In this sermon, the speaker focuses on the topic of integrity and its importance in the life of a believer. He refers to the story of David in 2 Samuel chapter 3, where David gets involved in a compromise that lasts for 25 years. The speaker emphasizes the need for believers to be people of integrity, both in their personal lives and in their interactions with others. He encourages the audience to examine their own lives and ask themselves if they are truly living with integrity.

This message is one of the Times Square Church Pulpit Series. It was recorded in the sanctuary of Times Square Church in Manhattan, New York City. Other tapes are available by writing World Challenge, P.O. Box 260, Lindell, Texas 75771, or calling 903-963-8626. You are welcome to make additional cassettes of this message for free distribution to friends. However, for all other forms of reproduction or electronic transmission, existing copyright laws apply. Turn with me and your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 3. This is the second message that will be preached today on honesty. This morning, Pastor Carter preached on honesty. And today, and we don't confer, folks, with what God is speaking in our hearts. And the title of this message this afternoon, Only by Integrity is There Deliverance. Only by Integrity is There Deliverance. Now, keep your hand in 2 Samuel chapter 3, and I'm just going to read a few verses to you from Psalms, and then we'll go to prayer. It says here in Psalms 41 verse 10, it says, Be thou, O Lord, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requit them. By this I know that thou favorest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. But verse 12, And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest before me thy face forever. And he goes on, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting, amen and amen. Lord Jesus, we thank you for the testimony of the YPC team. Lord, we thank you for all of those souls that were touched in that detention center. We pray for them today as a church. Lord, we lift them up. We don't know their names, but you know every one of them by name this day. We pray for them, that God, you would encourage their hearts. Lord, become so real to them. Lord, let that detention center be, Lord, like a teen challenge from this day onwards. Let it be the presence of God that marks that detention center. Not a place of correction, but God, it's a place of resurrection in Jesus' name. Hallelujah. We pray for those young people, that you bless them in Jesus' name. Amen. I want to speak to you today, only by integrity is there deliverance. And when I looked up the word integrity in Webster's dictionary, it means completeness, wholeness, soundness, to be unimpaired. There are three main components that Webster brings out on this particular word. It's uprightness, it's honesty, and it's sincerity. So, when you think of the word integrity, you actually think of the word honesty, sincerity, being upright in heart and in mind. Now, this afternoon, we're going to take a look at a quarter century of David's life. I didn't fully understand why God had put this word on my heart, but this afternoon, hearing what God has done through these young people, I understand very clearly why God has put this word on my heart. We're going to take a look at approximately 25 years of the life of David. Very quickly, we're not going to go year by year, but we will take a look, give an overall picture of what took place in a quarter century of this young man's life. My question for you this afternoon, are you considered a person of integrity? When somebody comes along and brings your name to mind, do they think of you as a person of integrity? Is that the kind of image that you have? Is that what you portray to those around about you, whether in the home or in the workforce? Now, in 2 Samuel chapter 3, we read here the beginning of, I believe, something that caught David by surprise. There is a compromise here that David gets involved in that's going to last him for the next 25 years, beloved. It's going to cause him such incredible pain. Look at this in verse 1, it says, Now, there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. But David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker. So, the scriptures tell us that David, the hand of God was on David's life. Here is a young man. He's living in the Philistine country, and he's running from Saul, but God's hand is with him. God has touched this young man, David. He's been anointed to be king of Israel, and the touch of God is upon him. And it's evidenced in seeing that God is causing him to increase in strength as he goes along. So, David is increasing more and more in strength with the Lord. And unto David were sons born in Hebron. So, when he goes from the Philistine country into Hebron, he marries. And the firstborn is Amnon of Ananoam, the Jezreelites. So, he's got a firstborn son, Amnon, or Ammon. Verse 3 says, and the second, Chileab of Abigail, the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. But