The King and His Kingdom – Part Seven

The King and His Kingdom Video

Session 7

Welcome to Part 7 of the King and His Kingdom, where we ask the question – ‘Kingdom Business or Business in the Kingdom’?

This session is primarily aimed at Christian business owners. ‘Kingdom business’ is seen as the work of the Lord, in other words sharing the gospel, praying for people or situations, Lord; and helping to meet the needs of others. ‘Business in the Kingdom’ on the other hand, can be seen as doing business in the worldly realm in the name of the Lord.

Today’s business market is extremely competitive. There has never been a time in our history when all aspects of the business need to be so well-honed in order to merely just stay ‘afloat’.

We believe, by faith, that God can do anything, but can we trust Him to take our businesses to a level where He can freely bless us?

In reality, what is our personal motivation for God to help us in our businesses?

                Is it – To have a business where we would like God to be a partner with us?

                Is it – A business where we can bless the less fortunate through proceeds?

                Or is it – A business we can use as a vehicle to share the Gospel with others? 

There is nothing wrong if we’ve answered ‘yes’ to some or all of these questions.

Let’s Look at some Scripture

Jesus said that He is the vine and we are the branches and that apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). He says that if we want to bear good testimony to Him in our daily lives, we need to abide in Him and He in us. We need to be spending time with Him in prayer, in His Word, and with other believers. (Spending time with other believers for fellowship and encouragement – not for times of criticizing and judging one another!).

Paul tells us in Romans 8 that those who are sensitive to and obey the Holy Spirit, are His children (Romans 8:14). Again, we need to spend time with Him, if we want to learn how to hear Him through His Spirit. We learn God’s character through reading the word, meaningful fellowship, and praying in our closets, as well as praying in groups.

Jesus says that we will be able to recognize believers by their actions (Matt.7-16-19;20). Our actions reflect the depth of our relationship with the Lord. How are we behaving in our business place?

Types of Businesses

Let’s have a look at some fictitious examples of business types we see in the world today:

Business Number 1…

Worldly Business

A person who does not know the Lord and owns a business will pass on their character through that business. The following ‘fruit’ normally categorizes business in the world without God:

                They are – 100% self-centered

                Management normally – Not Caring about Staff/Suppliers/Customers

                And it’s – Profit at any cost

Business Number 2…

A.L.A. Agencies (Pty) Ltd

After the Lord has touched a repentant heart, change begins to take place in the business owner. When the first part of the salvation process, ‘sight’, has come to the individual (John 3:3), they become enlightened about the things of God and their personal sinful nature. However, at this point, they have not ‘entered’ into the Kingdom of God, because although they are aware of God, they still walk daily in their old nature.  

For the purpose of our session, let’s say this business owner has a business, which we will call “As Long As Agencies (Pty) Ltd.”

Some ‘fruit’ of this business would be:

                They – Pay Staff fairly (Min Wage) – AS LONG AS it’s comfortable

                There is – Fair Exchange of Value – AS LONG AS it’s comfortable

                And they – Give resources to Kingdom work – AS LONG AS it’s comfortable

And finally Business Number 3…

A.L.L. Consultants (Pty) Ltd

However, once the second part of the born again process takes place – being born of water and of the Spirit (John 3:5) – then true entry into the Kingdom of God takes place. At that point, the repentant heart realizes their old nature has died with Jesus on the cross and they now start to operate from the new heart of Jesus. This business owner has a business, which we will call “As Led by the Lord Realties Inc.”.

Some of the ‘fruit’ of this business would be as follows:

                – Pay Staff fairly   –  AS LORD LEADS

                – Fair Exchange of Value –  AS LORD LEADS

                – Give resources to Kingdom Work –  AS LORD LEADS

                – This business will go over and above to make sure Godly principles apply throughout.

Our Measure

If we use Matt. 28:19-20 as the Kingdom ruler to measure business success, this is what we will see:

                                Sharing the Gospel and making disciples

• Worldly business is not involved at all in sharing the Gospel and making disciples.

