Walking with Integrity

Summary

The sermon emphasizes the importance of living a righteous life and walking with integrity, as outlined in four scriptural passages. It discusses the concept of righteousness, which includes living uprightly, being truthful, and showing compassion. The preacher highlights the struggle between human desires and divine guidance, urging listeners to make righteous choices and trust in God's plan. Drawing from passages in Ezekiel, Psalms, Second Corinthians, and the Gospel, the sermon calls for surrendering to God's will, avoiding unrighteous actions, and being a living example of integrity for future generations.

Takeaways

• 🙏 The sermon emphasizes the importance of righteousness and integrity in one's life, drawing from various passages of the holy scriptures.
• 🔍 Righteousness is defined as living an upright, truthful, and compassionate life, which includes giving to the poor and needy, and treating all with respect and dignity.
• 🚶‍♂️ 'Walking with Integrity' means embodying all aspects of righteousness in daily life, such as being truthful, just, and loving towards others.
• 🛑 The sermon warns against the pursuit of personal gain through unrighteous means, which can lead to moral downfall and spiritual peril.
• 📜 In Ezekiel, it is stated that living a righteous life leads to life, while unrighteousness leads to death, underscoring the eternal consequences of our choices.
• 🕊 Psalm 146 highlights the importance of trusting in God rather than in the fragile plans and thoughts of humans, which can lead to unrighteous actions.
• ✝️ Second Corinthians discusses the idea of surrendering one's own thoughts and plans to God to avoid falling into unrighteous ways and to maintain integrity.
• 🤔 The sermon encourages self-reflection, asking whether our outward actions match our inward thoughts and whether we are living a life of integrity.
• 🐟 The gospel passage about Jesus and Peter teaches the lesson of humility and the creative ways God provides for our needs, even using a fish to pay the temple tax.
• 🙌 The sermon concludes with a call to action to surrender to God, trust in His creative provision, and to live as an example of integrity for future generations.

Q & A

What is the main theme of the sermon based on the provided transcript?

The main theme of the sermon is the importance of living a righteous life with integrity, as guided by the holy scriptures.

What does the term 'righteousness' refer to in the context of the sermon?

In the context of the sermon, 'righteousness' refers to living an upright life that is truthful, just, compassionate, and good, including giving to the poor and needy, and treating others with respect and dignity.

How does the sermon define 'walking with integrity'?

Walking with integrity, according to the sermon, means embodying all aspects of righteousness in one's life, such as being truthful, just, and loving towards others, and it is likened to walking like Christ.

What role do choices play in living a righteous life, as discussed in the sermon?

Choices play a crucial role in living a righteous life, as they determine whether one is living righteously or falling into unrighteous ways. The sermon emphasizes the importance of making choices that align with righteousness.

Why do people sometimes fall into unrighteous ways according to the sermon?

People sometimes fall into unrighteous ways because they are in pursuit of achieving or gaining something, like money, respect, or position, and they resort to unrighteous methods to achieve these goals.

What does the sermon suggest about the consequences of living an unrighteous life?

The sermon suggests that living an unrighteous life leads to perishing, both in the sense of spiritual and possibly physical death, as one falls into their own sins and wrongdoings.

How does the sermon relate the story from Ezekiel to the concept of righteousness?

The sermon relates the story from Ezekiel by stating that if one lives a righteous life, they will live, but if they live an unrighteous life, they will perish, emphasizing the simplicity and directness of this principle.

What does the sermon say about trusting in God's timing and plan?

The sermon states that often people fail to follow righteous ways because they don't trust in God's timing and plan, instead relying on their own fragile thoughts and plans or the influence of others.

How does the sermon interpret St. Paul's words in 2 Corinthians regarding thoughts and righteousness?

The sermon interprets St. Paul's words in 2 Corinthians as a call to surrender all thoughts and plans that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, to avoid falling into unrighteous ways and to walk with integrity.

What lesson does the sermon draw from Jesus' interaction with Peter about paying the temple tax?

