Match Words to Deeds

The ministry of the word will never 
be effective if the seed is sown 
amongst thorns. 
Jesus shows us this clearly in that 
Parable of the Sower. 
He shows us that whatever the word is 
surrounded with determines whether 
or not the word will yield the desired 
fruits or not.
You see, it is possible for a local church 
to truly be given to the accurate teaching 
of the word, yet the members are not 
yielding fruits of the same. 
And I'll tell you why. 
If the local church over-celebrates and 
hypes other ephemeral and mundane things, 
it will frustrate the fruitfulness of the 
ministry of the word. 
Anyone who desires to see real and tangible 
fruits will do his best to keep things that 
have no bearing on the ministry of our 
Lord at a very low key.
It is good for a church to have and do 
good music. 
Very very good. 
It is good to have solid instruments to 
make the music more musical. 
But you see, there's how we can over-do it, 
that in the consciousness of people, 
music begins to take preeminence over 
the word, and members now start 
preferring the praise session to the 
prayer and the teaching. I know folks, 
back in the day, who organise themselves 
to arrive church just when the music is 
about to begin. 
And after they've danced and sweated, 
they start dozing when the word is taught. 
While indeed, people are responsible for 
their actions, it is the job of the church 
to do its own best to kill the potential 
for such behaviour in the people. 
Emphasis matters. Everyone should be
 conditioned in their minds, to anticipate 
church because of the ministry of the 
word and the Spirit, and training for the 
work of ministry.
If the Pastor preaches Christ, finished work, 
soul winning, prayer, etc, but the kind of 
testimonies he celebrates the most are 
miracle jobs, business breakthrough, etc, 
that attitude in itself is doctrine to the 
people. 
The people are subconsciously being 
taught what exactly matters the most. 
It's the same effect that is produced 
when the Pastor is unnecessarily loud 
about money and other strange stuff. 
These things choke the consciousness 
of ministry in people. 
It is my own personal opinion, that in 
starting a new work, there must be a 
deliberate effort to keep side attractions 
at the barest minimum. 
Whether you can afford it or not, it helps 
lay a solid foundation. 
Those who come around and stay with
 the work when there's no "beauty and colour", 
are much easier to initiate and indoctrinate 
with the consciousness and practice of the
 ministry of Christ.
All eyes must be on the word and the Spirit. 
And all minds must be focused on it. 
All emphasis must be on it. It should be the 
centre of testimonies. It should be what the 
Pastor is very loud about. 
It should be the core determinant of 
ministry activities.
May we never forget that the church of 
the living God is to produce ministers of 
our Lord.

Blessed