it's this third son that I want us to take a look at. You see, there's a difficulty that comes into being right here. And the third, Absalom, the son of Mekah, the daughter of Talmai, the king of Geshur. And the fourth, Adonijah, the son of Haggath. And the fifth, Shephateah, the son of Apatow. And the sixth, Ethreum, by Agla, David's wife. These were born to David in Hebron. So, for the several years that David lives in Hebron, he has several children. The third born to him is the son, Absalom, by Mekah. Now, when we take a look at this person, you see, when uprightness is lacking in the home, integrity is undermined. We have got to live, when uprightness, when we are not living an upright life in the home, I'm telling you, integrity is undermined. See, David was living in the land of the Philistines, and he fought against the enemies of Israel. Geshur, where this king comes from, Talmai, king of Geshur. David goes into this province of Geshur, and he attacks it with his band of men. Now, he knew in past history that God had spoken to the people of Israel as they came into the land, and God gave them specific instructions. He said, I'm giving you this land, and when you come into the land of Israel, I want you to go in, and I want you to destroy every single person, every single province. I'm not going to give it to you overnight. You're going to take it bit by bit. And I want you to destroy everything that is in the land, because these things, if they remain, if these people remain, they will corrupt you. You'll be changed. And so, David goes into Geshur, and he destroys the place, except for one thing. He finds a beautiful woman, and so he takes this woman to be his wife, and this woman's name is Mekah, and she is the daughter of Talmai, the king of Geshur. So, not only does David take Mekah, the king's daughter, to be his wife, but he preserves this king. I'm telling you, David should have gone in and destroyed them all. But he takes this woman to be his wife. Now, when you look up the name Mekah in the original language, it means to press, it means to squeeze. When you take a look at the noun form of her name, it gets a little deeper. It means to oppress and to bring about depression. So, here we have this young man in the prime of time. He's waxing stronger and stronger in the things of God. And in a moment of time, when God gives him a victory in a battle, it's in the time of this victory that he allows a very small compromise to come into his life. It doesn't look like much. A son is born to him, and they call his name Absalom, which means peace. I want to tell you something. It doesn't matter what you call compromise. You can give it the name peace, but it's going to give you problems. It doesn't matter what name you give compromise. You can call it anything you like. But as long as you have got compromise, it is going to cause you problems all the time of your life. You see, when I would read the story about Absalom, I get disturbed because I think of just the son. But God began to show me that this isn't just a son. This isn't just a son of David. There are some great studies on how to prevent your children from becoming rebellious like Absalom. But I see something bigger, something larger. God showed me that Absalom is the son of compromise. It starts at a very small seed. It takes a woman. He takes a woman from the land, and he marries her. He knows the Scriptures. David's got the five books of the Pentateuch. He's got the five books of Moses. And in those books, he would have read over and over again. When you marry the women of Moab, when you take to wife those people of the land, there's problems. He knows this. He shouldn't have. It doesn't matter how beautiful or how good looking that compromise looks, it is always going to oppress you. There's always going to come into your life times of depression that is going to come from this being unequally yoked. That's why the Apostle Paul says, Be not unequally yoked. Don't do it. Don't bring it in. It doesn't matter how small it is. You see, this King Talmai of Gesher, you do a little bit more of a word study, and you look up the word Gesher. The word Gesher, the whole province of Gesher where this king was, it means bridge. The name just simply means bridge. And see, this is the lie of the devil. The devil always comes and says, You can have both. It's a bridge. You can live in the world, and you can live for God. You don't have to cut everything out of your life. You can have a little bit of compromise. See, this is what it means. You can bridge both areas. You can live in both worlds. But David was soon to find out, I want to tell you, the devil is a usurper. You allow him into your home, and he will oppress you. You let him in in the smallest way into your life and into your home. He's going to undermine integrity. You're not going to see the deliverance of God. And he's going to bring oppression and depression into that home life. And so we see that this is what takes place. Now, Absalom. You know, I read the Scriptures in 2 Samuel, and David doesn't put any input into Absalom's life. When you read the story, when you read the whole book of 2 Samuel, from chapter 3 to chapter 13, it constitutes 20 years. 