May the LORD give you increase more and more…Psalm 115:4
The essence of the kingdom of God is increase. We are all descendants of Abraham, and the blessing God gave to him was a blessing of increase: “I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore” (Genesis 22:17). Today, as children of God who have faith in Jesus Christ, we are Abraham’s offspring, and we carry that same DNA of increase. Recently, while studying the book of Acts, I discovered something interesting about how God increased the early church: the church increased through the process of addition and multiplication.
If we look at certain verses, we can see that the church grew whenever there was a display of God’s power. For example, on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the church, Peter delivered his first sermon, and the Bible tells us that three thousand people were added to the church: “and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). If you read Acts 2:43, the Bible says “many wonders and signs were done by the apostles” and the result of that was seen in Acts 2:47: “the Lord added to the church daily”. Whenever there were signs, wonders, and miracles, the early church grew through the process of addition.
However, addition was not the only way the church grew. The Bible also mentions that the church grew through multiplication. Addition and multiplication are quite different, but I think we can agree that multiplication is a much greater way to increase. Interestingly, the church multiplied when believers went out and spoke the word of God. In Acts 6:2, you will notice that the apostles did not want to “neglect the ministry of the word” and what was the outcome of their decision? “And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied” (Acts 6:7). In Acts 9:28-31, the result of Saul’s preaching and conversion was “they were multiplied” (Acts 9:31). I believe this is the most effective way to grow — the process of multiplication happens when disciples speak the word of God.
Whether it’s in business, personal situations, or ministry, we all look for increase. The Lord’s miracle in your situation will add to you, but declaring the word of God as an act of faith will multiply you.
Declaration: My bold declaration of the word of God will cause me to grow in every area of my life through the process of multiplication. Yes, I am entering my season of divine multiplication.
Scripture: I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. (Genesis 22:17)