WEBVTT 00:00:02.020 --> 00:00:05.940 No one had heard of the name Jack Bennett or 00:00:05.940 --> 00:00:09.539 New Era Foundation until May 13th of this year. 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:14.539 But Mr. Bennett and that foundation promised 00:00:14.539 --> 00:00:20.879 about 2 ,000 nonprofit organizations that he 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:24.219 would double their money in six months if they 00:00:24.219 --> 00:00:28.719 would invest their money with him. And as a matter 00:00:28.719 --> 00:00:32.979 of fact, for six years, he did exactly that. 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:38.820 He doubled the money of every organization that 00:00:38.820 --> 00:00:44.799 put that money with him. But on May the 13th, 00:00:44.820 --> 00:00:50.280 time ran out, for he was running an old con game 00:00:50.280 --> 00:00:55.340 that is called a Ponzi scheme, in which he takes 00:00:55.340 --> 00:01:00.109 in someone's money and promises to pay it back, 00:01:00.490 --> 00:01:02.829 but he takes in somebody else's money to pay 00:01:02.829 --> 00:01:05.750 the first guy back. And you can do that for a 00:01:05.750 --> 00:01:11.609 while as long as there's enough cash flow. But 00:01:11.609 --> 00:01:15.709 in May of this year, it was disclosed that he 00:01:15.709 --> 00:01:21.290 owes some 300 organizations, both Christian and 00:01:21.290 --> 00:01:28.599 non -Christian, $551 million. with only $80 million 00:01:28.599 --> 00:01:33.459 of assets to pay them. He had been thoroughly 00:01:33.459 --> 00:01:40.799 checked out. He had a marvelous reputation, but 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:45.859 he lacked character. Reputation, you see, is 00:01:45.859 --> 00:01:50.579 what people think about you. Character is what 00:01:50.579 --> 00:01:56.609 God knows about you. We sang the chorus from 00:01:56.609 --> 00:01:59.290 1 Samuel this morning. God does not see the same 00:01:59.290 --> 00:02:02.829 way people see. People look at the outside of 00:02:02.829 --> 00:02:08.289 a person, the Lord looks at the heart. Reputation 00:02:08.289 --> 00:02:11.150 is usually based upon what you can do, but character 00:02:11.150 --> 00:02:14.669 is based upon what you are. Dwight Moody said, 00:02:14.830 --> 00:02:20.210 character is what you are in the dark. There 00:02:20.210 --> 00:02:22.569 is one word that should describe the character 00:02:22.569 --> 00:02:24.889 of a Christian, and that is the word integrity. 00:02:27.069 --> 00:02:30.509 A life foundation that is resting on integrity 00:02:30.509 --> 00:02:35.750 is secure, but a life foundation that lacks integrity 00:02:35.750 --> 00:02:41.370 is in deep trouble. You and I as children of 00:02:41.370 --> 00:02:44.729 God must determine to be men and women of integrity. 00:02:45.580 --> 00:02:49.180 We must not allow integrity to be undermined 00:02:49.180 --> 00:02:53.560 in our lives. And let's keep this in mind too, 00:02:54.460 --> 00:02:57.520 that it is ultimately the people of integrity 00:02:57.520 --> 00:03:03.939 who make a difference in this world. The Apostle 00:03:03.939 --> 00:03:06.819 Paul was such a man. I invite you to open your 00:03:06.819 --> 00:03:13.889 New Testament to 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. 1 00:03:13.889 --> 00:03:18.490 Thessalonians chapter 2. Paul had been accused, 00:03:18.689 --> 00:03:24.310 falsely, of being two -faced, of lacking credibility. 00:03:26.849 --> 00:03:30.270 Now the fact is that anyone can throw a mud ball 00:03:30.270 --> 00:03:34.430 of accusation, but if one has integrity, that 00:03:34.430 --> 00:03:39.689 mud will eventually wash away. As Paul is writing 00:03:39.689 --> 00:03:42.229 in our text today, he is defending his character 00:03:42.229 --> 00:03:45.949 against his detractors, the liars who were seeking 00:03:45.949 --> 00:03:51.050 to gain some advantage by attacking Paul. It 00:03:51.050 --> 00:03:53.830 is an interesting thing to observe in life, and 00:03:53.830 --> 00:03:56.330 I think we all observe this from time to time, 00:03:57.310 --> 00:04:02.030 that people of little character sometimes seek 00:04:02.030 --> 00:04:06.659 to gain stature by unjustly criticizing others 00:04:06.659 --> 00:04:10.280 who threaten their sense of importance. And that 00:04:10.280 --> 00:04:12.580 is the case here with those who were attacking 00:04:12.580 --> 00:04:16.439 Paul. He writes beginning in verse 1, For you 00:04:16.439 --> 00:04:18.600 yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to 00:04:18.600 --> 00:04:21.899 you was not in vain. But after we had already 00:04:21.899 --> 00:04:24.040 suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, as 00:04:24.040 --> 00:04:27.399 you know, we had the boldness in our God to speak 00:04:27.399 --> 00:04:30.579 to you the gospel of God amidst much opposition. 