20 years. And so within this 20 year span from chapter 3 to chapter 13, you never hear of Absalom again. You don't hear of David inputting into this life. But all the time that this son of compromise is growing. Compromise just doesn't go away, folks. It grows. And so at the end of David's life when Absalom is killed, and he's weeping, I always was so troubled. My son Absalom, my son Absalom. Would to God that I died for thee. Absalom, my son. I used to think to myself, what is it in David that makes him want to love this son so much? What is it? Well, I tell you. It's not really that he loves this son so much, but Absalom is a type of compromise that we don't want to give up on. It's that thing in our lives that when God puts his finger on it, we don't want to see it go. There's a troubling that comes into the flesh because of it. But I tell you, in 2 Samuel, chapter 17, it says, For the Lord appointed the defeat of good counsel Ahithophel to the intent that the Lord might bring evil upon Absalom. Now, you want to think this thing through. Why does God want to bring evil upon Absalom? Well, if you're just thinking of a natural child, then it doesn't make sense. But when you understand that Absalom is the son of compromise, growing in the heart and life of David, bringing him trouble, then you understand that God says anything of the flesh, He wants to bring it to death. He doesn't want that thing to live. That's why when you see Absalom, God wants to put this to death. Joab is so right. When you see Absalom hanging with his hair in the tree, he's suspended. The Bible tells us that cursed is anyone who is placed upon a tree, who hangeth on a tree. And there's Absalom hanging in the earth from the tree. You see, beloved, Absalom is the type of the flesh. Joab is absolutely right in putting that thing to death. I never understood this. We only see Absalom as the child. But I see it so differently. It is that small compromise that begins to grow in the heart and the flesh, and it becomes a problem. Compromise will always end up bringing oppression into the heart. Now, you see, the flesh will ultimately go for the throne of God and never dies easily. Ultimately, the compromise, whatever you seek to compromise with, will always go for the throne of worship in the believer. It's headed there, beloved. It doesn't matter which way you look at it. This child is growing, and he's growing, and he gets to teenagers. We can take a look at this when he gets to teenagers, but he's always going to go for the throne. Take a look at 2 Samuel chapter 14. Compromise will undermine integrity. You'll be crying and praying to God for deliverance, and it's not coming, because God sees something that he has to deal with, and it's that compromise. Let me show you what compromise looks like. But in all Israel, this is verse 25, 2 Samuel chapter 14, verse 25, but in all Israel, there was none to be so much praised as Absalom. You see, compromise always looks good for his beauty. The Bible puts here beauty. It's a term given to women, not to men. But this looks so beautiful. It looks so harmless. From the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head, there was no blemish in him. When he pulled his hair, which means he shaved it off, it works out to be like three pounds of hair. This man had thick, rich hair. There was no blemishes on him. There was no pimples, no warts. I want to tell you that there are Absalom ministries today in the world. They look good. They look without blemish. But I'm telling you, under the authority of God, they will bring only ruin and heartache to all those who follow after them. Look at chapter 15, verses 1. And it came to pass that after this, that Absalom prepared his chariots and horses and 50 men to run before him. You see, Absalom is beginning to pervert the truth of God. When he was just a small child, it was like 20 years goes by. Nothing is taking place, but the child is growing. See, compromise never looks like it's going to hurt you in the early stages. Compromise never looks so threatening. It doesn't look like this is going to amount to anything at all. But compromise grows. If you don't allow the thing that is in your life to be dealt with by the Holy Ghost, it continues to grow. And there is coming a day that is going to begin to pervert the truth of God in the heart. And so here we have this Absalom, and he's riding in his chariots. You know, when I was reading this, and listen to what it says here in verse 2. And Absalom rose up early and stood beside the way of the gate, and it was so. And when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is one of the tribes of Israel. And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right. Listen, when there's compromise, you begin to call that which is evil, good, and that which is