LIVE WITH INTEGRITY

LIVE WITH INTEGRITY

Series: “Back to the Table” part 8

Sunday, August 9, 2020

Dr. Chris Vaught. Sr. Pastor

Exodus 20: 15—Do not steal.

Integrity defined:  

1. What the Bible teaches…

      a. In the Law:

Leviticus 6: 1-7—The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “When someone sins and offends the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in regard to a deposit, a security, or a robbery; or defrauds his neighbor;…4 once he has sinned and acknowledged his guilt—he must return what he stole or defrauded, … He will make full restitution for it and add a fifth of its value to it…. 6 Then he is to bring his guilt offering to the Lord:… 7 In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf before the Lord, and he will be forgiven for anything he may have done to incur guilt.”

       b. By Jesus:

Mark 10: 19—You know the commandments: Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do. not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.

       c. By Paul:

Romans 13: 9—T he commandments, Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not covet and any other commandment, are summed up by this commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

2. God’s Warning about Stealing:

1 Corinthians 6: 10—Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

3. How do we Steal?

     a.   Business Dealings

Proverbs 11: 1—Dishonest scales are detestable to the Lord, but an accurate weight is Hs delight.

    b.  By not our .

Leviticus 19:13—Do not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages due a hired worker must not remain with you until morning.

      c.  By from God.

Malachi 3:8 (ESV) — Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ in your tithes and contributions.”

4. 3 Truths to Remember:

1. We are being .

Proverbs 15:3—The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Watching the evil and the good.

Quote: “Values aren’t taught, they are Caught!”

2. We what we .

Galatians 6: 7-8—Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Proverbs 21: 6—The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.

Proverbs 28:20—A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.

3.  Stealing our Testimony.

1 Timothy 6:10—For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Proverbs 10:2—Ill-gotten gains do not profit anyone, but righteousness rescues from death.

5. What we are called to do:

     a.  Be , not .

Luke 3: 13-14—Jesus told them, “ He told them, “Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.” Some soldiers also questioned him, “What should we do?” He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

6. Here is the Good News!    is available!

1 Corinthians 6:11—And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Luke 19:8—But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.”

BIG TAKE-AWAY

When we live with integrity, We !

Leviticus 19: 35-37—God speaking, “Do not be unfair in measurements of length, weight, or volume. 36 You are to have honest balances, honest weights, an honest dry measure, and an honest liquid measure;  I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.  Keep all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them; I am the Lord.”

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If you are ready to receive Jesus as Savior and make Him the Lord of your life, just pray something like this:

Jesus, I’m giving up control of my life.  Please forgive me of my sins and take control. I ask You to be the Lord of my life. I believe You died for my sins, rose from the dead, and are coming back someday. I want to live my life for You. Thank You for giving me another chance to make things right.  AMEN

If you said a prayer like that today, text “NEXT” to 340-4037.