Advancing The Kingdom With Your Business

Can business truly be a spiritual battleground where faith meets enterprise? Join us and discover how your business can shine God's light through a corporate culture rooted in biblical values and tackle societal darkness at the same time! 

Enjoy.

Transcript

Building God's Kingdom Through Business

Speaker 1 0:40

Okay , so today we are talking about building the kingdom with your business . Now , obviously , we're talking to faith-filled entrepreneurs . You're already like , hey , I want to help build the kingdom with my business . And when we talk about kingdom , what are we talking about ? We're talking about God's comprehensive rule in every sphere of life . That's the kingdom . Tony Evans defines it that way and I love that definition God's comprehensive rule in every sphere of life . That's the kingdom . Tony Evans defines it that way and I love that definition God's comprehensive rule in every sphere of life .

Speaker 1 1:04

David , even the root word of kingdom is king and dominion , kings , dominion . I asked my 14-year-old son hey , what's the two root words in kingdom ? And he goes king and dumb . No , it's king and dominion . You crazy , anyway . But it's the dominion of God in every area of life . You do not separate your faith and business . You do not say , well , what I do at church is one thing , what I do at business is another . You don't sit there and sing the worship songs to the Lord and then turn around and manipulate and cheat people and not put others first right . That's not kingdom , king's dominion , it's the dominion of the king , king , jesus , in every single interaction and everything that you do with business and you know what , when you do that in business , it will change the community where you live . Yes , it will do that . You have a responsibility .

Speaker 1 2:00

Remember Jesus' last words before he went up into heaven and he said make disciples of all nations . He didn't just say make disciples , he made sure that we understood the context in which we were supposed to make disciples the nation in where you live , which would then whittle down to the city where you live , the neighborhood where you live , you know like , to the city where you live , the neighborhood where you live , the school district where you live . Change it , make it Christian because of your witness . Now God's kingdom has already come down , came down with Jesus . Now God's kingdom needs to come out . What do we mean by that ? His kingdom is inside of you and you need to nurture it , you need to grow it , you need to strengthen it and then it needs to come out of you individually , as a family and specifically in our context today , for your business . Okay , now , I really think God has a special place in his heart for the marketplace . It's the venue where he chose the training of his own son . He chose the marketplace , the workplace where people go and do their work . I think there's a lot of reasons for that , but one of the ways is it teaches you to bring real , tangible value . If you don't bring tangible value in the workplace , you don't get paid , and we know , in terms of work , payment is the scorecard . If people aren't willing to pay you , then you got to bring better value . You know it's interesting . He got all 12 of his disciples from the marketplace . He did not go to one place of religious devotion and find his disciples , he got them all out of the workplace .

Speaker 1 3:36

And I tell people , especially young pastors , I'm like dude , if you haven't served tables , you probably aren't fit to . You're not ready to be a pastor Like you . You have to understand how to serve every single type of person , even those that'll stiff you , even those that are asking for unreasonable things Like you've got to get your butt in the workplace . You're coming out of seminary and it's not just pastors but it's all of us . But if you don't know how to work and if you can't make it in the workplace and now you're over there in the church because it's a little bit easier , you don't have to show up till nine and you get certain days off and all that other stuff . It's like , dude , you had better learn how to work , yep . And the reason why is , if you don't work well , you won't get paid . If you don't get paid , you can't provide for yourself , and so you're actually judged on the value that you bring , not on the intentions that you have . Okay , so now , the workplace is the great winnower of men . I've said that to so many people . It's the great , not just men , it's the great winnower of people . It separates those who make it from those who don't . Okay , and now we just see the workplace . It's a special place in God's heart .

Speaker 1 4:51

Now , as it relates to us as business owners , we need to see our businesses as a tool to build God's kingdom with and as a weapon to defend it . And some of you might say , oh , god's kingdom doesn't need defense . No , no , no , we've got to stand for truth . We've got to stand for truth . So we need to see our business as a tool to build God's kingdom , but also as a weapon to defend it . Now , of course , I'm spiritually speaking , I'm not talking about physical nothing . But we have to see it . Your business is a tool and a weapon . We have to see it . Your business is a tool and a weapon . It's about working . It's about fighting spiritual fighting A tool we build with , a weapon we fight with , we defend with , and that is spiritual . Where do I get that from ? Well , let me take you back into the Old Testament . We've got Joel 3.10 . In Joel 3.10 , the Israelites .

