 If you want to be used by God in any capacity, you're going to need to learn to deal with criticism and slander. God's favor attracts jealousy and invites attacks. So I want to give you three biblical keys that will help you to keep your focus, your joy, and your peace in times of testing. So this message is for those who are in ministry or who feel called to ministry. Remember this, as God promotes you, people will attack you. Whether they're attacking you out of jealousy or whether they're attacking you because they feel like it's the right thing to do or whether they're attacking you because they imagine that somehow it's going to help them, people will attack you. Expect it. This is what the Bible says in John 15 verse 20. Do you remember what I told you? A slave is not greater than the master. Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. Look, I've seen people in ministry lose their minds, their peace, their focus just because they didn't know how to handle criticism and slander. When criticism and slander came against them, they lost their minds, they lost their character. It changed their preaching, their bitterness seeped into their messages. Don't let that be you. So I'm going to give you three biblical keys to dealing with criticism and slander. Here's key number one. Pray for your critics. This is so important because it helps to humanize those who are coming against you. And as your heart becomes softened to them as individuals, you're able to see things clearer and from God's perspective. Now, it's important at this point to note that there's a difference between slander and criticism. And you deal with these two in slightly different ways. Slander is deceptive communication that presents your motives, words and actions in a dishonest and negative way. On the other hand, criticism is opposition to something you teach or represent or a certain method that you use. Here's an example of slander. Well, the pastor didn't shake my hand today and because he didn't shake my hand, that proves that he's arrogant and prideful and he needs to repent of his arrogance and pride. Okay, that's slander because they're taking an instance and then interpreting it through their bitterness and spinning it in a negative light. Now, criticism is different. Criticism would be something like, well, I don't agree with his stance on tongues and here's why I don't agree with his stance on tongues or I don't agree with his stance on the doctrine of healing and here's why I disagree with his stance on the doctrine of healing. Someone who slanders is usually a bitter person who is gifted at playing the victim and putting a negative spin on whatever you do or say. On the other hand, someone who criticizes disagrees with something you teach or dislikes a certain method you use. Pray for those who slander you because they are broken and spiritually immature. Pray for those who criticize you because they need to realize they're attacking fellow believers. Matthew 544 says, but I say love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Now, is slander persecution? Is criticism persecution? Absolutely. You see, there are different levels to persecution. The lowest form of persecution is when someone speaks against you. Now, even though it's the lowest form of persecution doesn't mean that it's not persecution at all. Yes, when you are being slandered, when someone is criticizing you unnecessarily or unfairly, that is a form of persecution, especially since you're doing something for God. So, something happens in your heart when you begin to pray for those who come against you. You pray blessings on them, healing for them. Pray that God would bless their families. Pray that God would bless their mind, their emotions. Pray that God would give them greater revelation. Pray that God would let them know joy and peace. And in doing this, you're actually helping to align them with the will of God will simultaneously guarding your heart. When you can pray for those who slander you, when you can pray for those who criticize you, it places compassion in your heart for them. And when you see them from the perspective of compassion, it changes your whole perspective and it stops your peace from being taken from them. When someone comes against you and starts criticizing you, it's easy to become obsessed with it, to become emotional about it, to become worried about it, but when you start to pray for them, that's where the transformation begins to take place within you. And to some degree, when you pray for your critics, you almost gain this strange respect for them because you begin to realize, well, they're just doing what they believe is the right thing. But the slanderers, you gain compassion for them because you realize their slander is coming from the place of a victim mindset and hurt and bitterness and spiritual immaturity. And so, you become compassionate toward them and you guard your heart against bitterness. Romans 12, 21 says, don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. Forgive, let it go and move on. Now, here's key number two. This is going to be a very difficult one to do, but it's necessary. Key number two, stay silent. Don't say a word. Now, let me balance this real briefly. Yes, there are times when you need to address certain criticisms and certain forms of slander. There are times when that's necessary, but 99.9% of the time when you are being criticized, when you are being slandered, don't say a word. Now, when I first started in ministry, it was very different for me. These days, when people criticize me or slander me or make a video about me or we've had people even protesting outside of our services with signs saying that I'm not of God, nowadays, I can laugh it off because I realize it's not going to do anything. But when I first started in ministry, oh my goodness, I thought I had to answer every critic. I thought I had to find them and explain it to them. I thought I had to give an answer for every question that was raised against me. And I would feel trapped. I would feel like, well, if I stay silent, people are going to believe them. But if I go out and speak against it, people are going to attack me more. And so I felt like I was trapped in this place. And it wasn't always the slander that hurt me. You see, it wasn't just the slander that would get to me. And in your case, it will be something similar. It's not the slander that gets to you. It's the fact that people believe the slander simply because it was spoken. People who should know better, people who followed you for a long time, people who understand who you really are. They can hear slander and then they start going, oh my goodness, well, I never knew that about them. Or I never saw them from that perspective. Well, I never disagreed with that point, but you bring up an interesting point. And that's where things can really become emotional. Now, as I said, when I first started in ministry, that was a struggle for me. These days, I just recognize sometimes people are just going to believe slander. Sometimes people are just going to believe criticism. Sometimes people are just going to be against you just by what someone else says. And that's okay. Let it be so. Let God vindicate you. Here are reasons why you should remain silent. Number one, because some people enjoy arguing with you. Don't wrestle with pigs. There's a quote that goes like this. Never wrestle with a pig. You just get dirty and the pig enjoys it. You might sipper the David. That's rather harsh, isn't it? Well, here's what the Bible says, Matthew 7-6. Don't waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don't throw your pearls to pigs. They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you. I remember I was speaking on the phone with a powerful man of God who was being heavily criticized in the media. He called me and was just sort of venting and we were talking back and forth. And he said something I'll never forget. He said, if I respond and try to take matters into my own hands, the Lord won't. If you defend yourself, God won't. Let God be your defender. So that's number one. Stay silent because some people enjoy fighting with you. It's almost like fighting with quicksand. Every move is just going to pull you in deeper. Number two, stay silent because your words will be used against you. Here's an interesting portion of scriptures found in Proverbs chapter 26 verses four and five. Don't answer the foolish argument of fools or you will become as foolish as they are. Be sure to answer the foolish argument of fools or they will become wise in their own estimation. Now this verse isn't contradicting itself. This portion of scripture isn't speaking against itself. Rather, what the scripture is saying here is either way, there's nothing you can do. A fool who speaks against you, if you argue with them, you're just vindicating them. You're validating what they're saying. You're bringing some legitimacy to their argument. If you stay silent, they think, aha, I got them. So Proverbs is telling us here that if a fool comes against you, there's nothing you can do. So you might as well just leave it alone. For some, no explanation is needed. For others, no explanation is good enough. Some people are just committed to misunderstanding and hating you. As I said, it's like trying to fight quicksand. Every punch, every kick just pulls you in deeper and your words are used against you. If you call out the slanderer for their blatant lies, they'll accuse you of gaslighting. If you call them deceptive, they'll call you a bully. If you try to explain yourself, they'll say you're manipulating. At least if you stay silent, they aren't given anything new to spin. The other reason you should be silent is because the Holy Spirit is classy and the pulpit is sacred. Colossians 3 2 says, think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. How does an airplane avoid turbulence? It just adjusts its altitude. Whenever there's turbulence around you, don't try to engage. Just adjust your altitude. Go to higher places. Don't get involved in drama. Don't get involved in the arguments. You're building a ministry. When you go to defend yourself for the most part, it's about ego. When you go to argue for your doctrines for the most part, it's about ego. There's this whole side of the internet that's very toxic, that's very unhealthy spiritually, that's filled with people who are ego centered, immature believers who love to argue and make videos about each other and attack one another and it's back and forth and no one ever really wins. Don't be involved with that. You must stay silent because the Holy Spirit is classy and the pulpit is sacred. Protect that pulpit. Don't pollute that pulpit by using it as a platform to engage in drama. Don't sink to that level. You should also be silent. Hear this one. You should also be silent because it's a test of your character. Matthew 26, 62 through 63 says, then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, well, aren't you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself? But Jesus remained silent. Silence is a test of your character. Now, please hear me now. Don't even respond in subtle ways. I've seen it done sometimes where when someone's being criticized, they'll very subtly respond to their critics. They'll say, you know, well, even though some people are against me, God is for me. Well, even though the devil is using certain individuals, we know that God is on our side or nobody can stop what God is doing through this ministry and they go on and no matter what they're talking about, they always bring it back to defending themselves against these so-called haters. Don't even respond in subtle ways. Let it be. Don't use underhanded comments. Don't use underhanded posts on Facebook about some random individuals who may not even be seeing it. Don't attack. Stay silent. It is a test of your character. Don't hint at responses. Don't try to defend yourself. Don't try to explain yourself. Just leave it alone. And if you do that, by the way, they'll just say you're being manipulative. They'll say, see, they're not humbling themselves. They're not doing what they ought to do. And then you just get entangled in all of these things. So say it with me. Stay silent as difficult as it is. As hard as it is to watch others responding to the criticism, gasping and going, I had no idea or, oh my goodness, that's true. I do disagree with them. No matter how difficult that is, just stay silent. And number three, a key to dealing with slander and criticism. Remember that God is for you. Romans 8 verse 31 says this, What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? No weapon formed against you will prosper, but the weapons will be formed. Your ship may take on water and damage, but your ship is not going to sink. See, that's what can be so emotionally and mentally disturbing about going through seasons of criticism and slander is because slander and criticism do in some cases actually cause damage. People do take to the criticisms. People do take to the slander. People will turn on you because of criticism and slander. That's just a fact. You're going to have to deal with it. And it's because of moments like those that you become concerned, that you begin to possibly lose your peace. You start to lose your focus and you start to change your messages. You start to become bitter. It becomes like this weight that's over you, but you have to remember that God is for you. Though the storms may rage, though the water may be taken on in the ship, though there may be some damage, you will not sink. Yes, people will come against you. Yes, people will attack you. And yes, people will believe and side with those attacks. But so long as you remember that God is on your side, you'll have perfect peace. So let's recap. Number one, dealing with criticism and slander. Pray for your critics. Number two, stay silent. Stay silent. Stay silent. It's a test of your character. It's a difficult discipline. And number three, remember that God is for you. So Father, I pray that you would help us to remember that you are for us. Thank you, Lord, for the privilege of serving in your ministry. And I pray, Lord, that you would strengthen that one watching now. Give them the strength in times of slander and criticism. And Lord, give them the grace and the discipline to remain silent as you did. And help us to remember, Father, that if you're for us, no one can be against us. Thank you, Lord, for fighting my battles. I want you to write that in the comment section right now. Say thank you, Lord, for fighting my battles. And he truly is fighting your battles. Hey, if you love this ministry, you believe in what we're doing and you want to help us continue to reach the world through events and media, then consider becoming a monthly ministry partner for $10 a month. Just go to DavidHernandezMinistries.com slash partner for more information. Also, I encourage you, if you enjoyed this message, don't forget to like, to comment, to share, and subscribe to EncounterTV, the Holy Spirit's channel. I know you'll be blessed. And until next time, remember, nothing is impossible with God.