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Checking For Cracks In The Foundation

Good Morning Beloved Family,

I'm glad you are all here today.
I know, in the challenges of life, it's not always easy.
It is my prayer, that you will be blessed today.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You!
Thank You for a Scripture that is so consistent that it speaks
in such profound theological truths, Your truth
a truth that powers life, how wonderful is Your truth
You call us to honor the truth, live in truth, and to maintain it's integrity
Your Son, Jesus Christ purchased our salvation and for that we are grateful, so grateful
at times, it's even overwhelming, that You could love us so much,
That Christ would willingly lay down His life, for us, because we are unworthy of such a love
Not only do You love us unconditionally, but You impute on us His righteousness
and it was applied to us at the point we first believed
So that when You look at us, You do not see are unworthiness, our sin
You see in us Your Son, the One Who is sinless, He Who is perfect
O gracious Lord
We are in awe of Your Majesty and Holiness
we are so grateful for the justification and sanctification
that allows us to be a part of it all
For all that You are, we worship You
we give all praise and glory to You
for You alone, are worthy of our Praise!
Amen

"Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, “Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day."
Acts 23:1

Today's message: Checking For Cracks In The Foundation

Doctrine powers life!
Therefore, we shouldn’t be determining propositional truths and defining them as dogma and doctrine. the profound truths of doctrine is what determines conviction, and conviction is what makes us do what we do and become who we ultimately become.

Proverbs 20:5-9, tells us,
"A plan in the heart of a man is like deep water,
But a man of understanding draws it out.
Many a man proclaims his own loyalty,
But who can find a trustworthy man?
A righteous man who walks in his integrity—
How blessed are his sons after him.
A king who sits on the throne of justice
Disperses all evil with his eyes.
Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart,
I am pure from my sin”?"

So how do children reap the blessings of their parents’ integrity?
I'm sure we've all heard the old saying, "Like father, like son."
Children learn from their parents’ example.
Therefore, when parents plant "good seeds," their children reap them.
And, when parents plant "bad seeds," their children reap them also.

"Depart from evil and do good, So you will abide forever.
For the Lord loves justice
And does not forsake His godly ones;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
The righteous will inherit the land
And dwell in it forever.
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
And his tongue speaks justice.
The law of his God is in his heart;
His steps do not slip.
The wicked spies upon the righteous
And seeks to kill him.
The Lord will not leave him in his hand
Or let him be condemned when he is judged." 

This is why sound doctrine is absolutely critical.
It's structure are the immovable facts, the divine facts and realities that we know to be true, believe to be true, that are the operating principles of our lives. 
The Bible is full of Scripture, full of Truth.
It is not opinions, it is not ideas, it is not suggestions,
it is absolute Truth!
The truth from God, and so doctrine defines the Scripture. 

If we live before our children, a life of integrity, according to God's truths
Though a child strays, he/she will have clear guidelines and a conscience that will haunt and judge him/her as he/she travels through life. Hopefully, this will encourage them to return to the right paths of divine truth.

If we live a life that propagates immorality, one of deception and lies, we effectively produce a foundation of demonic lies and satan's kingdom begins to take over. When parents live above reproach, their children can hold their heads high because of a godly heritage. When reproach comes to the family, all are affected, and children bow their heads in shame.

The evil men do lives after them. And as such, the good men do lives after them.
Take a look at Exodus 20:5; 34:7; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:9. We'll not do that now, but
I do however, encourage each of you to read them, on your own.

The things of a parent, that are practiced in moderation today, will be done in excess tomorrow, by their children. Parents who lift up a standard to lighten the way show their children how to walk straight.

The apostle Paul lived a life of integrity, blameless before God and man. He walked and worked among men with a clear conscience. Paul did on a daily basis as he said. He had a sense of direction. His goals were specific. Paul was a living model of everything a leader should be in terms of capability and perspective. There was, however, something that marked him, something that really set him apart. It’s something that has to mark a leader in the kingdom of God. In a word, it is integrity, it is integrity. Parents are to lead the family, "train up a child" in the way they should go.

Character, is what we become, in when no one is looking. It is the combined small intricate parts of our daily lives. When we stray from living a life of character and integrity, we are creating small cracks in the foundation of our lives. As we continue to create these cracks, when times get tough, it becomes harder to act with integrity and live in good character.

We live in the secular world. We see it with people in the secular world, the business world, and the political world, these leaders, well, lack integrity. Men of integrity possess a strong, upright, and blameless character. It has been said, “The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he would never be found out.” The habits and the framework of our lives should always be decent and blameless. As though someone is watching us, they are!

God is watching us, our children are also watching. They begin to mimic what they see, the examples we have set before them. and consequently, we begin to ask ourselves, and them, "What is wrong with you? Why are you acting like that?" Well, the truth is, that is what we have taught them to do! How then, can we become upset or mad at them, for following the path, we have set them on?

When crisis and problems come, they reveal what we have become. We either become stronger or weaker in such times. Trials can become opportunities that build us up, or temptations that pull us down. Our perspective is subject to what we have come to believe! What we believe, impacts how we live our lives.

We must guard our heart, so that we will not muddy the waters of our lives. Let's face it, no one likes to drink from a dirty, contaminated, bug-ridden pond. It is easy to say, “Guard your heart” but much more difficult to accomplish. It is a daily struggle, it requires effort on our part to maintain a pure heart. That is why we're told to "renew our minds daily."

As Christians, we are constantly dealing with people who have lots of different qualities and characteristics and capabilities. Especially, those of us, who lead a church. But when you are talking about the kingdom of God, all of that has to be held together by integrity.

