Why Many Christians are STRUGGLING without PROGRESS in their Christian RACE and WHAT TO DO – Day 8 of 40 Prayer and Fasting for church and leadership – Pray to THRUST OUT Labourers into the harvest
Today’s scripture for reading, meditating and Contemplating:
1 Corinthians 3:6-7 6 I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.
Sunday 24th of March 2024
Happy Palm Sunday
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Full reading: 1 Corinthians 3:1-15
1 Corinthians 3:1-15
New International Version
The Church and Its Leaders
3 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?
5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.
Friends, happy palm Sunday, today, we are exploring Holy Ghost School Discipleship program book 2 of 12, stage 1, titled, Whose Image Are You
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Chapter 12- WHY MANY CHRISTIANS ARE NOT PROGRESSING
(Mystery of 1 Corinthians 3: 6)
Do you know why many Christians are not having progress in their lives? Here is the mystery, as revealed to us by the Lord.
Paul said, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. (1 Corinthians 3: 6).
What does this mean? It means that there are three that work on the farm of our lives, to make us fruitful. These are Paul, Apollos and God. If we go to Paul, he will plant the word of God in our hearts. If we go to Apollos, he will water what Paul has planted. But we must go to God Himself if we are to receive the actual increase (that is fruitfulness, progress, success) which we are looking for. This is where many miss it. They go to Paul and Apollos, but they fail to go to God Himself! Therefore they don’t receive ‘the increase’ which God alone gives.
Who are Paul and Apollos? Verse five of the same chapter tells us who they are.
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed?… (I Cor. 3:5)
So, Paul and Apollos are ministers of God. Whenever we listen to our pastors preach, we have listened to Paul,
Paul has planted! Whenever we receive counselling from any minister of God, Apollos has watered. That is how it is.
Whenever we go to men of God for spiritual help, we have gone to Paul, we have gone to Apollos. Therefore if we go to 100 men of God, we have actually gone to the same people – Paul and Apollos!
And what do we receive from them? We receive planting and watering!
Where You Go Determines What You Receive
What is the implication of 1 Corinthians 3:6 then? The implication is this; men of God only plant and water in our lives, but they cannot add the increase we really desire. So, if we go to 100 men of God, we can only receive planting and watering, we cannot receive increase! If you go to Paul
100 times, he can only plant, that is all! Each time you go to him he plants. He can’t do more than planting. Each time you go to Apollos he waters, he can’t do more than watering.
This explains why we should go directly to God, now and stop running about. We have done that enough! If you run after men of God, they can only plant and water, they can’t give you the increase you really seek. If you run after them for 20 years, they plant and water your life for 20 years! Nothing more! This explains why so many Christians have not had appreciable increase even after several years of being born again! They have not had increase because they have been running to Paul and Apollos and do not run to God Himself. You may be surprised that many officers of the church do not actually know God! They had once given their lives to Jesus, that was many years ago. After that nothing tangible has happened to them in terms of spiritual experiences and growth. They have no encounters with Jesus. They don’t talk with Jesus, they only talk to Him but don’t hear from Him. They know everything about the G. O.,
the senior pastor, Paul and Apollos, but sadly, they don’t really know Jesus! They don’t have any appreciable personal, talking-relationship with Him.
This is the true conditions of many of the “deacons” and “deaconesses” we have in today’s church. It is the same thing with most other leaders too. When they have little problems, you see them running to Paul and Apollos because they can’t go to Jesus confidently. This is what they
have been doing for the past five, ten, twenty years! Such people can never experience real increases in their lives.
They are spiritual beggars!
Now those who want increase (progress) must learn how
to go to God Himself. That is what Paul said.
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
Who you go to determines what you receive.
So What Do You Really Want In Life?
Planting and watering, or real progress in life? What are you really desiring? Time has come for us to stop wandering and get serious and focused. We have wandered enough!
Now you should make up your mind what you want and then go for it. Make up your mind what you want and go to the right person. Stop your aimless religious wandering!
Do you want planting? Then go to Paul. Do you want watering? Then go to Apollos. Or do you want increase?