The sermon draws a lesson about humility and righteousness from Jesus' interaction with Peter, highlighting that Jesus chose not to offend others and demonstrated creative ways to fulfill obligations while living among them.

What is the final call to action for the congregation in the sermon?

The final call to action is for the congregation to surrender all unrighteous thoughts and choices, trust in God's creative provision, and live a life of integrity and righteousness as an example for future generations.

Outlines

00:00

📜 Introduction to Righteousness and Integrity

The speaker begins by invoking the Holy Trinity and emphasizes the importance of seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit to understand the scriptures. The focus is on righteousness and integrity as themes for the day, derived from the church's selection. The speaker outlines the concept of righteousness as living an upright, truthful, and compassionate life, which includes giving to the poor and respecting others. The idea of walking with integrity is introduced as a holistic approach to embodying these virtues in daily life, akin to walking in the footsteps of Christ. The speaker also touches on the human tendency to resort to unrighteous means to achieve personal goals, cautioning against this and advocating for making choices that align with a righteous life.

05:00

📗 Consequences of Righteous and Unrighteous Living

Drawing from the book of Ezekiel, the speaker discusses the stark contrast between living righteously and falling into unrighteousness. The message is clear: righteousness leads to life, while unrighteousness leads to spiritual death. Examples are given to illustrate how small transgressions can escalate into significant wrongdoings, leading individuals to 'create their own hell' by continuously falling into the same patterns of misconduct. The speaker also references Psalm 146, highlighting the importance of trusting in God's plan and timing rather than relying on human frailties and worldly ambitions, which often lead to unrighteous paths.

10:01

📘 Trusting in God and Avoiding Misleading Paths

The speaker continues the discussion on righteousness by emphasizing the need to trust in God rather than following the misleading paths set by others. Using Second Corinthians, the speaker reflects on how even the wise and powerful St. Paul recognized the need to surrender his own thoughts and plans to God, acknowledging that human ideas are often not aligned with divine knowledge. The speaker encourages the congregation to introspect and challenge any unrighteous thoughts or plans they may harbor, urging them to surrender these to God to maintain a righteous life. The importance of living a life that is consistent both inwardly and outwardly is stressed, with the speaker reminding the audience to ensure their actions match their internal convictions.

15:02

📙 Jesus' Example of Righteousness and Humility

In this section, the speaker recounts the story of Jesus and Peter from the Gospel, focusing on Jesus' response to the question of paying temple tax. Despite being a high priest, Jesus instructs Peter to pay the tax to avoid offending others, demonstrating humility and righteousness. The speaker marvels at Jesus' creativity in using a fish to provide the necessary coin, highlighting God's ability to provide in unexpected ways. The speaker connects this story to the upcoming youth conference, encouraging trust in God for financial provision and other needs. The message is one of surrendering to God's will and trusting in His creative and abundant provision.

20:04

📔 Conclusion: Embracing Righteousness and Trusting in God

The speaker concludes by reiterating the importance of living a righteous life and trusting in God's creative power. They encourage the congregation to surrender any unrighteous thoughts and choices, and to refocus their lives on integrity. The speaker also stresses the importance of being living examples of integrity for the younger generations, so that the values of righteousness and trust in God are passed down. The prayer offered is for the strength to walk confidently in righteousness, to avoid the pitfalls of unrighteousness, and to live a life that reflects the teachings of the Holy Trinity.

Keywords

💡Righteousness

Righteousness in the context of the video refers to living an upright, truthful, and just life. It is connected to integrity and is a central theme throughout the passages discussed. The speaker emphasizes that righteousness is not about grand gestures but rather the small elements of life that reflect one's character. For instance, the speaker mentions giving to the poor and needy, being respectful, and treating others with dignity as examples of righteous actions.

💡Integrity

Integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. In the video, it is closely tied to righteousness and is seen as a way of life that involves being truthful, just, and compassionate. The speaker encourages the audience to walk with integrity, which means embodying these principles in daily life and being a living example for others to follow.

