Aloha I Ke Akua Christian Fellowship
Sunday Morning Service
Senior Pastor Paul A. Kaiwi, Jr. MD
Helene Hall, Hana, Hawaii
October 8, 2006
GOT INTEGRITY?
Introduction:
Do we have integrity? What are we willing to do for $10,000,000?
In the United States of America…
25% Would abandon their entire family
25% Would abandon their church
23% Would become prostitutes for a week or more
16% Would give up their American citizenships
16% Would leave their spouses
10% Would withhold testimony and let a murderer go free
7% Would murder a stranger
3% Would put their children up for adoption
James Patterson and Peter Kim, The Day America Told the Truth, 1991.
What happened to our American integrity? Do we have integrity?
Let’s look at what integrity means in the dictionary.
Webster Dictionary- Integrity: The steadfast adherence to moral values and truth.
Simply put, integrity is more than just telling the truth. Integrity is doing what we said we would do. Integrity means keeping our word. Integrity means that our words & our actions are the same. In other words, we practice what we preach.
Today, we will learn about the biblical definition of integrity. And, as a result, it is my hope that we will all be encouraged to live by that integrity.
Matthew 5:33-37 NIV
33"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ’Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ 34But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37Simply let your ’Yes’ be ’Yes,’ and your ’No,’ ’No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Illustration: So insecure were the ancient Chinese of their enemies on the north side that they built the Great Wall of China, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. It was so high they knew no one could climb over it and so thick that nothing could break it down. Then they settled back to enjoy their security.
But during the first 100 years of the wall’s existence, China was invaded 3 times. And not once did the enemy break down the wall or climb over its top. Each time the enemy simply bribed a gatekeeper with money and marched right through the gates. According to the historians, the Chinese were so busy relying upon the great wall of stone, that they forgot to teach their children about integrity. Integrity for their country, culture, and each other.
Americans are no different. Do we have integrity? Do our children have integrity?
Joke: Four high school boys were late to their morning class one day and, thus missed the scheduled mid-term exam. They entered the classroom and told their teacher they were late due to a flat tire. The teacher smiled and told them it was too bad they were late because they had missed the mid-term exam that morning. But she was willing to let them make it up. She gave them each a piece of paper and a pencil and sent them to the four corners of the room. Then she told them they would pass if they could answer just one question: Which tire was flat?
Do we have integrity? Do our youths have integrity?
Song: Written by Jamie O’Hara 1985
Grampa, tell me ‘bout the good old days
Sometimes it feels like, the world’s gone crazy.
Grampa, take me back to yesterday
When the lines between right and wrong, didn’t seem so hazy.
Did lovers really fall in love to stay
And stand beside each other come what may
Was a promise really something people kept
Not just something they would say, and then forget
Did families really bow their heads to pray
Did daddies really never go away
Oh, Grampa, tell me ‘bout the good old days
The foundations of our mighty country are being shaken because of our lack of integrity. The Foundations of Christianity are crumbling because of our lack of integrity. It is time that the Church rise up and take our place in the ranks of integrity.
Looking for people of integrity in this generation perhaps could be compared to searching for a needle in a haystack…or a grain of salt in the sands of this beautiful Hana beach.
True men and women of integrity are very hard to find. Let us look within and evaluate ourselves.
Am I a person of integrity?
Am I a Pastor of integrity?
Are you a person of integrity?
Is this a church of integrity?
Are our lives characterized by integrity?
The Bible is clear that our lives should be characterized by integrity. The scriptures encourage us all that we should be as good as our word.
Have you ever wondered what people associate with our names? Your name? My name?
Do people say that we can be trusted, that we are reliable, that we are dependable, that we are people of integrity? Or are we losing our opportunities to share Christ to the unsaved because of our poor integrity.
Some people may say, “well, it doesn’t matter what others think about me or my integrity.” But I say, it does matter what people think about me and you. It matters what people associate with your name and my name. Why, Because we bear Christ’s name. We are called Christians. These things should be important to us because our lives speak many messages to those around us. Example: Each life is a sermon.
