[0:00] Take your Bibles, if you would, and turn with me to Psalm 15. Psalm 15, the integrity chapter. I did not mention there will be no nurseries, no Sunday school, no teachers and workers meetings, only a one-hour service, and that's what we'll do until further actions are taken.
[0:18] So I remind you, Sunday, if you really have to, you need to sit down with your kids, you feel free to do that. Or they'll have to be in the service with you, and you need to keep them from other children, as bad as that sounds when I say that.
[0:33] Psalm 15 is one of my favorite chapters. It is a chapter that I have used and taught for a long time. I'll be honest, I know more about it tonight than I've ever known because I spent time studying it.
[0:45] I have been under more conviction studying this chapter than I have been in a long time. I want you to read with me what this chapter is. By the way, it's a very clear thing that no one can be the man of integrity mentioned in Psalm 15 but the Lord Jesus.
[1:00] No one could live up to this. But read with me, if you would, Psalm 15, one. Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who can come spend time with you?
[1:10] You're hospitable. You have your tent. You're open. You're welcoming. Who shall dwell in your holy hill? Well, we got a temple set up there. Who can go and spend time with you? He that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness and speaketh the truth in his heart.
[1:26] He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doth evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile person is despised, contempt, but he honoreth them that fear the Lord.
[1:41] He that sweareth to his own heart hurt and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury or interest, nor taketh reward against the innocent.
[1:51] He that doeth these things shall never be moved. That is, of course, the Lord Jesus, but it's also a challenge for each of us. Father, please drive home these truths.
[2:03] Call our hearts and attention to you and to the holy living that you've called us to. Help us to honor you and we'll give you praise. In Jesus' name, amen. John Phillips, a Bible commentator, thinks that Jesus actually preached the Sermon on the Mount using Psalm 15 as his outline.
[2:20] And he even divides it up and shows you. He talks about this and he talks, David says this and Jesus said that. Which wouldn't be far wrong because God's men always preach one book.
[2:31] The Holy Bible. The Word of God. And even Jesus probably did that. This is probably a psalm that was sung when David was taking the ark up to Jerusalem.
[2:43] He tried once before, but when he tried the first time, a man died because he touched it. And David was following the Philistines way, the lost people's way of carrying it.
[2:54] He'd been a Bible pragmatic preacher thinking that he could do what the lost world did. This time the ark goes up great. And he gets the ark up there and he's dancing before the Lord, joyfully worshiping God.
[3:09] I really don't want to take the time for it. But in verse 1, there's the tabernacle and there's dwelling. There's temporary and it's like living there. It's like the tabernacle would have been temporary. The tent would have been temporary.
[3:21] And the temple would have been permanent. What David wanted more than anything was a developed relationship, desperately dwelling, desperately wanting to dwell in the presence of the Lord Jesus.
[3:33] But then he goes through what I believe every one of us ought to strive to work on. There is no grace that calls for loose living. There is no grace that allows us to say, thank God for grace.
[3:46] I do not need to worry about being holy and righteous. When you serve God, you hunger to do the things of God. And this is a chapter about that integrity.
[3:56] Number one, if you write things down, write this down. Those that live in Christ, a life of integrity, they will do so by walking uprightly. If we are really born again, we ought to be men and women of integrity.
[4:09] And that means in this verse, we walk uprightly. We walk uprightly. I don't have time to go over with you all the verses. I'll mention them. You can write them down.
[4:20] If you get the outlines, you can see them. But I just want to show you what it means. What's it mean to walk uprightly? It means to show deep respect, reverence, and awe and obedience toward God.
[4:32] When you love God, you are constantly thinking about him. And you're like, God, I want to please you. God, I want to be what you want me to be. Psalm 14.2 says, Proverbs 14.2, He that walks in his uprightness fears the Lord.
[4:48] He also walks with confidence. Because when you're doing what God wants you to do, you really don't have to worry about what man wants you to do because you'll be doing the right thing. Proverbs chapter 10 and verse 9 says, He that walks uprightly walks surely.
[5:02] That means confidently. That means I can know I'm all right because I'm doing right. The third thing is he walks by integrity. Proverbs 11.3, The integrity of the upright shall guide him.
[5:16] That means that we live unbroken, complete, whole lives. It means we maintain moral purity. It means that we're genuine. We are what you expect us to be.
