Character Counts! Diligence Matters
(Proverbs 4:20-27)
Theme: Character development is not an important part of life?it IS life!
Purpose: What do I want to happen in the hearer when I preach this sermon?
A. Increased knowledge. After I preach this sermon, the hearer should be able to state that our present crisis of character failure is essentially a failure to allow God to be God.
B. Increased insight. After I preach this sermon, the hearer should be able to understand that a godly character only comes where there is a willingness to:
1. Admit that I too have been duped into believing Satan?s lie that I am the most important thing in the universe.
2. Admit that I have forfeited my right to call the shots.
3. Pay the price for a godly character.
4. Follow Jesus Christ no matter what the cost.
C. Changed attitude. After I preach this sermon, I want the hearer to determine to admit the folly of trying to build a godly character according to human standards?even human ?religious? standards?and to submit to Jesus Christ for true transformation.
Need to be
Surfaced: If we?re honest with ourselves, we all recognize our own moral failure. We simply are not what we ought to be, what we were designed to be.
Solution to
be Offered: God is sympathetic and gracious to our moral dilemma; however, we must admit that we have a problem, that we are NOT God, and then we must be willing to submit to Him for transformation. The key is Him, not us! In order to win this battle we must (1) pursue Him, and (2) guard against forces that rob us of God?s influence in our lives.
Introduction. (Get attention, surface need, make a contract to deliver a solution.)
A. As Americans we are threatened by a crisis.
1. Osama bin Laden is still alive and threatening to strike again.
2. Sadaam Hussein is still in power and threatens world peace.
3. Al Queda is still a viable network of worldwide terror.
4. Wall Street continues to waver.
5. Our environment continues to deteriorate.
6. All crises that threaten our very existence?but none of these crises touch upon the deeper crisis upon which you and I need to focus our minds:
a) As a people we are facing a crisis of failed character.
(1) A survey of 12,000 high school students showed that 3 out of every 4 students cheated on an exam this school year.
(2) 38% admitted that they had stolen something from a store within the past 12 months.
(3) The percentage of students who admit that they lie to their teachers and parents is increasing substantially.
b) It is no longer assumed that the goal of life, the purpose of our existence, is to develop a godly character.
B. Some Quotations.
1. Character is what God and the angels know of us; reputation is what men and women think of us. Horace Mann.
2. Character is what you are in the dark. Dwight L. Moody.
C. How character manifests itself.
1. Character is returning extra change at the grocery store.
2. Character is keeping appointments, being on time, and honoring your commitments.
3. Character is choosing the harder right instead of the easier wrong.
4. Character is setting priorities that honor God, family, country and then career.
5. Character is working through the tough times of a marriage rather than throwing in the proverbial towel.
6. Character is being committed to the well being of others even if it is personally costly.
7. Character is setting a good example?even if it requires playing a difficult and unfamiliar role.
8. Character is sacrificing personal pleasures, if necessary, in order to provide for the well being of the family.
9. A person of character does not envy another?s success, but rejoices in it.
10. A person of character recognizes that lust is a second look and shuns even the appearance of evil.
11. A married person of character acts married at all times.
12. A person of character is self-disciplined and self-controlled.
13. Character requires that we do nothing to make another stumble; that we respect differing viewpoints without sacrificing our own principles.
14. Character implies the courage to stand for what is right, to oppose what is wrong, and to make the effort to discern the difference.
15. Character is being truthful in all things, while being sensitive to the fact that sometimes the truth hurts and need not be spoken.
16. Character is being selfless rather than selfish.
17. Character is being accountable for one?s actions and accepting the consequences.
18. Ultimately, true character is a willingness to do as God commanded us to do.
D. Our Failed Role Models.
1. To a large extent, character is caught rather than taught.
2. That is why we so desperately need godly role models in our world.
3. But, to whom shall we look?
a) Hollywood actors and actresses?
b) Sports heroes?
c) Political personalities?
(1) This generation has witnessed a president resign to avoid impeachment because of lies and lack of ethics.
(2) Public debates on whether or not character was even a legitimate criterion to judge a person?s qualifications to serve as president!
(3) Sexual misconduct and public lying to cover it up.
(4) Embezzlement of public funds, income tax evasion, insider trading, sexual misconduct, etc.
E. The Bible says we must make character development a top priority.
1. Character development is not ?an important part of life??it IS life.
2. In order to do that there are certain things that we must pursue with all our hearts.
3. There are other things we must keep from our hearts as if our lives depended upon it (because they do!).
a) In the next several lessons we will be making the point ? Character Counts!
b) We will be looking at biblical teaching about things that we must guard against as we pursue godly character in our lives.
c) This morning we want to look at some introductory issues:
(1) Where did this character crisis begin?
(2) Where does the quest for character begin?
(3) What is the key to a life of character?
I. Where Did Our Character Crisis Begin?
A. The Garden of Eden ? Genesis 2-3.
1. Who created all things? God did!
a) The stars at the outer fringe of the universe obey the will of God.
b) The atoms at the smallest center of the universe obey the will of God.
c) The animals all obey the will of God.
d) Why?
(1) Because as Creator He determines the meaning and purpose of the Creation.
(2) He sees all that He had created and declares that it is good! (Existing and behaving in accordance with His will?His eternal purpose).
2. What about human beings?
a) God created them and then declared that it was all very good!
b) Why? Because now even the free moral agents that God had created existed and were behaving in accordance with the will of God.
3. But, enter Satan.
a) What exactly did Satan accomplish?
b) Through deception he convinced the human family that:
(1) God is NOT all-powerful??you won?t die as God has said.?
(2) God is not all loving??God is denying you a legitimate pleasure.?
