Opposition is a powerful force if you’ll let it be

Ezra 4:1-5

I heard this story last week on Terri Savelle Foy’s podcast:

The codfish and catfish story:

A number of years back the codfish industry on the northeast coast of the US had a problem. The fresher the fish the better. So how could they keep the codfish fresh while they transported them across the country? When they froze the fish they lost too much flavour. When they transported them live in tanks filled with saltwater the fish got soft and mushy.

Finally they found a solution. They placed catfish in the tanks. Catfish are a natural enemy of codfish, so the catfish would chase them around the tanks all the time they were being transported. The cod now arrived in better condition than ever.

Relating this story, Chuck Swindoll (who had told this story) points out that we all need catfish in our lives – the difficult people or situations in life that may not be pleasant but keep us healthy and growing.

Let’s break down Ezra 4:1-5

• Verse 1: Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the LORD God of Israel,

To set the stage, the temple of God was being rebuilt and we find out whose who in the midst.

When people hear you are doing something, it piques their interest, either for good or bad. Everyone has a motive so don’t be naive or fooled. Seek God for wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and discernment. Be careful what you hear and and who or what you listen to. Be careful what you entertain as well and who you join forces with. Listen 👂 and Look 👀. Keep your eyes on the prize and the word of truth.

Not everyone is out for your benefit or best interest and you can let it grow you or hinder you. You must not give in. There were enemies that had come to resist the work of God’s people but like the cod and catfish, the opposition can keep us fresh and growing, if we let it.

One time I heard the words “There are imposters trying to fit in.” I wrote it down on my hand and was very intrigued by the comment. What was God trying to show me? An imposter is a person who PRETENDS to be someone else in order to DECEIVE others, especially for FRAUDULENT GAIN. In other words, they’re in it for themselves, not for you. I’ve met a few people like this along the way… Like Satan, they must make whatever they propose to look good in order to deceive you. This is what the Samaritans were trying to do the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, but they weren’t fooled. They wanted pagan worship to be intertwined with true Goldy worship, and this clearly ought not to be so in our lives. They were referred to as the enemies or the adversaries.

The catfish was a known enemy to the codfish but the codfish fought to stay alive. They weren’t fooled and they didn’t befriend the catfish. The point is that opposition can keep you going, if you let it.

At the time that I heard this phrase about imposters, our church had been going through some pretty rough times and was under attack, no doubt. Some had gone. We lost some and we gained some.

There was a core group that was trying to stick together and loved the Lord and His church. Then there was a few that were coming in with wrong motives and intents. Not all, but a few. Thank God for the new ones that did come in and were willing to join forces with God His people. We were trying to stay together and rebuild. The enemy knew this and put it on the ear of those who he’d send in to try and stop us. They didn’t come in, in open opposition style. They tried to look like they were working with us and trying to fit in, but their hearts clearly weren’t in the right place or full of true worship. Something was off. We must pay attention to what’s In front of us and seek discernment. If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t right and we sure shouldn’t join forces with the enemy! We must resist them.

The tribes in Ezra were rebuilding the temple of the Lord. It was important to them and to God. It was a place of worship for The Almighty God. We are now the temples of God and the body of Christ. We must build and work for Him. We must maintain what we’ve built but there will always be imposters trying to fit in, for ill and selfish gain. We must continue to build. Read the story of Nehemiah on the rebuilding of the wall and be reminded of this fact and the importance of not stopping although evil forces come against us.

Just because God gives you a desire and grants it does not mean that you won’t face some opposition, but just the opposite. The enemy doesn’t want you to gain any new ground or territory. You gotta fight for your right and continue. Do not stop for them or join forces with them. Do not let their threats prevent or provoke you. The fact that the enemy is coming against you is proof of what is in you. He uses people, things and forces too.

• Verse 2: they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the fathers’ houses, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we seek your God as you do; and we have sacrificed to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”

They did NOT have the things of God in mind. They only used Him for their own benefit. We Christians are to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts and to only worship Him. If are hearts aren’t full then they are partially open to wickedness. The only worship that was coming from the opponents was false worship and all for greedy gain. Just because there will be imposters or hypocrites who ask to join forces, doesn’t give us the ground to not keep doing what we know we ought to do. This is not the time to give in.

