Psalm 37: is Ideal for those Harassed, Bullied & Body Shamed Online

Welcome to Preach the Gospel. Trouble is coming to the earth. It is the program designed to give you solutions for effectively handling the problems in your life. Today's message. Psalm 37 is ideal for those harassed, bullied, and body shamed online.

Here's the reality. No matter what you may think or hear, and no matter what the bold and the powerful are saying, the workers of wickedness and iniquity will soon be cut down. They talk as if they will have their great influence, great power, and great wealth forever. They give no regard nor thanks to the God of heaven who created them, and who blessed them richly with material wealth and even power and perhaps fame. They strut about the internet and the world like peacocks, looking down their noses at those less fortunate than they are.

They abuse young boys and girls, men and women, and even the elderly. They tease. They scoff at them with cruel hatred and laugh at them in their discomfort. They think there's no law for them. They lie. They cheat. They deceive. and they rob the unsuspecting and helpless, not realizing that God sees all things and that He says, "Vengeance is mine. I will repay." If you've been wronged by cyber bullies, powerful influencers, the rich, famous, and powerful, I'm sorry to hear about your pain. Please put God in your debt, my friend. He will repay and will reward you faithfully.

In addition to various abusers and bullies that have been in the world forever, we now have to deal with online abuse and harassment. And this is huge.

For instance, in America, 58% of teens have experienced cyber bullying like repeated unwanted contact, hate speech, and image manipulation. This causes teens psychological distress and sometimes they are forced from public online spaces and some end up harming themselves or even taking their lives. 41% of adults experience similar severe online harassment and 11 million adults are affected by what is called doxing tactics and swatting.

Let us pray. Father, we give You thanks and praise for Your awesome love, Your boundless mercy, and all of Your wonderful goodness unto us. Thank You, Lord. Bless this word as it goes out that it may travel far and wide. Bless the listeners with wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Bless them with the ability to resist Satan and all his forces. In Jesus holy name I pray. Amen.

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Doxing entails the compiling and publicly releasing of people's personal offline data such as their addresses, employment information, social security number, exposing them to scammers. This hostility which begins online often translates into offline physical dangers such as being stalked and even suffering job loss.

There's also something called swatting in which emergency services are deceived into sending armed police to victim's residents. And this can snowball into physical violence, injury or even loss of life. Yes, this is happening every day.

According to a recent story published, one high-profile individual who has experienced digital harassment and body shaming is 33-year-old Ariana Grande. I'd only heard her name and knew nothing about her fame. Apparently, she is one of the top R&B singers, a songwriter, and an actress. Her name became big in 2013. Today it costs anywhere from two to $6 million dollars to book her.

Believe it or not, however, social media has been flooded with speculation about her health and there have been unverified rumors about eating disorders. I mean no harm to her. This is what I found in the report and she has been undergoing relentless scrutiny. The stress from this unwanted attention has caused her to announce that she is stepping away from the public eye for a season in order to protect herself and I think it is a wonderful move. She's cancelling major engagements across the globe.

And this tells you how severe digital harassment and body shaming can be upon the psyche of our young people and even adult people. If it can have this kind of impact on a powerful star like Grande, it can happen to any of us.

How should we respond when we are attacked by the wicked? The first eight verses of Psalm 37 gives us seven things that we can do in response to any kind of harassment, online bullying, body shaming, other unfair criticisms or personal attacks on any platform in life.

Number one, do not fret nor be anxious when the wicked prevail in their attacks against you or others and when they prosper in various ways. Many teens, my friend, are already facing high stress from school. But add social media and worries about their future to that and you've got great problems.

And sometimes they even become envious when they see what appears to be great fame and success that some others are having and nothing seem to be happening for them. They feel that while they are struggling many others are incredibly successful which is not necessarily true and everything seem to be going the way for others but not for them.

They need to be mindful that the Lord warns us to be anxious for nothing. He does not want us comparing ourselves with others. Be contented, my friend, in any situation you find yourself in. Be contented the way the Apostle Paul was contented. Whether he was in prison or whether he was ministering the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Number two, put your trust in God. We are told to trust in the Lord with all our heart and not to lean on our own understanding for it is faulty. God knows where you are, friend, and what you're dealing with. He knows what you're going through and we are simply asked to trust Him and He will help us work things out. Your situation may look dark today, but they're going to turn around, my friend. If you hang on, if you hang in there, I assure you they will turn.

Number three, delight yourself in Him. Yes, in the Lord. Recently, people all over the world watched the World Cup, which is the top top tournament for global fans of the real game of football. What tremendous passion the players and the fans displayed for their national teams throughout the games. What awesome patriotic pride and what crazy ecstasy when a goal was scored.

Oh, if the people of God would delight themselves in the Lord in this way, things would turn around for them immediately. Their perspective on life would make a 180 degree turn. I assure you.

Number four, commit to Him. Yes, commit to the Lord. Make a full and complete commitment to follow hard after God. If we would cast all our cares upon Him and make Him the head of our life. What joy would resound in our heart every living day?

I just get excited giving Him effusive thanks and praise in the morning when I open my eyes. There's so much that I have to be thankful for. All parts are moving. I can see. I can hear. I can walk. Glory to God. I can talk and I can find a meal. I am so thankful to God for His grace and mercy. A halfhearted commitment will not get it done for you Friend. God is all or none. He says if your commitment is lukewarm, He will spew you or spit you out of His mouth.

Number five, rest in Him. The Word of God tells us to be anxious for nothing. Yes, man. Just chill. Just vibe shift. Just remain low-key no matter what. Let no situation bring anxiety attacks upon you. Be still and know that He is God.

