Sermon Brief
Date Written: August 22, 2006
Date to be Preached: August 27, 2006
Where Preached: OZHBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Sermon Series: Living a Life of Integrity
Sermon Title: Integrity comes from
Obedience to God
Sermon Text: Daniel 1:1-21
* - before beginning the sermon we have a sketch entitled "The Monkey House" written by Scott Crain and is available online at www.dramaministry.com (approx 3 minutes)
8 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.
Dan 1:8 (NASB)
Introduction:
This morning I want you to turn to Daniel… the 1st chapter and we are going to look at and study about something that is disappearing in our world today and that is INTEGRITY!
What is integrity? The Encarta Dictionary defines integrity as “…the possession of firm principles… the quality of possessing and steadfastly adhering to high moral principles or professional standards…”
Back in the day…some would have said that integrity was keeping your word and doing the right thing, regardless of the circumstance or situation or how it affected you…
But in today’s world, integrity has lost its meaning, in fact there are many in this world today who don’t even know what integrity is…as this recent street interview video reveals…
Here I show a video called "Integrity" that I downloaded from www.sermonspice.com (Video length is about 2 1/2 minutes)
Out of the 34-35 people who were interviewed on that short 2½ minute video 12 people either refused to answer or they said they didn’t know what it meant…
Of the remaining 22 people 8 people felt that honesty was the main ingredient to integrity…
Others were more vague in their comments saying things like…
• Doing what you’re supposed to do… in our world today that has many meanings and is NOT a straight forward answer…
• Doing what you say you’re gonna do... again in our world today this could mean anything and it does not reflect what integrity is… if a man says he is going to rob a bank and does… does he have integrity?
• Feeling good about what you do… this answer is conforms to the secular humanist movement that saturates our society today… all is focused on yourself and YOU are the center of the universe!
• It is Self Worth… again focusing on yourself and the humanistic flavor of the world we live in…
I was most impressed by 3 particular answers that were given…
One man actually gave 2 of these answers. He first said, “…it is something inside you that does the right thing…’ His other answer was, “…not always doing the popular thing, but doing the right things regardless…”
That man’s answers matched up well with another man’s answer of, “…doing the right thing all the time no matter what the consequences…”
And as good as those answers sound, yet still they do NOT accurately give us a picture of what true integrity is in the life of a believer! We know that Christ would never have misled anyone! And we also know that God does not LIE.
So, as believers, our lives are to be transparent and forthright with the world around us as well as with God in Heaven…
Living a life of integrity is a must for the believer and it does not matter where he or she is in life, it does not matter about the circumstances of life or the situations that others place us in…
We are called to live a life that reflects God to the world… in all of our actions, in all of our words and in all the places we choose to go in our lives!
We can see by our passage this morning that Daniel chose to live a life of integrity, not because Daniel was so super good, but simply because Daniel was obedient to God’s commandments.
This morning you have seen both a video and a skit about integrity and they both have brought out some great points about what Integrity is supposed to be… and what it is NOT!
This morning I want to share with you from this passage some points on integrity and how integrity can only come through our obedience to God. The 1st part of this passage clearly reveals the…
1. Situations of Life (v.1-7):
In life we often find ourselves in situations that we did not create, but others have put us in… but we are still called to live a life of integrity regardless of the situations we find ourselves in…
In these verses we find that Daniel’s nation was overthrown and his life was turned upside down by the actions of others…
But not only was his nation overthrown, the invaders had insulted Daniel’s God by taking holy items from God’s Temple and placing them in the temple of their god…
But when Daniel and his friends got to Babylon (the land of Shinar – which is modern day Iraq) they were surprised to be chosen by the King to become trainees in a program that would lead them into government service to the King.
As part of this program the King lavished his lifestyle on these young men so that they would come to love him and respect him and ultimately serve him with loyalty. He lavished upon them his food and wine and all the other royal privileges they could desire.
How would you react if you were in Daniel’s shoes? Being ripped from your home and sent hundreds of miles away and then offered this seemingly ‘too good to be true’ offer?
In looking at this situation, many of us would have been glad to be where Daniel and his friends were. We would say things like…
• This is fortune smiling her lovely face down on me…
• Boy, this is my LUCKY day…or
• Man, I really deserve this because my life stinks right now and this is payback…
Well that is exactly WHERE Daniel and his friends found themselves here in v.7
And they could have been thinking those same things but as we go on to the next verse we find that this is NOT at all what they were thinking about…
Their thoughts were NOT focused on the situation in life but it was on their…
2. Obedience To God (v.8):
This is our focal verse this morning… “…8 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself…”
Daniel found himself in a situation where he could have rationalized that he deserved what the king was offering because of his recent difficulties or that it was just his lucky day… we find that Daniel believed and trusted God and he was obedient to God’s commandments!
