Bring the Increase
/“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”
Bring the increase. When we use this phrase, especially when talking about the MORE Initiative at Vintage Church, what do we really mean? What exactly are we asking? Usually our minds go immediately to dollars when we think about the words, “more” or “increase.” Is that what we’re really asking, or rather, is that all we’re really asking? Of course, in our world today we need money to survive, but as a church and as a people that is not all we need. Money isn’t our lifeblood.
When we ask Jesus for an increase let’s ask him for an increase in all areas of life.
- Beg for saved souls—increase salvation.
- Love others and love better—increase our hearts.
- Give us steadfastness and unwavering spirits in our callings—increase our faith.
- Help us to know truth and to see with clear, holy eyes—increase wisdom and discernment.
- Empower us to serve better, beyond our own ability—increase our talents and enhance our gifts.
- Multiply and provide money given—increase our finances.
Let’s ask Him to bless Vintage so that we can be generous to others in our city and in our world. Ask Him to help us to see everything as a gift to be used for His glory, and to steward well what we’ve each been given.
An increase will come as an overflow from hearts that love Him. He is the answer to every prayer and every plea. He is the saving one and fulfillment of every need. We must be willing to decrease so that He can increase. When people look at us, Vintage Church, let them see Jesus—Christ in us the hope of glory, the hope of the world. The hope of this world is not more people and more opinions. The hope of this world is more Jesus, the increaser of all good and perfect things.
“And they spoke to Moses, saying, ‘The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the Lord commanded us to do.’”