[Kingdom Business Culture]

17 A hope-based system—the responsibility of benevolence and righteousness

Outline: The hope of reward in Christ is the reason we go all out. For this reason, we prepare our hearts at any time in our work, be cautious and self-controlled, and patiently wait for the fulfillment of God’s promises.

Speaker： GLOBAL JIREH

Translator: Jacey GAO

Narrator: Angelie GACASAN

¹³ Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. (1 Peter 1:13)

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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 program, we are going to discuss the establishment of the enterprise system. In practice, we often find that even in a kingdom enterprise run by Christians and the main members are Christians, establishing the institutional framework is a challenging job because people neither like change nor take responsibility . But it is necessary to establish institutions for the benefit of all, and this work should be based on the hope of Christ's glorious return.

First of all, as Christians, we must know what hope we have in Jesus Christ. Knowing this, we will know what we are after and go all out to achieve it (Philippians 3:13-14). 1 Peter 1:13-14 tells us that we who are born again have a living hope of an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, and imperishable, reserved for us in heaven. This inheritance is aligned with faith, so it cannot perish; it is aligned with love, so it cannot be defiled; it is aligned with hope, so it cannot decay. This inheritance is always sound because it does not violate truth; it is revered because it exists from the utterly selfless motives of its creator; it is enduring so that it does not fail our hopes. In contrast with this is the desired inheritance of worldly corporations. The worldly inheritance is short-lived, it perishes and is discarded because it is not in conformity with truth; it degenerates and disappoints because it is not fully in accordance with righteousness; it is dishonored and loses people because it is not fully in accordance with holiness and lose people’s respect.

Brothers and sisters, Heavenly Father has prepared for us the best reward for our labor in Christ. This hope is the reason why we go all out and persevere to the end. Furthermore, when we imitate Jesus in this way, we will receive the praise, glory, and honor of Christ when Jesus reveals (1 Peter 1:7). We are praised because what we do bless others - which reflects the kingship of Christ; we are glorified because what we do glorifies God - which reflects the prophetic nature of Christ; we are honored because what we do builds ourselves up—a reflection of Christ's priesthood.

1 Peter 1:8-9 goes on to say, " Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,  for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls." Yes, through faith we have the hope of salvation, and this hope gives us unspeakable joy, and this joy is full of glory. We are a group of people who rejoice because there is hope! What we as a people do now is to prepare our hearts, to be sober, set our hope on the grace to be brought to us when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming (1 Peter 1:13).

So, how do you "prepare your heart"? The literal translation of the original text of 1 Peter 1:13 is, "Girdle your minds." To "girdle" means to be ready to go. That is, in order to share in the grace that Christ will bring to us, we should prepare our hearts to be in harmony with God's will. The members of the kingdom enterprise are to have the mind of Christ—focusing on the glory of the Father, and hoping to share in the glory of the Father. In this way, we can unite in a holy and selfless relationship and build on it a committed team. If such a team has a right heart, they can enter the economic system of the kingdom and participate in the management of the kingdom of God. In practical work, we also see that when a group of like-minded people work together, the relationship formed by the heart-to-heart connection will make everyone have a strong sense of belonging. This sense of belonging is an indispensable condition for establishing a system of unity.

Next, let's look at the importance of "prudence". Sober people will not be swayed by any lie that goes against biblical truth, and they will work hard to make sure they keep the Lord's commandments. Such a sober person will be able to grasp business opportunities from God because of his alert attitude. Because business opportunities from God originate from the integrity of an enterprise, God bestows this opportunity on those whom he trusts. People who are prudent and self-absorbed have the opportunity to do the right thing, the system of the enterprise will be effective, and the members of the enterprise will have a sense of accomplishment. Of course, in order to allow employees to continue their sense of achievement in the enterprise, a creative training system is a must in the system. Because, without the advancement of knowledge, our cautious and self-conservative ideas are likely to be out of touch with the times.

Finally, let's talk about "focus on hope". In the process of doing things, people develop patience by focusing on hope. In fact, the good operation of any system is inseparable from the patience of the participants. Because when the members of the organization learn to be patient in everything, they will have a continuous sense of responsibility in their hearts, which in turn can promote the improvement of the system; and only when the system is perfect, can people pursue excellence together more efficiently.

In a nutshell, the main theme of our discussion today is "A hope-based system—the responsibility of benevolence and righteousness". As operators and participants of kingdom enterprises, we see that the hope of reward in Christ is the reason for us to go all out. For this reason, we prepare our hearts at any time in our work, be cautious and self-controlled, and patiently wait for the fulfillment of God’s promises.

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. How do you prepare yourself and your team to meet the challenge?

2. Do your team members feel a sense of belonging? If not, why?

3. "Even in a kingdom enterprise run by Christians and its main members are Christians, establishing the institutional framework is a challenging job." Do you agree with this view? Why?