Back in the early 1900s, all it took to make a pact or an agreement was to give your word and a handshake. It’s because that word and handshake were backed by integrity. Now days we have policies and contracts to bind us and hold us to an agreement because our integrity is not binding enough.
As Christians, and as people whose citizenship is in heaven, I want to encourage each and every one of us here to show integrity in our words and actions.
There are three encouraging points that I would like to share, that I hope will help us all to live by integrity.
1. INTEGRITY IN OUR WORDS.
Matthew 5:37 Let your YES be YES and your NO be NO, anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
In other words…What we SAY, we really MEAN.
When I say that I am a Christian, I really mean it.
●From the minute I awake in the morning to the minute I go to sleep, God is my everything.
●In the midst of trials and tribulations, God is my everything.
●When I am home weeping uncontrollably for the souls of the unsaved, God is my everything.
●When God tells me to do something, my entire world shakes until I get that thing done, because God is my everything.
When I say that I am a Christian, I really mean it.
There’s no holding back for me.
There’s no turning back for me.
There’s no sliding back for me.
I have made my decision. I will follow Christ.
Saints, Do we say what we really mean? I encourage all of us here to have integrity in our words.
Illustration: The National Enquirer Magazine, a very popular magazine among Americans. Would you put your trust in the news that came from that magazine? Would you read your daily news from that magazine and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the news was trustworthy? NO, right. Why? Because what they write about are not always true and accurate.
Their articles are contaminated with deception, lies, and little secrets about the lives of celebrities. Even the pictures and photographs that they use have been found to be tampered with or digitized by computer enhancement. They have little or no integrity in what they write…They have no integrity in their words.
Note: Christians call in sick when they are not sick…
James 5:12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.
As I mentioned before, integrity is doing what we said we would do. It means we follow through.
●When we vowed to be faithful to our spouse, integrity means we will stay with that person -- for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health.
●If we prayed to our Lord that we would give Him all the glory, integrity means we give Him all the glory.
●If we told a friend that we would return a telephone call, integrity means we return that telephone call.
●If we told our children that we would spend Saturday together, integrity means we keep that Saturday for them.
I encourage each of us to have integrity in our words.
2. INTEGRITY IN OUR ACTIONS.
James 1:22 Be doers of the word and not be hearers only, deceiving your own selves. (Expound)
Note: Talk the talk vs. walk the walk.
Like many locals would say, All waha or all mouth…All lip no trip.
People will judge our God by the way we act toward others (our actions).
Church family, we must be people of integrity when we deal with others. Jesus should affect how we conduct our very lives. He should be central to every action in our lives. When we say we are going to do something, it is as good as done! Because Jesus is our Lord and he doesn’t want us to be liars.
●It is not what we eat, but what we digest that makes us strong;
●It is not what we earn, but what we save that makes us rich;
●It is not what we read, but what we remember that makes us learn;
●It is not what we preach, but what we practice that makes us Christians.
Illustration: Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th Pres of America. During his time as a rancher and Ranch owner, Theodore Roosevelt and one of his cowboys lassoed a steer, then they lit a fire, and prepared the branding irons. The part of the pasture they were on was owned by one of Roosevelt’s neighbors, Gregor Lang.
According to the Cattleman’s RULES, the steer therefore belonged to Gregor Lang. As Roosevelt’s cowboy applied the brand, Roosevelt said, "Wait, it should be Gregor Lang’s brand."
The cowboy said, "That’s all right boss, no one will see."
Roosevelt said again, "But you’re putting on my brand."
"That’s right," said the cowboy. “Gregor Lang will never know.”
Roosevelt leaned over and said, "Drop that branding iron, and get back to the ranch and get out. You’re fired. I don’t need you anymore. A man who will steal FOR me will steal FROM me."
Today in the Word, March 28, 1993.
I encourage each of us to have integrity in our actions.
3. INTEGRITY IN OUR LIVES.
Many of us Christians believe that one day Jesus will come back to take His people with him to Heaven.
Matthew 24:37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.
Matthew 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of man cometh.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Why are we sold on the promise that Jesus will return one day (rapture) to take us with Him?
It’s because Jesus has integrity. Simply put, what he said, he will also do.
