Rick Warren - God Blesses A Heart of Integrity—Part Three

Hello, and welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope with Rick Warren.

We are so glad you're here with us.

Today.

We're going to continue our series called The Keys to

a Blessed Life. And when these messages, Rick walks through

Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and shows us how to

live a truly hopeful and purpose filled life. And now

here's the final part of God blesses a heart of integrity.

Imagine how the world would be changed if every Christian

there are two billion of us in the world, two

point three billion. What if every Christian went to work

on Monday morning with integrity and said, you know what,

I don't care if everybody goofs off. I don't care

if everybody slacks off. I don't care if everybody's just

saying that's good enough for government work. I don't care

what everybody else thinks. I'm going to work hard, work cheerfully,

and do it give it my best shot. What if

Christians gained the reputation that people said we only hire Christians. Why,

because they're the best workers. They work with integrity, they

put in the extra effort, they do, they go the

second mile, they're honest, They don't cheat, they're not lazy.

They work.

What kind of witness would we have in the world

if we were all like that? Let me give you

one more, anyone become You become a person of integrity

by being real with others. You become a person of

integrity by being real with others. You don't fake it.

You are yourself. You don't pretend. It's what we were

talking about earlier. You're authentic, you're genuine. You're not a

hoop of crete dose. You don't wear a mask and

talk a certain way with this group and then go

over here and wear another mask and act a certain

way with this group. And you don't act one way

in church and one way at work, and then another

way in the golf course or when you're playing shooting

some hoops or whatever. No, you're always the same. You're

not perfect, you're not sinless. It's not that you don't

make mistakes. You do make mistakes, but your heart's in

the right direction, and you are real with other people.

You're not a phony, you're not a fake. You're not

trying to be something that you're not really. Tewod Corinthians

four to two says this, we refuse to wear masks.

We refuse to play games. We don't maneuver and manipulate

behind the scenes, and we don't twist God's word to

suit ourselves. In other words, we say, well, I think

this means this when we just don't like what it says. Rather,

we keep everything we do and say out in the open.

Your life is an open book. You're authentic. What you

see is what you get. You are not a phony,

You're not a fake. You're into integrity, not into image. Now,

in a word, the world that is absolutely obsessed with

appearance and with image. How in the world do you

keep it real when everybody else is faking it, and

everybody else is trying to live an image, be an

image and act like they know this and do that,

and they don't have integrity, and they're they're scooting by,

and they're skimming, and they're cheating, and they're doing all

they're not keeping their promises and all those things. How

in the world do you keep it real? There's only

one way. It's only one way. You've got to care

more about God's approval than the approval of other people.

That's the only way you'll ever become a man of integrity.

That's the only way you'll ever come become a woman

of integrity, because if you care about what God thinks,

then you're going to do the right thing. If you

care about what other people think, you're going to typically

often do the wrong thing because what God thinks is

sometimes I'm popular, sometimes it's difficult. The only way you

can maintain integrity is to care more about God's approval,

well done, good and faithful servant than to care about

the approval of other people. PSOne nineteen nine says this,

how can I keep my way pure? Blessed are the

pure in heart? They get to see God? How can

I keep How do I live a life of integrity?

By living according to your word? You must stay in

this book. And if you don't stay in this book,

you will not have the strength and the stamina to

live with integrity. I've said it many times that if

I don't have a daily time with God in the Word,

if I don't have a daily quiet time, and if

I miss it for a few days, I notice it

because I start getting cranky if I'm not in the Word.

If I don't have a quiet time for a week.

My wife notices it. If I didn't have a quiet time.

For a month, you would know notice it because I

would not have any power, spiritual power to clearly explain

the word of God to you.

You got to stand the word now.

This message today, it's been tough for me to share

and tough for you to hear.

It's tough message because when.

I go through this checklist and I go down this

list of six things, I'm thinking of my own mind

fail fail fail fail fail fail fail fail. You know,

I'm just going, oh my, and I'm not really feeling

that good about it.

But here's the good point.

Saint Augustine said this, the confession of bad works is

the beginning of good works. And so if you are

serious about becoming a woman of integrity, if you are

serious about becoming a man of integrity, the first step

is to own up that you haven't had integrity and

just admit it. I haven't Okay, I admit it. God,

I don't always keep my promises.

I admit it.