The world is full of them: don’t be one of them.

If worship and work is not from the heart, it’s not real or steadfast. It won’t last. The Word says that we are known by our fruits. There were hidden agendas and roots. But eventually, the real fruit comes from the real root that’s hidden underground. Not what they say but what they do. What aligns and what doesn’t, we must ask.

These enemies were living a double life and God’s people knew it! They didn’t entertain it. They didn’t compromise with sin and neither should we. They didn’t say say “we’ll think about it” nor did they feel sorry for them. NO!

A true warrior knows his or her mission and therefore you can know that there is an enemy too. He wants to stop you. We must have laser focus. He’s sly. He only comes to kill, steal, and destroy, BUT FIRST, he’ll look real nice and present it real good as the serpent did with Eve. Don’t take the bait. Don’t believe it. Believe the fruit. First, examine it to make sure talk isn’t just good sounding. Ask God for discernment in order to be able to discern between what’s looks and sounds real, from what isn’t. We are to be as gentle as a dove but wise as a serpent. Give it some time if you have to but don’t get close. Watch from a distance. Ask God to expose hidden motives.

We must stay on guard and if we think we can befriend our adversaries, we are wrong. We can and are told to pray for our enemies. To pray and bless, and not to curse. But, we are to know who the real enemy is and that he comes to stop the work that God started in you. DO NOT TO JOIN FORCES with them. They only want to tear down, not build up. You can’t build together with the opposite and opposing forces. It just doesn’t work and light has no business with dark.

• Verse 3: But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel said to them, “You may do nothing with us to build a house for our God; but we alone will build to the LORD God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

This one’s pretty simple. Just because it looks good doesn’t mean it is. Just because you could don’t mean that you should. Just say NO! Simple as that. No, you can have no part with us in God's plan. The enemy doesn’t belong. Even God's word says to LET your own yes BE YES and no, NO! Simple as that and mean it. Anything other than that is sin and compromise, double-mindedness and entertaining sin. Just say NO! It’s the only way out of temptation and disaster. It’s tempting to want to let some in and to work with those whom we know deep down we shouldn’t. We are to be of a single heart and single mind to do the single call that God has asked and sent us to do. If it does not align, just say NO. Take and have NO part in the devil's schemes, or anything other than or less than what God has sent you to do. What would have happened to the codfish if they had given into the catfish? They definitely wouldn’t have stayed fresh.

This reminds me of another story that I’ve heard a couple of times about 🐝 bees that were sent to outer space. They didn’t use their wings and they thought they were thriving but they soon died. We weren’t born for an easy life but we were born to battle.

Opposition can cause you to rise if you let it. If no opposition, no resistance. If no resistance, no strengthening. If no strengthening, stagnancy and complacency sets in. They didn’t just give in.

• Verse 4: Then the people of the land tried to discourage the people of Judah. They troubled them in building,

Guess what this did when they said no and guess what this does? It triggers the enemy. It makes him very mad. Just like a little kid in a candy store when he doesn’t get his way. BUT GOD!!!! God warned us that in this world we’d have trouble but on the same token, He told us to BE of good cheer, for He had overcome the world! That’s great news that gives us hope to hand onto. He gave us a heritage and a right. He said basically it’s ok, don’t worry because He has already told us IN ADVANCE that weapons would form, but on the same token that they would not prosper (if we trust and so rely on Him.) Trust is full assurance and reliance upon which it leans.

He is in you, with you and for you, believer! So believe. Through Him we are overcomers and more than conquers. More than!! Not less than. Greater is He that is living in you. It’s Literal! He said it’s impossible but that offenses would come but WOE to who they come from! Woe means great distress will come upon. Don’t be the one who causes a fight but don’t back down. Listen, we aren’t fighting flesh and blood as some would think or as sometimes we’d like to fight in. It’s spiritual, and it’s deeper than that. Don’t miss the point or the tools. Ephesians 6 tells us how to dress right and how to fight right. How we can resist the opposition and not give into the pressure or temptation to cave.