Speaker 1 5:41

So God spoke something very clear and he says this . He says turn your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears . Now stop for a second . What's a plowshare ? You know , this is what you till a field with , and that's what it is . And what's a pruning hook ? It's what you go out into the field . After you've planted your trees and you've got your apple trees and orange trees or whatever it is , you go out into those pruning hooks and you prune things away . Those are the tools for their business . That's the tools for their business . And so what was God saying here ? The tools of their sustainability would now be used as weapons for their deliverance , because the evil people were coming in and God knew they need to defend themselves . He says turn your plowshares into swords so that the fight is going to be real . There's a very real battle that's about to take place and I want you to take your plowshares . Those things that you do to make your living will now be used as a weapon . Those pruning hooks , turn them into spears . They're going to be used as weapons to defend yourselves . The tools of their sustainability would now be used as weapons for their deliverance . Then this is so cool when we see this kind of stuff in the scripture .

Speaker 1 6:51

A hundred years later , we see God speaking to another prophet , micah 4.3 , and he tells them something else . What does he tell them ? That , basically , a time of peace is coming . And he says turn your swords into plowshares and your spears into pruning hooks . Now he reversed it . See , a hundred years earlier the enemy was coming and he says take those plowshares you got , turn them into swords . Those pruning hooks you got , turn them into spears . Now , a hundred years later , time of peace is coming . He says hey , you know those swords that you got . Turn them into plowshares . I want you to use that to make money . Now , those spears that you got , turn them into pruning hooks . The weapons of their deliverance would now be used as tools for their sustainability .

Speaker 1 7:32

Basically , god is showing us that whatever it is that you do for a living can also be used to defend his kingdom For a spiritual purpose , to advance his kingdom Absolutely . Remember , you got to see your business as a tool to build God's kingdom and a weapon to defend it . Here's a live example Moses . When Moses was called by God to go and to deliver the children of Israel , this was going to be a massive spiritual hijacking , a spiritual battle , but it was also going to be a physical battle for him . And one of the first things in Exodus 4-2 , we see Moses . He's kind of talking back and forth with God but God's like hey , I want you to go and I want you to deliver these people .

Speaker 1 8:20

In Exodus 4-2 , god says to Moses what's in your hand ? And what do you think was in Moses' hand ? A staff . He was a shepherd . You know how long he had been a shepherd ? 40 years . For 40 years he used this staff . He used that staff to guide them . He used that staff to fight away other animals . He used his staff for his sustainability . And now God is saying that very tool that you use to build your business , I now want you to use it to defend my people and to deliver them . Is that not amazing ? The same staff Moses used in his occupation , god's now using it for deliverance of the Israelites out of slavery .

Speaker 1 8:57

Another example in the scripture Nehemiah . He gathered people by families , and what did he give them ? And they were supposed to work right in front of their houses and their businesses , and he put a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other . They would have to be faithful in their work and faithful to fight . Work and fight it goes hand in hand .

