come in midst among them and slay them and cause the work to cease. Do you see the intensity of the devil? Do you know the devil wants to stop this church? He doesn't want us on YouTube. He doesn't want us on the internet. He doesn't want us on the high street. He doesn't want us at one baker place preaching in that pulpit. He doesn't want our worship in that building or us breaking bread in that building. The enemy says, we're gonna make the work of God cease. This church will come to nothing. Well, then I know God's will is to prosper this work. We need to reach more souls and more nations. We need to give more money. We need to send more out into missions. We need to evangelize more. We need to get more gospel tracks. We need to up this. Let the enemy come against us. Hear the word of the enemy and then begin making a stand against it. Verse 12, and the Jews that dwelt by them, they said unto us 10 times. Now, I want you to see all the Jews in Jerusalem were not on Nehemiah's side. Judah was saying, we're not gonna be able to do this. The Jews in the city began to speak about this. You need to be very careful that other Christians don't affect you. There's many Christians going to heaven who don't believe what we believe. They don't believe in revival or evangelism or the power of God or God's will on certain issues. They're lovely people. They're nice people, but they don't know the will of God. What they say, they could easily hinder the work of God. Be very careful of Christians who are going to hinder this church doing the will of God. What did these Jews say? They said unto us 10 times, from all places, when she shall return unto us, they shall be upon us. You know what they're saying? They're murmuring inside. They're coming and telling us, you know what? 10 times they said unto us, the enemy's going to be upon you. What was Nehemiah's response? He set the people in place for war. He said unto them, after their families, with their swords and their spears and their bows, that's how we're going to do it. Get ready for a battle. They want a battle. We'll fight them. We're not taking the battle to them. They're coming fighting against us. We're ready. We're soldiers, church. We are made for war. Stop crying about the battle. Stop crying about the warfare raging around your family. What do you expect? If the devil didn't attack this church, there's something wrong with him. It means the devil's backsliding. He's not doing his job. He ought to attack this church. If I was the devil, I would attack this church. I'd attack this preacher. I'd attack his wife. I'd attack his friends. I'd attack the members of this church. I'd get them looking at their belly buttons. But no, it's time to fight. When the devil fights against you, you mothers stand up and fight for your children. They begin to become soldiers. I know you're a lady, but it's time to be a soldier. Lift up that sword and begin to fight. He also set them there with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other. A trowel is what you build a wall with. A sword is what you fight the enemy with. This is a response. The enemy wants to fight and annihilate this church. Then we're going to become soldiers. We're going to fight. We'll build. We won't stop building. We're not going to get distracted in the fight. We keep building. We keep fighting. We keep building. We keep fighting. That's what we're going to do. You know what Nehemiah had done during all of this? He preached. He said unto them, be not afraid of them. Remember the Lord. You better remember. Don't be scared. Remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, and your sons, and your daughters, and your wives, and your houses. Saints, you need to fight for your loved ones. Those who are precious to you, it's time to fight. The devil's saying they're not going to get saved. They're going to die and go to hell. I'm going to break up your home. I'll send your children to hell. Then you need to fight. If you don't fight, then who else is going to fight for them? The work is great and it is large. We are separated upon the wall and far from one another. Do you know what they've done? They've said, well, you've got your home there. That's your battle. This is my battle. You know, there's people around this world feel this is their church now. They feel a part of us and we're all scattered, but I want to tell you, do you know what Nehemiah's answer was? It was the trumpet. He said, whoever is finding it tough in this battle, you see, sometimes I'm on a high, sometimes on a low. So are you. And do you know what he said? He said, whoever's finding it difficult, we blow the trumpet and we all go to help them. Do you know what? In this church, we're going to pray for one another. Are you struggling? Are you finding it hard? We're going to pray for you. Maybe next week, I'll be me. The week after that, it could be Ellen or someone else who needs our prayers, our needs of focus in this fight, but our God will fight for us. It's not us. It is God fighting on our behalf. It says in chapter 4, 23, none of us put off our clothes, saving that everyone put them off for the washing. In warfare, when the enemy is at the gates, you don't take your clothes off. When I was in the army and wore for three days, I never took those clothes off. But yet it says here, they took them off to wash. A good soldier always washes every morning. It doesn't matter where he is. He'll always wash first thing in the morning. Saints keep washing in this fight. Keep washing your face. Make sure you're clean in this battle. It's a real war, but