Becoming the Message; Indeed, there is a sermon every believer is preaching
Sometimes, we expect it to be from the pulpit or microphone. But the message is our life.
Consequently, the world is not just listening to our words; it is reading our lives as well.
And in many cases, people will believe (or reject) the Gospel, not because of what we said, but because of what they saw.
That’s why daily we come to the cross not because death on the cross is fun-filled
But because there is a measure of conformity to the image of Christ that cannot be achieved unless the cross passes through us.
It makes it easier for God to find men in every generation who are not merely messengers, but messages themselves.
Their walk preaches louder than their talk. Their consistency rebukes hypocrisy and their obedience authenticates the Kingdom.
Therefore, It is not enough that we speak for God — the true call is to become like Him.
You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men.” 2 Corinthians 3:2
The Word Made Flesh; Becoming the Message
The ultimate pattern of ministry is found in Jesus Christ.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:14
Taking a look at our patterned Man Jesus, He was the embodiment of the message He carried.
He didn’t only describe the Kingdom; He manifested it.
And so the scriptures lending credence to this said in Acts 1:1 “The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
Meaning that the life is first of all in the being and doing before the teaching.
Therefore, the true living of the believer is not measured in what he is saying but what he is doing
This is the pattern — that the Word we carry must find expression in our lives until our lives become the visible evidence of invisible realities.
And so daily we yield to God’s leading as He helps us become not just talking epistles but lively ones!
The Difference Between Preaching and Becoming
Becoming the Message. Preaching is vocal; becoming is internal.
Preaching is what we declare; becoming is what we live.
When we become the message, our words and our walk harmonize. The truth we preach finds its home in our lifestyle.
That’s why, Paul said:“My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you.”Galatians 4:19
He wasn’t content with mere sermons. His goal was formation — that believers would not just know Christ but become like Him.
When we take a closer look at that scripture we will see that the true measure of ministry is not necessarily how many people heard us, but how many people saw Christ through us.
“These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.”
— Matthew 15:8 (NIV)
Hence, as believers if we don’t have integrity we might end up preaching confusion to the world.
Seeming as if our life is a contradiction to the message we speak thereby weakening its power but God will help us to be true witnesses!
That’s why we won’t stop beholding the image of Christ peradventure God will look upon our genuine pursuit and conform us to His son
And yes, the journey to the conformity to Christ doesn’t happen in a whim
Meaning we don’t suddenly swing our magic transformation wand and boom we become Christlike
It means that daily we must be willing to allow Christ work in us through the instrumentality He deems fit to achieve His purpose
So if He brings the cross in other to achieve discipline and contentment in us….we stay
Painful yet it is better than being half baked; not too useful to God or even to ourselves….God help us!
The Making of a Message; Becoming the Message
Every true messenger of God is a message that has been refined through process.
And I often wonder and ask the question “is there a point where one comes to and he doesn’t need refining through process?
The truth is that the more we progress in our walk with God the more the demand to be refined through process
Maybe this time not as the former or the same environment or circumstances
But there is always a process in the life of the believer so as to birth more refining for better usage by God!
Think of Moses — forty years in Pharaoh’s palace, then forty years in the wilderness before one word of ministry.
God used both seasons to form the message of deliverance within him.
And here I was thinking that Moses’s training was over after the forty years in the wilderness😓
And am like Moses abegggg enter rest, you don try😔
But no! even leading the children of Israel to the promise land was both a process of training for him.
He learnt practical meekness, compassion, forgiveness, intercession…many things along that path
Think of Joseph — dreams at seventeen, fulfillment at thirty. The pit, Potiphar’s house, and prison were not detours; they were the formation grounds.
It seemed like before Joseph could deliver a nation from famine, he had to learn how to manage scarcity personally.
Before he could handle authority publicly, he had to handle temptation privately.
Behove it to say then, that our message will be tested in our personal life before it ever reaches a pulpit.
God allows us to live the truths we preach, so that our message will not be theory but testimony.
Living Letters in a Noisy Generation
We live in an age of abundance of words — everyone has something to say and it is not bad
But the world is not starving for more eloquence — it is starving for authenticity and life
Hence, transformation is not self-improvement, it is not even refurbishing or renovation.
It’s like a complete overhaul! It is not polishing the flesh — it’s allowing the Spirit to renew us from within.
That’s why Paul in Romans 12:2 said “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
So it means then that when our thinking aligns with truth, our being begins to reflect truth.
Transformation is how truth migrates from revelation to manifestation. It is the bridge between hearing and becoming.
And so the danger is that we sometimes stop at hearing and never proceed to becoming … .Help us Jesus!
So, until the Word becomes our nature, it remains powerless in our life.
The Path to Authenticity
We cannot become the message if we still seek to preserve our image (self preservation).
The scriptures buttressing this says in John 12:24 “Unless a corn of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abideth alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.”
Therefore part of the process of becoming the message is the process of dying — death to ambition, to self, to man’s opinion….the list is endless
And even when we think we have died, God calls us to deeper death 😓
It seems like the more we die, the clearer Christ is seen.
Hence, we can only reproduce what we have become.
Words are powerful, yes. But without witness, words lose credibility, it breeds hypocrisy.
That’s why true ministry combines both: Word and life.
Jesus did and taught (Acts 1:1). His doing gave credibility to His teaching.
So speak truth boldly — but live it even more faithfully because our life must validate our lips.
Bringing to us the necessity to to perpetually cry to God for help!
When God Uses Your Life as a Mirror
Sometimes, there’s a reason God lets us go through certain trials — because someone is watching how we handle them.
Sometimes, we’re not going through it for ourself, but for someone else who will read our life as a manual for survival.
Paul said: “You yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you.”2 Thessalonians 3:7
Our reactions in hardship, our joy in scarcity, our patience in delay — may be someone’s lesson in faith.
Becoming the message is costly. It demands brokenness, consistency, and surrender.
In some instances, we will lose our right to certain conversations.
We will be misunderstood by many.
We will have to walk away from shortcuts and appearances.
Becoming the message means allowing God to write His story through us for we cannot preach resurrection if we refuse to die.
Conclusion; Becoming the Message
Becoming the Message. People can sense hypocrisy, but they can also sense genuinty.
Authenticity is when the truth of your heart matches the confession of your mouth.
“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9
The next wave of revival will not be led by celebrities, but by living epistles.
It is true that when we become the message, our life continues to preach long after our voice is silent.
“Though he being dead yet speaks.” Hebrews 11:4
Our legacy is not just in what we said, but in what we became.
You can check the article when no one is watching; the integrity test of true sons
