Amen. Right, so Job chapter 27, or Job chapter 27, and we're going to look from verse three.
Job 27 verse three, which is, all the while my breath is in me and the spirit of God is
in my nostrils, my lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. God forbid that
I should justify you, till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. My righteousness
I hold fast and will not let it go. My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live. I
love that little passage in Job 27 there, and particularly the second part of verse
five, which reads, till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me. And that's the title
of my sermon today, I will not remove mine integrity from me. Let's go to the Lord in
a word of prayer before we continue. Father, thank you for this great passage of the Bible.
Thank you for the great principles of the Bible, the great lessons that we can learn,
and please help me to teach this one just accurately. Help me to preach boldly, Lord.
Help me, please just fill me with your spirit. Help those here who have attentive ears and
attentive hearts, and Lord, just help everyone to be able to apply this to their lives, and
in Jesus' name I pray all of this. Amen. Okay, so what's integrity? What is integrity?
Well, dictionary.com and Collins dictionaries both say the exact same thing, which is adherence
to moral and ethical principles, soundness of moral character, honesty. Webster's 1828
says moral soundness or purity, incorruptness, uprightness, honesty. Oxford dictionary says
the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, and Cambridge says the quality
of being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to change. So for me, and
we'll see this in scripture, as obviously, you know, the dictionaries have to line up
with scripture, but I believe they do here, which is that having integrity is having strong
unmovable moral uprightness and honesty, and they go hand in hand, okay? So the honesty
goes hand in hand with the moral uprightness. It's no good having one without the other,
right? So you find someone who you think, oh, they're just so morally upright, but they're
just so dishonest. Well, for me, they're not morally upright, yeah? And oh, well, they're
so honest. They're so honest about their wickedness. Well, to me, you'll generally find that they're
not really that honest in many other areas of life as well. They go hand in hand. Integrity
is the whole package. You're not going to say, well, she's got great morals, but she
lies a lot. Yeah? You're going to say that about someone? He's such a, you know, he's
such a morally upright person, but he just cannot stop lying. You can't believe a word
of what he says. No, they go hand in hand. Integrity is both together. When it comes
to integrity, Job was a man with integrity, wasn't he? Job was a man with integrity. Go
back to the beginning of Job. We're just going to have a quick look at this. In the book
of Job, if you remember the book, he's tested beyond most people's limits, yet he doesn't
lose his integrity. Satan tells God that if Job has lost all he has, he would curse God
to his face. And in a day, in just one day, he loses all of his wealth, his employees
are all killed, and then his 10 children are killed too. All in the space of, well, he's
told it all within, it seems like, minutes. Well, if you look at Job chapter one in verse
22, though, we read, in all this, Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. How many could
say that here? And again, you could just gloss over the book of Job. Oh, yeah, he lost, you
know, 10 children. 10 children. 10 children in a day. All 10 of his children were murdered,
basically. Well, at least, you know, the house, I think, collapsed on them. 10 children died
in a day. His servants murdered. All his flocks, he had wealth beyond anyone's imagination,
all gone in a day. And yet, in all this, he sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. That's
pretty impressive, isn't it? I don't think many of us could say that. But then, that
wasn't just kind of where it ended. Then it was time for round two. Look at Job chapter
two and verse three. And the Lord said unto Satan, this is Job two, three, and the Lord
said unto Satan, has thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth,
a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and astureth evil. And still he holdeth
fast his integrity, although thou moveth me against him to destroy him without cause.
Even God recognises Job's integrity, yeah? Look at verse four. And Satan answered the
Lord and said, skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But
put forth thine hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will cursee to thy face.
And the Lord said unto Satan, behold his in thine hand, but save his life. So went Satan
forth from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore balls from the sole of his foot
unto his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal, and he sat down
among the ashes. So this is basically a piece of broken pot that he's scraping, he's got
boils from his head down to the soles of his feet. And look, well, you know, I've had a
boil, you know, I've had a boil before. This is for basically head to toe, he's covered
in them. Can you imagine the pain walking them, the pain on top of the emotional pain
that he's going through as well, that he's just lost, like I said, all his children,
his livelihood, and now he's covered head to toe in boils. Then said his wife unto him,
does thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die. So his wife's now telling him
to curse God, to turn on God. And again, I'm sure many people would be saying to God, they
would maybe be cursing God. I think most people would. But he said unto her, thou speakest
as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God?
And shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. Sometimes some
wives need reproving, right? And Job told her she was speaking like a fool. Was that
sinful? No, it wasn't. Okay, sometimes people need telling that they speak like a fool.
And at this point in time, she was speaking like a fool. Job tells her that, but we see
that the integrity of Job meant that he could go through all of this and not curse God.
And again, I don't think probably anyone here could have gone through this, let alone go
through it without cursing God. Now, the testing doesn't stop there. He then has his
three friends, these great, no, they're miserable comforters, okay? And they're meant to be
to cheer him up, right? They come to comfort him. Well, they end up spending how many chapters
of the book of Job trying to convince him that he's to blame for it all, right? So they're
just sitting there trying to find somewhere or other that Job's to blame. And it's during
all of this, in chapter 27, Job makes this statement where we started. Job 27 verse three,
he said, all the while my breath is in me and the spirit of God is in my nostrils. My
lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. God forbid that I should justify
you till I die, I will not remove mine integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast and
will not let it go. My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live. So he's lost everything.
His 10 children have died at once. He's covered head to toe with some horrible disease and
his friends are trying to convince him that he's to blame. But Job said, till I die, I
will not remove mine integrity from me. And that's something that every single person
here should be saying as well. Every single one of us here should be saying till I die,
I will not remove mine integrity from me. And that's everyone from men to women to children
here. That's how we should be planning to live, right? That's how we should be aiming
to be like. This isn't, oh, well, that's Job. That's Job. I'm just going to lie through
my teeth. I'm just going to live in wickedness. Well, I'm just a sinner like everyone else.
No, we should all be trying our best. We should be saying, no, till I die, I will not remove
mine integrity from me. Job didn't say till I die, I will never sin. He didn't say that.
