Monday, June 2, 2008

NO COMPROMISE

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Yesterday, the subject in church was "NO COMPROMISE."

One of my fondest memories of childhood was sitting in a small classroom in a little church watching and listening as my Sunday School teacher told Bible stories via a flannel board with little paper Bible characters. My favorite story was one about three young guys who were tossed into a fire by the king as punishment for not bowing down to a gold idol - and then coming out without being burned or even SMELLING like fire. That was fascinating to me. The teacher told it with so much enthusiasm, as well as – I’ve come to find out – considerable literary LICENSE – and he’d slam those little felt characters one-by-one onto that flannel board to support the DRAMA of his point. That was and still is a great story.

It's a story about NO COMPROMISE.

It's a story about obeying GOD, not man. The three guys thrown into the fire told the king they didn't need to defend themselves. God would take care of them. They didn't take out a piece of paper and make a list of PROS and CONS as to whether they should bow down or not. Ever made a LIST of the pros and cons of a decision? I have. But sometimes, when we do that, there might be a time when the CON side has a long, intelligent persuasive list of reasons why or why not – and the PRO side has only one item on it – BECAUSE GOD SAID SO. But no matter how long the two sides are, you ALWAYS go with the side that ‘OBEYING GOD’ is on – because just focusing on PROS and CONS can lead you into a life of COMPROMISE. And when you compromise ONCE, it's so much easier to compromise TWICE. These three didn't. They obeyed GOD rather than MAN.

It's a story about trusting the TRUTH, not the facts. The three guys said, "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, our God will rescue us." What's the difference between the FACTS and the TRUTH? It is humanly impossible to walk on water – that’s a FACT. The TRUTH is - Jesus walked on water and so did Peter, under the power of Jesus. The FACT is, when you’re dead, you’re dead. The TRUTH is - Jesus didn’t stay dead and when He spoke to other dead people, neither did they. The FACT is, you’re out of money and in financial trouble – and there is more month left than money. The TRUTH is – Jesus is your PROVIDER. The FACT is, the DOCTOR says there is no hope. The TRUTH is - Jesus is the GREAT PHYSICIAN. The FACT is, your MARRIAGE is in big, big trouble. The TRUTH is - GOD is a God of RESTORATION. The FACT is, you face an impossible situation ahead and you don’t know what to do. The TRUTH is - all things are possible with God. We don’t look just at the FACTS, we focus on the TRUTH.

It's a story about believing GOD instead of just believing IN God. Even the demons believe IN God, so that is not enough at all. These three guys said, "Our God will rescue us -- but even if He does NOT -- we will still NOT serve the idol you have set up, O king." That is the deepest kind of faith - a NO MATTER WHAT kind of faith. If we lose our jobs and don’t know what to do, we’ll still believe God … “NO MATTER WHAT.” If we’re praying for our kids and they’re still going the wrong way, and the harder we WORK, the further they RUN, we’ll still believe God … “NO MATTER WHAT.” If we pray and pray and pray and believe with everything inside us that God WILL answer this prayer according to His Word, but for some reason He DOESN’T, we will still believe God … “NO MATTER WHAT.” If we’re praying for a friend to be healed but they’re not healed the way we think they should be, we will still believe God … “NO MATTER WHAT.” If someone we love and respect as a follower of Christ betrays and hurts us, we will still believe God … “NO MATTER WHAT.” If we ache … if we’re afraid and alone … if we’re persecuted for doing the right thing, we will still believe God … “NO MATTER WHAT.” If His Word makes me uncomfortable, I’ll do what He says … "NO MATTER WHAT." If I fail to get that promotion because I’m living for Christ and refuse to do some of the things they’re asking me to do just to get ahead, I’ll do what He says … "NO MATTER WHAT." If my girlfriend breaks up with me because I won’t sleep with her anymore, I’ll do what He says … "NO MATTER WHAT."

NO COMPROMISE. It's the only way to live.

And be blessed.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Absolutely inspired sermon you gave! I bought the dvd! When we all went to the alter to declare our decision to do what God wants "No Matter What", I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit giving me the power to do just that. I know I am not a perfect person, but "No Compromise" is how I want to live my life.