“But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord.” – Jeremiah 23:3-4, NKJV
Kingdom growth and advancement are hinged on effective pastoring, but here we learn that the righteous nation and her flocks were dispersed by the Lord because of the spiritual recklessness exhibited by the then shepherds. Howbeit, because the anger of the Lord does not stay forever, He promised to ”bring them (the people) back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.” God’s promise for fruitfulness and increase is on the premise that He would ”set up other shepherds over them (the flocks) who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking.”
It can be averred that certain incidents like war, terror, drought, poor sociopolitical and economic conditions may have given rise to that sudden massive migration or dispersal and possible circumstantial variables like fear, dismay and lack consequently influenced the dispersal that was experienced earlier; yet emphatically, judging by his mode of expression, Prophet Jeremiah stated clearly that it was the Lord who actually dispersed the flocks and sent them to various nations.
Dispersal, sudden migration or dislocation could account for instability and serious discomfort amongst people groups faced with threats of war and insecurity and can be orchestrated by God. However, as was also captured in the visions of Jeremiah the prophet, our human idiosyncrasies which often interfere with God’s divine plan for sporadic increase through the supply of grace can be overruled by mercy.
In our scriptural outline, God scattered His flock abroad because the shepherds ordained to instruct and feed them had abandoned their primary role and had taken to laying emphasis on mundane things rather than teaching them to know and fear the Lord. This is best described as misplaced priority. God however, resolved to return the flock as well as set up shepherds over them who will feed them, and make them not to fear, be dismayed nor lack. God’s promise of, ”They shall be fruitful and increase” would then mean revival for souls and increase in substance. So, the highlight of God’s renewed kingdom growth plan is to make the restored flock to be fruitful and increase. In other words, the subject of fruitfulness and increase falls strictly within the jurisdiction of God.
Paul, the apostle summed it up this way:
”For you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labour.” – I Corinthians 3:3-8.
Paul emphasizes here that increase is of God. It is futility (tantamount to a show off and mere carnality) for people to claim that they belong to the ministers of the gospel God used to minister salvation to them; both those who serve as ministers and the people to whom they have ministered, all belong to God. It is vital to note that planting the seed of the word and watering same seed by the word are two privileged spiritual functions ordained by God for men to offer under grace.
From the foregoing, two facts are worthy of note:
1) The consequences of spiritual recklessness can cause some devastating effect among God’s people. Shepherds in the Old Testament predisposed to spiritual recklessness were responsible for the dispersal of the flocks in the days of old as was revealed by Jeremiah the Prophet. There was fear, dismay and lack among the people; the same negativities that God’s renewed promised thus addressed. Apostle Paul rebuked the Corinthians for their carnality; claiming to belong to the ministers instead of God who alone is responsible for their fruitfulness and increase.
Misplaced priority by ministers and the show of carnality by believers can both lead to spiritual dislocation and dryness.
2) Fruitfulness and increase are in the jurisdiction of God; they are simply supernatural. The Bible says: ”Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.” – James 1:16-18. So, if every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, then seeking for increase from mundane sources or any claim to success as achieved through a personal effort is mere foolish pride or carnality. That much was corroborated by John: “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven” – John 3:27
Therefore, it is of critical importance that we accept without any iota of doubt that increase is supernatural. However, there are two grounds where our human effort is required to qualify us for direct intervention from God in the revival for souls as well as increase for substance:
a) Effectual fervent prayer and supplication: These stir up revival. Let us pray for revival like Ezra did: ”Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly.” – Ezra 10:1.
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b) Boldly requesting for grace and mercy is the evidence of our dependence on God for His sufficiency. Let us therefore receive boldness to approach God for help: ”Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” – Hebrews 4:16.
A passionate prayer and supplication for revival in addition to the availability of grace and mercy to help, qualify us for supernatural increase, a sustainable revival for souls as well as increase in substance.
Note: All scriptures are NKJV.