He said, but he will not remove his integrity from him. Because integrity isn't so popular
nowadays, is it? Ever noticed that? Having integrity doesn't seem that popular in our
world. Being morally upright and honest isn't so popular. But since when should we as Baptists
care about popularity? Sadly, a lot of Baptists do seem to claim about popularity. But us
as Bible-believing Baptists shouldn't care about popularity, should we? We should care
about what's right. We should care about what God wants, what God tells us how we should
live. How should this look amongst God's people, though? OK, in this day and age, how should
this look? What are we aiming to be like? What should we be described as? Well, you
know why I love this passage so much is because I believe it sums up integrity in just these
few verses. It just sums it up. It explains what it means to have integrity. Job said
in verse 3, all the while my breath is in me and the Spirit of God is in my nostrils,
my lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. Do you know what someone
with integrity says? They say that whilst I'm alive on this earth, whilst God allows
me to live, that's what he's saying, whilst God allows me to live on this earth, I will
not speak wickedness. I will not lie or be at all deceitful. OK? That should be our aim.
That should be our goal. That's what we should be saying, right? I will not. I will not.
My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. Now, is Job talking
about the world's definition of a swear word here? Is that what he's talking about when
he talks about wickedness? Is he saying that he won't say the word hell? Is that what he's
saying? I won't say the word bloody. I won't say the word bastard. Is that what he's talking
about? He's not, is he? Is he talking about the world's definition of wickedness or is
he talking about God's definition of wickedness? He's talking about the wickedness that can
be done with the mouth. Now, the most extreme would be damnable heresies, wouldn't it? That
would be the most extreme type of wickedness. Damnable heresies. But you know there's a
lot of wicked heresies as well, aren't there? What we just call heresies. It doesn't mean
someone's unsaved. It doesn't mean they're a damnable heredity. But there are a lot of
heresies in the world, aren't there? And I would say that's wickedness with your mouth.
We should be, look, anyone standing behind this pulpit, that's something they should
be saying straight away is, I will, my lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue
utter deceit. We should be trying our utmost. When I'm behind this pulpit, I'm trying my
utmost. I do not want to be preaching falsehoods. I do not want to be preaching my own idea
on things. I want to make sure that I really believe what I'm preaching right and that
should be everyone else. That should be everyone in men's preaching nights and as men preach
behind this pulpit. That should be everyone around the world, shouldn't it, behind a pulpit,
preaching, claiming to preach the Word of God. Yet, the Word of God. Yet, how many heresies
do you hear from pulpits of people that seem to be saved men of God? Why? For popularity.
For popularity so often. I'm just thinking, just the obvious ones, the pre-trib fraud.
It's wickedness. It's speaking wickedness because it's a lie and it's not in the Word
of God. It's not in the Word of God. That's why they can't use verses. That's why they
have to do mental gymnastics. The preacher is speaking wickedness. Your tongue is uttering
deceit. The Zionism fraud. It's a fraud and it's wickedness because what it does, it makes
all these, what seem to be God's people around the world, worship the Jew. Worship these
God-hating, Christ-hating, blasphemous devils. It makes people want to send them money, send
them cash, waste how many hours of their lives praying for these people. It's a joke, isn't
it? An absolute joke. But there's other things, aren't there? We've obviously experienced
railing and slander, false accusations. It's wickedness, isn't it? My lips said, Job shall
not speak wickedness. Wouldn't it be good if people that claim to be at least God's
people said the same thing? They shall not speak wickedness because it is wickedness.
Slander in any form, whether you think it's a minor or not, is wicked, isn't it? You know
full well someone didn't say something. You know full well that someone isn't or hasn't
done something that you're claiming. You're still saying, that's wickedness, isn't it?
Your lips are speaking wickedness. But so is trying to hurt people with your words.
Look, the tongue's an unruly evil, isn't it? And how many people will just try and hurt
people with their words? However subtly they think it might be as well, it's still just
trying to hurt people. If you think about the amount of passive aggressive comments
you come across, the amount of just little, just a little sarcastic comment here, a little
hurtful dig there, a little maybe, just a little question there, just to try and just
get some effect with their mouth. It's wicked, isn't it? It's speaking wickedness because
it's not, it's not coming of God, is it? Now turn to 1 Peter chapter 2, which for me has
a nice checklist on these sorts of things. 1 Peter 3.10, I'm going to read while you
turn there says, for he that will love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue
from evil and his lips that they speak no guile. Guile, sneaky little things, sneaky
little comments, sneaky little ways of bringing something up in a conversation to get a result.
It's guile, isn't it? Oh, well, just kind of, if I just steer the conversation this
way, then this will come into conversation and I'll get what I want. Then I'll be, it's
all guile, isn't it? It's guile, we shouldn't be acting like that. That's not so, does someone
with integrity use guile like that? Is that how we should be acting as Christians? No,
but that's how the world, and sadly that's how so many Christians do act, don't they?
That's how so many Christians behave, and they always think they're cleverer than they
are, and it really bugs you, doesn't it? When you go away from a conversation, you could
just see how they were just trying to angle it, angle it, angle it, just trying to get
in this little, find a way, getting in this little dig, this little comment. We should
behave like that. Should we? 1 Peter 2.1 has a little list here. It says, wherefore laying
aside all malice, which is extreme enmity or spite, and all guile, and hypocrisies and
envies, and all evil speakings, and I think it's all evil speakings, basically, just including
any other sort of evil speakings, because when you're feeling spite towards someone,
when you're trying to craftily insult them using guile, hypocritical judgements of people,
envious comments, it's all wickedness, isn't it? It's all wickedness, and it's definitely
not the sign of integrity. You don't look at someone behaving like that. When you think,
and a lot of people, when they think of someone with integrity, they think of maybe some old
fashioned gentleman. Yeah, maybe that's who you picture, maybe you don't, maybe that's
just me, but I picture some old fashioned gentleman raised well, you know, raised in
the things of God, and I don't picture them trying to like, little dig here, little comment
there in a conversation, I just see them as straight down the line. Yeah, straight down
the line, if they've got something to say, they'll say it, right? If they don't, don't
say it. Yeah, pretty simple, isn't it? Yeah, it doesn't seem like that nowadays, you don't
meet many people like that nowadays, do you? He said, we're for laying aside all malice,
and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and evil speakings, and the thing is, is all
of that stuff, all that wickedness, it's usually deceitful, isn't it? So it goes hand in hand
with the deceit part. My tongue, nor my tongue, utter deceit, Job said, it will not, his tongue
will not utter deceit. The sneaky comment that could just be shrugged off as innocent,
it's just deceit really, isn't it? That the envious put down, where envy will never be
admitted though, is just deceitful really, isn't it? The subtle seed sown to get what
you want, it's deceit, because you're not just coming out and saying it, instead I'm
just going to subtly angle it this way, to then try and then get what I want out of you.