00:04:31.660 --> 00:04:34.459 For our exhortation does not come from error 00:04:34.459 --> 00:04:38.319 or impurity or by way of deceit, but just as 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:40.759 we have been approved by God to be entrusted 00:04:40.759 --> 00:04:44.279 with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing 00:04:44.279 --> 00:04:50.079 men, but God, who examines our hearts. For we 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:52.779 never came with flattering speech, as you know, 00:04:53.420 --> 00:04:56.439 nor with a pretext for greed. God is witness. 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:00.100 Nor did we seek glory from men either from you 00:05:00.100 --> 00:05:03.019 or from others, even though As apostles of Christ, 00:05:03.139 --> 00:05:05.579 we might have asserted our authority, but we 00:05:05.579 --> 00:05:08.800 proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:12.279 tenderly cares for her own children. Having thus 00:05:12.279 --> 00:05:15.620 a fond affection for you, we were well pleased 00:05:15.620 --> 00:05:18.120 to impart to you not only the gospel of God, 00:05:18.180 --> 00:05:21.600 but also our own lives, because you had become 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:24.660 very dear to us. For you recall, brethren, our 00:05:24.660 --> 00:05:27.379 labor and hardship, how working night and day 00:05:27.379 --> 00:05:30.529 so as not to be a burden to any of you. we proclaim 00:05:30.529 --> 00:05:34.529 to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, 00:05:34.629 --> 00:05:37.329 and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and 00:05:37.329 --> 00:05:40.610 blamelessly we behave toward you believers, just 00:05:40.610 --> 00:05:43.649 as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging 00:05:43.649 --> 00:05:46.790 and imploring each of you, each one of you, as 00:05:46.790 --> 00:05:49.649 a father would his own children, so that you 00:05:49.649 --> 00:05:52.230 may walk in a manner worthy of God who calls 00:05:52.230 --> 00:05:56.189 you into his kingdom, his own kingdom and glory. 00:05:58.069 --> 00:06:00.509 In this text that we have read, we learn a number 00:06:00.509 --> 00:06:04.290 of things about integrity. First I want you to 00:06:04.290 --> 00:06:07.329 observe that integrity involves absolute moral 00:06:07.329 --> 00:06:11.569 principles. I want you to think about that a 00:06:11.569 --> 00:06:17.250 minute. Integrity involves absolute moral principles. 00:06:19.970 --> 00:06:22.410 The Apostle Paul talks here about being examined 00:06:22.410 --> 00:06:28.339 by God. He was not out to please man, he was 00:06:28.339 --> 00:06:32.480 out to please God. God has absolute moral standards. 00:06:33.620 --> 00:06:38.019 Now we live in an age of relativism. Our culture 00:06:38.019 --> 00:06:42.839 is collapsing into a black hole of relativism. 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:47.779 Those who believe in relativism say to us that 00:06:47.779 --> 00:06:54.449 there are no absolute moral principles. And we 00:06:54.449 --> 00:06:56.370 say, are you sure? And they say, absolutely. 00:07:00.209 --> 00:07:02.610 What I'm illustrating is that there is a certain 00:07:02.610 --> 00:07:05.449 self -contradiction in that very statement that 00:07:05.449 --> 00:07:09.670 they make, that there are no moral absolutes. 00:07:11.350 --> 00:07:15.029 If there are no moral absolutes, even that statement 00:07:15.029 --> 00:07:18.829 is relative then. It is self -contradictory. 00:07:18.850 --> 00:07:20.910 And yet, that's what our culture is based upon. 00:07:23.160 --> 00:07:26.459 Relativism makes it impossible to define integrity 00:07:26.459 --> 00:07:31.819 in any traditional sense. Since there is no standard 00:07:31.819 --> 00:07:36.660 in our culture of right and wrong, any action 00:07:36.660 --> 00:07:42.740 or any idea can be called right or loving. It 00:07:42.740 --> 00:07:49.079 leads to situational ethics. But true integrity 00:07:49.079 --> 00:07:53.939 has a standard. an absolute standard by which 00:07:53.939 --> 00:07:58.779 to be measured. And that standard is God's nature, 00:08:00.199 --> 00:08:09.279 God Himself. You see, God defines for us what 00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:15.959 is right and wrong. We talk about the righteousness 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:18.720 of God. It is God's righteousness that gives 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:23.420 us the Ten Commandments, for example. A brilliant 00:08:23.420 --> 00:08:26.579 and wonderful statement of moral ethics that 00:08:26.579 --> 00:08:33.279 are absolute. True integrity has a standard. 