Success Requires Listening to God’s Voice
[Successful Heavenly Enterprises] Series 11 – Text/Ai Jiefu – Translation/Lin Yu
▲Having difficulty hearing God speak? Maybe you're using the wrong ears.
How do we bring the Kingdom of Heaven into our earthly businesses? The previous article (Issue 74) discussed the importance of receiving divine wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge when performing heavenly missions, so that you can know what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. In this article, let us look at how God reveals these messages to people.
The heavenly advantage that Christian business owners have over their non-Christian competitors is divine revelation. How could we not be successful in our business and personal lives if we followed the leading of the Holy Spirit in all our decisions? Struggling in ups and downs for a long time actually shows no signs of making decisions according to the leading of the Lord Jesus. Unfortunately, we make decisions the same way non-Christians do, hoping for a better outcome.
So how do you know God’s leading? In what ways does He “speak” so that you and I can tell when and how He speaks? I hope that through this article, we will learn how the Holy Spirit communicates and interacts with our inner spirit and soul, so that we can receive revelation from the Lord and receive the wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge needed for success.
First, let’s look at how God communicates His wisdom and understanding to people.
Listen to God’s voice with spiritual ears
Having trouble hearing God speak? Maybe you're using the wrong ears. God is Spirit; He speaks to us primarily through "spirit man." As 1 Thessalonians Chapter 5 says, human beings are individuals with spirit, soul, and body in one; they have a spirit and a soul (including mind, thoughts, and emotions), and they live in the body.
But the powers that control the world have blinded the hearts and souls of unregenerate, carnal men. When man was still in his fallen state, his conscience (or spiritual man) seemed to be seared with iron, as Paul described in 1 Timothy 4. Due to the dullness of spiritual beings, even when God is speaking, we still tend to rely on our senses to receive revelation, that is, to listen to God’s voice with our “natural ears.”
After rebirth, the Holy Spirit lives in our spirit man and speaks to our soul through our spirit man. Since the "spiritual ears" have been dull for a long time, it still takes some time to learn to hear the spirit speaking to oneself.
Therefore, the main channel for receiving revelation from God is the Holy Spirit → the human spirit → the human soul. In order to ensure that we hear the Holy Spirit speak, our spirits need to be soft and humble.
1 Corinthians 2:14 reminds:"But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, because they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, for they require spiritual vision to understand them." (New Translation)
After the human spirit receives revelation, it belongs to the soul's mind, in which the understanding ability operates together with the spirit to gain wisdom and experience knowledge.
The following are the more common ways in which God “speaks” to people and reveals things to spiritual beings.
Hear God speak through God’s words
Everyone wants to ask God for wisdom, but unfortunately only a few are willing to take the time to search His heart as revealed in the Bible. This sounds ironic, after all, God’s words are not only the most common way for Him to speak to people, but also the most reliable way for us to receive His revealed thoughts. I highly recommend every Christian business owner use any of the Bible reading plans such as those provided by OneYear®Bible.
The Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit. Reading it every day will make the originally foolish spirit keenly listen to the voice of God in the written "Word", that is, His "Word". This also makes it easier for us to hear God’s words to others through other channels.
When faced with problems and dilemmas, one of the methods God often uses is through the word rhēma. Rhēma is the “sword of the Spirit” mentioned in Ephesians 6, which can revive people’s hearts and build faith. When God speaks in rhēma from the scriptures, a certain word or phrase seems to be bold and bold, making it stand out. It is even as if God is pulling our face toward the Bible to see the verse clearly. This is to receive God’s words from God’s words. If we don’t read the Bible, won’t we miss this “voice” of God?
Bird usually takes a fixed day off during the week so that he can spend a few hours alone, read the Bible, receive rhēma revelation from God, and manage the business according to His will. At the beginning of the day, he wrote down the questions and concerns he wanted answered from God. God spoke to him (rhēma) while reading God's Word (logos), answering Pat's questions and concerns; this was the main way God spoke to him. In less than seven years, the company has grown from hundreds of thousands in debt to a large enterprise with revenue in the hundreds of millions.
If you know how to listen and are willing to take the time to listen, God will speak to you and me.
Conscience, our inner voice of witness
The rebirth of a person is actually the resurrection of the "spiritual man" and becomes a new creation, with the Holy Spirit indwelling the spirit. When the spirit man hears the voice of the Holy Spirit and conveys it to the soul, this communication is usually not through words, but a feeling or touch. When you feel something is wrong in your heart, and there are obstacles in your spirit such as "wait a minute" and "be careful", you will feel uneasy, and it may even be so severe that you want to vomit. Even if you don't understand the reason, you just feel that something is wrong.
On the other hand, sometimes you have a good feeling and feel at peace with something or an idea. When this feeling occurs, it is an "inward witness" that this thing or idea comes from God.
