by: Kesavan Balasingham, Fellowship Church Rouge Park
The CNBC Ontario team holds to several key values that helps us navigate through important action steps. Collectively, we seek to encourage and equip church planting teams in the GTA so that they can plant healthy churches that reproduce. Today I want to briefly touch the value of “Multiply Everything.”
Creation & Curse
But first, let’s step back and briefly reflect on the big picture. The opening chapter of the Bible informs us that humanity is the pinnacle of creation. Adam and Eve were made in the image of God and their life was sacred (Genesis 1:27). As image bearers, they were to resemble their Creator in their own character, which cultivates their relationship with God and one another.
Their calling was to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth…” (Gen 1:28). God wanted His glory, His goodness, His name and His fame to spread and multiply through them. This was a great privilege bestowed upon humanity.
Sadly, this did not last. Adam and Eve sinned and became corrupt (Gen 3). Now they stood in direct rebellion in their relationship with God and His calling for them as image-bearers. This is devastatingly evident in the very next chapter with Adam’s son, Cain (Gen 4). The work of multiplication didn’t stop after the fall, but the fruit of it had gone from life giving to spreading corruption and death.
The Gospel
Yet, God in His great mercy made a promise to send a Saviour (Gen 3:15) and He renewed His mandate of fruitful multiplication to Noah (Gen 9) and then to Abraham (Gen 12). This promise of blessing and multiplication can be traced throughout the biblical narrative until it is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Matthew chapter one does a wonderful job tracing this promise.
The person and the finished work of Christ represents the second Adam, who fulfilled God’s image bearing purposes and enables God’s people to do the same. Now therefore, those of us who are united with Christ are called as God’s image bearers to participate in His work. We do this by seeking to make disciples and multiply everything that is life giving so that His glory, fame and name would spread in every nation. This is supremely realized in the proclamation of the Gospel of grace among all people everywhere. Just as Adam and Eve were called to be fruitful and multiply, so the church universal and by implication, the local church is called to be fruitful and multiply.
Multiply Everything
This brings us to the value at had “multiply everything.” Now, it’s helpful to clarify that “multiply everything” it is not primarily a competence that we seek to accomplish. Rather we must start with clear biblical conviction which shapes our character and then move towards competence. Otherwise, we put the cart before the horse and seek after the ability to do something well (gift of the Spirit) at the eventual neglect of character (the fruit of the Spirit) which we see in in Galatians 5. To be clear, the fruit (biblically shaped character) is what gives credibility to the gift of the Spirit (the spiritual gifting).
Not long ago I was listening to a podcast about a well-known church leader who had a very painful public fall and it brought about much pain to many who were part of this movement. One missiologist who had observed this leader concluded by saying, “his character did not catch up with his ability to lead.”
To multiply every, we must start with humble prayer to the Lord of the harvest (Matt 9:38). The city team does this every Tuesday morning. We get to pray for the churches and the planters throughout the GTA. In prayer we humbly confess our great need for the work of the Holy Spirit in us. We are in need of both wisdom and discernment as we seek to multiply everything that is life giving so that each church planting team and their work would prosper in Christ.
To multiply everything, we must also be relational. It takes time, effort, and trust that the Lord will bear fruit in our relationships. There are no drive-thru or microwave solution to this work. If we give into modern-day consumerism or take a purely pragmatic approach, we will get frustrated during seasons of little progress and be in danger of by-passing the essential work of the Holy Spirit.
Just consider the life and ministry of Jeremiah and Jonah side by side. If it’s simply numbers and immediate outcome, then Jonah is crushing it all day! But if it’s humble, holy, and faithful service, then Jeremiah takes the badge of honor every time.
God is extremely patient with us, and we must factor this into our work of multiplying everything so that the fruit of our labor would last through the ages.
Multiply everything means to multiply every area of care that the city team has to offer. We can do this by identifying, training, and celebrating others who could do the same. This keeps us from building anything on one single person. It takes a team of humble and teachable brothers and sisters to do the work of multiplying everything. We must start on our knees and then we must get to work with our hands and feet. There are no shortcuts to bearing fruit and any attempts to circumvent the careful and faithful work of the Gospel in our great city will be fleeting.
Action Steps
There are several ways in which we can respond to biblical conviction. Having prayed and sought the face of God, we should reach out someone who has already responded to God in obedience. Ask them for a coffee or a meal and share how you are sensing a conviction and how it came about.
Acts 13 teaches us that even Paul and Barnabas didn’t just pack up and leave to the mission field to do the work of multiplication. They prayed with other leaders and the Holy Spirit affirmed it in that context. This conversation and the process of prayer may take some time, but it’s worth the healthy and joyful affirmation of others who get to know you and see God’s grace at work in you. I have found it humbling and helpful when godly Christians have identified and affirmed my spiritual gifting. Paul reminds young Timothy of his affirmation, so that he can continue to be dedicated to the work of the Gospel (2 Timothy 1:6-7). The conviction for multiplication in everyday life is a godly desire. But don’t just let the desire sit in your heart and mind, let it move to your hands and feet by doing something about it in practical ways. So, the next action step is to reach out to someone who is fruitful in the area of your spiritual gifting and ask them to train you for multiplication.
Remember, when we are asking someone for their time and energy, it’s important that we take a posture of being teachable. This allows them to give us feedback so that we can keep making progress and do the same with others who come under our care in due time.
As the Lord guides you and His people encourage you, seek to multiply in small ways and take account of God’s grace at each opportunity. It’s important to give Him praise and celebrate the small gains. God uses what may seem from the outset as tiny and inauspicious for great Kingdom impact. This is God’s Kingdom at work in and through us.
Closing
The Christians who have had the deepest influence in my life are not the well-known celebrity names. Rather, they are the ones who have remained faithful to God’s word over the long haul. They have patiently loved me, discipled me and encouraged me along the way. They saw God’s work and change in me even before I took notice. I loved their conviction, I longed for their godly character, and I sure hoped to be useful like them in my service to our King. Today, I have the privilege to work with a group of brothers and sisters who seek to be selfless in their service to the Lord and in their desire to multiply everything so that God’s glory, goodness, name and fame would spread throughout the GTA and beyond.