But nowadays, you have people claiming to be saved, Bible-believing, Baptist Christians,
who will openly just encourage people to lie, will openly encourage other Christians to
just lie. And look, I'm sure if you started thinking about it, you'd probably even, sadly,
in our church here, or obviously where we were before, but we are the church, you know,
in Southend, you could probably look back at situations where there are people in this
church that said to you, just lie, just lie, you know, I've heard it, just say this to
your boss, just say this, just say this to your husband, why don't you just say this
to your husband, just tell your wife this, or don't tell brother Ian, or blah, blah,
and look, that stuff has happened around our church, I know it's happened because then
reports me, because they end up telling me the end, you know, when people say that, because
what on earth, why do Christians behave like that, why do people behave like that, and look,
some won't have been Christians, some were frauds, but do you know what the man with integrity says,
do you know what the woman with integrity says, do you know what the child with integrity says,
they say, all the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, my lips shall
not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit. That's how we should behave, that's how we should,
it shouldn't be something that we're so open, we're so brazen about it, that we'll just talk to
other Christians, go well you should just say this, just do this, well I just lied about that,
well I just thought I'd just lie to get out of this situation, your instinct reaction when
something affects your pride or your ego, is it just a lie, well I'll just lie about this,
well I'll just lie my way out of it, and so many people do it don't you, and just a quick
reminder on this one, I've said it before from the pulpit, just because someone can't prove
you're lying, doesn't mean you're not lying, how many times you come across people that do that,
they'll just lie to your face, but because you can't prove to them they're lying,
it's like well that's okay is it, no it's not okay because we both know you're lying,
yeah it's embarrassing isn't it, and look some people might have that automatic reaction to do
that in situations, but you need to get a hold of yourself and go no sorry that's not actually true,
yeah it's something that we look, we as Christians need to make sure we don't have that as part of
our character, because that is not integrity is it, it's not integrity at all, how many people do
that, and it's a far cry isn't it, how we want to be, how Job is here is a far cry from the world
that we live in today, where deceit is everywhere you look isn't it, absolutely everywhere, and look
I'm not going to go into one because I don't think you even need that preaching, it's everywhere,
deceit every angle, it's just encouraged, it's just fair game, it's par for the course,
I was just talking to a brother before church just mentioned what the sermon title was, he's telling
me about people from his you know work, he turns up at a job and the office have just been
telling lies about why they couldn't get to this job, and you're just on the spot where they're
going so what's your excuse this time, you're thinking what on earth, because that's just standard
isn't it, standard just work for deceitful people, being around deceitful people, and it's tiring,
it's tiring dealing with lies isn't it, it tires me out, I can't stand it, I hate being around
these sorts of people, it's just frustrating, it's tiring, you can't go you're lying, because then
they have this mock offense as well even though we both know they're lying, people that just lie
through their teeth and they're everywhere, they're everywhere, whose instinct reaction is just to lie,
like I said everything just just quick lie, quick lie, you know lie their way out of this, lie their
way out of that, well turn to Proverbs chapter 6 because did you know that God hates lying,
anyone know that, because you wouldn't believe it, you wouldn't believe it sadly probably
in most churches today, no God does hate lying, he abhors it, he despises it,
yet so many Christians, so many Christians will condemn the smoker, so many Christians will
condemn the swearer, so many Christians will condemn the non-homeschooler, all things based
on principles in the bible, yes, yet they will then openly encourage a sin that is clear as day
in the bible, clear as day, it's clear as day that we shouldn't lie, yet they love to condemn the
things which there isn't, a thou shalt, a thou shalt not, or something clear as day in the bible,
yet and they're just open liars and it is lie through their teeth and it's a serious sin, look
at Proverbs 6 and verse 16, these six things that the Lord hate, yea seven are an abomination unto
him, a proud look, a lying tongue, second on the list, a lying tongue, he hates it, these six things
does the Lord hate, they're an abomination unto him, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent
blood, and heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false
witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren, now notice how it's six
things and then it turns to seven, the seventh is he that soweth discord among brethren isn't it,
for me is that, and I believe that the discord sower, the division cause is usually made up of
these other six things on this list, and in my experience that's what I generally see is those
other six things being part of the division cause of the he that soweth discord among brethren,
and God hates it, it's an abomination unto him, now God hates a lying tongue, that's why back in
Joe 27 he said, if you go back to Joe 27, Job said my lips in verse 4 shall not speak wickedness
nor my tongue utter deceit, okay that's something we should be saying right, my lips shall not speak
wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit, and I include children here as well, okay it's serious,
oh well they're just kids they're gonna lie through their teeth, no, no it's serious,
it's serious, that that's that behavior should get a thrashing, something shouldn't, but that
behavior should get a thrashing, we should be teaching, we should be drilling integrity into our
into our family, shouldn't we men, yeah, mums as well should be drilling that into their children,
integrity, my lips shall not speak wickedness nor my tongue utter deceit,
God forbid that I should justify you, till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me,
God forbid that I should justify you, he said, because his friends like most people want to be
justified when telling you how sinful that you are, don't they, yeah they want to be justified,
they want to somehow have a reason to be telling you, yeah so-called Christian, so-called Christian
but he calls in sick to work when there's nothing wrong with him, yeah, so-called Christian but he
pretends there's traffic every time he's late, she pretends there's traffic every time she's
late to every appointment, every meeting, it's apparently always traffic, and that gets a bit
tiring that off for a while doesn't it, it's just leave earlier right, yeah, so-called Christian
but she's constantly making me feel small, so-called Christian but she always just somehow
comes out with some little comment, some little dig to make me feel crap about myself,
so-called Christian but they lie to their parents about what they're doing, so-called Christian but
amongst their friends they lie about where they are, why they're not home yet etc, when you talk
about older kids especially, but those with integrity say God forbid that I should justify you,
God forbid that I should justify those that want to find fault in me,
till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me, that's something that we should have as a
motto, who removes your integrity by the way, who removes it, is it the upbringing, is it the
the school system, is it the media, no, till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me,
you do, it's your choice, it's up to you ultimately, there's no one else to blame for it,
it's you that removes your integrity, it's you that has to choose to say till I die I will not
remove mine integrity from me, it's you who removes it, it's you who doesn't remove it,
