15 Those who walk righteously
    and speak what is right,
who reject gain from extortion
    and keep their hands from accepting bribes,
who stop their ears against plots of murder
    and shut their eyes against contemplating evil—
16 they are the ones who will dwell on the heights,
    whose refuge will be the mountain fortress.
Their bread will be supplied,
    and water will not fail them.

(Isaiah 33:15-16)

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Dear Brothers and Sisters, Shalom.

Welcome to tune in to the program by GLOBAL REACHOUT. I am Angelie. This program is based on the workplace training course of GLOBAL JIREH entitled "Christ-centered Entrepreneurship”. This course was compiled by Pastor Tony TAY Mingxian to help brothers and sisters live out Christ in the workplace.

Through the previous five episodes, I believe that everyone has a certain understanding of the "Biblical Enterprise View". In today's program, we are going to talk about the pursuit of excellence.

Brothers and sisters, do we clearly know what we are pursuing after today?

Secular entrepreneurs pursue the success of the world. They aspire to enjoy a prominent position, financial security, and a vain reputation. If a Christian is also fighting for these purposes, in fact he has not obeyed the first commandment of the great commandment, which is--you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind (Matthew 22 :37). Those who pursue worldly success will certainly not consider the glory of God as their top priority. As children of God, what we should pursue is not worldly success, but an excellent life. Psalm 139:14 says: I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Today, we must try our best to live an excellent life to show the wonder of God's work, and ultimately to glorify God.

What is the difference between the pursuit of excellence and the pursuit of success? First of all, excellence values "quality"; success emphasizes "quantity." Therefore, those who pursue excellence believe that even if they lose money or even go bankrupt, they cannot cross the bottom line; those who pursue excellence will focus on fulfilling their destiny, will not bother to compare with others, and will not try to overwhelm others.

When we choose to pursue excellence rather than success, we can avoid the vicious circle of 3C. The first C is Compare: always want to be better than others, and surpass others; then there will be a second C--Covet, greedy, want more than others; when it is not better than others, it appears the third C--Complain.

Heavenly entrepreneurs can avoid the vicious circle of 3C by pursuing excellence. When a person strives for excellence, what he yearns for is the value of truth, the protection of righteousness, and the relationship of holiness, just as Isaiah 33:15-16 said: ¹⁵ Those who walk righteously and speak what is right, who reject gain from extortion and keep their hands from accepting bribes, who stop their ears against plots of murder and shut their eyes against contemplating evil. ¹⁶ they are the ones who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. Their bread will be supplied, and water will not fail them. The " walk righteously " and " keep their hands from accepting bribes" mentioned in this passage are expressions of humanity; " speak what is right " and "stop their ears against plots of murder" are expressions of truth; " reject gain from extortion" and "shut their eyes against contemplating evil" are manifestations of holiness. The word of God tells us that the blessings for such a person are: first, to dwell on the heights; second, to be secured; third, to be provided for. Let's talk about these three blessings separately below.

The first blessing-"Prominence" refers to gaining a prominent and influential position. In order to gain influence and gain a prominent position, many entrepreneurs focus on visible data, and care about turnover, sales ranking, annual income, etc.; but the Bible reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:18: we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Brothers and sisters, what really makes a person stand out is because he cares about the invisible. Only when a person lives for eternity can he only compare himself with himself and focus on living his destiny; and only when a person lives for the future to be part of the glory of God, can he use love as the standard of measurement and not compromise with sin, because sin is an expression of no love. Only such a person can fully utilize the potential of life, and eventually become the top but not the bottom, be the head and not the tail, and be light and salt in the crowd.

The second blessing--Protection. The scripture says: refuge will be the mountain fortress. In other words, he is protected. In a challenging environment, imitating Christ is our greatest guarantee. Many times, people compromise to avoid causing trouble. On the surface, imitating Jesus is not that we will not face problems. On the contrary, we may have more problems; however, in all these problems, we are protected by God, and we are like a house built on a rock, safe against rushing water --this is the way we seek protection! Therefore, we should reflect our dependence on the Lord through acts of love and justice, so that we are as steadfast as Mount Zion. Under the protection of the Lord, we will have the confidence to take risks for the Lord so that we can grasp the business opportunities. Next, when facing the ensuing problems, we ask the Lord to anoint us with strategy and ability, instead of responding to challenges with fear. When the situation is bad, we should remind ourselves that we should face adversity with joy, because suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame (Romans 5:3-5). Experiencing tribulations is for us to be more like the Lord Christ ultimately.

The third blessing--Provision. The word of God says that there is no shortage of food and water for the righteous man. Yes, God will not allow His faithful servants to face shortage. If our purpose of running a business is for the glory of God and we are also committed to fulfilling our destiny, then we need not be afraid of supply shortage. God will prepare for us, so we don't have to worry about it. The Lord will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19). We can respond boldly to the calling, and resources will catch up with the vision. What we have to do is to focus on the vision and be stewards of resources rather than slaves. Remember: God's kingdom is rich in resources, and there must be a rich multiplication in the kingdom economy.

We have come to the end of today's discussion. In the next four episodes, we will discuss the thirteen principles that a heavenly enterprise pursuing excellence should possess. These thirteen principles are composed of four English acronyms, and we will explain the principles represented by one English acronym in each episode. The first English acronym is PLEA: P is Partner; L is Leave; E is Excellence; A is Assets. The second is WITH: W is wise (Wise); I is in Christ; T is Trustworthy; H is Home Service. The third is GOD: G is God-Centred; O is Opportunity; D is Diligence. The fourth is IN: I is impact (Impactful); N is honor (Noble).

At the end of the program, let us invite Ps. Tony TAY Meng Hiang, the founder of GLOBAL JIREH to pray for us.

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Discussion

1. Looking at your own work from the perspectives of "excellence" and "success", what would you say differently?

2. How should Christian entrepreneurs view numbers such as turnover, sales ranking, and annual income?

3. What triple blessings have you experienced for the "Entrepreneur of Heaven"?