00:08:34.220 --> 00:08:36.580 That standard is God, and that was the standard 00:08:36.580 --> 00:08:41.440 that Paul was using as he talks about his own 00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:45.179 life and ministry. Now, we have to admit something 00:08:45.179 --> 00:08:49.720 at this point, and that is that none of us has 00:08:49.720 --> 00:08:55.480 perfect integrity. None of us can measure up 00:08:55.480 --> 00:09:00.019 to the perfections of God. None of us can keep 00:09:00.019 --> 00:09:04.399 perfectly the Ten Commandments. We are in need 00:09:04.399 --> 00:09:07.139 of forgiveness, and thank God He has provided 00:09:07.139 --> 00:09:09.960 for that through the death and resurrection of 00:09:09.960 --> 00:09:14.000 Jesus Christ. So that we may be given integrity 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:17.980 we don't have of our own It is the righteousness 00:09:17.980 --> 00:09:20.879 of Christ the integrity of Christ that we are 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:26.740 given as a gift When we become believers in Jesus 00:09:26.740 --> 00:09:30.220 Christ that is our position before God God declares 00:09:30.220 --> 00:09:35.419 us righteous God declares us to be people of 00:09:35.419 --> 00:09:40.259 integrity perfectly in Christ as our position 00:09:41.870 --> 00:09:44.169 But what I'm talking about this morning is not 00:09:44.169 --> 00:09:46.909 our positional integrity, it's our practical 00:09:46.909 --> 00:09:52.330 integrity. In my position, I am a citizen of 00:09:52.330 --> 00:09:56.470 the United States of America. But I don't always 00:09:56.470 --> 00:10:00.350 live like a good citizen. If I fail to vote, 00:10:00.909 --> 00:10:04.009 I have not fulfilled my responsibilities of citizenship. 00:10:06.210 --> 00:10:09.519 Likewise, in Jesus Christ, I have perfect righteousness, 00:10:09.620 --> 00:10:13.860 but I don't always live that out. Now what we're 00:10:13.860 --> 00:10:15.980 talking about this morning is how important it 00:10:15.980 --> 00:10:19.039 is to have that righteousness truly in our hearts 00:10:19.039 --> 00:10:24.480 and expressed in our lives. Integrity is not 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:27.759 whatever somebody defines it to be. Integrity 00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:31.480 is based upon the absolute moral principles of 00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:38.690 God. Having it, having integrity, is reflecting 00:10:38.690 --> 00:10:42.269 the beauty of God's moral principles in our character. 00:10:44.230 --> 00:10:47.590 To live with integrity is to, as Paul says here 00:10:47.590 --> 00:10:52.210 in verse 12, walk in a manner worthy of the God 00:10:52.210 --> 00:10:56.509 who calls you. You see, there is the standard. 00:10:57.289 --> 00:11:03.000 God. We are exhorted to measure ourselves against 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:06.460 God and he says conduct yourself in this world 00:11:06.460 --> 00:11:13.379 in such a way That you walk worthy of God the 00:11:13.379 --> 00:11:18.679 one who calls you So my first point this morning 00:11:18.679 --> 00:11:22.299 is this that integrity involves absolute moral 00:11:22.299 --> 00:11:26.850 principles To whatever degree we may have adopted 00:11:26.850 --> 00:11:30.529 the ideas of relativism, let's flesh those ideas 00:11:30.529 --> 00:11:34.350 and understand that God's principles are laid 00:11:34.350 --> 00:11:36.549 down in His Word. They are based upon who He 00:11:36.549 --> 00:11:39.830 is, what He is like, and that is our measurement. 00:11:41.730 --> 00:11:43.850 In the first place, that ought to bring us onto 00:11:43.850 --> 00:11:48.549 our knees in repentance before God, seeking His 00:11:48.549 --> 00:11:53.289 forgiveness through Jesus Christ. And then having 00:11:53.289 --> 00:11:55.710 found that forgiveness, it ought to bring us 00:11:55.710 --> 00:11:58.690 to our knees asking God that that integrity be 00:11:58.690 --> 00:12:02.070 written in our hearts. That His righteousness 00:12:02.070 --> 00:12:09.690 be fulfilled in our lives. Secondly, integrity 00:12:09.690 --> 00:12:15.850 concerns personal authenticity. Are you real? 00:12:17.929 --> 00:12:20.730 I asked someone that question a few months ago. 00:12:22.379 --> 00:12:25.919 Our group was in Amman, Jordan staying in a hotel, 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:29.919 one of the nice hotels of Amman. We had gathered 00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:34.679 for dinner one night and we were in a line for 00:12:34.679 --> 00:12:40.519 dinner and one of the guys in our group took 00:12:40.519 --> 00:12:45.220 some soup and salad and his hands were filled 00:12:45.220 --> 00:12:49.840 before he got to the main course. He can afford 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:53.659 to do that, he's young. And so I said, hey, why 00:12:53.659 --> 00:12:55.419 don't you just take that all over the table and 00:12:55.419 --> 00:12:58.759 come on back and get in line? And from behind 00:12:58.759 --> 00:13:01.259 me came a voice that said, we're not going to 00:13:01.259 --> 00:13:06.500 have any of that here. And I thought, this guy's 00:13:06.500 --> 00:13:09.820 joking. So I turned around. There's a guy about 00:13:09.820 --> 00:13:13.399 this tall, about 10 years older than me. And 00:13:13.399 --> 00:13:23.460 I said, well, who