it's up to you, it's no good blaming other people, it's no good blaming whatever it is,
blaming your you name it, your mental health, blaming your whatever it is, that's why I cannot
be where I said I'm going to be, that's why I cannot just do what I said I was going to do,
no it's you, you remove it, you have to take responsibility, that's who it comes down to,
it's you, till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me, that's what we should be saying,
the bad influences can't remove it, the world can't remove it, the tribulation you're in can't
remove it, it's you that chooses to remove it, it's you that chooses to lie, it's you that
chooses to just forego any moral uprightness you felt you had, it's you, that's who it comes down
to, he said in verse 6, my righteousness I hold fast and will not let it go, my heart shall not
reproach me so long as I live, so that's holding onto your righteousness as tight as you can,
yeah, that's how the person with integrity thinks, yeah, that's how they think, they think no I will
not let it go, I'm holding it fast, I will be righteous, I will live right, I will resist sin,
I will follow God's commandments, I will not let my righteousness go, that's someone with integrity
isn't it, is that someone with integrity, but shouldn't we all have integrity, we're all God's
people, we all have the word of God, what did Job have, what did Job have at that point, nothing like
we do, a complete word of God, did Job have it being preached to him, Wednesday, Sundays, I don't know,
I don't know, there's some different theories of when Job lived, but I tell you what, he didn't have
the full word of God, he didn't have the indwelling Holy Spirit, yeah, we have more reason than Job to
be able to say that, to be able to say till I die I will not remove my integrity from me, but how many
of us will find excuses, how many people in this room now will find excuses as to why they're
justified in lying through their teeth, why they're justified in just giving up on that particular
part of holiness, well that bit, well I'm just not that good at that, well you know I've got
an excuse for that, it's not good enough is it, it's not good enough, I will not let my righteousness
go is what you're saying here, my righteousness I hold fast and will not let it go, because that's
something we hear a lot isn't it, it's just, well that's just me, you know, that's the way I was
raised, that's the way I am, I didn't come from a Christian background so it's okay to behave like
this, but it's not is it, it's not okay, and if that is the case, if you're sitting there going
yeah but I didn't have a pretty rough, because some people maybe had a rough upbringing right,
yeah maybe you sat, maybe look actually you don't know what my parents were like brother Ian, yeah,
you don't know what I had to put up with, you don't know what I did, what's happened in my life,
you don't know any of that, well I tell you what, you better work even harder then you sluggard,
that's what I see, that's what I see, well then work harder at it, yeah, then you better,
you better play catch-up, well you don't know what it's like for me, so I'm going to go and sit at
home and watch tv all night, I'm going to sit at home and, and oh well you don't know what it's
like for me, that's why I can't be my, no that means read your Bible more, that means read your
Bible more, that means come to church more, that means pray more, that means work harder, that's
what it means isn't it, there are no excuses, get your mentality right and start saying,
my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live, or I shall have a good conscience as long as I
live, that's what I believe that's saying, I shall have a good conscience so long as I live,
look you're going to make mistakes okay, in case anyone's sitting here thinking I'm preaching a
sermon where right that's it from this point onwards no one should ever sin again, I'm not
talking about that, you're going to have, have bad moments but you know what those with integrity
do, they raise the bar, they put the bar up here, they don't lower it, they don't lower it and go
well hey ho you know all have sinned, so I just carry on doing what I like, behaving how I like,
being dishonest, lying to people, you know not fulfilling my word, not turning up when I'm meant
to turn up, not doing what I'm meant to do, not behaving as I'm meant to behave because hey ho
we're all sinners, no some with integrity puts a bar up there and they're disappointed with
themselves every time they don't reach that bar, that's how we should be, till I die, till I die
I will not remove my integrity from me, so you get your mentality right, you start saying my
heart shall not reproach me so long as I live, they say, they say here if you have integrity,
they say my righteousness I hold fast and will not let it go, my heart shall not reproach me
so long as I live, and do you know that there are some clear benefits to having integrity,
there are clear benefits to being what someone would call someone with integrity,
I did a little study on this in the bible and I'm going to show you some of these benefits
you can see in the bible on this, so if you turn to Proverbs chapter 11,
like you know the title is I will not remove my integrity from me, okay that's a motto I want
everyone in this church to have, I will not remove my integrity from me, and number one,
number one you're turning Proverbs 11, integrity guides you, did you know that integrity guides
you, Proverbs 11 and verse 3 says the integrity of the upright shall guide them but the perverseness
of transgressors shall destroy them, the integrity of the upright shall guide them
but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them, so integrity can guide you as
opposed to being destroyed, how does it guide you, well turn to Psalm 26,
it helps you make decisions, for example from long-term ones like what job to apply for,
helps you make those sorts of decisions doesn't it, what job to apply for because you have
integrity and anything which makes you be dishonest, anything which makes you be morally
corrupt in any way is just ruled out straight away, straight away you've just been guided by
your integrity, you have integrity, you count integrity important that's already guided you
out of a lot of jobs that I could think of off the top of my hand, dishonest jobs, jobs involving booze
and things like this, gone, you're in Psalm 26 aren't you, I'm going to read Proverbs 20 and verse
17 which says bread of deceit is sweet to a man but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with
gravel, so it's not just the long-term ones, short-term ones, you know long-term ones for
example like jobs, bread of deceit, bread of deceit here is basically getting gain from deceit
from something which is dishonest okay, it might be sweet for a little bit but afterwards your mouth
shall be filled with gravel, it has a horrible taste in fact it's even worse for you and a lot
of the time God's going to end up as a child of God you're going to get chastised for it,
so when we're looking at jobs but short-term ones for example how do I deal with this awkward
question, how do I deal with this awkward question, someone with integrity well you don't lie yeah,
you don't try and deceive your way out of it, you don't have a little dishonest response, no someone
with integrity straight away they're guided as to what not to do in that situation, a lot of the
time narrows down your responses a lot right, integrity guides you in your business dealings
yeah and if you think I'm not some big businessman anyway, integrity guides you when you're in a shop
and someone tries to give you too much change, integrity guides you as to what you do, you give
them back the money, integrity guides you as to when you're selling something, maybe you're
someone who needs to sell, decides to sell things online on ebay or something else, integrity guides
you to not sell duds, to not rip people off, to not try and con people, integrity guides you,
integrity guides you to do the honest thing, integrity guides you that when you break something
when you have a little I don't know a little prank in the car park that you make sure that that
person knows, knows that you went into their car, you don't just try and sneak off, integrity guides
