In recent years, some churches have removed truth and replaced it with compromise, all for the sake of gaining numbers, increasing their budgets, or gaining popularity in the world. Hello, welcome to Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. Today, a biblical practical look at compromise and how Nehemiah faced his challenge. His true life story will encourage you to stand firm.
Here now, with a clear example of how destruction comes out of compromise, listen with me to doctor Michael Youssef as he begins this episode of Leading the Way Audio. Guidepost magazine. republished an old story Or really a legend. And it went something like this. American Indians Native Americans.
had a custom. by which they take their boys through the rite of passage into manhood. And that particular rite of passage is to around the time of 15 or 16 They send those boys out. To the forests or mountains, to be all alone in solitude. And then they come down and Ceremony to make them be Men.
And the legend goes something like this: one particular young man. hiked all the way to the top of a high mountain. And when he got all the way to the top, he was able to see almost like forever. At the Vesta. This view for miles.
And as he was standing there looking at the view, he heard some rustling. at the leaves at his feet. And to his amazement it was a rattlesnake. And to his greater amazement, that rattlesnake began to talk to him. The rattlesnake said to the young man, It's cold up here.
And I'm freezing. Put me under your shirt.
So I can stay warm. and then carry me down to the valley. Where I belong. No, said the young man, I know you're kind. You're a rattlesnake.
The moment I pick you up, you're gonna bite me. That is not so, said the Rattlesnake. I won't harm you at all. In fact, I will be eternally grateful. for saving my life.
The young man insisted and persisted in saying no to the rattlesnake, but the rattlesnake kept on persisting and asking again and again and again. Because of the rattlesnake's persuasion, he picked the rattlesnake and placed it inside his shirt. And he carried it all the way down to the valley. As soon as he took that rattlesnake out of his shirt, and placed it On the ground. The snake turned around, Struck him.
Bit him. Releasing Large amount of venom. into his body. The young man cried out in pain and in fear. Why did you do that?
I saved your life. You promised that you wouldn't bite me. The rattlesnake said. You knew what I am when you picked me up. as it slithered.
down the grass in the bushes. I don't think the story really needs explanation. For Many of us have one way or another. No The byte of Satan. After win he entices us.
compromising our biblical convictions. and our biblical principles.
Now some people when they get bitten by the snake as a result of their compromise. They immediately cry foul. This is not fair. The rattlesnake did not play by the rules. It's not my fault.
But none of that works. For if you give In. To the rattlesnakes. Of compromising biblical truth and biblical conviction, allowing sin in your life. You and I most assuredly will be bitten.
You may not be bitten the first day or the first week or the first month. Or maybe even the first year. But you and I most assuredly will be bitten. Yeah, so that's it. The snake is no other than the Than Satan.
And that is why the Apostle Paul tells the Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 11.3, He said, I'm afraid. that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, Your mind's somehow were led astray. From your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
Now I hope you got Nehemiah chapter 6. open in front of you. There you find Nehemiah was not just facing one rattlesnake, he was facing three rattlesnakes. Three.
Some bullet? Tobiah? And Gaff. And those three rattlesnakes were out to destroy him. And just in case, just in case you did not already know, Let me assure you Mm-hmm.
that compromise is extremely extremely, extremely seductive. Satan will always hold out the shiny one. Sparkling Shimmering. You want to get ahead in life? Do you want to climb up?
The corporate letter faster? Do you want to be popular? Do you want to avoid Rejection. Do you want the easy way out? Do you want to get rich quick?
And on and on and on. And the moment you say, Yeah, that's an intriguing idea. The snake is inside your shirt. Hasn't bitten you yet. But get ready.
Look at Nehemiah. Right at the time when the rebuilding of the wall is about finished. Right at that conclusion. These three miserable rattlesnakes If they could not destroy the work of God, they will try to corrupt and destroy. The man of God.
And the woman of God.
Now they're getting ready for the ribbon cutting ceremony. And these miserable three rattlesnakes went for enticement. You see At this moment of history, the walls are rebuilt. The gates Almost ready, they haven't been hung yet, so there's doorways open. And let me tell you right away Satan loves open doors.
He loves a jar of drawers in your life and in mine. He loves those. And the doors were still open.
Sonbalath and Company sent Nehemiah a message. In fact, four messages. Look at verse 4, they're right there. Let's get together. Let's negotiate.
Let's have a dialogue. Let's meet on the plains of Uno. And Nehemiah hears the word uno and he said, Oh no.
Okay. Yeah. I'm going to come to that. I'm going to explain to you why. What are these rattlesnakes?
Doing. They are changing their tactics. And beginning to say, Nehemiah, my friend. Let's just let the bygone be bygone. We don't need to fight one another.
