David [00:00:01]:
Okay, everyone, if you will, let’s turn together to Isaiah 55, verses eight through eleven. And I’m reading from the new King James version. That’s where we’re going to start today. And we’re going to start off talking about this. These verses here in Isaiah 55, and it says this, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
David [00:00:47]:
For as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven and do not return there, but water the earth and make it bring forth in bud that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Now, this verse has intrigued me for years. I mean, God’s way of thinking is higher than ours. God’s ways are higher than ours. I mean, I know God is a big thinker, and we studied that a few weeks ago, a couple months ago, when we were studying Ephesians 320, and we saw that he is in infinitely beyond. He’s far over and above.
David [00:01:50]:
And so his words also accomplish what he pleases, and they prosper in his presence and what he sent them forth for. Wow. So this begs the question. Question comes up in me. Are we living below where we could be? Are we experiencing less than we could have? I mean, imagine it. God said, he’s so far above us. You know, we are created. We all are created in the image and likeness of God.
David [00:02:31]:
So thinking and walking in his ways and thinking his thoughts are possible. I mean, declaring our words with power and purpose is possible. I mean, Jesus said this to his disciples in Mark 1122, 23 24. He said, have the faith of God, or have faith in God and speak to this mountain, and it shall be removed. So God is even telling the disciples there, you have the power to use your words for God’s plan and purpose and for his good. So let’s look at. Well, what does this mean? God’s ways, God’s thoughts, God’s word. Well, the word ways there in the Hebrew means the course of life, the manner, the habits, the lifestyle.
David [00:03:31]:
What God is saying here. He’s saying, my manner of life, my lifestyle, my course, my habits are much higher than yours. I’m living at a higher level than you are. Think about that. God is living at a higher level than we are. His lifestyle is way beyond ours. And we can say, yeah, I can see that. But not only that, the way he thinks, that word, thoughts there, means my purpose, my plan, my work, my imaginations, my inventions are way higher than yours.
David [00:04:16]:
God’s thinking is way over and above ours. He’s always thinking higher. And so we know that, again, because of the study we did in Ephesians 320, God is always superabundantly far over and above anything that we dare ask or think. And so we know that his ways, his thoughts are higher. That word higher there means they are exalted. They are lofty. Well, to be exalted means to be raised up to a lofty hype, to be elevated, to be honored with office or rank, to be extolled, magnified, to be refined, dignified, sublime. That’s who God is.
David [00:05:08]:
And guess what, folks? And we’re going to see this as we move along. But God created us to be that also. The word lofty means elevated in place, high as in a lofty tower, a lofty mountain, elevated in condition or character. That’s who God is. He is higher. He is lofty. He is exalted. So the second thing we see in this verse is God’s spoken word accomplishes, produces, and prospers in the thing for which he sent it.
David [00:05:52]:
Another way to say, this is, God sends his word forth to accomplish and prosper and that which he speaks to. So if he’s speaking to the nature, or if he’s speaking to you or over you, he’s sending forth his word on your behalf. So you’re pleasing, so you accomplish, so you prosper. The word word there in the Hebrew means a matter or anything pertaining to our life. So when God speaks forth, he’s speaking into our lives. God is a big thinker. He challenges us to think big again. God wants us thinking, seeing, believing, desiring, dreaming of greater things.
David [00:06:52]:
And we saw that when we said in ephesians 320. Also, as my wife likes to say, God is always more and better. From the beginning. We see God’s purpose and intention for all creation and for all mankind. And here’s what that intention is. As we study scripture, we see this over and over again. God has a heart for and a mindset of multiplication. God wants to see us multiply.
David [00:07:29]:
He wants to see us increase. In Genesis 122, we see this. God’s in the midst of creating the earth and all that is in it, and God’s just created all the animals and plant life and everything. And God says this, and God blessed them, saying, be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters and the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth. Be fruitful and multiply what we see here, and I want to go ahead and address this before we move on because God said, be fruitful and multiply. In several key places here in scripture, three things are present when God declares multiplication. Number one, we see his blessing says, and he blessed them. Number two, his word.
David [00:08:32]:
He is speaking over these things. And number three, his purpose and intention. His purpose and intention here in this verse says, for all the waters in the sea, the fish to fill the sea, and to let the birds multiply on the earth. His purpose and intention for all creation was multiplication. The word blessing here and let’s go ahead and define these words and then every verse that comes after, you’ll know what I’m talking about. But the word blessing here is the power to prosper. When he blesses us, he gives us the power to prosper. And in creation he blessed all things.
