SUNDAY SERMON BY PASTOR RAJESH MATHEW,  21st December 2025 

Psalms 105: 14-15- He permitted no one to do them wrong;

Yes, He rebuked kings for their sakes,

15 Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones,

And do My prophets no harm.”

Acts 16:28- 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” 

In 45 verses in Psalms 105, this is a blessed Psalm. Two things were lit up in me- 

• God did not allow any one to do them wrong
• God does not allow anyone to trouble, harm, exploit the children of God 

There is a realm of supernatural protection that God is activating upon you. There is aprotection plan for the church from God.

• God permitted no man to persecute them. That is a special protection. • The only deliverance ministry we see in the old Testament is when David began to play the harp, the demons left king Saul.
• One Man of God said, one praise sends a demon a mile away! His parents had taught him to keep praising God. Even 1000 miles away your praise carries power. Do not stay silent! Just worship and praise Jesus. The powers that hold you and binds you will leave. You won’t leave the way you came there is power in the name of Jesus. That man of God’s mother would invite him to join her as she cooked and cut vegetables to stand by her and keep praising God. Today mothers would say, I will put the TV on for you. But C’mon and start praising God.
• He will not allow anyone to do you wrong.

When David would start worshipping and playing the harp, the distressing spirit will leave king Saul. But Saul burnt with Jealousy and envy against David. He picked up his Javelin to throw and kill David but that did not harm David. Even if Kings attempt to strike you and kill you, God can still keep you protected and allow no harm to come upon you. 

No weapon that is fashioned against you will stand. He will allow no man to do you harm.

That Word made me think a lot. 

Luke 22: Jesus says, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat, but I have prayed for you.” 

• Here, Jesus reminds us that He does not abandon us to the enemy. He stands as our intercessor and advocate at the right hand of God the Father. No matter what the devil plans against us, Christ stands in the gap, and His supernatural protection surrounds us.
• We see this idea even in everyday life—the concept of a protection period. Whether it is insurance, a warranty, or even something as simple as a safe, protection is offered for a stipulated period. If something happens to that sofa in that period, you can have it replaced. How much more, then, can we trust in the covering and intercession of Christ? 
• Trust God at His Word. If God has said that he will not allow harm, that is it! Take it and own it.

We see in Daniel’s Book, 120 leaders of the land turned against Daniel. But Daniel kept praying as usual. If you are a praying person, no matter how high and mighty the people who oppose you are, you will be under God’s protection plan. Daniel went into the Lion’s den. It is not because the lions were toothless or not hungry but it was GOD’s Word- do my prophets no harm--- that one Word kept’ the lions mouth shut.

• One Word from God is enough! There is no permission for Satan to touch you, there is no permission for the lions to swallow you! 

Psalms 105- How did God protect the children of Israel? 

• They were brought out through the Blood of the Lamb. They partook of the Lamb. The sign of the was upon their door posts and the angel of death could not touch them. God miraculously brought them out after 400 years of slavery. 
• When they came out and stood before the Red Sea. Behind was the Egyptian army and in front was the sea. But God had commanded the seas – ‘you shall not harm my children’. When they stepped into the sea, they should have drowned but God did not allow that. It became a highway. He is faithful to take you to your destination
• You would have been destroyed by some of the situations you have faced. There may have been no-escape moments in your life. But God did not allow you to be destroyed. 

You are under God’s protection plan. Thank you, Jesus. 

• Pharaoh and his army drowned in the same sea they were not under GOD’s protection plan. What drowned others will not drown you. It may be disease, or debt. But the Word is carrying the voice of God. He allowed no man to do them harm. Read the Chapter of psalms 105. 
• When they reached Jordan, it was the time of Harvest. They could not gather the harvest because Jordan was overflowing and flooding. 

The coming year is a year of harvest. Whatever seeks to stop you from gathering your harvest will not succeed. Why? Because when the priests carried the Ark of the Lord, the Jordan parted.

