Avoiding Compromise

Take your Bibles, if you would, please, and turn to Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 11 for this Father's Day message. I'd love to stay in the book of Hebrews as we are working expositionally through it and are coming upon chapter 7 as we're going verse by verse through the book. But since today is Father's Day, I would like to stay in Hebrews and tailor the content toward the fathers today and encourage them.

First of all, I'm so grateful for our fathers here at Beulah Baptist Church. They serve faithfully and this place really operates so smoothly and so well because of their dedication. Many of them are here for extended hours, even on Saturdays, to be able to serve. And the campus looks beautiful because of it. We have new TVs and screens because of it. We have lights that are not out in the ceiling because of it. We just have a wonderful place here. We have men who are teaching the Word of God to their families and in Bible study groups and I can just go on and on and on about how the men here are growing spiritually. And it's impressive, to be honest with you. It's not typical, as we have visitors who come here from all around and who say regularly that what God is doing at Beulah Baptist Church is very unique and continue to do what you are doing.

Our favorite verse here is John 8:31, "Continue in the Word and so prove that you are disciples of mine." Today's message title, if you're taking notes, is "Avoiding Compromise." Avoiding compromise applies not only to actual fathers and to those who are men that are not married and do not have children, but it also applies to everyone, of course, because we all need to work hard to finish this race that's short here on earth without compromising.

Unfortunately, there are so few in the Bible that give us an example of living a life all the way through without compromising. As you look for fathers in the faith throughout the Bible, the list is short. I just did some thinking on that. I thought of Joseph, the earthly father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was named as a righteous man in Matthew 1:19, a faithful man there. I think of our father Abraham of the faith and how he was faithful to the Father of the nations. I think of Noah as a preacher of righteousness who saw his family through the deluge. And I think as well of Peter, flawed but yet still faithful.

I think of this man whom you may not know in the New Testament—I had to look him up—Jairus, a New Testament faithful man of God who had a wife and daughter. He was known for serving, praying, and believing. This is a short list, or maybe more, but I pray that the men here at Beulah Baptist Church will list as well to follow in like fashion.

There are more men in the Bible with great victories whom we need not to idolize. Listen to me. Great men like Gideon—what a warrior and what a great man of God. But he fell short in discipling his own son. And great men in the Bible such as King David who had notable victories, but yet at the same time fell short in his family life with his marriage and his children. Listen to me. This is important: do not idolize men in such a way that you think of their victories and forget about their tragedies. We would rather be ones who are just faithful to finish this life faithfully, to live an average life in faith.

So I'm not looking for phenomenal fatherhood or fantastic fatherhood. I'm just looking for average men from the Bible to be biblical and let God have the results of our faithful life. When you think through the Protestant Reformation, there's all kinds of reformers who accomplished amazing things for God, but at the expense of a good marriage and at the expense of a family life. These men may have accomplished a lot, but at the same time they didn't have a dynamic marriage and a wonderful family life. We love John Wesley. We love George Whitfield. We love these men of the faith, but it is recorded over history that their marriages suffered due to their commitment to their ministry.

And so you do not want your ministry to become your mistress. You want to be faithful to the Lord. And first of all, that means being a man of God and then faithful to your marriage and to your children. And so there are men who are worth noting such as Matthew Henry, Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon. They've had dynamic marriages, wonderful family lives, and they worked hard for Christ. And so don't think that you can't work hard for Christ and have a good marriage. You just do not want to idolize men in their victories and think that I have perhaps fallen short because I have not accomplished what they have accomplished. Remember there's balance in all of this, and you'd rather be faithful.

Avoiding compromise is the area for which I want to lean into today in Hebrews chapter 11, verses 24 through 27. Look with me if you would in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 24 to 27. And I want you to take note of the fact that Moses made it into the Hall of Fame chapter of faith, not because of all the wonderful things that he did, which I'll list in the sermon to come in this message, but for his ability not to compromise. This is important to see.

Look with me if you would in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 24: "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called a son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God, rather than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. For he was looking to their reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing Him who is unseen."

Pause with me for just a moment of prayer. Lord, I pray that You would help us to see that which is unseen and to focus on that, that being You. What was Moses' ability to not compromise? It was focusing upon You, dear Jesus, to keep his eyes fixed upon You. Help us in this way so that we would never fall away from You and drift from You in our faith and compromise. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

One of the challenges in life is avoiding compromise, and in 1 Kings chapter 2, verse 2, David challenged his son to prove yourself a man, and he defined what it was to be one who was proving yourself a man, a man's man, a man of God. In verse 3, when he mentioned that you're going to be faithful to God obediently, that was the definition David gave to his son in regards to proving yourself a man—you're going to be faithful to God.

