Acts 12:24 (NASB) says, “But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied.”

The kingdom of God doesn’t grow through division, but it grows through multiplication! When the presence of God shows up on the scene, the growth is exponential and rapid! It may sometimes even come through quality more so than quantity, but the power and impact of the manifestation of the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven cannot be denied!

Some people are convinced they are much better off leaving the church in which they attend over a disagreement by going five miles up the road to start a new one! This would be like the Apostle Paul, who confronted the Apostle Peter to his face in regards to disassociating himself from Gentiles who have come to the Christian faith (Galatians 2:11-13), starting a church after his own name so that he was no longer affiliated with Peter’s ministry. Obviously, Paul did not do this, but the early church believed in accountability and working together to further the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ!

However, in today’s generation, many feel like they can lead better than someone else, and so their next move is to start another ministry when their heart is not in the right place! God will stamp His blessing and anointing on the unity of the body of Christ, which is the church, being in alignment with the head, who is Jesus Christ Himself (Psalm 133). We can be guilty of majoring on minors and allowing misinterpretations or private interpretations of scripture to cause us to bring a reproach on the church from the world’s perspective through division. It is time to surrender any idea and motive of divisiveness to function fully in the kingdom of God and in the way Christ has orchestrated for the modern-day church to do!

When it comes to the expression of multiplicity in the kingdom of God, it is demonstrated in five ways. One of those ways is the multiplication of the Word of God! In the parable of the sower, the seed represented the Word of God (Luke 8:11). A seed has to die in order to give life! A seed holds so much potential into producing a tree that bears a whole lot of fruit. The kingdom of God multiplies and functions in the same way! The kingdom starts with a seed, and it causes us to die to our flesh so we can live in the newness of life in Christ Jesus! Once we do so, we will bear fruit that remains, which is the character and nature of the Holy Spirit revealed in Galatians 5:22-23 (love, joy, peace, meekness, goodness, temperance, patience and faith). This will ultimately produce the fruit necessary to feed those who are hungry for it! This fulfillment of hunger is how the gospel spreads! People are not hungry for dead religion, but they are hungry for the joy and peace that can be found in serving God. It is why a seed will be accounted for a generation (Psalm 22:30). Never despise small beginnings (Zechariah 4:10) because the Word of God you know and have received can produce abundant life and vision like never before!

In Acts 12:23-25, King Herod was notoriously persecuting the early church, but when he exalted himself in pride, his pride led to his destruction. While a leader was judged publicly and the church was being persecuted, the Word of God multiplied. The message of the gospel spread like wildfire to other lands and nations that may have not heard it had it not been for persecution. Everything the enemy had meant for evil God had turned it around to make it for good! This is how multiplicity in the kingdom works!

The second expression of multiplication in the kingdom of God is the power of forgiveness! When Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:21-22). This question and statement were in context with Jesus illustrating the power of agreement in prayer. If we want to have the backing of heaven in our prayers to God, then we must forgive others as Christ has forgiven us. Holding resentment and bitterness only impacts us and those connected to us in a negative way. It brings unnecessary harm and immediately shuts up the potential of the kingdom of heaven in our hearts. Once we choose to multiply forgiveness towards those who have wronged us, we sit under an open heaven!

The third way the kingdom of God demonstrates multiplication is the substance of miracles. Think about the miracles Jesus did when He fed the five thousand, as well as the four thousand. This miracle started with a few fish and loaves of bread, which was like a kid’s “Happy Meal”, and they ended up with more than what they started. The miracle wasn’t just the food multiplied in Christ’s hands, but they also multiplied in the hands of His disciples! God can always take a little and make a lot out of it when it is surrendered in obedience and submission to Him. Everyone is mesmerized by the miracles but most overlook the starting point.

Another expression of multiplicity in the kingdom of God is the making of disciples. On the Day of Pentecost, at least three thousand people received salvation following Peter’s message (Acts 2:41-47). It started with 120 in the upper room, but finished with much more than that! In Acts 4:1-11, after Peter and John prayed for the lame man at Gate Beautiful and he had received his healing, they were thrown in prison over the message they declared. They were opposed as a result of proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but even while they were incarcerated, at least five thousand more people came to Jesus Christ! Persecution will never shut up the gospel message. All it started with is just a few men who had an encounter with God, walked with Jesus Christ and refused to compromise, and they would later turn the world upside down! It time for the church to restore the value of discipleship so we have more men, women and children today who replicate Christ on the earth. Our churches should not be stagnant with the same number of people all of the time. When everyone receives a true, pure revelation of Jesus Christ and who the Spirit of God is within them, then they too can turn the world upside down!

Finally, the last expression of the multiplicity of the kingdom is mercy, grace, peace and love (1 Peter 1:2; 2 Peter 1:2; Jude 2). Again, the kingdom of God functions as a seed, and encountering God’s grace, mercy, peace and love is not a one-time event. It should be a constant experience in our daily walk with God. These will be multiplied not because we have simply heard the Word of God, but we receive, apply and obey it. We are to continue steadfastly in these things so people can also taste and see that the LORD is good and want to experience His mercy, grace, peace and love for themselves!