INTEGRITY T R A IN - 3 YEA R S. knowing god

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83 INTEGRITY In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. If they don t have the first, the other two will kill you.

1 83 INTEGRITY In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. If they don t have the first, the other two will kill you. WARREN BUFFETT PREPA R E - 30 Y E AR S foundation calling knowing god T R A IN - 3 YEA R S relationships worldview generosity compassion T R A NS ITION - 1 / 2 Y EA R integrity humility courage legacy

2 84 INSIGHTS ON INTEGRITY THE JESUS JOURNEY. I am the truth. Jesus Momentum was growing. After thirty years of personal preparation and nearly thirty months of team training, news of how Jesus was serving and loving people through his acts of compassion was spreading quickly. Though he intentionally avoided entrusting himself to the popularity of people, momentum was taking on a life of its own. Even without acts of self-promotion his popularity was increasing and the dark shadow of popularity was beginning to hover over those in power who ruled over the people and they felt threatened by his popularity. When a leader and his organization become noticed, they will inevitably be faced with the questions of personal integrity by those who most feel threatened by the gains in their marketshare. The influence that he was gaining threatened the religious leaders hegemony as power brokers, and as a result, the Pharisees began to challenge his integrity. They were seeking to catch him in some kind of moral failure or breaking a particular religious law. This was the season in which Jesus faced an onslaught of questions. The questions came from all angles which put a spotlight on his personal and professional integrity. However, he was ready for this season because he was living a life of truth. Truth was the foundation of his integrity and no one knew this better than John. Truth is a key theme of John s writings. John is the only Biblical writer to record the twentyfive examples of Jesus saying, truly, truly. Jesus often used this phrase to affirm and assure those who were following him that his words were totally true. Integrity is the complete and undivided truth. It comes from the root word for a complete, undivided, whole number called an integer. Leaders with integrity do not send divided messages their actions and their words are in complete alignment. Their children, colleagues and community carefully watch them. This was the training period for Jesus team in which they were intentionally watching, learning and repeating what they observed in his life. He had spent over two years masterfully developing trusted relationships with them and they were at a point where they knew that his words and actions aligned. Integrity was built incrementally. His cadre was in a position to accept his outrageous claims that He was God and his demand of their full devotion. Jesus knew he needed to live a life of integrity for the sake of his mission, credibility, and impact. The apostle John noted that not only were the crowds making capacious demands on Jesus, but his team and family members were as well. They wanted him to make more public appearances in large markets like Jerusalem rather than the rural area of Galilee and to show [himself] to the world. However, Jesus was prepared for this kind of pressure. He was aligned with his heavenly Father. John records this season in chapters seven and eight. Jesus went privately to Jerusalem to face the pressure-filled environment of a festival season where he was the center of conversation. With the attention directed toward Him, he deflected it toward God the Father. Jesus stated, I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. I always do what pleases Him (John 8:28). He treated everyone as though they were all created in God s image. Those who challenged his authority were not minimized; an adulterous woman was offered grace at a time when it was greatly needed; and to those who believed in Him he offered this insight If you remain ( to reflect and respond ) in my teaching then you will know the truth (integrity) and it will set you free! A few months later he made the bold claim to his team, I am the truth, yet it shocked none of them. This claim was far too bold to ignore and too clear

3 INTEGRIT Y / 85 to be confused, yet not one teammate protested or contested the veracity of I am the truth. Why? Jesus had lived his life in front of them for nearly forty months with such integrity that the essence of his character was truthful. His words and actions aligned. His character had thirty years of preparation to meet the tests of integrity. He was examined by both peers and priests and met these challenges of scrutiny with daily deliberate decisions to reflect and respond to his Father s teaching. His integrity was based on aligning with his Father. For leaders who are Christ followers, integrity is measured by their alignment with Jesus. 1 Whether they draw on the pop-spirituality of Eat, Pray, Love, or the smug skepticism of academic literary theory, many Americans feel an almost moral obligation to affirm that truth is relative, a mere expression of personal preference. Any bolder claim to know the Truth seems to them to be an oppressive imposition upon the freedom of the Other. But as Christians, we must believe that the truth not only can be known the truth, after all, is a person, the man Jesus (John 14:6) but also that we can find freedom from the oppression and degradation of sin only in knowing that truth (John 8:32). The measurement of our integrity is not an alignment with one another, but with Jesus. Our lives are distorted and depraved. Jesus came to earth to redeem us and to model for us how to live a life that is completely true to God s original design. The Apostle Paul called Jesus the second Adam. We can be confident from both historical and scriptural records that Jesus was and is who He claimed to be The Truth. 1) For more insight read and respond to John 7 & 8 & 14

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5 UPTCY ED KOBEL MORE ON PAGE 136

6 88 LIVE CASE STUDY

7 SPEAKER INTEGRIT Y / 89

8 APPLICATION WHAT WAS YOUR TAKEAWAY?

9 INTEGRIT Y / 91 WHO: HOME CITY WORK CHURCH / NONPROFIT "GO MAKE DISCIPLES...TEACHING THEM... WHAT I HAVE INSTRUCTED YOU. MATTHEW 28:19-20

COURAGE. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you re living the way you are... THE APOSTLE PETER 1 Peter 3:15 T R A IN - 3 YEA R S

COURAGE. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you re living the way you are... THE APOSTLE PETER 1 Peter 3:15 T R A IN - 3 YEA R S 103 COURAGE Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you re living the way you are... THE APOSTLE PETER 1 Peter 3:15 PREPA R E - 30 Y E AR S foundation calling knowing god T R A IN - 3 YEA R S