And so you think of all of the things that David could have said as a king to be faithful. You're going to be a military mighty leader. You're going to lead Israel. All kinds of different things that he could have said. But he told his son to be faithful. And you know that Solomon unfortunately has had to live with this legacy. Only 500 years later it was said of him by Nehemiah in Nehemiah 13:26, "Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin with foreign women?"

And so Solomon did not take his dad's advice. He should have remained faithful. He would have been much better off just staying with his first love, that Shulamite bride whom he married. It was a beautiful story. If you haven't read it, I encourage you to read Song of Solomon. What a tremendous love story that is. And I encourage you to be faithful, be faithful, be faithful. And when it comes to embracing the pain of faithfulness, embrace it like a man. And when it comes to embracing your fidelity in your faith, your faithfulness, your genuineness as a man of God, embrace the consequences like Moses did here in the text.

We'll go through this and look at it little by little. I'd like for you to notice with me first of all that Moses had faith. Point number one: Moses had faith. So let's talk about the faith and then we'll get to the rest of the information. It says in verse 24, "By faith, Moses." So Moses had faith.

What is faith? Well, I can give you a few nuances. Faith is conversion. It leads you to conversion to Christ so that you are a true disciple. Faith is confidence in Christ. It is a man of God who has good, strong, solid faith in Christ that has that as a disposition within his soul. It's not only conversion and confidence. It's also character. If you're living out your faith, it characterizes who you are. It's actually what you do. If someone followed you around and was to report back to your wife what you do every day or to report back to Christ what you do every single day, the report would be summarized like this: "This is a man of faith. He's faithful to God."

And then as well, faith is also content. It's the faith that we have. Jude 1:3 talks about the content, the doctrines of the Word of God, these beliefs. So our faith is content as well as it is, perhaps, the deity of Christ. Christ in us is the hope of glory.

Let me just give you a paragraph that I formulated, and listen to this if you would: Faith is confident knowledge of God in His salvation and, having obtained it as a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8 and 9), by faith repented and believed and confessed Christ as Lord, that being resulting in a changed life. Abiding in an active Christian life is true faith, even though tested by trials, still remaining faithful, continuing in the Word and teaching others of the faith, and over time proving yourself a true disciple while becoming more and more intellectually proficient in the Scriptures by knowing sound doctrine and refuting those who oppose and nurturing others in the truth of our faith.

Faith is our faith, and we have this faith by conviction. Look in Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1, and notice the word conviction here in the New American Standard at least: "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen." We are men of conviction. We have convictions, scriptural, biblical convictions, where we read the Word and we extract the truth and we apply it to our lives and we remember these things and we live as men of convictions. We have standards, scriptural standards. We will not compromise. We'd rather die than compromise.

And so men of faith, especially you who are husbands, your fidelity to your wife—we are men with convictions. This is to be faithful in your faith. Our convictions are things that we know as evidence in the Bible. We have assurance in them. It's a reality. It's a confidence. But let me talk to you just real fast about your fidelity and your faith, your convictions.

About true conversion, let me tell you about two men named Charles, and they both lived in the 1800s. I want to tell you really quickly about Charles Darwin and Charles Finney. Charles Darwin was a man of convictions and he was in the UK, and Charles Finney was a man of convictions and he was in the USA. They lived at the same time and they both impacted the lives of thousands, and thousands, and thousands in their day, and still today their life and legacy influence the lives of men in the multitudes, probably in the millions today.

Charles Darwin influenced thousands for Darwinism, and this naturalist philosophy of life excludes God and it is prevalent today, still in Europe, as a result. The spiritual state of Europe as a result of this false philosophy—you see that less than 3% of Europe actually attend church, and of that 3% who are actually true Christians, it's a sad story of the condition of Europe today. And America is going in the same way. I think most of you know that the evolutionary theory being taught as a fact in our public school systems is dragging us downward, and so it's a result of Darwinism.

But we know that. Who's Charles Finney, and why do I bring him up besides the fact that they both had the first name and they lived at the same time? Well, Charles Finney was one of whom thousands, and thousands, and thousands were converted by his evangelistic ministry. Looking back upon his ministry now as a professor, he says this—and I quote Charles' own words: "Most of these converts are a disgrace to Christianity. And if I had time over again as an evangelist, I'd preach nothing but holiness."