He knows the path that you have taken. And when He has tried you, you shall come forth as fine gold. Do not worry. He has you and the whole wide world in His capable hands. Everything is going according to His plan in your life and in the crazy world which seemed to be on fire at the moment. He saw your end even before your beginning. And if you hold on to Him, you will see it also and it will be glorious.

Six, wait patiently for Him to vindicate you. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. You will not have to fight this battle by yourself. It is not your job to get even with those who come against you. Impatience, my friend, is an enemy of God because it causes us to get in His way and delay our rescue. I have missed so many wonderful opportunities because I failed to wait on God.

They that wait on the Lord shall of a certainty renew their strength. It will be as if they are soaring high on eagle wings, high above the challenges that they are dealing with every day. When we wait on the Lord, there's no stress. There's no sweat. And in the end, the truth will set you free, my friend. And the power of God will rescue you. I assure you.

Number seven, please do not let anger cause you to do something evil or stupid in response to the wrong that has been done to you. Anger and wrath are joined together at the hip. They are not of the Lord. Where you find one, you will soon see the other. We are to bless those who curse us and pray for those who despitefully use us. And anger will depart from us. We all tempted from time to time with anger, but we must diffuse it before it takes root. The key is in your hand, friend.

Scripture warns us that if we are tempted with anger, do not allow it to cause us to sin. Furthermore, we are to make sure that the flame of our anger, our passion, and wrath are extinguished every day before the setting of the sun. Do not go to sleep with anger in your heart. It's going to mess with your physical, emotional, and mental health and most especially your spiritual health. The wicked will be left outside of the new Jerusalem which is coming.

Verse 9 says, "Evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth." And this means that the wicked and the workers of evil schemes and plans will be eliminated, destroyed, and will soon disappear. They may seem to loom large today and to be impossible for you to get away from presently. But this is going to change, my friend.

Verse 34 says, "Wait on the Lord and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. Let us play the long game, my friend.

Be patient. Psalm 91:8 says, "With your eyes you shall behold and see the reward of the wicked, and those who are meek and humble and wait on the Lord shall rise in the judgment. They will go in and out of the new Jerusalem, which is that glorious city that will descend down from heaven. They will go in and out of that glorious city forever. The Word of God has promised that to us.

The same wickedness that the evil men and women perform against the innocent shall be used against them. The Word of God says that the sword that they have drawn to use against the innocent will be used against them. This means the crude and rude rhetoric that they use against innocent children and adults will be used against them when they are done.

There is a hardly ever quoted scripture found in Obadiah 1 and 15, one of the shortest books in the Bible. And it jumped out at me one day and frightened me. I'm telling you, it just knocked me hard. I almost would have fallen to my feet. It simply says, "For the day of the Lord is near for all the nations," which means also every person in every nation on earth. Then it goes on to say, "Just as you have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head." So said, "So done. I've seen it in my life and it is not pleasant.

The righteous one is a delight to God. When He falls, God will lift him up. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and He delights in his way. Though he may fall, he shall not be totally cast down. The Word of God says, for the Lord upholds him with His hand. I've been young and now I'm old, David said. Yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging for bread. His children begging for bread. The righteous man, the righteous woman is merciful and lends and their seed are blessed.

Now here are five additional things that Psalm 37 says about those who live righteously.

• Number one, the Lord will not forsake him. His children shall not be cut off.

• Number two, he's eternally preserved. He will inherit the new heaven and a new earth and live there with the Lord forever.

• Number three, he speaks with wisdom and talks about what is fair and just because God's law is in his heart.

• Number four says he will take the right steps even though the wicked is plotting to destroy him.

• Number five says the Lord will not leave him at the mercy of the wicked nor condemn him when the wicked judges him. Friend, wait patiently on the Lord. He will reward you. He will eradicate the wicked. I promise you.

And the psalm ends by encouraging us to wait on the Lord. Verses 34-36 and says, "And to be obedient to Him, promising that the Lord will lift us up from the doldrums of despair and hopelessness."

The writer goes on to say that he has seen the wicked rise up suddenly having great power like a green bay tree. Influence, popularity and wealth spreading himself, spreading herself as if they were about to take over the entire world. Then suddenly the individual was gone and could not be found.

The Word of God says, "The one who allows God to perfect him walks uprightly and seeks peace at all times." The righteous look to the Lord for their strength in times of trouble. And He helps them. He delivers them from the wicked and saves them because they trust in Him.

And He is unshakable. My friend, I want to encourage you today to hold on. No matter what you're going through, no matter what you're dealing with, God will deliver you Himself and He will fight your enemies with the sword of His mouth which is His Word. God bless and keep you in Jesus mighty name. Amen.

You've been listening to this message and perhaps you do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We want to give you an opportunity to make that right today. Please engage your heart and say this prayer after me:

• Father, I am a sinner.

• I'm sorry for all my sins.

• I crave Your forgiveness.

• I need Your forgiveness.

• Thank You, Lord, for being merciful unto me.

• I have decided to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

• Dear Lord Jesus, welcome to my heart.

• I give You the key to my heart because I now belong to You forever.

• Please keep the key.

• Please give me the Holy Spirit to lead me into all truth, to teach me Your Word, to direct my steps, and to work out the things that trouble my soul.

• Thank You, Lord, for saving my soul. Amen.

Welcome, friend, to the body of believers in Christ. There are so many of us here awaiting the return of the Good Master. In the meantime, let your pastor know that you've committed your life to the Lord and you want to be baptized the way Jesus Christ was baptized by immersion.

Begin reading the Word of God. It is your daily food. You will need it to stay strong in the Lord to resist the temptation of the enemy.

Begin in the book of John. Then go to Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Reading audibly as often as possible because faith comes by hearing the Word of God.

Pray daily. Attend at your local church and one glad morning the Savior will come and receive us all unto Himself and we shall indeed forever be with the Lord. God bless and keep you in Jesus mighty name. Amen.