Learning for Life - Ephesians 4:1-16

Reading: Ephesians 4:1-16

It has been very special today for us as a church family, to share with Ange and Pete and their families in giving thanks to God for their beautiful little boy, Noah. He will bring them great joy I know. I know Ange & Pete will delight in teaching him new things and giving him new exciting experiences, and just seeing him develop and grow. And for the next few years Noah will just soak up all this learning and look to you with absolute admiration and adoration, really proud that you are his parents.

And then he will become a teenager! Like many teenagers Noah may seem to realize overnight just how much more he knows than his parents. He will find his friends and even their parents do too. He may seem to be on another planet when you try to tell him something, so whatever you say may still not seem to make any impression on him. And for most parents there comes a point when we feel we just have to let our children try things themselves, and learn that way. They will make mistakes so we have to always be there for them. However I encourage parents that there is a way. You have an awesome opportunity and privilege to influence your children's life for good - throughout their life, whatever the circumstances.

It came as a great surprise for Bronwyn & me to discover later on just how much our children had still learned from us through that period, and they had learned - perhaps unwittingly - or even unconsciously, from how we lived our lives. Now we only remember the good things they learned of course - no doubt there were things we could have done better. But it just emphasizes how important it is for our lives to be consistent in living out the values we believe in, so our lives convey the right values to others. A verse in Proverbs (20:7) says this is living with integrity.

Integrity - Rollo May, a psychologist, said "integrity is being the same on the outside as we are on the inside." That is quite a challenge isn't it? It is a challenge that can only have a positive outcome if it is love that is inside us - God's love - because love will then determine our values, and how they impact on others.

Of course there are various ways we learn - by being told, by reading, and so on. But for me how much knowledge I retain increases by being shown - in discussion with others - and ultimately by putting into practice what we have been taught - by doing it.

This is exactly the method Jesus used to teach his disciples.

He explained things;

He showed them how he did the things he was teaching them;

He had many discussions with them;

And he sent them out to do what he had taught and showed them.

Now I am sure I didn't listen to all of my father's advice either, but it is really interesting how much I do remember of my parent's values even many years later, and what I do remember is mainly HOW they lived their lives.

Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus was to remind individuals of how they should live their lives and to explain the purpose of the church in helping them do that. In the passage that Phil read, Paul urges us to a life worthy - being humble, gentle, patient, loving, and peaceful.

That isn't always natural or easy is it? Some people really do push us to the limit at times.

Well the church should be able to help us (just like a parent) - by teaching, showing, and encouraging us to try things. In that same passage Paul also explained how the church can help us. He said that God prepares certain people in the church for this purpose - to prepare us for works of service so that together we may be built up, become mature in our faith, and grow to be more like Christ.

At CPAC we have those people. We have a pastor; we have evangelists, apostles, prophets, and teachers to encourage us in our growth too. That's great. But they can't do it all.

At some point we have to take individual responsibility for our own growth and development - to stop needing to be spoon fed - to feed ourselves so we grow up to maturity.

As parents we enjoy seeing our children develop and mature.

In the same way God longs for us to grow up to maturity - to be more like Christ.

I heard this comment recently - "Impression without expression is repression"

To me that means being taught something but not doing anything with it can actually make knowledge a burden rather than being useful. We often say that if we don't move forward, we won't just stand still, we will move backwards. Use it, or lose it! As Paul wrote to Timothy - "………I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God that is within you……" We need to use the good that has been placed in us, however it has been placed, and use it for the good of others.

And James reminds us (ch.2:14-17) - Just having the knowledge, even a genuine faith in God, is not much use ……………….unless we act on it, and put our beliefs into practice.

Last Sunday Bronwyn & I went to Arohata Prison to take a Bible study with the women. The study was about the time Jesus taught his disciples about serving …….when he washed their feet. One of the women there made the comment that when you do make the effort to help someone else you are often also helped yourself. A verse in Proverbs (11:24) agrees. This is pretty much what Dr Karl Menninger, a psychiatrist, said about people continually seeking help. He said something like "Those people need to lock up their house, go across the road, find someone in need, and do something to help that person."