Speaker 1 9:17

Your business is a tool to build with and a weapon to defend with it . Build and battle . Go ahead , david . Yeah , it's about the expansion of the kingdom . It's build and battle , and that's what you know . Ultimately , turning your swords into plowshares and into pruning hooks is the coming of Christ , with the year of the Lord's favor . Right , that's the ultimate . At the same time , there is still a battle to be won . God is on the throne . Jesus is seated there at his right hand , until his enemies become a footstool under his feet , in other words , until his enemies become useful , which means the enemies are going to continue to fight . The devil and his demons have not been judged and cast into the lake of fire . And so with our businesses . And so with our businesses , god is saying . Now I want you to use this business as not just a plowshare , but as also as a sword to fight my battles , to expand my kingdom . And that's when we , if you really want to be an expert owner , if you really want to be a kingdom business owner , you have to understand King's dominion . Because thereion because there is another principality in this world he is called the prince of the air . Which one's more powerful , the king or the prince ? It's the king , but the prince fights to take the king's place . The prince fights to get worship . The prince fights to twist and distort the truth of God in order to rob , kill and destroy . And now God says okay , I want you to find where the prince is beginning to rule and I want to bring my rule there . So , if you're in San Antonio , texas , bring my rule . If you're in Little Rock , arkansas , bring my rule . If you're in Santa Barbara , california , bring my rule . That's what God is calling us to do and it requires us to have spiritual eyes . It doesn't . It's not the same for everybody . The same fight in Boise , idaho . Now , of course , some of the national macro fights yes , it's all the same . You know , you find abortion and you find the radical , you know , sexual revolution , but then the micro fights inside your town . Where is God calling you to now battle ? For me , it's a huge business . So you got to see your business as a tool to build with and a weapon to fight with , build and battle . Okay , so just think about this .

Speaker 1 11:37

Jesus built stuff for a living when he was 28 years old . What was he doing ? He was working as a day laborer . He built things for a living and then , at 30 years old , we see him actually stepping from the for-profit space into the non-profit space and he became a builder of the kingdom in terms of casting out demons and healing the sick and teaching people . But Jesus , you know , he never used an analogy of a church . When he was using his analogies to tell people about what the kingdom of God was like , he never said you know , the kingdom of God is like a church . No , he never did . You know what he said . It was like a business . Look at all the marketplace , look at all the workplace analogies . He gave all the business analogies he gave . It's like a farmer plowing a field , it's like somebody who's building a house and all of that stuff . Where do you think he got that from ? He was in the workplace . So he built stuff and became a builder of the kingdom . Look , david shepherded sheep and became a shepherd of people , a shepherd of Israel . Gideon threshed wheat and became a thresher of the .

Speaker 1 12:44

He said you have got to see your business as a tool to build with and a weapon to fight with and we're talking spiritual battle and when you do this it's going to change your business

Shining Light in Dark Places

Speaker 1 13:05

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Speaker 1 13:06

Let me give you just a couple quick , practical things to hang on to . The Lord teaches us that we are the light of the world . We're the salt of the earth and the light of the world . Okay , let's just focus on light for just a second . When we shine God's light , it does two things . Matthew 5 , 16 says let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven . So light , on the one hand , reveals your good work . On the other hand , light exposes the world's evil deeds . John , chapter three , says darkness hates the light because it exposes that its deeds are evil . All right , with your business , you're doing two things . Number one you're revealing your good works . What are the good works of business ? Well , number one creating a corporate culture with a strong vision and a strong mission statement that has solid biblical values .

Speaker 1 13:58

Where you are now touching , you have touch points for your people inside your business where they can have an on-ramp to come to know the Lord . Right , you don't have to sit there and preach at them every day , you don't do any of that stuff but you have to give on-ramps to those who come to know the Lord and when those come to know the Lord , or even those that are working for you that know the Lord , those who come to know the Lord and when those come to know the Lord , or even those that are working for you that know the Lord you have to have the ability to have some sort of discipleship making apparatus or a mentorship or something . At least once a month you can establish anchor activities . That could be weekly , monthly , quarterly or annually . Right , even just one annual getaway where you actually can give people an opportunity to experience the Lord in a loving , god-honoring way through your company , right ? So , whatever that may look like , but that's a good deed , of course , the good deeds of doing good work , right ? All of that is understood .

Speaker 1 14:50

I don't have to discuss all hey , you got to do good work , you got to be on time . Okay , right , I'm not talking about any of that , but we're talking about being actually very intentional as shining your light as a business . That's what you want to do is with your employees , then also with your vendors and your contractors . What are ways ? Pray and ask God . What are ways whether it's once a year at Christmas time , or whether it's three times a year or four times a year or once a month what are ways where you can actually touch your vendors and your contractors with the love of Christ in a way that ties your business and that ministry opportunity together ? Don't just do it completely independent . There are some things you can actually do in your community that are what I call do-gooder deeds . Now , I like do-gooder stuff , but this is not the battle we're talking about . You can go build a house for Habitat for Humanity . You can go drill wells in Africa . You can do all that stuff and those are good . We need to do that , and that's often good when you can tie some of your employees into that , because it makes them feel really good about their work and it brings some compelling additional opportunities to connect as a company and to use your resources not just your money , but your resources with your talent in really good ways . That's all do-gooder stuff . That's great . So pray about God . How can I do good work ? Matthew 5 , 16 .