Charles Finney was an evangelist who championed strategies, mechanisms, modern-day revivalism—easy believism, you could say—but still invades the philosophy today of trying to make it to where people can raise their hand or pray a prayer and think that they're saved. Is not salvation wholly a work of God? It is. We share the gospel and we call people to repentance and faith, but you cannot strong-arm someone to say a prayer and change the heart. Only God can change the heart.

It seems that Charles Finney recognized at the end of his ministry that if he could do differently—because all of those who claim to be Christians don't act like Christians—what a regret that he has to live with for eternity. In Hebrews 12:14 it says, "Without holiness, no one will see the Lord."

And so I say to us today: Have true faith, have faith. Moses had faith. This was a life-changing faith. Men of convictions, men of commitment. This is not something that you have to wake up and actually force yourself to do—"I got to do this. I got to do this. I got to do this. I got to be faithful. I got to..."—this is something that is actually born from within that you have as motivation to do because you have Christ in you as the life, the life-giving motivation like a wellspring of water that you desire to do. This is the desire of your heart to finish faithfully. This is the desire of your heart to bring glory to God.

You do not desire to do anything that would disgrace Christianity, and yet at the end of Charles Finney's ministry, he felt like the majority of those who proclaimed to be Christians through all of his evangelistic ministries had lives that did not match what the Bible says a Christian is. And so that is a good example for how we really truly need to make sure that we have true faith. Moses here had true faith, and it was mixed with grit and convictions.

Point number two: Moses had strong faith. Not only did he have faith, genuine true faith, but he had strong faith. And this is your part in regards to refining what you know about Christ. This is your part in being dedicated and committed, memorizing Scripture and reviewing the concepts that will strengthen your life. This is your part in reading the Bible. This is your part in knowing God's words so that you can make disciples.

What is it to make a disciple? How do you actually make disciples and be obedient to the Great Commission? How do you have strong faith? Well, let's look in the text. In verse 24, you'll see that Moses rejected Pharaoh. "By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter." What a rejection. Strong faith means that you're going to reject things of the world. And we live in a day—Voddie Baucham said it best, I think—what he said is like the 11th commandment is to be kind, right? You can't offend anybody in these days. You have to be so nice. You can't offend or reject anybody. You want anybody to feel ostracized or anything at all, which guts the truth.

We had a missionary update today by Wayne about David in Thailand, and having gone over and ministered with David in Thailand, here's what characterizes conversation in Thai: It's all about saving face. And so they truly will not say anything that they feel like would be unacceptable to you and your opinion. And so they won't deny you. They won't say no. Anything. They're going to save face at whatever cost. And so they're happy if you're Hindu. They're happy if you're Buddhist. They're happy for you. It's such a culture that is gutted of truth. It's a weak culture. No wonder feminism has crept into manlyhood there and gutted manlyhood and made what they call lady boys. It's so prevalent over there.

Moses had strong faith in that he could reject even the most powerful man in the land, so he would not be called his daughter's son. That's important to know. In verse 25, look at his strong faith and how he chose mistreatment over special treatment. In verse 25, "Moses, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin."

And that I think men we need to take note of as well. We need men who would rather suffer than sacrifice their commitment to Christ. We need men who would embrace the pain of being associated with Christ than to compromise with the world. We need men who would choose even to have ill-treatment over their comforts. And we live in a day where comforts are of God—they're an absolute idol. We idolize our comfort. We design our lives around what we want. But Moses chose mistreatment over special treatment, all the special treatment that comes with the luxurious lifestyle of being in Pharaoh's household. He chose mistreatment instead of that.

And then in verse 26, you'll see that he valued Christ as treasure and not the Egyptian treasure. In verse 26, it says this: "Considering the reproach of Christ, greater riches." Now this is—get the picture here. This is not him choosing the riches in Christ, right? This is not him choosing the benefits of Christ. And there are—I mean, the entire book of Ephesians is written so that you may know about the spiritual blessings that are in Christ. What a wonderful thing it is to be in the family of God. But Moses is not choosing those benefits here. It states that he is choosing the mistreatment as greater riches than all of Egypt can offer.

Read it with me again in verse 26: "Considering the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures of Egypt." Now how in the world do you get to the point where you can choose maybe to have some backlash at work or maybe to have some friction with your friends? Or maybe choose the reproaches that you are going to encounter because of your commitment to Christ? How do you get to that point? So glad you're thinking objectively. Let's just read the rest of the verse. It's right here. Verse 26, the end of it says, "For he was looking for the reward."