And the results of a survey conducted by the Willow Creek Church in the USA recently give a similar perspective. They have for years produced many programs and courses and they undertook a thorough professional survey of many churches over a period of 4 years. The results surprised them. They discovered that their programs were not nearly as effective as they thought. They found that…………………..

1. The key to an individual's growth was their personal relationship with Jesus - and how close that relationship was.

2. That rather than people wanting to be spoon fed to grow in this relationship, they wanted to know how to take personal responsibility for it.

3. That serving others is an important aspect of a close relationship with Jesus. This follows the example of Jesus who said "I came not to be served, but to serve."

4. The church's most influential role is often in the formative years of a Christian.

5. The church's role then is to provide support and opportunities for people to serve.

6. As Christians mature they need to be serving more and more (and particularly outside the church) in order for them to have life and vitality in their faith, rather than to plateau or even slip back.

I know there are people here today who can testify to the reality of that aspect of serving. Those who have been on short term missions to Fiji to help the people there in various ways, have come home feeling quite the reverse has happened ……that they are the ones who have been richly blessed.

Bronwyn & I experience it time and again when we go to the Prison to minister to the women, and come away absolutely uplifted and feeling that it is we who have been ministered to.

Many others have similar experiences, and I think of others here involved in community service.

But it doesn't need to be special events. I have seen a person from CPAC in her work situation displaying those qualities listed in our Bible reading. And I have seen her grow in her faith since being in that role. I know of someone else who quietly serves in behind the scenes roles at CPAC, and I have witnessed the growth in his faith.

It is their willing serving attitude that is the difference.

Many of us serve, for sure. But it is how we serve that is important.

The key to a willing serving attitude is love. Christ's love for us - our love for him shown in our love for others. Paul reminds us of this in our reading (Ephesians 4:15).

Another version puts it this way - "If we live with integrity and love we will grow to be like Christ." Remember that verse from Proverbs about parents living with integrity, and the on flow effect that has on their children? It is worth it. It has a positive affect on others, and on us.

And if love is the motivation, it takes away any feeling of compulsion.

Whatever we do then, let us do it with the right motivation.

Paul again writes in Col.3:17 - when we do anything, whether it is setting up for church services here ……………in our home ….going about our daily work ….on a mission ….in our community …………..whatever it is …………..let us do it with the attitude of doing it for Christ, in a way that will bring honor and glory to him.

In closing there is only one point I am trying to make. That is - putting into practice what we have been taught and modeled, especially by lovingly serving others, is an essential element of our growth to maturity.

No matter how you may try to remember this, whether it is:

Integrity;

Using it or losing it;

Fanning into flames;

Faith without works is dead;

However it is …………for us to learn for real life requires action …………our action!

When we do act we will find that not only will we grow to be more like Christ, but:

We will empower and bless others;

And we will bring worship and delight to God.

I encourage you to pray the Prayer for the Week as a personal prayer of commitment - to love and serve the Lord.

Lord Jesus Christ,

I acknowledge you as my Saviour and Lord who, when you came to earth, showed us you were our servant leader too. Please help me to follow your example - to love as you loved, and to serve as you served. In doing this may I be a blessing to others, and bring worship and glory to you. Amen

Holy 12 July 09

July 12^th 2009

Holy

This is not a SERMON. It is going to be more of a sharing about a journey over the last six months and some ideas about the way ahead. It originates from a conversation I had with Danny way back in February, when I suggested perhaps some of those who attended New Wine could have the opportunity to share a bit of their experience with the rest of the congregation. Then about a month ago Danny asked me if I was still ok to do a sermon on holiness, which was a bit of a shock and taught me a lesson! Don’t suggest anything unless you are prepared to be the one who puts it into place. Anyway, I feel very ill-equipped to give a sermon on holiness: first I am probably one of the least ‘holy’ people I know, and secondly, I would never profess to try to tell anyone else how to live in ‘holiness’!! However, I am blessed to take a little bit of a different approach to the concept of ‘holiness’ and talk a little about my experience at New Wine and where it has taken me since then. By the way, parts of this talk may seem like a promotional for New Wine: I would like to assure you that I am not getting a commission for every person that registers from CPAC, although that might be nice!, however you may hear me say more than once that it might be worth considering for 2010.