He said that he would return to take us with him…And so he will.
Let’s talk about the integrity of our Lord, Jesus Christ that we see in the bible.
●Jesus said he would heal the sick…And he healed the sick.
●Jesus said he would cast out demons…And he cast out demons.
●Jesus said he would die for us…And he died for us.
●Jesus said he would send a comforter, the Holy Spirit…And he sent the Holy Spirit.
●Jesus said he would return to take us with Him…And so He will.
You see church family, Jesus Christ had integrity not only in his words or his actions but all throughout his entire life on this earth. He is the creator of INTEGRITY and he defined INTEGRITY two thousand years ago. I encourage all of us to have integrity not only in our words and in our actions, but throughout every fiber of our lives and our existence.
Statistics: George Gallup in a poll reported, "The #1 cause of stress in our lives today is not the lack of money, and it’s not the breaking down of relationships, BUT it’s the inconsistencies in life. It’s saying one thing & doing something else. It’s the constant conflict inside every person that causes stress." Understanding our lack of integrity causes us to have stress.
Illustration: Someone may say, "My family is really important to me." Almost everyone would say that. Yet, statistics reveal that the average father in the U.S. spends 5 minutes a day with his children. So what’s he doing? He is saying one thing but he is doing something else.
We might say, "Our health is really important to us." Yet, do we exercise? Do we eat right?” The 2005 report on American obesity shows that 65% of all Americans are obese. Half of that, meaning 33% of all Americans are morbidly obese. Morbidly obese means that they could suddenly die at any given time without any warning. We say that our health is important but we are not willing to work on it. Saying one thing but doing something else.
Are we materialistic? "Oh, no! We are not…We are not materialistic people at all." Nevertheless, is our debt load getting bigger & bigger? Are we buying things that we cannot afford? Do we have credit card charges that we cannot pay? Are we saving money? "No, we spend it all," Saying one thing but doing something else.
So you see, we are not consistent. We don’t do what we say. We lack integrity.
Is God important to us? "Yes!” 95% of Americans in the U.S. say, "God is important to me." Yet only 9% of Americans attend church regularly and only 2% of Americans are involved in any type of ministry. Do we spend time in the Word? Do we spend time praying, talking to God, developing a relationship with Him? “Americans are much too busy to do any of that." You see, we say one thing but we do something else.
Living by integrity is very, very difficult.
●We have presidents that have fallen into adultery and have lost their integrity.
●We have celebrities that have fallen into drugs and have lost their integrity.
●We have preachers that have fallen into greed and have lost their integrity.
●And we have Christians that have fallen into sin and have lost their integrity.
Integrity is indeed a huge and monstrous goal to obtain.
And, we cannot do it on our own. We are not strong enough. That is why we need God. That’s why we need Jesus Christ. You cannot do this by yourself. I cannot do this for you.
That’s exactly why Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
We need God to guide us and lead us in the word, in prayer, in action, and in our integrity. And for people who have lost their integrity in the past…it’s time to start fresh and new.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.
In other words, forget about the past, repent, and follow Jesus. What has passed is passed. It’s time to start fresh and new on our integrity.
CONCLUSION
There’s a bumper sticker, ‘Eddie would go.’ (March 17, 1978). But, there’s a far better bumper sticker, ‘JESUS WENT!’ You see church family, Jesus went to the crucifixion/cross for all of us.
Jesus was a man of integrity. Our Lord and Savior is our perfect example for us to follow.
●He said that he would suffer on the cross for each and every one of us…He said it and he did it. That is Integrity.
●He said that he would die for us… He said it and he did it. That is integrity.
●He said that He would return one day to take us with Him…He said it and he will do it, because of his integrity.
Now in October, 2006…two thousand years after Jesus walked this earth, I encourage all of us here to follow his example of integrity.
1. Integrity in our Words
2. Integrity in our Actions.
3. Integrity in our Lives.
Today,
●I want to encourage everyone here to let our yes be yes and our NO be NO. Whatever we SAY, we DO in action.
●I want to encourage everyone here to live by a higher standard than the average American.
●I want to encourage everyone here to live by integrity.
