Faith

The Ingredients of a Godly Legacy

Acts 20:17-38

The Example of the Apostle Paul

Integrity

Acts 20:17-19 (NIV)

“From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents.”

Steadfastness

Acts 20:20-21 (NIV)

“You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house.  I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.”

Boldness

Acts 20:22-24 (NIV)

“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.  I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”

Faithfulness

Acts 20:25-31 (NIV)

“Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you.  For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.  Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.  So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.”

Generosity

Acts 20:32-35 (NIV)

“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.  I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.  You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Impact

Acts 20:36-38 (NIV)

“When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed.  They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.”

1. Walk into the rebellion against your diehard sin knowing who is with you.

Acts 4:1-13 (ESV)
“And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by Him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’ Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”

Matthew 9:35-36 (ESV)
“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

2. Bring Christ and His provision to bear on your beliefs and desires.

Joshua 1:8 (ESV)
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

3. Enter with joy into your struggle against destructive daily habits.

One of those schemes is this: “Don’t deal with your sin.”

You can face sin instead of hiding it.

You can own your sin instead of blaming others.

You can accept your sin instead of making excuses.

You can identify your sin as sin instead of minimizing it.

You can acknowledge your sin instead of denying it.

You can trust God with your sin instead of despairing.

4. Understand your real needs in the fight. 

Ephesians 4:17-24
“Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

The goal of our rebellion with sin is not that we would be better rule followers, but that we would be more faithful Christ lovers.

5. We are called to do the same for others.

Moving from the Cave to the Castle

1 Chronicles 11:10-19

Who were these mighty men?

1 Samuel 22

- Distressed
- Indebted
- Discontented

There’s some Spiritual STRATEGY involved in moving from the cave to the castle.

*Strategy - “A plan of action, a plan for military operations and movements during a war or battle.”

1. Stare Up

Psalm 121:1-2 -- “I will lift up mine eyes to the hills-from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.”

Psalm 57 & 142
Written by David while hiding in the cave of Adullam

2. Strengthen Up

1 Chronicles 11:10 -- “...Strengthened themselves with him...” - “Encouraged”

1 Samuel 30:6 -- “...But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”

3. Step Up

1 Chronicles 11:10-11 -- “...With him...” “...Whom David had...” - He had their loyal service!

Volunteers
Psalm 110:3 -- “Your people will be volunteers in the day of your power.”

4. Stand Up

1 Chronicles 11:13-14 -- “...Took their stand...” - Stance of committed continuance

Vs. 14 -- “...So the Lord brought about a great victory.”

5. Speak Up

1 Chronicles 11:16-17 -- “Oh that someone would give me a drink of water from the well in Bethlehem, which is by the gate.”

I have a hypothesis...
David was not physically thirsty...He was thirsty for the will of God to be realized!

Job. 22:28 -- “Declare a thing and it shall be established.”

6. Shore Up

1 Chronicles 11:10 -- “...According to the Word of the Lord concerning Israel.” - David’s mighty men chose to give him a real picture of future victory! - Shore up their leaders’ faith!

- David’s Mighty Men gave him a VISION of VICTORY!

Proverbs 29:18 -- “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

Pastor Sam Walker // July 25, 2021

Living for God in an Ungodly Culture

Message Reference - John 8:1-11

John 8:1-3 (NIV)

“At dawn He appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around Him, and He sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.’”

John 8:3b-6a (NIV)

“They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing Him.”

John 8:6b (NIV)

“Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger.”

John 8:7a (NIV)

“…they kept on questioning Him…”

John 8:7b (NIV)

“‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’” 

John 8:10-11 (NLT)

“‘Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?’ ‘No, Lord,’ she said. And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I. Go and sin no more.’”

Three Options to Reach Those in Need of Forgiveness From God

1. Condemn 

“You are too far gone.”

2. Condone

“You are just fine the way you are.”

3. Compassionate confrontation 

“You are loved by God and in need of forgiveness.”

“Now go and sin no more.”

- Jesus Christ

God Wants to Use You

John 4:5-29 (NLT)
“(Jesus) came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ He was alone at the time because His disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, ‘You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?’ ‘Jesus replied, ‘If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.’ ‘But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,’ she said, ‘and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?’ Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.’ ‘Please, sir,’ the woman said, ‘give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.’ ‘Go and get your husband,’ Jesus told her. ‘I don’t have a husband,’ the woman replied. Jesus said, ‘You’re right! You don’t have a husband—for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!’ ‘Sir,’ the woman said, ‘you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?’ Jesus replied, ‘Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about Him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship Him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.’ The woman said, ‘I know the Messiah is coming —the one who is called Christ. When He comes, He will explain everything to us.’ Then Jesus told her, ‘I am the Messiah!’ Just then His disciples came back. They were shocked to find Him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, ‘What do you want with her?’ or ‘Why are you talking to her?’ The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?’”