you in so many so many areas of life doesn't it, but if you don't have integrity you'll be the type
of person, well let's see what I can get away with, let's see if I can just dishonestly just
drive away, let's see if I can dishonestly get away with that extra change, dishonestly get away
with that thing that didn't get rung through by the cashier or whatever it is and there's so many
other areas aren't there, it guides you in your relationships doesn't it as well, integrity will
guide you in your relationships to be honest to your children, integrity would mean that you don't
start telling lies about people like Santa Claus and tooth fairies, if you have integrity you're
not going to teach that sort of thing are you, integrity means that you're going to be honest
to your spouse and they're going to be able to know that when you say what you say they
they can trust you right, yeah you have integrity as a man I would imagine that your wife's not
going to be wondering where you are every minute of the day if you have integrity
and I would imagine the other way around as well, you have integrity as a woman your husband's not
going to be constantly wondering what is she up to, what's she doing while I'm not around
because look we start to know when people have integrity and when they don't don't we,
you know deep down don't you know, a lot of the time you know when you first meet someone don't you
and let alone when you spend your life with someone, it also guides your way from backsliding
do you turn to Psalm 26 look at verse one, it's the psalm of David it reads judge me oh lord for I have
walked in mine integrity, sorry judge me oh lord for I've walked in my integrity I've trusted also
in the lord therefore I shall not slide, you show me a dishonest Christian, a Christian with no
integrity and I'll show you a backslider waiting to happen, okay that's a backslider waiting to
happen someone without integrity, someone without that moral uprightness, someone who just thinks
ah whatever, someone who lies through their teeth and and that's someone who's just they're basically
a backsliding around the corner, okay it's coming because it takes integrity not to backslide, okay
it takes some moral fibre, it takes some honesty to say no I know what the word of God says and I'm
not going to live like that, I'm not going to behave like that, I'm not going to go down that route
yeah I will not, it takes integrity for that right, backsliding he said here I've walked in mine
integrity I've trusted also in the lord therefore I shall not slide, I shall not slide and we want
to be able to say that as well don't we, I hope every Christian here won't say I shall not slide
yeah I shall not, it's not going to happen, not well we'll see what happens I'm sure I've got a
backsliding coming at some point, it won't be for too long and I'll get back into church at some
point, no I shall not slide said David here, turn to act six because do you know that integrity will
guide you into promotions in life as well, you know that integrity will guide you into promotions
in life, so in acts chapter six they're looking for deacons in the early church here in the early
new testament church, acts chapter six and we're going to look at verse three, act six three
it says wherefore brethren look ye out among you seven men of honest report
full of the holy ghost and wisdom whom we may appoint over this business, so they're looking
for deacons, they're looking for helpers to be able to serve tables as they call it, what was
the first quality on the list, men of honest report, men of honest report, look it's not just
in church work although in church work it is important isn't it, yeah you just want men of
honest report, you want people that that clearly amongst others they just see them as honest people
okay in fact it's really important in church work but every good employer wants that don't they,
yeah a good employer wants people that are honest, oh they might not be the fastest at the job but
they're honest, they might not be the fastest but they they won't pull sickies every other week,
they might not be the the best at this particular aspect of the job but when they say they're going
to be there they're going to be there right, when when they say they're going to do it they're going
to do it, when they're around things of value they're not going to rob it, when you ask them
a question they're just going to give you an honest answer, if they can't do a job they're
going to say I can't do a job, I just hate that, being around those people that just claim to be
experts in everything, oh they wind me up, so annoying, I used to employ someone like this,
everything that you ask him to do, I know exactly 100% I know how to do it and you get sucked into
it don't you, now I've got a bit wiser with this but when I was younger I just, oh well they've
said they've said they know what they're doing, must know what they're doing, look he's so adamant
and so often they don't have a clue, that's not integrity is it, they're lying because of their
ego, yeah we should just be honest, I don't know how to do something, I don't know how to do it,
no I don't actually know that very well, no no I don't, that's that's integrity isn't it,
okay and look that's what a good employer wants, someone that's honest, someone that's of honest
report, someone who has integrity and when you have that you're going to be guided aren't you,
you're going to be guided by your integrity into job opportunities, you're going to be guided into
promotions and that includes you might be guiding into certain church work, it might be certain
things outside the church but it comes from having integrity and people recognise about
that about you pretty quickly, now turn to Psalm 25, the title is I will not remove mine integrity
from me, number one integrity guides you, integrity guides you, number two integrity preserves you,
integrity preserves you, look at Psalm 25 and we're going to look from verse 15, Psalm 25
and verse 15 reads, mine eyes are ever toward the Lord for he shall pluck my feet out of the net,
turn thee unto me and have mercy upon me for I am desolate and afflicted,
so he said that he shall pluck my feet out of the net, he said he's desolate and afflicted,
the troubles of my heart are enlarged, I bring thou me out of my distresses, look upon mine affliction
and my pain and forgive all my sins, consider mine enemies for they are many and they hate me
with cruel hatred, keep my soul oh keep my soul and deliver me, let me not be ashamed for I put
my trust in thee, let integrity and uprightness preserve me for I wait on thee, in hard times,
in times of trouble, in times of persecution, integrity will preserve you, okay that's what
the Psalms is saying here, he's saying let integrity and uprightness preserve me for I wait
on thee and it's what will preserve us in those times, we're all going to have hard times, we're
all going to have tribulation, we're all going to have persecution if you're living right or you
let you know if you live sorry all you that live rights of Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution,
I haven't butchered that, look we're going to suffer it okay, we're going to suffer it, well
being able to say no I'm not in some serious sin, God isn't chastising me is is is a big part of
that isn't it, yeah you want to be able to say that don't you, you want to be able to say look
I I know I know I'm not like Job said look I know I'm not doing something about I'm not oh I don't
know probably yeah probably chastise but you want to be able to say look I know this is tribulation
I know this is persecution, I know that this is because of you know this isn't because of
something I've done, I know it's not because I'm in some serious wickedness, I know that it's not
because I was in serious wickedness last week but I'm not this week so I'm not so sure, is this still
is this delayed chastisement, no you want to be able to look back and go no I'm trying to live
for God, my heart is right, I'm upright, I have integrity, I'm honest, I'm trying to live right
and okay I'm going through through some tribulation yeah I know God will deliver me
yeah and that that comes from having integrity doesn't it, integrity