David [00:09:23]:
The power to prosper, to increase. And as a result of God’s divine favor, this comes to us because God favors us, he loves us. His grace and mercy comes with us. Blessing, the power to prosper, it is also the power to be abundant. This isn’t just a one time thing. We can walk and live and breathe in abundance. It is blessing bestowed on anyone by God, followed by the thing that he is blessing us. For it is the power and capacity to be.
David [00:10:05]:
That verse says, and God blessed them and said, be it is to be to accomplish God’s stated intention and purpose. And his stated intention and purpose. There was be fruitful and multiply. So blessing includes all of that. It includes the power, it includes the capacity, it includes the word declared and spoken. His intention and purpose. All of that comes from God’s blessing. The second thing there, it says saying, and he said to them or saying to them.
David [00:10:51]:
That word said or saying means this. To call, to challenge, to change or not change, but charge, to command. And when he calls us, challenges us, charges us and commands us, it is always for our good. He’s not just bossing us around, there’s a reason. He is calling us, challenging us, charging us and commanding us. His vision and expectation declared, and God said, so every time you read in scripture and God said you could say, and God called, God challenged, he charged, he commanded. This one. It says, he blessed them and said, be.
David [00:11:48]:
That word be means to exist as this is who you are. God’s intention and purpose expressed is being so, what were we to be? Fruitful and multiply. That word multiply there means to increase greatly or exceedingly. It means to be or become great. To be or become many, much, numerous. God wants all of us to grow and be numerous. You know, I was thinking about this. My mom and I have talked about this.
David [00:12:34]:
Our family, our immediate family, started with mom and dad. And today, now we’re at that place where, counting mom and dad and kids and wives and grandkids and great grandkids, we’re somewhere around 35 or 40 people in our immediate family. We’ve been fruitful and multiplied, and that is going to continue because some of our grandkids and great grandkids are getting to the age that they can start having children and reproducing also. But then I step back just into my grandparents and look at my aunts and uncles and our families and all that. We’re numerous. We’re much. And that’s what God intended. He intended for all of us to be fruitful and multiply, to increase greatly.
David [00:13:32]:
And so let’s look at the implication here as we move forward. Now, Genesis 122, he blessed creation and said, be fruitful and multiply. Then it comes down and he said, let us make man our image. And so in Genesis 128, it says this. Then God blessed them, Adam and Eve. God blessed them. And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it.
David [00:14:05]:
Have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. Now, one of the things we see here, not only does he tell Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply, he expands his intention and purpose for mankind because he gives us a place of authority to rule over all the earth, to take dominion, to be responsible for it. And that word dominion there, what it means is a realm of responsibility. Every king had a realm, a kingdom that he was responsible for, people he was responsible for. Well, it’s the same thing here. God has given man a realm of responsibility. It’s the earth. It’s how we interact here in the earth.
David [00:15:03]:
And so he expanded man’s influence and intention and purpose here as we move forward. And so God wants man to be fruitful and multiply. And all those definitions I just gave you apply right here. The same words. Another word for multiply in the Hebrew is the word increase. It’s the same hebrew word. And so it could say God wants us to be fruitful and increase. God is a God of increase.
David [00:15:39]:
He’s a God of multiplication. But then man goes on, and man does what man does, and we know the story, and Cain and Abel and all that happened. And pretty soon God says, enough is enough, and I’m going to bring a great flood on the earth. And he calls Noah. And Noah comes, and he honors God. He builds the ark. The. The animals come, they fill the ark, and they go out and they’re in the ark.
David [00:16:15]:
And then finally one day, all the water on the earth subsides. It’s dry, the grass is green again, the trees are blooming and flourishing. And God says this in Genesis 817. So here we are, just seven chapters later, Genesis 817. God says to Noah, bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you birds and cattle and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, so that they may abound on the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth. There it is right there, guys. As they’re coming out of the ark, he declares again, over all of them, all the animals, over Noah and his family. Be fruitful and multiply on the earth.
David [00:17:14]:
Fill the earth, abound on the earth. God is a God of multiplication. Then just a few verses later, Genesis nine, one. Next chapter, just a few verses later, God is talking to Noah and his family. And God said this. So God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, be fruitful and multiply in the earth. Just don’t go hang out somewhere. Come on, let’s get busy.
