The Essential Ingredient for a Godly Life, Part 2

Some things cannot be learned in a classroom. Virtues, for instance, are modeled but rarely taught in academic settings. And yet few qualities are more powerful than women and men who are filled with this one. Proverbs 10.9 says, He who walks in integrity walks securely. And in Proverbs 27 we read, A righteous man who walks in integrity walks securely. He who walks in his integrity, how blessed are his children after him.

Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll continues a brand new series that started yesterday. He titled his first message, The Essential Ingredient for a Godly Life. And we begin with prayer. Of integrity in this man of God is.

And how unusual to read of such, especially in a day filled with corruption, lies, false promises, meanderings, empty words. Thank you for models like Daniel who inspire us to become men and women who carry out your truth in everyday life. I pray today for those in high places that you would use those Godly men and women, rare though they are, few though they are, to reach the hearts of those without your son, Christ. Give them the courage to speak openly of him.

Equally important, give them the character to live in such a way that nothing in their life belies what they say of Christ. Use us as well, Lord, we who live in this area equally in need of models of truth. Speak to us in this series as we learn of men and women who walk with you in such a unique way that others were impacted.

Thank you for the confidence we can have to live like this because others have done so as well. You have placed them in your word as models to motivate us, to encourage us, to stimulate us toward love and good works. We realize, having gone through all the memories of yesterday, that our country has gone through an enormous amount of trials, heartache, death, sorrow, grief, as well as great heroism, determination, integrity. We pray, Lord, that you will sustain us by your grace, though we do not deserve it, that you will use the memory of yesterday to give us a brighter and hope-filled tomorrow so that our lives know the joy of your promises fulfilled. Help us in this decadent and difficult era to serve you faithfully and to do so with clear and pure motives. I pray for those who gather in this worship building today that you'd speak to all of us from an ancient book about an ancient life who modeled a message that is as needed today as it was in that day. And we place before you the week that will unfold. Guide us that we might walk in the truth that we say we believe. These things we ask in the name of Christ, our Savior, who loved us and gave himself for us, even Jesus. And everyone said, Amen.

You're listening to Insight for Living. To search the Scriptures with Chuck Swindoll, be sure to download his Searching the Scriptures studies by going to insightworld.org slash studies. Chuck titled his message, The Essential Ingredient for a Godly Life. The back story of Daniel's life is the Medo-Persian Empire, which was vast, governed by a king named Darius. We read in the first verse that he decided to divide the kingdom into provinces, 120 of them, and to appoint a high officer to rule over each province. And on top of that, he chose three to watch over those 120 translated administrators to supervise the high officers and to protect the king's interest. But one stood out above the others. We read that Daniel proved himself more capable. So Daniel would be the one, even not only over the empire, but over the other 122 officers. The news of Darius' plan quickly spread among those 122 others, the governors and the supervisors. There's a mixture of resentment and envy and jealousy.

It never fails. So what did they do? Well, we see it in action, verse 4, Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs. So they couldn't find anything. They were frustrated.

The end of verse 4 says they couldn't find anything to criticize or condemn because he was faithful, responsible, completely trustworthy. I'm speaking to you today and to myself as well. Believe me, I've been in this for weeks now.

A lot of soul searching going on in our lives, even at this moment. All of you who are hearing me are thinking this is a corrupt time in which we live. I've never known of national leaders with less integrity in my life. I've never heard such lies. I've never witnessed such false and empty promises. I've never seen examples of dishonesty like I see now.

The only way you know most of them are lying is their lips are moving. It goes on all the time. People shrug it off. They pass it off with, well, that's the way it is with politicians. It's not the way it is. That's the way it is when you lack integrity. That's what's missing.

You and I long for it, regardless of our political persuasion. It has nothing to do with that. It has everything to do with character.

Everything. We know ministers who live one way and then when they're gone, things are found out that reveal they weren't living that way. There was another life going on which breaks the hearts of their family members who knew nothing of it and cuts the heart out of what was once an effective ministry. You cannot have an effective ministry and lack integrity, not in the long haul. Am I saying a person must be perfect?

I want to repeat again. This does not mean your sin less. It means when you do wrong, you say it was wrong. You put checkpoints in your own life and you acknowledge this is a weakness. This is an area where I made a bad mistake. This was a decision I should never have made, not because my predecessor set me up, but because I'm the one doing this.

If you knew what I was holding back, you'd be proud of me right now. There's so much more I could say. The fact is, and we'll get on with it here, their failed investigation was twisted into a conspiracy of deception. They set the king up for a decision and they knew what they were doing. Even the motive in this decision was wicked. They went to Darius. They appealed to his pride. They said to Darius, wouldn't it be great to set up a law for 30 days that no one could pray to anyone, no one could worship anyone but you, oh king. Darius, being the kind of guy he was, said, sounds good to me.