will preserve you in those situations because the devil and his people are going to be accusing you
aren't they, yeah you notice that when you do go through tribulation and persecution people will
be trying to accuse you, people will accuse you of this, accuse you of that, accuse you of making
up this or being that or changing this or doing whatever they want to do they're going to try and
accuse you aren't they but you want to be able to say no I know I know I've done right, I know I've
been honest in this situation, I know I've been honest in in all the past situations I can even
think about because I have integrity yeah that's how we want to live don't we want to be able to
look back and that will preserve you in those situations, having enough integrity to not turn
on God when times are hard okay that takes integrity doesn't it because really it's honesty
it's it's it's being able to go look I know what the word of God says I know that I am going to go
through things I know that I'm not beyond that oh I'm not so good that I'm not going to go through
tribulation in life okay and that takes some integrity not to just suddenly no and start
shaking your fist and and and cussing out God for whatever it is you're going through it takes
integrity doesn't it to get through to to to be preserved in those hard times turn to Genesis
chapter 20 because your integrity can also prevent God's chastisement because God doesn't just look
on the outward appearance does he yeah God knows what's in your heart God tries the heart and he
tries the reigns well Psalm 26 11 while you're turning to Genesis 20 says but as for me I will
walk in mine integrity redeem me and be merciful unto me okay when we're walking our integrity we
can say Lord please be merciful unto me well God will be merciful when you walk in your integrity
now in Genesis chapter 20 we look from the from the beginning of the chapter Abraham pulls this
kind of famous dishonest stunt that he'd done earlier on in his life claiming that Sarah is
his sister in case anyone tries to kill him for her now what's a bit strange about Genesis 20
is that I think she's pretty old at this point okay so this isn't like back in I think Genesis
12 or 13 wherever it is before when when okay she's this young lady I mean at this point she's
she's she's gone on a lot of years so I think he's just got in the habit of this lie because
lies do do that don't they you just kind of just get in a habit when you start lying about
something that becomes habit for me right well and who knows how many times he's done this before
maybe this is just what he did and he just gets used to it even when Sarah's going into her 90s
but regardless he basically says she's his sister so look at verse one Abraham journeyed from thence
toward the south country and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur and sojourned in Girah and
Abraham said of Sarah his wife she is my sister and Abimelech king of Girah sent and took Sarah
but God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him behold thou art but a dead man for the
woman which thou has taken for she sorry for the woman which thou has taken for she is a man's wife
but Abimelech had not come near her and he said lord wilt thou slay also a righteous nation
said he not unto me she is my sister and she even she herself said he is my brother
in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this so Abimelech here is
saying I didn't know it wasn't malicious it was an honest mistake and we can all make mistakes
can't we in life yeah anyone here think they're beyond making a mistake no we can all make
mistakes but it's better when it's honest and you can still claim integrity of your heart yeah
when you make an honest mistake you make an error you make a mistake something that you didn't know
before it wasn't a presumptuous sin it was something that you didn't really understand
you got wrong you can say look in the integrity of my heart I made that mistake God's going to look
at that differently isn't he well look at verse six and God said unto him in a dream yeah I know
that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart for I also withheld thee from sinning against me
therefore suffered I thee not to touch her now therefore restore the man his wife for he is a
prophet he shall pray for thee and thou shalt live and if thou restore her not know thou that
thou shalt surely die thou and all that are thine so God lets him off because integrity preserves
you doesn't it in fact God's preserved him because it was in the integrity of his heart and and
didn't let him do that sin didn't let him basically lie with with Abraham's wife so
integrity preserves you we saw that integrity guides you turn to proverbs chapter 20 the title
is I will not remove mine integrity from me integrity guides you integrity preserves your
number three integrity blesses those around you integrity blesses those around you so proverbs
chapter 20 and verse 7 I actually have this this verse on my notice board my wife gave it to me a
while back which I think um you know it's a great verse of the bible I really like this verse
and it says this the just man walketh in his integrity his children are blessed after him
the just man walketh in his integrity his children are blessed after him why are his children blessed
because a man with integrity won't be running after some flattering Jezebel will he yeah how
about that how about a man with integrity won't even contemplate that flattering whore that might
come up at some point in his life right maybe at multiple times his life because a man with
integrity won't be gambling away the monthly house rent will he a man with integrity won't be going
up the bookies won't be going down the casino won't be on the online roulette with the monthly
house rent behind everyone's back deceiving people with whatever addiction he has a man with
integrity won't be getting sacked from every job he has yeah a man with integrity a man with
integrity won't be doing many many things that you could think about that that that will eventually
ruin his family yeah a man with integrity won't be in some sneaky deceitful sin behind everyone's
back sneaking off spending his his days or his evenings away pretending he's still at work and
the rest of it man with integrity won't do that because quick kids do quickly learn whether or not
their parents are honest don't they kids learn it quickly okay they see it quickly look they're
around you a lot of hours of each day yeah if you're dishonest if you're constantly trying to
pull the wool over people's eyes if you just your in-seat reaction is to lie when you're caught out
on something look kids pick up on that quickly okay and a man with integrity doesn't do that
does he a man with integrity won't do that because children learn from their parents don't they
so it's not just that well those kids are going to be happier not thinking well dad's just a filthy
liar mum's just a liar and god hates lying so god hates mum and dad because they just lie all the
time well it's not just that but the kids learn it as well don't they well those children are blessed
because people without integrity most of the time will raise children without integrity okay now
there are exceptions to the rule okay it's not always the way but a lot of the time look that's
how we learn don't we that's how children learn they learn from example most of the time you could
tell them don't lie don't lie don't lie you can tell tell them be honest be honest beyond you
can tell them you know be morally upright be morally upright but if you're just this terrible
example that's what they're going to learn from so the just man walketh in his integrity
his children are blessed after him well turn to first kings nine because it's not just that
they're going to hopefully learn that from their parents but it's not just them because integrity
can get passed down from generation to generation or alternatively you can just remove that
integrity from the generations following you first kings nine we're going to see from verse
one solomon has just finished building the temple and this was an almighty task that took
uh many many years and it came to pass when solomon had finished the building of the house
of the lord and the king's house and all solomon's desire which which he was pleased to do this is
