God promises to cause multiplication to work for us.
"If you listen to these judgments, keep them, and do them, then the Lord your God shall keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. He will love you and bless you and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain, and your wine, and your oil, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock, in the land that He swore to your fathers to give you. You shall be blessed above all peoples" (Deut. 7:12-14, MEV).
" ... and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, where there were fiery serpents and scorpions and drought, where there was no water, who brought forth for you water out of the rock of flint" (Deut. 8:13-15, MEV).
As I read these Scriptures, I am reminded of the great promise of multiplication. It seems that the Lord's favorite mathematical operation is to multiply.
But most leaders have either experienced or observed the Word of the Lord in verse 14:
" ... then your heart will become proud and you will forget ..."
We preach sermons on pride, we guard our hearts from thinking too highly of ourselves—yet, when we see the effect of multiplication in our work or ministry, it's easy to slip and slide into independence.
The Lord spoke clearly, "THEN your heart will ..." God knows our heart.
We pray for the increase. God multiplies our fruit and prideful leaders take all the credit.
Positive outcomes can be dangerous in the wrong hands.
Current results are a partial glimpse into what God wants to do for us. God, the multiplier, has given us but a sampling of His great outpouring.
But man's concept of growth seems to be stated in percentages. We compare ourselves with ourselves.
"Our attendance was up 37 percent last month."
"Giving is up 12 percent year over year."
"Only 8 percent of the board slept through my sermon."
Let God do the math. He thinks bigger than we do.
Dr. Steve Greene is the publisher and executive vice president of the media group at Charisma Media and executive producer of the Charisma Podcast Network. His book, Love Leads: The Spiritual Connection Between Your Relationships and Productivity, is now available.
Leaders, Dr. Greene wants to help you understand the spiritual connection between relationships and productivity. Read his new blog, here.
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