Welcome to the Susquehanna Valley Baptist Pulpit, preaching a life worth living, abundant life in Christ. And now the message. Ephesians chapter 4 in the Bible. Ephesians chapter 4, a short but pungent verse. Ephesians 4 and verse 27. Verse 27 says, neither give place to the devil. Don't give place to the devil. Friedrich Wilhelm, George, I'll mess this up now. George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher in the early 1800s. He developed a theory that's been very popularized and used every day in our country, sadly, that involved thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. So you have a thesis, you have the opposite of that, antithesis, and then somewhere in the middle, they meet. And so if you want to change a thesis that is in position, let's say A to Z, if you have a thesis in A and you want to change it and weaken it, then you propose Z all the way over here, and somehow they'll work a compromise in the middle somewhere. Let's say H. And so you'll live with H for a while, but you really, you want to demoralize everything down to a Z. So the next year you propose Z again, and there at H, Maybe they come down to O or P, and each year you do that, and eventually, through the compromise principle, you can get to your goal. It's called Hegelian synthesis. The first time I ran into it was at Bowling Green State University, and I graduated from there. But in the first year I was there, in 1969, no girls were allowed in the boys' dorm. They proposed that they would change that to girls being allowed in the boys' dorm all the time. And the first year, they said, well, we'll allow girls to be in the boys' dorm on Sunday afternoons. That was the first compromise. Then the next year, they came back and said, no, we want girls in the boys' dorms all the time. Freedom in our, you know, college. And so they said, well, we'll allow the girls in the boys' dorm on Saturday afternoon and night and Sunday afternoon. And so they did that. The next year they did it again, and now they added Friday. And then the next year they added all the days, and now you have the compromise. And that's how it works. That concept is really the principle used in negotiation. It's how you change a whole society. It's how you change any institution. It's how you can change a college and some of the policies in that college. It's how you change a church. Some pastors, for example, in our churches, sad to say, come out of colleges that don't use the King James Bible. They come in and they start out with, well, I just study from other versions in my study, but I'll use the King James in the pulpit. Then pretty soon, they'll quote something from another version, and pretty soon they spring on the church, well, I think that we ought to use a different version, and they have used this compromise principle to get to the version that they really wanted all along. And that is how you change a Christian, too. But Hegel didn't come up with this. The devil came up with it. Now, so God gave us six words in Ephesians chapter four, verse 27, neither give place to the devil. And I want to preach tonight on how compromise works. How it works, let's begin with prayer and we'll get right into it. Our dear, kind Heavenly Father, we thank you for this gathering, for this Bible conference, and I pray, oh God, that you would have your way. There are things that you want to accomplish that we have no idea what they are, but Lord, you know, and I pray that hearts will be tender to the word of God that's heard tonight, that's preached, and I pray, Lord, that as you speak to our hearts, we'll not shove it aside, but we'll embrace it, that we'll obey it, that we'll do what you want us to do. Help us, I pray, this service. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. So, consider first that Satan wants to have a beachhead in your life. Give no place to the devil. The place here means a particular spot or tract of land. You see, the devil only wants you to give up a little ground. Just give up a little bit. He only wants you to compromise a little bit. Just a little bit. you know what is holy and what's right to do, and Satan only wants you to give in a little bit, maybe in an area that no one else sees what you're doing in your life, and then the next time, he wants you to give up a little bit more, and compromise just a little bit more, and you're on the road. Satan wants to gain a spot or a beachhead in our lives. Literally, a beachhead, I looked it up, is a position on an enemy shoreline captured by troops in advance of an invading force. that he wants to get that shoreline space tied up before his advancing forces come. It's the first achievement that opens the way, the foothold. It's a preliminary victory leading to many more victories. We're not talking about your victory. We're talking about Satan wanting a victory in our lives. The beachhead is a starting point where the enemy can then come in, set up camp, and from which he can operate, infiltrate, and