I Love a Good Sermon! Who Doesn't?!

There is nothing better than a good sermon, and this morning we had an amazing one! Our pastor, Bro. Chuck Herring, was out of town so Bro. Tommy Vinson preached this morning. I have a soft spot for Bro. Tommy because he did our pre-marital counseling! :-)

He began the morning by asking everyone to pray that the sermon would speak to us exactly the way we needed it to, and I prayed that prayer very sincerely. He taught about how the Lord told Moses to lead his people from Egypt in the book of Exodus (vs. 8:25-28; 10:8-11 and 10:24-26). When Moses approached Pharaoh, he continually gave him permission to leave but only by making compromises, which Moses refused to do.

In the same way, as believers in Christ we are constantly approached by the devil to make compromises in our personal faith. Bro. Tommy's main points really convicted me about my own walk with God. I decided to share these in hopes that they could helpful in someone else's life.

I. The Compromise of Religion without Reality

• Satan loves it when we are "religious," but lost. He delights in religious people who are ignoring God because they walk through life thinking they're good simply because they consider themselves religious. Who hasn't been guilty of this at some point (or points!) in their life? It's so easy to float through life just happily thinking, "I go to church, and I have religion. Therefore, I'm good."
• No religion--not ONE--will get you to Heaven. Only God and His mercy and salvation will lead you to Heaven.

II. The Compromise of Reality without Intensity

• Satan wants us to feel that it's ok to love God, but there's no need to be too over the top about it. 
• As Christians, we should be different and separate ourselves from worldly ways. 
• According to satan, we can go too far in these areas of our faith: evangelism, fellowship, ministry, discipleship and worship. He says there's just no need to stretch ourselves too far to be like Christ, when in fact that's exactly what we should be doing.

III. The Compromise of Intensity without Influence

• This one hit home the most for me...
• We need to strive to make an impact on those around us. (Acts 16:21-32 and Joshua 24:15)
• As a mother, I pray that I don't go to Heaven without my children. I want to make a Godly impact on my children so that they walk in the way of the Lord throughout their lives. Just last week, I put Macey to bed but forgot to say prayers. As I was leaving her room, she said, "Mama!" When I turned around she put her hands together and giggled. It was like she said, "Duh! Prayers." It made my heart so happy that she actually remembered and reminded ME about saying her prayers before bedtime.
• As a wife, I pray that I don't want to go to Heaven without my husband. I feel so blessed to have a husband who loves the Lord, and I pray that we work together to make God the top priority in our marriage.

IV. The Compromise of Influence without Sacrifice

• We have to make all areas of our lives glorify God, even if that means changing some current activities or priorities in our lives.
• As a believer, I know that everything I have truly belongs to God, and I have nothing without Him.