The enemy comes to discourage you because 1- he knows what’s in you and 2- that discouragement it’s the fastest way down. What’s the opposite of discouragement? Courage! It takes courage to fight and win, to continue what you set out to do! God wants you to overcome and accomplish what He set in and sent you to do. David had to encourage himself in the Lord when he had no one else to encourage him and many times we must do the same. Discouragement is a trap! Don’t fall into. God told Joshua to BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE! What will happen if you just give up and quit? You won’t finish. Like David, BELIEVE that you will see the Goodness of the Lord in the very land of the living.

God also told Joshua “Do not be afraid and do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” We hear the phrase “Do not fear” so many times and it’s a command for God's followers. It’s not just a mere suggestion - because the wrong kind of fear leads destruction. We must not give in or back down, or give them any thought or leverage to the enemy. We only fear God and keep His “commands” and thus means to NOT fear the enemy or give into their wants or threats.

• Lastly, verse 5: and hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus King of Persia, even until the reign of Darius King of Persia.

The enemy doesn’t just go away so easily without a fight. And listen, God has angels and uses people but the enemy does too. They’ll have their day in court. God is just and it’s His judgment that we must fear. If we stop, we don’t please Him. They may hire threats, and they may hate you without cause, just as they did Jesus. The people let a bad man go in Jesus’ place. This is nothing new. Consider Him. He stayed the high road and He stayed to His mission. He was obedient to His death. Even to the death of the cruel cross, but He still overcame and you can too. His mission was completed. He didn’t let the opposition stop Him. He continued. It was and is finished, and it was all for you us to be able overcome too! Christ in you. BUT IF GOD be for you, who can stand against you?

Stand your ground. Do the work that God sent you to do despite the opposition. Pray right. Fight right. God says that vengeance is His. Work and wait.

Don’t take what belongs to Him into your own hands or you won’t win. It’s your heritage to win (Isaiah 54:17) but you must let Him fight your battles and only do your part to work, keep your peace, and continue. No war, no victory... Peace isn’t tranquility with no trouble. It’s peace in chaos. It’s a choice and a deep-rooted confidence in Whose you are and Who is in you. Let them. Let them do what they think they need to do. All I can say is: “BUT GOD.” He will work it all out. In the end, He gets the final say. Like in any trial, we must endure. We must not give in or quit. We must not be overcome with evil but overcome evil with good. We must not grow weary in doing good or faint before the harvest comes. Remember: there is no strength built without resistance and if we leave the fight before the victory, we don’t win.

Enduring is often the hardest part but most rewarding, in the end.

If God promised He’d take care of you, He will. We can rest assured in His promises. Rest is a byproduct and proof of trust. I know I talk a lot about war and resistance and we’d all like lilies and roses. But, He is the lily of the valley and roses have thorns. God never promised this life would be easy but worthy, and so we must not quit just because someone comes against.

He promised hope, healing, and deliverance from these very things! Without resistance, we’d have no reason to grow, go, or fight for the next level. Remember the codfish! He wants us to live and overcome! There is so much more and it doesn’t come without a fight. ANYTHING worth having is worth fighting for but we must ask God and seek Him for what that looks like. We must fight right or we won’t win. Opposition is proof that you’re trying. if you never have any, you must ask where you’re at or if you’re doing anything worthy.

Not everyone is for your good but God uses everything for your good. He can use even your enemies to strengthen and sharpen you and He uses the weak to confound the wise. God will grace and enable you to do all the things that He wants you to do. He doesn’t call and not equip. You must believe the power is within you. It’s not cliche or just a good saying. It’s true! The very same power that raised Jesus from the dead is now living in you and I, believer. And if you don’t have Him, you can accept Him today.

• That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be SAVED. Roman’s 10:9

He will be your power and your strength. He is your Savior and your Stay. Amen.