try to gain further ground. He just wants a little ground, a little space, a little compromise, if you will. Just give in a little bit. And Satan is trying to weasel that foothold out on the perimeter of your life, on your shoreline. If you let him have it, it'll be full steam ahead for his demons to grab more ground in your heart. You can't afford to give up a little ground in the things that you believe, the things that you know God wants you to practice. Six words, that's all. Neither give place to the devil. Say it with me. Neither give place to the devil. Say it again, be strong now. Neither give place to the devil. He tries this in every area of your life and this applies to any number of areas. For example, in music, the devil whispers, it's just a matter of taste in music. The preacher, the church, they don't understand music. You understand music. but they don't. And so you can have your music and they can have their music. That's a line of argumentation. Go ahead and secretly start listening to that other station on the radio in your car or your truck or on your earbuds. And soon you learn the groups and the singers and the songs and the words, all of it, But God's Word's not happy with it. Look at what it says in Jeremiah chapter 10 and verse two. Jeremiah 10, two. First half of the verse says, thus saith the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen. Well, these people are not living for Jesus Christ, not in a biblical manner. They're not trying to follow the Lord in biblical truth or establishing the local church in their lives and working and serving through a local church, not by everything that they say and everything that they do. No, they're not. They are the way of the heathen and you're not to learn that way. Proverbs 4, and neither am I. Proverbs 4, verse 14. Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. Stay away from that thing. Stay away from rock concerts. Stay away from other concerts with music that you know is not right. Stay away from that radio station and that What's the radio? Oh, I have an app on my phone. Never use it. Yeah, Spotify or something heart. iHeart. Yeah, stay away from the wrong music on those things. Why? Because if you even get close to it, you will be tempted to compromise and try it. Now, the devil works on all of us. Did I tell you that? It's not just you. I heard this Jason Aldean, I don't know if you ever heard of him, but he wrote and sang a song called Try It in a Small Town and it caught my attention because I'm really disgusted with what we're allowing in America today. And I thought the theme of that song was pretty good. But I cannot endorse him. As I read about him, Aldine's filthy songs make a mockery of God's holy laws and encourage people to live as they please and thumb their noses at God's word. Consider this song, his song, Church Pew and Barstool. It's about wanting to get away from a church church pew town. That's what he calls a church pew town. And the country rocker moans, why do I hang around in this church pew or bar stool kind of town? In his song, My Kind of Party, Al Dean sings about partying with a little tan-legged Georgia dream. She's rocking them holy jeans, he says. He's a merry man and his music glorifies drinking and fornication. In burning it down, he's in bed sipping on a cold Jack Daniels. I want you to know that's not our kind of crowd and that's not the music I'm going to be part of. And it's also not just the words, and it's not just the life of the performer, but it's the music itself that's wrong. And so the beat, the rhythm, and so forth, it's not holy, it's not godly, it won't help you to live your Christian life. And so we need to not compromise, not give in a little bit, and not be a part of it. Learning the way of the heathen has been a problem for God's people from the very beginning. Satan offered fruit to Eve. Satan doesn't mind lying to you. He doesn't mind lying at all. In the day that you eat thereof, you shall not surely die, he told Eve, but that was a lie. Just a little bite and you'll be wiser, he said, that's a lie. She compromised. upon being lied to and she took the fruit and then Adam compromised and he took the fruit and sinned. Later God told Israel to destroy all the people in the land of Canaan or else They would compromise and adopt their idol worship and intermarry with them. And God didn't want them to do that. Learn not their ways. Enter not into the path. Avoid it. Pass by it. But God's people took it lightly. Oh, I can do a little bit of this and it won't affect me. And they, sure enough, they compromised and adopted their idols, just like God said that they would, and passed it on to their children and children, and we have the whole rest of the Old Testament is about God being upset with their compromising, their sin. Teenager, young adult, you are no match for Satan. He offers you just a little compromise. Don't bite on the hook. He wants you to give up a little ground in the area of music. But