Integrity In Hard Times

Integrity in Hard Times

August 28, 2011 Evening Service

Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK

Rick Boyne

Message Point: We must maintain holiness & righteousness even when the going gets rough.

Focus Passage: I Samuel 21:1-15

Supplemental Passage: Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. (Colossians 3:23-24 NASB)

Introduction: Integrity is more than not being deceitful or slipshod. It means doing everything "heartily as unto the Lord" (Col. 3:23). In his book Lyrics, Oscar Hammerstein II points out one reason why, a reason Christians have always known: "A year or so ago, on the cover of the New York Herald Tribune Sunday magazine, I saw a picture of the Statue of Liberty . . . taken from a helicopter and it showed the top of the statue’s head. I was amazed at the detail there. The sculptor had done a painstaking job with the lady’s coiffure, and yet he must have been pretty sure that the only eyes that would ever see this detail would be the uncritical eyes of sea gulls. He could not have dreamt that any man would ever fly over this head. He was artist enough, however, to finish off this part of the statue with as much care as he had devoted to her face and her arms, and the torch and everything that people can see as they sail up the bay. . . When you are creating a work of art, or any other kind of work, finish the job off perfectly. You never know when a helicopter, or some other instrument not at the moment invented, may come along and find you out.

Oscar Hammerstein II, Lyrics.

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There is no doubt that David’s situation was dangerous. From this point on, we was considered a wanted man and King Saul meant to kill him. However, his situation didn’t warrant doing what he did to preserve his life. Is it not possible that God would have provided for him and saved him from the situation? David took matters into his own hands to get out of a predicament. Yes, he escaped. But look at where he failed:

I. Lying to the priest

a. David was not on a mission FOR the king

b. David was running FROM the king

II. Taking the Holy bread and the consecrated sword

a. The bread was a sacrifice to God, then after a week, eaten by the priests

b. The sword was presented to God after Goliath was slain

III. Acting like a madman

a. The Philistines recognized David as the one who killed Goliath

b. David decided to act out of his mind in order to escape the enemy