Ministry Land-Mines

Having been in ministry for nearly four decades, I want to address the subject of "Ministry Land-mines". It is a subject dear to my heart. I pray that it helps both ministers and those to whom they minister. 

SEVEN LAND-MINES 

First: PRIDE- Imagine if the Ass Jesus rode on Palm Sunday, thought the Hosanna's were meant for him. All praise is due to God. Don't wait until you get to heaven to cast your lifetime crowns of accomplishment, achievement, and accolades at His feet. Do it now. Pride is a land-mine. 

Second: MONEY- The love of it is the root of (d)evil. It is amoral, neither, good or bad. Have it, but, never let it have you. It comes with a mission. Avoid misusing it, or missing the mission, because you misspent it. Provide all things honest. Your good name is more a great bank account. 

Third: CONTROL- Many who have deep insecurities, Napoleon complexes or lack of significance, use their position to make others beholden to them. Spiritual gifts of prophecy, word of knowledge, discerning of spirits are tools for edification, not toys for self gratification. God is in control. Being a Controller is a Land-mine. 

Fourth: DEFILEMENT- Sympathy is feeling sorry for someone's pain or problem. Empathy is feeling their pain as if it was yours. In the process of helping others, empathy is necessary. However, it often results in "sympathetic defilement." The counseled ones concerns are transferred and the minister can be weakened in defiled in the process. Learn to cast other peoples care upon the Lord as you do yours. Defilement is a ministry land-mine. 

Fifth: UNACCOUNTABILITY- Jesus sent his disciples in two's. Both, For practical purposes and spiritual. Let every soul be subject to the higher powers. Every Christian and minister needs spiritual authority to confess their struggles, strivings and shortcomings too. If you fall, there is no one to pick you up. The counsel is your safety net. Use it, don't excuse it. Unaccountability is a ministry land-mine.

Sixth: BAGGAGE- Going into a new season requires you to travel lightly. Too much weight disables take-off. Extra luggage costs more. Soo, walk in forgiveness of other's and one's self. Confess your sins. Humble yourself. Receive God's grace. Owe no man anything but to love him. Anger is a letter short of danger. If you lie down with the dogs of baggage, barking in your soul, you will awaken with fleas nesting in your soul. Baggage is a ministry land-mine. 

Seventh: Lust- The lust or intense desire of other things choke the effectiveness of the word. Lust of the eyes, flesh or pride of life come in the form of people, places or things. Be on guard. The eyes and ears are gates to the soul. From Eve, Achan to David, lust is nothing to play with, because it sears the soul, defiles the conscience, divides the heart and weakens the will. Unstopped it forges a ravine that is deep; a gulf between you and God that will threaten your relationships with Him and others. Avoid it by evicting it. Distancing from it. And confessing to God at all times. 

This is a brief writing on ministry land-mines. All believers must know that they are not exempt from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. But, the reason you are called an OVERCOMER is because, by the blood of Jesus, the grace and mercy of God, YOU WILL NEVER GO UNDER. Avoid the land-mines, and you avoid the explosion. Loveee you. Sir Brian