I was a reluctant participant in New Wine this year, I have to admit. We have attended approx every second year for the last 8 years, but I wasn’t really into it this time. I was feeling pretty stale in my relationship with God for a start, and as many of you will understand, that can be a real disincentive to getting involved and doing something about it. Secondly I had been involved as part of the music team the last two times we had attended, but when I offered my services was told, no thanks, so was a bit miffed having to attend as just an ordinary person (isn’t it amazing how much our egos can get in the way sometimes?). And finally, when it came down to it, we had just spent 2 weeks in a tent, which is about my limit of airbeds/sand/gas cookers etc, and the thought of 4-5 more days on top of that just didn’t appeal.

So I started a bit unwillingly, a bit ‘not into it’. And for the first couple of days that was how I felt: half-hearted in the worship, enjoying the teaching but not really getting a lot out of it, and kind of wondering why I was there. I was encouraged by a couple of people’s experiences, who clearly were feeling the presence of God, but for me it was, if you like, the usual: other people seemed to be the really spiritual ones, and I felt kind of like it was only for them! I’m sure none of you have ever experienced that!

I think it was on the second evening that I went up for prayer, thinking I may as well, at least no harm can come from this: some real deliverance occurred at that point: I guess some blockages were cleared and suddenly I found I was starting to get something out of being there: following this on the next evening service, the open day which many of you attended, I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Kenny Borthwick, who is a wonderful Scotsman and was one of the main speakers, was up front, and many times over those few days he and the other speakers were taking the attitude of, let’s see where God wants to take this, let’s see if we can find out what God wants to do, rather than following a set plan. As he led this particular session, and it was obvious he knew God wanted to do something special, a few people started laughing, and some crying (but mostly laughing!) which he encouraged, and it was very infectious, many more joined in. Normally in these situations I am the absolute cynic, and I’m sure many of you will identify with that: thoughts like, ‘yeah right, who was planted in the audience to start this?’ And ‘how embarrassing, what would everyone think’, and even, ‘come on, if its really You God, make me laugh!!’ This time I thought I would approach it differently, and to do this I had to put lots of thoughts out of my mind and just get down to me and, who knows, maybe God. I knelt down in the aisle (by the way I have never done anything like that before…..) and allowed myself to be open to whatever God was doing, if indeed it was God. And guess what: within a few minutes I also was laughing: deeply, from the depths of my being. I knew, at that moment, that I was in the presence of the Holy Spirit. And yes there have been other times when I have seen God at work and heard His voice (less often than I would like!!) but this was the first time I have really physically felt the presence of God. And it was special. And it was Holy. I felt like I was on Holy ground

Now we are getting to the point. If there was one major thrust or point of the teaching at New Wine, with the theme of ‘Holy’, was, being in God’s presence is Holy. There are of course many approaches one can take to the word holy or holiness: however the approach I would like to take today is, learning to seek out the presence of God, as where God is, that is Holy Ground

The first usage of a word in the Bible is significant: it sets the standard if you like for the rest of the usages. The first usage of the word holy refers, interestingly enough not to God, but to the ground. In Exodus 3: 3-5(which you heard in the reading today,). God says to Moses, take of your shoes, the ground you are standing on is holy ground. How many times had Moses passed or even stood in that spot in his 40 years as a shepherd? Was the ground always holy? What made it holy? Quite simply, the presence of God. When the Israelites built the temple, what was the innermost sanctum called? the holy of holies. Why? Quite simply, it was there that the High priest met with God once a year, Gods presence made it ‘holy of holies’.

Being in the presence of God is significant, lifechanging: You will all know what happened to Zachariah, John the Baptist’s father, when he went into the holy of holies and met with the angel of God; and how Moses looked after meeting God face to face. Holy is being in the presence of God. It can be terrifying. Zachariah was paralyzed with fear. As Rob Bell shares in his book, Velvet Elvis, which I will refer to later, he became aware of the presence of God in a terrifying way. But in a good way. As Rob says, the word that springs to mind is holy.