Bring on the rule. They wrote it out. He signed it. Suddenly he realized Daniel is now the target.

They never mentioned that. It's another thing about integrity. You don't hold back information to make yourself look better or to make the story look good. Matter of fact, it's always been amazing to me, especially when I was a child, that Daniel didn't wind up in the lion's den because he did something wrong. He was there because he did things right. He continued to pray as he had always done to the God of heaven, three times a day. He didn't stop.

He wasn't worried about those 122 envious men or a king that had made a stupid decision. He answered to his God. He has an audience of one.

How rarely we think of that. We're not called to this earth to please people. We're called to live our lives before an audience of one. Few are those who do that. That will mean criticism won't cut your legs out from under you. I came across an interesting story about that when asked why he was not stung by a vicious attack from a fellow member of the parliament. Winston Churchill replied, If I respected him, I would care about his opinion, but I don't. So I don't.

Period. Why do you care so much about someone else's opinion, especially when you know the whole truth and they don't, especially when you know you answer to only one who will be your judge and your reward? No one else in this room will be either only your God. He's the audience. He's the one who we answer. Unless you think that gets you off the hook, remember, he sees us day and night, public and private. When no one else is around or even aware, our God is there.

Back to the audience of one. That's how Daniel lived his life. So when he was thrown into the lion's den, God protected him.

I've always loved Vernon McGee's answer to that. Why the lions didn't sink their teeth into him. He was three fourths gristle and the rest backbone.

There was nothing to eat. God protected him. Miraculous, of course. He's not out of miracles. They're rare, but. They're available. They're always up to him if it requires that to protect your integrity, as it did with Daniel.

He'll make it happen. They came to the king. The king signed the edict. And then realized what had happened.

And the king was awake all night, hoping that nothing would happen to the man he knew was a man of integrity. I shorted this message by reminding you of when I began my ministry and I took you back a number of years. I now want to end this message by reminding you of the end of your life, whenever that will come.

I do not know when, but it will. Someday you'll be on your deathbed. You'll be surrounded by those who know you best and love you the most. Or at least they think they know you. They'll sing their songs. They'll run their fingers through your hair. They'll kiss you on the cheek. They'll pray and they'll say the kindest words you will have ever heard as you're dying. Then you'll be gone, leaving all the evidence behind.

What is that? Everything in your computer? Everything on your record?

All the private mail, notes, pictures? I have a friend named Bob Garipa. Bob was for many years the dean of students at Dallas Seminary. Wonderful man. Bob's from a large Italian family and if not the oldest, among the oldest, and was chosen as his dad died of a sudden heart attack to be the one to go through his personal effects.

He didn't want to do that. You understand Bob's dad was a remarkable man to hear Bob tell it. He loved Bob's mother dearly and deeply it seemed. Every evidence was that he was loyal and faithful. He was a man that you could rely on. He kept his word, treated his family very well, played no favorites, carried himself with honesty and dignity. Bob's fear was as he would begin to go through his things that he might find something that no one else had known about, some secret that had been kept, some private set of pictures, some other woman or women.

Nevertheless, he took the responsibility seriously and one weekend he tightened his belt and decided now's the time for me to do this. She sat down at his father's desk, picture this, opened drawers others had not opened, took out boxes others had not seen into them, read letters others had not read, went through files others had not seen, spent time literally searching, reading, sometimes smiling, other times tears came. As he remembered this or found out about that, to his delight when all the search was over and the sun was setting, he had found nothing, nothing against his father, not even anything suspicious or questionable. He was as clear and clean as Bob and his siblings had hoped he was. Now he knew he was.

Bob told me he wept audibly out of gratitude. The man he had admired and respected throughout his life was everything he had believed him to be. There was no skeleton, no potential scandal, no ugly piece of information to share with a family leader to break their hearts. He had been a man who was genuine to the core. Back to my opening lines, a man of integrity. I pray that will be true of me when I pass.

I also pray that will be true of each one of you. I bring this message not because I'm any model of anything near perfection, you know me well enough to know that I am not. But I long to be a man of integrity. And I long for you to be the same man, a woman of integrity, where someone can meticulously and tediously go through your things.

And at the end of the day and the end of the life, find nothing to break their hearts. If today you find yourself deeply convicted, though a Christian, this is a great day to turn the corner. To determine that from this day on and put the date in your in your journal, from this day on, you're going to clean up your life. You're going to lay your life before the Lord God and you're going to confess to him those areas that have been you've been negligent in. Perhaps even things that have been downright unlawful, perhaps shameful.