So what is integrity? It is being true to one’s standard, always. It is the quality of being undivided.
In essence, it is incorruptibility. Not deviating, regardless of the circumstances that surround us, or situations we find ourselves in. We must maintain integrity, always.

And for the true Christian, the standard is biblical. For those who are not Christians, they can sort of pick and choose whatever standard they want, whatever trending standard they want, whatever is the popular standard. But for believers, integrity is directly tied to Scripture. We live what we believe, and what we believe it what has been revealed by God, through His Holy Word, Jesus Christ, the Scriptures and His Holy Spirit. It is the standard by which we are called to live, every day, in every situation, always!

We must preserve the Word of God in our hearts.
We must take great care, to not allow people or things to come into our lives that could grow into gigantic problems tomorrow.
We must remain in touch with God through daily prayer, fasting, daily personal Bible study, and make attending regular church services a priority.
We must know ourselves and our areas of susceptibility. Every one of us is tempted in some area!
We must resist the devil, flee fornication, lusts of the flesh.
Even in the midst of temptation, God always provides a way of escape. We must learn to look for it!

We must not only study the Word of God but we must apply it.
Living the life that matches what we proclaim to others.
A life of integrity, this is the virtue that holds everything in place, and without it, it begins to collapse.

Integrity is like a new building under construction. It is built one block at a time. The right daily decisions we make cement together the blocks of our character. Each time we fail in our integrity or fall to a temptation, the building is weakened. It eventually becomes unsafe and unusable.

The apostle Paul lived what he believed, and what he believed was what was revealed by God. He preached what he believed, and what he believed was the Word of God. His life matched his preaching. His life matched his teaching. His life matched his writing.

The world’s largest bell has never been rung. It weighs 219 tons and is 18-feet high. During its construction, a single drop of water got into the mold. When the bell was cast, it cracked because of one drop of water. What is the consequence? The bell has never been heard.

The greatest impact that critics have on any Christian's life, is an assault on their integrity.
The apostle Paul was being attacked by his enemies from every side, it wasn't an attack against his theology, it was an attack against his character, his integrity, that he wasn’t who he claimed to be, that he was a fraud, and a liar, and a deceiver, and a hypocrite.

An accurate phrase depicting "integrity" is "purity of heart."

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
Matthew 5:8 

I'll be the first to admit, it's difficult to do, always. It’s especially a difficult thing to do in the world of unconverted people, to try and maintain integrity, and at all times, always. Sometimes, it’s really really hard. You have really got to find some type of motivation in order to accomplish that. Mine is reverence for the Lord, pleasing Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is eternal.

But if you’re just living your life in the world, the motivations aren't as of a driving force. It's a lot more difficult, because they are fleeting motivations, passing.

Anyone who is in ministry knows that attacks and assaults and accusations that undermine their ministry, because then that affects those to whom they minister. There is almost always someone, attempting to assassinate the character of a minister of God. Anything from past sins, their association with others, the clothes they wear, family members the list goes on and on.

This is what they attempted to do to Jesus, they said He’s demon-possessed. They said He’s drunk.
He has lost His mind. He’s insane.

Then here came Paul preaching. He was preaching Christ, he was preaching the cross. They said it was foolishness. They said he was so zealous, he was so passionate, he was a man who was mentally deranged.

And let's face the facts, many of them today, make it extremely easy for them to do, committing adultery with secretaries, church members, extorting church funds, exorbitant salaries, expensive cars and homes.

Beloved, anybody who serves the Lord, a reputation for honesty, sincerity, credibility, incorruptibility is absolutely essential to the Kingdom of God.

To some, it may seem that I am a fanatic, perhaps, I am, it’s because I have a word from God.
I want to maintain integrity.
It is because I love Jesus Christ, I love Christ's church, I’m a worshiper of the One true Living God and I don’t ever want to dishonor that! Therefore, I have a strong, passionate desire that the church teach only the truth, God's truth. I am called by God to uphold and proclaim truth, and my heart is driven by my passion for His truth. That is why I do what I do, in the way in which I do it, for His Honor and Glory.

It's always about Him, it's never about me. Anyone who knows me, knows I am not perfect. I err.
I am and always have been a sinner, in need of a Savior! Jesus Christ laid down His life for me, He was crucified for my sins, how then, can I dishonor that?

In Closing.....

When we begin to realize, what an honor, a privilege it is, to be His called, to serve Him, to worship Him, we will do all that we can to honor and protect it, with integrity. I am compelled by the love that Christ has for me, because I am not worthy of it. Neither are you.
But in His grace, His mercy, His Sovereignty, He does anyway. And I never ever want to jeopardize that! I believe, this should also be true of every believer, even on our best day, we are unworthy!

We had all ought to be more thankful, more grateful, for being pulled by Christ, in the direction of salvation. We should also, each be thankful for the person that led us to Christ. Beloved, we have been introduced to the greatest doctrines, the doctrine of salvation, of particular redemption.
Christ died for you, and for me! If He had died for the entire world of all people, all would have died in Him, and all would have risen in Him, and all would therefore be saved.

God is building us into vessels of honor to be used for His glory. We are to make sure there are no cracks in our foundation.
 
Salvation is very personal. Redemption is very personal.
And as believers in Christ, we must honor that as such.
It is not a right, it is a privilege!

He died in my place, and in yours!
Out of His own sovereign love and grace...
That alone deserved to honored, it must be honored!

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.


Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen

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Brian Monzon Ministries

The Brian Monzon Ministries

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