said so? And immediately he 00:13:23.460 --> 00:13:26.120 grabbed me by the arms and began pushing me back 00:13:26.120 --> 00:13:30.500 through the line in this hotel. And that's when 00:13:30.500 --> 00:13:34.600 I asked the question, are you for real? Are you 00:13:34.600 --> 00:13:38.620 for real? He said, you better believe it. And 00:13:38.620 --> 00:13:42.879 I said, you're an authentic nut. He let his hands 00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:47.299 go. We went back and got in line. And I repeated 00:13:47.299 --> 00:13:51.240 my observation. He said, you're a mental case. 00:13:53.370 --> 00:13:57.389 And that's exactly what he was. A real, authentic 00:13:57.389 --> 00:14:03.169 mental case. Are you for real? Not a mental case. 00:14:03.950 --> 00:14:08.029 But are you for real as a person? Are you for 00:14:08.029 --> 00:14:13.470 real in your character? Genuineness is deeply 00:14:13.470 --> 00:14:16.409 respected in a world that is filled with pretense 00:14:16.409 --> 00:14:22.659 and sham. To a lot of people, life is really 00:14:22.659 --> 00:14:27.019 a game of charades. They're always pretending. 00:14:28.860 --> 00:14:32.019 But integrity means being an authentic person, 00:14:33.399 --> 00:14:36.500 at least in three opinions. And Paul talks about 00:14:36.500 --> 00:14:41.240 those in verse 10. He says, you are witnesses 00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:44.440 and so is God how devoutly and uprightly and 00:14:44.440 --> 00:14:51.029 blamelessly we behaved. Three opinions in those 00:14:51.029 --> 00:14:57.149 three adverbs. The first one is devoutly. Here 00:14:57.149 --> 00:15:02.649 he talks about the opinion of God. The King James 00:15:02.649 --> 00:15:05.470 puts it, how holily. Boy, that's hard to say. 00:15:05.529 --> 00:15:10.129 I'm glad mine says devoutly. But the idea is, 00:15:10.269 --> 00:15:16.049 does God see me as a pure person? As a holy person? 00:15:17.960 --> 00:15:21.519 In God's opinion, in God's measurement of me, 00:15:22.340 --> 00:15:27.960 am I holy? Am I consecrated to Him? Am I real? 00:15:31.419 --> 00:15:35.399 The second word that he uses is uprightly. And 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:37.679 here he's talking about how he lived in the sight 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:40.539 of others. He said, you are witnesses as well 00:15:40.539 --> 00:15:46.840 as God. As far as Paul was able to tell, In the 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:49.240 sight of others he had lived uprightly. The word 00:15:49.240 --> 00:15:53.799 means to live honestly, to be fit, to live without 00:15:53.799 --> 00:15:58.759 injuring anyone else. It is the living out of 00:15:58.759 --> 00:16:01.440 the golden rule. Do unto others what you would 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:09.080 have them do unto you. And so when we talk about 00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:14.549 being real, do others see you as real? as being 00:16:14.549 --> 00:16:19.129 an authentic person of integrity. And then the 00:16:19.129 --> 00:16:22.309 third word Paul uses is the word blamelessly. 00:16:22.990 --> 00:16:27.350 Here he's talking about living in the sight of 00:16:27.350 --> 00:16:34.009 his own opinion. How he knew himself. Paul was 00:16:34.009 --> 00:16:37.750 able to say that as far as he was able to tell 00:16:37.750 --> 00:16:41.950 he lived blamelessly because he had no self -condemnation. 00:16:42.350 --> 00:16:45.289 There was no guilt in his own heart. Do you know 00:16:45.289 --> 00:16:53.250 yourself to be a real person? That's perhaps 00:16:53.250 --> 00:16:58.830 the hardest question of all Because we can fool 00:16:58.830 --> 00:17:03.789 others And although we cannot fool God we assume 00:17:03.789 --> 00:17:06.210 that God is going to be gracious and merciful 00:17:06.210 --> 00:17:14.029 But we can really be hard on ourselves Integrity 00:17:14.029 --> 00:17:20.849 concerns personal authenticity. It means being 00:17:20.849 --> 00:17:27.470 real in our character. Third, I observe that 00:17:27.470 --> 00:17:32.549 integrity touches life's spectrum. Integrity 00:17:32.549 --> 00:17:35.410 is not limited to some narrow range of what life 00:17:35.410 --> 00:17:38.549 is about. Integrity touches everything in life, 00:17:38.710 --> 00:17:44.799 the whole spectrum of it, the whole gamut. Paul 00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:48.119 mentioned several here he talks about his vocation 00:17:48.119 --> 00:17:51.839 in verse 4 he says we were entrusted with the 00:17:51.839 --> 00:17:59.019 gospel So we speak This is Paul's calling in 00:17:59.019 --> 00:18:02.500 life it may not be yours But it was Paul's and 00:18:02.500 --> 00:18:07.519 he says here's what God has called us to do His 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:10.259 calling is that we preach the gospel and so we 00:18:10.259 --> 00:18:15.839 do that he was true to his calling. And again 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:20.680 in verse 9 he says, brethren, you recall our 00:18:20.680 --> 00:18:25.000 labor and hardship, how working night and day 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:28.079 so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaim 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:33.079 to you the gospel. Paul was willing to work with 00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:35.859 his own hands day and night, he says, in order 00:18:35.859 --> 00:18:39.259 to support himself and not require anything of 00:18:39.259 --> 00:18:42.039 the Thessalonians. so that he could preach the 00:18:42.039 --> 00:18:49.599 gospel to them freely. Authenticity. Integrity. 