Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.citygracechurch.com/sermons/70047/integrity/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] Hey, good morning, One Harbor. Donnie here. Hey, just before we jump into singing and hearing the word, I know we're all coming with feelings and emotions and circumstances, and so let's address those things. Let's get our hearts ready. In Psalm 125, verses 1 and 2, the psalmist says, those who trust in the Lord, which is a decision of the heart and the mind to actually, you know, not trust in circumstances and feelings and emotions, but to actually put your trust in the Lord. Those who do that are like Mount Zion, and then the psalmist says, and Mount Zion, it cannot be moved. It's unshakable. It abides. It endures forever, right? And so when we turn our trust to the Lord, away from other things, to Him, man, there's this unshakableness that comes in our hearts, right, in our minds, and he goes on and says, as the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people. Maybe you're watching this, and you actually do live somewhere where there's mountains surrounding you. That's great. Works for you. For those of us here in eastern [1:02] North Carolina, we might even be thinking about the water, like as the ocean surrounds us, so the Lord surrounds His people. And then the psalmist concludes verse 2 with this, from this time forth and forevermore. And so this is beautiful, because this was written like thousands of years ago, and it could be easy to think, well, back then, yeah, it was easy to say, but actually, the psalmist says, no matter what time you find yourself reading this, no matter what's going on in the world, the Lord surrounds His people. And so as we stand together, as we prepare to sing and to hear the word, let's do it from the framework of, man, we've got this unshakable God who surrounds us, who cares about us, who's in control no matter what's going on. God bless you guys as you worship this morning. Let's go. [1:47] He's coming on the clouds, kings and kingdoms will bow down. And every chain will break, his broken hearts declare his praise. [2:06] God bless you guys, God bless you guys. [2:36] And every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every night, every The God who comes to save Is here to set the captives free And who can stop the Lord Almighty Our God is the Lion The Lion of Judah He's roaring with power And fighting our battles And every knee will bow before Him [3:36] And our God is the Lamb The Lamb that was slain For the sins of the world His blood breaks the chains Every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb And every knee will bow before Him Who can stop the Lord Almighty Who can stop the Lord Who can stop the Lord Almighty Who can stop the Lord Sing it again Who can stop the Lord Almighty Who can stop the Lord Who can stop Him And who can stop the Lord Almighty Who can stop the Lord [4:38] And our God is the Lion And the Lion of Judah He's roaring with power And fighting our battles And every knee will bow before Him And our God is the Lamb The Lamb that was slain For the sins of the world His blood breaks the chains Every knee will bow before the Lion and the Lamb Every knee will bow before Him Every knee Every knee will bow Oh, Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh [5:52] Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation. [6:14] Oh, my soul, praise Him, for He is the health and salvation. All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near. [6:32] Praise Him in glad adoration. Praise to the Lord, who our helping so wondrously reigneth. [6:48] Shelters thee under His wings, ye so gently sustain it. Ask now, not seeing how thy desires have been. [7:03] How thy desires have been. Granted in what He ordained. Oh, praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee. [7:29] Surely His goodness and mercy will daily attend thee. Ponder anew what the Almighty can do. [7:42] Ponder anew what the Almighty can do. If with His love He befriend thee. [7:56] Oh, praise to the Lord, who devils thee be. Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in thee adore him. [8:23] All that hath life and breath come now with praises before him. Let the amen sound from his people again. [8:41] Let the amen sound from his people again. Let the amen sound from his people again. [8:58] And gladly forever adorn him. Oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh God, we just adore you this morning. [9:33] We just give you all of our praise and adoration. We just want to worship you and thank you and praise you for all the good you've done and passed in the present right now in this moment as you minister to our hearts and meet us in worship. [9:51] We thank you for who you are and we praise you with all that we have. In Jesus name, amen. Hi, everyone. My name is Liesel and I am married to one of the pastors here. [10:09] His name is Fricky. July 4th is a really special day to me because I became a citizen a number of years ago under the space needle on the 4th of July. [10:20] And I still cry every time I hear the national anthem. But our freedom doesn't come from being Americans. Our freedom comes because we surrender our lives and our hearts to Jesus Christ on a daily basis. [10:34] His life, his death and his resurrection are what purchased freedom for me and for you. And it says in John chapter 8 verse 36. So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed. [10:48] Today we're going to use our prayer time to pray for one another. And if you're alone, you can certainly pray these things over your own life. But if you're with people, I encourage you to get into groups of two or three and to pray these things over one another. [11:03] Firstly, we're going to pray for freedom from the weight of sin. It says in Romans 6 23. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. [11:18] Secondly, we're going to pray for freedom from fear. Psalm 46 verse 1 and 2 says, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. [11:30] Therefore, we will not fear that the earth gives way and the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea. That's so beautiful. And lastly, we're going to pray for freedom for our loved ones who do not yet know Jesus. [11:45] So as we go into a time of prayer, these prayer points are going to be up on the screen. And we're also going to have the scripture references. And I encourage you, if you don't know exactly what to pray for people, just open up your Bibles and read these scriptures over them. [11:59] The Word of God is powerful. So thank you so much. And let's do that now. Thank you. You know what I believe in哪裡. [12:39] You know what I believe in哪裡. You know what I believe in哪裡. You know what I believe in哪裡. You know what I believe in哪裡. You know what I believe in哪裡. You know what I believe in哪裡. You know what I believe in哪裡. You know what I believe in哪裡. [12:50] You know what I believe in哪裡. Thank you. [13:21] Thank you. [13:51] Thank you. [14:21] Thank you. [14:51] Thank you. [15:21] Thank you. [15:51] Thank you. [16:21] Thank you. [16:51] Thank you. [17:21] Thank you. [17:51] Thank you. [18:21] Thank you. [18:51] Thank you. [19:21] Thank you. [19:51] Thank you. [20:21] Thank you. [20:51] Thank you. [21:21] Thank you. [21:51] Thank you. [22:21] Thank you. [22:51] Thank you. [23:21] Thank you. [23:51] Thank you. [24:21] Thank you. [24:51] Thank you. [25:21] Thank you. [25:51] Thank you. [26:21] Thank you. [26:51] Thank you. [27:21] Thank you. [27:51] Thank you. [28:21] Thank you. [28:51] Thank you. [29:21] Thank you. [29:51] Thank you. [30:21] Thank you. [30:51] Thank you. [31:21] Thank you. [31:51] Thank you. [32:21] Thank you. [32:51] Thank you. [33:21] Thank you. [33:51] Thank you. [34:51] Thank you. Amen. [35:51] Thank you. [36:21] Thank you. [36:51] Thank you. [37:21] Thank you. [37:51] Thank you. Thank you. [38:51] Thank you. Thank you. [39:51] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. [40:23] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. [41:25] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Tom. [41:58] Thank you. Thank you. [42:29] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Think you. Think you. Think you. Think you. Think you. Think you. [42:40] Think you. Think you. Think you. Think you. takes advantage of you or puts on airs or strikes you in the face. To my shame, I must say, we were too weak even for that. [42:52] He's making a really big mockery of all these enemies in the Corinthian situation. But what anyone else dares to boast of, I am speaking as a fool. I also dare to boast of that. [43:04] Are they Hebrews? It was a big deal to be a Hebrew. Are they Hebrews? So am I. I had a Hebrew passport. Are they Israelites? So am I. So you have one of those passports too. [43:15] Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. I mean, he had all the credentials. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one. I'm talking like a madman with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings and often near death. [43:31] Five times, this is for the love of God and for the church. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the 40 lashes, less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. [43:42] Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I was adrift at sea on frequent journeys. In danger from rivers. Danger from robbers. Danger from my own people. Danger from Gentiles. [43:54] Danger in the city. Danger in the wilderness. Danger at sea. Danger from false brothers. In toil and hardship. Through many a sleepless night. In hunger and thirst. Often without food. [44:05] In cold and exposure. And apart from other things. There is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak? And I am not weak. Who is made to fall? [44:16] And I am not indignant. If I must boast. I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. He who is blessed forever knows that I am not lying. [44:29] At Damascus the governor under King Aretas. Was guarding the city of Damascus. In order to seize me. But I was let down in a basket. Through a window. In the wall. And escaped his hands. [44:40] He is just reiterating. That he has gone through all this stuff. He is being a little sarcastic. With the people who are trying to hurt the church. And he is just saying. This is for the love of God. This is for the bride of Christ. [44:51] The church that I love so deeply. And over this time. COVID and all the other stuff going on. It is going to get a little difficult. We have got to make sure. [45:01] We are walking with integrity. And loving the bride. And caring for her. And trusting God is going to change her. And mold her. And shape her in this time. She can be nasty some days. The bride. [45:12] The church. God has got this folks. We need to love on her. Care for her. We need to let our brothers and sisters. [45:23] Also be our defenders. As Paul has said here. This is a faithful man. We need each other. To love on each other. And protect each other. So Paul had this love and passion for the church. [45:33] It's number two. And then the last two