don't neglect the washing. Fourth of all, what happens when an all-out war against the church fails? The enemy throws everything and it doesn't work. What does he do now? Number four, counterfeit peace. Involved in this counterfeit peace is a false unity and the offer of a false friendship. We find this in Nehemiah chapter 6. At this point, the walls have been rebuilt. There's no longer any breaches in the walls, but the gates still have to be restored. There's no gates there, but the wall has been totally rebuilt. Now the enemy changes his strategy. This is why you've got to know these six strategies. Do you know the devil does this against your personal life? He does it against this church and he does it against the body of Christ worldwide. These are his six strategies. All-out war and attack doesn't work, so what does he do now? He goes for counterfeit peace. Chapter 6, verse 2, Simbalat and Geshem sent on to me saying, come, what a beautiful word come is, come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. Now listen to this. Look what the devil is trying to do. Come and let us meet together. Let us have a unity gathering. We want to join together. We want to talk together. Okay, let's forget about the war. Let's make peace. Let's be friends. Let's have unity. This is a counterfeit peace. You know the old American Indian, he said, white man speaks with four tongue. He's got a sword in his heart, but peace on his lips. Beware of that man or that woman. So Nehemiah said, I sent messengers. And what did he say to him? I'm doing a great work so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and come down to you? Do you see this false peace, this offer of friendship was again to stop them working. Draw Nehemiah, stop the work while we have a unity convention. That type of unity with compromise isn't that important. We're going to keep working. And that's what Nehemiah said. I'm doing a great work so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and come down to you? The enemy wanted them to come down. Do you know this would have been a day's journey from Jerusalem in a plane, an open area to discuss, to dialogue. In fact, four times they sent messages to Nehemiah say, come meet with us, come meet with us. Four times the enemy offers peace. It's very hard to resist unity after a great war. After the enemies attack you or some individual, they mock you, they intimidate you, they attack you, then they come saying, I want to be your friend. That's more dangerous than outright war. Be very careful when the devil comes wanting to be your friend. How do you know it's the devil? Because it's marked by compromise. You've got a history here. You know the character and the speech of these individuals. So when they come offering peace, beware. We're not going to meet with them. Then the messenger came a fifth time and his message changed. It was no longer unity and friendship and gathering together to talk. The fifth message, the messenger came with a letter in his hand and that letter contained three false accusations. You don't want peace, then we'll falsely accuse you. This is hard to deal with. You don't really want peace. You don't want friendship. You don't want unity. And the enemy begins to attack. What were the three false accusations? Thou and the Jews think to rebel. Again, going back to the old, you're rebels. You're rebellious. You're not walking in the light of God's word. Yes, I am. Yes, I am. You won't join in unity with us. You won't come and talk. You're rebels. No, we're not. We know what true unity is. We have it, but we're not interested in false religious unity, which will stop the work of God in our midst. For which cause came cause? Thou buildest the wall, that thou mayest be their king. So they begin to attack Nehemiah. This is all in an open letter. Notice what an open letter is. It's for everyone. It's not for Nehemiah. It's not a letter for Nehemiah. It's for everybody in the church or in Jerusalem or in Limerick City Church. This open letter. Do you know what? Nehemiah wants to make a name for himself. He wants to be a king. He's a rebel against unity and the body of Christ. He wants a ministry. They falsely accuse the ambitious heart and the motives of his heart. What a devilish thing. The devil turns everything on its head. First, he attacks you, and then he accuses you that you do not want unity. The second accusation, thou hast appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, there is a king in Judah. No, that's not true at all. Again, they falsely accuse that Nehemiah is trying to promote himself. Third of all, and now shall it be reported to the king. According to these words, we're going to go and tell the king of Persia all that you're doing. Three accusations hidden in the midst of unity. What is the purpose of this? To make Nehemiah afraid. To weaken the hands of God's people. To get distracted with talk about peace and unity and friendship. Let's all do this together, unified. What did Nehemiah respond to this? Chapter 6, verse 8. Then I said unto him, saying, There are no such things done as thou sayest, but thou finest, thou createst these things in thine own heart. And he went back to prayer. Again, don't argue with these men and women. When they falsely accuse you, you're proud, you're arrogant, you're this, you're that. Yes, give a clear answer. That's not true. This is the reason it's not true. But I don't have time to debate and argue. We're going to keep building the walls. Church, I hope you're challenged here. Let's keep building this church. Next Sunday, we're going back