God says don't give any place to the devil. Pastor, pastor's wife, deacons, leaders, Sunday school teachers. He just wants you to give up a little ground. Not much, just a little bit. But when you compromise a little, then he'll offer a little more of a compromise. That's how it works. And don't give any place to the devil. Remember, others are watching you. and you may lead somebody else astray by your compromise, however small it may be. And so neither give place to the devil. Another area where he wants to get a beachhead in young people's lives is dating and courtship. Satan just wants you to give in a little bit, not much, but just a little bit, a little holding of the hands. a little sneak away, a little dark spot, a little kiss, a little breaking of the rules, a little explicit texting or pictures. But that's just the beginning of what the devil has planned for you, you see. If he can get you to compromise a little, he knows that he can use the same line of argumentation to get you to go a little further and a little further and a little further. Listen, young man, young woman, don't give Satan an inch. Don't give him an inch. Maintain your convictions without compromise or apology. Be steadfast. If a guy or a gal wants you to compromise, they are the wrong one for you. You don't need them. God's got something better down the road. Courtship is a time to develop communication and learning about each other. Learn about the other person's walk with God, about their goals, about their gifts, about their talents, and things like that. The physical, take care of itself after marriage. Just obey God and don't compromise in your courting. Another area that Satan wants to get a foothold in is in the area of dress. Satan just wants you to compromise a little bit. Just give in a little bit. Wear it a little shorter. Or wear it a little lower necked. A little tighter. Show a little bit more flesh. Be a little more sensual. Just a little tease. Those are all things that I can hear him saying when he wants to tempt us. Because if he can get you to give in a little, guess what? You'll give in a little more down the road. You'll reason, well, that wasn't bad. Now let me see, what else can I compromise? Be firm. I mean, establish what the Bible says and obey it. Be right. Be modest. Be gender specific. Amen. Amen. That's good preaching right there. Fathers and mothers, don't ignore dealing with music and dress in your home and courtship. Preacher, you know, brother so-and-so and his wife will get upset and stir it up if you preach on it. Remember, two people, two families left the last time you taught or preached on it. It's so foreign to our culture. in the last 60 years, but so is preaching on sodomy. So is preaching on trance, sin, gaming, social media, and on and on we could go. Should we quit preaching on every topic because our country is becoming heathen? Absolutely not. We need to hold the line and we need to stand for biblical truth. Just overlook the can music, the devil says to the preacher, and the slipping and the sliding, and the person in charge of music in the the up here if it's not the pastor maybe it'll go away on its own and you won't have to deal with it because we're so scared of confrontation you know what truth is worthy to be confronted about and we need to keep our stands in the area of music don't screen uh... specials choir music, just let it happen, whatever everybody wants. And a preacher is called of God to be wishy-washy. No. According to the scripture, he's called of God to rule. Hebrews chapter 13, I think it is, twice, it talks about the one who rules. And it's talking about the elder or the pastor of the church. And ruling means you're watching for people's soul. That's what your preacher's doing. When he's preaching on things that might rub you the wrong way, it is for your good. And he wants things to be done right, decently, in order, and pleasing to the Lord. And that's what that's all about. And so here's how it works for all of us. A little compromise leads to more compromise. Therefore, don't budge on biblical truth. If you've given ground to Satan, get it back. if in your life you can see that you have compromised a little bit. then say, you know what, I'm gonna get that ground back tonight. Tonight, I'm confessing that, Lord, I'm sorry that I did that, and I'm getting that ground back. It may mean you've gotta change some of your music. It may mean you need to change some of your courting. It may mean that you need to change some of your wardrobe, but get that ground back tonight, whatever it is. and six words ring in our heart, neither give place to the devil. March the 15th, 2018, Miami, Florida. the concrete pedestrian bridge that was a new design collapsed onto an eight-lane highway, killing four people. I don't know if you remember that, I do. The investigation found that the company had rushed to finish the project after several changes. Officials believed that the safety standards were, and these