David [00:17:51]:
Let’s fill the earth. Be fruitful, multiply. And the fact that it says there, it’s the same word. God blessed Noah and his sons. He gave them the power to prosper, he gave them the power to increase. He gave them the capacity to be more, to become more. That’s actually what the word potential. When we look at the word potential, it means to be or become more.
David [00:18:22]:
So go forth and do this. And then just five verses later, Genesis nine, six, seven. God is speaking to them and charging them, calling them, charging them, challenging them. He says, whoever sheds man’s blood by man, his blood shall be shed. He’ll be accountable for in the image of God, he made man. And as for you, he’s speaking to Noah and his sons again. But as for you, be fruitful and multiply. Bring forth abundantly in the earth and multiply in it.
David [00:19:05]:
So there again, this is three times God spoke over Noah and his sons. Just a short period of time there. And he keeps saying, be fruitful and multiply, be abundant. Go forth. You can do this. I put this within you. Go do it. We see here, if you look at all five of these instances here in Genesis, we see a pattern.
David [00:19:32]:
God has a heart of multiplication. God’s intention and purpose for his children is multiplication. So again we see God is thinking way beyond Noah and his sons. He’s thinking way beyond just the animals that were there, just the fish and the sea and just the trees and the foliage and the growth that was on the earth right then and there. He’s thinking way beyond this. And thank God he was. That’s why we’re here today. Because when things are blessed and they’re fruitful and multiply, they become more and they sustain the world around them and those around them.
David [00:20:24]:
You have a sustaining power and influence within you. A lot of times we don’t realize that. We think we’re just going through life, living our life, and we don’t understand the power that we have to sustain others, to influence others in a positive way. So, guys, God wants us. God is calling us, I believe, to have this same mindset of multiplication. He wants us to think higher. He wants us to live higher, walk in his ways. So how do we think higher? Well, there are three things we see as we study scripture and multiplication.
David [00:21:07]:
And we see this in the life of Abraham. And so God comes to Abraham. And in Genesis 20 217, it says this, in blessing, I will bless you. And in multiplying, I will multiply you. I will multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore. And your seed, your heir, will possess the gate of his enemies. Now, there’s a lot we could say about that, but the thing I want you to see here is God is blessing Abraham and speaking over him. The first thing God did when he was speaking to him was gave him an image, something to look at.
David [00:21:56]:
He said, I will multiply your descendants like the stars of the heaven and like the sand on the seashore. Every time Abraham looked at the stars of the heaven after that, it reminded him of what God had said to them. He was saying, wow, my descendants are going to be like that every time he went to the seashore. One reference, another reference there in Genesis, it says that they will be like the dust of the earth. If a man could keep count the dust of the earth, there will be so many. So the first thing God does, he wants to give us an image. He wants us to get something we can see. He wants to spur our imagination to see beyond where we are and see what is coming for us as we trust him.
David [00:22:55]:
The second thing God did with Abraham happened in Genesis 17 four, six. We see this. As for me, behold my covenant. My solemn pledge is with you. And you shall be the father of many nations. Nor shall your name any longer be Abram, high exalted father, but your name shall be Abraham, father of a multitude. For I have made you the father of many nations. And I will make you exceedingly fruitful.
David [00:23:35]:
And I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. Now, there’s a lot there I could preach on and teach on too. But what God did was he put the word in Abraham’s mouth that he was speaking over him. Now, Abraham had all these people working for him. Family, tribesmen. And he goes out and says, my name is no longer Abraham or Abram. You have to call me Abraham from now on. God said.
David [00:24:08]:
And so every time somebody spoke to him, he heard, father of a multitude, father of many nations, exceedingly fruitful, exceeding multiplication. When Abraham spoke his own name, that’s what he heard. God not only wanted him to see God wanting him, saying it, declaring it just like it says here in the word that we need to confess. Jesus as our lord and savior. We need to declare his goodness, his promises, declare the word. The third thing we see here in Genesis 17 two. And I will make my covenant, my solemn pledge between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly. God said this to Abraham numerous times, over and over and over.
David [00:25:12]:
Every time God appeared to Abraham, he said and declared that he and his seed would be multiplied exceedingly, over and over again. Abraham heard God say this. So God wanted Abraham seeing. God wanted Abraham saying, but God wanted Abraham hearing. Hearing. If you want a mindset of multiplication, you must first put multiplication in your eyes, your ears and your mouth. You need to see it. You need to say it.