into our new building, a whole new chapter of this church. Let's build a house for God's glory. Let's reach the lost souls in Limerick City. What does the enemy do after this false unity fails? Number five, false prophets. Do you know the last two strategies of the devil are different than the previous four? There is actually a difference. See the first four attacks were from outside. Now the last two, it's going to be the enemy stirring people up inside. It's an attack from inside. And so 0.5 is false prophets. One of the greatest attacks of the devil in the church across the world is false prophets. Matthew 24 proves that. But also the book of Nehemiah proves that the fifth and far more strategic attack of the devil was false prophets right inside the walls of Jerusalem. Remember all the walls have been fixed. The enemy is on the outside. But what does he do? He raises up false prophets on the inside. They look like you. They sound like you. They come out of your families, but they're false prophets. Nehemiah 6, verse 10. Afterward, I came onto the house of Shemaiah who was shut up. Now here's a prophet. Shemaiah, his name means the Lord is heard. He gave lots of testimony. God's heard my prayers. God hears me. He had the gifted ministry of prophet. He was a five-fold ministry man. He had a history of testimonies and of service to the Lord. He had a reputation that he was a ministry. But look at this. While the enemy is raging against the house of God, where is he? He was shut up. He's shut up. He's a real prophet of God. But he's in his home. He's shut up. He's closed the doors. He shut the curtains. He's locked the door. He is hiding in his house. Well, Nehemiah goes down to see where this old prophet is. Where is he? He goes in there and Shemaiah opens the door, looks out on the street. Is there anyone else around? Quick, get in. Brings Nehemiah in, locks the door, sits him down. Inside Shemaiah's house are a whole group of prophets. All the prophets are in there. They're not preaching about Nehemiah and promoting him. That's what the devil said. These prophets are here shut up in this dark house. And they bring him in and sit him down. There's even a prophetess in there as well. And they begin to speak to him. And he said, let us meet together in the house of God. Here they are shut up in Shemaiah's house. But he begins to prophesy to Nehemiah. Let us meet together in the house of God within the temple. And let us shut the doors of the temple, for they will come to slay thee. Yea, in the night will they come to slay thee. Now this is a strategy of the devil, a mature false prophet. He is shut down. Look at him. He is living out fear. And now through his prophecies, he's trying to make you afraid. You see, when Nehemiah went to his door, he went, this is a true prophet. This is a man who knows God. He walks with God. He hears from heaven. He believes that God answers prayer. And yet this man is prophesying, not only shut in his own house, but let us go to the temple of God and shut the door. What was Nehemiah's response? Verse 11. And I said, should such a man as I flee? And who is there that, being as I am, would go into a temple and save his life? I will not go in. You see, he got a victory over false prophets by contradicting their prophecies. They are thinking about flesh, safety, man, his own skin. But Nehemiah says, such a man as me, I don't do that. I stay in the front line of this battle. I'm not for hiding or saving my own neck. I'm not going to hide in my house. I'm not going to go into the inner sanctuary of the temple. We have a city to evangelize church. And you know what? The false prophets will try to bring a false message to hinder us. But you can always identify, does it hinder the forward movement of God? In verse 12, it says, and I perceived that God had not sent him. Do you know how to identify a prophet not sent from God? Are you able to scrutinize and judge and discern and say, this man is not from God? He also perceived something else, that he pronounced the prophecy against me, for Tobiah and Simbalat had hired him. Do you see what he perceived? God had to have showed Nehemiah this. He couldn't see it naturally, but he discerned it. God showed him that Simbalat and Tobiah had hired him, had paid this man to make him scared. You need to be very careful who you listen to. Therefore was he hired that I should be afraid and do so and sin, and that they might have the matter of an evil report against me and that they might reproach me. False prophecy is a dangerous weapon in the church of God. Very, very dangerous. We also read here about the prophetess Noah-Diah. She was there as well. Do you know what her name means? It means we convened, we gathered, we are led. In other words, she's led by dreams, visions, feelings. I'm sure she made funny noises as well when the spirit came on her. They're all in there together, prophesying, trying to make him afraid, seeing visions and dreams. They're going to try and kill you, Nehemiah. The devil is after you. You better hide for your life. This is the attack of Satan. He is using false prophets in the house of God, again, to get you away from rebuilding the walls. Be very, very careful. You know what Nehemiah's reaction was? He ignored them. He got out of that house quickly, stopped listening to them, and began to rebuild the wall. The very next verse, it says, so the wall was finished. And when her enemies heard about it, they were much cast down. And listen, they perceived that God was with us, that God was in the midst of us. Sixth and finally, let me finish here. I know