💡Unrighteousness

Unrighteousness is the opposite of righteousness and is used in the video to describe actions or choices that are unjust, dishonest, or morally wrong. The speaker warns against falling into unrighteous ways, such as stealing, gossiping, or pursuing personal gain at the expense of others. These actions lead to a downfall, as illustrated by the example of creating one's own 'hell' through unrighteous choices.

💡Trust in God

Trust in God is a recurring theme in the video, emphasizing the importance of relying on divine guidance rather than one's own fragile plans or the advice of others. The speaker highlights that trusting in God's timing and plan is crucial for living a righteous life. This is exemplified in the Psalms passage where the speaker discusses the futility of trusting in human plans and the necessity of trusting in God's everlasting nature.

💡Humility

Humility is portrayed as a key aspect of righteousness in the video, particularly in the story of Jesus and Peter paying the temple tax. Jesus' willingness to pay the tax despite being a high priest demonstrates humility and respect for societal norms. The speaker uses this example to teach that humility is not about self-importance but about considering others and living in harmony with one's community.

💡Creative Provision

Creative Provision is discussed in the context of God's ability to provide for His followers in unexpected and creative ways. The speaker references the story of Jesus instructing Peter to find a coin in the mouth of a fish to pay the temple tax, illustrating God's creativity. This concept is used to encourage the audience to trust in God's provision for their needs, whether financial, spiritual, or otherwise.

💡Surrender

Surrender is mentioned in relation to St. Paul's advice to cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. The speaker explains that surrendering one's thoughts and plans to God is essential for living a righteous life and avoiding unrighteous paths. It is about submitting to God's will and trusting in His guidance.

💡Eternal Life

Eternal life is contrasted with perishing in the video, with the speaker encouraging the audience to live righteously to achieve eternal life. It is presented as the ultimate goal for those who walk with integrity and righteousness. The speaker uses the example from Ezekiel, stating that living a righteous life leads to life, while unrighteousness leads to death, to emphasize this point.

💡Vulnerability

Vulnerability is discussed as a state where individuals may be more prone to making unrighteous choices. The speaker notes that during vulnerable times, people might resort to unrighteous means to achieve their goals or gain something they desire. This concept is used to caution the audience to be mindful of their actions and choices, especially during challenging times.

💡Living Examples

Living examples are mentioned as a way to pass on the values of righteousness and integrity to future generations. The speaker calls on the audience to be living examples for the youth and the community, demonstrating through their actions the principles they preach. This concept is integral to the video's message of walking with integrity and influencing others positively.

Highlights

The importance of seeking the Holy Spirit's guidance to understand and apply holy scriptures.

The theme for the day is 'Walk with Integrity', emphasizing righteousness and integrity in life.

Righteousness is defined as living an upright, truthful, and compassionate life.

Walking with integrity means embodying Christ-like attributes in daily life.

The necessity of making righteous choices in life to maintain a righteous life.

The human tendency to pursue goals through unrighteous means, leading to self-destruction.

Ezekiel's principle that righteousness leads to life, while unrighteousness leads to death.

The danger of small transgressions leading to a pattern of unrighteous behavior.

The importance of trusting in God's timing and plan rather than one's own fragile thoughts.

The Psalms' message that God is the ultimate sustainer, not human plans or thoughts.

The challenge of trusting in God instead of following the misleading paths of others.

St. Paul's advice to surrender all thoughts and plans to God to avoid unrighteous ways.

The transformative power of introspection and surrendering to God's will.

Jesus' example of humility and righteousness in paying the temple tax.

The creative ways God provides for our needs, as illustrated by the fish and temple tax story.

The call to trust in God's creativity and provision, rather than falling into unrighteous ways.

The importance of living as an example of integrity for the younger generation.

The conclusion that righteousness and integrity lead to eternal life, not self-created destruction.

