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.
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