Our single purpose as ministers of God is to meet the needs of the people. James 1:5-8 tells us why single-mindedness is so important:

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

If you are not single-minded about your ministry, you will not have any definite direction. You will always be wondering what you are supposed to so.

Don't Hesitate to Step Out on Your Faith
Do you remember when you felt the first symptom of a cold or the flu strike you and you waited around for two or three days before you picked up your Bible and prayed about it? Then, later on you wondered why you waited until you were sick before you acted.

Your hesitation gave the sickness an opportunity to get a hold on you. Hesitating is not a quality of a single-minded person. If a man is of two minds, then the decisions he makes are split. When you get into an area of indecision, you are at a standstill. You won't go either way.

A double-minded man is one who tries to live by faith and protects his fear at the same time. He talks both ways. Inconsistency is hazardous. If you are hesitating in stepping out on your faith in ministry, your adversary will always be one step ahead of you. You will never see the power of God work through you to heal anyone.

The eighth chapter of Luke records an event in the life of Christ which illustrates the danger of instability and hesitancy (Luke 8:22-25). Jesus stated when they first entered the ship, "Let us go over unto the other side of the lake" (v. 22). There was enough power in those words to have gotten the disciples all the way across the lake. Yet, they became afraid and ran to waken Jesus crying, "Master, master, we perish!" (v. 24).

Here is a perfect illustration of double-mindedness. They were speaking death to the Author of life. They were speaking fear in the very presence of faith personified, the Son of the living God. They were consumed with the problem while the solution Himself slept in their vessel.

A single-minded man is a man that makes quality decisions and settles them forever. If you are going to put the Lord, His work and Word first in your life, there will be times when you will have to bypass what you see in order to meet the people's needs. Don't hesitate. Do whatever it takes.

Preach the Word in Season and Out
As the apostle Paul instructed young Timothy, "Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season…do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry" (2 Tim. 4:2,5).

Preach the Word. When your congregation says, "We've got financial problems," don't hesitate. Deliver the gospel. When you have a building program to complete, preach the Word. When your church says, "It can't be done," get with it. Don't spend your time trying to figure out how to get things done or how to get people to give. If no one is giving, then you are not preaching the Word. People will support you if you feed them spiritually.

Every minister wants God's power and the gifts of the Spirit to manifest through them. Some would give anything in this world if someone they laid hands on would fall out under the power of God! You can beg until you change color, but it's only when you start preaching the Word that that power begins.

Your job is to meet the needs of the people. The Word of God has the answer to every need. When you deliver the Word, signs will follow.

When you roll all the care of it over on God and simply say, "Well, Lord, you want them saved more than I do. You want them healed worse than I do. You want their needs met more than I, so I'm just going to preach the Word. I'll preach it in season and out of season. I'll preach it at night. The only thing I'll ever be accused of doing too much is preaching the Word! Whether they respond or not, I'll preach the Word! I will not be swayed by anything or anybody; I will preach the Word!"

Preach it to yourself first and then to everybody you come in contact with. Be willing to walk away from ANYTHING in order to get God's Word to others. When you make that kind of decision, I promise you by the authority of the written Holy Word of God that signs will follow your ministry, the necessary funds will come in, and you will have more places to preach than you can handle.

God's Word is all you need. The Scriptures will save you, heal you, fill you with the Holy Spirit. They will turn you into the righteousness of God and meet your needs according to His riches in glory. A man filled with faith can do ANYTHING HE CAN BELIEVE.

All things are possible to him who believes.

Excerpt permission granted by
Eagle Mountain International Church, Inc.
aka:  Kenneth Copeland Ministries