Being a Person of Integrity

Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with Jack Graham.

A little later in the program we'll tell you how you can get Dr. Graham's brand new message series, Don't Blink. But first, here's his message, Being a Person of Integrity. The Eighth and Ninth Commandments. And today, for the first time, we're going to unite these commandments because both of these really speak to the same issue.

And that issue is the issue of integrity. The Eighth Commandment, found in verse 15, tells us that you shall not steal. And then the Ninth Commandment, verse 16, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. So, these are relatively straight up, obviously straight up commandments. You shall not steal and you shall not lie or bear false witness against your neighbor. Now these commandments are culturally connected because we're living in a time in our own society and our own beloved nation in which we have been rocked by scandals of various kinds.

Ultimately, these scandals have as their root selfishness and greed, stealing and fraud and all that goes with it. We're living in a time of moral collapse. There is a war on terror, but there's also a war for the soul of this nation. And the only way that we're going to be able to preserve the great freedoms of our nation is to experience a renewed God-centered morality. A God-centered, Christ-centered morality. The Ten Commandments provide us a guideline for living, certainly as followers of Christ. The lifestyle of the believer is expressed here.

This is why we're calling this series High Definition Living. The world needs a better picture, a brighter picture of what it means to be a follower of Christ and why we are not saved by keeping the law. Once we are saved, born again, we certainly then live in God's power and His Spirit in keeping and in accordance to His commandments. And so the church of the Lord Jesus Christ should be high death so that the world may see Him, to know Him and to make Him known. And the commandments are divided up in our relationship with God to worship Him and then the final six commandments that we would walk with Him.

And make Him known to the world. In the 60s, where we were taught situational ethics in the universities. Remember situational ethics?

Well, a generation grew up and now we're practicing situational ethics. Moral relativism. And truth and honor and integrity are often put aside. In the book, The Day America Told the Truth, I read that something like 81, 85 percent of the people lie regularly. That most people can't get through a solid week without lying and that many people can't get through a day without lying.

And while we think, well, is that really a big deal? After all, most of these things are little white lies. Well, it doesn't matter if it's a black lie, a white lie or a lie in technicolor. God, who is the Father of truth, Jesus who is the truth, when He stood before Pilate, Pilate said, what is truth? And truth was standing right in front of him. He said, I am the way, the truth and the life.

And you're never more like Christ than when you're living and telling the truth. When you're living in integrity. Now, you know that the word integrity has to do with wholeness.

The word integer is there. That life is integrated. What I am privately is what I am publicly. That what you see is what you get. That there is a trustworthiness and a transparency in the life of the Christ and the follower. Thus, the Bible speaks of people being without guile. It sounds like an old word that we don't use these days, guile or guilelessness. But a person without guile is a person who is transparent and authentic in all of their attitudes and actions, outwardly as well as inwardly. To be without guile is to be a person of grace. And God has called us to this higher standard of excellence.

In our lives. And I tell you this, it is impossible for God to bless you the way He wants to bless you if you are not a person of integrity, of truthfulness, of faithfulness, honesty. Distortion and defrauding and dishonesty and all of its various frauds and forms should be dismissed from the believer's life by the power of Christ because these things destroy society, they wreck homes, they split churches, fracture families and poison every human relationship including cauterizing your own soul and condemning your own conscience. Truthfulness, honesty, being a person of integrity.

Are you a trustworthy person? When the Bible says you shall not steal, it obviously affirms the right of personal possessions. So what God has given us, blessed us with, belongs to us. The Bible never teaches communism or any form of socialism but the right of personal possession and the right of personal property.

But what we do with our property as well as how we get our property is an issue with God and how we gain our possessions. The man was on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among thieves and these thieves beat him within an inch of his life and he was left bloodied and dying on the side of the road. And Jesus said it wasn't long until a couple of religious types came along and they walked by on the other side of the road. They turned their heads.

Not my problem, I don't have time, shouldn't have been here in the wrong place, wrong time, too bad. And Jesus said these men went on their way. And then the Lord said, another man, a certain Samaritan came along.

It's interesting, isn't it? We call this man the good Samaritan. Jesus never called him the good Samaritan. He was a certain Samaritan. He did the basic right thing. I mean, it's one thing to celebrate goodness but it wasn't necessarily that he was such a good man. He was a man who did the right thing. He came along, he saw this man, broke a It's one thing to celebrate goodness, but it wasn't necessarily that he was such a good man. He was a man who did the right thing. He came along, he saw this man broken on the side of the road, so he ministered to him. He saw him, he had compassion upon him. And he poured oil and wine medicinally to help heal his wounds. And then he took him to the end and said, I'll take care of all the expenses while this man recovers.

And when I come back through, I'll check on things and if there's more to the bill, I'll take care of that as well. And Jesus gave us this story to tell us, to teach us, who is my neighbor? The commandment says you shall not bear false witness to your neighbor. So who is my neighbor?

What do I owe my neighbor? And Jesus teaches us this powerful truth that anyone with a need is my neighbor. Whenever, wherever I find a person who has a need and I am capable of meeting that need in some way, then it is my responsibility to give to that person what that person needs.