Let's be friends. Let me tell you about the choice of UNO and why. Uno was about twenty miles. north of Jerusalem.
So he's going to get out of the protected walls. and go twenty miles north. And Una, the valley of Una, is beautiful. I mean, it's a beautiful place. It is on par with any beautiful resort that you can think about today.
I mean, it is a first-class spa and relaxation everywhere. And what could be better for a man who had been working so hard and exhausted with bricks and with stones and with mortar? What can be better for him than to get time out and rest and relax? Ha ha ha ha ha. There's nothing wrong with relaxation.
Just be patient with me, okay? It's because there's more. Uno was halfway between Jerusalem and Samaria. Samaria is about forty miles north of Jerusalem. Uno is twenty miles.
It's exactly halfway point. between Samaria where Sambalat and all those miserable people came from. And where Nehemiah was. What is Sambalat saying here? He's saying Nehemiah, let's meet halfway!
We come halfway, and you come halfway, we'll meet in the middle somewhere. And Nehemiah heard Una and he said, What? Oh no. Oh no. But before some of you get angry with me, then saying, What's wrong with compromise?
Well, There are times We're compromised. It's necessary.
Sometimes a compromise is good and important. In politics, in resolving conflicts and relationships. in negotiating contracts. in making agreements between nations Each one would give in a little, and they somehow come to an agreement, and that's fine. That's not what I'm talking about.
Compromising in these things I talked about is one thing, but compromising with sin.
Okay. Compromising with sambalats of this world, compromising your biblical principles, compromising biblical truth. These are all rattlesnakes. that will always bite you. Big time.
What we need today, more than any other time in my lifetime, is men and women, boys and girls of God who have discernment and wisdom.
So they can discern the truth from falsehood. Especially these days when we're seeing individuals who have sat under the Word of God, other individuals who have preached the Word of God for years, now they've heard the call of the rattlesnake. Come down. And unlike Nehemiah they came down, and compromising. their convictions.
Listen. Nehemiah was not for a moment suggesting that this was great work because he was doing it. Yeah. When you are obedient to God's purpose in your life, Any work that God assigns to you is an important work. It doesn't matter whether Sunday school teaching or small group leading, whether you are ushering or serving at the Lord's table, whatever it may be, all of God's work done obediently to God is a great work.
Now, I want to say something to moms because every now and again, sometimes I hear a mom who says, Well, I'm just a housewife, I'm just a mom, listen to me. You can absolutely confidently say, I am an executive director of the future leaders of this country. I am the executive producer. Of the future generation of heroes in this country. Don't let others define you.
Don't let other people deter you from your great work, the greatest of work that I can think of. Don't let other people run you down. But here's often what happens. When you refuse to compromise with sin, and your biblical truth. When you stand firm, When you say no once, twice, a hundred times, the enemy is going to.
Go for sweet talking. He would go for sweet talking. in order to intimidate you. I know in these days of public opinion polls and Facebook and Twitter and focus groups, everyone has an opinion about everything. Sadly, very few have conviction.
Some of you may ask, well, Michael, is there a difference between an opinion and a conviction? I'm glad you asked. Listen to me. An opinion is a belief that we hold. But the conviction is a belief that holds us.
A conviction takes grasp of our hearts and our minds and never lets go. I know and you know. That we live in a time that demands for men and women, boys and girls, of conviction to stand up and be counted, to stand up for the truth. Here's a warning to the faithful. After you say no once and twice and three times and a hundred times, the enemy.
If he cannot sweet-talk you, if he could not discourage you, He's going to try to intimidate you and harass you. They did to Nehemiah. Look at it. First, discouragement, then ridicule, mockery, none of that worked.
So they tried enticement. Manipulation wiggling sweet talk and cajoling And when neither bullying nor beguiling worked. They tried intimidation. They sent him an open letter. And they published it in the Jerusalem Times Verses six and seven.
I mean, you can tell that they were so exasperated, they were so frustrated that private attempts have failed again and again and again.
So now they resort to public intimidation. They threatened him to kill the king of Persia. That Nehemiah is is building his own kingdom. You see, when all else fails, they resort to blackmail and lies. They knew If the king really believed their lies, if the king of Persia even got a hint that what they're saying is true.
He would have turned on Nehemiah, he would have captured him, he would have tortured him, and he would have executed him as a rebel in order to set an example. That's how they did it. Not only that, but the king probably would have sent another army. and re-destroyed the walls. Question.
Would the king of Persia have believed their lies? Probably not. He knew Nehemiah too well. He worked for him as his chief of staff. He knew him.
He knew his heart. Probably would not have believed it, but it doesn't matter. See, Sambalat constructed a deceptive and yet plausible scenario. Very sound scenario to stop Nehemiah. He concocted this false accusation.