good, evil. It begins to change and begin to pervert that which is, and it's undermining integrity. The very honesty that you want to walk in, there it is, undermining every single thing that is in the heart. And we see this, that there are Absalom ministries today. They look polished, they look great. They preach a powerful prosperity gospel. They tell you, Don't worry about the controversy of God. Everything's going to be just fine. I want to tell you that that is a compromise and will hurt the church of Jesus Christ. And we see this is taking place. And we see that God deals with these things in the life. And so here it is, it's growing up. David is almost powerless at this time as this begins to grow up. Turn with me back to 2 Samuel chapter 11. Let me show you something here. Between chapters 3 and chapter 13 is 20 years. So from chapter 3 to chapter 11, it's in the teen years. Absalom would have been in his teenage years at this time. When sin becomes a teenager, watch out for lust. That's what happens. We have teenagers grow up in our household. And I tell you, I prayed every day of their lives that God would hurry up and grow them up. Those teenage years were some of the toughest. You were a teenager once, you know the battle that goes on. In fact, 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 22 says, Flee also youthful lusts. Follow after righteousness, faith, charity. So when Paul is writing to Timothy, he says, you've got to run from these things. He doesn't say deal with it and negotiate with it. A little bit of compromise isn't too bad. He says, no, if you're going to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, you better watch out for your father-in-law, the devil. Jesus said, you're of your father, the devil. So when you bring somebody into your relationship, into your life, and they are from the world, you've got another father to take care of. And he says, when you're unequally yoked, and so especially when you get into these teenage years, when you take a look at the life of the growth of Absalom, and you see the beginning of the compromise in David, you see the pattern that takes place. I think that this whole several chapters about Absalom is God speaking to the church and saying to us, don't allow integrity to be undermined by compromise. Because the very second that you do this, there's going to come oppression into the home. You cannot bridge the gap. It cannot be bridged. God wants to put the flesh to death. There's only one way to deal with the flesh, and that's to put it to death, beloved. So we get into these teenage years, and Paul says, don't stay and negotiate with this. Flee youthful lust. Run from it. Be like Joseph. Let your coat go. Get out of the place. But it's in this time, in chapter 11, we see that David sins with Bathsheba. So it's not only now the sin of compromise in chapter 3, and marrying somebody who is outside of Israel, and unequal yoking, bringing that person into the very palace itself, and the child is growing up, and it looks good, it looks wonderful, there's no blemish on the child. But there is ruin working for David. This child is not just growing up. We see that David gets into this time of the flesh, and he sins, and the son of compromise is now the teenager. It's when we allow these things to grow. Let me read a scripture to you in the book of James. Look what James tells us. I'll just read it to you real quickly. Keep your place in Samuel. Let me read to you what James says here. See, James says this. He says, but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. So, we cannot say that we're tempted of God, because God never tempts man with evil. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. And when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin. And sin, when it is finished, or when it becomes full grown, it brings forth death. So, you've got to understand that this child Absalom, which is the son of compromise, is growing in the life. So, it's like the type of compromise that grows in the life. There comes a point where this begins to take hold of the life, and David needs to deal with it. Never once do we see that David deals with the situation with Absalom. And God tries to get his attention. When Absalom's sister is taken in a rape situation with Ammon, we see that Absalom is there to deal with it. He gets angry. So, as soon as compromise begins to grow, you always understand when compromise is becoming full grown, and integrity has been compromised, let me give you some indicators. Well, how do I know how big this compromise is growing in my life? Well, number one, you always find that when God begins to put his finger on something in your life, and you are unyielding, anger is there. Anger is right at the door. I see so many people, they come in for counseling, we see they get so angry because, but it's God. He's putting his finger. And you see, when this sin takes place in the family, David is wrath. In 2 Samuel chapter 13 verse 21, he says that David was exceedingly wrath. There's