THE MYSTERY OF DIVINE INCREASE
Deut. 1:6-11
6 The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:
7 Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates.
8 Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.
10 The LORD your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude.
11 (The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!)
What you know of God will determine what you get from God.
God is a God of increase. Ps. 115:14
The will of God for us is increase. Pro. 4:18
This perspective is very important because your thought life will determine your real life. Pro. 23:7
You cannot be more than your thought life.
We are going to look at one scriptural requirement for increase in any area of life.
I find it necessary to look at this requirement that is undermined particularly in church.
We believe we can pray our way into everything.
The demand of skill for increase
1 Cor. 3:10
KJV) According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
ERV) Like an expert builder I built the foundation of that house. I used the gift that God gave me to do this. Other people are building on that foundation. But everyone should be careful how they build.
(GW) As a skilled and experienced builder, I used the gift that God gave me to lay the foundation for that building. However, someone else is building on it. Each person must be careful how he builds on it.
There is something God has put in you for the purpose of having increase in life
Increases will not just happen, it must be made to happen.
Skills and gifts are for purpose of advancement in life. They are mandatory requirements for increase.
Yes, they come from God but they have to be developed in order to produce increase.
How can I develop my skill?
Skills don’t just happen, they are developed through a process. What then is the process of skill development?
Seven steps to developing your skills.
- Identify your area of skill.Ps. 139:14
Stop looking at yourself from a general perspective.
If you cannot identify your skill you won’t be able to indemnify it. It will remain elusive.
Why the Bible enjoins us not to overestimate ourselves, we must not look down on ourselves. Rom. 12:3-6
3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
Find out, what are the things peculiar about you? 1 Pet. 2:9
They are oftentimes hidden; if you don’t search for them you will not find them.
So dig, dig and dig in seeking for them. Pro. 13:23/ Matt. 7:7-8
- Desire to develop it
You will need to create a passion for it. Like it, want it, aspire for it. Let your heart yearn for it.
Your desire sets the pace for your attainments.
Desire is the first step in the journey of accomplishment.
Your desire will fuel your imagination.
- Find out the cost for developing it.
Skill has cost because it is of value. Why? Houses don’t just happen, they are built. Heb. 3:4
There are materials that go into building – spiritual, mental, physical, emotional. They all have their different contributions to the building. Please don’t assume, analyze them.
Be exhaustive with the cost analysis. Don’t be carried away by the excitement of your desire.
- Check the implications of the cost. Lk. 14:28
Don’t glide over implications; ask yourself the sincere question “am I ready to pay the price”
Being a righteous Christian doesn’t alienate us from implications; it will only give us the grace to positively handle the implications.
When you are stressed by the implications of a course, it is not because the course is impossible or super difficult, it is because the commensurate grace for it is absent. Pro. 24:10.
So the same way you analyzed the cost, sit down to analyze the toll it will take on you – spirituality, time, money, discipline, etc.
- Commit yourself to developing it
Commitment is a pledge or obligation to a course. Commitment demands obligations. You are obligated. You are bound! Jn. 4:34
If it is commitment, there must be deadline. A course without a deadline will end in a dead end.
If it is commitment, there will be the “must” dimensions to it. So identify your MUST dimensions. Jn. 9:4
Your MUST dimensions will set your boundaries and value priorities.
- Place your hands on the plough without looking back. Lk. 9:62
It is a no-looking-back project. If skill must be developed, it is a one-way journey.
There are things that will want to make you look back! Gen. 19:26
Challenges are normal to life but defeat is alien to a life of breakthrough. 1 Cor. 10:13
The most veritable asset for the believer in the journeys of life is grace. 1 Cor. 15:10
Leverage on grace. When you have done all you know how to do, hold on to grace.
- Be grateful
For every inch you go, always return to recognize God as the doer. 1 Thess. 5:18/ Jn. 14:10
Skill not appreciated can kill. Ask Nebuchadnezzar. Dan. 4:20-32
Humility is the custodian of impactful skill. 1 Pet. 5:6
. Pastor Abraham Olufemi Ojeme is LeadBuilder at the BUILDERS FORUM, NIGERIA.