The Bible Speaks on Business

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Bible Speaks with your host, Elgin Carelock. The Bible Speaks is a daily podcast dedicated to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, rightly dividing the Word of Truth and learning how to apply it to our daily lives.

[00:00:55] You may contact Elgin at the address given at the end of the broadcast, and now here's Elgin. Brothers and sisters, I welcome you in the name of Yeshua, how much shea, to another edition of Words of Inspiration.

[00:01:13] And today we have the pleasure of having Bishop John Jackson join us for a discussion a little different than what you might expect. We are going to talk about being a Christian in the marketplace.

[00:01:28] Our topic is, Are you a Christian in business or a Christian in the business ministry? Our spiritual inspiration comes from Luke chapter 19 verse 13. And reading from the complete Jewish Bible, it reads, calling 10 of his servants, he gave them 10 manom.

[00:01:55] A manor is about three months wages and said to them, do business with this while I'm away. Do Christians have a responsibility to take the Word of God and his expectations into the marketplace?

[00:02:13] Is there really a separation between church and state or was that done to make sure that the people who would treat others in a way that is less than what we would do are able to prevail. If it's a dog eat dog or only the fittest survived,

[00:02:35] is there a real place for a Christian in the marketplace? So that's what we're going to pick up today and I'm going to let Bishop Jackson start us off and hopefully we have something for you that will enrich your life and if it does,

[00:02:48] we just act that you share. Good day to you, sir. It's so glad to have the opportunity to be with you once again. You know it's just an honor to be an instrument and a vessel of the most high God.

[00:03:04] And it's because it's a never-a-dove moment with him. I don't understand Christians who are bored. I don't understand Christians who want to which way to go because this is the most exciting life that there is.

[00:03:19] They belong a little biased, but I love the idea of being called a child of God and I really appreciate you once again for the opportunity. You know as I've sat over the years and of course there's a lot of development now along

[00:03:35] the lines, but having been in the church world, the ministry world and been an employee then a business person, business owner and so on. I've seen such a segmentation of those things in life where we would have people that come to

[00:03:56] church and that were and I'm going back to the the 70s and particularly in certain communities where the people who were the business people was the funeral director in the hairdresser

[00:04:09] or the barber, you know are the different ones, the clothing store, the hat people and so on and so forth. And they came to church and they sat and they received from the past, from the pulpit

[00:04:25] and it was wonderful times and they helped the finance some things because they were business people. So they were also made up some of our trustee boards, a number of things which was all wonderful. But what did the word really say to us?

[00:04:46] How was this life really supposed that had been lived and I'm not taking away from anybody's theological positioning or beliefs? I've just want to come alongside with a thought that might

[00:05:04] stimulate some new ways of thinking and I'm going to say that I'm not the only one or the original one. There has been some conversation about these, some people call this seven mountains of society, they've been different names that Bill Bright came out with, Lord Cunningham.

[00:05:25] There were some other individuals also along the lines of Dr. Miles Monroe that had started talking about different things and I'm saying this because it originated in the word of God but truth is progressive and we have to understand that it is continuously developed.

[00:05:47] And that's what I look at but when we look back at Scripture too, we looked at the fact that when Jesus was talking to Peter and Peter wasn't Greek with his Petra or Rock.

[00:06:01] And he said, oh, I shall build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. But also that term happens to mean the clasia, the called out ones, the separated ones.

[00:06:20] What's leads me to believe that there is a mindset, a concept of the kingdom and let me undergird this by saying in the Lord's prayer when he talked about thy kingdom come,

[00:06:38] thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Now that means you have to open up your thinking to understand that there is a difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven or

[00:06:51] heavens. And in a place where we are, a place that's above the earth is the heavens but where the kingdom of God is, is where God is, is where the be thing originates out of the mind of God

[00:07:03] to come into the earth and realm. And so when we're looking at it that way then it says, well, come King will God be done will of God and so that means that God has a plan for every

[00:07:16] echelon of society to function according to his will and his way. Now last time I checked was that he said, I know the plans that I have for you and those plans are good. Not for your

[00:07:30] harm, that for your hurt, but for your good. Now I was just speaking with Dr. Carelock and we were kind of chuckling about some things and challenges in life and what have you and the Oachis and

[00:07:42] the Awees of going through different things as we transcend through different things in our lives that come against our lives to make us a better version of ourselves on the way to the destiny

[00:07:56] that God has for us in the earth and realm. So, you know, he allows our lives to be touch, he allows us to be squeezed in many areas and it's for our development because he creates the