so many times, beloved, you can get angry at the failure of your flesh. David doesn't deal with Ammon. He doesn't take the son and say, look, you've committed this sin. He can't because he's already sinned with Bathsheba. He's got no power. This compromise has grown to sin in his life. And it's leading him to death. It's after the throne of his heart. This Absalom isn't going to stay quiet, beloved. Compromise is never going to stay quiet. It's going to rise up. It's going to cause you to sin. It's going to render you powerless. And it's after the throne of your life. And it's growing up and it's going to take hold of it. And so, David, God is trying to get his attention. He's trying to speak to David. All David can do is get angry. And it's so many times when I see the frustration of people when God is touching something in their life, instead of the response of coming and running to the altar and saying, God, I'm yours. I give you my life. They go home and there's anger. I tell you, if you've got a spouse that is continuously getting angry, I can tell you one thing. God's touching something in that person's life. If you've got someone on the job who's continually angry, you've got to know God is touching them through your life. Because anger is one of those signs that says that God is after something and he's not going to stop until it comes to the place where God puts it to death. One of the greatest secret weapons of the flesh is unforgiveness. Absalom leaves him when David brings him back. Look at this in 2 Samuel chapter 14. This is the sum total. You see, David is wrestling with some things here. Any human being, any father should be able to reconcile with their children at any time. But we see that David, Absalom comes back, and the very best that David can do is he, look at this in verse 33, and Joab came to the king and told him, and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king, and the king kissed Absalom. See, beloved, one of the greatest or the most secret weapon of the enemy is unforgiveness. David doesn't release forgiveness. He can't. He can't do it because his heart is troubled. There's something that God is working in and through this mighty man of God. God hasn't left him. Remember in Psalm 41, I read to you that he says, God has put me in his face and kept me there. That God has kept me by my integrity. You've got to ask yourself, well, David, what kind of integrity? You've allowed compromise in your life. You've sinned with Bathsheba. Now this child of compromise is growing. He's after the throne. There's no forgiveness in your heart. You see, when Jesus spoke about unforgiveness, he said, if you offend, you go to your brother. If you offend somebody, how many of you have offended somebody? Let me see your hand. All right. A few of you. Bible says, if you've offended somebody, what should you do? You go to them. You deal with it. You see, Jesus understands the power of unforgiveness. Unforgiveness is the leading cause of bitterness. It's the very seed that turns into a bitterness of soul. And so Jesus says, if you offend somebody, you go to that person and you make that thing right. Go to them singly. Go to them as an individual. But he also speaks and he says, but if you are offended, he says, don't sit in your house. If you've been offended now, for the other half, how many have been offended? All right. The Bible says, just don't sit in your house waiting for the person who committed the offense. He says, if you've been offended, you go to that person. You go make that right. So you cannot even allow the tiniest compromise of unforgiveness to have residence in your heart. It'll kill you, beloved. It's the very root and the seed of bitterness. It'll take you into that place of bitterness. He says, you go to your brother. It doesn't matter which way you look at unforgiveness. The Bible says that you've got to deal with the issue, whether you've offended or been offended. The Bible says there's no way out. You go. You go and make that thing right. Why does he put that upon us? Why does he? Because when you take a look at the scriptures and you see the patterns again and again, you can't just get angry at something and dismiss it. You can't just get angry at something and walk away. You can't just kiss it and say it's done. It'll kill you. It's the very seed of the root of bitterness. If you have got unforgiveness at any time in your heart, that thing is about to sprout and become bitterness in the heart and many get defiled. And it's amazing when you think of it, how the bitter people find each other. They just know exactly where to find each other. You've got this man in verse 12, in chapter 15, 2 Samuel chapter 15, verse 12. You see, Absalom now is in this rebellion. He's been perverting justice at the king's gate. He's been winning people by seduction and there are people who do that. Instead of allowing the word of God to speak and touch those areas of comfort, I would rather somebody come and say this is not right in your life. Get it dealt