That is you want progress? Success? Then don’t go to Paul and Apollos. Go straight to God. Only God gives increase, progress. Don’t go to Paul and expect increase nor go to Apollos and expect progress. Only God gives increase, so go straight to Him and let your life experience glorious restoration. Enough of the confusion and roaming about.
Only God Is Something!
Paul made another startling statement which we must
understand if we are to have progress. He said; “so then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase”. (1 Corinthians 3:7).
Did you get that? He is saying that they who plant and water in your life are really nothing if you stop at that level.
And so you must go to God Himself Who alone is something! Ministers of God are honourable people quite alright, but Paul is trying to show us the importance of going to God as a final resort. The work men of God do is nothing if we don’t go to God for Him to do the real thing, Paul is saying. The emphasis then should be on God Himself, and not on men of God, Paul is trying to say.
Do you now see why there is so much failure in today’s church? There is so much failure because people emphasize ministers of God more than God Himself. People pursue ministers of God rather than pursuing God Himself. But Paul has said that neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God Who gives the increase.
The prayers we pray are nothing, the fasting, the deliverance prayers, the covenant breaking and land liberation, all these are nothing if we don’t go directly to God, for it is only God that can make something out of nothing! We must relate directly to God at last!
He who plants is nothing, and he who waters is nothing, only God who gives the increase is something! Only God is something!
You may have been pursuing ‘nothing’ all these years then, all these years of running after men! Only God is something! You must now begin to pursue something! Only then will you have real satisfaction.
Let us Pray
Now pray and say; Father God, I have gone to Paul and Apollos for so long. Now I have decided to come straight to You. I have received planting and watering over and over again from men of God. Now I have come to You directly for You to give me the increase that I have been looking for. Your servants are good, but they can only plant and water. They cannot cause increase, according to Your word. Receive me Lord, and begin the work of causing increase, progress, deliverance, to come upon my life, in the name of Jesus. Please help me to come to You everyday, to dwell in Your presence and eat at Your table at the appointed time. Help my wondering to come to an end. Now I have found You. Help me to keep to You and to receive from You and never to roam about again. Amen.
Why Give God Less Attention?
Let us look at another sad issue. When we go to ministers of God, we are usually not in a hurry. We patiently wait for them to attend to us. Why then are we in a hurry when we go to God? Why then do we usually become impatient with God? Again if we can spend hours before men of God, why then can we not spend even more hours before God, especially knowing that He is the One that will give the increase?
If we can be patient with God’s ministers why are we impatient with God? We should find answers to these questions, and then repent! If we can spend two hours listening to a minister of God, why can’t we spend at least that same time listening to God Himself? God, and servant of God who deserves more honour? Who deserves our attention more? You would say God, but we know that in reality we give more honour and attention God’s servants than to God Himself. And what do we receive from God’s servants? Planting and watering! Is it not foolishness then to give more time to them who plant and water, and then give little or no time to Him who causes the increase to come? So we have all been doing foolish things and that is why our problems have remained with us!
From today, decide to spend more time with God, eating at His table, hearing His voice and letting Him teach and direct you. God will then give you the increase (progress) you have been looking for.
Learn To Listen More
Here is another fault we have. When we go to men of God we usually keep quiet and allow them to talk. We listen to them and receive their counsel. Why then do we rattle when we come to God? Why do we not keep quiet before God also, as we do before men of God, and allow Him speak to us? Or do we think that God has nothing to say? We listen to men of God because we believe they have something to say, but we don’t listen to God because He has nothing to
say? That is absurd! Terrible! Yet this is what we do. We talk and talk and never listen to hear from Him! That is what
we do and yet we call it quiet time! How can it be quiet time when we talked all through! Now that must stop. When we come to Him, we should learn to keep quiet and listen while
He speaks. “My sheep listen to My voice… and they follow Me”, Jesus has said. When we hear His voice, things will then be alright for us for His voice will direct us in which path to follow so as to have life and progress. (See Jeremiah
7:23).
Question for you!
The information shared today, does it make sense to you? if so, give further insights.
Going forward, what would you do differently? Make commitment to start immediately!
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Shalom!
Ambassador Monday O. OGBE
God’s Eagle Ministries
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