So, how do we seek out the presence of God, seek out this holiness: to paraphrase Kenny: “find out what God is doing and go and be part of it”. Now I am sure that many of us have experienced, or possibly even done, the opposite: deciding what to do and asking God to bless it, or starting a service/event etc then inviting the Holy Spirit to join us? Do you see the difference? How can we approach this, seeking out the presence of God, seeking out Holy ground.

This is a very individual walk. You are each journeying your own individual journey with God and I can not stand up here and say you need to do such and such and you will find holy ground. But I am happy to share with you some of the ways I have been approaching this and give you some food for thought. In fact, preparing for today has been a good exercise in that it has forced me to sit down and think, and ask, has this affected my walk with God? Since New Wine, has my journey developed/changed? It’s very easy to go to an event like New Wine and be all Rah Rah, Hallelujah, etc then the busyness of everyday life takes over and we go back and settle into our old daily routines: and there certainly has been some of that for me. Again to quote Rob Bell: “ Do you and I walk in holy ground all the time, but we are moving so fast and returning so many calls and writing so many emails and having such long lists to get done that we miss it?” How often are we too busy to miss it?? I would say for me its pretty often!

Anyway, back to the journey: First, and in fact this is something I’ve been working on for a while: I remind myself that I am a human being, not a human doing. That means that its ok to take time when I can just be, I don’t always have to do. Or put another way, take some Sabbath time. This may be daily, weekly, (sometimes for me it is termly….) But at the end of a day it is ok sometimes to look back and say, I did nothing. The first reference to the Sabbath day in Genesis in fact uses a Hebrew word which is closely related to the word for holy: Sabbath time is holy, time to be, time in God’s presence.

As well there are a couple of books that I have started to work through, that really have helped in the seeking the presence of God: one I shared about a few weeks ago: The Shack, by William Paul Young. The other which I have already referred to today is Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell: there is much in both of these books that is worth delving into, but one of the points that has really stuck for me is the difference between ‘expectation’ and ‘expectancy’. We often go to God with expectation: I know I have many times gone to Him with an expectation that He will answer a prayer, or do something, in a certain way. When I have done that I have often been disappointed: I have not had an answer, not seen God at work. Yet if we go to Him with an expectancy that we will meet with Him or experience Him in some way, we are allowing the Spirit of God to work rather than setting our own boundaries. A simple analogy is a pregnant woman: we say she is expectant: she does not have expectations that her baby will be beautiful, intelligent, a great netball or rugby player: but she does have an expectancy and excitement about the life to come. Rob Bell puts it similarly when he talks about ‘obligation’ or ‘anticipation.’ Do we come to church for example out of obligation, or with an anticipation that something amazing could happen?

This has also helped me in my approach to worship, and music in general. If I approach music with the expectation that it will be all perfect and amazing sounding, or with a feeling of obligation or duty, I am likely to be disappointed. But, if I go into music with an expectancy and anticipation that somehow through the music we might see/hear/feel/know the presence of God, then maybe that will be holy ground.

One of the things Rob Bell teaches in Velvet Elvis is that with the new covenant and the breaking down of the barriers to the Holy of holies, it opens the door for us to see and meet God everywhere: in creation, in nature, indeed in life itself, for without God there wouldn’t be life!! I would like to share a simply lovely passage in here about how the presence of God can be seen and felt even by those whom God loves, but do not yet believe:

(Velvet Elvis p76 and 92) “Last year some friends asked me to be their pastor for their wedding ceremony. They had been together for a while and decided to make it official and throw a huge weekend party……They said they didn’t want any Jesus or God or Bible or religion to be talked about. But they did want me to make it really ‘spiritual’. The bride said it in her own great way: “Rob, do that thing you do. Make it really profound and deep and spiritual”. So we decided to meet the morning of the wedding to actually plan the ceremony. It was a stunningly beautifully day……The wind was blowing the tops of the trees……the sun was coming through in yellow and white beams……an eagle flew overhead. I asked my friends why they wanted to be married in such a natural organic setting………They talked about the beauty of nature, its peacefulness, and the way they fell in love in this part of the state. The the groom said something I will never forget: “Something holds this all together”. So then I asked them if they thought it was a mistake that they had found each other. And they said no, they believed they were meant to be together and it was no accident they met and fell in love. I then asked them: “Do you think that whatever it is that holds all this together is the same thing that has brought you two together?” They said yes, same thing. So I said that maybe what makes their relationship so meaningful to them is that it’s a picture of something much bigger. The same force that brought them together holds the whole world together. I then asked “So today your wedding is about something far more significant then just the two of you becoming husband and wife isn’t it?” They then said they would call this glue, this force, “God”. ……. Jesus was up on that cliff with us that day. It is not that God is over here and real life is over there. If it is real, then it is showing us God. It is not that passion and love and exhilaration are in one place and Jesus is somewhere else. Wherever you find those you are finding God. In affirming and celebrating all that they did that day on the cliff, my friends are closer to Jesus than they could ever imagine.” (end of quote)

So one of the greatest ways to seek and to be in the presence of God is to live life knowing that He has made it all possible, that He is there, that He binds it all together. Whether it is in good music, good food, good company, beauty, love, simply life itself, God is present. Dare we ask, is all ground holy ground?

Of course this does not mean that we can live any way we choose and still expect to meet with the Spirit of God: when I was a young Christian I was taught that as the Spirit came to dwell in us, as it says in Ephesians 2:22, so we were always in the presence of God, and that is at one level absolutely true. However, because of that I was always a little wary of the idea of looking for or seeking the presence of God because, hey, He’s there already. But one of the teachings of New Wine put this in perspective for me: Kenny related a little story as told by RT Kendall, (some of you may be familiar with the name): A missionary and his wife were living in a small house on the mission field and a dove had made its home in the attic. They noticed however that at times the dove was not there. After observing this for a while, they realised that whenever they argued/raised their voices the dove would leave for a while. Then when peace had descended the dove came back to the attic. The couple rather liked having a dove living in their attic, being a symbol of the holy spirit, and realised that they had two choices: either they could train the dove to put up with their arguments and shouting, or they could modify their behaviour so that the dove was comfortable to stay. I will leave you to work out which was the only possible option.

For me this is a lesson: yes God is with us always and dwells in us, but there are times and places where He chooses to let his spirit descend like a dove in a certain situation or on a certain person or group of people. Some of those at Summer Wine experienced the dove, as I did in laughter, some by weeping, some by a wonderful perfume, some by prophetic words. But it is easy to grieve the Spirit of God, the dove, like the bird itself, is sensitive, we can scare it away (see Ephesians 4.30 and context: some great guidance in how to walk in holiness). How we approach God and life can determine whether we see/are aware of the spirit: do we approach God with cynicism or openness, with obligation or anticipation? Do we look for God in the creation around us or do we simply get blinkered and stuck in our everyday routine? Do we seek out what God is doing and long to be part of that or do we decide what to do and expect God to turn up and bless it? Do we desire to walk on Holy ground in the presence of God Almighty, or do we simply scare away the dove? I would like to leave you with these questions and hopefully something to think about. And yes, I would suggest that getting involved with something like New Wine is a good thing: I can honestly say that I met with my Heavenly Father there and that it has changed my approach to how I try to relate to Him. No the change is not dramatic but it is happening and I believe is making a difference to my life. Perhaps it would make a difference to yours.

I will leave you with a Parting thought: I Peter 1:18 says in the Message translation: Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. Let’s try to be conscious/be aware/be longing for the presence of God as we live in the world this week. After all, if it wasn’t for God there wouldn’t be life/awareness/ consciousness /even a world in any case! Thank you.

Tim Jenkin

12/7/09

Daniel – A Man on a Mission 28 June 2009 Daniel 6 (v1-16)

CPAC sermon  Daniel – A Man on a Mission 28 June 2009 Daniel 6 (v1-16)

(Recount some of Dileeni's testimony about "victimisation" etc....= Daniel in the lion's den!)

