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We are living in a time of increase. There is no doubt in my mind about that. We are living in a day in which God is going to bring phenomenal increase to bear in the earth. His Church is going to increase. His body is going to increase. His people as a whole are going to experience supernatural increase on an unprecedented level.

The only question that remains for you and me is, "Are we as individuals going to be in the flow of that increase?"

As we move into the time in which the end-time harvests come in (both souls and finances), are you and I going to be a part of it or will we be standing on the sidelines watching other believers experience supernatural blessing?

You see, just because God is bringing increase to His people, that doesn't mean every believer will automatically experience it just because they're saved. Those who passively say, "God, it's up to You. If You want me to be blessed, then bless me," are probably not going to see God's highest and best in these last days.

Keep in mind, when I say "increase," I'm talking about more than just financial blessing (although that certainly is an important element of the end-time plan of God).

I'm also talking about an increase of peace, an increase of joy, an increase of good health and an increase in harmonious relationships.

How will individuals experience all these wonderful facets of supernatural increase? Only as they align themselves with God's plan for increase in the local church.

"The local church?" you ask. Yes. You can only experience the power of God to the degree that you align yourself with His purposes. (God never dispenses His power apart from His purpose.) And God is going to fulfill His purposes in these last days largely through local churches.

It is primarily through churches that the lost are going to be reached and discipled. It is primarily through the agency of churches that the end-time harvest of souls predicted in the Word of God will be brought in.

It shouldn't come as a surprise then, that nearly all of the remarkable moves of God in history have taken place in local churches around the world. God is pouring out His power in and through churches because increase in these local bodies is central to His end-time plan.

So, the first key to getting in the flow of supernatural increase in the last days is to have your life firmly planted in a local body of believers.

The second key once you're plugged in to a church - is to make sure you are giving what the Bible calls your "supply of the Spirit" there. Look with me at Ephesians 4:16 and you'll see what I mean:

"[Christ:] From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love."

Now, when this passage speaks of "the whole body," it is referring to the universal, invisible Church - the body of Christ. But I believe it is equally applicable to the local body - the individual groups of believers that constitute the larger Church universal.

What, according to the above verse, brings about "increase of the body" and results in its being "edified" (built up) in love? Every "joint" supplying what it has to supply. You and every member of your church have something the corporate body needs.

Types of Supply
"Supply" is the key word here. It's the cornerstone of increase. Particularly the kind of increase God wants to see in His churches and His people in these last days. What is this supply? There are actually a number of different types.

First, there is financial supply. We see a reference to this type of supply a few verses farther down in the chapter in verse 28: "Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth" (Eph. 4:28).

According to this verse, if you're laboring for any reason other than to be able to "give to him that needeth," you are, in a sense, a thief.

Of course, we know that God wants us to have things to enjoy. Don't doubt that for a moment. The Word says God wants to give us all things richly to enjoy (1 Tim. 6:17).

But the primary reason God wants to bring increase to you is to enable you to be a blessing to others - especially by financing the spread of the Gospel.

This is part of the supply you bring to the church body to which you have been joined. If you're laboring only to acquire things, you're robbing others of your supply and robbing yourself of the blessings of being a giver.

There is also a supply of service. Clearly as each person in a church finds his or her place and gives of his or her time, talent and creativity, increase comes to that body.

Important as these two types of supply are to the health of a church and the carrying out of God's plan, I want to suggest to you that they are not the most important forms of supply you have to give. I'm convinced that the major key to seeing the body of Christ increase and built up in love is a "supply of the Spirit."

There is a supply you have within you that is spiritual, rather than natural in nature. If you can learn to give of that supply you will have your greatest impact for the kingdom of God and, as a result, experience the greatest level of power and blessing in your own life.

We see this concept of "spiritual supply" mentioned explicitly and implicitly throughout scripture. Look, for example, at Philippians 1:19: "For I know that this shall turn to my salvation [deliverance] through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ."

Do you see it? There is a "supply of the Spirit."

Paul was facing a life-or-death situation here. But he was confident he would experience deliverance because of his Philippian partners' prayers and spiritual supply.

The Greek word translated "supply" in this verse is epichoregia and at its root is a word meaning "nourishment."

When Paul talks about the "supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ," he is literally talking about a source of spiritual nourishment. Another word for that source is the anointing. (Keep in mind that the title "Christ" literally translated means "the Anointed One and His anointing.")

We see then, that the prayers and supply (nourishment) that Paul knew would result in his salvation from trouble are basically a supply of the anointing. Whenever believers come together to worship, pray or hear the Word, each one brings a unique, irreplaceable supply of the anointing.

Just as it is possible to withhold your natural supplies of finance and talent, it is also possible for you to withhold your supply of the Spirit.

Find Your Company
We see another aspect of this truth in the fourth chapter of Acts. There we read about Peter and John being reprimanded and beaten for preaching the Gospel publicly. We are told "the rulers called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus" (Acts 4:18).

What I want you to notice is what they did after they were released:

"And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus....And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them" (Acts 4:18, 23).

"They went to their own company." Peter and John had "a company" of people with whom they were joined. They were people who belonged together. People who had been divinely knit together.

You have a company, too. Somewhere there is a group of believers where you belong. One of the most important things you can do as a Christian to experience God's best is to find "your company" and get hooked up with them.

In several places in scripture, God makes it clear that you have a place in the body of Christ that is your own company. There are a lot of good companies out there and one isn't necessarily better than another. But only one is right for you.

There is a place where you fit. A place where your supply - your gifts, your talents, abilities and anointing - is most needed. It's also the place where God knows you'll receive the supply you need in your life. It's where those anointings are most readily available to you.

Every time you see a significant move of God, you'll find a company of people who have come together in one accord. We can't allow schism, division and competitive jealousy to divide us from one another. We do so at the expense of experiencing the power of God - the power to bring increase.

It might seem odd for someone with a television outreach to encourage you to attend and support your local church, but I know it is a major key to your experiencing increase in these last days.

Copyright © Mac Hammond Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Author Biography

Mac Hammond
Web site: Mac Hammond
 
Mac Hammond is the senior pastor of Living Word, a large and growing church in Brooklyn Park (a suburb of Minneapolis), Minnesota. He is the host of the Winner’s Minute, which is seen locally in the Minneapolis area on KMSP Channel 9 at 6:44 a.m. and 11:11 a.m. He is also the host of the Winner's Way broadcast and author of several internationally distributed books. Mac is broadly acclaimed for his ability to apply the principles of the Bible to practical situations and the challenges of daily living.
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