He was looking for the reward. He was looking to Christ. Until the end of verse 27, it says, "Seeing Him who was unseen." Seeing Christ, keeping his eyes on Jesus, was the secret sauce. When faced with all of the future punishments and all of the impending dangers of rejecting Pharaoh, he kept his eyes on Jesus. And by the way, Hebrews 12, verse 2, says, "Fixing our eyes on Jesus." This is the same advice that the preacher of Hebrews gives to the suffering Hebrews—those who have been ostracized because of their faith, those who are shrinking back.

How do you fix all of this? How do you fix your stinking thinking? How do you fix your irrational emotions? How do you fix your wandering mind? How do you fix your life? "Set your eyes on Jesus." Hebrews 12, verse 2: "Fix your eyes on Jesus." Colossians 3:2, "Set your mind on things above and not on things of the earth." Choose to think on the right things and stop the stinking thinking. Stop the foolishness. Recognize when you are lusting, or coveting, or adulterating. If you're given to adultery or thinking about it, stop.

Take your thoughts captive and set them on Christ. That is how you get through life and most assuredly keep yourself from compromise. If you're around an area where it comes to compromise, you've got the controller in your hand and nobody's looking at what you're looking at. What keeps you faithful and holy? Keep your mind on Jesus. Set your mind on Christ. Set your mind on things above. Think about Jesus, and you'll finish this race well.

Hebrews 12, verse 2: "Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." That's how you finish this life well.

And so now we also think in verse 27 that Moses left the tangible blessings of Egypt and pursued the invisible blessings of Christ. In verse 27, "By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured seeing Him who is unseen." And so these tangible blessings that he could have easily enjoyed in Egypt, he chose rather to focus on the invisible blessings of being faithful to God. And so you have to have spiritual vision. You have to think, see, and perceive the right things and set your perception on the right things. Fill yourself with the Word of God so that you can have Christ dwelling within you strongly.

Moses lived out what Hebrews 11:6 says. I'll read it to you. Hebrews 11:6, "And without faith it's impossible to please Him, for He who comes to God must believe that He is." Moses believed that God was who He was. "I am that I am," God said to Moses. And Hebrews 11:6, "That He is the rewarder of those who seek Him." Moses believed who God was and that God would reward him for doing what is right.

I like to say it like this. If you're taking notes, this is a good one in my opinion: "Do what's right, live in the light, and it'll be all right." That'll stick. "Do what's right, live in the light, and it'll be all right." All you got to do is do what's right by faith. Live in the light. Walk in the right directions. And I promise you, it'll be all right. Walk by faith and not by sight. This is the life that we have, especially as fathers.

Moses was a dynamic father in the faith with convictions, and he walked his walk.

Point number three: If you're taking notes, Moses perceived Christ by faith. Moses perceived Christ. Jesus verified that Moses perceived Christ, that Moses was looking to Christ, that Moses was writing even about Jesus Christ. In John 5, verse 46, Jesus confirmed that Moses was looking and writing about Christ. John 5:46, "For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me." Speaking of Moses, He wrote about me. So therefore, Jesus is verifying that Moses had Christ in mind.

And then as well, in Hebrews chapter 11 here, Moses is seeing that which is unseen—speaking of Him with a capital H, Christ. Seeing—what does this word mean? Seeing means perceiving. It's spiritual vision. It's beholding Christ. It's understanding the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ was so clear in Moses' mind, and you've got to get to this point where your mind doesn't get muddied in hardships. Think of yourself hungry out in the middle of the desert, faced with life-threatening situations. Your mind gets muddied. The facts get blurry. When your foundation shifts in life, life gets confusing.

But look here. Moses had his sights so focused on Christ that when times got tough, he just kept doing that which he knew to do by faith. Spiritual sight, not physical sight. If he would have chosen the physical blessings of Egypt—the royal foods, the unending wealth, the highest education, the position of power, the trained armies around him, the pyramids, the palaces, the servants, the comforts—he would have been looking at physical things and not thinking about the spiritual things of Christ. He would have fallen right into sin's trap if he was focusing on the physical things of this world. But he kept his eyes on Jesus.

Moses had Jesus so clear in his mind that even the most powerful man in the world, Pharaoh, could not scare him into submission. This is a man of convictions. This is a man who marched to Jesus' tune. He sang about Jesus. He prayed to Jesus. He worshipped Jesus. He taught about Jesus. He thought, "This is my life." And Christ was so clear to Moses that he saw the unseen things of Christ, and that meant more to him than anything else.

