For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.¹⁰ Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, ¹¹ and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:8-11)

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Thanks for tuning in to GLOBAL REACHOUT. I am Sister Angelie, and starting from November, we have launched the program called the "Kingdom Business Culture". This program is based on the workplace training course by GLOBAL JIREH entitled, "Christ-centred Entrepreneurship". This course was compiled by Pastor Tony TAY Meng Hiang to help brothers and sisters live out Christ in the workplace.

We encourage brothers and sisters to sign up for this course, so that they will not only have the opportunity to communicate directly with the instructors, but also establish long-term and close contacts with the kingdom business operators in the group, learn from each other and encourage one another, and put the theory into practice. Living out Christ in the workplace. For those who are interested, you can refer to the end of the manuscript and register by email.

In the previous two episodes, we discussed the purpose of business for profit, and the dangers of worldly profit. In today's program, we will continue this theme and discuss the biblical principles of spiritual profit.

Spiritual profit is measured by the effectiveness of the kingdom entrepreneur's knowledge of Christ - are we answering God's calling to do the right thing?

If the operators of the kingdom enterprises are not slack in knowing the Lord Jesus, the enterprises will be able to make spiritual profits. In other words, we use the ability to make spiritual profits as a yardstick to judge whether the operators of the kingdom enterprises are striving to know Christ. Business operators must pursue the truth intellectually, so that they can understand Christ’s thoughts, and then be able to do things effectively; we must also pursue benevolence and righteousness in willpower, so that we can understand Christ’s behavior. We also need to pursue holiness emotionally, so that we can feel Christ’s feelings and move toward the fullness of God.

The biblical principle for making spiritual profits is: do the right thing first—efficiency; then do the right thing well—effectiveness; and finally do the good things—abundance.

Let’s start by talking about how to do things efficiently. Efficiency reflects the height of the kingdom enterprise; and whether what we do is effective or not depends on whether it is aligned with God's will. God has chosen us before the creation of the world and has called us to be His children in His own time and place. Our calling and election are an unchangeable fact, and our efforts to imitate Christ will make ourselves firm in the knowledge of calling and election (2 Peter 1:10). The enterprises should respond to God’s call with confidence and do things effectively according to God’s command. Only by responding to the calling in accordance with the Lord's command will we grow in life, full of the stature of Christ, and mature in life (Ephesians 4:13).

In the process of answering the calling, we will face many difficulties, but these difficulties are blessings in disguise. If we respond to the environment according to the Lord's command, we can follow the eight spiritual ladders, namely faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, mutual affection, love. Peter says that after we have these eight qualities, and if we continue to grow in these eight areas, we will not be lazy and fruitless in knowing the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:8). When we resolve to respond to our calling and do things effectively, God will graciously make us more aware of who we are in Christ.

The second principle of making spiritual profits is doing the right things effectively. The improvement of efficiency requires strategy and ability, and the combination of the two can make the enterprise have breadth. Businesses must use their spiritual profits prudently toward the goal of establishing and multiplying the kingdom’s corporate model. Paul said to Timothy: “the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Timothy 2:2) The disciples Paul used the multiplication model is a four-generation disciple training model. The four generations of the Lord's disciples appearing in the scriptures are "you" - Timothy, "I" - Paul, and the one who taught and others. When it comes to improving the operational efficiency of the company, we need to train the right people and make efforts to do the right thing well. Only then will the company be able to expand its breadth and allow people to recognize the glory of Jehovah through the corporate culture of the kingdom of heaven. May the Lord strengthen us so that the glory of God may fill the earth!

The third principle of earning spiritual profit is to share in God's abundance. By doing the right thing and doing the right thing well, a business is blessed with abundance, which equips us to continue participating in the Lord's plan; and the longer we walk on the Lord's path, the more we have participate in the abundance of the kingdom of God. God has given us abundance so that we may experience Him more deeply and add depth to our lives. Today, the love of the Lord motivates us to be more like Christ, and the love of the Lord motivates us to influence others to imitate Christ. We want to highlight Christ's DNA by emphasizing corporate discipline and providing training so that everyone in the business is united in Christ's example. When there are more and more "little Christs" in an enterprise, the enterprise will have the character of Christ, be more deeply rooted in Christ, and be more able to respond to the bigger and more difficult calling from God.

We must keep in mind that only those who are constantly growing in life in Christ can continue to operate a business that continues to gain the Lord's abundance, and such operators will enter the eternal kingdom gloriously in the future. Every one of us who runs a kingdom enterprise should yearn for the life and enterprise that will be more glorious than glory.

          To sum up the above information: The spiritual profit is the result of the disciples' efforts to know Christ while running the business. The biblical principle for creating spiritual profit is this: Choose to do the things that are effective and do them efficiently to be part of the riches of the Lord. To be effective is to answer the calling according to the Lord's command; to act effectively is to use strategy according to the four-generation discipleship model. If the kingdom enterprises operate efficiently and effectively, they will be part of God’s abundance and will continue to multiply.

Dear friends, this is where we end today's episode. I hope to see you again on the next episode of Kingdom Business Culture!

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Discussion 

1. What aspects of the "efficiency" of your company are reflected in?

2. Is your business operating efficiently? If not, what is the reason? If so, how did you do it?

3. In the operation of your business, have you seen abundance from God?