[5:29] We don't take that holiness and that purity and break it on occasion, but we want to live and walk uprightly. That's what we're supposed to do. It means that we walk in wisdom.
[5:40] Wisdom is the fear of the Lord. And we walk that way. Proverbs 15.21. It means we avoid evil. The man that walks uprightly says, I don't want to do wrong. I don't want to do what doesn't please God.
[5:52] I want to do what's right. Proverbs 16.17, The highway of the upright is to depart from evil. And so in that first part of the verse, he said, If you notice, He that walks uprightly and works righteousness.
[6:06] I want that to be my story. I want to be a man that looks to serve Jesus and honor him and to do the right thing and to live a complete and genuine Christian life. I want my children at home to know that I am in the pulpit what I am at the house.
[6:22] I want them to know that I love Jesus all the time. I want them to know that when it comes dying time for me, I'll be the same guy I was all the time I stood and preached. To work righteousness means to be accurate or correct, honest, doing the right thing the right way.
[6:38] It means to be impartial in the way we do justice and rightness. We treat everybody the same, no partiality. It's the idea of being loyal. When you do this righteousness, it is being loyal.
[6:52] Loyal to Jesus, loyal to his word. That's what it means to work righteousness. Now look at Psalm 15.2. Psalm 15.2 if you would. So the second part, I'm breaking it down for you.
[7:04] There will be seven of these all together. Look if you would at Psalm 15.2. When you live, when you walk in integrity, when you live out who you are in Christ, you speak the truth from the heart.
[7:17] You speak the truth from the heart. Psalm 15.2 says, and he speaks the truth in his heart. That's an amazing statement. You know, it'd be one thing if you said the truth from your lips out, but it's another thing if you say the truth on the inside.
[7:33] It's one thing if I say something out here, and another thing if I'm thinking something different on the inside. So that kind of goes along with what we've seen in other psalms. In Psalm chapter 12 and verse 2, what very likely is the Antichrist, he speaks vanity, Psalm 12.2.
[7:48] He uses flattering lips, and he has a double heart. He doesn't mean what he says. He doesn't say what he means. In Psalm chapter 24 and verse 4, it means that you really think, and you really mean what you say.
[8:02] It says they have not sworn deceitfully. I have not given my word when I wasn't telling the truth. In Bible terms, in the New Testament, God's people don't need to swear.
[8:13] I'm not talking about when you go to court or anything like it. The whole point is, Jesus said when you say yay, it means yay. When you say yes, it means yes. You don't say yes meaning no. You don't say yes meaning maybe.
[8:24] You just say yes, and you say no. You know why? Because in Colossians 3.9, we're not to lie to one another. You see, we have put off the deeds of the old man.
[8:35] We are not like we were before we got saved. We have put that off. So we walk uprightly, we work righteousness, and we tell the truth in our heart.
[8:46] Look, if you would, it's Psalm 15.3. Psalm 15.3. See what the Word of God says there with me if you would. The Bible says, He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor.
[9:01] That means we treat our neighbors, we treat other people right. We treat other people right. It's Jesus who will say, who's your neighbor? And he's telling them, everybody's your neighbor.
[9:12] Treat everybody right. The man of integrity doesn't slander, gossip, or speak evil. Boy, did the Lord really deal with my heart. Backbiting is like stabbing someone in the back.
[9:25] It's attacking the character or reputation of the absent person. In James 4.11, the Word of God says, Speak not evil one of another, brethren.
[9:36] He that speaks evil of his brother judges his brother. The last part of verse 12 says, And who are you to judge another?
[9:47] So you and I, as Christians, want to be careful about being backbiters, backstabbers, speaking evil. We are not to be tail bearers.
[9:59] In Leviticus 19.16, Thou shalt not go up and down as a tail bearer. Verse 17, You shall not hate your brother in your heart. As a Christian, it affects the way I treat my neighbor.
[10:14] It affects what I say to them and about them and behind their back. Paul called it whispering. Paul called it whispering. In Romans 1.29 and 30, it is a tremendously interesting set of words.
[10:29] He says, Being filled with all unrighteousness. And then he lists a whole bunch of really nasty, wicked things. And in the middle he says, Whispers, backbiters. Verse 30, Whispers, backbiters.
[10:41] He starts before whispers, malignity. So all this evil stuff and whispers and backbiters and haters of God. I don't want to be that person. I have been that person. I don't want to be that person.