You’ve heard me say on a number of occasions that I believe God has called CPAC to a great task - that of sharing His love in this community and beyond, in fact, all over the world!

You’ve heard me say that we aren’t a church that exists to build our own little empire but we exist to build and extend the glorious Kingdom of God.

You’ve heard me say that I believe there is an apostolic calling upon our church.

We are here, not to keep people to ourselves, but to send people out as apostles, yes, and also as either prophets, pastors, teachers or evangelists.

That’s an Ephesians chapter 4:11-13 calling upon our church. … read that bible passage….

Now, not everyone will go, thank goodness, because we still need people here to keep the home fires burning, and to keep bringing people in, in order to send them out.

We all have a role to play, in one way or another.

No one role is any more important than another role; all are vital to the cause of building the Kingdom of God.

Now there are a number of ways of understanding the Kingdom of God.

For the purposes of what I am sharing this morning, this is what I mean by the Kingdom of God.

Jesus said the Kingdom is within us.

So the true Kingdom of God is the rule of God in the hearts of human beings.

The Kingdom of God is shaped by the hand of God.

God is the Potter shaping and moulding our hearts.

The Kingdom (you and I) is powered by God.

When you are building the Kingdom of God you are sowing “God seeds” into the lives of those you affect.

Remember what you do for the Kingdom is always powered by God because the Kingdom is the rule of God in the hearts of humans.

So it helps to have some power tools when doing Kingdom work.

You’ll know the television comedy series “Home Improvement” featuring Tim the Tool Man Taylor…..

To accomplish our mission as a church to build God’s Kingdom

you and I will need the proper power tools.

Let’s consider the tools we need in order to share God's love.

Yes we'll need our Bibles.

But what do you think is one of the most important power tools for us to have as we serve God and extend His Kingdom?

Daniel had it and he used it very effectively for God’s purposes.

Let me give you a little background information first.

As prophesied by Isaiah, Nebucadnezzar, king of Babylon invaded Judah around 606B.C.

He sacked the Jewish Temple of all valuables and took them back to Babylon.

He also took a number of young Judean princes.

Among them were Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

They were no more than pre-teens at this time, around 12-14 years old.

And they were indeed princes.

Josephus tells us that Daniel and his friends were of the family of Zedekiah.

This means their grandfather was good King Josiah...the king who attempted to return the people of Judah to obeying and worshiping and serving the one true God of Israel.

Daniel also heard the teaching of the prophets Jeremiah, Habbakkuk, and Zephaniah.

Reading the things that Daniel wrote in his book tell us that he had read the writings of Isaiah.

This suggests that, as he grew, Daniel was exposed to people who held a deep faith and trust in God.

He believed in God without compromise.

As a young man he was educated, honest, trustworthy and full of integrity.

He found favour with King Nebucadnezzar.

He served the King and within fifteen years of entering the king's service,

He had gained a reputation as a man of real wisdom.

Ezekiel refers to Daniel as being as wise as Noah and Job.

Daniel outlived Nebuchadneszzar and the next six kings of Babylon.

He lived on into the third year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia.

Now, the text we are looking at this morning refers to something that happened toward the end of Daniel's life, which, by the way, shows that we are never too old for God to use us in a powerful way.

Daniel was in his early 90's by this time.

He was given a great deal of responsibility in the Persian kingdom, working for King Darius, who most scholars believe ruled for King Cyrus.

So what is the power tool that Daniel used so effectively?

The power tool is the tool of personal integrity.

A dictionary definition of integrity is consistency and sincerity, with no deception or pretense.

The word integrity and the maths term “integer” come from the same root word which means, whole.

In other words, there is no discrepancy between what a person of integrity appears to be on the outside and what he or she is on the inside.

He is whole, the same through and through.

People with integrity have nothing to hide and nothing to fear.

Their lives are open books.

The opposite of integrity for example, is hypocrisy.

