19 AUGUST 2017 BODY OF CHRIST NEWS Wounded by Unbalanced Ministry All of us at some point and time, have witness a saint, preach, deacon, choir member, evangelist, etc.. at a church or conference, forget that they are saved and filled with the Holy Ghost! Let me paint a picture for you. It's your job to assist the special guest; (water, mints etc) on program. But the First Lady decide to ask someone else to take care of these duties for you. Would you get upset and say, “That's my job” if so your “fruit” needs to be developed. You may have become faithful in serving and the plat- form ministers, but your patience is low. If you try to flow in a spiritual gift when your fruit is out of balance, especially if love is lacking, then you'll likely say or do something out of your fleshly nature. Many people have been wounded by unbalanced ministry. Those who fail to remain spiritually balanced become “territorial”. Your “Fruits” and “Gifts” must balance. When people in the church become territorial they become dangerous. Some people have even left a church because they no longer the volunteer of a certain position in their church, got mad and left. God just might be getting ready to evaluate you to another position...and you just blew that opportunity. Let's look at a perfect example of imbal- anced ministry from 2 Samuel 18. David's son, Absalom, was killed in battle and Joab sent his servant Cushi to tell the king of his son's death. But Ahimaaz, one of the young priests who was a faster runner, wanted to deliver the news. Joab told; him not to run to David, but Ahimaaz insisted, so he let him go (2 Sam 19-23). Joab knew the news was sensitive. He not only needed a fast runner; he needed someone who would carefully relay the word to David. When you are not operating in God's timing, you try to make things happen for yourself, like Ahimaaz did. It wasn't his time, and telling David about Absalom's death wasn't his assignment... but he insisted on carrying the message. Ahimaaz's fruit wasn't balanced; he wasn't ready to fulfill that charge. Sometimes God doesn't allow things to hap- pen in your life because your spiritual “fruit” isn't fully developed. But at other times, He may let you experience the consequences of a bad decision. When David saw Ahimaaz running towards him, he was sure that good news was coming. Even though Absalom had led a rebellion against his kingdom, David didn't want his son to die. That's why Joab sent Cushi, a man who would deliver the message with wisdom. We must understand there is spiritual warfare involved when God is using us to deliver a word to someone. Our gift must be balanced with fruit, or it could compromise God's purpose. (Please read this scripture on this story at 2 Samuel 18: 28-32). In the end, Ahimaaz wasn't mature enough to complete the job. He was able to tell David, “You won the battle,” but he didn't have the compassion to step inside the king's grief and help him bear it. So to get out of it. He withheld the truth… and that's telling a lie! We need to learn a lesson from Ahimaaz. When we rush to exercise a spiritual gift and our “fruit” isn't right or ready, we will misrepresent the Lord and people will be hurt. We must learn to stay in the presence of the Lord and let the Holy Spirit guide us in minis- try. Balance “fruit” is the proof that God is maturing us in His “gifts.” By Rev. Dr. PM Wynn Grove Rev. Dr. PM Wynn Grove and her husband Pastor Lee Grove are Associate Pastors at the Potters House of Denver. They are the Founders of Heavenly Sent Ministries. Dr. Grove can be reached at pmwynn9@msn.com SCRIPTURE We must understand there is spiritual warfare involved when God is using us to deliver a word to someone.