Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
12/08/2019 A.M.
Living The Good Life
Faithfulness – Cultivating Integrity
John 10.10 2 Peter 1.5-8 Galatians 5.22-23 Psalm 15.1–5
Jesus promises the Abundant Life... Life above the ordinary… Life to its fullest.
Scripture describes this new life in Christ...
For instance… Peter enumerates what we call the Christian Graces...
• Those things that will make our calling and election sure...
• Attributes that will help us participate in God’s Divine Nature...
• Principles that will open Heaven’s Gate... Giving us entrance into His eternal Kingdom.
Paul tells us that these Characteristics are the result of God living in us... Fruit of the Spirit.
This morning we are adding Faithfulness – Cultivating Integrity.
Go with me to Hopkins, Minnesota, in 2013… Joey Prusak was working at the local Dairy Queen…
A blind man walked up to the counter… Placed his order… As he pulled the money out of his pocket… A twenty-dollar bill fell to the floor.
The woman immediately behind him snatched up the twenty… And stuffed it into her purse. When she stepped up to the counter… Joey asked her to return the money to the blind man… She refused… When she refused Joey’s second request… He refused to serve her... Politely asking her to leave the store….The woman proceeded to blast him with angry words and stormed out.
Joey went to the table where the man was seated… Explained what had happened… And gave him a twenty from his own pocket.
All this was witnessed by a customer who e-mailed an account of it to Dairy Queen.
The store manager posted the email on the wall… Someone photographed it and put it on Facebook… THE STORY WENT VIRAL.
It soon reached the newspapers and was published across the nation... Joey was inundated with calls and accolades.
In fact he received a call from Warren Buffet… Whose company owns Dairy Queen… Thanking Joey and inviting him to the next shareholders meeting…It’s called INTEGRITY!!
In 2010… Amy Rees Anderson… A successful businesswoman and investor… Wrote in Forbes Magazine… "Success Will Come And Go… BUT INTEGRITY IS FOREVER."… INDEED!!
We see it all the time...
• Salespeople over describing their product… Promising more than it can deliver…
• Applicants exaggerate in their resumes’ and interviews…
• CEOs overstate projected earnings…
• Customer Representatives cover up company mistakes…
• Employees call in sick when they’re not…
• Preachers twist Scripture to fit their own beliefs and purposes…
• We cheat on our taxes and lie to our counselors…
We do these things and more… Because… HONESTY… FAITHFULNESS… INTEGRITY… Is a Missing INGREDIENT in our culture.
It has become acceptable… A norm… TO NOT BE COMPLETELY HONEST.
The dictionary defines integrity as the quality of… BEING HONEST… HAVING STRONG MORAL PRINCIPLES.
• Integrity is a personal moral soundness...
• Inner purity... Honesty within self...
• Uprightness.
• Faithfulness to one’s inner beliefs and convictions …
• SINCERITY…
•TRUSTWORTHINESS.
The word integrity literally means WHOLENESS…BEING UNDIVIDED…
In High School Math we were taught that a PRIME NUMBER... Was a whole number that could not be divided.
A person of integrity is indivisible... He Is singularly focused.
For instance...
• Jesus said... A person of integrity cannot serve two masters.
• A person of integrity will seek first the Kingdom of heaven... And His righteousness.
• Spiritual integrity is hungering & thirsting for one thing above all others... Righteousness.
• Spiritual integrity is… Having no other God’s before Jehovah.
James says... A double minded... A spiritually divided individual... Is unstable in all his ways.
I think it interesting to note that Stephen Covey… In His book… THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE… says…
• Integrity is the value we place on ourselves… It’s our ability to make and keep commitments to ourselves… TO WALK OUR TALK.
• He goes on to say… Integrity is a discipline that comes from within… IT’S A FUNCTION OF OUR WILL.
• We are a disciple… A follower… Of our own deep VALUES AND THEIR SOURCE.
Covey asks… Do we have… THE WILL… THE INTEGRITY… To bring… Our feelings… Our impulses… Desires… Moods… Emotions… In line with THE VALUES WE HOLD TRUE?
Listen church… Integrity is NOT reputation… It’s NOT what other’s think of us…
• Integrity is WHAT WE ARE ON THE INSIDE… It’s who we are when we’re alone.
• Integrity is not just being faithful to others… BUT FAITHFUL TO SELF.