[00:08:08] capacity and the release of his economy is going to be based on the capacity that he has for us. Our ability to increase our competency to fulfill those capacity and because there are degrees

[00:08:26] of that, this degrees of release of his economy to meet that particular need. So it's interesting that when people talk about, oh you're going to the nations and you're doing all these type of

[00:08:39] different things and I see multiple houses and multiply millions of dollars well if you're in a position right now where you're having a problem balancing your checkbook. Try not to look for the millions

[00:08:50] this week, you know, he may be next week or something else that that comes in because it's the truth is not only progressive but truth evolves and causes you to evolve so when we're looking forward

[00:09:05] at this thing about the marketplace in the scriptures that the Lord has given us and I asked that question many of us are Christians and we're in business and we'll come to church and we

[00:09:19] will say okay because we thought that ministry was only in the church. Ministry was evangelism, ministry was domestic and all foreign missions and we cared for other people and we're a business

[00:09:33] person we would you know under rights certain events and what have you and we would feel good about ourselves which is rightfully so it would help in families, feeding families, clothing families,

[00:09:44] some people get displaced and we think that we you know we were doing ministry I don't want to say we think we're doing ministry we were doing a form of ministry but if you will indulge me at this time

[00:09:58] to consider there's a bigger picture in that so what are we looking at we're looking at a Christian and the business of ministry that we have taken on a business and I'm going to use the words

[00:10:13] Dr. Mausman Rowan he said as Kingdom people we're not in business to make money but to solve a problem which will invariably will make us more money than we could ask to think or imagine that's

[00:10:28] my addition on that because we're solving the problem of local community we're solving a problem meeting the needs of our clients and therefore we prosper out of that wherever God guides he provides so therefore it's not that you're the difference and I was asked a question the difference

[00:10:52] of a Christian being in business and in a Christian in the big ministry of business is that their focus is different their thought processes of how they look at the idea

[00:11:05] of getting money how they look at the idea what they're going to do with it and I'll use just for one example and there are so many people in business that have really made ministry their business

[00:11:18] and we talk about Ephesians 411 and 12 as well the 5fold ministry I submit to you that there are people who operate from the Apostle of the Apostle of the Apostle of the Apostle of the

[00:11:28] Evangelistic and Teaching offices in the market place and another time we can elaborate on those areas but what does that actually look like it is something that has to be developed in people

[00:11:44] because of a mindset change and the story I'm thinking about is an individual who was a business person and spent most of his days seeking the face of the Lord before he went into the office

[00:11:56] and even sitting in the office praising and worshiping God take him time out with God and say Lord this is your business what do you want me to do with it today? What doors do you have

[00:12:09] open for me to for me and the door that I need to knock on that is designed by you to open to take me where I need to. The big difference then the old days are pulling out the phone book and

[00:12:22] just trying to flip page and waiting till your finger drops on something because I'm going to call that person or I'm going to reach out to that particular individual and hoping and praying that

[00:12:32] God will bless it. There's a different positioning that when you have sought the face of God and he gives you a market to approach or he helps you understand market trends and you move

[00:12:47] in certain areas and that's just to be getting it. I'm sure you have a response in that particular area so are you going to slow down here for a moment and hear your heart certain? Well,

[00:12:58] you know the scripture certainly bears out what you're saying and if you think about business from the standpoint of the two greatest commandments it is all you really need to know that

[00:13:14] to build a thriving business because if you love the Lord with all your heart mind and so then you ascribe to Colossians 3 versus 23 through 24 reading from the NIV says whatever you do

[00:13:30] work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord not for human masters since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving

[00:13:45] so if I come in there and I am giving the understanding that my words, my actions, my dees are driven by the Holy Spirit. It says different interaction and so now the second part of

[00:14:01] the greatest commandment was to love that neighbor as I self and so for us business people that term is value that you are to offer so much value that someone's willing to give money for it and so

[00:14:17] the description reference to that or back up to that would be Proverbs 11 verse 1 and again reading from the NIV says the Lord detests this on the scales but accurate weights find favor with

[00:14:34] him so if I come in trying to cheat you he doesn't like that and that's why it doesn't work but if I am fair and I offer a lot of value to you and make sure that you're getting what you need

[00:14:50] then he will make sure that I get what I need and so many times as business people we overlooked the fact that we are dealing with our brothers and sisters some even look at him as victims

[00:15:05] you know when I was in the retail business I worked for a company that called them Vix that's what they call when somebody walked through the door they said oh he is the next big who's certain is who's up is it

[00:15:20] and they expected us to go out there and bamboozle and do anything we had to to get that money out of their pocket instead of looking at it from the standpoint of this is a child a guide and as a person who