Charles Swindoll recounts the true story of a man who went into a Kentucky Fried Chicken store to get some chicken for himself and the young lady who was with him.

She waited in the car while he went in to pick up the chicken.

Inadvertently, the manager of the store handed the guy the box in which he had placed the financial proceeds of the day instead of a box of chicken.

The manager had camouflaged the money by putting the money in a chicken box.

The man took the box, which he thought was filled with chicken, went back to the car, and drove away.

When they eventually opened the box, they discovered they had a box full of money.

Realizing the mistake, he immediately returned to the place and gave the money back to the manager.

The manager was of course elated!

He was so pleased that he told the young man to stick around…

”I want to call the newspaper and have them take your picture.

You have to be the most honest guy in town!”

“Oh no, don't do that!” said the man.

“Why not?” asked the manager.

“Well, you see I'm married and the woman I'm with is not my wife”.

As this story illustrates, on the surface individuals may look like people of honesty and great integrity, people so thoroughly honest that if they’d been given the wrong change at a supermarket check out they'd give the 50 cents back.

But underneath, it isn't unusual to find some corruption or deception.

For the follower of Jesus Christ it means there must be a congruence,

or a consistency,

between our character and our creed,

between our beliefs and our behaviour,

between our walk and our talk.

It means loving God with the totality of who we are and allowing that love and our faith to extend to the whole of our life, including our families, our community relationships, and our careers.

INTEGRITY was Daniel’s middle name.

1. Daniel’s whole life illustrates the fact that integrity shows.

Is your integrity showing?

Daniel got a high powered job because people noticed his integrity.

His walk matched his talk.

His word was his bond.

He could be trusted to be completely fair and just.

In verse 3 it said that Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the high officers by his exceptional qualities that the king placed him over the entire empire.

If we are to be effective for God in representing Him in our daily lives,

we too must strive for personal integrity.

Proverbs 20:7 says, “The righteous person leads a blameless life.”

Evangelism is living your life as a person of integrity.

Evangelism is being Christ-like in every thing you do.

When it comes to evangelism, BEING precedes doing.

In that sense, you can ALL be evangelists, and impact people’s lives for good in one way or another, just by being yourself showing integrity in all you do.

So ask yourself, what message is your life conveying to those around you?

Is your integrity showing?

2. Daniel’s life shows us that living a life of integrity does not prevent you from the unfairness of life.

Being fair with others does not mean they will be FAIR with you!

Daniel wasn't thrown into the lions' den because he had done something wrong, but because he had done something right!

He was punished for the crime of praying in the privacy of his home – very unfair!

    (Recall Dileeni's testimony..... victimisation...)

The truth is that in our fallen world things are so warped and twisted

that at times people are rewarded for doing wrong and punished for doing right!

This is hard to swallow.

Psalm 73 says,

“² But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. ³ For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness…. ¹³ Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?  ¹⁴ I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.” (Psalm 73:2-3, 13-14 )

YES, LIFE IS OFTEN UNFAIR!

No one, not even those with integrity, are exempt from tragedy and disappointment.

In fact, as the events of the first Easter remind us, even God Himself was not exempt.

Philip Yancey writes,

“Jesus offered no immunity, no way out of the unfairness of life but

rather a way through it to the other side.

Just as Good Friday demolished the instinctive belief that this life is

supposed to be fair, Easter Sunday followed with its startling clue to the

riddle of the universe. Out of the darkness, a bright light shone!” (unquote)

If you are facing unfairness, remember that Easter Sunday follows Good Friday.

Hang in there!

God will bring you through your own lions' den just as He did Daniel.

This is a very important Psalm so I am going to read a good chunk of it.

Grab hold of this…. King David in Psalm 37 said,

“ ¹ Don’t worry about the wicked
      or envy those who do wrong.
² For like grass, they soon fade away.
      Like spring flowers, they soon wither.

³ Trust in the Lord and do good.
      Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
      and he will give you your heart’s desires.

⁵ Commit everything you do to the Lord.
      Trust him, and he will help you.
⁶ He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
      and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still in the presence of the Lord,
      and wait patiently for him to act.
   Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
      or fret about their wicked schemes.

