I. Introduction:
A minister told his congregation, "Next week I plan to preach about the sin of lying. To help you understand my sermon, I want you all to read Mark 17. The following Sunday, the minister asked for a show of hands from those who read Mark 17. Every hand went up. The minister smiled and said, "Mark has only sixteen chapters. I will now proceed with my sermon on the sin of lying."
a.
Were talking about integrity today. We’ll attempt to understand a biblical example of integrity from Daniel and his friends in the first chapter of Daniel. If you have a bible, open it to the first chapter in the book of Daniel. Keep it open because we will dig into it this morning.
b. Proposition/Thesis: What is integrity? What does it look like?
Introduce Points:
i. Point #1: Faithful- Faithful to the Law
Acknowledging God’s law and plan for our life and its righteous bearing. Being obedient to his law to the fullest.
ii. Point #2: Firm- Stands up under pressure:
Continuing to remain obedient when situations would suggest not to.
iii. Point #3: Fruitful- Resulting in God’s faithfulness.
Seeing how God will remain behind those who honor him with their thought, word, and deed.
Point #1: Integrity is Faithful- Faithfulness to the law.
a. As we look into Daniel’s life in the book of Daniel we see a person of integrity. Someone who is faithful to a conduct no matter the circumstances. Someone who appreciates the value of God’s law and sees its good purpose in things. Daniel is motivated by his love for God to be a man of integrity. In Daniel 1 we read that Judah has been raided by the Babylonians. Allowed by God preceding his judgment on Israel for their sinful nature, King Nebuchadnezzar took Judah for all that it was worth and this included royal family of Judah and peoples associated with them in order to use them as servants. Among those taken were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah as mentioned in this chapter. The king had planned for them to be trained for service in his courts. This meant specific diets and education for Daniel and his friends. But there was something that Daniel became increasingly uncomfortable with. Daniel wanted no part of the King’s portions. What was wrong with the King’s food that Daniel and his friends did not want to consume it? The king obviously wanted them to be healthy. He wanted Daniel to be well taken care of. But on Babylonian terms. See back in those days, meat and wine were fed as part of the King’s portions. Babylonians probably served and ate unclean meats such as pork according to Jewish standards. Maybe Jewish dietary laws didn’t prohibit the consumption of wine, but the Babylonians could have had dedicated that food to their God’s. Daniel would know this and was hesitant eat it. In an attempt to maintain integrity in the sight of God He refused to eat it, instead negotiating with the Chief of Staff to eat vegetables and water. Daniel sought integrity, remaining faithful to God’s expectations. He was seeking to do what was right. In a culture that did not care for integrity and offered things that were impure. Daniel carried himself so that wherever he went, he was pure in God’s sight. We can do this, just like Daniel. We can maintain integrity, keeping ourselves from impurities that come our way in life.
b. Illustration: Sneakers.
It’s like having a new pair of sneakers, today. I know how we critical we can with fresh sneakers! You just paid 60 bucks for the sickest shoes in the store and you’re gonna wear ‘em out. Now how do you go through the next week? Avoiding grass yards and mud holes, trying not to scuff them on the curb or on a desk in class. And if one of your friends get’s to close…”Yo back up, man, these are new shoes!” You try keeping them clean and shiny as long as you can, right?” And if this isn’t you, you still gotta listen to me now and understand.
c. Application: Being Active
It’s not random that God saw Daniel as prospective. He was proactive about keeping pure and remaining faithful to God expectations! What if you cared about your body like you care about those shoes? What if you cared about your reputation like you care about those shoes? Or other people? How would you be different? God inspires these words in Titus 2:6-7; “In the same way, encourage the young men to live wisely. And you yourself be an example to them by doing good works of every kind.” He is challenging us here to live by that example similar to what Daniel has set in his life. Having enough love and respect for God’s laws to abide by them and seeing the good purpose in them. Having enough respect for yourself to not put yourself in situations where your integrity may be compromised. You gotta keep your self fresh as much as you can. In a world that offers ways to lie your way out of things, be faithful; ways to destroy the sacredness of sex, be faithful. In a world that sees no meaning in God or in prayer, be faithful. Even when the world is stepping on your feet about it…Avoid areas of untruth. Don’t roam in conversations that hurt others. And when the world gets to close say, “Yo! This is a new life”
III. Point #2: Firm- Stands up under pressure
a. Let’s come back to Daniel situation once again. Daniel has been taken to train for service in King Nebby’s court. He’s been offered food that’s no good to him or to God. So instead he negotiates his way out of having to eat this food, but instead, vegetables and water. In Daniel 1:8-14 we read, “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your [a] food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you." 11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days..”
>>>Now we see Daniel, a man of integrity, faithful to God’s law, with some weight on his shoulders. The Chief of Staff, pressured by the King, has pressured young Daniel to disregard his beliefs and eat the food. And we see a distinction between the chief and Daniel, don’t we? See the chief is afraid of the King, but Daniel knows who’s really in charge here. He knows what the more effective element is here.
But Daniel sticks his neck out here and negotiates with the Chief of Staff to avoid eating the Kings portion. Daniel says to give him and his friends ten days on this new diet to see to it that they’d be healthier men. You can spend a lot of time in prayer in ten days. If you read further along in Daniel’s story you will read that this isn’t the last time that, despite the pressures of the people or situations, he remained faithful and integral. In Chapter 6, they threw him in a lion’s den for praying in his window! But it wasn’t just by Daniel’s strength or dedication that he was able to stand firm under pressure. Certainly God was with Daniel in and out of rough places.
