THE GOOD HAND OF GOD IN OVERSEEING HIS WORK DEALING WITH THOSE WHO OPPOSE THE WORK OF GOD-Part 3

The Enemies Out Lash-Part C

Hired Counselors

(EZRA 4:1-6)

¹Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel, ²they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' households, and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here." ³But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers' households of Israel said to them, " You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us." ⁴Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building, ⁵and hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. ⁶Now in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

Over the past 46 years Christianity has been under legal assault from various groups for differing reasons here in the United States. In 1963 the Supreme Court of the United States handed down a negative ruling regarding prayer in the public schools. Since then Christianity and the symbols of Christianity have been under constant legal contests. The enemies have hired counselors and attorneys who help advice them of what they need to do.

This maybe pretty much the case with the enemies of Judah in the days of Zerubbabel. Ezra notes in verse 5, “and hired counselors against them…” These counselors possibly played two different roles. First, they were unprofessionals who lived in the city of Jerusalem and basically acted as spies, counseling the enemy of every move being made. Second, these were professional counselors who had two basic jobs: a) give the enemies leadership advice as to what they could do legally; b) take their complaints to the government officials for redress. Based on verse 6 which discusses letters being sent to the kings the second scenario would fit.

What does all of this mean for us? Our enemy will do what he can in order to discourage and frighten us. Satan is not the only enemy we face. According the Ephesians 2:1-3 the world itself blindly follows Satan and as a result bringing themselves into opposition with God and His plan. Our Lord Jesus notes that if the world hated him it will hate us (John 15:18). Therefore it should be of no surprise that if we, as part of the world before we came to Christ, crucified Him, then in turn the world will do what it can to crucify us for knowing Him as Savior.

So we should not be surprised when the world hires it’s counselors to lie about us. When the light shines on roaches they scatter. When we shine for Jesus the world will hate us.

My question to all of us is do we allow this world to discourage and frighten us? Recently I found myself asking some legal questions regarding ministry. My ultimate response was if God is in it, the world will oppose it. Those of us who know Jesus Christ as our Savior are swimming up stream against the current. Tough times will come and the world will oppose us legally when we start to live for Jesus. Paul wrote in 2^nd Timothy 3:12, “And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Don’t let this world intimidate you, stand strong for the Lord, in the end he will make it right!

Let me know what you think.

God Bless,

Steven Swaim

(All passages are quoted from the New American Standard Version-THE LOCKMAN FOUNDATION)

THE GOOD HAND OF GOD IN OVERSEEING HIS WORK DEALING WITH THOSE WHO OPPOSE THE WORK OF GOD-Part 3

The Enemies Out Lash-Part B
Frightening Them
(EZRA 4:1-6)

1Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel, 2they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' households, and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here." 3But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers' households of Israel said to them, " You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us." 4Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building, 5and hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. 6Now in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

In Hollywood there is an old effect which directors still use called the jump effect. It doesn’t take a lot of special effects to do it, even though it can be done with them. No! It is a simple technique where the director just simply wants to get a jump out of you. There maybe a hand which suddenly comes through a window or the main character may turn around with a light in their hand in a dark room and suddenly someone is there. But whatever it is it startles you making you jump.

Today we want to look at how the enemy attempts to frighten us. In this passage we see the returning exiles doing as they have been instructed too…rebuild the temple. But the enemies of Judah rises up and want to help. After their masquerade is foiled they become angry. In the first part we saw how the enemy attempts to discourage, but now we see their attempts to frighten.
Do not dismiss this word being used here. It brings about more than just an illusion of a jump scene or a sarcastic jest. It could include those things, but it is more. It is the idea of life threatening accusations being made. When it says, “…the people of the land…frightened them from building…” (v.4) it is not just an , “Oh! He scared me!” moment. No! The enemy is hard at work, threatening their very lives.

At times it is the same for us. If Jesus tares long enough then eventually even here in America we as Christians will face persecution. The enemy of our souls wishes to destroy us.

Peter writes in 1st Peter 4:8-9, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.” As Peter penned this passage I often wonder if he thought about 30 years before when he stood in front of the Lord Jesus Christ claiming he would never deny Him. At that point our Lord turned to Peter and said, “Simon, Simon, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; 32But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen you brothers.” (Luke 22:31-32)

Satan was roaring, but our Lord was praying. They tell me that in Africa the older Lion, who cannot run as fast, will be the one who roars the loudest. He does this in order to scare the prey into the claws of the younger faster lions. When the younger lions kill the prey the older lion eats first.

What is Satan roaring to you? Is he telling you that if you give you life to Christ that you will suffer? That God takes all the fun out of everything? That you might have to become a missionary to some dark foreign land? My question is, “What if he’s right?”

God’s answer is this, “The cross!” Jesus suffered and died for our sins. Any suffering we do is nothing compared to what happened at the cross. Jesus took all our sins on Him and did it with joy (Hebrews 12:2). Then three days later he physically rose from the dead. That is God’s answer! The old hymn says it best, “Jesus gave it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow.” (“Jesus Paid It All”-Elvina M. Hall)

Don’t listen to the frightening threats of Satan or this world or even yourself. Listen to Jesus who will never lead you wrong. Even if you do suffer, it will always have a reason. God is not purposeless, what He allows is for the sake of His glory and the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let me know what you think.

God Bless

Steven Swaim

(All passages are quoted from the New American Standard Version-THE LOCKMAN FOUNDATION)

THE GOOD HAND OF GOD IN OVERSEEING HIS WORK DEALING WITH THOSE WHO OPPOSE THE WORK OF GOD-Part 3

The Enemy's Out Lash-Part A
(EZRA 4:1-6)

1Now when the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a temple to the LORD God of Israel, 2they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' households, and said to them, "Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here." 3But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers' households of Israel said to them, " You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us." 4Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building, 5and hired counselors against them to frustrate their counsel all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. 6Now in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.


