2 Kings 19:29
And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof.
Many want to enjoy the fruits of ministering without the labor it takes to enjoy those fruits. Many want the result without the labor, but fruit is a result of labor. We often look at the ministries of men who have been faithful for years and want the same result, and when we don't get immediate results, many turn to compromise to get those results. You must remember that before you can ever enjoy the results of ministry, you must do the labor it takes to get that fruit.
God told Judah that one of the signs He would give them that Sennacherib would fall is that they would enjoy growth, but they would also have to sow, reap, and plant vineyards to enjoy the fruit of growth. In other words, they would never be able to enjoy the fruit without labor involved.
It would seem that most pastors and churches would desire to see growth. If you have no desire to see growth in your church, your church and ministry are dead. Growth is a sign of life, and yes, growth involves numbers as well as spiritual growth. You cannot convince me that you can grow spiritually without growing numerically. Let me share several things you must do to enjoy the fruit of growth that God tells Judah they would enjoy.
First, it takes a desire to grow. Nobody has grown without a desire to grow. There is nothing wrong with a desire to grow because it is a spiritual desire. God commands us to grow, so having a desire to grow means we have a spiritual desire and vision.
Second, you must sow to grow. No church has ever grown the right way without soul winning. The purpose of the church is to reach the lost for Christ. It is hard to reach the lost if you don't have several soul winning opportunities for your church each week. A church that is canceling their soul winning opportunities is canceling their growth and God’s blessings. Certainly, God is the one who gives the increase, but God uses soul winning to give the increase. You can't increase without new souls. Your church will be a better church if it grows organically through soul winning than it ever will with growth through transfers.
Third, you must reap. Reaping is done through the ministries that pick up people to bring them to church. For instance, the bus ministry and Sunday school are reaping ministries. Every ministry a church starts should have the mindset to reap the harvest of the Gospel. This means those involved in these ministries must be in the field reaping the lost for Christ and bringing them to church.
Fourth, you must plant vineyards. In other words, you must reproduce yourself to enjoy the fruit of ministry. A Sunday school class needs to produce another Sunday school class by growing its pupils so they can teach a class. A church must produce another church by starting other churches. Every ministry needs to grow people so they can start another ministry in the church or in another church.
These four elements are keys to enjoying the fruits of ministry. These things don't happen overnight, but they happen over years of labor. If you don't quit these steps, you will one day enjoy the fruits of ministry.
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