I've given you a lot, but I'm reminding you, what I've just told you is the history of this church. All hell has come against us in many forms, many guises. All of it was to stop us building this church. Any voice in your head that says, we can't do this. We can't see a church set in order with the godly eldership, with godly families, with evangelizing souls on the streets, that we can't see a real baptism in the Holy Ghost and fire, real healings, real miracles, real interventions of God, real revival on the streets of Jerusalem. I want to tell you, you're listening to the wrong voice. You see, this message is for this church so that we are aware of the strategies of devil and that we keep rebuilding, keep building, keep putting the gates in place, keep going forward. God is with us. His hand of blessing is upon us. Fight for your families, church of God. Sixth and finally, what is this sixth and final strategy of the devil? Disloyalty. Disloyalty. Who would have imagined it? Again, this came from inside, not from outside. It was from among the nobles of Judah. It was the fifth column and we find this in chapter 6 and verse 17. What a real thing. The nobles of Judah sent many letters unto Tobiah and the letters of Tobiah came unto them. Look at these nobles, these leaders in Jerusalem who should have been helping Nehemiah and instead they were communicating with Tobiah. This sixth strategy of hell is disloyalty. What is disloyalty? Let me tell you what loyalty is. Loyalty is a strong feeling of support or allegiance. It's faithfulness. That's what loyalty is. It is faithfulness. It is the opposite of betrayal. It is brotherly love, kindness, or just being a Christian. To be disloyal is to go against being what a Christian is going to do. Look at these nobles. Who were the nobles? They were the leaders, the people of importance, the people with a position, the people with a voice, the people with wealth, the people who seemed to be closest to Nehemiah. Be very careful of the strategies of Satan. These nobles actually had aligned themselves with Tobiah. They had come into unity with an enemy of the work of God, with compromise, with enemies of the real work of that church. I want to assure you, anyone who aligns against what God has done in this church is disloyal. Not just to me, not to this church, but to the principles of God's kingdom and to Jesus Christ himself. Notice what they were doing. These great nobles in Jerusalem were sending letters, emails back and forth to Tobiah. Tobiah sends his email. They send emails to Tobiah. This is disloyalty. You cannot do this. Oh, we were just trying to fix everything. I know. And you're rebels. That's what you are. You've got a spirit of betrayal. Oh, we just want everyone to dwell together in unity. I'm trying to fix the relationship between Nehemiah and Tobiah. I'm going back and forward. Look what it says in chapter six and verse 18. For there were many in Judah sworn onto him because, and there's a reason, many in Judah were sworn. That's a commitment to Tobiah. They were really committed to Tobiah. They had an allegiance. What a strange thing. Why were they committed? Why were they sworn onto this enemy of God? Well, we're told here because there's three reasons they were, because he was the son-in-law of Shaphaniah. Now who's Shaphaniah? Shaphaniah was the keeper of the Eastern gate. He was responsible for one of the 10 gates. He had a job of overseeing that gate. He was an overseer. He had a position of authority. But do you know what? This Tobiah was his son-in-law. In other words, he'd married his daughter off to marry Tobiah. Now there was an allegiance. That's why the emails were going back and forward because he'd married off his daughter to this enemy of God. Be very careful what you do. If you marry your daughter off to a man like that, the next thing you'll do is betray an entire church or the body of Christ. You will do that. A second thing, Tobiah's son, Johannan, had taken the daughter of Mishalom, the son of Barakai. Who was he? He was a builder on the wall. In fact, we find his name in chapter 3. We have Tobiah's son now married to a key worker on the wall. Do you see what is happening here? This is disloyalty is the sixth and last thing here. It is an attack of the devil. Can I exhort you parents? Be very careful over your children over the next five years, 10 years, 15 years if we continue as a church. I don't know how long we've got, but you better watch over that home. You mothers, you fathers better keep your households in order or before long you'll find that within your home you've got such compromise that you'll try and compromise this church. But I want to promise you if this preacher is still here then I'll have something to say about that. You can pack up your bags with your children and go down the road. You may tolerate compromise in your family with your children marrying the entire world, but I assure you it's not going to come into this church. This preacher is going to be here to guard this church. I warn you, betrayal rises up in the midst of compromise. A little bit here, a little bit there, and before you know it. Listen, and this is another reason they were aligned or vowed to him. They reported good deeds. They reported his, Tobias' good deeds before me. Can you imagine it? Here come these nobles and say, you know what, Tobias had done this and he'd done this good and he's not a bad guy. You know he's got a lot of good qualities. Can you imagine Nehemiah's face? I know what his mind and heart was like. We've been in situations like this. You've got