The Bible says, owe no man anything but love. And in the three kinds of people that we meet in this Samaritan story, we really have a picture of everyone in society. First, those thieves. Those thieves who stole from the man took what was not rightfully theirs.

They represent those who say, what's yours is mine and I'll take it. Now, lest you think that you have to beat somebody up and bloody them to steal from them, you of course know there are many ways to steal from another person. You can steal their possessions. You can steal a person's reputation with gossip and slander and innuendo and insinuation. There's more than one way to steal, of course. There are the subtle lies and thefts that are practiced every single day. You can cheat in school.

You can cheat in life in all kinds of ways. And why do people steal? Why do people lie? Sometimes it's because of fear, the fear of failure. Sometimes because of malice like these thieves who stole and with malice and hatred in their heart they took from someone what did not belong to them.

They did it with malice. Some people lie and steal for no reason at all just because they can. People who have money most of the time, people who shoplift actually have money.

You know, some people just steal because they can. They just lie because they want to. It's like, you know, golfers are notorious for lying. One golfer was asked, you know, said, why don't you improve your lie on that last hole?

He said, okay, I had a four instead of a five. But lying can be so culturally relative. And we can make it situational ourselves. Sort of like that saying, you know, if I'm lying and you know that I'm lying and I know that you know that I'm lying, isn't that the same as telling the truth? Well that's the way we live today. We think we can play hard and fast with the truth. But God who is the God of truth says no way. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and today's message, being a person of integrity, sexual identity, racism, the sanctity of life.

These are some of the hot button topics in our culture that Christians are called to address. And in his brand new series, Don't Blink, Dr. Graham shows you how to stare down the enemy's lies and stand firm for God's truth as it relates to the current culture. Don't Blink is our thanks for your gift today to help boldly proclaim the truth of the gospel. So call now to request your copy of Don't Blink when you give. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word PowerPoint to 313131.

Text PowerPoint to 313131. And don't forget to visit Jack Graham.org where you can shop our e-store, give a gift online or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email devotional. Our website again is Jack Graham.org. Let's get back to today's message, Being a Person of Integrity. Satan is the father of lies. Satan stole the innocence of mankind in the garden with a lie. Has God said questioning the Word of God? Anytime you see a question mark put on the veracity of God's Word, the authenticity of God's Word, you can know exactly where that's coming from. Has God said?

Is that really true? God's holding out on you, Adam and Eve. He knows that if you eat of this fruit, you will be as He is. So they believed the lie and they died. Their innocence was stolen by a lie. It was lies and innuendos and whisperings and false accusation and slander that put Jesus on the cross.

False witnesses nailed Him to the cross. But we were there ourselves with our own lies and our own distortions and our own deceptions. But those thieves are represented there. And then not only what's yours is mine and I'll take it, but then there are some represented by those religious types that day who don't buy on the other side, who live by the idea that what is mine is mine and I'll keep it, holding on to what we have with everything we've got. Two kinds of people in life, you know who they are.

You're one of them. Givers and takers. Givers and takers. And some have lived with the idea that what I have is mine and mine alone to enjoy and I'm never going to give it away. The Bible tells us that's stealing. That's robbing another person of the opportunity to be blessed or to be encouraged or to be strengthened. If you have a word to say and you withhold it, a word of encouragement, that is robbing another person of the blessing that God would desire to give them.

And I can illustrate this in so many ways. God has given us breath in life in creation. Every breath we take belongs to God. We are here because God's breath is in us.

He breathed into us the breath of life. All of life is a gift. And for me to live life my way without giving God back the life that He gave to me, without serving Him, loving Him, worshiping, that's thievery. If you're a Christian you are not only God's by creation but by redemption. Which means you are not your own the Scripture says. You are bought with a price, the precious blood of Jesus.

Therefore glorify God with your body which is the Lord's. And so we have been bought and paid for by the life blood of the Lord Jesus and what we are belongs to Him. We are purchased as His own possession and to withhold our lives from Him, to withhold our gifts from Him. God has given us spiritual gifts in which we are to serve and to minister. And yet if we sit on the sidelines and do not participate in the work of the ministry of Christ on earth in His church, we are withholding from the body of Christ and the work of Christ and that is robbery without a weapon. Everything we have possession wise belongs to God. And He has called us therefore to signify that by bringing the first tenth to Him and then the offerings as He prospers us. And yet we have robbed God in the stealing of our tithes and our offerings. You say, how so?

Look at Malachi 3, 8 to 11. Will a man rob God? You are robbing me.

But you say, how have we robbed you? In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house and thereby put me to the test says the Lord of hosts. If I will not open the windows of Heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. And I will rebuke the devourer for you so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear says the Lord of hosts. God says, alright here's a test. Prove me in this and see if I will not bless you in ways that are incomprehensible. I will open Heaven's windows and pour you out amazing blessings. I will rebuke the devourer. Those things that are stealing from you and robbing you of life and the blessings of life. Test me in this.

