“I have retired from the workforce to concentrate on God’s work.”

How does that strike you?

Please leave a comment below to join the discussion with our community.

Hello everyone, this is Justin DeStoppelaire, and you are about to read the second of many more articles to come by guest bloggers. It is my desire to have others whom I know and believe can add greater insight to the journey of discovering the “TRUTH” about Kingdom Business. I know God is sharing much with me and I also know that I alone can not bring about this change. It is my prayer that you will be enriched and receive greater revelation that can bring us all closer to living and experiencing the life God intended for us in our businesses.

The following article is written by Pastor Robert Nolen of Orlando Bridge Christian Fellowship. I had the privelege of meeting Robert a year ago. He is a business man that was called in to the ecclesiastical ministry and for this reason he has a great ability to relate to those of us in the business realm.

The great commission was given to the church as a whole and not just to missionaries that the church is supposed to support and send out. The church in the West has traditionally accepted the call of the great commission as a call to send out someone else to touch Judea and Samaria as we take the credit because we were the ones who sent them. I believe that the great commission is to be fulfilled in some way by each of us as business people. One of the best ways for us to touch our Jerusalem and Judea is for us to be a connector of people, meaning that we need to be able to connect people together in much the same way that the hub of a wheel connects the spokes and the rim together. As we do this then the church will be like the vacuum of a black hole in space. We will draw all things and all men to ourselves that we need to bring transformation to the world. As we draw in and connect the different people groups with talents and abilities we will have all that we need to touch Samaria and the uttermost parts of the world. We need to reach out and begin to touch Samaria and the uttermost parts of the world immediately. As we do this then the Lord will bring in those who have the gifts, talents, and abilities that we need to fulfill the great commission. This is one of the most sure methods of growing The Church that there is. We need to get our focus off of building our little churches here in America and begin to think globally. If we wait until we have our local church just the way we want it before we begin to reach out to Samaria then we are church focused rather than kingdom focused. As we begin to shift our focus from the church to the kingdom then the Lord will begin to bring provision for a kingdom building body rather than a church building body. You can easily see that one requires much more provision than the other. As we build His kingdom He will build the businesses that we use to help Him build His kingdom. We can’t let our focus be too small. We can’t focus on our local church when we need to be focusing on the kingdom. The Word tells us that if we seek first His kingdom then He will add everything that we need and that includes the resources that we use to build the businesses that He is using to touch and transform the world.

The early church in the book of Acts was much more effective at kingdom building than we are in America in 2007. Compare the resources of today to what they had available to them. They did exactly what I have described above. They took what they had and used it for good of the body as a whole and that has not been the paradigm of the Western church. We concentrate on our little agenda of building our local church while we totally forget the concept of building the kingdom first.

The only way for the kingdom to be built is for the lives of those who are not a part of the kingdom to be transformed. In order for us to transform the lives of others our lives must have first been transformed by the truth of the gospel of the kingdom. Many times we don’t make a difference in the lives of others because the gospel has not made a difference in us as God intended it to do. We have used it to just become more religious. We are more worried about our church growing than the fact that we are not growing in our own walk with the Lord. We can hardly change ourselves, much less the world. We find it hard to consistently live the message we preach to the world, yet we are masters at religious marketing of products that help us appear as if we were living the message that we preach. We have great religious style but little substance to offer a spiritually dying world. The Western approach to discipleship has become nothing more that a transfer of information through curricula which has resulted in educated converts who may grow churches, but not necessarily radically transformed disciples who will change the world. They may be able to answer all kinds of Bible questions and understand theology but they will never know Christ on an intimate level that leads to true transformation. We must first and foremost be a church that ushers in the presence of Jesus. And we must allow him to change us so that we in turn may change those that He has called us to touch. We must begin to think globally rather than just regionally. There is a world out there looking for what we have to offer them. It is time that we show them the goods.

God has placed many of us in positions as business people and we have not used the resources He has given us in the way He intended. Many of us have a Western church mindset and He wants to transform our thinking to be kingdom minded. Then we will be more equipped to use our gifts, talents, and abilities as business people to touch the world.

This is a “Guest Blog” entry from David G. Johnson, CEO of Epiphany Consulting, LLC.

First of all, Greetings to all of Justin’s readers and to all of you who have participated in the teleseminars and purchased the audio series that Justin and I have been working on together. It has been my honor and privilege both to work with Justin and to have the opportunity to share with many of you. The comments and feedback that many of you have sent in have truly been a blessing!

I asked Justin for the opportunity to share with you in this setting because I believe many of us are experiencing some of the same types of things. First of all, the Body of Christ is in a season of transition. Many of us are in transition today — some of it is of the “short term” variety, and some of it is more long-term. So… if you find yourself facing change, be encouraged!