Transcripts

glory be to the father to the son and to

the holy spirit

amen

seeking the help of the holy

spirit for all of us to learn from the

holy scriptures what is encouraging is

we are

here right

to see what God wants to mold each one

of us through the holy scriptures how he

wants to mold us through the passages

that we read today saying that short

introduction I would love to go into the

homely um taking us all through those

four passages and to try to get few

elements spiritual elements out of it

that can build our

life the topics selected or coined by

the holy church for today this Sunday is

walk with

integrity and all through these four

passages if you very carefully if you

have listen and I'm sure we all have

heard already very carefully if you have

heard through it we understand these two

words ringing constantly through these

passages the first one is

righteousness okay about righteous life

and of course that is connected to

integrity and all these four passages as

this particular Essence popping out all

through these four passages so what is

righteousness is what we have to

understand first to move forward right

righteousness we all know but to remind

each of us again righteousness is about

living an upright

life truthful being justful

compassionate being

good uh giving to the poor to the needy

being respectful giving dignity to of

subordinates or people a lot of things

like that etc

etc those it's not some big

huge gigantic thing that we talk about

sometimes we say about righteous life

small Elements of Life that we have to

be very careful of that sometimes we

fail to

realize um so what is walking with

Integrity walking with Integrity is to

have all of this together as part of our

life that means to walk upright to be

truthful to be justful to love your

neighbor to love your friends right in

your seminaries to love your brothers

your sisters help someone have all of

this together is what we call to walk

with integrity and it's not easy it's

not just this is a lot more added to it

which we can add through our daily

life which means simply to be like

Christ to walk like

Christ have all of his attributes and

characteristics

right and one of the thing that we need

or one of

the practice that we do to live a

righteous life or to walk with Integrity

is to make

choices through our lives there are a

lot of choices that we have to make in

order to live a righteous life these

choices are very important to say

whether we are living a righteous life

right but what are the human condition

is every now and

then what happens is we get to a point

that we do anything to achieve something

or to gain

something it can be sometimes money it

can be sometimes respect it can be

sometimes a position that we look for

sometimes a beauty

sometimes honor attention acceptance a

lot of things like that so we are in a

pursuit of achieving something or

gaining something and what happens

mostly is all of those methods we

usually use to gain something to achieve

something mostly ends up being

unrighteous all of these elements that

we try to gain or achieve because we

always aim to achieve right we always

want to be up there and to get up there

and to do something in life we try to

opt or choose again unrighteous

ways so it is very especially when we

are in our most vulnerable times we

choose to do that now let's getting into

the passage Ezekiel the four passages

keeping this in

mind

Ezekiel is a principle

if you live a righteous life you're

going to

live and not die but if if you living an

unrighteous lives if you go away from

righteousness if you are falling into

committing

wrongdoings you will fall into your own

sins you will fall into your own

wrongdoings and you will perish very

simple for us to understand okay let's

say some examples

sometimes we do some simple play in

order to cover up some things in our

life

right sometimes we do that sometimes

it's a stealing that we begin with a

small stealing just to begin with

sometimes in the corporate world or the

place we work we look for a you know

someone is thriving up you know someone

is going up and you somehow want you to

get to that level and you opt certain

choices in life to reach reach there it

can be an addiction even it can be a

minute gossip that you want to spread

about

someone that is all unrighteousness so

sometime what happens is all these

methodologies and choices we

choose we keep falling into the same

thing over and over again we keep

falling into this wrongdoings and we

perish we sometimes don't realize that

we say no we create our our own hell to

get up there and to do something in life

we try to get into certain ways of life

we keep doing it and we fall into our

own hell we create our own perish we

perish by

ourselves so very clearly Ezekiel says

righteousness if you live righteous you

live you you don't die you live it's

about eternity but if you are living an

unrighteous life like with all the

examples you know what is that in your

mind even in schools or colleges in your

work or wherever what happens is you're

creating your own hell you are

