6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God. 9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day. 13 What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 14 Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. (2 Timothy 1:6-14)

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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 continuing last week's topic of risk and discuss "How to Prepare Yourself for Risk."

In business operations, we always analyze business opportunities first and then assess risks. This is a program that integrates positive and negative elements. In this process, we need to prepare ourselves in a fully integrated way so that the strategic plan can be implemented.

What does that mean? As the saying goes: the core of the problem is the problem of the heart. Especially for those of us in the Christian workplace, when trying to empower ourselves to implement our strategy, we must first solve the problem of our heart and check whether our motives are pure. First deal with the problems of the mind, and then deal with the problems of people; after the problems of people have been dealt with, only the problems of affairs will be dealt with last.

The problem of people is often the problem of attitude, and a person's attitude is controlled by his thoughts. In other words, the thoughts you have may affect your attitude. Unless our heart is right, we cannot accept the right teaching. Only when the attitude is right can we do things well according to the principles.

As followers of Jesus, we are guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit makes us like Jesus, with the life force of Jesus. If we do not quench the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19), the fire of the Spirit will be fanned (2 Timothy 1:6); but if we quench the inspiration of the Spirit, the fire of the Spirit was extinguished. This reminds us that our own attitude will determine the success or failure of a strategy, and the way to help ourselves establish the right attitude is to renew our minds with the power of God's Word and the Word of life. When your mind is renewed, you will naturally have a good attitude.

So, what exactly is the correct attitude to respond to risk? 2 Timothy 1:7 says: For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. In the event of risk, we should be timid, but instead show composure because of power, love, and self-discipline. A powerful heart makes a person possessing kingly power, and a loving heart makes leads to priestly authority; and a self-disciplined heart leads to prophetic faithfulness.

Let's start with a powerful heart. We are all sinners, and it is inevitable that sinners will hurt others or be hurt in their interactions with sinners. How to avoid such harm? We should be patient, kind, and gentle, determined to treat others with kindness and righteousness. This attitude enables us to stand up to all sinners, no matter how imperfect they are, and we can ask ourselves not to do anything that hurts them, and we can even go a step further and do things that are good for them.

In the process of doing business, we bravely take risks for the Lord in order to reflect His righteousness. At the same time, we must have a strong heart and not be stumbled by sinners, including ourselves. Only in this way can we implement a broad strategy. This width must have height so that it will not be impulsive; and depth so that it will not be superficial and uncommitted, so that people know that the visible building is supported by the invisible foundation. We choose to keep moving forward with a strong heart, because we wholeheartedly hope for the Lord’s reward, and we still patiently wait for the Lord’s time to come even in the midst of difficulties.

        Secondly, in order to have a stable attitude, we also need to have a loving heart, because a loving heart gives people priestly authority—love gives people authority, and all authority should be used in love. This love is influenced by God in our close relationship with Him. When we value our relationship with God, we develop a holy attitude toward God that gives us love, joy, and peace. The love of the Lord motivates us to sacrifice ourselves to bless others. At this time, we will be willing to work hard to equip ourselves with the ability to bless others. This power that comes from love is the greatest, it gives us enough depth to support everything. However, this depth must be high enough so that it will not be limited, because character building is not our ultimate goal; this depth must also be wide in order to cover the whole world, because organizational systems are not optional. A benevolent person will choose to do well before becoming big, because he does business for the benefit of others, not to prove his own strength. Therefore, people with depth usually adopt such strategy: focusing on conquering smaller areas first, gaining a firm foothold and then gradually expanding the realm.

The third element that helps us to stay composed in the face of risk is a self-disciplined heart. A self-disciplined heart brings prophetic faithfulness. The person doesn't do anything against principles, so trust is built. But the faithful man behaves this way not because he wants to win people's trust, but because he obeys the truth. Such an attitude enabled him to demonstrate faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. For Christians, when we know how to analyze and evaluate according to the truth, we will not be impulsive. Our hearts must be zealous, but our minds must be calm. Keeping the heart of the truth enables people to think calmly and have a life with altitude. This height is built on a deep cognition, so that people can understand the relationship between strategy and themselves, and then can fill the world with a glorious breadth.

       To sum up the above: We should prepare ourselves to face business opportunities and risks in an all-round way, and ensure that we face everything with a stable attitude. The establishment of this attitude depends on the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will give us power, love, and self-discipline. The integration of these three enables us to implement a strategy with breadth, depth and height.

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. "The core of the problem is the problem of the heart". What are your personal experiences about this?

2. How did the Holy Spirit lead you to respond with power, love, and self-discipline during your most recent risk?

3. What do you think is the key to keeping a person calm and stable in the face of a crisis?