people, compromisers in the house of God speaking about enemies as if they're nice folk. I can assure you Nehemiah was staring at them. If looks could kill, that look would have killed, I can assure you, and they uttered my words to him. In other words, things that Nehemiah was saying in that city are getting emailed to Tobias outside of the city walls. Back and forth the letters were going to put him in fear. That was the whole object. Do you know there's chapter 6 of Nehemiah and this sort of thing goes on to chapter 13. In other words, this is the major attack of Satan, his betrayal. When you get to chapter 13, you also see that those in the house of God had joined themselves to Simbalat. What a remarkable thing. In chapter 13, we read that Eliashib, the high priest, had actually brought Tobiah in, aligned with him, moved out all the tithes from the house of God, made him a chamber, moved out the wine and the oil and the corn, and brought Tobiah right into the house of God. Can you believe this? Then also in chapter 13, we read that Eliashib, the high priest, was son-in-law to Simbalat. In other words, he married the daughter of Simbalat, the high priest in Jerusalem. You know, Eliashib started well. In chapter 3 of Nehemiah, Eliashib, the high priest, began to repair the sheep gate. He led the He was the first worker. He's been there all through the years. Look at these nobles have been there every step of the way. Now here, at the very end of all this work, when everything is rebuilt, it is betrayal that is coming against the work of God. I want to warn you, saints, we've yet to face this. We've yet to overcome this attack of the devil. But you in this church are going to have to gain the victory. What was Nehemiah's response? I'm closing with this. How did he respond to this betrayal? Chapter 7, verse 2. I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah, the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem, for he was a faithful man and feared God above many. Who was this man? He's mentioned once, Hanani. He's mentioned once in chapter 1. He is the first one who first came to Nehemiah saying about those burnt-out gates and those broken-down walls. Do you know what? At this point, Nehemiah went right back to those that were faithful and who really feared the Lord. I don't care about your gifting. I don't care about your ministry. All I want to know, are you a Judas? Are you a betrayer? Are you a faithful man and woman of God? We need people to oversee this church who are faithful and who fear God. That has got to be the quality. You're going to prove that by how you order your home. That is the great mark of loyalty or of disloyalty, is setting that house in order. We need Hanani's again and Hananiah's again, who actually look after the palace. If they can look after the palace, they can look after the entire city. If they're faithful without burden in chapter 1, then I assure you all the way through to chapter 13, they're going to protect this city. They're going to look after it. Saints, let me finish here. I've given you an awful lot. Believe me, I've condensed myself. But one of these days soon, I'm going to take these six points and preach a message on each one. I believe God has given us this message because we are those that are rebuilding the gates of Jerusalem. We're putting God's order back in. We're teaching those things that the church out there won't teach. We believe a leader, a pastor, a prophet of God lives in a certain way. We believe a mother should be a certain type of person. We believe a Christian doesn't lie and doesn't steal. Saints, we believe that a real church is going to pray for revival in this last hour. I exhort you in this message as we finish this series on spiritual warfare. You know what? It's not binding demons out there. It's not looking for lay lands or looking to find out where Freemasonry is strong in the city. Nothing to do with that. These are the issues of whether this church is going to remain a vessel for God, fulfill the will of God, and go on to see great things in this hour and this generation. You and I are going to decide it. We are fighting for our families, our homes, for this city, and for the spiritual condition of this city in the days ahead. Will you pray with me? Will you pray that God helps us, delivers us, exposes the strategies of hell here as we close? Father, we thank you for the word of God. We thank you that you put this church in this city. It wasn't my thought. It wasn't my plan. It wasn't our plan in this church. You had a plan, a desire, and you have yet to fulfill it. We are asking here today, expose the strategies of Satan. My God, where we've given any room that's going to be detrimental to rebuilding Jerusalem, to fixing the gates, to having divine order and revival. I pray, convict every heart, stir every individual, give us faith even next weekend as we pray together for one another, for all of our friends in other countries, for those fighting sickness, for those with lost children, for those that need a move of God, for those seeking for a real church in their area. Lord God, for Candace who needs healing, for each of us in this church it needs revival. Father, I pray pour out your spirit and as we gather next Sunday morning, let the glory of God come down. Let the presence of God be made manifest. Let us hear the word of God speak to us. Lord God, start a new chapter in this church. Start a new chapter in our individual lives. Begin a new work in each one of our hearts that your name might be glorified and honored in Jesus' mighty name. Hallelujah.