Pastor's Notes
March 2017
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The Benefits of Integrity
Let’s be realistic – none of us will change unless we understand the value of change. If I am going to be a person of integrity I must understand the value of integrity. I have to understand its value to determine if it is worth the price I must pay to be a person of integrity. Let’s take a few minutes to examine the benefits of integrity.
1. INTEGRITY PROVIDES ME WITH PROTECTION. (Less fear)
May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in you. ~ Psalm 25:21
We have less fear and less stress because we do not have to look over our shoulder all of the time.
We don’t have to remember the lies we’ve told.
2. INTEGRITY PROVIDES US WITH SECURITY. (Greater confidence)
People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed. ~ Proverbs10:9
If you walk with integrity, what you do provides a firm foundation for your life.
3. INTEGRITY PROVIDES US WITH GUIDANCE. (Better decisions)
Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people. ~ Proverbs 11:3
In a society without moral absolutes anything goes.
But mark it down; eventually you will get caught in your dishonesty. It will come back to bite you.
If you live in integrity then your decisions are easier to make – your integrity guides you.
4. INTEGRITY PROVIDES US WITH HOPE. (Future rewards)
Doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence?
Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope? ~ Job 4:6
Hope for what?
Hope refers to the absolute certainty of future good.
So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. ~ 1 Peter 1:13
We must be intentional in our mind.
Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. ~ Ephesians 6:14
Spurgeon refers to it as “pulling ourselves together.”
It’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work.
Mental laziness leads to moral laxity because loose thinking leads to lose living.
Is being a person of integrity worth the price I must pay? ABSOLUTELY!!!