Here's what he got instead. He chose this ill-treatment. He chose this disciplined path of being a true disciple. This is what he got: sand in the wilderness. How many of you just love sand? A wall around in sand? Sleeping in sand? Sticks to you when you're sweaty—sand in your armpits, sand in between your toes. Like sand! Yeah, he got a lot of sand, didn't he? That's what Moses got. Instead of these clean places in the palaces where he could bathe and have servants, he got sand. He got—not only did he choose not to have the servants that would be obedient armies at his will—he got rebellious Israel instead.

And he got water that would be the temperature of a desert. He got sun-torn tents. He got exhausted by his leadership position. And he got never-ending complaints and accusations.

Oh, what a life to have to live through! He chose this on purpose to be pleasing to the Lord, and he saw and perceived Christ, and that is what fueled him to be so committed to Christ that it went beyond all of these things. You may think to yourself, "Oh, that's bad." No? These here are hardly even worth considering as compared to the heart that Moses had for Christ. You think, "How much heart do you have to have for Christ to be able to overlook these discomforts and be so faithful to your faith in Christ?"

Well, turn with me, if you would, to Exodus chapter 32. I want you to see the heart of Moses. And when you capture, fathers especially, this heart for your wife, this heart for your children, this heart for your church, the heart for evangelizing people and discipling people—when you capture this heart, then self-sacrifice is easy. All these things, they're like, "Don't even mention them. I don't even want to talk about them. They're the things of Christ."

And so in chapter 32, verse 30 to 32, see if you can capture Moses' heart here. Exodus 32:30, "On the next day, Moses said to the people, 'You yourselves have committed a great sin.'"

Yes, fathers, people around us will let you down. Your family members and your friends, your own church members—you will have those around you let you down. You're not perfect either, by the way. You let people down too. But check this out.

"On the next day, Moses said to the people, 'You yourselves have committed a great sin, and now I am going up to the Lord. Perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.'" That sounds like Job going to the Lord and worshipping the Lord and offering a sacrifice for if by chance my children have sinned. Now, Moses is acting like a priest. He is a type. He is doing what Jesus would do. So perhaps he can make atonement to God.

Verse 31, "Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, 'Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves.'" Yes, this is the great sin that is described in chapter 32.

And now in verse 32 it says, "But now if you will forgive their sin." Okay? So here's one little insight: Moses is an intercessor. He is praying to God that God would help those who have committed great sins. And if not, here's the real heart. Here's how you get through it all. Here's how comforts become invisible to you to cultivate what says here in verse 32: "Now, please, blot me from Your book that You have written."

Not just fathers, wives, and children, but also fathers in the faith. Listen to me. You don't have to have a wife and children to understand what's being said in today's message. Wives as well. Women who are not married as well. Youth as well. Children, listen to me. You do not have to wait until you are 18 years old to become a father in the faith.

The Apostle John said in 1 John chapter 2, verses 11, 12, and 13, what a father in the faith is—those know God. And here, Moses knew God so deeply and so richly that he knew His holiness demanded justice, yet he is willing to step in and be punished for their sin. And so those who are fathers in the faith sacrifice on behalf of others, even when they sin great sins. You're willing to take the brunt of the punishment. You're willing to suffer the consequences on behalf of others so that they may believe.

By your cross-like lifestyle, by you being like Christ and actually being willing to go to the cross and be punished for others, you're willing. Paul was the same way in Romans chapter 9, verse 3. He was willing to be cursed if Israel could be saved.

This is not a one-off with Moses. If you want to get past the silly, invisible things of this world that are just going to burn up—they will not pass the test of fire at judgment. If you want to get past the temporal things of this world and get to the eternal things of this world as a father in the faith, then get a heart for your people and be willing to sacrificially serve in the ways that really matter and be willing to do whatever it takes on behalf of your flock, on behalf of your family, on behalf of what is right for Christ.

Moses was willing to be blotted out for Israel. What a father in the faith he was. He did this because he perceived Christ. He saw Christ. He kept his eyes focused on Christ.

Point number four: If you're taking notes, Moses was a father in the faith. Oh, what a spiritual father he was in the faith! He was an actual father. His wife was Zipporah (Exodus 2:21). He had a son, Gershom (2:22). He had more sons (Exodus 4:20). He was an actual father in an actual family. But more so, he was a father in the faith to Israel.