• Is Jesus your Lord and your Saviour? Are you carrying the presence of God? Then even if the Jordan is overflowing, not a millimetre of water will touch your feet. When God’s presence goes before us, and His people carry the Ark, they walk on dry ground— even in the middle of an overflowing Jordan. 
• The flood may rise, but it cannot stop what God has already ordained for you. You will gather the harvest despite an overflowing Jordan.

In Daniel 3, we see three young men who were set apart by God. They were holy and did not allow the world to corrupt them. They chose not to bow their knees before any god other than the one true God. Because of their stand, they were punished and thrown into the fire. Yet the fire did not touch them. 

• Fire can consume everything. When airplanes crashed into the Twin Towers, the massive buildings were engulfed in flames and reduced to rubble. Fire has the power to destroy. But there is a fire inside you that is greater than the fire outside you. The fire within us is greater than the fire around us. 
• Today, may the mighty fire of the Holy Spirit come upon you. No matter how difficult your circumstances are on the outside, may the fire of God burn within you and keep you standing in the midst of them. 

Paul told Timothy, “Stir up the gift of God which is in you, which was imparted to you through the laying on of my hands.”

There is a fire inside you by the laying on of my hands. May that fire burn today and protect you from everything that comes against you.

We also see this in the life of Jonah. Jonah chose to go to Tarshish instead of Nineveh. He disobeyed God. He knew that he was the reason for the storm at sea and the danger faced by everyone on the ship. 

• Yet, even in his disobedience, God’s word—“Do not touch my prophets”—still stood. Jonah was swallowed by the fish, but he was not harmed. Though he was wrong, God did not destroy him. 

God has His plans to bring you back to His purpose, even when you take detours. 

• Go back to your mission. Hold on to what God has spoken over you and follow Him with all your heart. When you do, God will never allow the enemy to destroy you. 

In 1 Kings 17, we see Elijah as a courageous prophet—one who stood boldly for the Lord and obeyed His command. 

• Elijah called down fire before the prophets of Baal. He offered a sacrifice to the Lord and showed forth the victory of God. On Mount Carmel, he prayed again and rain came. This praying prophet even ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot. 
• Yet, after all this, he saw one message from Jezebel—an “SMS” saying she would destroy him within 24 hours. The moment he read that message, he became deeply distressed. • There are people here today who are distressed because of messages SMSs you have read. God will deliver you. 
• When we read the Bible closely, we often think Elijah ran far away to hide from Jezebel. But Scripture shows us that he went and sat under a tree, very close to Jezebel’s palace (in the backyard of the palace).

Even when you lie down under the nose of your enemy, if you carry a promise from the Lord, you will be protected.

Stand in the grace of God. 

In Acts 12, we see the church praying, and God delivering Peter from prison through angels. In most places in Scripture, angels complete their task and leave immediately. But there are two instances where angels stayed back. One was at the tomb of Jesus—after rolling away the stone, the angel stayed and spoke to the women, saying, “He is not here.” The second is in Acts 12, where the angel stayed until Peter was fully out of prison and safe. 

• This shows us that angels will not only deliver you, but will stay back to ensure your protection from enemies and evil around you. If the church prays, there is deliverance. 

In Acts 27, we see Paul in the midst of a shipwreck. He held on to a small piece of wood and reached the island of Malta. The anointed do not need a ship; a small piece of log is enough. 

You may think God will open a massive door for your deliverance, but sometimes all you need is a small piece of log. If you stand in your calling and in your ministry, you will reach your island. Lift your hands and say, “Lord, thank You for Your protection.”

In Mark 5, there was a man tormented by many demons, living among the tombs.

• He was not sick in his body, but he harmed himself with stones. He should have died, yet he lived. Why? Because there was a calling on his life—to be a missionary to the towns around him. 
• If you have tried to harm yourself and you are still alive, it is because God is not done with you. He will not allow harm to come upon you. 

If you are sitting here today, you are in God’s purpose. 

Acts 16:28- "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!" 

• Paul is saying do not harm yourself. God doesn’t allow other to harm you but today God is saying- you should not harm yourself. Why? Because you are a child of God. You are a coheir with Christ, you are called you have the Holy Spirit within you. Do NOT HARM YOURSELF. 

