To be successful, you must act according to the principles of the kingdom of heaven

[Successful Heavenly Enterprises] Series

Translated by Lin Yu

Will God answer this prayer?

A client sent in a prayer request. They are the owners of a small factory and have a Christian heavenly mind. These owners bid for three government contracts, which, if awarded, would bring considerable revenue to the company. All three contracts were 8(a) restricted bids and came from three different ministries. Not only that, small factories are scheduled to close out of the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program on September 30.

Will this work? Will God answer specific prayers for business success? I know that prayer works, at least sometimes. I also know that the Bible says that God is pleased with the prayers of the righteous, and that whatever we ask, He hears, and we are to believe. These words sure sound good in a Sunday school classroom. But will He really answer this prayer that will bring significant financial results before September 30?

The difficulty is that the condition of getting any 8(a) contract is that when the contract is awarded, the company must be an 8(a) certified company, even if they have placed a bid a year before the project is completed, or the government is willing to award the contract. . The key is just whether they can get the contract on September 30. Once the days are missed, all the hard work put in to get these contracts will be in vain because they will lose their eligibility to sign.

This is a very specific prayer, and it involves a specific timetable. With only five weeks left until September 30th, will God answer these individual prayers for business success? Will He promote government for us? The answer is about to be revealed.

While praying for the contract, we reminded our clients that God promised to provide, but He never promised to provide for their needs through the government’s 8(a) program. We have to pray and believe that we will get the contract before September 30. If God does not provide what we ask for, it does not mean that He is unfaithful or that the client has done something wrong, but that God has chosen to provide the work they need in other ways.

This is not to give customers peace of mind when their prayers are not answered; rather, it is to encourage them not to give up their faith if God chooses another way of supply.

The Christian way is to deny self, to be in God, and to be guided by the Holy Spirit. However, we often want to go our own way and direct the Lord on how to manage our lives and how to provide for our daily needs. The abundant life He promises is within Him, not outside of Him. I emphasize this because clients often look for a magic lamp slave to answer prayers, rather than seeking the Lord's will or the path they should take.

▲Will God really answer specific prayers for business success? (Image Source:https://images.app.goo.gl/h4XSHo4ew6nowx4U6)

God’s answer is…

The results of it? Their faith and the faith of us corporate intercessors were rewarded. On September 29 of that year, the client received three contracts. Three different contracts, from three different government agencies, were all confirmed to be contracted by them just the day before they were disqualified. What a wonderful testimony that prayers are answered! If you believe in luck, perhaps you can explain it by saying that these unusual chances have nothing to do with God answering prayers and doing great things.

This success story happened ten years ago. Since then, we have been blessed to see many people’s prayers answered. Some are accomplished almost immediately; others require waiting for years. Some prayers are more common, such as curing headaches or diseases, hiring suitable employees, receiving the money that should be collected on time so that wages can be paid, etc.; some prayers are very miraculous, such as the restoration of family, business, contracts, family relationships, and infertile couples. Get kids and all that.

We have seen God miraculously protect His children from criminal and civil lawsuits that would have bankrupted businesses; we have seen sustained, urgent prayer that resulted in the children of the millennium turning back to Him after drifting away from Him; we have seen The Lord gives wisdom to new businesses to start new business models with creative and wise ideas to make greater profits; we see God exposing employees who steal and undermine the company's development. This is all the result of business people cooperating with God, developing a heavenly mind, and learning to do things in His ways and for His sake.

But the best prayer that is answered is when we receive more of Himself. He has given us the best, and will He not be more willing to give us more of all things that belong to godliness and righteousness? He is ready to give us everything we need to fulfill our kingdom mission, but simply requires that we work with Him through Him, in Him. It must be done His way and for the right reasons; the abundant life He promises can only be found in Him.

Where is wrong? Why doesn't it work?

and you? What about your business and your Kingdom mission? Do you see abundant life in your labor? Have you received the Lord’s promise to bear much fruit in Him? Or do you feel like something is wrong from time to time? Have you ever felt like you plugged in a power source but then there was no power? Have you ever asked, "What's wrong? Why doesn't it work? Where is God?"

What do we need to do to begin to see the success we anticipate based on the promises of Scripture? I dare not claim to have all the answers to this question. But after years of seeking Him in business, I will present His revealed teachings and solutions.

In the process of searching, I found that most Christian entrepreneurs operate using the same model and version as the world. Their reasons for doing business and their goals are also the same. They chase money without realizing that it is money that should be chasing them. One can expect the results to be as good as the world has ever achieved, perhaps worse. In fact, it doesn't need to be like this, and it shouldn't be like this. In order to change the results, we need to change our understanding of the purpose behind the business and start running it with the Lord and according to Kingdom principles.

I also discovered the reasons why most Christian entrepreneurs with good intentions have troubles or fail in their business:

1) They chose the wrong line (that is, the wrong mission in heaven);
2) Their industry is right, but their starting point is wrong (that is, they do not operate according to the Kingdom of Heaven model);
3) They are in the right industry, but they use the wrong business model (that is, they carry out the right Kingdom mission in the wrong way).

In future articles in this series, I will talk about these three anomalies and how to bring the Kingdom into business, or Kingdom missions.

Let me first talk about my background and how the Lord Jesus led me into this wonderful ministry, helping business owners accomplish something by working with God.

Observance of religious rituals without God

I was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, to an Irish-Catholic family. The parents were devout Catholics and sent their children to parochial schools. For eight years, I took religious classes for one hour a day, five days a week. As a child, I believed I had a personal relationship with the Lord; by the end of eighth grade, although I was still very observant of religious rituals, I no longer saw any connection with Jesus.