Again it was Warren Buffet who said… We look for three things when we hire people…
• Intelligence…
• Initiative…
• Integrity…
AND IF THEY DON’T HAVE INTEGRITY…They can kill you and your business with the first two… Intelligence & initiative.
Interesting that when we try to… Define… Explain… Demonstrate… Integrity…We find that it is A CHARACTERISTIC OF JEHOVAH GOD?…
We see this on Mt. Sinai when Moses asks… Who are you?… Who do I tell Pharaoh sent me?… And God said… Tell Him I AM WHO I AM…
God was saying… Tell Pharaoh I AM ALWAYS FAITHFUL because…
• I have no past…
• No future…
I am the God of the eternal present… I am the faithful God… Listen now!!... My promise and fulfillment are to be viewed IN THE SAME TENSE… THEY ARE ONE… INDIVISIBLE.
God’s integrity… His faithfulness... Is because He lives in the eternal now… I AM THAT I AM.
Here it is church… Biblical INTEGRITY is God living in us... AMEN?
OK…Application Time… How do we CULTIVATE THIS CHARACTERISTIC?
BECOMING A PERSON OF BIBLICAL INTEGRITY?
I think of several Old Testament characters of Integrity… Daniel… Esther… David
Access a worship bulletin…
And let’s see how David defines… Faithfulness… integrity in Psalm 15.
We read the first five verses together… Psalm 15… Verse one beginning… O Lord… Who shall sojourn in Your Tent? Who shall dwell on Your Holy Hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart… Who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor… Nor takes up a reproach against his friend… In whose eyes a vile person is despised… But who honors those who fear the Lord… Who swears to his own hurt and does not change… Who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.
COME… LET’S SEE WHAT WE CAN LEARN…
First…David indicates that Cultivating Genuine Biblical Integrity means that WE HAVE A DEEP DESIRE FOR FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD.
In rhetoric David asked... Who can dwell in your Sanctuary?... Who can live on your holy hill?
Our King James says... Who can abide in your Tabernacle?
David had a burning desire to walk with God…
My God and I go in the fields together...
We walk and talk as good friends should and do.
We clasp our hands... Our voices ring with laughter...
My God and I walk through the meadows hue.
This earth will pass and with it common trifles...
But God and I go on unendingly.
We don’t know for sure when David wrote this psalm.
• Perhaps it was during the time King Saul was pursuing him… And he was alone... Yearning for God’s presence
• Perhaps it was after his sin with Bathsheba... When David was seeking forgiveness and spiritual renewal.
• Maybe it was when he wanted to build God... A permanent tabernacle... A permanent sanctuary... Temple... And God said... No. You’re a warrior... A man who has shed blood will not build My house…Maybe David wrote Psalm 15 after God told him no.
So... David asked... Well then... Who can dwell in your sanctuary... Who can live on your holy hill?... Who can walk and talk with you like good friends should and do?
Unlike David... You and I are given the opportunity... Today... To build a house for God.
It is not a house made with hands... But it is a house within our hearts.
This is where God wants to live.
LISTEN… God doesn’t want to live in this church building… Any more than the building across the street… Get this out of your mind… God wants to live in us!!.
• Jesus said in John 14... If you love Me... You will keep My commandments... And My Father and I will come and make Our abode... Our home… In your hearts.
• John says... Those who obey His commands live in Him... And He in them... And this is how we know that He lives in us... We know by the Spirit He gave us.
• Paul said... Don’t you know that your body is God’s sanctuary... His tabernacle... His temple?... The church of God is His Holy Hill.
We cultivate integrity when our number one desire is to have a… Walking… Talking…Handholding... Relationship with God.
Church... Are we consumed with such a desire?... Are we really?... Is this the single more driving force in our life?
Integrity is BEING HONEST AND TRUE WITH OURSELVES.
The Kings James says... Those who walk uprightly.
The idea is that we must be true to self... Never hypocritical.
God dwells with those of… A Pure heart... An undivided heart..
Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.
Jesus maintained that RELIGIOUS INTEGRITY is our being careful not to do our acts of righteousness for the wrong reason... TO BE SEEN BY OTHERS.
• Don’t announce our generosity with trumpets..
• Don’t pray standing in the synagogues... And on the street corners… To be seen & heard.
• Do not look somber and pitiful in our fasting… Doing so is the opposite of integrity.