Have you ever ticked someone off by opposing them? In the past I have always prided myself on being able to argue a Jehovah Witness down when they approach my door. In fact I have always enjoyed the fact that I could do it using their own Bible. However, as the scriptures say, pride comes before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). God will in time bring someone your way that will knock you on your hills. Such was the case one Saturday morning when a knock came to my door. There stood a well dressed black woman with the New World Translation in her hand. I proceeded down my normal path of logic to dispel Jehovah Witness doctrine when she angrily stopped me saying, “How dare you insult me like this when all I was showing favor to you by bringing the word of God to you!” Naturally I was taken back and that morning the score stood: Me: Unnumbered, the JW: 1.
Whenever we oppose those in the wrong, no matter how often we have done it, eventually there will be a backlash. The same is true here in Ezra 4. The people have returned from 75 years of captivity and now have the opportunity to rebuild and start over when the enemy arrives. After using discernment and noting their help was unneeded, the enemy turns to deploy his weapons on the people.
The first thing which should be noted is that they used discouragement. It says in verse 4, “Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah…” Discouragement is simply taking courage away from somebody. Here they are taking courage away from the people to rebuild the temple and later the wall and the city (v. 21). More than likely they would do this by laughing at them, making fun of what is going on, dispelling the importance of what was happening, and ridiculing the work.
Throughout my life discouragement was often used, not to do evil things, but keep me from succeeding. I have had family members who did not want me to succeed in areas as a child and then as a young adult. My greatest discouragement came in 2000 with my divorce. To this day I still struggle to open the Bible I used to cherish in order to find God’s daily will for my life. While that is fading everyday, it still slaps me in the face. And then there are those who have been discouraging to me regarding the ministry.
The enemy of our souls wants us discouraged so that we cannot connect with the will of God. The Bible says regarding Satan the thief of our lives that he, “…comes to steal, and to kill, and destroy…” However Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, “…came that…” we “…might have life and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10). The forces of evil will discourage us from knowing God through Jesus Christ as Savior. In the end it will lead to eternal damnation. For those who know Christ as Savior, the enemy will use evil desires to sift from us the grand opportunity to live and do what God wants. As a result not only will we not receive eternal rewards, but because others will come to Christ, which is the eternal reward. The result of us falling for temptation in regards to the lost is their eternal damnation.
Question: Which are you? Do you know Jesus as Savior? Have you come to the point where you understand that you are a sinner lost in need of a Savior, on your way to Hell? Do you understand that Jesus Christ died on the Cross of Calvary, suffered, bleed and died for your sins, taking your place in judgment before God? Do you understand that He physically rose from the dead three days later to give you eternal life? If not then today you need to repent (turn from yourself and sin) and believe (totally trust) that Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal salvation? If you haven’t done this let’s start a dialogue and talk about what it means to become a Christian. Just e-mail me at bedevotedministry@att.net and we will start to talk.
For those who are saved what about you? Are you allowing Satan to discourage you? Is your life filled with those you will ridicule what you stand for and what you believe? Does it seem as if when you try and do well nothing really matters? Then allow me to encourage you from the words of Paul the apostle in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” To use the words from Bill and Ted’s Great Adventure, “Party on Dude!” Don’t let Satan or this world get the best of you!


God Bless,

Steven Swaim

(All Bible verses quoted come from the New American Standard Version)

The Dems Are Wanting You To Demo On

Okay folks the Dems in the House are getting ready to move our nation to the brink of Socialism through health care legislation. It's here like it or not. The Senate is still tussling over this which is good. Through the defense bill the Dems rammed a freedom of speech law through dealing with hate crimes. Supposedly religious institutions are exempt but if the Netherlands are any indication that won't mean much. Now they want to tell you how to eat, exercise, which doctor you can go to, ect. Eventually it will even break down to if you are having health questions because of your job; they will tell you what kind of work you can do. Believe me when I say 10 years down this road we are going to see it happen. It happened in Russia (and starting to happen again), it happened in Germany. Now it is here! The same government that cannot get the h1n1 shot to us wants to take care of us. What a joke! Contact Congress and let them know what you think. It's your government, they are your employees! I want to remind several of you who knew me in the 1980's that I warned you of the freedom of speech issue and some of you pooh, poohed me at that time. I was right then, I'm right now. I'm telling you this is going to affect your freedom on every level, plus if it passes in both houses then close to 5 million people in the nation will be out of work, almost instantly. Unemployment is at 10.4 percent right now. Pray and write and call.

Terrorist Groups Operating in Churches

Latest news reports are that five terrorist cell groups have been operating in many of our churches. They have been identified as: Bin Sleepin, Bin Arguin, Bin Fightin, Bin Complainin, and Bin Missin. Their leader, Osama Bin Lucifer, trained these groups to destroy the Body of Christ. The plan is to come into the church disguised as Christians and to work within the church to discourage, disrupt, and destroy..

However, there have been reports of a sixth group. A tiny cell known by the name Bin Prayin is actually the only effective counter terrorism force in the church. Unlike other terrorist cells, the Bin Prayin team does not blend in with whoever and whatever comes along.

Bin Prayin does whatever is needed to uplift and encourage the Body of Christ. We have noticed that the Bin Prayin cell group has different characteristics than the others. They have Bin Watchin, Bin Waitin, Bin Fastin, and Bin Longin for their Master Jesus Christ to return.

Which cell group do you belong to?

And guess what, no church is exempt. However, you can spot them if you "bin lookin".



Bin Prayin??? No, then you better get busy, cuz our country needs all the prayers you can pack in a day, not just when you are in church.



I "Bin lookin" YOU "Bin Prayin" ???