Holiness Part two: Compromise

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has anyone here ever watched the show Pawn Stars?
Explain what it is…
it always amazes me how much people can get for their “collectables”
I once saw an episode where a guy had come in with a vintage limited edition Luke Skywalker action figure from the very first line of star wars toys ever sold. the guy knew it was worth a lot of money so he went to the pawn shop owners to try and get his fortune. to the mans surprise the pawn broker told him if they toy was what it appeared to be it was worth over $10k dollars. especially sense the toy had never been opened.
but because it was a lot of money for a toy the pawn broker wanted to bring in an expert on toys to judge if this limited edition luke skywalker was real or not.
so the guy brings all these tools, looks at it under a black light, and under a microscope, and checks every centimeter of the packaging.
after careful inspection it was told the guys that yeah this was a one of a kind realy legit action limited edition luke skywalker action figure.
the toy’s owner jumped.
and then….
the expert said theres just one problem. around this rim of this packaging is some glue that is in a place it shouldn't be. in fact this type of glue wasn't even available when this toy was made. to the best of what he could tell the toy had been opened.
all the excitement went out of the room. see because the toy had been compromised it wasn’t as worth much anymore. it wasn’t as valuable.
when things aren’t opened theyre worth more. they’re “set apart” so because this toy had been opened it wasn’t special it was just like all the other limited edition luke skywalker action figures that kids have been playing with for years.
Holiness in our spiritual walk is just the same. When we compromise ourselves with the culture and of sin we don’t look “set apart” or different. we look like the rest of the world.
So let me ask you guys this morning. what does your life look like? does your life look set apart? or does it look like the rest of the world.
The truth is every single one of us is compromised in one way or the other by sin.
we all sin
but the through the Holy Spirit and grace we get to live a new life…in holiness…when we choose to follow him.
Lets Pray

Connect

Did you guys know that God has already set us apart. He has. he holds each and every single one of us a place at his table in fact he calls us royal and holy
1 Peter 2:9 (NLT)
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
Peter goes on to talk about all the many things we will do for God and then he warns us in verse 11 he says “I, urge you to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul.” “keep your conduct, honorable”.

Consider

in Romans we’re told
Romans 12:1–2 (NLT)
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
see we have all this promise from God but it’s our job with the help and power of his grace to live like he commands us to. we have to live holy.
the patterns of the world are inverse (meaning complete opposite) from the life God has called us to live and the biggest threat to living a holy life is (can anybody guess?) ITS COMPROMISE
now I know sometimes compromise can be a good thing like when I want McDonalds and my wife wants Chick Fil a we compromise and go get chick fil a. or like when I don’t want to drive and my wife doesnt want to drive we compromise and I drive (thats usually just for everyones safety)
but in the context for what I teaching you guys this morning compromise means this. it means to withdraw, draw back, shrink from. in the New testament its used in the context of refraining from declaring, or acting fully, sometimes due to fear or reluctance. it conveys the idea of holding back or not fully committing to a course of action or conviction.
it means that while we love the Lord with all our heart, mind, body, soul, and strength we are capable of not fully committing to give our actions over to him.
Once perfect example of this is the story of a man named Lot.
who remembers the story of Soddom and Gamora? the city that God completely obliterated because of how wicked and evil they were. at the end of that story we see Lot and his family fleeing the city for their lives. but heres the thing. See Lot was considered a very righteous person. in fact he never planned on living in that wicked place at all.
Lot was the Nephew of Abraham (Abraham had many sons that guy). both men were very well off in terms of wealth and favor from the lord.
but there wealth had gotten to a point where there wasnt room for both of their familes so they decided to split up.
Lot decided to go down into the Jordan River valley near a little town called Soddom and Gamora.
He set up his tents on the outskirts of town and continued to live his life. but just like how we sometimes make compromises the draw and excitement drew him and his family in and it’s not too long before we see Lot and his family living inside of the city.
I said this last week but heres the thing about compromise. often times we don’t think the little things we turn a blind eye to or pretend like they don’t matter tend to snow ball on us. the little things we tolerate. the little bits of sin we compromise fore will undo us.
what we tolerate as compromise will always end in partnership. What then is a partnership will become total slavery.
Guys i’m here to tell you this morning that there is such a fullness walking in the promises of God. Rejecting Compromise. Rejecting sin.
Guys working to deepen our relationship with the Holy Spirit is so important.
Paul says this in Galatians “walk by the spirit, and you will NOT gratify the desires of the flesh.” he challenges us to not just walk in the spirit but to fully live in it.
Galatians 5:16 NLT
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.
Galatians 5:25 (NLT)
Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

Application

See when we walk in step with the Holy Spirit we walk slow and intentional, and restful. the bible doesnt call us to just take off and run just …..walk
so what does that look like?
are we walking with him in prayer all day. “lord please be with me as I do this or meet with this person”
do we ever listen to worship music outside of the 20-30 mins we get every sunday here?
we have to deliberately tune out minds to him daily.
thats what it means to walk with him that walking in the spirit and guys let me tell you when your walking in the spirit when you have that closeness with God compromise won’t even be a concept to you.
Pray and break for small groups.
• Small Group Questions:
1. Why is being “set apart” so special? What things in your life are different and set
apart?
2. Does your life look set apart, or does it look like compromise? Explain your answer.
3. How does holiness reject compromise in our lives?
4. What are some areas in our lives where we compromise or are most likely to compromise
5. What does it mean to walk by the Spirit? How can you do that in a practical way this
week?
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