Reaching Those Lost and Trapped by Sin in an Ungodly Culture

1. Understand the perspective of the one you are reaching.

2. Reach them with the love and grace of Jesus first.

“Jesus replied, ‘If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me,

and I would give you living water.’”

3. Realize God has given you the Holy Spirit to share Christ with others.

John 4:39 & 42 (NLT)
“Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, ‘He told me everything I ever did!’ Then they said to the woman, ‘Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard Him ourselves. Now we know that He is indeed the Savior of the world.’”

Vision of Victory

1.     Know you are free.

John 8:36 (ESV)

“So if the Son set you free, you will be free indeed.”

2.    How to hold onto that freedom.

1 Peter 2:16 (ESV)

“Live as people who are free…”

Vision of Victory

1 Samuel 17:26 (ESV)
“And David said to the men who stood by him, ‘What shall be done for the man who kills the Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel?’”

Reaching Those Who Are Lost In an Ungodly Culture

Luke 19:1-4 (NIV)

“Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see Him, since Jesus was coming that way.”

1.  Don’t assume someone doesn’t want to know who Jesus really is. 

“He wanted to see who Jesus was.”

2. You cannot assess if someone is worthy of meeting Jesus.

Luke 19:5-6 (NIV)

“When Jesus reached the spot, He looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.’ So he came down at once and welcomed Him gladly.”

Verse 7

“All the people saw this and began to mutter, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.’”

3.  Seek out those lost in your life so that they may be found. 

Luke 19:8-10 (NIV)

“Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’”

Romans 6:1-14 (NIV)

“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we will certainly also be united with Him in a resurrection like His. For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him. The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to Him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”

Acts 1:8 (NKJV)

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Being a Man of God in an Ungodly Culture

Joshua 24:14-15 (NKJV)

“Fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

The man of God…

1. Accepts that he is accountable to God for his family. 

2. Chooses daily to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and to the Word of God. 

“Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

James 1:17 (NIV)

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Isaiah 3:12 (NKJV)

“As for My people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths.”

3. Is the protector of those God has assigned under his care. 

“Whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Ephesians 5:11 (NIV)

“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”

Maintaining a Biblical Perspective in the Face of Pressure

Daniel 6:10 (NIV)

“Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.”

Daniel 6:16a (NIV)

“So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den.”

1. We are to rest in the sovereignty of God’s plan. 

Daniel 3:17-18 (NIV)

“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if He does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Acts 4:19-20 (NIV)

“Peter and John replied, ‘Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to Him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.’”

2. We find comfort in knowing what is impossible with man is possible with God. 

Daniel 6:14 (NIV)

“When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.”

Daniel 6:17 (NIV)

“A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed.”

Daniel 6:16b (NIV)

“The king said to Daniel, ‘May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!’”

Daniel 6:18 (NIV)

“Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.”

3. Your greatest pressure point can become the place of your greatest encounter with God. 

Daniel 6:19 (NIV)

“At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, ‘Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?’”

Daniel 6:21 (NIV)

“May the king live forever!”

Daniel 6:22-23 (NIV)

“My God sent His angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in His sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty. The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.”

Psalm 46:1 (ESV)

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Daniel 6:24 (NIV)

“At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.”

4. God will use your refusal to bow to an ungodly culture as a catalyst for revival. 

Daniel 6:25-27 (NIV)

“Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth: ‘May you prosper greatly! I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For He is the living God and He endures forever; His kingdom will not be destroyed, His dominion will never end. He rescues and He saves; He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.’”

Living a Life of Integrity in an Ungodly Culture

“The blessing of our integrity will outlive us and guide others in the right path long after we are dancing on streets of gold. The impact and influence are eternal.”   - Dr. Russ Frase, Fight for integrity

Daniel 6:1-3 (ESV)

“It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss. Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.”

Living a Life of Integrity in an Ungodly Culture

1. Integrity positions you for an increase of influence. 

“Because an excellent spirit was in him.”

2 Samuel 22:26 (NLT)

“To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity.”

2.   Integrity positions you to be attacked by an ungodly culture. 

Daniel 6:4a (NIV)

“At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs.”

John 15:18-20 (NIV)

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”

Daniel 6:4b (NIV)

“They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.”

3. Integrity can cause evil men and women to try to entrap you.

Daniel 6:5-9 (NIV)

“Finally these men said, ‘We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.’ So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: ‘May King Darius live forever! The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.’ So King Darius put the decree in writing.”

Matthew 5:11 (NIV)

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”

4. A life of integrity remains faithful to God no matter what.

Daniel 6:10-12 (NIV)

“Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: ‘Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?’”

1 Peter 2:11-12 (NIV)

“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

Steps to help you live a life of integrity:

1. Be brutally honest about your current status of integrity. 

2. Take full responsibility for the areas you lack integrity. 

3. Remember, integrity is impossible without a life anchored to God and His Word. 

Psalm 119:105 (NIV)

“Your Word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”