¹¹ I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned;
but time and chance happen to them all. (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:16)

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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, what we want to learn is - what is a business opportunity? How to distinguish whether the business opportunity in front of you is from God?

The so-called business opportunities are those business opportunities that can generate profits and are an indispensable element of enterprise development. From the previous verses, we can see that when the Ecclesiastes looked back on the things under the sun, he found a very real and emotional phenomenon: the fast one may not win, the strong one may not conquer, the wise one may not get food, the brilliant one may not be rich, and the learned may not be favored. It all depends on the time and opportunity of each encounter (Ecclesiastes 9:11). This shows how crucial that opportunity is! At the same time, Ephesians 5:16 instructs us: "Making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." In this wicked age, it is not easy to meet the right time and opportunity, because what we may encounter is Opportunities from evil.

How do we know if the business opportunity in front of us is from God?

Business opportunities from God can glorify God and benefit people. God gave us business opportunities to fulfill our cultural mission to spread the culture of the kingdom of heaven throughout the earth. We need to be wise (Proverbs 4:7) to discern business opportunities from God (priesthood); we also need to gain prudence (Proverbs 8:5) to take advantage of business opportunities (kingdom).

Specifically, we can identify whether a business opportunity comes from God from five aspects, which we call five "CS" for short. These five factors are divided based on priorities, and we need to consider them one by one according to their importance.

The primary factor is "Commanding Scripture". We need to identify business opportunities according to the teachings of the Bible, and see if the business opportunities are in line with the truth we hear with our ears. If the business opportunity contradicts biblical teaching, we should reject it, which is an emphasis on biblical truth.

The second factor is "Compelling Spirit." We should distinguish business opportunities through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and see if the Holy Spirit has moved our hearts to respond and seize the opportunities we encounter. Only when we are willing to obey will we have peace in our hearts.

The third consideration is "Common Sense". We need to identify business opportunities with common sense, think about the logic in business opportunities, conduct reasonable financial analysis and risk assessment, and evaluate whether the business opportunities can produce spiritual profits.

The fourth factor to consider is the "Counsel of the Saints". We look to the words of the saints and use their counsel to discern business opportunities. Proverbs 15:22 says: Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. The saints' counsel helps us see our blind spots, and at the same time gain assurance that what we are doing is not deviating from God's will.

The fifth consideration is Circumstantial Signs. We look at the environment to identify business opportunities, and think about the possibility of our hands getting things done in the environment we are in. If the circumstances are aligned with the Word of the Lord, our path will become clearer and clearer.

After identifying business opportunities, we need to respond in the right way so as not to miss them.

The first step is to develop a Shared Strategic Plan. That is to say, after business operators formulate a strategic plan, they need to have two-way communication with their teammates to reach a consensus and share the same plan.

The second step is Process Design and Development. With an overarching strategy, we also need to design a detailed execution process to put the strategic plan into practice.

The third step is Performance Measure and Feedback, which is through performance appraisal, clearly follow up the work progress and provide timely feedback.

The fourth step is the Knowledge Capture and Leverage. In the rapidly changing era, once we stop learning, we cannot keep up with the times. Enterprises need to continuously pursue knowledge and apply the learned knowledge in practical operations.

The fifth step is Leadership and Management of Change. Business leaders should ensure that they are leading their followers toward the vision, rather than being swayed by their followers and moving in other directions. If the leader finds that the followers are no longer willing to accept the leadership, they should reflect on the source of the problem. The business environment is changing all the time, and leaders need to have the ability to manage change so that companies don't become obsolete in a rapidly changing environment.

There are five steps we can take to effectively advance our work in dealing with a kingdom-sharing strategic plan that aligns with the kingdom culture. Step 1: "Develop", the vision of development. The vision indicates the destiny of the enterprise. Only with the vision can the strategy be formulated and the vision be realized. Step 2: "Involve", passing the vision. Make team members clear about the direction of the business so that they can participate in the practice of the vision and devote themselves to the work with enthusiasm. Step 3: "Analyse", analyze business opportunities. Enterprises need to analyze in detail the alignment of their own positioning with business opportunities, and judge the goals that can be achieved by their own capabilities accordingly. Step 4: "Assess", assess the risk. Businesses should avoid doing things they are not good at and avoid possible threats. Step 5: "Create", create strategies and tactics. All tactics must be consistent with the strategies, and use the strategy to guide the overall tactics.

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 opportunities have you seized in your work? On what basis do you judge that those opportunities are from God?

2. Have you ever "seized the wrong opportunity"?

3. When facing the same opportunity, the team has different opinions. How to deal with this situation?