The Integrity of Need

Luke 7 
 19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
 20 When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?
 21 And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.
 22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
 23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

It has become apparent to me that, as a whole, there is a severe and common disconnect between the clergy of the modern church, and the society we are called to minister to. For years, there has been a constant bombardment of our minds and faith of an ideology of providence as the main factor in God's blessings. We are told from the pulpits of America that God wants to bless you. The overwhelming mentality is that if God is going to do that, it will be through our finances and increased influence that it brings. And yet, so many people are struggling to make ends meet each month. Joblessness, hopelessness, and poverty are creeping up more and more. The lower middle class is disenfranchised from a political system that spends more and more money providing fewer and fewer tangible answers. In the midst of these problems, it becomes difficult to pray, difficult to trust a God that seems to have abandoned us. And the pulpit offers only empty promises of breakthrough and a return on your investments into the Kingdom.

I think John must have felt like many do. He was the forerunner to the Messiah. He read the same Scriptures of a foretold conquest by Israel's Redeemer. He prophesied and pointed many towards the man He knew was going to fulfill those things. Hope had arrived in the form of a man from Galilee! But as he was preaching deliverance, John was taken captive. He had overstepped the boundaries of what sinful men would tolerate. He was captured and sentenced to death for the sake of telling the Truth without favor. And so, sitting in his dungeon cell, awaiting the onset of eternity, he begins to question. Is this what I get for giving my entire life over to God? Surely, I will get out of this, right? God wouldn't let me, his chosen vessel to straighten the pathway of the Deliverer, be murdered.......would He?

In a similar way, Job's wife told him to simply "curse God and die". But the Bible states that Job maintained his integrity. Job had a faith based on Who God is, not on what He does or doesn't do.

The church has made the same mistake that ancient Israel did; they equated earthly existence with heavenly promises. A man said recently that when the church preached about heaven, then people's lives on earth were better and they had a promise of eternal life. But when the church began preaching about earthly matters, then the lifestyle of the people was lessened to carnality and the hope of an eternal destiny was lost as well. Job was a righteous man, yet he lost it all in one fell swoop. The prophets, the mouthpieces of God, were killed and tortured. The apostles were martyred for the sake of their message. Indeed, Jesus Himself was crucified for His doctrine.

What made men and women, even in the early days of the 20th century pentecostal phenomenon, be willing to give their entire lives and families over to a cause to the degree of a willingness to die? Jesus answered John's question with a profound revelation. You see, John had read Isaiah 35. He knew the promises of the Savior. Jesus did not appeal to the emotions of John, He revealed the fulfillment of Scripture. The deep, undercurrent of all that we do must come from this same source.

"Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him!"


Too often we are fed emotionalized sermons that do nothing more than sensationalize the mundane and offer a false hope of earthly blessings. We must connect with the true purpose of our Faith, the true source of our Hope, and the true cause of our Love. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul? Eternity, Heaven, Abundant Life. That is why we do what we do. The material blessings of God are only a minuscule shadow of the riches of His prepared place for His Bride. The present and complicated life we live must not hinder our view of His Truth. We walk by Faith and not by sight. We are sheep led to the slaughter. A weak and humble people who have chosen a life of struggle over a life of ease. We have placed our lot in the camp of the People of God. That means the world hates us. That means the devil fights us. That means Jesus died so that we can have a hope of eternity that surpasses all of the current predicaments we face.

Stephen looked up and saw Jesus, standing on the right hand of God. He was able to access the Heavenly Promise of resurrection while facing the earthly reality of a sinner's death. Lord, help us. Help the church. Help us to see that the integrity of our Faith leads to a joy that goes beyond the trials of this life. Restore your people to a mindset of the future promises, which enable us to keep our love intact through the most severe of circumstances.

Lord Jesus, help us to keep the integrity of Hope. Like Job, let us keep our integrity of faith when all around us are saying "why are they still holding out?". Lord, remind the church that your benefits are not earthly, but heavenly. Help us to fight the good fight of faith.



Hebrews 12
 1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.