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:54.319 That touched Paul's vocation, his calling in 00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:59.099 life. And then I noticed that Paul's motives 00:18:59.099 --> 00:19:04.509 also were touched by integrity. Verse 3, Our 00:19:04.509 --> 00:19:07.329 exhortation does not come from error or impurity 00:19:07.329 --> 00:19:09.809 or by way of deceit. He says we're not pulling 00:19:09.809 --> 00:19:14.609 the wool over anybody's eyes Verses five and 00:19:14.609 --> 00:19:18.589 six he says we didn't come with flattering speech 00:19:18.589 --> 00:19:22.250 or with a pretext for greed We didn't promise 00:19:22.250 --> 00:19:25.650 to double your money in six months We didn't 00:19:25.650 --> 00:19:30.849 seek glory from you or from others We were proven 00:19:30.849 --> 00:19:34.210 to be gentle among you Paul is here talking about 00:19:34.210 --> 00:19:37.549 the motivations of his heart. Ladies and gentlemen, 00:19:38.049 --> 00:19:40.670 integrity must touch our motivations as much 00:19:40.670 --> 00:19:44.990 as it touches our actions. Why do we do what 00:19:44.990 --> 00:19:52.829 we do? Are there hidden dishonest motives in 00:19:52.829 --> 00:20:00.599 our lives? Integrity touches those. washes them 00:20:00.599 --> 00:20:04.539 away and replaces them with honesty. And then 00:20:04.539 --> 00:20:08.500 I see Paul talking about his affiliation because 00:20:08.500 --> 00:20:12.859 he records that his relationships with them were 00:20:12.859 --> 00:20:17.539 relationships of integrity. So much so, he compares 00:20:17.539 --> 00:20:21.599 himself to a mother in verse 7 and a father in 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:26.380 verse 12. Now we have to acknowledge up front 00:20:26.380 --> 00:20:29.420 that Mothers and fathers are not always people 00:20:29.420 --> 00:20:33.920 of integrity. But that's the ideal, isn't it? 00:20:35.099 --> 00:20:37.859 And that's the way Paul was able to reflect his 00:20:37.859 --> 00:20:40.480 relationship with them. He said, we were as gentle 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:43.240 as a mother, we were as faithful as a father. 00:20:46.660 --> 00:20:49.480 In light of what I'm saying about integrity touching 00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:56.470 life's spectrum, I wonder... If your moral principles 00:20:56.470 --> 00:21:00.990 touch the way that you conduct your business, 00:21:02.309 --> 00:21:08.369 whatever you do, does integrity affect the way 00:21:08.369 --> 00:21:14.390 that you pay your bills? Or the time that you 00:21:14.390 --> 00:21:20.210 put in at the office? Or the products that you 00:21:20.210 --> 00:21:24.400 make or that you sell? Does integrity affect 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:27.420 the way that you advertise or the respect that 00:21:27.420 --> 00:21:31.299 you have for your employer or your employees? 00:21:32.940 --> 00:21:40.559 How does integrity affect your vocation? Those 00:21:40.559 --> 00:21:44.140 are some tough questions that it's good for all 00:21:44.140 --> 00:21:46.579 of us to ponder because integrity needs to get 00:21:46.579 --> 00:21:50.400 down into those areas of our lives where we often 00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:54.079 disallow it. It needs to bring conviction, it 00:21:54.079 --> 00:21:57.180 needs to bring change, so that we walk worthy 00:21:57.180 --> 00:22:04.180 of God. What about the hidden motivations of 00:22:04.180 --> 00:22:10.940 your heart? The whys of your life? What about 00:22:10.940 --> 00:22:14.339 the way you treat others? What you expect of 00:22:14.339 --> 00:22:20.730 them? How you talk about them? How does integrity 00:22:20.730 --> 00:22:22.890 affect the way that you think about ministry? 