Act 22:30- And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice in the Hebrew dialect (Jewish Aramaic) saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick [repeatedly] against the goads [offering pointless resistance]. 

Acts 22:30 — “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” 

• Jesus was asking Saul, “Why are you hurting yourself?” 
• By resisting the Lord, Saul was actually harming himself. This expression comes from how royal horses were trained.

“Royal horses were trained with goads—sharp pricks placed behind them. Whenever a horse resisted the trainer, it kicked backward and ended up hurting itself. Some horses learned quickly. After one painful experience, they obeyed. Those horses were chosen to serve the king. Others resisted again and again and kept hurting themselves. 

The horse that learned first became the king’s horse. 

The horse that learned after a few times became the commander’s horse. The horse that kept resisting became a load carrier.” 

• This is like many people in the church today. The church is not hurting them. God is not hurting them. They are hurting themselves by repeated disobedience. 
• Paul learned the first time. One encounter was enough. He realised God is real. He did not want to continue persecuting the people of God, because he understood that by doing so, he was only harming himself. 

Lord, help me to be obedient to You. 

• If you do not pray, you are hurting yourself. You cannot walk the Christian life without a relationship with Jesus. The church is the place where God’s people come together. When you hurt the church or the people of God, you are hurting yourself. 

Hebrews 10:25 says, “Not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.” 

Do not neglect the habit of meeting together. Many people say, “I am part of the universal church.” That is true, but you also need to be rooted in a local church.

• If you are not connected to a local church, you are hurting yourself in the long run. • When you go against the leadership God has placed over you—whether in the church, in the home, in the workplace, or in a nation—you are actually hurting yourself. 

1 Peter 2:18 says, “Be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust.” 

God has placed order and structure. Maintain structure in homes. 

The devil cannot destroy you—but you can harm yourself. 

Please do not harm yourself. 

Your tongue, when used against yourself, will harm you. Life and death are in the power of the tongue. Even if you are on a ventilator, you can come out in the name of Jesus if His name is on your lips. You can come out of any difficulty with your mouth. But if you keep harming yourself with your own words, who can help you? 

“I will never be free.” 

“I will never be blessed.” 

“Nothing will ever change for me.”

Jeremiah 18:18 says, “Come, let us strike him with the tongue.” 

The tongue is meant to bless and build, not destroy. Do not harm yourself. 

When you keep taking debt irresponsibly, you are harming yourself. When you create constant unpleasantness in your family, you are harming yourself. 

Proverbs 11:29 — “Whoever troubles their own household will inherit the wind.” When you trouble your family, you are only hurting yourself. 

Saul tried to kill David, and in the process, he destroyed himself. 

1 Corinthians 3:16 — “Do you not know that you are the temple of God?” When you destroy the temple—through sexual immorality, unholiness, wrong relationships—you are harming yourself. 

• When you sin, you are harming your body. 

When you sleep around, you are hurting yourself. 

When you keep drinking, smoking, or taking drugs, you are harming yourself. 

Ephesians 5:29 — “No one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it.” Husbands, love your wives as Christ loves the church.

• When you insult your wife, you are insulting yourself. When you call her names, you are speaking against yourself. When children watch parents fight constantly, their desire for marriage dies. 
• Haman wanted to destroy the Jewish people using power and influence. In the end, he destroyed himself. 
• When you hurt people, you are hurting yourself. 
• I want to walk in love. I want to be a child of God. 

The Pharisees and priests stood against Jesus and were destroyed. One disciple stood with Jesus, and his name remains. Even today, apostles, disciples, and prophets stand because they stood with the Lord. If you stand against the Lord, you are harming yourself. 

• When Jesus died, the curtain in the temple was torn in two. All limitations were broken once and for all. Earlier, only the high priest could enter. Now God has made you and me kings and priests. Praise God for that. 
• God won’t allow anyone to harm you but you don’t hurt or harm yourself.