[10:52] I want to get that part of my life always right. The man of integrity doesn't hurt his neighbor. Psalm 15.3, We're to have no desire to hurt or injure anyone.
[11:04] We do not want to think wrong thoughts about anyone. We don't want to see our neighbors suffer. We are men of integrity. So we will not even taunt or insult our neighbor.
[11:16] Look at the verse. Nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor. We don't pick up insults about our neighbor. We will not look for a way to accuse our neighbor.
[11:27] So it ought to be that we're the best neighbors in the community. It ought to be that we can be trusted. It ought to be that we realize the whole world is our neighbor, like Jesus said.
[11:40] The man of integrity will be careful about who he keeps company with. The man of integrity will be careful about who he keeps company with. Look with me at Psalm chapter 15 and verse 4.
[11:51] This is a kind of a hard verse because of some words that we're not typically accustomed to using. But the Bible says in Psalm 54, In whose eyes this man of integrity, when he looks at people, a vile person is condemned.
[12:07] Contemned. That means that he is despised. That means he finds the person despicable. A vile person. Who is a vile person?
[12:19] To be honest, a vile person is someone who has rejected God. It is someone who has rejected God's word. It is someone who's rejected God's ways. And this man of integrity says, You know what?
[12:31] I don't have respect for vile people. I don't have respect for people that don't love God. I don't have respect for people that make fun of and hate the word of God.
[12:42] Fact is, the word of God says, and this is so hard because it's not like us. We're supposed to be nice to people in our minds. But the word of God says he is condemned.
[12:53] Which means, it means the man of integrity despises that person who rejects God. He finds that person to be despicable.
[13:05] It is said that when Charles Spurgeon was a young boy, his mother said to him, Son, if you reject God at the great white throne when you are judged, I will agree with God that you should go to hell.
[13:19] That had to be some of the harshest words a mother could ever say. But it probably fits very well with Psalm chapter 15. Notice he picks his company. I know that in our day and time it's like I ought to hang out with lost people and wicked people and I want to be a friend with them and be a part of them.
[13:36] But you can't read Psalm 15 and come away with that same idea. It says, in whose eyes a vile person, a wicked person, a God-rejected person is despised and despicable.
[13:49] But he honors them that fear the Lord. He honors them that fear the Lord. So I don't like you because you're lost. I love you because you honor Jesus. I don't show respect towards you.
[14:01] I show respect towards you. I'm not saying that. Read the Bible. We consider our company. You're going to say, well, that's Old Testament, Austin.
[14:13] That's not who we are today. But in the New Testament, in 2 Corinthians 6, 14, one of the most popular passages in the New Testament, because we want to be as worldly as we can be and still be men of integrity.
[14:29] But when the church is worldly, the world loses a church. We can't let the water in. Somebody said, the church is like a boat and a boat can live in the water unless the water gets in the boat.
[14:45] And we may live in a vile world, but when we let vileness in, we too will sink. I wish you would take your Bible and do this study on your own in a minute. But in 2 Corinthians 6, in verse 14, he uses words I find extremely interesting.
[15:01] He says, be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. It's like, don't hook up with them. So you use that as don't marry a lost person, but that's not really what it's saying.
[15:13] It's saying yoked. It doesn't say about marriage. That's not even the context. And then he proceeds to use words that are harsh. He says, I wish you'd done it on this. What fellowship does righteousness have with unrighteousness?
[15:25] If you are right, how do you like wrong? How do you get along with wrong? Right and wrong, don't get along. What communion has light and darkness? You're either one or you're the other.
[15:37] What concord, just underline all these what words, what concord, what fellowship, what communion, what concord, what peace treatment is there between Jesus and the devil? What part does a believer have with a non-believer?
[15:50] What agreement does the temple of God have with idols? Come out from among them and be separate and touch not the unclean thing. In the Old Testament, we see idols being brought in the church or the temple and we see people accepting that and David might have had just a bit of that problem when he tried to take the ark up using the oxen and doing it the way the Philistines did it but this time he gets the ark up there and a song of triumph is sung because he searches the word of God and he does it God's way.
[16:24] Go with me if you would to Psalm 15 verse 4 he that swears to his own hurt and changes not. I have stories to tell about that because of our environment and where we are I don't do that tonight but we ought to tell the truth and if it means we lose money or not respected when we say it our word is our bond we are honest people.