Listen Church...
• There is no happy good life for those who come here each Sunday to be seen of others.
• There is no spiritual blessing for those who… visit the sick... Pray... And give in order to gain the praise of men.
The reward of God’s presence in our lives is offered to those...
• Whose walk is of integrity.
• Whose walk is without deceit.
• Whose walk is not hypocritical.
• Whose worship is in truth and Spirit...
above all... the abundant life is offered to Those who do not lie to themselves!... Who ACKNOWLEDGES their true worth.
Ted Williams was forty years old and closing-out his career with the Boston Red Sox. He had suffered a pinched nerve in his neck… So severe that he could hardly turn his head toward the pitcher. He was batting under 300 for the first time in his life… So he ask management to cut his salary appropriately…Saying… I only want what I deserve.
Integrity is being ruthlessly honest with our own self evaluations.
Integrity is our saying with David… O Lord… You have examined my heart… You know everything about me… You know when I sit down or stand up…You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. Search me O God… And know my heart… Test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out in me anything that offends You… And lead me along the path of everlasting life.
Church… Like Ted Williams and David… Isn’t it time we did an inventory of ourselves… Being honest to the core... As to where we stand in the sight of God?
Integrity is not only TRUTH WITHIN... But truth with our NEIGHBOR.
Our King James says... He that does not backbite... Or does evil to his neighbor.
A person of integrity is one who has learned to control their tongue in the matter of gossip and slander… Who has learned to control emotions that call for revenge.
Listen to these scriptures...
Matthew 5.21-22... You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And anyone who says to his brother, Raca, is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, You fool! Will be in danger of the fire of hell.
James 3.2-10... We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
Ephesians 4.29-32... Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. So… Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Note something else here in the King James… He that backbiteth not with his tongue... Nor doeth evil to his neighbor... Nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor.
Church... Not only are we forbidden to... GOSSIP...And SPEAK EVIL of others.
We are forbidden to LISTEN TO IT.
We are forbidden to take up a reproach against our neighbor.
We are not only forbidden to SLANDER others... We are forbidden to LISTEN TO SLANDER.
People of integrity are discriminating listeners.
Indeed…There would be much less… lying… gossip… And slander... If there were much less evil listening… AMEN?
People of integrity do not honor vile men... But honor those who fear the Lord.
• Does our generation honor vile men and women?
• Does America promote and honor dishonest politicians?
• Does the media honor and promote vile stars of… Sports...Screen... Video... Music?
• Do we honor men of questionable reputation?... While men of God are laughed at?
You see church... We become like those whom we hold in high esteem… Who are our heroes today?... No wonder we are losing our integrity as a nation!!
Paul’s advice is to avoid BAD COMPANY… Don’t allow them to corrupt our character.
Then finally... Integrity is SHARING WITH OTHERS our blessings and privileges.
Verse five tells us how God would have us treat others... We are to help those who need help... Without extracting interest.
God has given us all FIVE things... Remember what they are?...
• Time...
• Talent...
• Treasure...
• Energy...
• And truth.
As people of INTEGRITY... He expects us to use these resources in service to others... Without cost to them... Without cost to them.
One of my favorite preachers was Bruce Thielemann... A Presbyterian preacher in Pittsburg, Pittsylvania… He’s dead now… But he tells when… One night a member called to say that their son was sick and dying… They didn’t have an automobile… They were asking Bruce to come pick them up and take the boy to the hospital.
Bruce says… It was… Raining… Sleeting… Snowing… Ambulance services had been suspended because of driving conditions.
He said… We slipped… Slid… Crashed into telephone poles… Fire hydrants… Ran over street signs… My car was a wreck... But with God’s help we made it to the hospital.
When we pulled up under the ER portico… I said… Son… We made it… We’re here… You’re gonna be all right… In his pain and fervor… He looked at me and said… SIR…ARE YOU JESUS?
Wow!!… What greater compliment could any of us receive?
The Fruit of the Spirit is.. FAITHFULNESS…. INTEGRITY!!
This morning we have another opportunity to become a person of INTEGRITY?... To become what we know God wants of us… To become His child by
• Faith...
• Repentance...
• And New Testament baptism.
Perhaps others of us need to make some things right...
• With God...
• Within ourselves...
• Right with others.
Answer God’s challenge to become a people and person of integrity as we sing together.