He resolved in his heart that he would NOT defile himself with the King’s lavish lifestyle. Why? Why would Daniel choose to do this? Was the king asking Daniel to do something evil or terrible?
Well on the surface it does not seem that way. He was offering the best of foods and the best of wines to Daniel and his friends. The best of living conditions and the best of education… but Daniel saw it for what it was… a distraction from serving God!
Daniel knew and understood the dietary laws that God had put in place and he knew that for him to disregard those dietary laws would be a sin, even though all around him would NEVER look upon it like that…
Daniel also knew that if he allowed the king to sway his beliefs with mere pleasure and comfort that his service to God would suffer and he would stray from God’s presence by eventually being led to other customs and ways that he knew were gross violations of God’s commands…
But we see Daniel’s integrity being shown through his obedience to God’s commands on his life. He basically says in v.8 to the Babylonian leaders…
“…hey, all this is great, but we really cannot accept it because it would violate or dietary laws, we ask you to respect our customs and allow us to eat and drink according to our laws…”
Now that was a bold and courageous statement for a 18-21 yr old boy to make to the leaders of the nation that had just conquered his land and uprooted him to come and serve their king…
Daniel was able to reject this offer from the king because he focused on being obedient to God’s commands on his life…
In the skit you saw this morning, we saw that Jeff had a problem in that he had been given too much change. He was really at a loss at what to do… He knew what he SHOULD do, but he was still questioning what he WOULD do…
We saw how Dustin gave him the answers that the world gives us today…
First he told Jeff to simply…
• …count your blessings. In other words, don’t worry about where it came from or how you got it…just be glad you GOT it!
Then we see Dustin saying…
• Are you crazy? They charged us twenty dollars to get into this place, five dollars for parking, and three dollars for bottled water! I think they’ll survive…
• In other words, they cheated you, so you can cheat them!
Dustin then told Jeff…
• They’re not gonna miss fifteen dollars… not getting caught makes it all OK!
Finally Dustin said…
• …please. The ice cream guy’s gonna look at you like you’re out of your mind. In other words he was saying that NO BODY does the right thing in this situation… you would stand out and be weird or something like that…
He almost has Jeff convinced to keep the extra change until Jeff’s conscience overwhelms him after Michael tells them how they capture monkeys in Africa…
In a humorous way, this skit reveals that when we try to hold onto what is NOT ours it is going to get us into a lot of trouble. And that brings us back to our subject at hand this morning… INTEGRITY!
Daniel realized that the King’s ration were NOT what God desired because they violated God’s commandments… it didn’t matter that it was nice and wonderful and it was given to him… it was against God and that made it wrong!
Likewise, we are called to live a life of integrity and so often we find ourselves in the same situation as Jeff did this morning. Have you ever rec’d TOO much change and thought I should be able to keep this because I didn’t do anything wrong to get it… it was their mistake!
Integrity means that we are living as God calls us to live even when there is NO ONE looking or listening to us. That means in the silence of your own home, in the privacy of your own house, you are called to live as God has called you to live!
When we look at Daniel and his response to life’s situation and his obedience to God we can see that God is pleased with obedience and that He rewards our obedience to Him…
3. God’s response to Obedience (v.9-21):
Obedience is the language that is understood and reacted to by God!
Daniel’s obedience brought about God’s support and favor in a time that could have been the most difficult time of Daniel’s life. I want you to notice 3 verses in this passage that reflect this principle…
9 Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials, (NASB)
Here we see that God responds to Daniel and his friend’s obedience in the face of temptation and evil. He allows them to find favor in the eyes of his captors…
When we are obedient to God’s commands in our lives it guarantees one thing… that God is going to be there for us and support us!
It doesn’t guarantee that we will be granted all we desire. I am sure that Daniel would have desired to be set free and that his nation be restored…
I am sure that he would have rather been anywhere BUT where he was…
When we are obedient, God is going to be faithful to us! We may not understand what He is doing or where He is leading us and we even may have to face situations that are difficult and trying, but God is going to be there for us and He is going to be our rock and fortress that we can run to in our time of need!
But there is also a 2nd verse I want us to look at as well and it tells us, “…As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams…”Dan 1:17 (NASB)
Because of their obedience not only was God going to be present with them, but we can see that God was going to prepare them for what was in store for them.
When God calls us to serve Him and we respond in obedience even when we don’t see the entire picture, we can rest assured that God is NOT going to leave us hanging in the wind!
