The GREAT enemy!

There was Pastor that had three sons. One day his sons showed up with a dog that had no collar and had been wondering the neighborhood. It was a pure black Labrador. They asked around the neighborhood, but no one knew where the dog came from. A month went by and it was clear that the boys had fallen in love with the dog. The Pastor decided to keep the dog, the boys were ecstatic. A short time later the Pastor received a call from a man that said he had been told that his boys had found a black lab. The Pastor said yes, but was sure it was not this man’s dog because it had no collar and their neighborhoods were quite far apart. The man said the dog had a very distinguishing mark – on his tail were three long white hairs. The man asked if he could come by on that Saturday and look at the dog. The boys heard about it and said that they had noticed the three white hairs. 

That night the Pastor took a pair of tweezers and pulled the three white hairs out. That Saturday, the man came, the dog ran to him and greeted him like he would his owner. With his boys standing there, the Pastor encouraged the man to inspect the tail. The man was speechless, it was clear by the dog’s reaction this was his pet, but he could not prove it. In shock the man left, the Pastor’s son’s did not know what to do. Years later…when the Pastor shared broken hearted how all his boys had forsaken the Faith, he shared the dog story. He said “that day I kept the dog, but lost my boys!”

The greatest enemy of Liberty is Compromise!

Danger of Compromise:

Satan does not always use the front door approach, i.e. right versus wrong. In fact we can measure what kind of Christian we are by this very issue. A serious believer has already settled black and white issues concerning right versus wrong. If the Bible says no, then discussion is not needed. Where the believer discovers their maturity is dealing with issues of the conscience. This is where we learn how well do we listen to the Spirit of God, how soft is our heart to the liberty issues that God desires us to deal with. We will look at some important questions to ask that can help guide us, but first we need to understand there is a dangerous enemy to our conscience.

We see a very tragic example of this in the Scriptures:

2 Chronicles 16:1–9 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. ² Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying, ³ “Let there be a treaty between you and me, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.” ⁴ So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim and all the store cities of Naphtali. ⁵ When Baasha heard of it, he ceased fortifying Ramah and stopped his work. ⁶ Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had been building, and with them he fortified Geba and Mizpah. ⁷

At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand. ⁸ “Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. ⁹ “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.”

Asa had walked so well with the Lord. Yet, in one moment he blew his whole future with compromise! All he could see is what he wanted right now, he failed to seek and wait on the Lord. Compromise is always in a hurry! 

Wisdom considers all issues including timing. It requires patience to live in wisdom.

Compromise is driven by temporal vision and has no eternal perspective. If you sacrifice the ultimate, on the alter of the immediate, you might have a lifetime of regret.  

Three simple steps can help us fortify our conscience against compromise:

         {a} Make no provision for sin

                 

Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

Proverbs 4:23 Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.

·      This requires time to check out weak points in your life

         {b} Control curiosity

Genesis 3:6  When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

Years ago a young man named  "Len" Bias was a first team All-American college basketball forward at the University of Maryland. He was selected by the Boston Celtics as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft on June 17. On June 18, Bias and his father flew to Boston, Massachusetts, from Washington, D.C., for an NBA club draft acceptance and product endorsement signing ceremony with the Celtics' coaches and management. Bias had discussions with Reebok's Sports-Marketing Division regarding a five-year endorsement package worth $1.6 million. After returning home to Washington, Bias drove back to his room on the campus of the University of Maryland. At 3 am on June 19 Bias and some friends used cocaine. According to the campus timeline, Bias had a seizure and collapsed sometime between 6:25 and 6:32 AM, but died two days later from cardiac arrhythmia induced by a cocaine overdose. He is considered by some sportswriters to have been one of the greatest players not to play at the professional level.

·      Bias had a stellar college career and was not known as a drunk or drug user. This may have been the first time he took a drug, convincing himself he could celebrate his promising future. That one compromise cost him everything. How tragic, I watched him play and remember interviews. All I remember is what a talented and nice young man he was. Giving into curiosity can cost much more than it appears on the surface.

         {c} Reject influential evil people and situations.

Proverbs 13:20 He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.

1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

·      Be careful, this does not mean separate yourself from unbelievers, they are the very ones Jesus loves and wants’ us to share His life with. I am talking about people that have an impact over you. If they move you to compromise, place space between you and them until you are mature enough to stand on your convictions. Then you can impact them for good!

Question: What about you?  Are you compromising with drugs of any kind? Are you unwilling to wait until marriage for sex? Will you do anything to get good grades at school, including cheat? Are you willing to take all your liberties before the Lord; i.e. how you dress, what you watch, what you listen to, how you use your time, what you eat and drink, etc, and ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate your conscience so you can know God’s desire for you in each of these areas?