continuously falling into it and

perishing it and

perishing in Psalm 146 again if you talk

about

righteousness most of the time we fail

to follow righteous ways because we

don't trust in God we don't trust in his

timing we don't trust in his plan

but rather sometimes the other people in

our life or sometimes the things that we

think will work out we trust in that and

we fall into unrighteous ways because we

know our thoughts and our plans are very

fragile but we keep doing

it we fail to know that it's written in

the Psalms if you have carefully heard

if we fail to know that God is the one

who made Heaven and Earth he is the one

who restores he's above everything and

he Has the strength to do anything for

your life but problem is we don't trust

in him without trusting we do our own

methodology and sometimes it end up

being

unrighteous that's about some for

example we always turn to our people

there will be one closest family member

in your family will come and

say whisper some destruction into your

life and you fall for it without

trusting in God and you try to do what

they

say sometimes you say look at him look

at her this is how you have to go try

this way that way in order to reach out

there this methodology but what happens

is again it is a thought of people not

of God we are not trusting and we fall

into unrighteous ways sometimes it can

be any materialistic or anything that we

deal with in our daily life

sometimes we watch others around us if

if it is in school our own friends if it

is our the people we work with we watch

how they come up in life how they go

forward how they live their life in the

society we try to mimic them follow

their ways to get them to what we think

is the epitomy we try all of that but

the problem again is it's because we are

not trusting in God but again we are

fall falling into an unrighteous

ways you you know it's written in Psalms

if you listen carefully his breath shall

go out of him he shall return to his

Earth on that day his thought Shall

Perish that means each of the people we

trust in each of your friends my family

your family whoever you trust in the

problem is each of their thoughts are

going to perish one day when the breath

is out of their nostrils and they are

going to perish their thoughts are going

to be buried but only God is going to

sustain only God is going to be

Everlasting but the problem is still we

can't trust in God we follow other

people's um path which is sometimes very

misleading and we fall into unrighteous

ways let's trust in God to be sure that

we always keep and walk with

integrity and second Corinthians is very

interesting and we sang a lot of songs

about surrendering bringing everything

into captivity in second Corinthians St

Paul you know St Paul has all the power

he has the wisdom skill you know he is a

man out there has done a lot of things

very confident man but he says these

words and you can read it in the passage

cast down

arguments and every High thing that

exalt itself against the knowledge of

God bringing every thought to captivity

to The Obedience of

Christ a man of that caliber comes to a

point to say none of my thoughts or none

of my plans anything is going to lead me

to anyways but when I bring all of these

thoughts that I'm thinking about me is

the best when I bring all of that to

captivity understanding the fact that

even those thoughts which are high are

not something sometimes matching with

the knowledge of God so we break it and

bring it down to the Captivity so that

we don't fall into unrighteous ways but

we still hold on to righteous ways and

St Paul says it very clearly and even in

that passage there's a question he ask

each one of us I would urge you to ask

that question to yourself and I'll ask

myself do you look at things according

to the outward

appearance look and ask yourself Within

just look deep within and ask is there

any unrighteousness revolving around my

heart what are the thoughts that's going

around in my

heart if I look in a I get scared

because a lot of dirt inside a lot of

unrighteous ways I fear because I know

I'm going

to destroy myself if I'm going to hold

on to it because I know I'm going to

fall into unrighteous ways but still I

fail but we have to look into it there a

lot of rotten thoughts but if you look

outward and me also has all the actions

everything I'm doing but if you look

outward glorious beautiful brightest

light no one will ever realize what is

the rotten dirtiness deep within those

unrighteous thoughts deep

within

right this is where we have to

understand that St Paul says all of

those things that is revolving around

your heart and everything that is in you

leading you to any

unrighteousness it is your thinking that

it is high above everything but it is

for us to know as St Paul did we have to

bring everything into captivity and

surrender it before God so that we don't

fail and derail and fall into

unrighteous ways we heard the songs

today sung it's all about consecrate my

life I surrender all because St Paul

with that caliber said that because he

knows that he failed several times

