Do You Have Integrity? - Tim Conway - Excerpt

You know what's true about a trial?

The same thing that's true

about a man who gives his word.

He swears to his own hurt

and he changes not.

When a man of integrity

is confronted by a path that's easy,

but to take the easy path means

I have to forfeit my integrity,

versus a path that hurts,

but to walk it,

to walk the path of integrity,

I'm going to have to suffer the pain.

And this comes back to trials

because in trials,

we're faced with what temptation?

We're faced with going through the trial.

Typically, one of the things

that is true about the trial

is that to go through it
in a way of integrity

means that there's going
to be certain suffering.

And many times, there
are ways out of trials.

You see, the person that
is not a person of integrity

will seek to avoid pain at all costs

even though it will cost them their honor

or cost them their honesty.

How about mistakes?

When people fail?

There is a place too

where a person's integrity will show.

Because I'll tell you this about David.

When he was confronted by his sin,

he admitted it.

A man without integrity will seek

to hide what he has done.

He won't seek to admit what he's done.

Mistakes.

Honesty.

You live in this house.

Integrity says, I come home.

I'm famished.

Go to the refrigerator.

There's a half-eaten sandwich.

Integrity says that doesn't belong to me.

I'm not going to eat it.

You know what integrity says?

You take a soda at Fatty's or a water

and you pay for it.

Integrity says that when I know the boss

is out sick that day,

I don't mark it down as a play day.

I work just as hard as if he was there.

And you know what
motivates a man to do that?

A man who knows that in all of his actions

God is there.

And God is watching.

And God vindicates and upholds

and protects and allows
access to His holy hill,

men of integrity.

You see, a person who
really longs for Christ

and longs for intimacy with God knows

that the person of integrity has access

to His holy hill

and will be invited very often

into the intimate place that
people without integrity

are not invited into.

And I'll tell you this.

There are degrees of integrity
among God's children.

That degree of integrity,

those who have the highest degrees of it

are granted access into
the most privileged places

more than those who don't have it.

And if you really desire to be there,

you who walk before God,

you know that He's watching you.

"A man's ways are before
the eyes of the Lord."

Proverbs 5:21, "...and He
ponders all his paths."

I'll tell you, when you
come to that refrigerator,

men who live here,

and you find something
in that refrigerator

that doesn't belong to you,

God is there and He's pondering your path.

When you go and you pull
that soda out at Fatty's,

God is there and He's pondering the path.

When you walk through life,

when you're telling the story,

and you embellish it

and you add facts that make you look good,

but aren't exactly true
and you stretch things,

God is there and He's weighing out

your words in the balance and He knows.

And a man of integrity will purposely

not overembellish a story.

He will purposely under-embellish it

lest he be found a liar
in the sight of God.

Integrity. Do you have it?

Young people, do you have it?

Those of you that live in this house -

it's amazing that one of the things

that we want to encourage is integrity

for those young men
that live in this house.

You know what's amazing to me

is this last first of the month,

the guys that are supposed
to pay their money

on the first Sunday of the month,

we had four of the men not pay.

And some of those men are men

that are members of our church.

Integrity, men.

Integrity, ladies.

Do you give your word

that you're going to do something?

Do you give your word

that you're going to be on time at a job?

Do you take a job

and you tell your boss

I'm going to do this?

I'll do this. I'll work for you.

I give you my word.

And then, are you found
to work half-hearted?

Half as much as the people that
are lost in that workplace?

This is a matter of integrity.

There is a God that sees.

2 Chronicles 16:9,

"The eyes of the Lord run to and fro

throughout the whole earth

to give strong support to those

whose heart is blameless toward Him."

His eyes.

As the Bible likens this to that of a man

that we can imagine God,

His eyes are running to and fro

all the time,

back and forth,

and what is He looking for?

Men and women of integrity.

I'll tell you this,

you know what the motivation is

to live a life of integrity?

It's faith that truly believes

that even when no one else is watching,

God knows

and He's weighing it all
out in His balances.

And based on your decisions,

based on your honesty,

based on your integrity,

you are going to be granted access

to greater and lesser degrees

to His very holy place

and to communion with Him

and Him preserving you.

And when you walk a life like that,

you can go into your prayer place

and you can say,

"Father, I ask You for this

based on my integrity."

And that is not an unbiblical way to pray.

But it is an unbiblical way to pray

if you don't have integrity.

I call you to it.

"The Lord is in His holy temple."

Psalm 11:4 says,

"The Lord's throne is in Heaven.

His eyes see.

His eyelids test the children of man."

We can't hide ourselves before the Lord.

He tests all of our ways.

There is your motivation for integrity.

The Lord before Whom you walk.

The Lord before Whom you live.

The Lord before Whom

you must carry out your ways

and your words and your thoughts,

Whose eyes are running to and fro

constantly looking.

Isn't it amazing?

The Lord is specifically looking

for people of integrity.

Young people,

don't cut corners on integrity.

Don't be half-hearted.

Dwell on these things.

It's only of faith that believes

what I've said tonight.

It's only of faith that believes.

It's only a person that lives

in an awareness of the presence of God

and believes God is here,

God is present,

God is watching,

God is concerned,

God is weighing,

God's eyes are running to and fro.

It's only with that conviction

that you will be motivated

to live a life of integrity.

Guarantee, that is the driving force.

That is the driving conviction.

Well, may God help us to do so.