After graduating from public high school, I decided to study electrical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. During college, I received a two-year Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship and was commissioned as a naval officer after graduation. Like many sailors, I actively pursued the sins of the flesh. By the time I retired from the Navy five years later, I was an agnostic with almost no God in my life.

Just when I was about to leave the Navy, a series of unusual events led me to Jesus. Let me leave a foreshadowing here and talk about it later. When I was reborn in 1985, I would like to say that my life changed dramatically immediately, but this was not the case. I was still just a polite Catholic, but I was hanging out with people who "sowed to please their flesh." After six years of slow spiritual growth, I joined the Charismatic Church. It would take another two years before I heard the Lord Jesus direct me to join the church to serve.

▲How can Christians keep the kingdom of heaven in mind and run their businesses according to biblical principles?

Work becomes ministry!

Over the next 17 years, I participated in almost every ministry including hospitality, altar service, brethren's church, prison ministry, pick-up and drop-off ministry, children's Sunday school, and cleansing and exorcism ministry. However, I didn’t realize that God was going to use these service experiences in alternative ministries outside the church—work was going to become my ministry!

When I retired from the Navy, I worked for a company that contracted government contracts. I started as a system engineer and worked on Navy-related planning projects. I quickly learned that to advance quickly in a company like this, I had to bring in new business. It is important to do the work within the contract well, but more important is to develop new business. As a result, I excelled in business development and strategic planning.

While engaged in business development, I met some business people and began to provide management consulting services to Fortune 500 companies. This job makes me more comfortable. I like to work with people who know their goals and are motivated to move toward them; I also like to work on projects that make full use of God-given wisdom to solve problems. Although I love the management consulting profession and know that God is leading me to do greater things, it still takes some time to figure it out.

In the early 2000s, the Lord Jesus “downloaded” a plan for a Christian management consulting company in my heart. He wanted me to serve in the workplace, to switch from what I used to do in the local church to the corporate world. The way God showed me, combined with my love for business and God, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Jesus! In 2006 Sozo Services was born. Sozo is a Greek word meaning salvation, healing, restoration. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we accompany businesses and leadership to restore and renew them.

▲Success must be based on the principles of the Kingdom of Heaven.

To be successful, you must act according to the principles of the kingdom of heaven

In my consulting career, I've worked with some extremely successful people, and I've also served some people who could serve as a bad example of how companies should be run. Some of them call themselves Christians, and many do not. I would love to say that godly Christians are the most Jesus-like, most successful business people. but it is not the truth. Unfortunately, many of the highly successful people I work with who exhibit at least one Jesus-like behavior are non-Christians who serve idols or have no religious beliefs. On the other hand, I have seen impassioned Christians who uphold the Bible act like sons of Belial (another name for Satan) in the workplace.

Such comments about success may sound pathetic, but they raise the fundamental question: Why doesn’t it work for me and other devout Christians? Is success in the business only reserved for non-believers? Shouldn’t the righteous prosper, and good should prevail over evil? Where is the abundant life Jesus promised? Where is the prayer that God promised to be answered if He is with Him and walks with Him? If the Kingdom of Heaven exists not just in words but in the power of the Holy Spirit, are there signs of the Holy Spirit’s power in our lives and businesses? Where is the Kingdom of Heaven?

The purpose of this series of articles is to address the question that almost every Christian business person has asked - What can we do to see the success promised in the Bible in our business operations? I dare not claim to know all the answers, but I will present the answers and solutions revealed by Him in the process of seeking the Lord Jesus and His life in business development over the years.

In addition, readers will know:

◆ How to put yourself in the right position and seek success by abiding in the Lord, and He is also in us;
◆ How to partner with God in life and business;
◆ How to make the necessary paradigm shifts so that the Kingdom of God can walk in lives and businesses;
◆ How to confirm your own heavenly mission and the heavenly purpose of your company;
◆ How to implement the Kingdom Success Principles in your business.

You will be surprised by some of the Kingdom principles that follow. Some may seem like truths, but when you start to examine them, you will discover how often you and your business leadership violate them.

This series of articles was originally intended to appeal to Christian business owners or operating CEOs, but these success principles can also be effectively applied to all walks of life, including Kingdom missions. These principles work even with nonbelievers. Truth be told, successful non-believer business owners have already applied many of these principles to their lives and businesses. Even if they don’t understand the background of the text, they will follow the principles simply because they make common sense.

Before talking about the principles of success in the Kingdom of Heaven, we first need to confirm that we have a correct relationship with the Lord and people, and that our positioning is correct in order to achieve success. This topic is the topic to be discussed in the next article.

Note:"The Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development Program" (the Minority Small Business and Capital Ownership Development Program), commonly known as the 8(a) program, is the U.S. Small Business Administration's provision of training, technical assistance, and provision on a retained or sole-source basis. Signing opportunities. Eligibility for the 8(a) program is generally limited to small business owners who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, U.S. citizens or residents of good character, and who demonstrate potential for success. (Source: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R44844.pdf)

Jeff AhernA former naval officer, he has provided consulting services on management and business process improvement for Fortune 500 companies and government departments for more than 20 years; he is the author of "Kingdom Business Success" (Chinese temporary translation). Co-founder of Sozo Services, a spiritual consulting firm that assists corporate leaders in achieving personal and corporate goals using Bible-based, Holy Spirit-guided solutions.

Lin Yu, writer, loves Chinese and foreign literature.