And they're going to stop. You're going to clean up the record because the Lord your God is the most understanding and forgiving one you will ever know. If you're without Christ. See that cross hanging behind me?

Come to the foot of that cross and look up. And thank the father for sending his son to die for you. To pay for all the sins of the world, all the wrongdoing, all of the corruption, all the lies, all the failures.

All the wrongdoing he will forgive you when you trust in Christ. That's right. Trust in Christ.

That's what's necessary. See, it doesn't sound like much. Oh, it took Christ's life. He who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. When I trusted in Christ, God transferred my sin to the cross and Christ's righteousness to my life. I'm now able to walk in a righteousness that is not natural or normal for me. And the same for you.

But without Christ, that's impossible. Let's come to terms with that now. I ask you to bow your heads, please. Just right now. Let's not move about.

Let's sit quietly and think. Are you absolutely certain that you have Christ in your life? Absolutely certain. There was a time when you came to the foot of the cross. And you acknowledged that you're a sinner. And you believe that Christ died for you. And you take him, you took him into your life. Wonderful. If there's never been such a time, now's the time.

Now's the time. And God in his grace will accept you. Just before I preached, you heard the song, And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood? Died he for me?

Yes, he did. The one who knew no shame for me, he died. Can it be it is? By his grace, you can know eternal life and sins forgiven. You'll be given power to live like you've never been given before, but you must turn to Christ for that power. Trust him now. Simple prayer. Lord God, I'm lost.

You're distant from me. I now turn to Christ. Please come into my life.

Make me new. Forgive me. Clean me up, inside out, that I might live a life like Daniel. Let's pray. Dear Father, we thank you for the hope. There is always hope in Christ. Thank you for the cross, that you are always willing to accept us when we come to you through Christ. Thank you for forgiveness. Thank you for strength to live in a way that we are unable to live on our own. And we pause this day and commit to you our weaknesses and accept your strength. We return to you our sins Christ has paid for, and we take your righteousness. Thank you for coming into our lives and giving us the ability to live a life of integrity. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, I pray.

Everyone said, Amen. And if you're among those who've made this decision to follow Jesus Christ, I'm going to give our address in just a moment, and we'd love to hear from you. In addition, we encourage you to visit our website to discover ways to take your first steps.

You'll find a variety of helpful resources online at insightworld.org. Well, today's message from Chuck Swindoll is the first in a brand new series titled Walking with Integrity in Times of Adversity. And if you're looking for an inspirational book to help you start the new year, and one that ties in naturally with this new teaching series, then we highly recommend Chuck's book called Joseph, A Man of Integrity and Forgiveness. Joseph's epic journey from obscurity to fame will guide you through whatever adversities the year 2022 might bring. A friend left a comment describing the impact of Chuck's teaching on integrity. It said, Chuck, thanks for placing words to what we know inside but cannot put into words on our own.

Ask for the book about Joseph, A Man of Integrity and Forgiveness. It's available for purchase at insight.org slash offer or by calling us. If you're listening in the U.S., dial 1-800-772-8888. To all those who give generously to support this nonprofit ministry, we're deeply grateful. Insight for Living relies on the support of friends like you. And it's not too late to make an impact by giving a donation right now. In fact, our incoming mail and messages on our website all confirm that God is using Insight for Living to awaken people to the power of His word. So thank you.

And once again, if you're listening in the United States, the phone number to dial is 1-800-772-8888. Or give online at insight.org slash donate. Those who support Insight for Living with a monthly gift truly have a ministry all their own. God's amazing grace is our overarching theme every day on Insight for Living. In fact, it's quite possible that God has used our daily program to extend His grace to you. And I know as your Bible teacher, I have been a grace recipient as well. Our monthly companions are first recipients of God's grace. But when you begin to give monthly, God is deploying you as a courier of His grace. Today, we're inviting you to join the team. Please jot down our contact information and follow the Lord's prompting. When you do that, you'll become an elegant bouquet, a sweet fragrance of God's grace here at home and all around the world. Do for some unsuspecting person what someone once did for you. Become a monthly companion. If you're listening in the United States, call 1-800-772-8888 or go online to insight.org slash monthly companion. Join us when Chuck Swindoll describes what he calls the integrity of enduring obedience, Thursday on Insight for Living. The preceding message, the essential ingredient for a godly life, was copyrighted in 2021 and 2022. And the sound recording was copyrighted in 2022 by Charles R Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. The creation of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.