This voice of the spirit, which is the inner witness, I call "knowing." I often understand something but don’t know how. When others ask, they can only reply: I just know.
In addition, you must walk in divine love and peace (refer to Issue 64 of "Success requires putting yourself in the right position"). When you are tired, angry, anxious, or upset, you should be especially alert to the voice of the spirit. Give yourself enough time to calm down, rest, and allow God to show you His perspective. Only when you are in a state of peace and walking in His love can you trust the revelations you receive from spirits.
Colin and Ximeng's company continues to expand and needs more space, but the contract for the currently rented space has not yet expired. Now is an opportunity to buy a damaged building in need of renovation at an incredibly good price. After the two did what they should and could do to investigate and evaluate, and prayed earnestly with intercessors, they received the inner testimony that God wanted them to buy the building.
The couple were so eager to move forward with the project as quickly as possible that they forgot the intercessor's prophetic reminder: Before paying the deposit and signing the contract, they should talk to the landlord first and find a lawyer to look at the current lease.
Colin and Ximeng signed the contract after receiving the funds. The process seemed to be marked by God from beginning to end, allowing them to confirm that they had heard God's voice correctly. Extensive renovations will begin after the transaction is completed, and the new location is expected to be ready in another three months. They sent a letter to their current landlord notifying them that they would move out by the end of the year.
If God sanctioned the deal, He probably didn't let the landlord know about it. Because the landlord quickly reminded Colin and Ximeng: the lease will not expire in three years, and they can move out, but they need to pay off the remaining rent soon. After much prayer, the intercessor gave the two prophetic instructions - to humbly and sincerely ask the landlord to terminate the contract, negotiate a reasonable termination fee, and let him know that buying another building is a good opportunity from God. .
However, they were unable to meet with the landlord at all, because lawyers from both parties quickly intervened, and the lawyers strongly advised Colin and Ximeng to stop all communication with the landlord. The intercessor received a clear and specific termination fee figure from God, but it was far from the figure proposed by the lawyers on both sides. After months of back-and-forth negotiations and expensive legal fees, the two sides finally reached an agreement. This amount only differs from the number revealed by God by $2,500.
Colin and Ximeng bought this building, but was it God’s plan? perhaps. They did receive wisdom from their inner testimony, but they neglected to quietly seek wisdom to see how God wanted them to express the image of Christ and terminate the existing contract. They rush into action, only to end up with months of anxious waiting and extra expenses that are not part of God’s plan. What was originally an opportunity to witness the goodness and faithfulness of God may now leave a negative impression on them and the God they believe in.
God gives us wisdom so that we can be smarter than our competitors; He gives us understanding so that we know how to execute and when to execute. God will help us succeed at the right time and in the right way. If you act too hastily or hesitate and delay, it will be difficult to carry out God's plan.
Colin and Ximeng failed to seek wisdom, which cost them and missed the opportunity to witness for Christ before their landlord.
Dreams are revelations, not sleep talk
Not all dreams are from God. Dreams inspired by God will be more vivid and impressive than ordinary dreams, and they may also appear repeatedly. Dreams can come from the heart or from our spirit beings; dreams can be affected by the Holy Spirit or interfered with by other spirits. Another challenge: Maybe some parts of the dream come from God, and some parts come from your own soul, making it difficult to tell which part comes from which. Usually dreams are symbolic and cannot be interpreted superficially.
In fact, the Holy Spirit is the best guide for interpreting dreams. Pray about the dreams we have, let the Holy Spirit tell us the meaning of the dreams, and keep a long-term record of the dreams and the interpretations given by the Holy Spirit. We ourselves are the best interpreters of dreams next to the Holy Spirit. Did a boat appear in your dream? Dream interpretation books can provide many possible explanations, but more importantly, what does this ship mean to you? If there is no special revelation from the Holy Spirit, we can interpret dreams in this way.
Some people keep a notebook or tape recorder next to their bed to record their dreams. It is best to write down your dreams as soon as you wake up, especially if you may fall asleep again later and may have other dreams, and the two dreams may seem contradictory and difficult to explain.
Dimu operates a painting company whose main customers are commercial buildings. It is difficult to make a profit in this business because it requires cooperation with other industries such as carpentry, water and electricity, drainage pipes, cement, interior walls, etc. The contractor will ask that the rest of the project be completed before painting can begin. If other workers damage the painted wall, they have to pay for repairs out of their own pocket.
It's impossible to predict profit margins in this business; there are always profits and losses in business. Fortunately, God has given Dimu unusual wisdom over the years, allowing him to properly manage large and unpredictable projects. Many times, relying on the wisdom given by God, projects that would have otherwise lost money were finally profitable. On one of these occasions, God revealed something to him in a dream.
Dimu has tendered for a large-scale project to renovate the school, which will be carried out by his team, while he himself travels to another state to complete another job. From the beginning, various problems arose throughout the project, including difficulties in coordinating the schedules of different departments and inexperience of the contractors. It originally only took six weeks to complete, but after four months of work, it was still far from completion.