Sharing the Gospel and making disciples

• “As Long As Agencies (Pty) Ltd.” is involved in sharing the Gospel and making disciples as long as it is comfortable for the business.

Sharing the Gospel and making disciples

• “As Led by the Lord Consultants (Pty) Ltd.” is completely committed to making sure ALL aspects of the business operate according to Godly principles. Sharing the Gospel and making disciples will be a ‘fruit’ thereof.

In Conclusion

Therefore, back to our question – ‘Kingdom Business or Business in the Kingdom’?

 Kingdom business and business in the Kingdom are the same things – one is not possible without the other. Jesus said that apart from Him we cannot do anything (John 15:5). In 1Cor we see we are transformed from our old nature to our new nature in Christ, on a daily basis (1Cor.1:18). As this happens, the fruit displayed in our lives is more reflective of the Lord. If we are business owners, then this fruit is carried down through all aspects of our business.

Thanks very much for joining me over the past 7 sessions – as always my hope is that the Holy Spirit has opened up some new insights for us all and that these sessions have drawn us that bit closer to Him. May the Lord bless you all – until we meet again.

If you feel this article has value, please send this link to others. Writings are meant for people, not for dormant files in our computers. Often, sharing them results in positive changes in the lives of individuals and communities.

“…time with the Master…”

Advertisement

Eyes to See

Weekly encouraging messages from our Pastor Ray…..enjoy and be uplifted.

Eyes to See

Jesus gave us a command in Matt.28:19 to Go and make disciples. Most of us become a little concerned when we read this scripture because we think we’re not good enough to fulfill this role – and in extreme cases some begin to feel condemned. We think we need to become qualified teachers, preachers or Evangelists before we can share the word of God with others – not so.

Mission Malawi – Chapter Nine

 

Field Trip

14^th – 21^st November 1994

The following is a report of a field trip completed by two disciples of the Lord. The purpose of the trip was mostly a teaching experience to see how the Lord can bless those who are willing to give of themselves completely to His will.

It should be carefully noted here that we would be foolish to try and test God.

A trip of this nature should never be undertaken without careful and prayerful consideration. Everything which we do must be born out of the seed of prayer. God will speak to those who are willing to listen and will teach those who are willing to be manageable in His hands. Often, our hearts desires and strong wills, prevent us from hearing the gentle voice of the Spirit.

Mission Malawi – Chapter Six

Publisher’s Note:
I was unable to download original pictures from the Malawi collection, for technical reasons and hope to have this sorted by the next issue. Thank you for bearing with us in this challenge.

The instances of ministry are too numerous to mention during this time of the restaurant. I was able to minister daily to the people who were working in the business as well as the customers. Many refugees from Somalia, Mozambique and Rwanda came to eat and received spiritual food as well. Some were healed of sicknesses as we prayed for them during our time of work.

Mission Malawi – Chapter Three

24.02.94

We are trying to make the best of what we have. Very difficult. There are many flies and cockroaches. The ablution facilities are not good. There is a small outside building, one half a toilet (long drop), and the other a wash room. To go to the toilet we must squat over the hole in the floor. The smell is terrible and there are many large flies buzzing around.  Large cockroaches crawl on our legs at the same time. The extreme heat does not help the situation.

Unlocking the New Life

At first glance, the situations in the world around us do not seem to be very encouraging. The reason is, that we see things according to our own understandings. Our ‘measuring’ system is the nature which we received from Adam. This nature causes us to principally focus on self-centeredness. When things around us do not go according to how we think they should, we become frustrated and angry. Have you seen a young child’s reaction when they don’t get their own way? One could easily ask the question, “Who taught them how to behave like that?” Nobody had to teach them that behavior, they do it naturally out of their human (Adam) nature. In fact we, as adults, react in a very similar way except we have learned over time to rant from within and disguise it, rather than rant from without!