Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!” (Esther 4:16)
No Compromise
Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him, Nor speak anymore in His name.” But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not.” (Jeremiah 20:9)
Jeremiah was a very unpopular Prophet. He did not want to prophesy the truth but he could not hold it back. He could not compromise or betray any truth in his central value system. Jeremiah knew that his faithfulness brought about his sufferings. Yet he did not compromise to his death.
Joseph Wittig once said: “A man’s biography ought really to begin not with his birth but with his death, it can be written only from the point of view of its end, because only from there can the whole of his life in its fulfillment be seen.”
So it is that when we tell someone of Jesus we must begin with his death. One cannot even begin to understand the life of Christ without understanding his death. It is here at the cross that His biography begins. Paul said his life was being “poured out like a drink offering”. All lives are poured out either in self concern or in service. Utter faithfulness means no compromise
No Compromise as it relates to The Purpose of God in My Life
“When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
(Acts 7:54-60)
This honesty got Stephen in trouble. Faithfulness means that you don’t only tell the truth when it is convenient. “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God”. Faithfulness is often rewarded with a vision of God. When faithful, whether in life or in death, we will awake to some vision of triumph. “Lord Jesus receive my spirit.” Stephen utters his final confidence (faithfulness) in Jesus.
“Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” Desiring to be like Jesus and faithful to the end, Stephen cries out the sames words the Jesus did on the cross.
No Compromise as it relates to My Relationship with Christ
“So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. (Matthew 19:17-20) Knowing this, ask yourself, “What do I still lack?”
Dr. James Harnish a United Methodist pastor asks the questions;
- Where do we find the power to be a disciple?
- Where do we find the power to keep going when the going really gets tough?
- Where do we find the power to continue to believe in love in a world that is filled with hate?
- Where do we find the power to continue to believe in good in a world that is filled with so much evil?
You can dig deep within yourself but you will not find a satisfying answer. The only answer is in Jesus Christ. And, only because we know He is faithful to supply all we need.
No Compromise as it relates to My Service to Others
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:10-18)
Peter told the Ephesians to stand. When we stand, we stand for something or against something. In this case we stand faithfully, in Christ, against:
- Abaddon, the Destroyer, Revelation 9:11
- The Accuser, Revelation 12:10
- Murderer (Thought, Word or Deed), John 8:44
- The Evil One, Mathew 13:19
- When we stand we stand faithfully (believing) in His armor.
No Compromise as it relates to My Personal Worship
“For the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion According to the multitude of His mercies. For He does not afflict willingly, Nor grieve the children of men. To crush under one’s feet All the prisoners of the earth, To turn aside the justice due a man Before the face of the Most High, Or subvert a man in his cause— The Lord does not approve. Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, When the Lord has not commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That woe and well-being proceed? Why should a living man complain, A man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the Lord; Let us lift our hearts and hands To God in heaven. We have transgressed and rebelled; You have not pardoned. You have covered Yourself with anger And pursued us; You have slain and not pitied. You have covered Yourself with a cloud, That prayer should not pass through. You have made us an off-scouring and refuse In the midst of the peoples. All our enemies Have opened their mouths against us.” (Lamentations 3:31-33)
Consider the faithful promises made above. In v. 31 We should rejoice daily that God is in the business of saving us forever – not true believer is ever cast off. In v. 32 God consoles his weeping children. In v. 32 His love never ceases to flow. In v. When you cry, God, too is broken. For all His faithfulness He is worthy of praise
No Compromise as it relates to The Final Judgment – Read
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-46)
Enough said
Now go on the Faithfulness Part 6. Faithfulness – The Road that Leads to Victory
Thy Words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy Word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by Thy name, O LORD God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15:16)