And in Exodus 33, verse 13, Moses made a bold move toward God and confidently asked Him to know Him. Turn to Exodus 33:13. See this for yourself because this characterizes what it is to be a father in the faith. A father in the faith knows the Father. He knows God.

Exodus 33:13, "Now therefore I pray you, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your way." This Hebrew word is yada. Let me know Your ways. So Moses is asking God if he could know His ways. And then as well, he goes on to ask that I may know not only His ways, but know You, God. Yada. Let me know You. This word yada is a deep connection, a deep experiential relationship. It is a firsthand presence. Yada. It is not a cheap connection. It's a profound connection intellectually, emotionally, spiritually. It's an unbreakable bond.

Moses had clear insight to the mind of God because he asked to know Him, not only His ways, but to know God personally Himself so that I might find favor in Your sight. Consider, too, that this nation is Your people.

Paul was also a father in the faith in Philippians 3:10. He said that I may know You. Arguably, that is Paul's purpose statement: to know God, the pursuit of God. And then as well, Paul prayed for the Ephesian church in Ephesians 3:19 to know the fullness of God.

And I want you to turn to 1 John 2 and see as well how the Apostle John identifies what it is to be a father in the faith. 1 John 2:13 and 14. There's children in the faith, there's youth in the faith, and there's fathers in the faith. Children in the faith are those who have repented of their sin and believed in the death, the burial, and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on behalf of them and their sin. Jesus paid for their sin. Children in the faith know this. This is not an age. This is a spiritual condition.

Let's just read verse 12. 1 John 2:12: "I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven." Okay? Their sins have been forgiven. They're saved. Children in the faith are saved people.

In verse 13 it says, "I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him." Circle the word "know" if you circle in your Bible. The characterization of a father in the faith is a man who knows God, who knows Him who has been from the beginning. The content for which he knows of God is that he knows Him from the beginning, that God was the creator of the heavens and the earth. And everything from creation all the way through consummation, glorification—you know the content of God and His plan from the beginning.

"And I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one." Young men are overcomers. Characterized by physical strength, they have spiritual strength to deny the flesh, take up the cross, and follow Christ. To overcome the lusts, to overcome the covetousness. They're strong in the faith.

"And then I have written to you, children, because you know the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you..." And again, it's repeated here. "Know Him." In verse 14, circle the word "know" again. You know Him who has been from the beginning. A repetition of concepts makes it to where we need to understand this emphasis.

"And I have written to you, young men, because you are strong. And the Word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one."

And so the Apostle John again here characterizes those who know God. John also clarifies as to those who are saved and not saved, by the way. In 1 John chapter 1, verse 6 it says, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."

Here I think is where Charles Finney would say a hearty "Amen." If you are one who has claimed to be converted to Christianity, if you claim to be saved, and yet you walk in darkness, you're a liar. The Bible says you're a liar. You cannot live a secular, sinful life and claim to be a Christian. 1 John chapter 1, verse 6 calls you out on the carpet.

And so we need to clarify what true salvation truly is so that people actually know whether or not eternity is for them in Heaven or in Hell, so that they then can take the personal responsibility and repent of their sin and call out to God and confess their sin and say, "Jesus, I believe that You died on the cross and rose again." Whosoever will do this according to Romans 10:13 can be saved. And so call upon the name of Jesus and be saved. Recognize where your spiritual condition is. Repent and believe the Gospel.

Believe me, if your heart has not been changed—I'm talking about changed to the point where you desire righteousness and you desire to do the things that I'm talking about—you've not been saved. Because when you're saved, God gives you a new heart with new desires and new direction. You've been converted. You've repented. You've been a different direction. Your life, your thoughts, your ambitions—everything is headed towards Christ.

And so this is what is characterized as point number four. Moses was a father in the faith. He had a deep, close, strong relationship with God.

And now I'll start to wind down with some take-home truths. I've got five of them.

Take-home truth number one: Be saved by faith. In Exodus chapter 33, verse 14, we see this—that God gave Moses rest. This is fascinating. In Exodus 33:14, let's see if I've got the right reference here. "And He said, 'My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.'"

Jesus alluded to this passage in Matthew chapter 11, verse 28, when He said, "Come to me, all you are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Your weary soul can have rest. Do you see how it takes spiritual insight to see what the Bible is saying? This is not falling asleep, getting a nap, getting eight hours. This is soul peace, peace with God.

You can rest from the works that you have been trying to work to earn your own salvation. Have you been feeding the homeless? Have you been serving the church? Have you been giving to the church? Have you been doing, and doing, and doing, and doing, and doing all that you possibly can, and you still feel like you're not right with the Lord?