00:22:24.309 --> 00:22:29.450 About the church? You see, each one of these 00:22:29.450 --> 00:22:32.130 questions opens up a different area of our lives, 00:22:32.150 --> 00:22:35.349 and I go through them quickly, and the tendency 00:22:35.349 --> 00:22:37.710 then is to just let the light poke in and then 00:22:37.710 --> 00:22:40.390 it moves on somewhere else, but we need to take 00:22:40.390 --> 00:22:44.400 time to think through each of these. And see 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:47.640 that integrity touches life's spectrum, all of 00:22:47.640 --> 00:22:51.279 it, the full gamut. We can't escape that. And 00:22:51.279 --> 00:22:55.119 it's good. That's not bad. It's good because 00:22:55.119 --> 00:22:58.119 when integrity begins to deal with these areas 00:22:58.119 --> 00:23:02.759 of our lives, it conforms us to God's absolute 00:23:02.759 --> 00:23:08.440 standard. It makes us real, authentic people. 00:23:11.819 --> 00:23:15.980 And then I noticed that integrity allows for 00:23:15.980 --> 00:23:20.700 heart transparency. Paul was not ashamed or hesitant 00:23:20.700 --> 00:23:24.079 to tell them exactly how he felt about them, 00:23:24.279 --> 00:23:29.220 verse 8. Fond affection, he says. That was a 00:23:29.220 --> 00:23:32.519 term used in the nursery in that day for your 00:23:32.519 --> 00:23:36.799 care for an infant. But that's how Paul felt. 00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:40.299 He says, we had fond affection for you. You'd 00:23:40.299 --> 00:23:46.059 become very dear to us. You see, there's a tremendous 00:23:46.059 --> 00:23:51.920 benefit to integrity. When we live a life of 00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:55.660 pretense, it requires a tremendous amount of 00:23:55.660 --> 00:24:02.400 energy to keep covering up. A good deal of life's 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:06.359 resources are spent on covering up the truth. 00:24:06.650 --> 00:24:13.910 so that people don't find out. When we live a 00:24:13.910 --> 00:24:16.450 life of integrity, we don't have to use that 00:24:16.450 --> 00:24:19.970 energy for that purpose anymore. We free up that 00:24:19.970 --> 00:24:25.490 energy. What a benefit that is for life. And 00:24:25.490 --> 00:24:28.029 what an example Paul sets for us here, especially 00:24:28.029 --> 00:24:34.009 for us men. Somehow women are able to be more 00:24:34.009 --> 00:24:39.279 transparent than men. But we men, too, need to 00:24:39.279 --> 00:24:44.700 learn to be transparent. How freely do you, can 00:24:44.700 --> 00:24:52.240 you, express your affection for your wife? For 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:57.420 your children? For those who are close to you? 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:01.140 Do they really know how you feel about them? 00:25:01.160 --> 00:25:03.779 Well, yeah, sure, I show it to them all the time. 00:25:04.680 --> 00:25:10.450 That's wonderful. But can you also say it? Will 00:25:10.450 --> 00:25:16.049 you say it? You see, integrity allows us to be 00:25:16.049 --> 00:25:18.730 transparent. We don't have to cover up. There's 00:25:18.730 --> 00:25:21.690 nothing to be ashamed of. Even with Paul, we 00:25:21.690 --> 00:25:24.650 can compare ourselves in some respect, even we 00:25:24.650 --> 00:25:30.470 men, to being like mothers in affection and gentleness. 00:25:31.430 --> 00:25:39.339 Those are the things that God values. Integrity 00:25:39.339 --> 00:25:43.579 is important for spiritual maturity. It is important, 00:25:43.579 --> 00:25:46.380 I think, also to mental and emotional health. 00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:53.160 And so we need to allow someone to see inside. 00:25:53.799 --> 00:25:55.920 And if we are people of integrity, there's no 00:25:55.920 --> 00:26:01.079 problem there. And again, none of us is perfect 00:26:01.079 --> 00:26:05.240 yet in practice. And so whenever we allow someone 00:26:05.240 --> 00:26:07.480 to see inside, they're going to see some junk. 00:26:08.009 --> 00:26:12.170 That's okay. It's okay because they have junk 00:26:12.170 --> 00:26:15.910 too. Because then we can pray for each other 00:26:15.910 --> 00:26:22.390 and talk with each other and help each other. 00:26:24.349 --> 00:26:27.589 Integrity allows for heart transparency and finally 00:26:27.589 --> 00:26:32.630 integrity eyes the value of its destiny. Integrity 00:26:32.630 --> 00:26:38.180 is living out kingdom values now. with an eye 00:26:38.180 --> 00:26:42.180 on what's coming. Notice in verse 12, so that 00:26:42.180 --> 00:26:44.819 you may walk in a manner worthy of God who calls 00:26:44.819 --> 00:26:49.559 you into his own kingdom and glory, integrity 00:26:49.559 --> 00:26:54.440 applies to the present reality of life, the truths 00:26:54.440 --> 00:26:56.900 that will be normative in the coming kingdom. 00:27:01.460 --> 00:27:05.099 We do not want to live now according to the standards 00:27:05.099 --> 00:27:07.799 of the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust 00:27:07.799 --> 00:27:12.359 of the eyes, the pride of life. We want to live 00:27:12.359 --> 00:27:16.319 here and now the values of the coming Kingdom. 00:27:18.319 --> 00:27:24.559 Integrity eyes the value of the destiny of the 00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:27.980 child of God. Integrity knows where it's headed. 