David [00:25:56]:
You need to hear it. Because what we see, what we say and what we hear has huge impact in our life. Multipliers are those who see things, say things, and hear things every day, every day. That encourages their dreams to multiply. Multiplication happens within us before it is manifested outside of us. Let me say this again. Input matters. What you focus on, you become.
David [00:26:44]:
Input matters. What you focus on, you become. If you’re seeing, saying, and hearing what God has shown you, what God has said and what you’ve heard from him, then that input is having a positive effect in your life. This is why seeing, saying and hearing is so important. For here’s what we know. The wrong input produces the wrong results. The same input produces the same results. But new and better input produces new and better results.
David [00:27:27]:
In Joshua one eight, the Lord said this to Joshua. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is within it, written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will will have good success. The book of the law. The word shall not depart from your mouth. Meditate in it day and night. That word meditate there in the Hebrew means to mutter over and over and over again, to think about it, to be mindful of it. My God meets all of my needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus.
David [00:28:21]:
By his stripes, I am healed. I am whole. All the days of my life muttering the word over and over. We do it all the time with things. A part of meditating is simply muttering. Or in one definition of it, it says, the musical musings of the heart. You ever walked around just saying something that you would just think, I’m making this up, but it’s coming from your heart. I’m so glad that Jesus set me free.
David [00:29:03]:
I’m so glad what all he’s done for me. That’s a part of meditation, rehearsing it over and over and over in your heart. And you can do it all throughout the day. You can whisper it under your breath. You can think about it, be thinking about it, getting it down inside of you, moving it from your head to your heart. God wants you to meditate on his word. And that’s one of the ways we develop our mindset in the word. God was telling Joshua, if you see the word, if you say the word, if you hear the word every day, it will make your way prosperous.
David [00:29:50]:
You will be blessed. You’ll be walking in my ways. Joshua, input. Eat wolves. Influence. And we’re influenced every day in thousands of ways. Somebody is trying to influence you and your thinking. You’re hearing, you’re seeing every day.
David [00:30:10]:
What we see, say, and hear influences us negatively or positively every day. Mister Zig Ziglar used to say this. Make sure you’re seeing, saying, and hearing the good, the clean, the pure, the powerful, and the positive. That should be your input and your output. The good, the clean, the pure, the powerful, the positive. Do you want a new and better result in your life? Change what you see, what you say, and what you hear. Second Corinthians, ten four. King James version says this, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.
David [00:30:56]:
They’re not flesh and bone, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Now, let’s just stop there for a minute. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, so they’re spiritual. They’re not of this world. They’re of the kingdom of God. They’re of God through God. And he says we can use them to pull down strongholds. So what are strongholds? Stronghold is a fortress.
David [00:31:27]:
But he’s talking about a fortress in our mind here. A stronghold is a way of thinking and reasoning that has become a fortress of opinions or beliefs that we are to defend ourselves against our opponent. So we use our strongholds, those ways of thinking and believing, to argue against our opponents and say, you’re wrong and we’re right. This way of thinking limits us and holds us back from all that God has for us. And we’ve heard this before, and so I want to say it again, but that’s why God says we need to transform our mind every day. Before we go there, let’s look at two corinthians, ten, five. So we have the power to pull down strongholds. It says this, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God.
David [00:32:33]:
And bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Now, I mentioned this just a moment ago in one way. I said, you know, there’s many distractions in our day. We live in a noisy world. Distractions are around us daily. Worldly imaginations, worldly wisdom. Thinking that keeps you from God’s best for you. And that’s the enemy strategy.
David [00:33:03]:
It may sound good, but it’s keeping you from God’s best for you. What are you watching? What are you saying? What and who are you listening to? All of that has influence in your life, either negatively or positively. Which brings us to what I was referencing a moment ago. Romans twelve to and do not be conformed to this world. We could stop right there. Don’t be conformed to their thinking, their way of doing things, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. When you’re walking in the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, you’re walking in multiplication.
David [00:33:56]:
God’s best for you. When you’re renewing your mind daily you’re tearing down those strongholds, those toxic beliefs, those things that Satan brings, trying to limit us and hold us back and resist us. God multiplies any equation he becomes a part of. Think about that. God multiplies any equation he becomes so when he came into covenant with Abraham, he brought his multiplication power, his power of increase with him, and he blessed Abraham with it. There’s a verse there in Genesis when God is talking to Isaac and he tells him, I’m going to bless you the way I blessed your father, because he honored me and he kept my word, my statute, my commands, and he walked in them. When we walk with the Lord and he is a part of what we’re doing, multiplication and blessing come with him. That is a part of who he is.