with. I'd rather be sitting in a house where a pure word is preached and says, these things are going to lead you down a wrong path and deal with it and allow the Holy Ghost to come and clean up our lives. Beloved, we are sitting and living in such troubled times. I believe that God has continued to speak to our hearts about integrity and about honesty because God wants to do such mighty things. We see the testimony of these young kids going into this detention center and 170 kids give their lives to Christ. That's a move of God. Do you think the devil is going to sit down quietly having 170 kids in detention who are incorrigible and not going to be able to go on in life and get saved? Do you think the devil is just going to lie down? No, he goes after those who are walking with the things of God. So God wants to deal with these things. It's amazing how unforgiveness will work its way into bitterness and bitter people find each other. You've got Absalom in verse 12, and Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilanite. Now, Ahithophel, this is David's counselor from the city. David wrote about this. He said, this man came and had sweet fellowship with me, ate bread with me. In fact, further on in the Scriptures it says that this man Ahithophel, the very words that he spoke were like the oracles of God. And yet we see this man. What turns him? This man had walked with David, David's counselor from the city. And from Gila, where he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong. What is it in a person? What is it that causes bitter people to find each other? Here is Absalom, the epitome of bitterness and resentment and unforgiveness and anger. It's from that simple compromise. Here is growing an anger, bitter person steeped in controversy and is trying to take the very city of God. So, how does a person who has been walking uprightly all of this time, so we think, suddenly come alongside another person? It's got to be that there is something in the heart. Well, it is bitterness. When you understand who Ahithophel is. Do you know who Ahithophel is? He is Bathsheba's grandfather. So, you find here that this grandfather sees his daughter and his granddaughter and her husband, husband killed and his granddaughter. Who knows of the heart that things are never dealt with? Beloved, I am a grandfather. And I tell you, in my heart, I pray that when my grandchildren get into difficulties, that they'll have a haven in my home. But they're going to have a haven according to the word of God. That they'll always get the touch of God upon their hearts and their lives. So, we see this person come together, how bitter people find each other. All this time in this man's heart, he has probably never dealt with this issue of bitterness. And there comes this conspiracy, it doesn't work and the man dies. He hangs himself. You see, you've got to ask yourself, are you considered a person of integrity? I've got to ask myself, am I a person of integrity? Does God have, is there any part in my life that I'm saying peace to it? Is there any part dark in my life? Is there any area of compromise? I've got to ask myself. I can't get up here and preach this message to you without, first of all, allowing the word of God to speak into my heart and into my life. And allow the Holy Spirit to, I would rather you see my warts. I'd rather you see our failings. And, you know, you often, you hear us many times as pastors, we get up here. We do not try to show you that we are without blemish. We don't get up here and share our lives as perfect men. There's nobody perfect. We share our hearts transparently with you. For what reason? So that there is no part dark in our heart. That there is no place in our lives that gives place to the enemy. And so God speaks to us. And so we see this bed of people coming together in this conspiracy. But, you know, David, obviously we know the rest of the story. There's a battle and it's during this battle that Absalom dies. Twenty-five years or so later, we see that God puts this compromise to death. It's an amazing story. As you read the whole chapters, I got so excited. Just look at this when you read on a little bit. Look at chapter 20. In chapter 20, once Absalom is dealt with, once this area of this child of compromise has been put to death, yes, there's a weeping. Yes, it's a hard thing. There's a sorrowing when God is putting His finger on something in our lives to give up. But you see, God is after integrity. Because He knows that if you're honest in your heart about any issue, there comes deliverance. It's when the heart is full of integrity when we say, God, I've failed. I've stumbled. I've fallen. This is compromise. It's growing. The honest heart gets the deliverance from God. And it's during this time that Absalom is put to death. And yes, there's a sorrow in David's heart. But when you go on and you begin to see all the things that happen after that point in time in David's life. Chapter 20, there's a revolt. But David has the authority and he puts it down. In