are their words, compromised. the safety standards were compromised. One of the definitions of compromise is accepting standards that are lower than desirable. Cambridge Dictionary says that compromise means to lower or weaken standards. That's amazing to me. Lower or weaken standards. Is it possible that some teenager, or young adult, or even a leader in the church is guilty of compromise because you have lowered your standards? There used to be a day when you took a strong stand, but the culture is wearing away on you, and you gave up a little bit, and you compromised a little bit, and then a little bit more, and it's worked on you until you've weakened your standard. That's a compromise. Like that bridge that collapsed and many were killed and injured, there will be consequence to our compromises. You can be sure. It'll collapse on us. Often, it's a wife who is compromising. and puts the pressure on the husband to compromise. I've seen that happen. The problem is that once compromised, a church rarely returns to strong standards again. Oh, it's tough for a church to regain that stand. Be a church member that encourages your pastor not to compromise and regain the ground, any ground that's been lost. So first of all, we have Satan's beachhead, we looked at. Secondly, Satan uses others to get us to compromise. In Ephesians chapter five, go there with me, Ephesians five and verse six. Let no man deceive you, in 5.6, with vain words. That means there's a possibility that men will try to deceive you. That means that you and I are susceptible to men who have deceiving, deceptive words, vain words. For because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. Oh, Satan's slick. A team can have the greatest training. come from a strong home, be in a strong church like this, and be living for the Lord, and not looking to compromise, minding his own business, but then Satan brings a new acquaintance into his life, or her life, who compromises, and still looks like that person is blessed. And it's something he doesn't understand, she doesn't understand. A preacher can be sailing along, living for God, his guard up, leading the church, not compromising, but then Satan brings in a new pastor in the area, or he brings in someone into the congregation who advocates just a little bit of compromise, or he reads something from his library that intrigues him that also leads him to compromise. Brethren, God foresaw this trick of Satan and warned you and me about it, and we need to take heed to that warning. Don't let anyone deceive you with his words. Don't be partakers with them. In Ephesians 4, in verse 14 now, Ephesians 4, 14, Paul said earlier to those at Ephesus, that we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie and wait to deceive. But speaking the truth in love may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. You know, it's time that we got a spiritual backbone. Thank God for the generation before us, many of them stood for biblical truth. And it wasn't popular then, it's not popular today. But it's time for the new generation to pick up the gauntlet and say, I'm going to stand with God, I'm not going to be part of the compromise, and I'm not listening to a false voice in my life. You're not a baby anymore. You're not a baby Christian anymore. You must grow up, outgrow being so up and down and in and out, not knowing what you believe. It's time to get with it and stand for biblical truth. It's time that you know what you believe and know why you stand where you stand and make that stand and make it firm and make it sure and understood. You have to grow up to become established and not be wishy-washy. That's what it says in verse 14. In verse 13, watch out for these cunning men and they're waiting to deceive you. And then it says that we may grow up. We need to grow up. That's what it's about spiritually. We aren't yielding to the things, the truths that we're hearing from the pulpit and therefore we're not taking steps in our spiritual life and we need to be. It's time that we take the stand. I'm going to stand by God's help on biblical truth. I'm going to have a stand for God and separation, and I'm not going to compromise, and watch yourself begin to grow. This word of God, when God sees that you're applying the word of God in your life, he gives you more, and you begin to grow. Beware of who your friends are. Take a stand. Reprove what is wrong. We know of only one friend that Amnon had. But he gave Amnon bad advice that destroyed Amnon's life. This is David's son, the man after God's own heart. But he had a wrong friend that deceived him. Don't let that happen to you. My constant prayer for my grandchildren. is that God will give them discernment in their choice of friends. Why? Because it only takes one bad friend to trip you up and get you to compromise. Brethren, don't let that happen. Young people, don't let that happen in your life. We've seen too many casualties where this word has not been heeded, and we need