3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 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. (2 Peter 1:3-8)

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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're going to explore the theme "Love-Based Character—Holy Relationships."

Why should Christians in the workplace pay attention to this topic? For it is only with love-based character that holy relationships can be established between people; and our ability to exercise character and live godly lives comes from the knowledge of Christ.

For most Christians, we first come to know Christ intellectually through the Bible, which is prophetic; then we come to know Christ experientially through our willingness to adjust our behavior to imitate Christ and this is Kingship; and the result of actions that lead us to know Christ on a relational level, which is priesthood. When we know Christ and live like Christ in our thoughts, words, deeds, and hearts, we are like branches connected to the vine, gaining the ability to exercise character and live a godly life.

We have seen that some worldly businesses also emphasize character training, but those who do not have Christ as the Lord of their lives are still old self, and in the end there are just dead ends. The character training of the kingdom entrepreneur is based on the fact that we have become new creations in Christ. The new man is willing to ponder the truth because of faith, act righteously because of hope, and maintain holiness because of love. This new man has true righteousness and holiness.

As the new man in Christ, the goal of our life is Christ. The eight steps of the spiritual journey mentioned in 2 Peter 1:5-7 are the steps that a person must go through to live out Christ. We know that in Matthew 5:3-12, the Lord Jesus spoke of the blessings. In fact, the eight steps of the spiritual journey in 2 Peter and the blessings of the kingdom of heaven in Matthew's Gospel echo each other - when keep step with the eight steps of the spiritual journey as a guide, we also receive the blessings from the Lord at the same time.

Besides, have you noticed that in the four Gospels, the Gospel of John emphasizes that Christ is the Son of God, which corresponds to the first step of the eight-step spiritual process and the first of the Beatitudes; the Gospel of Mark shows that Christ is Prophet of truth, which corresponds to the eight steps and the second of the Beatitudes; Luke shows Christ as a holy priest, which corresponds to the eight steps and the third of the Beatitudes; the content of Matthew shows that Christ is The king of benevolence and righteousness, which corresponds to the fourth point of the eight steps and the Beatitudes.

Next, let's take a look at the eight steps of this spiritual process in detail.

First, character building begins with a change in the nature of life. The Gospel of John tells us that the Son of God has become our redemption, the Spirit of God lives in us, and our lives are no longer the same, from the flesh to the Spirit (Romans 8:9). Therefore, the first step of the eight-step spiritual journey is the saving faith that God gives us. This faith corresponds to the "poor of spirit" mentioned in the first of the Beatitudes. When we humbly feel that we desperately need the Lord, it also means that we have faith in God.

The scriptures tell us next: To have faith, add goodness. That is to say, after we have faith in the Lord, the next thing we have to do is to add goodness. "Goodness" corresponds to "mourning", the second of the Beatitudes - it is only when we mourn over our actions that we have the will to build up goodness. Faith and goodness are the manifestations of man after he has been redeemed.

"With goodness, add knowledge" -- when we are willing to obey God's command and change our old behavior, what we need to do next is to learn knowledge. "Knowledge" corresponds to the third blessing of "modesty", because knowledge makes one humble.

With knowledge, we know what to do. When you know it, you must do it, so when you have knowledge, you must add self-control. "Temperance" corresponds to the "hunger and thirst for righteousness" of the fourth blessing. We are willing to self-control, doing what we should do and not doing what we should not do, because our hearts hunger and thirst for righteousness. Knowledge and temperance align our character with the truth.

“With self-control, add perseverance”—when we walk the way with self-control, we will inevitably face many difficulties and challenges, and we need to be patient and not give up or lose heart. "Self-control" corresponds to "mercy" of the fifth Blessing. We learn to be sympathetic to the weaknesses of others while upholding our own standards of conduct without being influenced by others.

Next, "to perseverance, add godliness." The process of perseverance is stressful, and if one does not practice perseverance, people will often use the wrong method to release stress. "Godliness" corresponds to the "pure heart" of the sixth blessing. If we have a pure heart and everything is done for the glory of the Lord, we can live a godly life.

"With godliness, add mutual affection" -- when we live a godly life, we truly have the ability to bless others, so we need to add mutual affection at this time. "Love of the brethren" and "the peacemaker" of the seventh blessing correspond to each other. If we are willing to bless the lives of others, we will not create chaos, but hope that we can build up each other.

Finally, "to mutual affection, add love for all people" After learning to love like-minded brothers and sisters, we must learn the highest level, which is to love others. "Love of all people" corresponds to "those who are persecuted because of righteousness" in the eighth blessing. When we are willing to love people, we prepare ourselves to be persecuted for righteousness' sake.

      Dear listeners, if we shape ourselves with the character of Christ as our goal, we need to move forward step by step according to the eight-step guide. This character building will begin with a change in the nature of life that will eventually align with the truth, righteousness, and holiness 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 your self-assessment, where have you reached in the eight steps of your spiritual journey?

2. Are you stuck somewhere? What is the reason?

3. How do you plan to lead and help team members move forward step by step?