For those of us whose “ministry” is primarily outside the 4 walls of the church building, we find ourselves challenged at times to manifest the calling and identity that God has given us while balancing the demands and pressures of the business world. If you are in business — whether as a business owner, entrepreneur, salesperson, manager, or even as an employee — you are aware that only those companies who continue to provide value will thrive economically. For us to squarely confront our individual need to provide value while at the same time being true to our God-given call can, at times, seem to present us with conflicting priorities. Add in any sort of financial pressure — either due to changing market conditions, poor stewardship (anyone ready to admit to that? I know I’ve been there!), or lack of focus — and we can really find ourselves in a pressure-cooker.

If any of this sounds familiar to you, you are not alone.

Once you’ve recognized that you’re in the marketplace because God has called you and placed you there, you start to realize that you are no longer only serving your employer or your customers… but you are truly serving God. When you recognize that you are serving Him, it must follow that you recognize that He has a vested interest in your outcomes. What I’m trying to say to you today is that God not only wants you to provide value and be successful, but that He insists on it.

I like what the Apostle Paul said — particularly realizing that he ran a thriving manufacturing business:

“But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ's victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere….” - 2 Corinthians 2:14 [AMP]

Notice that Paul said that He (God) always — not sometimes, not when we qualify for it, not when we’ve “done our best,” but always — lead us in triumph. Another translation says “to triumph.” In other words, as you follow Him, you will find yourself experiencing victory over that which resists you.

This means that you can make your stand of faith today and, like Abraham, “stagger not” at the promise of God. God has not called you to something in order for you to fail. No matter what the pressure may be that you’re experiencing today, there is victory in your future. Sure… you could ignore God and His Word and wander off on your own and experience defeat. But, if you’re “seeking first the Kingdom,” there is nothing but triumph in your future.

We must not be upset that there are giants holding the territory that God has told us to go occupy. Those giants and enemies are there because what God has promised us is valuable. We’re not the only ones who can see that! But like Caleb, I want my mountain! I’m going to go get it. I don’t care if I feel like a grasshopper… I’m not moved by what I feel nor by what I can see. I am moved only by what I believe! And I believe that it shall be for me exactly as it was told me in the Living Word of Almighty God — possessor of heaven and earth!

How about you?

Now, to keep the context of what is happening here we need to understand this verse comes in the middle of a response from Job to Zophar the Naamathite. In chapter 20 Zophar is saying only the wicked have such horrible things happen to them, insinuating that Job must not be as pure as he thinks he is. How many of you have faced a supposedly well meaning Christian who challenges your motives and tries to get you to doubt what God is doing in your life when you are facing hardship in your journey? A quick word to you, “Stand Strong in YOUR FAITH”.

So why is this a NOW word for the marketplace ministers? Glad you asked! Many people are studying materials about how to create wealth from very successful people who are not believers. In this process it is causing confusion in thier spirit and causing a block in communication with God. I am not saying you are to avoid these people and materials like the plague, yet realize their wealth is not theirs and so their counsel could impart to you the spirit that chases money rather than a “holy” spirit that shows you how to create value and use money. I do believe their is much the Church could learn from unbelievers about how to make money, yet still they will never teach us the Truth of Kingdom economics that leads to wealth because they simply can’t. The spiritual truths they do know they accessed or received illegally (I mean illegally in the spirit realm) and so trying to learn from them usually leads believers back to the tree of knowledge. Trust me, I understand the desire to learn from these successful people because for so long there has been a major lack in the Church regarding finances, and most of what was taught was absent of supernatural power and leaving the Christian business owner looking no different than the unbeliever.

O.K. So now what? Now is a season where we need to distinguish ourselves and seek the Spirit of the Lord. There needs to be a season of transformation so new information and knowledge can take root. This needs to be a time of holy distancing from all that keeps you worldly. The major challenge is this holy distancing needs not be apparent to those around you. Do not be odd and unrelatable, yet allow the Holy Spirit to safely guide you. Seek the Lord for an Inner Court; relationship with someone or a few people whom you can trust and they also desire God’s ultimate best for your life. Please do not assume someone in leadership is “always” someone you can trust (i.e. many people think their pastor is safe and then they are torn to shreds.). There is an entire lesson on how to truly find those people, yet I trust the Spirit to lead you to safe places.

Also seek the Lord for purity in your life. Why? God is calling us to live in a realm of Glory that we can not live without being of purity. The reason you want to seek this level is huge. You may have heard people talking about the anointing on someone, well that can come and go. As you learn to live and walk in the Glory Realm it is a lifestyle. It is here one comes to a greater understanding of doing business according to the Spirit.

P.S. I need your help. I need to sell our two investment properties as soon as possible. We are willing to sell these beautiful, brand new 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage homes on a fresh water canals in Cape Coral, Florida, at a very attractive price. I am no longer in a position to manage them as I want to dedicate more of my time to serving you, my clients, and all those who come to this website.