to have victories in our life. There's a fourfold answer to compromise. What can we do if we have compromised? There's four things the scripture gives us. In Ephesians 4, verse 22, put off the old man, that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. When we were at Mount Rushmore, We drove on a highway and they were repairing it, but I didn't know it. And we got down this steep hill and we got towards the bottom. Then it tells me that the road is closed and it's all turned to mud. And so there was a danger if we tried to keep going in that direction. I want you to know there is a danger if you keep going in compromise. And what could I do? Well, I put it in reverse. There's nobody on the highway. Everybody in town knew that the road was closed but me. I put it in reverse and backed all the way up to the last intersection and we took the correct route. If you've compromised, what can you do now? Well, confess your compromise and put your life in reverse, correct it, get back on track. Like you'd take a hat off, okay? Well, put off that carnal behavior, that carnal practice, whatever it is. Take it off. Get rid of it. He says that you can tell what behavior to put off because it's the ones that are corrupted by deceitful lusts. The old man is characterized by things like, in verse 19, you're open there to Ephesians 4. In verse 19, lustfulness, uncleanness, greed, Verse 22, deceitful lusts. Verse 25, lying. You know, when you sneak around behind mom and dad's back, that's lying, that's cheating, that's being deceptive. In verse 26, anger. Verse 28, stealing, thievery. In verse 29, corrupt speech and talk. Verse 31, bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking. Recognize your area of compromise and confess it and stop it. Go and sin no more. Then secondly, Renew your mind about Bible truth and purity. In Ephesians 4.23, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. That's what preaching and Bible study does for us, amen. Get back to studying your Bible. I think that's a great move today to read a few verses. I think there's a great move, and I'm glad for everybody that reads the Bible. I think there's a great move to read a devotional book instead of the Bible. But what happened to study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth? When was the last time you sat down with just the Bible and loved it and studied it and cross-referenced the verses and looked up where the place names were in the passage that you read, and you studied it to know what it meant, and let it speak to your heart. When was that? Boy, it ought to be every day. We ought to be studying the word of God. Shame on us if we're not. In Proverbs 23 and verse 7, for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. You are, or will soon become, what you are thinking about. Your thought life is critical to your Christian walk. So you've got to guard your thoughts and renew your mind, is what it says here, about Bible truth and purity. Your failure and mine is a failure in our thoughts. But so if we can renew our thoughts, we can be victorious in our choices and in our behavior. Number three, put on the new man. And it speaks about, I'll give you the verses here in a minute. This is the man regenerated and cleansed by Christ. What will be true of this new man? How can we be sure that we have put on the new man? What will we be like? Our life will reflect his righteous and true holiness. Holiness refers to his divine character and purity. When you do right, you don't have to sneak around or cover your tracks. Judge Judy puts it this way, when you tell the truth, you don't have to have a good memory. I like that. Anyway, we get Judge in there. Paul says, that you are likely not busy enough. You need to get busy for the Lord. In verse 28, work with your hands. Give to those in need. In verse 29, use your tongue to build others up. You're not thinking about others, you're thinking about yourself. You're focused too much on selfism. We need to be focused on others. Go to church and purpose in your mind. I'm going to encourage somebody today. I'm going around and shake people's hand, talk to them. and try to encourage someone, amen. Verse 30, don't grieve the Holy Spirit. Verse 32, be kind to others and forgiving. That is put on the new man. And then lastly, in chapter five and verse 11, go on the offensive. Not only are we not to compromise, we ought to be verbal about our disgust for compromise. It says in verse 11, and have no fellowship with them fruitful works of darkness, but rather what? Reprove them. That's becoming verbal about it, becoming strong in it. Be convinced by the Bible and then stand on that truth. Don't be a silent disciple who never speaks up. Take your stand. Have no fellowship with those works, but rather reprove them. Every head bob and every eye. Thank you for listening. If you'd like to contact us, please write us at P.O. Box 126-541-Harrisburg, PA 17112. And visit our website at www.sbbcpa.org. Until next time,