God, I don't always pay my bills on time. I

admit it that I often gossip and I like it

and it's a juicy morsel to chew on it, and God,

I admit it. That I've been spending your money. I've

been robbing. God, I've been using the Tide to pay

my own bills. I've lacked integrity there, and I admit it.

I don't always do my best at work. Sometimes I

just slack off. Sometimes I take a little extra time

running some errands, and sometimes I don't put in the

full amount and I don't do my best, and I've

taken some supplies home and I just it's in the

little things that Tom talked about. And there's been a

lot of times, Lord, I'm not really real with people.

I fake it and I don't pretend. I do pretend

I don't really be who I and I'm a phony.

I wear a mask some of the times out of

my own insecurities, and God, I admit it.

I have segmented my life.

And I've said I've acted this way here, and I've

acted this way here, and I've acted this way and

know this little sex life over here, this is just

my little habit over here, and this over here, this

is my little secret over here, and this over here

this is my and I just keep them all separate.

And it goes back to that thing about the Titanic

myth that I should share that with you.

They talk about the Titanic myth.

The Titanic myth is this myth that you can segment

your life and it'll keep you afloat. The Titanic was

supposed to be the first unsinkable ship because it was

the first ship that they ever segmented the hull. Previous

and prior to the Titanic, all holes of a boat

were just one open hall. And so if you were

out in a boat and you hit a rock or

another boat or an iceberg, and you knocked a hole

in the boat, then water would flood in. It would

fill up the whole hole, and the ship would sink.

The Titanic was the first ship to actually segment and

compartmentalize the hull. And they said, you know, theoretically, it's

kind of like we do with submarines today. You segment

the submarine. So if you take on water in a

certain area, you can batten down the hatch. And the

idea is you could take on a certain amount of

water and it won't sh sink the whole ship. And

theoretically that's true. The folks, when it comes to life,

you're like a hole in the boat is a hole

in the boat is a hole in the boat, and

eventually it's going to sink you. And that little area

you think you've got under control over here, it isn't

under control, and it's going to take you down. Now,

If you and I go out and we go fishing,

and you're sitting at one end of the boat and

I'm sitting at the other end of the boat, and I

pull out a drill, a wood drill, and I start

drilling a hole in my end of the boat, You're

gonna get concerned and say, Rick, what are you doing.

You're gonna take us down. And this is a typical

response today. Hey, it's my life. Nobody has a right

to tell me what I do with my life.

I can handle it. I'm a grown adult.

I can sin and get away with It's none of

your business what I do.

With my life.

I'm sorry, but it is my business what you do

with your life. Because we're all in the same boat.

It's called earth, and we're all in this together, and

you cannot sin and it not affect other people. I'm sorry,

you just don't understand how it works. The truth is,

this is gonna be very profound, but It's said in

a very simple way. Sin may be personal, but it

is never private. My sin may be personal, did it,

but it's never private. Even if you don't ever know

about the sins in my life, they affect you husbands.

Even if your wife never knows about the sins in

your life, they affect her wives. Even if your husbands

don't know about the sins of your life, they affect him,

and they affect your kids.

And we affect each other.

You cannot do anything in life with outout affecting each other.

And so the idea of it's none of my business

is just stupid. It is your business. It is my

business because we affect each other. And even if some

people never even know about something in my life, it's

still going to affect them in different ways because of

the blessing of God or the removal of blessing of

God on my life and on your life. The Bible says,

be sure your sins will find you out.

Now. This is why friends, we need a savior.

Okay, what we just talked about today, this is why

you need a savior. This is why we need the Cross,

this is why we need grace, This is why we

need forgiveness. Why because none of us measure up, none

of us are perfect. The Bible says, there's not a

just man on the earth who always does what is

right and never does what is wrong. The Bible says,

we have all sinned, and we have all fallen short.

So each of us have our own unique falling shorts.

You have your falling shorts, and I have my falling shorts.

But thank God, he forgives all our falling shorts, all

of sin and fallen short of the glory of God.

This is why you need grace, You need a savior,

because there's no way I can measure up to God's perfection.

There's no way you can't either. God doesn't expect you

to be perfect. He does expect you to have integrity,

which means you own up. And the starting point to

be a man of God or a woman of God

is to say, I admit it, I just don't have

integer in some of these areas. What really matters is

the direction of your heart. You know, friends, I don't

always do it right. Your pastor is a very flawed individual.