David [00:35:13]:
He is a God of increase. Now listen to this. Galatians 326 29. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free. There is neither male nor female. For you are all one Christ Jesus.
David [00:35:45]:
And wait, there’s more. And if you are Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise. Hallelujah. If we are in Christ, then that covenant with Abraham is true for us today. We’re heirs with Christ according to according to the promise. Heirs of God, heirs of Abraham. That blessing of multiplication is ours. You my friend, you my friend, our person of multiplication.
David [00:36:32]:
Three things I want to share with you right here. Number one, you are blessed to be a blessing. Second, Corinthians 910 says this. Now may he who multiplies seed to the sower and bread for food supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness. God wants to multiply the seed you sow and increase the fruits of your righteousness, so it becomes a blessing to others. He blesses you to be a blessing to others. His blessing flows through you and brings blessing to others as God multiplies your seed. The second thing is this.
David [00:37:27]:
You were prospered to provide two. Corinthians 910 and the amplified says it this way. And God who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide multiply your resources for sowing and increase the fruits of your righteousness, which manifests itself in act of goodness, kindness and charity. God is prospering us. He’s blessing us and prospering us to provide for others. He’s increasing us. He’s multiplying our resources for sowing and so we might have fruit. Come forth from that active goodness, kindness, charity, love for others.
David [00:38:21]:
You are prospered to provide for others. The third thing we see here is this. You are multiplied to maximize. I like that. You are multiplied to maximize and this is from the passion translation again, two corinthians 910 from the passion translation this generous God who supplies abundant seed for the farmer, which becomes bread for our meals, is even more extravagant toward you. First he supplies every need plus more. Then he multiplies the seed you sow as you sow it, so that the harvest of your generosity will grow. God’s going, come on, let’s keep this up.
David [00:39:11]:
Let’s keep doing this. Let’s maximize this for my glory. I’m going to meet your needs, and then we’re going to do more. And you’re going to take that and so it, and I’m going to multiply that, and it’s going to be more and more. And then you’re going to be generous in your giving and sowing to others, and they’re going to see my love for this world come forth. This is what I intended from the beginning. Be fruitful and multiply. Let me share this with you.
David [00:39:45]:
I’ve read this. I liked it. God’s math system. U plus u equals zero, but u plus God equals multiple magnitude. He is far over and above infinitely beautiful anything our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, dreams, those things we want. God is way beyond. The bigger you think, the more God will exceed your thinking. The bigger you think, the more God will exceed your thinking.
David [00:40:32]:
So I’m going to read this top to bottom now. Ephesians 320, the amplified, says now to him who by, in consequence of the action of his power that is at work within us, is able to carry out his purpose and do superabundantly far over and above all that we dare ask or think infinitely beyond our highest praise, prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes or dreams, he is infinitely beyond our highest. His ways, his thoughts, his word is higher. But as we work with him and collaborate with him and come into partnership and covenant with him, all of that works through us to accomplish his purpose here in the earth. With him. We can do greater things than these. We can walk in, increase and multiplication every day. We can fulfill his purpose, intention from the beginning, be fruitful and multiply.
David [00:41:48]:
Let’s powerhead prayer Father, we thank you for this time today. We thank you for your word, what we see that you desire, your intention from the beginning, Lord, was for us to be fruitful and multiply, to be more in every dimension of life. And so we thank you for that. So, Father, I just pray right now that your word be illuminated in this, the hearts and minds of everyone listening and they see that you created them for more. They were created for multiplication and everything they set their hand to. Father and I thank you for doing this. I believe that we’re going to see more miracles this year. We’re going to see more salvations this year, more healings, more financial supply this year.
David [00:42:42]:
Year, more of every blessing this year than we’ve seen before. And we thank you for it, Father, and give you praise for it. We thank you for a blessed week. We thank you as we start the second quarter of the year that we see more this quarter than we did in the quarter before. Thank you for multiplying us, Father Jesus name. Amen. Pastor Conia is coming with a closing word in prayer. God bless you.
David [00:43:17]:
Go forth and multiply this week. All right.