That went something like this. Nehemiah, you're an egomaniac. Nehemiah, you're in for glory for yourself. Nehemiah, you want to be a dictator. Nehemiah, you're an autocrat.
Nehemiah. You want All personal Power grab. And the opposite is true. We've been seeing it throughout the series. The opposite is true.
Nehemiah left behind in the palace in Susha the comfort and the power. He left behind luxury. in the palace and he came to Jerusalem where he probably was sleeping in a Hitian-made sleeping bag, living under constant threat, doing the work of a bricklayer, getting his fingernails dirty and his hands calloused. He was denying himself what is encouraging others. What's happening here?
Listen carefully, please. Nehemiah became a victim of gossip. And he shows us here How a godly should respond. To opposition, intimidation, threats, and blackmail. Verses eight and nine.
You see, because his conscience was clear, Because he lived his life as an open book, because he knew their wicked nature. He basically said to them, This is a use of translation, you're not going to find it in your Bible. Take your best shot. And so it didn't work. I think from time to time Many of us Face false accusations.
And those false accusations can spread so fast before you get a chance to refute them. These false accusations sap your physical energy, they sap your emotional energy, cost you sleep, it causes ignorant people to turn on you, it can destroy your reputation. When that happens, remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:11 and 12. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil things against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.
For in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Well, when all else fails. They only got one thing left. The only one thing left. To assassinate him. Kill him.
That's the last resort. Look at verses 10. all the way to fourteen. They tried an assassination attempt, and for that, they employed a false prophet. By the name of Shemiah.
Help them in their miserable deed. There's nothing worse, listen to me, there's nothing worse than someone who knows a little bit of the Scripture and they know exactly how to twist it, how to torture it, and how to abuse it and falsify it. Yeah. Oh, doesn't the Bible say that you shouldn't judge anyone? Have you heard that one?
And doesn't the Bible say that Christianity is inclusive? Doesn't the Bible say that You should love everybody regardless of what they do, regardless of what On and on and on and on. We hear it all the time. You see, when the false prophet Told Nehemiah. that the assassins are on their way.
What is he trying to do? He trying to flush Nehemiah out. That's what he was saying. He's trying to flush him out.
So that they can get a clear shot at him and kill him. This trick brought about the opposite effect. Nehemiah. And here Nehemiah uses one of my favorite phrases in the entire book of Nehemiah, verse 11. It's my favorite phrase.
Yeah. Should a man like me flee? Or should a man like me run away, You see, Nehemiah knew that Shemiah was a false prophet and a traitor who sold his soul to the devil. You say, but why?
Okay. How can that be? I want to explain to you. By trying to get him into the sanctuary, They're trying to get him. Not only get a clear shot at him, but probably would be killed by.
His own people. And you said, but why?
Well, Nehemiah was a layman. He was not a priest. And only the priests were allowed to get into the sanctuary of God. Not the lay people. As a matter of fact, it is a crime in the law of God.
In the book of Numbers chapter 1, 51, in the book of Numbers 3.10, in the book of Numbers 18, 7, it's a crime punishable by death. Please, please, please test the spirits always. Test the spirits. Know who's speaking the truth and who's not. And God honored Nehemiah's faithfulness and his refusal.
To break the law of God. Verses fifteen to nineteen. In fifty two days fifty two days The wall was built. What was impossible appears now to be possible. because of God's power working.
And because God's people united together. God began to do the impossible. Listen to me as I'm concluding here. Don't ever forget that we do serve the God of the impossible. I know in the midst of trouble, sometimes we forget that.
And if and when Every member of this church discovers and uses their spiritual gift in this church. Whenever the leadership of this church would consider prayer meeting on Wednesday night, priority one, I can tell you on the authority of the Word of God, God is going to do some great and mighty things. In this post-Christian era, God is not looking for pure warmers. God is not looking for sunshine Christians. God is not looking for those who want to be entertained.
God is not looking for compromises. In this day and age, God is looking for faithful, courageous, uncompromising men and women. God is looking for those who are sold out to the gospel of Jesus Christ. God is looking for fearless people. God is looking for people who hold on to His word when everybody else is putting it down, when everybody else is undermining it, when everybody else is watering it down.
God is looking for men and women, boys and girls, who refuse to be tricked by rattlesnakes. A challenge to be faithful, courageous, and uncompromising in your service to God and His kingdom. Thank you for making time for leading the way with doctor Michael Youssef. And if you would like to talk with someone about how Jesus can change your life, reach out to one of the Leading the Way pastors or counselors at ltw.org slash Jesus.
Well, as you heard today, compromise invites deep and negative impacts into your life and circumstances. But Dr. Michael Youssef and the Ministry of Leading the Way are wholly committed to truth through media. Events and ministry of our on-the-ground teams without compromise.
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