And it’s not by our own strength that we stand up under pressure sometimes either. (ROOKIES) Now you may stick out and say when you’re offered something obviously wrong like murdering somebody or doing drugs , that’s it’s easy to say no. Psh. That’s a no-brainer! (Duh)
But things can get way heavier than that. What about at 6 in the evening when you’re alone with your girlfriend and your Mom’s at work; or when somebody calls you out in front of a crowd to be somebody or do something you know you shouldn’t. Or when your inseparable, best friend pressures you to say or do something you know is wrong. That requires a little more muscle, “faith muscle”. This is where building a relationship with God comes in. His graceful power along with your spiritual growth will keep you solid, able to stand up against any pressures that seem difficult. Allowing God in our lives is like pouring spiritual concrete into our beings. Reading his word and taking it to heart, and consistent prayer fortifies us-it makes us strong!
b. Illustration: “Bottle Illustration”
(Will need 2 water bottles, One empty and one full) We can be like these water bottles, here. One is full of “spirit” and one has none. (Crushes empty bottle) This empty bottle with no integrity inside is easily crushed under the pressure I apply to the out side. Everything can be destroyed. Its shape and usefulness is no more. But this bottle, full of the “spirit” will resist me effectively. (attempt to crush or bounce bottle from the floor). Its full on the inside of “the good stuff” so out side does not cave in…
c. Application:
We need to be like this full bottle, constantly feeding ourselves with him to withstand the pressure that this evil world can place on us, trying to manipulate us, lying to us, telling us what we need. 1 John 4:4 says this, “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.” (NLT) God wants us to be men and women of integrity and is willing to help us.
a. Illustration: Wing clips, Meet the browns, "Good Mother"
IV. Point #3:
And we can see in Daniel one last example of what integrity is. Integrity is Fruitful. It results in God’s faithfulness. If we are faithful to God, he is faithful to us. Daniel so far has been a man of integrity, being faithful to God’s law and standing firm under pressure. But where does that get Daniel? Well refusing to eat the King’s food could have certainly gotten him killed, but that didn’t happen. His friends mentioned in scripture could have said, “Your ridiculous, dude. We’re not with it anymore”, but….that didn’t happen. Or in they eyes of everybody, Daniel could have been made to look like a fool!, but that didn’t happen. No, instead the story goes as so. First if we go back to verse 9 it says that God had given the Chief of staff both respect and affection towards Daniel. So you see God is already working…Now in verses 15 & 16 it says, “At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.” (NLT) God is faithful!
God saw that Daniel had integrity from the beginning and so He planned to use Daniel for amazing things. He went so far as to gift Daniel, in verse 17, with “knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.” Later Daniel, with integrity, became “the wisest in the land” the eyes of the King. God will bless you in small ways and big ways for your efforts. Being faithful to God and firm under pressure will produce good fruit in your life!
a. Application:
What kind of fruit would having integrity produce in our lives, today? Did you hear how the bible described Daniel as “looking healthier and better nourished”? Daniel had began to gain respect from his peers. Eventually being accepted and respected to the point where he was influencing great change for the whole Kingdom. We can do that! We can do that her in Marion by standing up for what is right, especially under pressure. The hard truth of who we are in Christ will cut right through the critics and they will see a man or a woman of integrity. Someone wise. Someone trustworthy. You can be an influence of positive change where you’re at in this community and that is good fruit.
The good fruit just mentioned is certainly the work of the Holy Spirit, but how much more can you be blessed by God should he see in you a person of integrity that he can use in his future plans? Daniel received the gift of interpreting visions and dreams. He’s the same God. Couldn’t he reward you out of his grace for being a person of integrity? I think so. This shouldn’t be your incentive for making wise choices, but it sure is something to rejoice in.
On top of that, how much better do we feel about ourselves having made the right decision or acted the right way about something? We gain some good self esteem when we stand up for what we believe in. We begin to come out of our shell and open up. We begin to uncover more truth of what God has done and can do for us. We become motivated. We are a little bit more experienced, a little bit stronger. And these are the steps we take in our growth in maturity and spiritually.
Conclusion:
b. Restate Proposition:
What is integrity? Having integrity is acknowledging God’s law and plan for our life and its righteous bearing. Being obedient to his law to the fullest. Continuing to remain obedient when situations would suggest not to and seeing how God will remain behind those who honor him with their thought, word, and deed
c. Focused Application:
Having integrity today means finding out what is true and honorable and sticking to it. It’s being able to stick to what’s right when your friends, family members, or others at your work place or church say or do things contrary to God’s standards. It’s saving face by not placing ourselves in opportunities to get caught up in bad things. It’s not resorting to lying, stealing, cheating, or hurting someone else when you’re stuck in a bad situation. It’s about respecting authority, but at the same time always keeping God’s word first. It’s being totally committed to Jesus and being motivated by our love for him to be someone of integrity.
d. Challenge:
I want to challenge all of us to focus on and emphasize integrity for this week. Let’s really grasp the concept of being filled with “spiritual concrete” which is His word and His Spirit and start taking responsibility for who we are and what we can be and what we should be. We can be people of integrity, having the integral heart, with a strong defense against sin and its promoter. We have to pray continuously and seek God’s wisdom if we want to do this right. We are the example. We are the influence. (Play some Music)
e. Response: If that’s something you have experienced before and you want to rededicate your life to one of integrity, the altar is a place for that. It’s a place to say one more time, Lord, I commit myself again to you today. I am committed to integrity. Teach me your ways and be my provider oh Lord I am yours. I am your Warrior.
f. If that’s something you haven’t experienced but you want to, there is never a better time than the present moment to say yes to Jesus. The altar is a place for that. He will fill you up, change your life, and make you strong enough to endure it all, but you have to want it. Say yes to Jesus this day. PRAY
Works Consulted:
NLT Study Bible. Zondervan, 2007. Print.
