We are living in a time of increase. We are living in a day in which God is going to bring phenomenal increase to bear on 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 going to be in the flow of that increase? As we move into the time in which the end-time harvests come in, 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?
Just because God is bringing increase to His people doesn’t mean that every believer will automatically experience it. Those who passively say, “God, it is 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 that when I say the word increase that I’m talking about more than just an increase in the salvation of souls and the finances to bring them in. 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 say. Yes, you can only experience the power of God to the degree that you align yourself with His purposes because 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 churches that the end-time harvest of souls predicted in the Word of God will be brought in. Knowing this, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that nearly all of the remarkable moves of God I mentioned in the foreword 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.
Give of Your Supply
So, the first key to getting into the flow of supernatural increase in the last days is to have your life firmly planted in a local body of believers. Then once you have found a church, the second key is to make sure you are giving what the Bible calls your supply. Look with me at Ephesians 4:16 and you will see what I mean:
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. In fact, I’m convinced that anytime the New Testament refers to the universal church that what is said is also applicable to the local church.
What, according to the above verse, brings about increase of the body and results in its being edified or built up in love? When every joint supplies 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 is 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 a financial supply. We see a reference to this type of supply a few verses further 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.
According to this verse, if you are 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 enjoy things. (God delights in the prosperity of His servants Psalm 35:27). He just doesn’t want the things to have us. But the primary reason God wants to bring increase 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 are laboring only to acquire things, you are 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, then increase comes to that body.
As important as these two types of supply are to the health of a church and to the carrying out of God’s plan in the church, I want to suggest to you that they aren’t the most important forms of supply you have to give. As a matter of fact, I’m convinced that the major key to seeing the body of Christ increase and built up in love is in giving 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, but he was confident he would experience deliverance because of his Philippian partner’s 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. And the only source of spiritual nourishment comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Anointed One. And as the Anointed One, He is the source of any anointing we may experience.
We see then, that the prayers and supply (or nourishment) that Paul knew would result in his salvation from trouble was 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 Spirit and His anointing. And just as it is possible to withhold your natural supplies of finance and talent, it is also possible for you to withhold your prayers and supply of the Spirit.
But your supply is needed in the body of Christ, and there is a place where you fit, a place where your supply – your gifts, talents, abilities and anointing – will be a blessing. It is also the place where God knows you will receive the supply you need in your life. It is there that the anointings you need will be most readily available to you.
Find Your Own Company
First Corinthians 12:18 tells us that God places every member where it pleases Him. In several other places in Scripture, God makes it clear that you have a place in the body of Christ. There are a lot of good bodies of believers, and one isn’t necessarily better than another, but there is a right one for you.
In Acts, chapter 4, we see that Peter and John had a group of believers that they belonged to. In this particular chapter, Peter and John were reprimanded and beaten for preaching the Gospel publicly. We are also told that the rulers called them and commanded them not to speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus.
Now what I want you to notice is what they did after they were released: And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them (Acts 4:23).
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.
Keep in mind that at this point in time there were several thousand believers living in Jerusalem. Acts 2:41 tells us that more than three thousand souls were saved on the day of Pentecost alone. But Peter and John didn’t return to just any group of believers. It says they went to their own company.
Just as there was a group of believers in Jerusalem for Peter and John, there is a group of believers where you belong. You, too, have a company, and one of the most important things you can do as a Christian to experience God’s increase and God’s best in your life is to find your company and get hooked up with them.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Mac and Lynne Hammond are senior pastors of Living Word in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, which they started in 1980. Many outreaches and ministries have launched from Living Word since that time, including Maranatha Christian Academy, a Pre-K through grade 12 school with nearly 900 in attendance, and Living Free Recovery Services, a licensed outpatient treatment program.
Most recently, Mac and Lynne have launched a vision to plant fifty churches across the globe in the next five years. As of August 2024, nine churches have been planted in the Dominican Republic, Ireland, Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, and Guatemala with construction underway for seven more churches in El Salvador, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Prior to becoming a pastor, Mac was a pilot. He served in the Air Force, served two tours of duty in Southeast Asia, and was honorably discharged in 1970 with the rank of Captain. Between 1970 and 1980, Mac was involved in varying capacities in the general aviation industry, including ownership of a successful air cargo business serving the Midwestern United States. A business acquisition brought the Hammonds to Minneapolis, where they ultimately founded Living Word. Currently, Mac is the host of The Winner’s Way and The Winner’s Minute broadcasts and the 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.