first kings nine verse one that the lord appeared to solomon the second time as he had appeared
unto him at gibeon and the lord said unto him i have heard thy prayer and thy supplication
that thou has made before me i have hallowed this house which thou has built to put my name
there forever and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually and if thou wilt walk before
me as david thy father walked in integrity of heart and in uprightness to do according to all
that i have commanded thee and will keep my statutes and my judgments then i will establish
the throne of thy kingdom upon israel forever as i promised to david thy father saying there shall
not fail thee a man upon the throne of israel so the offer was there if he had walked in integrity
of heart and in uprightness then we see in verse six it includes his children doing that as well
well it didn't really matter because solomon had already failed okay solomon failed by the end of
his life solomon at the end of his life he stopped walking in integrity started seeking after false
gods false idols it seemed that that all his many wives led his heart astray led his heart
to these false gods but again ultimately who was to blame solomon right it was his he basically
didn't uphold he didn't keep hold of his integrity did he and solomon eventually he ends up going in
a bad way but had he done that had he done that and had his children continued to do that well
it said here that then i will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon upon israel forever as i
promised to david thy father saying there shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of israel so
look we as we as parents and i include mothers here as well we can be a blessing to our family
yeah that that can be inherited down and if they continue to to walk right they can be a blessing
to their family or we can be a cursing or we can just cut that blessing we can just stop that we
can we can look we can end up we can end up being sadly the reason that further generations don't
end up getting saved oh well i've got my kids saved that's right yeah but you you live a wicked
life you're you're dishonest people are look at you thinking you know can i even trust what that
person says they're dishonest they have no integrity their morals stink and then what
happens to that child the likelihood is they might be saved but they might end up following
in the same way they're more likely to do that and then what happens further down the line does
it just do people keep getting saved or do the things that god become less important is it harder
for them to even to even know how to preach the gospel a generation or two down the line
look and when you read the bible have you ever noticed how important it is for the people of
the bible what will happen to their seed after them we should care about that shouldn't we
because that's a big responsibility you know when you have children you're you're basically
you're starting a new line aren't you or at least you're continuing your line and that line that
seed that's coming from you that's an important thing that's the important thing your sons your
son's sons your son's son's sons and and i mean children here including daughters look we want
to be making sure that we're putting into the world through those children people that are
going to make a difference are going to be not only get saved but also go and get other people
saved they're going to serve god they're going to do the things of god yet how many people just
say ah whatever whatever with the kids whatever with the grandkids look it blesses those around
us so it can curse those around us but it's not just our children either you know that that our
integrity will affect others that we want to get saved as well turn to first peter two those those
unbelieving family members want to speak against you as evildoers don't they and we should be like
joe who said god forbid that i should justify you god forbid that i should justify you those that
want to speak against you well first peter chapter two we see that something else happens when we're
honest when we have integrity first peter 211 says dearly beloved i beseech you as strangers
and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lust which war against the soul having your conversation which
is your behavior honest among the gentiles that whereas they speak against you as evildoers
they made by your good works which they shall behold glorify god in the day of visitation
so there are many here that might say my family member rejected the gospel what do i do do i just
keep like making them hear it week in week out say to yourself i will not remove my integrity
from me how about that say i will not remove my integrity from me they're going to see my
conversation my behavior that's honest among the gentiles they're gonna they might speak
against me as an evildoer but they may buy my good works which they shall behold glorify god in the
day of visitation no that's that's one of the best things you can do yeah you need to preach
in the gospel but you want to be a shining light right don't you yeah let your lights
they shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven
and and look it's not yeah yeah we we have to preach in the gospel okay we don't want to go
too far and become like the liberal sissy church where they're like just be a shining light be a
shining light and never mention don't even i might mention god once you know don't want to put fish
on my car and then that will solve it that's a bit of soul winning isn't it no obviously we don't
want to go that far but we do need to be a shining light as well right okay they'll take a little bit
of truth and go run away the other way with it but we should be a shining light and we do that
by having integrity we do that by being morally upright and that's the best thing you can do you
have those people that are just well you know not interested family members they could be close
family members sometimes it just reject the word of god it's gutting isn't it well i'll tell you what
make sure you have integrity make sure you're upright it is another thing they're more likely
to listen and believe you right aren't they they're more likely to believe what you're saying and i
know it's a spiritual thing ultimately but you know what they're more likely to at least hear you
and have some respect for what you're saying if every other thing that comes out your mouth isn't
a lie if they're not sitting there going oh is he is he telling the truth again right now because
he lies about everything else he lies about why he couldn't come around he lies about why he was
late he lies about why what you know why he hasn't come into work today but but i'm going to listen
to him now when he's talking about god no have have some integrity and i'll tell you what it'll
help your soul winning in your personal life as well won't it and in fact it's not just the the
the uh our personal life as well it should also go for when we're out soul winning when we're out
soul winning be upright be honest don't lie to gain access to flats how about that one don't
like how many how many christians think that's okay oh i'll just lie through the tannoy and
tell them i'm whoever i'm a pizza delivery man to get to get access to flats there are people from
my church they've done stuff that's not okay yeah have it like the bible says to have integrity
doesn't it be honest god hates lying i don't want it look if if i can't get in without lying well
then i then i'll go somewhere else yeah i only have limited time anyway okay be honest and look
if you're out there and you're encouraging people to do that and you're going soul winning from this
church you're saying people are i remember some of the wicked guys that we kicked out was trying
to tell me to get a skeleton key to let ourselves into people's flats can you imagine how that's
going to look oh how did you get in or someone sees you coming in with a skeleton key wait a
second what you're from the local church yeah and they were honestly trying to persuade me to get
say no that's not that is not a good advertisement for our church letting ourselves into locked
flats with skeleton keys but in the same way lying to get yourself in how about we're giving out some