(3) God is not the ultimate standard of right and wrong??you can be as God and He knows it!?
(4) God should not be the center of the universe?you should be!
B. There began the character crisis that continues until this very day!
1. Human character is healthy only to the extent that it:
a) Successfully overcomes self-exaltation (self-centeredness).
b) And diligently pursues a life of selfless obedience to and trust in God.
2. Satan?s attack is always precisely at these two critical junctures:
a) Cain:
(1) Jealousy over Abel?s finding favor with God.
(2) Refusal to repent of his self-centeredness.
(3) Refusal to love Abel as a brother.
(4) Cain defiantly screams in the Creator=s face, ?Am I my brother=s keeper?? Genesis 4:9.
b) The ?sons of men.? (Genesis 4-6): Satan isolates each individual ego and deceitfully convinces each one that significance is based upon personal achievement and individual recognition.
(1) Cain - built a city, 4:17.
(2) Jabal - raised livestock, 4:20.
(3) Jubal - made beautiful music, 4:21.
(4) Tubal-Cain - forged tools, 4:22.
(5) The end of the lineage?Lamach:
(a) Crazed murderer of two men.
(b) Self-centered, ego- driven, loving no one but self.
(c) About as far from godly character as a human being can get!
(6) This entire line of human beings:
(a) Ungodly.
(b) Seekers of self through personal achievement.
(c) Useless to the Creator.
(d) Destroyed.
(i) Notice that their life spans are not even recorded!
(ii) When you are out of fellowship with God, how long you live does not even matter because you have no life.
(iii) But, notice those who chose to live in pursuit of God and His character.
(iv) Every single year of their life is meticulously recorded.
(v) Life in pursuit of God is precious and worth noting to Him.
II. Where Does a Quest for Character Begin?
A. Spiritual discernment.
1. A willingness to admit that I too have been duped into believing Satan?s lie.
a) I don?t enjoy proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord. Why?
b) Because that means I don?t get to be!
c) It is not fair that God gets to be God and I don?t!
2. A willingness to admit that I have forfeited my right to call the shots.
a) I have sinned and therefore I am forever marred by sin?s influence.
(1) My perspective is skewed.
(2) My values are fraudulent.
(3) I can NEVER go back to my former way of life.
(4) Illustration:
(a) An alcoholic can NEVER take another drink as long as they live.
(b) And, they must GUARD AGAINST ingesting many other substances that might trigger the desire for booze!
b) I must submit to God for renovation.
(1) He is transforming me.
(2) He is giving me only that which I can handle at this moment.
(3) If I am faithful with a little, then and only then, sill I be trusted with much. (Luke 16:10-11).
(a) And so the goal of my life is NOT to accomplish great things.
(b) But, rather, to be faithful?trustworthy?in all things.
B. Self-Controlled Determination.
1. A willingness to pay the price for a godly character.
a) ?Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.? Helen Keller.
b) Character is developed over time. It is forged in the fires of daily living, often in adversity. It is built of the stones that litter the path of life; those troublesome stones that bruise our heel, or cause us to stumble, fall, pick ourselves up, rub a scraped knee and limp on, regaining strength with each step.
2. A willingness to follow Jesus Christ no matter what the cost.
a) The Hebrew Writer has emphasized over and over again?Jesus is the prototype human being.
b) Our path, if we are to attain the goal of a godly character, must be in the footsteps He laid down.
III. What is the Key?
A. Put God First!
1. Perhaps to a group of Christians gathered for a worship assembly on Sunday morning this is accepted wisdom.
2. In our world, however, putting God first is not the key to character development.
a) University professors handed out the 10 Commandments in random order and asked the students to arrange them in their order of importance.
b) 90% of the students reversed their order?those relating to how we are to treat each other were more important than those relating to how we to treat God.
(1) Character has much to do with our relationship with one another.
(2) Religious beliefs are merely an ethical side dish.
(3) Some even place our relationship with the environment on a higher priority than our relationship with God!
B. But Jesus Christ Establishes the Priorities for Every Disciple.
1. ?The most important [thing],? answered Jesus, ?is this: ?Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.??
2. ?The second [most important thing] is this: ?Love your neighbor as yourself.? There is no commandment greater than these.? (Mark 12:29-31).
Conclusion. (The purpose of the conclusion is to conclude, not merely to stop.)
A. As Americans We are Being Threatened by a Crisis.
1. NOT Osama bin Laden, Sadaam Hussein, or Al Queda.
2. NOT the insecurity of Wall Street or the deterioration of our environment.
3. As a people we are facing a crisis of failed character.
B. The Bible says we must make character development a top priority.
1. In order to do that there are certain things that we must pursue with all our hearts.
2. There are other things we must keep from our hearts as if our lives depended upon it (because they do!).
a) In the next several lessons we will be making the point ? Character Counts!
b) We will be looking at biblical teaching about things that we must guard against as we pursue godly character in our lives.
c) This morning we?ve looked at some introductory issues:
(1) Where did this character crisis begin? The Garden of Eden.
(2) Where does the quest for character begin?
(a) A willingness to admit that I too have been duped into believing Satan?s lie?that I am the center of the universe.
(b) A willingness to admit that I have forfeited my right to call the shots.
(c) A willingness to pay the price for a godly character.
(d) A willingness to follow Jesus Christ no matter what the cost.
(3) What is the Key? Put God First!
(a) Why do we not engage in sex outside of marriage?
(i) Because we might catch a disease!
(ii) Because we might get someone pregnant.
(iii) Because the reputation of the Church might be damaged.
(b) These are all reasons?perfectly valid reasons?but not THE reason.
We abstain from fornication because God is God and we are NOT!
