With all that’s going on in the world around us God has given us an unprecedented opportunity to reach lost and hurting souls with the gospel.
When people are hurting and it seems like things are falling apart in their world, they begin to look for answers to their life’s problems in places they might not normally look. That’s where we come in; we have a message of hope and salvation. We have a message of grace and forgiveness, but, we can’t deliver our message with power and effectiveness without personal and corporate integrity.
If you were asked to describe in one word the present condition of the “church” as you see it, what word would you use?
Revival? I don’t think so, but I wish it were true. The wind of the Holy Spirit seems very still today. Many church leaders are afraid to release the freedom of God’s Spirit to move in the corporate fellowship; in turn the individual believer is reluctant to seek the filling experience.
Renewal? Maybe in some individual ministries; but for the most part it’s “business as usual” or even “just going through the motions.” A form of godliness, but there’s no power!
Reassessment? Yes, a lot of studies are being done, and we hope they well be useful. Recently a new survey of “Americans’ knowledge of religion” found that atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons outperformed Protestants in answering correctly, questions about the most basic tenets of their own faith. I fear the church has become a place of feel-good socializing instead of the vehicle God wants to use to raise up strong uncompromising citizens of His kingdom.
Ruin? No, not as long as God is on the throne and there are people willing to listen and obey. God will always have a remnant, and the church will stand, albeit on shaky ground sometimes, until Jesus return to gather up His bride.
Reproach? I have a feeling that many feel that this is where the “church” is at today. Let me define this most powerful and descriptive word.
“A cause or occasion of blame, discredit or disgrace; the quality or state so incurred or brought upon oneself; one subjected to scorn.”
One of the church fathers once said “the church was something like Noah’s Ark: if it weren’t for the judgment on the outside, you could never stand the smell on the inside.”
Reproach is the one word that seems to describe other areas of society as well, on the sports fields and in the halls of education, at the Pentagon and on Wall Street, On Capitol Hill and in the White House. We have experienced scandal and disgrace in every area of the public arena. We have had and are having disgraces in our churches and ministries on the local and national level. And you better believe the secular media’s going to jump to publicize those failures long and hard. Time magazine in one of its cover stories asked the question “Whatever Happened to Ethics?” Moral standards are dwindling away, even in many Christian homes.
The crisis the church is facing today cuts to the very heart of its authority and its ministry. A commitment to personal integrity among Christians will have a great impact for the cause of Christ in our world.
Let’s look to God’s Word at just one of many examples of integrity in a time of great temptation and see what we can learn from our brother Joseph.
In Genesis 39, Joseph was an individual whose life story stands in stark contrast to the compromise I have just described. Joseph had a motive for compromising his integrity and an opportunity to do so. And yet, under the heat of temptation, he stood firm and true as a man of unquestionable integrity, a man of God.
Now if anyone had a reason to fall into compromise, into sin, Joseph did:
Motive: Joseph experienced indescribable rejection as his eleven brothers sold him into slavery. Can you even begin to imagine the indignity he must have felt as his brothers watched the slave traders shackle him and drag him off into bondage?
Opportunity: When Joseph arrived in Egypt he was sold into the service of Potiphar, one of Pharaohs officials. While in Potiphar’s home Joseph prospered because of the Lord, and was given much responsibility and freedom. Potiphar’s wife set her eyes upon the young and handsome Joseph. While away on business, Potiphar left Joseph in charge of the household, the perfect setup for Mrs. Potaphar to raise the heat and for Joseph to compromise his integrity without being caught in the act.
The key to understanding the pressure Joseph experienced comes in the form of a short, three word phrase: Gen. 39:10, says “day after day.” Joseph did not experience a one-time seduction. Mrs. Potaphar pursued him day after day in a relentless attempt to erode his convictions. Joseph did not budge. Finally in a last ditch try to conquer her prey, Mrs. Potiphar grabbed Joseph by his coat and tried to forcibly rape him. “Come to bed with me! she demanded (v.12). “But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.”
Before running away from Mrs. Potiphar, Joseph made three significant statements that support the cause of uncompromising integrity. These declarations serve as a blueprint for you and me to help keep our integrity intact.
First: Joseph stated,
“My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife.” (v.9)
In other words, Joseph was saying, “If I go to bed with you, I violate my master, who is counting on me.” Do you realize when you compromise your integrity you violate those who know you? How many people would you take down with you? How many people would call Christianity into question as a result of your actions? You are an ambassador, a representative of Christ!
Second: is also revealing, “How then could I do such a wicked thing?” (v.9)
Joseph in effect says “If I go to bed with you, I violate myself.” No pain can compare to the agony of looking into the mirror and seeing the reflection of a hypocrite. The consequences of sin have a way of catching up with us. God desires that we have a clear conscience before Him at all times.
Third: Joseph finished with four important words; “and sin against God?”
In essence he was saying, “If I go to bed with you, Mrs. Potiphar, I violate God.” Unthinkable, unconscionable, how dare we, through a selfish choice, violate the one who died for us! When we violate our integrity by whatever means, we injure our relationship with God and handicap our ability to respond to his voice and enjoy His presence.
Conclusion;
Integrity involves the whole of the inner person; the heart, the mind, and the will. The person with integrity has a single heart. He doesn’t try to love God and the world at the same time. The person with integrity also has a singleness of mind, a single outlook that keeps life going in the right direction. Jesus said that the person with integrity has a single desire - he seeks to serve but one master.
George Barna in his book “The Frog In The Kettle” wrote;
To the average nonbeliever, Christians act no different than anyone else. Our faith appears to be simply a theoretical construct (a built up theory) (is your faith a theory to you?), an emotional decision that does not have the power to transform who we are and how we behave. We must now forcefully demonstrate, through our actions, that what we believe dictates what we do… Christians should be discernable as people of love and integrity.
The church is God’s main instrument in this world for putting things together, and in order to do the job right, the church itself must have wholeness. If there is one place where the shattered people of our fractured society ought to find integrity, it is in the local church. After all, we Christians are reconciled to God and united to one another, so people have every right to expect to see integrity in the church and her people.
What is integrity? Oxford English dictionary says that the word comes from the Latin “integrites”, which means wholeness, entireness, completeness. The root word is integer, which means untouched, intact, or entire.
The person with integrity is not pretending (that’s hypocrisy). We can no longer just go through the motions – people have seen through the lie and are rejecting Christ as Savior because of it.
The person with integrity is not divided (that’s duplicity). We can no longer live as one from this world and claim to be a citizen of heaven as God Word claims for those who belong to Him.
The person with integrity is whole, life is put together, and things are working together harmoniously. People with integrity have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. We must all seek, with all our hearts, to live a whole and complete life in Jesus. One without compromise, in doing this we will *effect our world in a positive way, that is our calling.
*not , affect: which means to stir the emotions of,
*but, effect: which is the power to cause results,
We cannot express the power of God without experiencing the power of God.
And what results are we looking for?
“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
God Bless and Press On
Larry
No comments:
Post a Comment