points. On being integrous. Paul uncompromising on God's truth. And reveled in the love of Christ. Paul uncompromising on God's truth. [45:46] And reveled in the love of Christ. So the opposite of that. Which is up there I think. Is we can ignore truth. And we can ignore God's love. Second Corinthians 5.13. It says. [45:57] For if we are beside ourselves. It is for God. If we are on our right mind. It is for you. For the love of Christ controls us. Because we have concluded this. That one has died for all. [46:07] And therefore all have died. And he died for all. That those who live. Might no longer live for themselves. But for him. Who for their sake died. And was raised. So he's accused of being crazy. [46:19] Because he went through all these difficulties. And all this rejection and beatings. And he says. Now I did it for Christ. And for the bride. To love her. And Jesus was accused of being crazy. [46:30] And Paul's accused by Festus. Of being crazy as well. That he was mad. But Paul and Jesus weren't beside themselves. He says that at the beginning. [46:41] Have you ever thought how weird that statement is? I'm beside myself. I forgot to get something for my wife from the shop today. Because I was beside myself. It means I'm here. And then there's another part of me next to me. [46:52] It's kind of a. Like a weird excuse. Paul's saying. No I wasn't beside myself. I knew exactly what I was doing. I knew exactly why I was doing it. I knew exactly who I was doing it for as well. [47:04] He has this love for truth. And he has this love for the bride. He's not going through hardship to be a hero. Hero. Who would ever go through that to be a hero? [47:15] It would be really strange. He's doing it for God. Who found him on a horse. On a road to Damascus. We do these things for God. Who found us at a youth camp. [47:27] Who found. I got found up in the church gallery. I think I was the only person sitting in this church. And God found me. And there's been some hardships and pain over the years. [47:38] But for his glory it doesn't matter. It's not that big a deal. He understands there's this overwhelming privilege and joy. Of being part of God's story. [47:49] Of being in God's household. And he says when I'm in my right mind. Well that's for you. So I don't look so crazy. And then he says this. For the love of Christ controls us. He's not just motivated by what Christ has done. [48:04] But he says it actually pushes me forward. Into all that Christ has called me to do. My love for him. His love for me. It's like an energy force. It just pushes me forward. [48:15] Into him. And we all need. In these days. We need some big dollops of that. We need to be constrained and controlled by Christ's love. Not all the other things that are going on. [48:28] Some of them important things. But this is of first importance. This is of first integrity. In our lives. It's like salvation. Never grows old for him. [48:41] Again. Just want to use a marriage. A little picture. This whole thing of integrity in marriage. It's like. My wife you know. [48:51] We've been married a long time. It's over 40 years now. And. The fact that she married me. Was just astounding. There were other guys who liked her. And I won. [49:03] And I wasn't anything particularly special. Or whatever. In my eyes. In her eyes. Obviously I was. Or she thought I was going to make a lot of money. Or something. I don't know what the deal was. But we stood holding hands. [49:14] We made our vows before the living God. And now. When she has a need. My love for her compels me. Her love for me. She. She. Chose me. [49:27] She. She gave me two amazing kids. Now I have seven grandkids. And she's traveled with me all over the world. And. And she'll make food at the drop of a hat. She keeps this lean mean machine running smoothly. [49:39] All day. Every day. And her love for me compels me. When she wakes up in the middle of the night. Needs a glass of water. I'm there to do it for her. [49:49] Because. Her love compels me. And it works the other way. As well. And. And that word. Compelled. Or controlled. It means this. A besieged city. [50:01] So that. That love of God has captured you. Like a besieged city. Or it can mean a canal. Excuse me. A canal that forces a ship. Into a narrow channel. Just. [50:12] Drives you in a direction. His love. For you. Or to hold completely. I'm just captivated by his love. When were you last captivated. By his love. For you. [50:24] And. And for Paul. It so. Moved him. When he received. Christ's love. It moved him to service. And folks. That is the greatest motivation. For us serving others. [50:35] We can make a decision. To serve people. And sometimes. We have to do that. But I think it's a much better place. To be. When our. Love that we have received from him. And our love towards him. That's. [50:46] What motivates me. It's been interesting for us. Down in Swansburg. Because. We've had a couple of hurricanes. We had. Florence was the big one. And my gosh. The people stepped up to the plate. And just served their lives away. [50:58] And their hearts out. And then we. Had to feel. Feed some of the schools. As COVID hit. And various. Other things. And people stepped up. And served. But. There was this particular big need. There. So it was a little easier to do that. [51:10] But what about every day. When there is no hurricane. When there is no kids. That need food. It's just. People all around us. At work. Our neighbors. Our family. People coming in. From all over the place. [51:21] The thing that should cause us. To serve and