⁵ No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. ⁷ “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. ⁸ Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:5-9)

The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. (Proverbs 27:12)

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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 today's show, we're going to continue the topic of risk assessment.

Proverbs 27:12 says: The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. Kingdom entrepreneurs need to learn to assess risks, so that they can become prudent people who know when to take refuge. We can use the SWOT model to evaluate the positive and negative factors of a company both internally and externally. Internal positive factors are our strengths (Strengths), internal negative factors are our weaknesses (Weaknesses). External positive factors are the opportunities we can take advantage of (Opportunities), external negative factors are the threats we face (Threats). By understanding the internal factors, we can make use of our strengths and avoid our weaknesses. At the same time, we can know what kind of members the team needs, and recruit with clear goals. After knowing the external factors, then we can take advantage of Opportunities and pursue excellence in relevant aspects.

After the risk assessment, we will realize more deeply: fulfilling the corporate mission is a risky task. Even so, we know that taking risks in the Lord's Great Mission is the most rewarding thing, so we keep on going.

Based on three biblical principles, we can face challenges with courage. The first principle is "the promise of the Lord". God is the Lord of promises, and His promises are our resources. When faced with adversity, we proclaim the faithfulness of God by mentioning the name of Jehovah our God (Psalm 20:7). When we are aligned with the covenant of the Lord, we receive the prophetic anointing. The second principle is "obey the commandments." The psalmist says: Blessed is he who loves the law of the LORD and meditates on it day and night (Psalm 1:2). Blessed businesses spend day and night thinking about whether what they are doing is in accordance with the Lord's command. We should live out the Word of the Lord and imitate the Word of Christ so that we can receive the kingly anointing. The third principle is "the presence of the Lord". The psalmist says: Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4). Although we will inevitably have to walk through dark valley, and there may even be beasts to attack us, we are not afraid of these disasters because God is with us. His rod makes me not afraid of wild beasts, and his rod pulls me out of the pit, and he walks with me all the way to my destination. Pray that the Holy Spirit will make us know God's way and walk in His way. When we follow God, God is with us (Numbers 14:43). We receive the priestly anointing by not turning away from God.

Human weakness and environmental threats are negative factors, but we can face them with a positive attitude because the Bible tells us time and time again that human weakness is an opportunity to demonstrate God's grace, and external threats push us to further develop our abilities of excellence.

In the face of our own weaknesses, if it is in terms of character, we must pay attention to correcting and improving them; but when it comes to calling, we must explore our own strengths and build up the talents related to the calling on this basis. First, we must discover, develop, and deploy our talents and respond to our unique calling. No one can have all the talents, everyone will have their own weaknesses, so the second strategy to deal with each person's weaknesses is to build an efficient and spiritually unified team, through complementing each other, so that the team has all-round Strength. A third strategy for dealing with individual weaknesses is that we should build unique brands through "collaborative competition." Because competition in a partnership makes one realize that we can and have to coexist! Teams are also motivated by partnerships created through healthy competition.

In the face of environmental threats, first of all, we want to thank God for using the environment to shape the quality of us and our business. When we are grateful for adversity, our mindset changes and we are able to properly interpret the difficulties we face and recognize that it is a "blessing in disguise." After adjusting the attitude, we come to the second step - choosing strategies to deal with risks, such as purchasing appropriate insurance, and so on. At this time, we need to clearly measure our ability to take risks, and tailor the best risk diversification plan according to our own situation. The third step, and the most fundamental step, is that we must remain committed to building a business with the DNA of Christ, so that we can defeat the ever-present external threats. The Bible tells us that God has made us conquerors of the world (1 John 5:4), and as long as our lives are like Jesus, we can overcome all difficulties and fulfill God's plan.

Summarize the above information: We can use the SWOT model to assess risks. On the basis of understanding our own strengths and weaknesses, we can formulate strategies to develop our own strengths and strengthen the team. After finding out the external opportunities and threats, we can grasp the opportunities and know that we still need to grow in certain areas. In the process of facing risks, we should be strong and courageous, because we have the promise of the Lord, we obey the commandments, and we have the presence of the Lord. In the face of people's weaknesses, we should first give full play to the talents of each individual, then build a team, and finally establish a cooperative relationship. When responding to environmental threats, the three things we need to do are: 1. Give thanks; 2. Choose solutions to deal with the risks; 3. Build an enterprise with the gene of Christ.

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. According to the SWOT model, what are your/your company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and risks?

2. Human weakness is an opportunity to manifest God's grace. Do you have practical experience of this in real work?

3. What was the most recent risk to you/your business? How to face and resolve it?