God Giveth the Increase, 1 Corinthians 3:6-9

"I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building."

     So often we can get caught up in thinking about what area of service to God is most important, in thinking that God would be more pleased with us if we were to seek to do such-and-such a ministry over this or that ministry. But the truth of the matter is, all types of service are equally valid in God's eyes; there is not one type of ministry that is any greater in God's eyes than any other. This truth is stated in 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 quite clearly.
     When seeking to serve God and to bring glory to His name, we ought not to strive to attain a position that is thought of as being more lofty than any other and so seek prominence in service to God; rather, we are to pray diligently and so discover what the will of God is for our lives in the area of ministering to others. God will have some people go out and plant seeds; that is, share the gospel with unbelievers. This is a seed that we cannot make grow, however. Only God can cause a seed to grow. Another God may send along the path to water that seed; that is, to shed more light on what was previously shared. Thus the Holy Spirit is causing that seed to grow and mature, convicting the unbeliever of righteousness, truth, and judgement. All the time it is only God who does the work, we are merely His instruments of choice.

     Seeing then that we are merely but instruments of God, what have we to glory in, or what have we to condemn ourselves over? Are we not following the will of God for our lives? And if God has willed that some share the gospel and willed that some build upon a foundation that another has laid, what then shall we say? Shall we say that God is wrong in choosing us for this task? Hardly! Instead we should be thankful that God has chosen to use us at all, for we are by no means a capable and dependable choice for the task.
     In my own life I have many times looked down upon myself for not being someone who goes out and shares the gospel message with everyone I see. My heart burns within me for those who are lost, and I am grieved when I don't find it in me to speak with them. Yet God has used me greatly to build up those who are feeling down and out, those who are part of His church. Shall I look down upon the ministry to which God has appointed me at various times because it is not that which I think I ought to be doing? Is evangelism any higher a calling than that of encouragement and exhortation?
     All those who are lost need to hear the gospel. They all live in need of hearing the marvelous work of Jesus Christ in paying for our sins at Calvary. And all believers need exhortation and encouragement, comfort and solice. And whereas I have been used instrumentally in bringing lost people to know Christ, for the most part I have found my greatest use among those who are hurting or needing encouragement in the body of Christ.
     Does this make me any less an instrument of God than a great evangelist? Not at all. For it is not the evangelist who brings anyone to know Christ, nor is it the encourager or the exhorter that helps those in need. Rather, it is Christ in us and through us that does all these things; it is God that gives the increase, not man. We are simply instruments, laborers together with God, and we ourselves are the workmanship of God, also being molded and conformed into His glorious image. We can take no glory or shame in that which God has called us to do; all glory and honor belong to the Lord!

     I believe that we should not seek to step out into areas of ministry to which the Lord has not called us, for since it is not we who are doing the work but God within us and through us, we are destined to failure if God has not led us to the path that we are walking down. No man can cause the church to grow, and no man can give increase to the kingdom of God. This is alone God's work. We will be more greatly used by God in the area to which He has called us than we could ever be in an area that He has not called us to. We should take a sobering look at our motives; if we cannot be satisfied and content to do that which God has called us to and are always seeking to do something else, it could very well be that there is pride dwelling in our hearts and that we are too proud to admit that God has not called us to such-and-such a task, but this or that task.
     To each man will be given a reward according to his labor. If man seeks to do "God's work" in his own will instead of following the plans and the leading of God, what reward will this man get? His reward will be what he seeks: the approval of man. But if a man is content and satisfied to do that to which the Lord has called him, humbly and faithfully, that man shall receive a reward according to the labor he has done.