
I'm so looking forward to the comments on this one!
It's been said for a long time that all minister's failures can be tracked back to one of these three pitfalls! And there may be some truth to that, it's just interesting to me that ministers get picked on more than other positions of authority and highlighted more by their own "brothers and sisters" than any other profession. Now, I'm not ignorant as to why! It's true, they carry a lot of influence with people, and the more people gather around the more there are to be hurt. On the flip-side the more there are to be potentially helped too! It's all in your perspective.
However, I have yet to find a calling in the Word that includes tearing ministers down, including those who "believe" they are called to be a "watchdog" for the body of Christ. I'm not saying that moral failures don't need to be dealt with, but they need to be handled with Love, Honor and Dignity in mind. Some of my favorite ministers have been derided simply because they want to take full advantage of the terrible price Jesus paid for. One of the best displays I have ever seen regarding moral failure was a YouTube video by Bill Johnson (Bethel Church, Redding CA) concerning Todd Bentley.
I, like many other Christians, was ready to throw stones and call the whole healing Revival a sham because of Mr Bentley's failure. But why? I'll tell you why, because I felt some twisted satisfaction in his circumstance that made me feel better about myself! How stupid is that! But if we will be honest with ourselves, we've all felt some type of satisfaction seeing others fall, because it made us feel better about our own life somehow! However, after I witnessed Mr Johnson handle this situation with Love and Honor I was forever changed because I saw Jesus coming through him in what could have been a potential powder keg. As I understand it now, Mr Bentley is restored and moving forward and it wasn't because so many Christians pointed a judgmental figure at him.
It was because he found love in others willing to help him in the midst of adversity of his own doing. Same thing with Jim Baker, everyone remembers that debacle in the 80's. The church at large abandoned him and then he was betrayed by those who said they would help him. During his stay in prison only one minister visited him, Kenneth Copeland! I learned this as I watched them both speak live at Mr Baker's Studio City Cafe in Branson in 2003. And because he was restored, he's back ministering to multitudes on TV now.
Honestly, if all our heart secrets were on public display we might be a little more easy on those who's indiscretions actually make it to the front page of the news.
Back to the title though. You can have the 3 G's and still be an anointed, Godly person!
So what do I mean? Well, I'm glad you asked.
You have to have the GOLD to GIVE and GO!
You have to have the GLORY to give GLORY back to God!
You have to have the GIRL to GROW! (family that is, and ladies don't feel left out, just turn this last one in to GUY, and you're all set! Because women are anointed to lead and minister too!)
So you can have it all without IT having you! And you know what, you are supposed to! John 10:10 tells me all I need to know about the nature of Jesus who was the express image of the Father. He said "I have come for you to have life and life more abundantly! That word "more abundantly" in Greek is Perrisos and means 'superabundant or superior, excessive, preeminence, exceedingly abundantly above, superfluous, beyond measure, excellent and extraordinary!' Now that's a mouthful of goodness that Master Jesus said that He came for us to walk in!
In my life, that includes all three of the G's! And it's so for you in your life too! He has called you to higher things, to a better life, to a place of preeminence over the lowly estate that the world and religion want to hold you in!
So step into your John 10:10 life and begin to believe you are an heir of salvation, mercy and abundance that Jesus paid such a high price for you to have!
More to come!
Barry Tubbs