God Gives the Increase

Deuteronomy 28:4-5 – “Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.”

Deuteronomy 28:38-42 – “Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it. Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit. Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity. All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.”

So what makes the difference? How do we ensure the blessings and avoid the curses? Is it the amount of sweat put into the sowing, planting, and begetting? Is it the number of waking hours devoted to such tasks? Is it the magnitude of sacrifice or self-suffering that we offer? No. It’s obedience. It’s faith in God’s commandments. It’s faith in God’s promises. He promises blessings for obedience (to the commandments); He promises curses for disobedience.

It’s not the stone that kills the giant. It’s not the loud horns and shouting, the shattering pitchers, and the bright torches around the camp that cause the enemies to destroy themselves. It’s not the harmonic frequency of marching feet that makes thick walls fall down. It’s obedience. Faith-full obedience.

So do we then just lie back and refrain from idolatry, murder, adultery, theft, and dishonesty? Is that the only obedience required for the blessings to come rolling in? No. Because It also says, “Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work” (Deut. 5:13), and “If any would not work, neither should he eat” (2 Thes. 3:10).

But again, Men, Pastors, Elders, Deacons, & Ministers in training, successful ministry does not depend on your spending 14 out of 18 waking hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week, serving the church. It’s not your sweating, it’s not your planting, it’s not your watering, it’s not your fertilizing, it’s not even your “passion and heart” for those many sowing and harvesting ministries to which “so few others seem committed” that pulls the tree out of the acorn. God calls you to be obedient. Your wife, your children, your family need you to be obedient. Your church needs you to be obedient. Your community, your culture needs you to be obedient.

“So then neither is he that plants any thing, neither he that waters; but God that gives the increase.” – 1 Corinthians 3:7