love them. Is God's compelling love. That we have received. Don't need a crisis. Before we start doing. And I want to tell you. [51:31] There is a massive crisis on. Right now. It's not COVID. It's not the unrest. Around race. And all the other issues. That are going on. It's this crisis. Of boys and girls. [51:43] Men and women. Young and old. Who do not know Jesus. As their savior. That is a tsunami. Size crisis. And the love of God. Should compel me. To reach out to them. [51:53] In any way. I can. He's loved on us. Let's not take that. And be mundane. I have God's love. In my heart. Am I leaking that? What am I leaking? [52:04] Is it like toxic waste? Or is it. Something of who God is. And his beautiful. Love. Everything that Paul did. Was out of love for God. And he was integrous. [52:15] He showed integrity. In that relationship. Verse 15. And it says. And he died for all. That those who live. Might no longer live for themselves. But for him. Who for their sake. [52:26] Died and was raised. There you go. Jesus died. For us. We're alive. We have new life. We're called to live for others. [52:38] Out of that new life. Proverbs 10. 9. Let's go back to that very first. Proverbs scripture. Whoever walks in integrity. Walks securely. But he who makes his ways crooked. Will be found out. [52:49] And we've seen these. Four tests of places. Where we can exhibit. Integrity. And there's a whole list of. Other ones I could have brought. Today. Let me just remind you of them. [52:59] God. Adored. Glorified. And worshipped by Paul. He did not have contempt for God. He glorified him. And worshipped him. Paul's love and passion. For the church. And for the lost. [53:10] He didn't disregard the church. Like who needs that. Let's go preach the gospel. But whatever comes with that. I don't want it. Third one. Paul's uncompromising on God's truth. [53:21] And reveled in the love of Christ. He was going to stick with God's truth. With God's word. And he was going to revel. In the love of Christ. That had come towards him. [53:31] He's going to receive it. And let it leak. Out of him. So we've got to go walk our talk. I want to encourage you this morning. A few moments. We're going to close. I will pray. [53:43] And then there'll be another worship song. Be Thou My Vision. I think the song today. Which is really appropriate. And I would encourage you to really do a deep dive. And say God where am I at? [53:53] On these things that Tom talked about today. I think there's a place for repentance. And asking forgiveness. And maybe even making restitution. Where we have done some silly crazy things. [54:03] Or even people have done silly crazy things to you. To go to them and say. Hey I just want you to know man. Love you. Care for you. Come and have a coffee with me. Or whatever we're allowed to do. In whatever moment it is. [54:15] And so let me pray for you. And then you'll see some notices. And you'll be able to do communion together. So Lord Jesus I want to thank you for your life given for us. [54:27] And Lord we I ask on behalf of many of us. That when we forget what it is. How beautiful and how magnificent it is. What we receive from you. [54:39] When we don't live in an integrous way. When we don't live in the call that you've called us to. When we kind of just take for granted all that you've done. And our relationship with you is put on the back burner. [54:50] And I think Lord sometimes people on this earth. That we have that level of relationship with you. Would never tolerate it. And yet you keep on coming. And calling us towards yourself. [55:02] So I pray Lord today. Where people ask forgiveness and repent. That you'd hear our prayers. Lord we also want to thank you. There's many moments where we are hearing your voice. [55:14] And seeing you work. And come and love on your church. And help us in this time. Each one. And then lastly Lord Jesus. We pray for any person who doesn't know you today. Pray before they go. [55:25] From wherever they're watching this. They would sit and just ponder that moment. That integrous moment. That moment of decision. Jesus I am a sinner. I am not going to be going to heaven. [55:38] I'm bound for a lost eternity. But today I've heard your word. I've heard that you love me. And died for me. And today I choose. Most integrous choice I'll ever make. [55:49] I choose you to be my king. I pray for many of those today. Lord Jesus. So thank you Father for your time. Bless all God's people who've watched today. In Jesus name. Amen. Be thou my vision. [56:04] O Lord of my heart. Not be all else to me. Save that thou art. [56:17] Thou my best thought. By day or by night. Waking or sleeping. [56:29] My presence. My life. You are my wisdom. Be thou my wisdom. [56:44] And thou my true word. I ever with thee. And thou with me Lord. [56:57] Thou my great father. And I my true son. Thou in me dwelling. [57:10] And I with thee one. Oh High King of Heaven My victory won May I reach Heaven's joys Oh bright Heaven's sun Hide up my own heart Whatever befall Still be my vision Oh ruler of all Oh Heart of my own [58:18] And hide out my own heart Whatever befall Still be my vision Oh ruler of all Be my vision Heart of my own Heart of my own Heart of my own Heart will never befall Still be my vision Oh ruler of all And it was awesome Worshiping with you guys This morning As you know [59:18] We have six days Between now and next Sunday To push back darkness Make disciples Push back darkness All for the sake of the gospel We love you guys Have an awesome week Think of what you guys Think of what you guys