Sermon by – Lead Pastor Justin Kendrick – Vox Church
My Personal Sermon Notes …
Anchor Verse: Proverbs 11:2–3
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom. The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.”
Weekly Breakdown
- Week 1: Integrity in Our Work
- Week 2: Integrity in Hospitality
- Week 3: Power of Our Words
- Week 4: Integrity Through the Fog
VoxNotas Blog: Integrity – The Way Through the Fog (Week 4)
Anchor Verse: Proverbs 11:2–3
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom. The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.”
Weekly Breakdown:
- Week 1: Integrity in Our Work
- Week 2: Integrity in Hospitality
- Week 3: Power of Our Words
- Week 4: Integrity Through the Fog
Scripture Focus: Luke 16:19–31 (ESV)
“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.
And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried,
and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’
But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.
And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’
And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—
for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’
But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’
And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
Illustration: Florence Chadwick
Florence attempted to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast but gave up a half-mile from shore—not due to exhaustion but because she couldn’t see land through the fog. She later said, “If I could have seen the land, I could have made it.”
Quote: John Eldredge
“Our lives are marked by fog and uncertainty. But Christianity claims that someone has come from the other side of the fog to find you.”
Jesus tells this parable to a mixed audience, confronting the Pharisees for their idolatry of wealth and comfort. He pierces through the fog of the temporary to expose eternal realities.
Eternity Shapes Integrity
Quote: Charles Spurgeon
“Time is short. Eternity is long. It is only reasonable that this short life be lived in the light of eternity.”
Christian integrity collapses without the anchor of eternity. Jesus makes it clear—death is not the end. It’s the continuation of reality.
Hell and Justice
Hell is difficult to grasp. But if God ignored sin, He would not be just. Love without justice isn’t truly love. The cross is where justice and love meet—Jesus stands in our place.
Jesus, who spoke more about hell than anyone else, is uniquely qualified. He defeated it.
Parable Insights
The rich man never asks to leave hell.
He calls Abraham “father” but does not repent.
He sees Lazarus as a servant, even in torment.
His request to warn his brothers carries a tone of self-justification.
Hell in this parable is not just punishment—it is the crumbling of self, the consequence of pride and refusal to surrender.
Quote: C.S. Lewis
“The doors of hell are locked from the inside.”
Lazarus is the only named character in a parable. His name means “God is my help.” This is the contrast—Lazarus leaned entirely on God. The rich man leaned on wealth and religion.
The Real Warning
Jesus is not condemning wealth—Abraham was wealthy.
He is warning that wealth easily replaces God as our help and identity.
Even small amounts of wealth deceive us into self-reliance.
Luke 18:24–27
“Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!… What is impossible with man is possible with God.’”
Matthew 6:19–21
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth… For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
1 Timothy 6:17–19
“Charge them not to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God… They are to do good, be rich in good works, generous and ready to share… storing up treasure for the life to come.”
Gospel Riches
We are already rich in Christ—heirs to the treasures of heaven.
Quote: A.W. Tozer
“As base a thing as money often is, it yet can be transmuted into everlasting treasure… Whatever is given to Christ is touched with immortality.”
If we truly believe in eternity, we will invest accordingly.
Three Markers of Integrity:
1. Personal Submission
Matthew 16:24–25
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me…”
We must surrender our autonomy. Are we commanding God—or yielding to Him?
2. Stewardship Mentality
Life isn’t a party or race—it’s stewardship. One day, we’ll give an account.
3. Sacrificial Generosity
We cannot resemble Christ if we don’t give like Him.
The early church modeled this (Acts 2:44–45).
Tithing trains our heart to trust God. We declare: You are my provider.
Final Image: The Fog
Like Florence, we often lose hope when we can’t see the end. Jesus offers a glimpse through the fog.
The question is:
Will we live differently because of what He has shown us?
This is the call to eternal integrity—to let our life be guided not by what we see now, but by what lies beyond the fog.
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