chapter 21, the Gibeonites. They come and David is now clear-minded. He's able to deal with it. And then we get to 2 Samuel chapter 22. Beloved, let me tell you something. A song in the night is greater than sorrow in the day. It might be a hard thing to give up this area that God is putting His finger on in his life. But he's after integrity. He wants men and women of honesty to stand up and say, God, I need you. There's got to come a cry in the heart. But when you get to chapter 22 of 2 Samuel, listen to this. This is after Absalom is dead. Now David is dealing with issues that come up. God is with him. The anointing of God is there. Something comes up. He's got authority in the name of the Lord. Absalom has been put to death. Beloved, today I pray that God would put an arrow through that Absalom in your heart. If there is an area of compromise today, let's get that thing put to death. That God can be raised up in our lives in power. Look at 2 Samuel chapter 22 verse 1. This is the song that God gives to David. And David spake unto the Lord the words of this song. In the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, out of the hand of Saul. And he said, The Lord is my rock and my fortress, my deliverer, the God of my rock. In him will I trust. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, my refuge, my savior. Thou savest me from violence. You see, it's the honest heart that comes through. When David is honest with God, God gives him a tremendous victory. I will call on the Lord who is worthy to be praised. So shall I be saved from mine enemies. When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about. The snares of death prevented me in my distress. Hallelujah! In my distress, I called upon the Lord and cried to my God. And He did hear my voice out of His temple. And my cry did enter into His ears. Beloved, I want you to know that if God is touching something in your heart, give it to Him. He hears the cry. As soon as you begin to cry up unto the Lord, He hears. Listen to verse 8. Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundation of heaven moved and shook because He was wrath. I'd rather that God be wrath at my sin. There went smoke out of His nostrils and fire out of the mouth. Devout coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also and came down and darkness was under His feet. He rode on the cherub and did fly. It goes on and on. Look at verse 17. He sent from above. He took me. He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy. It doesn't matter how the devil has got a hold of your heart. God says, I will deliver you from the strong enemy and from them that hated Me, for they were too strong for Me. You see, here comes the honesty. Here is the man of integrity. He comes to the place and he says, God, it's too big for me. I can't do it. It's too strong. Too big. I allowed it in. It's grown up. This absolute in my life has grown. He's after the throne. It's too big. But God says, look what He says here. They prevented Me in the day of My calamity, but the Lord, verse 19, was My stay. He brought Me forth into a large place. He delivered Me because He delighted in Me. See, God delights in the honest heart. The Lord rewarded Me according to My righteousness. What righteousness, David? What righteousness? It's the righteousness of God. When He came to the end of Himself, He laid hold of God. He said, God, only You can deliver Me. It's only the righteousness of God that can take Me through. And so David now applies this to his own life. He receives the righteousness of God. According to the cleanness of My hands, hath He recompensed Me? For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from My God. For all His judgments were before Me, and as for His statutes, I did not depart from them. I was also upright before Him and kept Myself from My iniquity. You see, David, he can say that. That's the testimony of a man who's come to God. That's the testimony of a man who comes to God. Yes, when you take a look at his life, he failed. Yes, compromise came in. Yes, for many years he was troubled by this Absalom until Absalom was put to death. But then he turned to God. And as he turned with all of his heart, God embraced him because David embraced the righteousness of God. And when God washed him and cleansed him, that's where the delight of God is. I was also upright before Him and have kept Myself from My iniquity. Therefore, the Lord hath recompensed Me according to My righteousness, according to the cleanness in His eyesight. Beloved, I trust I've conveyed something to your heart today. The prayer of David in Psalm 41 is of the integrity of his own heart. As for Me, Thou upholdest Me in My integrity and settest Me before Thy face forever. What is that integrity? He can't say it's his own because he failed. But there came a time when he said, God, I've allowed a compromise in my life. I like it. Love it. But it's ruining my life. And I want You to put it to death. And I embrace what You have for me. And the very second we take what