choosing his own way so he chose to cap

bring captivity all of those into

surrender I mean under the God's hand

and to follow what he has a plan so when

you look inside ask a question inside

and outside is it same if not that is

also righteous ways to be same within

inside and outside

when he comes to

gospel it is very

interesting if you have read very

carefully

that the story is Jesus and Peter is

there

out and we have this man coming up and

asking this is how he asks does your

teacher not pay the temple tax Peter

said

no because Jesus is a high priest and he

all accepted out there and a priest

doesn't pay Temple tax it's only the

members there right the

people so but Jesus the interesting fact

is out after all of those conversation

when they came back Jesus said to Paul

Peter Peter let's pay the tax don't

offend them and I was thinking if it if

it was me in his position I would have

said who is that man to ask me I am a

priest

I would have said let me go back and

teach that man a lesson I want to have a

dialogue with him and make him right but

what did Jesus do that is righteousness

what he did was he chose not to offend

his human kind that he's living with but

he said Peter let's pay the tax let's

not offend them I am living with them

that humility is also righteousness

Jesus teaches us here and then coming

down this is very very interesting very

interesting and I was thinking why would

Jesus do all of this he said to Peter go

to the Sea cast in a hook and take the

fish that comes up first open its mouth

you will find a piece of

money like take that and give it to them

for me and you to pay aack for Jesus and

Peter Jesus had to say Peter give a big

long

proc you think it was hard for Jesus to

get some a penny in order to pay the tax

he said Peter Go cast for The Fish you

get there is a penny from there open it

and take it and

pay how creative Jesus is in order to

pay a penny because we are sure that

they they don't have anything with them

Jesus and his disciples that is very

sure right how creative God was to to

take a penny and give it to the temple

for as a

tax and for me personally because now we

have this Believers youth conference

coming

up to raise fund to make

money is a big prayer that we all are

kneeling down and crying out to the

Lord and when I heard that Jesus used

his own creation a fish that he made to

bring money for him to pay the tax to

bring money for Peter to pay the tax if

that's the case I was hoping and

believing and trusting in God God can

use many fishes

around right you can use many people and

many Creations around him to bring money

or whatever is required for the work of

God and I personally got blessed by that

word and I was so amazed how God can do

wonders so the question to us

is God has so many creative ways to

provide and take all of us forward maybe

as an individual in your work in your

studies in any way he has creative ways

to accomplish things maybe in your

family to pay your children's fees or a

lot of other things that you you deal

with right maybe in our community our

church we have to be sure that God has a

lot of creative and beautiful ways to

take us

forward he will give the respect We need

he will give the money we need he will

give what what all we required may it be

in your work whatever you're dealing

with but the only thing is trust in God

if we don't trust in God God we can't

allow God to creatively take us forward

in life what happens again we go into

the unrighteous

ways so th let us surrender every

thoughts that we have today you yourself

and I myself know what are those

thoughts that we have in heart that we

are plotting and planning which are not

righteous which is not right in front of

God which is not to walk in integrity

let he will

do let's drop all our certain misleading

choices reroot our life to righteous

ways and to walk with integrity and I

would say this one

thing let the children and the young

people in our community whom we deal

with whom we talk with let them see some

living

examples among us living examples of us

walking with Integrity so that it is

passed on to Generations after

Generations now this is applicable for

me also that I also have to live and I

also have to bring all my thoughts and

surrender everything into captivity as

Paul St Paul did to know that and to

trust in God so just let us live a

righteous life let us trust in God and

His Thoughts let us bring all our

thoughts into captivity and surrender

with the assurance that he is creative

to provide and all we need to do

is just walk

confidently with boldness walk with

Integrity hold on to righteousness so

that you and I are stepping into living

eternity and not perishing into our own

well our own hell that that we have

created to gain something may that be

the prayer for us from these passages

and all the glory and honor to our

trying God and seeking the help of the

holy spirit for each one of us to live a

holy righteous life and let people

outside also see that we are unique

because we walk with Integrity in the

name of the father and of the son and of

the holy spirit amen