READ : 1 Corinthians 3:5-15
“…The seed is the word of God” – Luke 8:11
Every pastor should see the congregation as God’s garden, God’s field or God’s farm. When you are preaching, you are actually pouring seeds into God’s farm. The type of seeds you pour into the ground determines the type of harvest you are going to get. Every pastor must see himself as a farmer who plants seeds with every sermon.
There are short-term harvests of the Word. During each service, whatever you preach is a seed for a short-term harvest. If you preach about salvation, you will get people saved. I remember preaching about miracles at a crusade. There was an almost immediate response from the congregation! Cripples came out of wheelchairs and the sick began to get healed as I spoke about healing. At that moment, I was reaping a shortterm harvest.
There are also long-term harvests of the Word. Without knowing what I was doing, I sowed certain seeds of loyalty in God’s garden. I have taught about loyalty and I have reaped a harvest of loyal people from the garden! I have preached about the ministry and missionary work. As the years have gone by, God has blessed me with many workers and missionaries.
You must believe in the principle of God’s garden. This principle will guide you into preaching the right things. Preach about what you want and not about what you have! As the years go by, you will realise that you have a congregation of people that are the exact products of your teaching