church we're giving out some christian literature we're giving out some flight we're from a local
baptist church whatever it is yeah but how about tell the truth but look because it's important
isn't it i'll think about another one as well lying about how long it will take now hear me
out on this yeah yeah you don't have to say look by the way it's likely to take 45 minutes to an
hour if you're a little bit funny about hearing the gospel and and there's nothing wrong with
saying to someone have you got five minutes because ultimately they need to have five minutes yeah
okay but don't say to them this will only take me five minutes okay because that's a lie isn't it
okay is that a good start no because it gets to the 15 20 25 30 minute mark they're thinking
this guy's a liar he told me it was only going to take five minutes now i will say to someone
have you got five minutes i'll show you but then at some point i'm going to say look do you have
longer or look look now that you've heard like this can i show you some more yeah how about that
instead of oh it'll only take have you got a couple of minutes it'll only take it'll only
take me two minutes 35 minutes later and you're trying to hammer home you know total security
and they're like what on earth what happened to the two and then you got to yeah well basically i
lied i lied because i wanted you to is that okay it's not okay is it yeah we want to have some
integrity don't we have some integrity be honest when you knock on that door tell them where you're
from as well from shore foundation but look it's just something because this is something i've
heard as well from different people as well can i just make this clear okay when you knock on the
door for shore foundation baptist church uk okay we're knocking from shore foundation baptist
church uk and we're giving out church invites that's why we're knocking okay not whatever like
whatever you want some other stuff you want to say that no we're giving out that's why we're
knocking on the door because we're giving out church invitations now after that yeah we want
to get people saved but first thing please just without like the sort of hey you know we're
knocking and then it's like we're for sure foundation baptist church and then start talking
about i don't know the word of god and is it look it's a church invite that's why we've got church
invites that's our icebreaker okay the church invite show them the church invite show them what
you know about the church it's a really for me it's been a great icebreaker local here okay
and people look we're a local church we're in the area we've just been planted that's fine yeah
and then start start preaching to them if you can the gospel then make then then pretty quickly
after showing them the church invite ask them the key question yeah okay and look and that's
all honest isn't it yeah we are giving you a church yeah we'd love you to come to our church
look i'd love you to come on safe to our church as well because then we'll try and get you saved
when you're here okay nothing wrong with that that's what we're doing we're inviting people
to our church but we're hoping we can get them saved on the doorstep yeah but with that let's
let's be honest about it yeah don't don't break into people's flats don't uh don't con your way
into you know into a conversation and stuff don't pretend that you're just gonna you know and here's
another one okay and this is another one it's dishonest oh okay well can i just show you one
verse from the bible okay here's one verse from the bible now i'm going to speed talk
for 10 minutes and preach you five other verses before you get a word in edgeways to say stop
that's dishonest okay ask them sure if you show one verse you go can i continue great continue
can i just show you one verse from the bible for god so loved the world that he gave his only
begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life
right what that means is blah blah blah blah blah blah and this verse says this and this verse has
five ten minutes later and and they're just like you know the doors like the cracks getting smaller
smaller it's dishonest yeah like ask to show them a verse ask them if they want to continue okay so
point being we should have integrity that's when we're out so winning that's when it's with people
in our personal lives and it's up to them if if it's up to them if they want to hear us then okay
and they're not sitting there going or standing there thinking who is this dishonest person you
have to turn a second Corinthians 4 2 says but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty
not walking in craftiness not nor handling the word of god deceitfully but by manifestation of
the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of god now okay you could
obviously apply that to other things as well and people preaching false doctrine etc but you could
also apply that to just how we go and preach the gospel right not not you know we should renounce
hidden things of dishonesty we shouldn't walk in craftiness and we shouldn't handle the word
of god deceitfully okay and that includes trying to just find verses and just something to be
careful of and look it's something we all have to watch out for when we're preaching another thing
to remember that with integrity is not just trying to find a verse which props up something which
isn't in the bible yeah out of context and how many preachers do that oh well this verse backs
up what i already wanted to say let the bible let the bible guide what you want to say right okay
don't try and make the bible fit your point of view your point of view fits the bible right
okay so turn to psalm chapter seven we're going to finish up here the title is i will not remove
mine integrity from me number one integrity guides you number two integrity preserves you and number
three integrity blesses those around you okay integrity blesses those around you
and when we have integrity or at least we want to aim to have the sort of integrity that we'll
then be able to say like david did in psalm seven and verse eight the lord shall judge his judge the
people judge me oh lord according to my righteousness and according to mine integrity that is in me and
look that's the goal for everyone here isn't it that should be our goal that that we should we
should want to be able to say that god judged me according to mine integrity that's not according
to my absolute perfectness as we'd use the word perfect today that's not saying right of perfection
or having you you know the correct grammar on that that's not trying to say that it's not trying to
say that we will never get a thing wrong but that's saying look are you doing things with
them on this heart are you doing things with an upright an attempt not to say not to just
presumptuously see not to just just be dishonest when it suits you and if you are doing that you
should be able to say judge me our lord according to my righteousness according to mine integrity
that is in me that was i will not remove my integrity from it let's pray father i thank you
uh i thank you for for your word and i thank you for the the you know the clear teachings you give
us about the sort of characters that we should have as christians the sort of characters which
are lacking sadly in so many people in the world today but also in so many christians in the world
today who who just seem to not even put any importance on on things like integrity on honest
on honesty and just being upright in our morals and holding you know our righteousness fast and
lord i pray that you help our church to to make you know to put that as something important in
our lives to everyone here to want to have integrity to want to be known as being people
with integrity to not just just you know think that it's not important and and lord i i pray
that you help us to to show that integrity when we go out today and and follow your clear command to
go and preach the gospel to every creature help us to to to make an effort to go and do that to
soul win to to also return this evening for for for this evening's service as well and lord we
pray that you just just bless our church lord bless those that we come across today
help us get many people saved in jesus name we call this amen