Speaker 1 16:14

Then the other hand of this this is the part where Jason and I want to hit is the John chapter 3 . What are the areas of darkness in my town ? What are the areas of darkness in my city and in my state where God has placed my business , where I need to expose , where I need to shine the light For us ? In Charlotte , we are a stage 3 abortion providing city . We have four active abortion clinics . We produce more abortions than any other city in the entire Southwest . So here we are busier than Atlanta . We've got one abortion clinic that is the number one abortion clinic across multiple states .

Speaker 1 17:01

I said Southwest , I meant Southeast , the Southeast in the United States , and so Jason and I were like that is the place of darkness , that's where we're going to go , and so we leveraged our office building . We began to host pastors , get pastors in and pray about this situation . Then Jason and I said okay , we are going to leverage our ability to create and scale large organizations . So what we're going to do is we're going to go out and we're going to start recruiting a volunteer workforce that we call Love Life , and now , of course , love Life is 1100 churches strong across 24 cities , but we have , just in Charlotte , we have 200 volunteer sidewalk counselors . They went through our sidewalk counseling training where , every minute that that abortion clinic is open , that those clinics are open , we have people there , and our dad was already there and he had a handful of volunteer sidewalk counselors there as well . So we said , dad , we're going to get you organized , we're going to bring in the masses , and then , when a woman chooses life , we now partner . Just in Charlotte , we have 150 churches that have over 300 mentor families . So , when a woman chooses life , they get plugged into a local church , they get plugged into a mentor family .

Speaker 1 18:13

Right , that's the area of darkness . Now , that is the very thing . That ministry is the very thing that those radicals when Jason and I had our HGTV show in 2014 , that's what they targeted and they said to HGTV they hate women , they you know they're , they're bullies . They go to abortion clinics , of course . And HGTV was like no , we don't believe that stuff . We actually like what these guys do , but for the sake of not getting bad press , we'll go ahead and fire the brothers ? Well , that , because we were shining the light in a dark

Advancing God's Kingdom Through Business

Speaker 1 18:46

place .

Speaker 1 18:46

So the question is what's the dark place in your city ? What's happening in your public school systems ? What are ways that you can get in ? You don't have to figure everything out and lead it , but what are ways ? What are leaders that are doing things from a Christian perspective ? Not the do-gooder leaders , but the leaders that are doing it , pointing people to Christ ? How can your business use your profits , how can you use your influence to get behind those leaders , to get behind those initiatives that are actually taking ground for the kingdom ? Now , that is the way that you become a kingdom business , your kingdom inside , your kingdom outside . You're doing good works Matthew 5 , 16 . You're also shining the light into the darkness John chapter 3 . When we do that , we are now turning our plow shares and our pruning hooks into swords that can be used to expand and advance the kingdom .

Speaker 1 19:40

So turn this podcast off . Ask God , take five minutes . Ask God what are ways where I can shine the light in my business to my people . And then ask God , what are ways , what are the areas of darkness in my town , in my city , where you are calling me to now utilize our resources as a business and shine God's light , and all hell's going to break loose . That's okay . Just ask God what are ways to do it in a wise , shrewd way ? Right , you don't have to be an idiot . But God , what are you calling me to do ? And then do it and watch what God does . Boom , I like it . There we go .

Speaker 1 20:18

I almost said Living Among Lions you know we have three podcasts , by the way Living Among Lions , how to Thrive Like Daniel in Today's Babylon . We've also got Expert Ownership that's what you're on . And then Beauty in Battle , winning in Marriage by Waging a War , but anyway . So thanks for hanging out with us on Expert Ownership and I love this kind of stuff , stuff . Now let's go and let's build the kingdom of god and let's defend it with our . Take that five minutes right now . Bless you .