00:27:29.230 --> 00:27:32.890 and the reward that awaits there. I am going 00:27:32.890 --> 00:27:35.569 to take a couple of extra minutes to turn to 00:27:35.569 --> 00:27:38.369 Hebrews chapter 11 to illustrate my point with 00:27:38.369 --> 00:27:43.289 Moses. In verse 24 it says, By faith Moses, when 00:27:43.289 --> 00:27:47.609 he had grown up, refused to be called the son 00:27:47.609 --> 00:27:50.910 of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to endure 00:27:50.910 --> 00:27:55.109 ill treatment with the people of God than to 00:27:55.109 --> 00:27:59.549 enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. considering 00:27:59.549 --> 00:28:03.130 the reproach of Christ greater riches than the 00:28:03.130 --> 00:28:07.529 treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the 00:28:07.529 --> 00:28:15.269 reward. Moses was a man of integrity and he had 00:28:15.269 --> 00:28:22.690 his eyes on what was coming. He did not act in 00:28:22.690 --> 00:28:25.029 the here and now based upon what benefited him 00:28:25.029 --> 00:28:29.759 now. He said, I see what is coming in the future 00:28:29.759 --> 00:28:32.960 and because of that I am going to live this way. 00:28:34.019 --> 00:28:35.980 And he lived a life of integrity. There's my 00:28:35.980 --> 00:28:41.599 point. If we disallow ourselves to see the here 00:28:41.599 --> 00:28:45.359 and the now and the present realities, we are 00:28:45.359 --> 00:28:51.039 sorely tempted to live lives that are less than 00:28:51.039 --> 00:28:56.079 honest. lives that conform to the values of this 00:28:56.079 --> 00:29:00.279 current world. But integrity looks beyond that. 00:29:01.259 --> 00:29:04.119 Integrity sees the value of what's coming, of 00:29:04.119 --> 00:29:07.579 the destiny that is ahead. And it says, I'm going 00:29:07.579 --> 00:29:12.839 to apply those values here and now. Moses did 00:29:12.839 --> 00:29:19.019 that. It requires faith. And for that, he was 00:29:19.019 --> 00:29:22.430 honored. And so we have the exhortation that 00:29:22.430 --> 00:29:26.309 is given in chapter 12 of Hebrews. Therefore, 00:29:26.450 --> 00:29:28.970 since we have so great a cloud of witnesses, 00:29:29.069 --> 00:29:33.970 including Moses, let us also lay aside every 00:29:33.970 --> 00:29:37.250 encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles 00:29:37.250 --> 00:29:41.470 us. He's talking here about becoming a person 00:29:41.470 --> 00:29:46.329 of integrity. Lay aside the encumbrances and 00:29:46.329 --> 00:29:50.829 the sin that trips us up. and run with endurance 00:29:50.829 --> 00:29:53.970 the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes 00:29:53.970 --> 00:30:01.130 on Jesus. There's our destiny. He's at the goal 00:30:01.130 --> 00:30:03.789 line, standing there encouraging us, come on, 00:30:03.829 --> 00:30:06.970 come on in the race. And the writer of Hebrews 00:30:06.970 --> 00:30:09.769 says, fix your eyes on Him, on what's coming. 00:30:11.809 --> 00:30:16.150 And live now, run your race as a man, as a woman 00:30:16.150 --> 00:30:23.440 of integrity. It is the people who have lived 00:30:23.440 --> 00:30:25.240 with integrity, who have made a difference in 00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:30.140 our world. Not all of them are Christians. There 00:30:30.140 --> 00:30:32.519 are people who are non -Christians who are people 00:30:32.519 --> 00:30:37.039 of integrity. George Washington said, for example, 00:30:37.140 --> 00:30:41.720 let us with caution indulge the supposition that 00:30:41.720 --> 00:30:44.940 morality can be maintained without religion. 00:30:45.740 --> 00:30:48.579 Let me read that again. Let us with caution. 00:30:50.380 --> 00:30:53.720 indulge the supposition or the idea that morality 00:30:53.720 --> 00:30:58.319 can be maintained without religion. What is our 00:30:58.319 --> 00:31:05.059 whole culture saying today? We don't need God. 00:31:05.779 --> 00:31:10.440 Separation of church and state! George Washington 00:31:10.440 --> 00:31:13.440 said, be cautious about the idea that you can 00:31:13.440 --> 00:31:16.500 maintain morality as a nation without religion. 00:31:17.609 --> 00:31:21.150 He went on to say, reason and experience both 00:31:21.150 --> 00:31:25.289 forbid us to expect that national morality can 00:31:25.289 --> 00:31:29.170 prevail in exclusion of religious principle. 00:31:31.029 --> 00:31:33.970 He says, you exclude religious principle and 00:31:33.970 --> 00:31:36.750 your national morality will get down the tubes. 00:31:40.009 --> 00:31:41.829 And that, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly what 00:31:41.829 --> 00:31:45.369 is happening in America today. Abraham Lincoln 00:31:45.369 --> 00:31:47.809 said, the probability that we may fail in the 00:31:47.809 --> 00:31:51.289 struggle ought not to deter us from the support 00:31:51.289 --> 00:31:56.630 of a cause we believe to be just. Integrity. 00:31:58.890 --> 00:32:07.450 Integrity. The hot July of 1776, there were men 00:32:07.450 --> 00:32:11.599 who gathered in Philadelphia. to forge a document 00:32:11.599 --> 00:32:13.900 declaring the independence of the United States. 