[16:51] It goes back to yea yea and nay nay don't say it if you're not going to do it. He swears to his own hurt and changes not.
[17:02] Look with me if you would at Psalm chapter 15 Psalm chapter 15 verse 5 the man of integrity the man living in Christ and doing what he should doesn't take advantage of others.
[17:15] He doesn't take advantage of others. In Psalm 15 5 the Bible says he that putteth out his money he that putteth not out his money to usury nor takes reward against the innocent.
[17:28] The Jews were taught when you loan money to another Jew you're not to charge interest when you do that. They were not to take advantage of each other.
[17:39] If I'm giving you a loan I'm giving you a loan to help you not make money off of you. It's one of the most exciting things to read the Old Testament and I really wish we had more time.
[17:50] I think you could be doing that in the Bible Institute as they go into the Pentateuch. What beautiful wonderful words when the Lord tells them how they're going to take care of their poor people how they're going to do everything because you see they don't put out money to usury they don't take advantage of other people.
[18:10] If they took a man's coat as guarantee for the loan that they gave him at night time they'd give the coat back they wouldn't hold on to it that's what they were taught to do by the Lord.
[18:22] The man of integrity never took advantage of his advantages. The man of integrity never took advantage of his advantages. We're here to serve. This is a picture of Jesus and you can obviously see that.
[18:36] Let me give you the last one number seven. The man of integrity will live with a consistent character. You see what I want to do is I want to be a consistent Christian.
[18:48] I want to live out who I am in Christ. I want it to show. In verse five he says he that does these things shall never be moved.
[19:00] If I would learn to work righteousness if I would learn to do what was right if I would learn to tell the truth to treat my neighbor right if I would learn not to take advantage and hurt other people if I would learn to choose my friends correctly I would not fall down.
[19:21] No man has ever truly been able to live this chapter. The more I read it boy the more condemned I got the more convicted I got as I realize I do not have not lived up to this.
[19:35] The only man who ever walked uprightly working righteousness Jesus whose innermost thoughts and whose every spoken word met the approval of God whose words are restrained righteous respectful and reliable whose ways are always fair whose path was always firmly fixed was Jesus.
[19:55] But we're in Christ and if our father said be ye holy for I am holy we can't look at this and say well I could never live up to Psalm 15 so I won't even try.
[20:08] If you love Jesus you want to live righteously. We are righteous in Christ. He made us righteous but we want to live up to who we are.
[20:20] We never accept our faults. We're always looking unto him. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. It is never ever my desire to just say I'll just accept the way I am.
[20:34] I hunger and thirst for righteousness. That's what the Bible said. We hunger to live a consistent constant Holy Spirit filled life.
[20:46] I thank you for reading that Psalm. Go read it again. If you get the notes read all the verses think about what it says. I would say to you that on the B level I want to be I want to live out who I am.
[21:01] I want to live out Jesus. I want to live out his character. He lives in me. He's working on me and he's conforming me to his image and that's who I want to be.
[21:12] I know you do too. By the way if you're here and you're not saved or if you're watching and you're not saved you can't do this. It'll take the Lord Jesus doing it. He and he alone can save you. You need to realize you'll never measure up.
[21:23] None of us ever measure up. We're only saved because we trust the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Father in heaven I love you and I thank you for the opportunity to speak to your wonderful people and I thank you dear God for all that you're doing and have done and I pray God that you would work and move and show your power in our lives.
[21:43] God bless our church help it to be all it ought to be. Help us to continue to have the right testimony and we will give you honor and praise and glory for all you do in Jesus name. Amen.
[21:54] I want to thank you for being here. Lord willing this is our last drive-in service for a while anyway and our transmitter Lord willing will be at Whitfield with Brother Wayne Cofield and we will be inside Sunday.
[22:07] I really would appreciate if you'd send a text to me or Allison or Trent and say hey reserve me X amount of seats so we can make sure we got everybody in and still try to honor and respect things.
[22:19] Please try to not even go to the bathroom Sunday. That's what they would prefer. And so I am thankful you have stood up as a church and I am so proud of you. I am honored and blessed to serve you as a pastor and as a brother and I pray that you would be continually blessed and that God would work in you.
[22:37] Thank you for being here tonight. God bless you.