Here is a simple story to illustrate the principle of knowing the secret of increase. It is famously called The Parable of the Sower:

“Consider this: There was a farmer who went out to sow seeds. As he cast his seeds, some fell along the beaten path and birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell onto the gravel that had no topsoil. The seeds quickly shot up, but when the days grew hot, the sprouts were scorched and withered because they had insufficient roots. Other seeds fell among the thorns and weeds, so when the seeds sprouted, so did the weeds, crowding out the good plants. But other seeds fell on good, rich soil that kept producing a good harvest. Some yielded thirty, some sixty and some even one hundred times as much as he planted! If you’re able to understand this, then you need to respond.”

You are like the Farmer

Farmer planting Seed:
Secret of Increase by Zamai Banje
Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels

The job of every farmer is to have a great harvest. Every farmer is intentional and obeys the laws of the land. This applies to Christians too. You must obey the principles to ensure an increase.

Sadly, many people are still bound because they don’t know these principles. They possess the old mindset which revolves around having ungodly thoughts, wrong philosophy gained from deduction and personal experience.

What is The Secret of Increase

To know the secret of increase, you need to understand the power of God in your life. In John 8:32, Jesus Christ affirms you shall know the truth, and it shall make you free.

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Jesus Christ, John 8:32

There is no increase without freedom. Truth is the access code to freedom. This means if the word of God is the Truth, then the Word is the secret of increase.

Your level of increase does not depend on how long you have been a Christian. Rather, it depends on how much you know about God’s Word and how it impacts your faith and thinking.

The Four States of the Heart

To gain freedom, there must be a hunger and strong appetite for the Word. The parable of the sower shows how we can identify the states of our heart and how to apply the secret of increase.

The seed from the parable is the Word of God, and it’s incorruptible. The potency of the seed can be maximized or minimized on the soil (your attitude). There are four states of the heart. Please do a self-audit as you examine each state:

Photo by ATC Comm Photo from Pexels

1. The Pathway or Wayside Heart

This is the high traffic mind that cannot be still enough to incubate the Word. With the pathway heart, there is no appetite for God’s Word. This happens because the heart is full of personal ideologies and half-truths.

These are people who forget the word immediately they finish hearing it. They are easily distracted and find alternative ways to fill their hearts. This could be social media, Netflix or obsession with work.

What is the Solution if you have a Wayside Heart?

Desire the Word. Be more receptive and intentional. Change your attitude towards receiving God’s Word.

As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.

1 Peter 2:2

2. The Rocky Heart

This is a heart full of emotional reactions. It has a mental assent of the Word without strong conviction. The rocky heart is excited at what is possible but fails to take action.

This set of people usually engage the teachings with emotions. Yet, they forget God’s Word when tribulations and negative circumstances come. When you have a rocky heart, the teachings you receive remain at the head level. The head level is the level of awareness

God’s Word first creates awareness in your head before it brings revelation and faith to your heart. The Power of the Word only comes alive when you move from awareness to revelation and faith.

What is the Solution when you have a Rocky Heart?

Stay in the Word and diligently seek Him.

But without Faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.

Hebrews 11:6

3. The Thorny Heart

This is the heart full of worldly worries, glamorized social media lifestyles and status consciousness.

If your outlook becomes influenced by the affairs of the world, it eventually chokes the Word of God. When you have a thorny heart, you see God as the access to material wealth, rather than the centre of your existence. You begin to see God as a tool, rather than a father.

What do You do if you have a Thorny Heart?

Make God’s kingdom your first priority. Don’t live to please others.

Read this article (INVEST IN RELATIONSHIPS THE RIGHT WAY) to learn the proper way to build relationships.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6:33

4. The ‘Good Ground’ Heart

This is the heart that is receptive, amenable and humble. It is open to instruction and desperate for transformation.

When you have the ‘good ground’ heart, you delight in God’s Word and meditate on it daily.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.

But the delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

Psalms 1:1-3

Final Words

It’s possible to exhibit various states of the heart depending on the situation. Keep vigilant watch over the state of your heart at all times.

Growth will only happen when you locate where you are and move away from there.

Prime Source: Elevation Church Sermon on March 14, 2021.