Dear Brothers and Sisters, Shalom. Welcome to tune in to the program by GLOBAL REACHOUT. I am Angelie. Starting from November this year, we have launched the "Kingdom Business Culture" program. 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. In today’s talk, we will learn about the principles of the kingdom’s economy from (Ephesians 1:10). It is written in the scriptures: “10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” (Ephesians 1:10) In this episode, we will learn what is the economy? What are the principles of the kingdom economy? “Economy" is derived from the Greek "Oikonomia". "Oiko" is (household); "nomia" is management (management), so the original meaning of "economy" is home management. In Ephesians 1:10, it says: “10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.” The original text of “arrangement” is “Oikonomia”. Ephesians 3:10 records: " His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms." The original text of the "arrangement" here is also "Oikonomia". 1 Timothy 1:4 states: "Not to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith." In the scriptures, the original text for "work" is "Oikonomia". From the above three verses, we can see that God values his family, the management of the kingdom, and he allows us to participate in this management work. We are now going to compare the economic principles of the world and the economic principles of the kingdom. When the Israelis were in Egypt, they experienced the harm caused by the business model operating on the economic principles of the world; the Israelis also experienced the blessings of the business model operating on the economic principles of the kingdom in Canaan. The difference between the two: The economic principle of the world is the curse of man living in the old self—the old Adam, and man loses the presence of God; the economic principle of the kingdom makes man live in the new self—the blessing of Christ. The old self will live under the curse by trusting his own way and doing what is right in his own eyes; the new self will live under the blessing of God by trusting in God's way and obeying God's command. As children of God, we must remember that trusting and obedience is the way to blessing. The principle of the kingdom economy is to bless people. One is slavery--an economic system without freedom; the other is a corporate system--a free market economic system. In other words, one is to satisfy one's own desires by controlling and using others, and the other is to let people have free space to respond to their callings. The principle of the kingdom economy is to set people free. The world is to make ends meet with your labor—people-centered supply; the kingdom is with mountains and valleys—God-centered supply. The economic principle of the world is to focus on man, everything is related to man’s supply, and ultimately to give glory to man; the economic principle of the kingdom is to focus on God, everything is related to God’s supply, and ultimately it is also Give glory to God. The principle of the kingdom economy is that everything is related to the supply of God. One brings lack because of sinner's greed; one brings abundance because of God's favor. We are playing the role of stewards, so our focus is on managing God’s resources properly, not on getting more money. Greed makes people lacking more, but contentment can make us enter abundance because of God's favor. The principle of the kingdom economy is contentment and not greed. The world relies on chariots (human methods) and horses (human strength); the kingdom relies on the supply of God. The world tells us that people must rely on themselves and carry out their methods with their own strength. God wants us to completely rely on him and let his spirit run in us. It is we who are determined and executed to achieve his good intentions. Man is completely incapable of accomplishing God's will, and only when someone is willing to admit that he is completely incapable, God will enable us to carry out his plan. The principle of the kingdom economy is to rely on Lord to do His work. One depends on a limited market quota; the other depends on unlimited creativity and multiplication. God can make us full of creative management resources, benefit many people, and multiply the market. The principle of the kingdom economy has unlimited creativity from the master to develop the market. If we are to become outstanding entrepreneurs of the kingdom in God's eyes, we must properly manage the resources entrusted to us by God in accordance with the principles of the kingdom's economy. The criterion for measuring the excellence of an entrepreneur is not how much money he can make in a year, but how strong his ability to manage resources is. At the end of the program, let us invite Ps. Tony TAY Meng Hiang, the founder of GLOBAL JIREH to pray for us. ************************ Discussion 1. How do you understand the concept of "economy"? What is the relationship between the secular business economy and the "kingdom economy"? 2. Reflecting on your current job, is your working life more of Egypt or the promised land? 3. Have you experienced God's abundance in your work? If not, what do you think is the problem?