God has, God declares us righteous, gives us a testimony in our mouth, and we can stand with David. God comes down from heaven. He routes the enemy. He leaps over a wall. All His enemies are put to flight when God has the heart of a man. The heart of integrity finds deliverance. So what is integrity? It's Christ. They hold of Him, and He'll set you free. Father, You showed me this, that when we have a compromise that comes in, it'll grow, and it'll bring ruin to our lives. It doesn't look like much to begin with, but it's after the throne that You occupy. I pray today that, God, that there'd be an honesty in the house. Because when David was honest with God, Absalom was dead, and he was honest in his heart before You. And he embraced everything You had for him. You bowed the heavens and You came down. Oh, and the deliverance was great. There was a song in the night. Now, Lord Jesus, I pray, the Holy Spirit, when He was speaking this word into my heart, told me that You're going to identify a couple of things. You're going to identify, while every head is bowed, the Holy Spirit is speaking to you on an issue in your heart. But He said that you're going to identify unforgiveness. That's the enemy trying to take the throne of God, the worship of Christ, out of your heart. Or bitterness. But you're also going to see anger. And I felt so strong by the power of the Holy Spirit. There's people who struggle with an angry spirit. But it's not because you are necessarily an angry person. But it's that you're angry at yourself, you're angry at failure, you're angry and this anger rises up because you have no strength to overcome. But God's saying it's because He is touching an area by the Spirit, and He's going to set you free this day. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Beloved, let's stand together. This altar is open. If the Holy Spirit has identified any of these in your heart, you come honestly to the Lord today, and we're going to pray for a great deliverance. It's the heart of integrity that gets deliverance. You say, God, I'm struggling. You've touched something in my heart and life. And I'm going to give it to You and set me free. In the annex, you make your way directly to this altar this afternoon. Whether it be anger, whether it be unforgiveness, God is going to set you free. You come this afternoon. This altar is open for you for prayer today. In Jesus' name. Just give it to God. There comes a time when He's drawn you to this altar. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Lord, we just thank You right now. God, You're just speaking. Lord, just speak by Your Holy Spirit. God, You have taken a message today just from Your Word, and You've allowed the heart to be touched very deeply. I don't understand always the working of God, but God, I thank You that great deliverance comes to the honest heart. And these people, Lord, have come to Your altar today in an honest heart, seeking a deliverance from Almighty God. I want You to pray this with me. Lord Jesus, I see in my heart areas that I've allowed to come in, and I've called them peace, but it troubles me. And there is no peace without Jesus Christ. Now, Holy Spirit, I've been angry at myself, disappointed, oppressed, depressed, because the enemy has come in and tried to rob me of my worship of You. Lord Jesus, I confess to You this area of compromise. I can't fight it. I give it up. I let You put it to death. In Jesus' name, by faith, I acknowledge that this day, that this area of unforgiveness or bitterness or anger is nailed to the cross. I can't fight it. You put it to death. And by faith, I accept the victory in Jesus Christ. Lord Jesus, wash me, cleanse me. Holy Ghost, come and fill me afresh with power from on high in Jesus' name. Lord, I thank You that You're bringing to me a deliverance from heaven. I've come to You in honesty, and now I believe heaven is open to me, and my God is giving me the deliverance that I've always wanted, I've always sought, and today it is a reality. In Jesus' name, I am free. In Jesus' name, I'm free. Hallelujah. I give Him thanks. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I want to tell you one of the first things that you're going to find after an afternoon like this is clarity. You're going to suddenly see things, and God's going to give you the right way to deal with things. The problem and the attacks aren't over, but the difference is that God's taken the beam out of your eye, and taken that which is perverting the sight, and you're going to be able to see it, and you're going to be able to deal with it, and the song of the Lord is going to be your strength. You see, David, when Absalom died afterwards, there was a song because as he dealt with things as God brought them across his path, God gave him the power and the wisdom to deal with them by the Spirit of God. That resulted in a tremendous song, and you're going to have a song in your heart, beloved. Amen. Now just give Jesus thanks one more time. Hallelujah. This is the conclusion of the message.