Dimu prayed for wisdom on how to complete the project in the shortest time. The architect required high-quality paint, but it was difficult to paint with a spray gun because the spray gun head was often clogged and needed to be cleaned frequently. Even if the paint is sprayed, there will still be clumps from time to time that need to be smoothed out. Based on these considerations, most painters will choose to apply paint with a roller instead of a spray gun. This will consume more time and labor and reduce profits.
Dimu had a dream and saw another type of spray gun head, which was different from the one he was used to. At the same time, I also saw that the pressure of the compressor used for spray painting was lowered. Knowing that this was coming from God, I tried various spray gun heads and pressure settings, and finally found a system that could apply paint quickly, flatly and smoothly, saving time and effort, and greatly improving efficiency.
Dimu not only made a small profit on this project, but the cost reduction later gave him an advantage when bidding for other projects. This is a dream inspired by God, not your own daydream.
prophetic prophecy
Prophetic prophecy is the Holy Spirit speaking to us through another person for the purpose of building up, exhorting, and comforting. As Christians, we are called to pursue spiritual gifts that are prophetic (see 1 Corinthians 14:1).
All prophetic words contain three basic elements: revelation; interpretation; and application. When people "hear" the message of the Holy Spirit, this is revelation. No matter how gifted we are, we can only see a limited part, know a part, and predict a part. No one can hear the revelation of the Holy Spirit infallibly.
Even if a person with prophetic gifts receives correct prophetic revelation, there may still be errors in interpreting the prophecies. Those who have received revelation have often interpreted the Word given by God and interpreted it correctly. Since God wants to speak to us, He knows what language to use to make us understand. If He wants to convey a message through others, even if the person receiving the prophecy thinks it doesn't make sense, He will know how to make us understand. When our interpretation differs from that of the person who received the prophecy, accept our own, put theirs aside, and continue to pray and seek.
How to apply prophecy is another area where errors often occur. Continue to ask God for wisdom so that you can apply it correctly. What is even more hopeful is that those who have received prophecies from the Lord have asked God for wisdom before giving us explanations and applications. Even if this is not the case, we still have to ask God ourselves.
I recommend that Christian business leaders surround themselves with people with prophetic gifts, especially prayer teams, to carefully receive, interpret, and apply prophecies correctly.
Delei runs a small software development company and owns all IT equipment in the office, such as PBX (private branch exchange), servers, and routers. She hired Alvin, a contract worker, to set up, configure, and maintain the equipment, and Alvin charged a service fee based on the time and materials used.
It got to a point where Del Rey felt there was something wrong with Alvin's bill. Why are the charges so high in a month when no new equipment has been installed or any settings changed? The two argued for more than a month, but still came to no conclusion. One Saturday, Delei received multiple calls saying that the company's server was down, and customers' emails could not be sent or received, and they could not log in. After some investigation, it was discovered that the server was missing - Ivan had moved it from the company.
Delei didn't want to call the police, and she wanted her software development work to be uninterrupted, so she made an agreement with Ivan: If he could return the server quickly, Delei was willing to pay most of the bill. She immediately wrote a check and sent it to Alvin by express delivery, waiting for the server to be returned to its original owner. Next, Delei asked every day when the server would be returned, but Alvin always had a reason why it couldn't be delivered that day. After three days of back and forth, Del Rey turned to me for prayer advice.
She was still describing the whole story, and I already had an inner witness, and saw in my mind the image of Alvin selling the server to pay the bills. When Ivan continued to prevaricate, she confronted him with the revelation I had received, and then admitted that she had sold the server and could not return it at all. The two parties eventually reached a settlement without going to court.
Del Rey has learned her lesson. In the future, before hiring or negotiating business, she will pray specifically for job applicants and business partners, asking God for the wisdom she needs to manage the company well and protect various resources.
How does God speak to you? How to confirm that the voice you hear comes from the Lord Jesus? If you want to know more about the ways God speaks to people, including visions, openings and closings, and inner voices, please refer to my book "Kingdom Business Success" (Chinese temporary translation). If you have any questions or feedback, please contact me:Jeff@BusinessHisWay.biz.
In the next article, let’s explore spiritual warfare. Christians are on the battlefield in the ongoing battle between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of darkness, and are called to be warriors in this mega-battle.
Jeff Ahern, author of "Kingdom Business Success" (Chinese provisional translation), "Strategic Planning for Kingdom Business" (Chinese provisional translation), and has published many articles in journals. A former naval officer, he has provided consulting services on management and improvement of business processes to Fortune 500 companies and government departments for more than 30 years. Founded a spiritual consulting company, Business His Way (formerly Sozo Services), to assist corporate leaders in using Bible-based, Holy Spirit-guided solutions to achieve personal and corporate goals.