00:32:13.980 --> 00:32:19.299 We remember that next weekend. It was their moral 00:32:19.299 --> 00:32:24.259 principle that guided them. It was their integrity 00:32:24.259 --> 00:32:30.539 that helped them to establish a foundation for 00:32:30.539 --> 00:32:33.660 a new nation, a foundation that has lasted more 00:32:33.660 --> 00:32:38.819 than 200 years. What I'm saying to you is people 00:32:38.819 --> 00:32:41.779 of integrity who make a difference in the world. 00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:49.200 People without integrity may make the news. People 00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:52.099 without integrity may star in the latest box 00:32:52.099 --> 00:32:56.859 office hit. People without integrity may rake 00:32:56.859 --> 00:33:02.019 in the most cash from their exploits. But they 00:33:02.019 --> 00:33:06.799 will never be truly happy people. Nor will they 00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:11.259 enjoy any lasting significance without integrity. 00:33:13.720 --> 00:33:15.619 That's why I'm talking to you this morning about 00:33:15.619 --> 00:33:18.740 it. Because this is something in our lives that 00:33:18.740 --> 00:33:21.900 must be firmed up as we think about firming up 00:33:21.900 --> 00:33:25.900 our foundation. Being men and women of integrity. 00:33:27.000 --> 00:33:29.740 Ability will enable a person to get to the top, 00:33:30.099 --> 00:33:33.519 but it takes character for him to stay there. 00:33:36.019 --> 00:33:41.960 How's your character? Are you a person of integrity? 00:33:44.519 --> 00:33:47.119 Wherever that may be lacking, and God can show 00:33:47.119 --> 00:33:50.500 each of us where we lack, then let's determine 00:33:50.500 --> 00:33:55.880 today to firm up that foundation. To acknowledge 00:33:55.880 --> 00:34:01.180 our sins and to say, oh God, in this area of 00:34:01.180 --> 00:34:03.299 my life where I have failed, I ask you to go 00:34:03.299 --> 00:34:08.269 to work. and make me the person that I ought 00:34:08.269 --> 00:34:19.250 to be by the grace of God. Let's pray. With our 00:34:19.250 --> 00:34:22.050 heads bowed and before God and God examining 00:34:22.050 --> 00:34:29.690 each of our hearts, I wonder if you would be 00:34:29.690 --> 00:34:31.909 willing to say today, Pastor, there is an area 00:34:31.909 --> 00:34:39.159 of my life that God knows I lack integrity. I 00:34:39.159 --> 00:34:46.719 haven't got it together there. And that is my 00:34:46.719 --> 00:34:50.699 opinion. I believe it's God's opinion. It may 00:34:50.699 --> 00:34:57.000 even be the opinion of others. I am not a real 00:34:57.000 --> 00:35:04.349 authentic person in that area of my life. And 00:35:04.349 --> 00:35:06.630 I want to acknowledge that before God and ask 00:35:06.630 --> 00:35:10.650 His help, to ask His grace to be active in my 00:35:10.650 --> 00:35:14.949 life to make me a person of integrity. I want 00:35:14.949 --> 00:35:19.349 to firm up this foundation. Would you lift your 00:35:19.349 --> 00:35:31.210 hand and put it down? Yes. You know in a congregation 00:35:31.210 --> 00:35:34.219 of this size, for ten hands to go up, What does 00:35:34.219 --> 00:35:38.139 that say? Well, it says that there's a lot of 00:35:38.139 --> 00:35:44.219 us who have it together. It may say that there 00:35:44.219 --> 00:35:46.539 are some of us who aren't willing to acknowledge 00:35:46.539 --> 00:35:51.019 a lack of integrity. That in itself is a problem, 00:35:51.099 --> 00:35:58.940 isn't it? We're not being real. If you are a 00:35:58.940 --> 00:36:01.039 man or a woman of integrity and character, I 00:36:01.039 --> 00:36:05.239 thank God for that. If you've lifted your hand 00:36:05.239 --> 00:36:08.539 today, I want to pray for you and for myself 00:36:08.539 --> 00:36:12.480 because I too need integrity in areas of my life. 00:36:13.119 --> 00:36:19.480 Father, we come before you with hearts open and 00:36:19.480 --> 00:36:26.500 deeply desiring to be people who are characterized 00:36:26.500 --> 00:36:32.480 by integrity. We want to be honest. We want to 00:36:32.480 --> 00:36:37.559 be authentic. And God, as you see our hearts, 00:36:37.619 --> 00:36:40.239 you know us today, and many of us lift our hands 00:36:40.239 --> 00:36:45.019 to say to you, we confess our sins, and we ask 00:36:45.019 --> 00:36:50.599 you to work in us by your grace to firm up this 00:36:50.599 --> 00:36:54.780 foundation of our lives. For Lord, we want to 00:36:54.780 --> 00:36:57.780 be people who will make a difference in our world. 00:36:58.849 --> 00:37:02.610 Whether we're wealthy or famous is not the point. 00:37:02.690 --> 00:37:05.369 Father, we want to be people of significance 00:37:05.369 --> 00:37:10.090 as you measure it, who make a difference in the 00:37:10.090 --> 00:37:15.269 lives of others. And so may it be, and so may 00:37:15.269 --> 00:37:23.969 you work by your grace. In Jesus' name, Amen.