If you are weary from effort, come to Jesus and receive true salvation, and your soul will have rest before God, peace with God. That's true salvation. That is what it is to believe that salvation is wholly a work of God. I cannot earn it. I do not deserve it. But Jesus can save my soul.

And so be saved by faith. Take-home truth number one: Be saved by faith.

Take-home truth number two: Be a sacrificial servant. We've just learned this from Moses—a sacrificial servant. So, fathers, do you sacrifice and suffer for your family's spiritual well-being? That's one of the biggest things that we've got to do as fathers in the faith: get beyond thinking about what I want and what's best for me. You're a father in the faith now, and now you take care of the spiritual well-being of others.

So let me ask you a question. Fathers, when you come to church, is it about you? No. If you have children, you are nurturing your children's faith. If you have a wife, you are seeing that she is enabled to worship God with all of her heart, soul, mind, and strength by your example. If you sing, she will sing. If you pray, she will pray. And if you learn, she will learn. Same for your children.

This is sacrificing what I want to think about, what I want to do after church, what I'm going to do. Listen, we need to be like Moses and be willing to truly die for the spiritual well-being of those whom God has given us influence for.

And so it's not about the class you want to go to. It's not about the service you want to go to. It's not about what restaurant you want to go to. It's not about that. You're a living sacrifice now. It's almost like it merits the words, "Grow into this position and mature in the faith and see it through the lens of being a father in the faith." A true leader who does things on purpose by example so that others can look up to you just like Paul did, and he said that this is the right thing to do in 1 Corinthians 11: Imitate me as I imitate Christ. 1 Corinthians 11 shows that Paul was an example, and he says if you can't perceive and see Christ right away, then see it in a visual life, mimic it, and then it'll take off like an airplane.

And so be a sacrificial servant like Moses was willing to take on the consequences of Israel's grave, depraved sins. Be willing to take on the pain.

Just a little bit more about this. If inside of your being you feel like at some times you are dying, then you're doing the right thing. If you feel like the carnal flesh in you is being dragged out like as if you're going through surgery without having been put under, then you're in the right way. This is a true dying of the self. The flesh does not give in easily.

And so when you sacrificially love your wife and your children in your church the way you're supposed to do, it's just like Christ who gave Himself for the church. Ephesians 5, verse 25: "Husbands, love your wives in the same way that Christ loved the church." How did Christ love the church? He loved her sacrificially.

And so when you feel like your flesh is puffed up and "I'm the king of my own castle, I'm getting my ways, I've got a servant, I've got my kids, I've got my..."—you're not in the right. Moses was the most humble man alive in his time. And yet he's the greatest prophet.

These are biblical concepts we've got to internalize and then apply to our own lives. And so if you feel inside of your heart and soul as a father that "I'm giving up what I would really love for the spiritual well-being of my family," I'm giving you a biblical thumbs up.

Point number three: Be a humble leader. I mentioned Moses was the most humble man on the face of the planet, and he was. Numbers 12:3 says so: "Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man on the face of the earth."

Oh, let me tell you, there's nothing more visible and obvious than pride. It's like mud in your face. Have you ever had something smeared on your face and you didn't know it, but everybody else knew it and they're laughing, they're smiling—you know, like, "What?" Yeah, that's like what pride is. Pride is so visible to other people, and at the same time it's blinding to yourself.

And so it takes a bit of spiritual perception and work and self-reflection. It takes accountability. It takes transparency. Brother, sister, wife, even children: Do I display pride in any way? Let me know. Are you man enough to accept that? Are you man enough to ask that question? No, the wives are like, "Oh, please." No, it takes a lot of dying to the self to be able to be transparent in these ways, and it takes years of growth sometimes.

But if you're willing to be crucified, then you can be more spiritual faster. Be a humble leader.

Point number four: Be captivated by Christ. And so if you see Christ, you could be captivated by Christ. In John 5:46, I said it already: Moses wrote about Christ. That means he thought about Christ, he prayed to Christ, he worshipped Christ. His whole life was all about Christ. To be Christocentric in everything and in every way—be all about Christ. Be captivated by Christ. So much so that your children know that you love Jesus.

Why? Because, because, because, because, because. Ask. Ask, "How do you know I love Jesus?" Ask your neighbors, "How do you know I love Jesus?" And you'll see just exactly where you are on this spiritual walk with the Lord.