If God calls us, and we obey… He is going to equip us for the journey… for the task at hand! So don’t fret when you cannot see the entire picture of what God has called you to do… because God is going to equip you and support you all the way!
Finally I want us to look at a 3rd passage and it is vv.19-20, “…The king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s personal service. As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm…” (NASB)
• Well not only did God support Daniel and his friends…
• And not only did God equip Daniel and his friends…but we can also see that…
• God also blessed Daniel and his friends…
I know that Daniel and his friends would rather have been back in Israel, but they were obedient and submissive to the call of God on their lives and God set apart their obedience with support and blessing!
As believers, we are called daily to serve God and be obedient to His commands. We are not given the option of doing this when it is convenient or when it benefits us the most…
We are not given the option of being in the situation we desire, but we are called to do it regardless of the situation we find ourselves in…
Daniel and his friends showed character and integrity in their service and obedience to God and His commandments.
Conclusion:
Today you have been shown what true integrity is… True integrity is not what the world says it is… true integrity comes only from obedience to God!
What we have to realize is that there is NOTHING good that can come from this world, but that good can only come from God. In James 1:17 the Bible shares with us…
“…Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…” (NASB)
Integrity cannot come from within ourselves… TRUE integrity can only come from one source… GOD! We can only know TRUE integrity when we are obedient to God’s call on our lives!
So this morning I challenge the believers who are sitting here today… Does your life reflect God’s TRUE integrity?
Are you obedient to God’s call on your life? If you are a believer that call includes, daily reading and studying of God’s Word, praying to Him daily, but it also includes things such as sharing your faith with the lost, telling the world about the saving grace of Christ!
You have heard me use the phrase, you should share your faith when the opportunity presents itself… I believe that I have misled you somewhat with that statement.
We are NOT called to share our faith only when the moment is right, but we are called to share our faith ALL the time, in all our actions, in all our speech, wherever we go!
Our lives must be a living witness for Christ in word and deed! We cannot truly love God by our thoughts or words, but only as the Bible shares with us in 1 John 3:18 where it says,
“…Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed [actions] and truth…” (NASB)
In other words the actions of our body must reflect the words we proclaim with our mouth! When our actions do NOT match what our mouth is saying the Bible calls us a liar! 1 John 2:4 where it says,
“…The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him…” (NASB)
In other words, if we claim Christ as Savior, but we are unwilling to be obedient to his calling… we are liars and we do NOT know Christ as Savior!
In the parable of the seed and soils, Jesus revealed to us that there will be many false conversions in the church. Those who have the seed planted and they seem to accept it and seem to be growing in Christ… but they are not firmly rooted and have not totally accepted His word!
These are those who proclaim Christ in their heart but refuse to submit in obedience to Christ as their Lord! They sit in the pews of each and every church in the world today, and they are just as lost as the most corrupt sinner!
Now I want you to understand what I am saying here… they have NOT lost their salvation due to disobedience, but in all reality they NEVER had salvation to begin with because they were not willing to submit in obedience to Christ as Lord of their lives…
These so called believers do not fall away because they lost what they had, but they were never part of the fellowship to begin with…
So today, as your pastor and spiritual leader, I call on everyone here who has made a profession of faith… YOU MUST surrender to God fully and totally this morning! You must come in obedience to Christ as Lord of your life! Come and give your ALL to Christ… come and begin to be obedient to His call on your life!
However, if you are here this morning and you do NOT know Jesus as Savior, I can only say this to you… your future is very bleak and dark!
If you continue on the path you have chosen, you will end up in a sinner’s hell, condemned by God to suffer an eternity of torment and suffering!
But there is hope for you this morning… hope in the person of Jesus Christ! He died on the cross so that you could know His love and forgiveness.
Today, I call on you to confess your sinful life to God, ask His forgiveness for your sin and He has promised that He would come into your heart and save your soul.
But I want you to know that this is NOT some easy believism that I am preaching! Like Scripture says, our words MUST be backed up by our actions!
You can say that Christ has come into your heart BUT if you are NOT obedient to His commands… then you are a liar and Christ is NOT in you!
Come today and give your heart to God… totally surrender to Him! He will save you and he will forgive you of your sin and make a place in eternity with Him!
This doesn’t mean you will NEVER experience pain, grief or suffering because we live in a fallen world, but it does guarantee that when your time here on this world is done… your eternity will be secure in Him…
And it also guarantees that when you do face difficulties in this life that God is going to be there with you… to deliver you FROM them or to ride with you through them!
Come to Jesus this morning; come as Bro Jerry comes to lead us in our invitation hymn…