⁸ Stop being angry!
      Turn from your rage!
   Do not lose your temper—
      it only leads to harm.
⁹ For the wicked will be destroyed,
      but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land.

¹⁰ Soon the wicked will disappear.
      Though you look for them, they will be gone.
¹¹ The lowly will possess the land
      and will live in peace and prosperity.

¹² The wicked plot against the godly;
      they snarl at them in defiance.
¹³ But the Lord just laughs,
      for he sees their day of judgment coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw their swords
      and string their bows
   to kill the poor and the oppressed,
      to slaughter those who do right.
¹⁵ But their swords will stab their own hearts,
      and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ It is better to be godly and have little
      than to be evil and rich.
¹⁷ For the strength of the wicked will be shattered,
      but the Lord takes care of the godly.

¹⁸ Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent,
      and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.
¹⁹ They will not be disgraced in hard times;
      even in famine they will have more than enough.

Life may be unfair.

God is always fair.

3. People of integrity know the importance of PRAYER.

Prayer was Daniel's daily habit every day, three times a day!

Perhaps he was following the example of David who wrote in Psalm 55:17,

^“17 Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress and the Lord

hears my voice.”

When we spend time with God we become more and more like Him.

In his book on the spiritual disciplines, Richard Foster writes,

“In real prayer we begin to think God's thoughts after Him: to desire the

things He desires, to love the things He loves. Progressively we are

taught to see things from His point of view.”

Daniel wasn't on his knees because of some tragedy or emergency.

It was his REGULAR habit.

This constant communication with God was the source of his great integrity.

How is your prayer time?

What does it take to get you on your knees?

We must learn to shut the world out and tune God in at least ONCE a day every day without fail, otherwise the things of the world will crowd God out.

Many of us claim we are too busy for daily prayer but remember that Daniel was the CEO of a huge empire.

The truth is, prayer must be a priority.

We must reorder our daily schedules around time with God.

The Devil is very good at sending emails like this:

“Dear Christian,

When you're faced with a busy day, save precious time by skipping

your devotions. Signed, Satan”

As people of integrity, we can't afford to miss regular time alone in conversation with God if we are to live lives of significance for Him.

4. ....by using the power tool of integrity you can have an amazing IMPACT on this world.

Daniel's reputation as a man of integrity gave him the opportunity to impact two great empires: the Babylonian and the Persian empires.

He also changed the course of the history of the people of God.

Remember the King's proclamation after finding Daniel unharmed the next morning? He said,

²⁵ Then King Darius sent this message to the people of every race and nation and language throughout the world:

   “Peace and prosperity to you!
²⁶ “I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel.

   For he is the living God,
      and he will endure forever.
   His kingdom will never be destroyed,
      and his rule will never end.
²⁷ He rescues and saves his people;
      he performs miraculous signs and wonders
      in the heavens and on earth.
   He has rescued Daniel
     from the power of the lions.”

²⁸ So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.^[a]

Most scholars doubt that King Darius ever became a worshiper of Yahweh but he did respect God's power so much that he later sent the Jews back to Jerusalem to rebuild their Temple.

This never would have happened if it were not for Daniel's integrity.

And note how God used even pagan kings to prosper His purposes.

Like Daniel, you too can change your world by using the power tool of integrity.

This morning is the Holy Spirit speaking to you,

urging you to be a follower of Jesus in your scope of influence?

If you haven't been living a life of integrity,

if you haven't been conducting yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ... (Philippians 1:27 ) ...then it is never too late to begin to do so.

As I John 1:9 says,

“If we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us

and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The tool of INTEGRITY is a POWER tool.

It won't work without the POWER of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

It is the Kingdom of God within us, Jesus within us,

who gives us the day to day ability to live lives of integrity.

Some of us may need to rededicate ourselves to God this morning, committing to keep our relationship with Jesus strong.

And, if you don't have access to that power,

if you have never surrendered your life to Jesus Christ,

then today is a good day to do that.

Decide today to accept Christ as your Lord and Saviour.

God is speaking to you today and now is the time to respond….