See in me if the 90% with me as your partner will not go farther than 100% on your own without me. Test me in this God says. I don't want to be a God robber. And yet when I take the position that those religious types, the scribes, the Pharisees, the Levite who came by on the other side and looked at this man and said, you know I don't care what this man is going through. I don't care what the people need Jesus. I don't care.

Walk by on the other side. I'm living by the credo that what is mine is mine and I'll keep it. But the Samaritan who ministered, who saw, who had compassion, who ministered, love to Him, He lives by the commandments that we're talking about today.

And that is what is mine is yours and I will give it. And in giving away our lives Jesus says we find our lives. Why do we lie? Why do we steal? Why don't we just tell the truth and be people of integrity? All kinds of reasons but ultimately because we were born to lie.

This is why we must get honest with God. This is why it's good to have an accountability of group. People that will keep you honest. I have a few people in my life that know when I'm blowing smoke and when I'm not. Who keep me accountable.

And everyone should have people like that in their lives. We need accountability so that we would live honestly and genuinely and with authenticity. That is what the commandment here is talking about. Living your testimony is a vivid expression, high definition of truth. Because let me tell you, while God knows when we're lying, He also knows when we're telling the truth.

And that's a good thing. He knows the integrity of our hearts. He knows that when we tell the truth, even at a personal cost, and while it may go poorly with the world, it goes really good with God.

And that's what matters the most. God knows when we stand up for what is right or stand up for that person and do the right thing. I always tell my children in their growing up years, it's always right to do right. Never right to do wrong. Never wrong to do right. It's always right to do what is right. And be prepared, be prepared to make the right decision, the good decision before you get to that decision. And you do that by a series of right choices. It may be hard to tell a lie for the first time, but it gets easier and easier to tell a lie.

You ever notice that? Because it becomes addictive. It becomes habitual, habit-forming. And even if it's just a little white lie or just a little thing or an insinuation or if I just, you know, what about all those people that take office supplies home with them and steal from their job or, you know, make personal calls on your boss's time and so on. Those things, those little things, they add up and they subtract from our lives. I heard about a man who was on a fast track to the top of his corporation. But one day he was in the company cafeteria and someone, one of his bosses saw him in line take a two-cent pat of butter and stick it under his roll where he wouldn't pay for it. And when his boss saw that, he said, if I can't trust that guy with a two-cent pat of butter, how can I trust him with this corporation?

So this guy lost his opportunity to advance over a two-cent pat of butter. Jesus talked about that. He said, how can I trust you with great things if I can't trust you with little things? He that is faithful in that which is least will be faithful in that which is much. So if I tell the truth about little things as well as big things, if I am honest in my possessions and what I earn, what I keep, what I take, in the little things, God will honor that and reward that and bless you.

Live a life of excellence in all things and all things to the glory of God. You shall not lie. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Isn't it interesting that we often lie to the people we love the most?

Bear false witness to your neighbor, the people that are closest to you? That we lie to our husbands and our wives? We lie to our kids. We lie to our parents. We lie to our friends at church. We lie to our neighbors.

We lie the most of people we care about the most. So God says, protect yourself, prohibit yourself from living a lifestyle of lying and stealing and greed and selfishness. Live a life of honor for me. Live a life of honesty and trustworthiness, for I will bless you and amaze you with the way I elevate you and strengthen you in the journey of life. We're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and today's message, our world is full of chaos and confusion, moral and spiritual darkness. What it needs to see is bold faith from followers of Christ. That's why Dr. Graham wants to send you his new five message series, Don't Blink.

This series tackles some of the most pressing issues our culture is facing today and shows how the Bible offers the answers our world so desperately needs. Don't Blink is our special thanks for your gift to help boldly proclaim God's word through PowerPoint. So request your copy when you call today. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word PowerPoint to 313131. Text PowerPoint to 313131. And don't forget to visit Jack Graham.org where you can shop our e-store, give a gift online or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily e-mail devotional.

Our website again is JackGraham.org. Pastor what is your PowerPoint for today? Pastor Charles Jennings So are you a giver or a taker? Now that's an important question when it comes to your relationship with God.

And that's really the essence of this commandment that we talked about today. In your relationship with people are you a giver or are you a taker? Are you investing in people's lives or are you draining people's lives?

Think about your actions. Are you helping or hurting in relationships and what you do? Are you willing to give of yourself? The Bible says do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in your power to do it. Are you living that verse in your life? And when it comes to your relationship with God be a giver. Give your life back to God because your life already belongs to Him. You have been purchased and possessed by His Spirit. So live for Jesus.

And let me say one other word. Make sure that you're a giver and not a taker in your church. Your church needs you to be a faithful follower of Christ and a giving loving servant of Christ.

Find a ministry in your church where you can serve God. Be a faithful tither and giver as you commit to the kingdom of God and the work of your church on earth. Don't rob God.

Don't steal from God what rightfully belongs to Him. And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember when you give a gift to PowerPoint we'll send you Dr. Graham's brand new 5 message series Don't Blink.

It's our thanks. Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word PowerPoint to 313131. Text PowerPoint to 313131. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about how God is the only source of your satisfaction. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Instagram.com.