So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
1 Corinthians 3:7, NKJV
During the first fifteen to twenty minutes of our Home Group every week, we participate in what we call Good News time. Although we regularly experience the power of the Holy Spirit during our gatherings, including manifestations of the Holy Spirit and other powerful encounters with God, I look forward to the Good News time as one of the highlights of my week and cherish it deeply as one of my most favorite facets of our group.
This week, I’m going to share with my group about a building project in Kenya that we were able to sow into recently.
The picture below is of an unfinished church building in Malindi, Kenya. Malindi is a short drive from Watamu, where our good friend Pastor Peter has been encouraging and raising up local pastors and leaders in the ministry of the Word.
With a mixture of personal funds and generous donations from Unstoppable partners, we were able to help the local pastor finish his church building in short order. Our brothers and sisters in Malindi have already dedicated the building to God and have been having regular services in their new building!
God Gives the Increase!
When Paul wrote to the church of Corinth, he addressed the work of the ministers in building, planting, and working in the Gospel.
1 Corinthians 3:5-6 in the Amplified Classic Translation says,
I planted, Apollos watered, but God [all the while] was making it grow and [He] gave the increase. So neither he who plants is anything nor he who waters, but [only] God Who makes it grow and become greater.
The point is, although we may be the ones who do the physical work of building, planting, and watering–as is the case with helping our brothers and sisters out with this church building–it is not the success of the building project that will yield eternal results. God is the one who provides the DNA and the power necessary for what is planted and watered to grow, increase, and “become greater.”
When the Holy Spirit used the phrase “but God who gives the increase,” He chose these words very carefully. This phrase in the Greek carries the idea that God is constantly, actively, and energetically causing something to grow, as if it were a plant.
This means that God will multiply and increase the thing that you sow, as long as it is in line with the Word of God! This is amazing. God Himself promises to work in the soil of your garden, as long as you trust Him as the One who ultimately gives the increase.
Although we were able to build a church building and provide an opportunity for growth, neither those of us who gave or even the local leadership are “anything,” but it is God who gives the increase. We can have the most charismatic, knowledgeable pastors in the nicest and most well-placed church buildings, but without the power of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God will not produce in the hearts of those who listen.
What have you planted? What or who are you watering? And most importantly, are you getting out of the way and trusting God to give the increase that only He can give?
Maybe you are sowing and working hard at your job. Although hard work is important, are you giving space for God to give you increase? Are you giving Him space to flow through your hands and into your environment, increasing your influence and ministering the goodness of God to those around you? Remember, you can and should continue to plant and water whatever it is God has given you to do, but the ultimate growth and increase comes from God Himself.
I invite you to pray along with me today:
Father, I thank you for the opportunities You have given me to sow and to build where I am right now. Thank you for flowing through my hands, giving increase to the work that I am giving myself to right now. But Father, I want you to know that I give you all the glory for the increase in this area. Even though I am doing my best to be a faithful builder, planter, and waterer of this seed, I know that it can only grow when You supernaturally work this out.
I ask you, Holy Spirit, to teach me how to build, plant, and water in the environment you have placed me in. Thank you for showing me today that it is not my work that is going to produce the harvest, but that God is looking for people who are faithful to do what He has called them to do, and He is faithful to increase the harvest in those areas. I thank you, Lord, that I am one of those you can count on to faithfully steward the resources you have graciously blessed me with, and I ask for more opportunity to sow, to build, and to water those around me!
I pray these things in Jesus’ might Name!
Want to be part of future missions projects like this?
If you are not already an Unstoppable partner, please consider partnering with us at the link below. If you are a partner, we are so grateful for you. Thank you for joining us in the mission to reach many thousands more souls for Jesus!