I don't always get it right. I make a lot

of mistakes. I sin, I I'm not always unselfish. I

want to be, but I'm not. I'm not always kind

to everybody. I want to be, but i'm not. I

don't always keep my promises. I want to, but i'm not.

I don't.

I don't always do my best in everything that I do.

I want to, but I don't. And I look at

all I don't always. I don't want to gossip. I

don't want to listen to us, but sometimes I do.

But in the deepest part of my heart, in spite

of my own sinfulness, I want to do the right

thing and I want to be a man of integrity. Unfortunately,

God looks down on Rick Warrant, and when he looks

at me, he doesn't say, what a screw up, what

a failure. He ought to know better than that. Why

did he still fall for that one?

Instead?

God looks down and says, there's a guy who has

a heart for me, and I'm gonna bless him. I'll

say it again, God is more interested in your heart

than your sins. You're never gonna be perfect, you're never

gonna be sinless, but you can sin less.

You got it, get it good.

You're never going to be sinless, but you can sin less.

And that is a choice, and it is a choice

of integrity, and it starts by saying to God, God,

I don't always.

Keep my promises, but I want to. God.

I don't always pay my bills, but I want to. God,

I don't always I haven't refused gossip. I've listened to it,

but I don't want that anymore. God, I don't want

to rob you of money that's yours. As an active integrity,

I want to tie then, God, I don't always do

what's best at work, and I don't always give it

my best shot, but I want to and that's my direction.

And God, I have to admit I'm not real a

lot of times. A lot of times I'm faking it.

I'm living insecurely again. It's because of insecurity comes from

a lack of integrity. When you come to God and say, God,

this is my heart and I really want it to

be in this, then God could say about you like

he did about David. Remember the guy who committed adultery

and murder. There's a guy after my own heart. He

looked past all the mistakes that had been made, and

he looked at the direction of David's sarpsis The guy's

got a good heart. He's going in the right direction.

He wants to do the right thing, and that comes

from the power and the grace of God. Let's bower heads.

I'm going to pray a prayer and you can just

follow me in it. Make it your prayer. To God,

To Jesus Christ, I thank you that you were sinless,

you never sinned, You were the ultimate example of integrity,

and so you could pay the price for all my sins.

Thank you for dying on the cross for me. Just

say that in your mind, Thank you for dying on

the cross for me, for paying.

All my sins.

There is no way God that I can measure up

to your standard of perfection. And that's why I need

your grace, and that's why I need your forgiveness, and

that's why I need your salvation. And Jesus, thank you

for loving me enough to pay for all my sins.

The confession of bad works is the beginning of good work.

So why don't you just have a little confession time

with God? Why don't you say, God, I admit that

I don't always keep my promises, but I want to.

And God, I admit that I've spent more money than

I make, and I've got myself really deeply in debt,

and I haven't paid off all my debts, but I

want to. And I ask you to help me to

stop spending more than I make so I can start

paying off my debts and be a person of integrity.

And God, I.

Admit that I have gossiped, I have shared secrets, I've

listened to gossip. I've slandered other people, and I'm sorry.

I don't want to be that way. And God, I

haven't put you first in my money. I've paid everything

except my tithe. I put you in last place, not first.

As an act of integrity, I'm going to start tithing.

And God, I admit that I don't always do my best,

and I don't always work hard cheerfully. A lot of

time I just slack off because I don't really like

my job.

Some days.

Help me to remember that whether anybody else notices what

I do, you notice. Help me to do my work

with excellence, with quality, and with integrity, knowing that I'm

working for you as my real boss. And God, I

need you to give me the courage to be real

with other people. I'm tired of wearing masks. I'm tired

of playing games. I'm tired of maneuvering and manipulating behind

the scenes. I want to live my life as an

open book, not perfect, not sinless, but authentic and whole.

I want today, Jesus Christ, to commit to becoming a

man or a woman of integrity. I want a pure

heart that you can bless.

Help me to.

Stand the word every day, that it is your word

that keeps me pure. If you've never invited Jesus Christ

to forgive all your sins and to be the savior

in the Lord of your life, say Jesus Christ, I

don't understand it all, but I want to thank you

for dying for my sins.

And I ask you to be come.

The leader, the Lord, the manager, the boss of my life.

And I want your purpose and peace and plan and power.

And I humbly ask this in your name. Amen.

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