I'm telling you, we need disciples that are clear Christians. Not chameleons, not closet Christians, but clear in word and in deed.

And point number five: Be committed to never compromise. The essence of the message today is to be committed to never compromise. The biggest compromise in the Bible, I think, is King Ahab. He got married for the wrong reasons and let his evil wife Jezebel make all the evil decisions. You know, she was the mastermind of all of the child sacrifices and all the killing of the priests and all the simple prostitution, Asherah pole cults, Baal worship.

It says in 1 Kings 16, verse 30: "Ahab did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him." It's the biggest compromise in the Bible, if you ask me.

And as you think about compromise in your life, say, "I'm not going to be an Ahab. And thank the Lord I don't have an evil wife making evil decisions and I submit to that. I'm not that."

But I will say this to us: The worst wounds I personally have ever experienced in my entire life have been from men who were close to me and compromised. So I'm not saying don't be an Ahab. I'm saying he was the biggest compromise. I'm saying we need to develop the convictions within sight of our soul, never to compromise. Always to do what's right, live in the light, and believe by faith that it will be all right.

Remember all the accomplishments of Moses? They're great. But what got him into the Hall of Fame chapter of faith is because he was not a compromiser. What did he accomplish?

Well, he brought humanity God's law, the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai. He was the greatest prophet, the Bible says. He led Israel out of Egyptian slavery. He mediated God's covenant. He spoke face to face with God. He established the Levitical priesthood. He built the first Tabernacle. He shepherded Israel for 40 years. Any of these things merits his entry into Hebrews chapter 11. But why is he here? Because he was not a compromiser. He believed that compromise was incompatible with Christianity. He'd rather die than compromise.

And today I'm asking all of us as men to continue in like fashion, that you would rather die than compromise. Moses didn't cower even to depraved men who opposed him, such as mentioned in 2 Timothy chapter 3, verse 8: Jannes and Jambres. Oh, they opposed Moses. And so even with fierce opposition, Moses remained faithful and he did not compromise. He preferred Christ over compromise. He didn't cower to peer pressure. He didn't cower to extortion, belittlement, power ploys, accusations, constant gossip. He wasn't whittled down to the point where he gave in. He remained faithful.

Moses was strengthened in his faith in Ephesians 6:10. And so I think as well it's worth mentioning that the catastrophes that happen in our life come at the very point where men compromise. You think, "Oh, help me get through this world without a catastrophe, right?" Well, think of the catastrophes in the Bible.

Where did Adam compromise? Well, he compromised by not holding to God's word. And now you have the fall—catastrophe. You have Noah, a great man of God. He compromised in the area of drinking alcohol and tainted his family legacy. And then you have Moses who struck the rock and was forbidden to go into the Promised Land. What a catastrophe. And then King David getting into lust. Baby died. Adultery. Murder. Catastrophes. And then Judas, by accepting silver, he betrayed his Savior and he lost eternity.

And so the greatest catastrophes happen at the point of compromise. So have I convinced you yet today to be men of conviction and not compromise in the areas of walking faithfully to the Lord?

The ones whom you love the most will hurt the worst by your compromise. And so I beg you today and I plead with you today to see Moses as one who chose the reproaches of Christ to be identified with Christ rather than to compromise and to be in alignment with the world.

Aren't you tired of compromises? I'm tired of hearing about Jimmy Swagger, Jim Bakker, Robert Morris, Bill Hybels, Ravi Zacharias, Tony Evans, Steve Lawson, Johnny Hunt. The list goes on and on and on of those who have compromised.

In Christianity today, our churches say we don't need celebrities. We need faithful fathers, average, good, dedicated men who would rather die than compromise.

Let's pray together. Lord, thank You so much for the opportunity to open Your Word on this American holiday, Father's Day. It's an opportunity to learn more about what You describe as being faithful as a father, not just a father physically, but also a father spiritually. Spiritual fathers like Paul was to Titus and Paul was to Timothy and Barnabas. Help us all to be spiritual fathers in the faith. Equip us, dear God. Inspire us, dear God, to continue faithfully.

Lord, if there's one here that's never been saved, let them turn from their wicked ways, from the inside of their heart, and set their spiritual gaze upon You and repent of their sin and cry out and confess that You are Lord—I am not. Please save me. I believe that You died on the cross and rose again for our sin.

Dear God, and those who are saved by Your glorious grace, I pray that they would be faithful to follow You in believers baptism, to belong to the local church, to study the Bible, and to make disciples. We ask this in Christ's name. Amen.