[00:15:35] describes to the Christian belief system I should be going at them trying to solve whatever problem that drove them into our presence and doing that through a point of the fruit of the

[00:15:49] spirit right that we're using our compassion and our love and our joy and our peace to connect and then once we made that connection I can find out how I can help you with the the gift

[00:16:02] that God gave me the talent that God gave me to solve that problem you know you said something so amazing it just made me think about when you talk about Vix and I've been in that kind of industries

[00:16:14] as well you know who's up is it what have you whether it's a real upper not and so on and but we were going to get out of the individual we who are kingdom people there's a mindset that

[00:16:28] has to be different than the mindset of the world otherwise how else would we win the world to Christ and there are people that would never come to church when Christ is street to hear a certain

[00:16:43] preacher no matter how talented or correctly correct how he could exugesis the Scriptures and so on it'd be you know they won't do that but you're the living a pistol that God can put in the market

[00:16:56] place and your life will speak your character and your integrity will speak and here you know I'm going to take a little deep dive here and address something that I'm seeing in the political arena

[00:17:12] and this is a situation where as the people of God was supposed to refuse to conform to this world but will be transformed by the renewing of our minds and let this mind be also in us that's

[00:17:25] in Christ Jesus some of us may be part of a political party system or belief but predominantly the primary ruling force and thought process is supposed to be based on the word of God and the

[00:17:43] kingdom and therefore that we have our beliefs and we have the things that we shared but if we really look at it's not going to be it's really not about the the party systems what's

[00:17:57] part of you is is there's someone it is about what is the mind and heart of God and how we can connect how we can be inclusive instead of exclusive I'm here at Dr. Kilba just saying in reference to

[00:18:10] about sharing the the love of God and the character in nature of God the ways of the Lord we can't do that from a place of hatred we cannot do that from a place of bitterness we cannot do that

[00:18:22] you know from the thing of what even when people mistreated Jesus and there were things that were done that were done wrong and he said that these things were done wrong but from our position

[00:18:33] we're not supposed to be thinking about harming the others not supposed to be thinking about insulting the others or doing the things even physical harm and so on and this is something

[00:18:47] that we have to follow if we who have so much begin to share what it is that we have let the Lord work it out he said let the wheat and the tear grow together at the end of the

[00:19:02] day it has to be about his mindset and the way that he looks at that so this is a total different process of thinking when we're talking about the marketplace where it's in the education system

[00:19:15] what is the best thing for the children I'm a believer that any area in political arena we have social ills there are some major issues but outside of the mind of God regardless of a party

[00:19:31] we are serving we're not going to get kingdom results because there was going to be kingdom results are going to be something has already been taken place in heaven and settled in heaven

[00:19:42] and therefore it is going to be released on the earth and that's the place that we're supposed to come together in its inclusiveness and see this is something even in the business world

[00:19:55] when we talk about if we look at the Old Testament New Testament in reality there was no separation of church in state the church the prophets the ones they enter see the rule they got the minds

[00:20:08] of God the God the directives of God they decided who the next kings were going to be God spoke and before wars or anything of that nature he dictated as to what the war was going to be

[00:20:20] what they was supposed to do in that war with the spoils, with the people and so on and so forth and we you know so we have to think in this hour more so than ever the operation of the

[00:20:33] king and the priest coming together because I believe that we are in a Joseph Daniel type of error of operations of things and we need divine strategies and time music God in order to bring forth

[00:20:51] the plan of God because no one group no one culture no one economic position knows everything we know is what the future is going to hold we'd like to believe that we go to places

[00:21:04] try to find that out unfortunately sometimes in the wrong methods but we need to find our God is saying in that because we need to operate as a priest in a king of the Lord in our

[00:21:16] businesses just like we wanted to see it done in the churches in our families and that we use that versus you know KPIs and other business matrices that we use in order to drive our

[00:21:28] business because what if the Lord spoke to you this is what I was going to be for in the individual who got told him to take $10,000 out of his account and go and bless a particular

[00:21:41] ministry and do certain things now the individual had to pay role to cover pay role need to be turned in by Thursday and this particular point it was already going on Tuesday and he jumped

[00:21:52] in he because of what he already had established his business on what is the foundation of your business so if your Christian has been business versus your a Christian in the ministry of business

[00:22:10] there's where the differentiation will come in at because of our level of dedication of the work that it totally belongs to the Lord and he can turn it into a spit in of the way that he wants

[00:22:24] to because again he is faithful he said faithful to who had promised who will also bring it to pass so he gave out the finance no idea where the money was going to come from to cover payroll just

[00:22:38] before Thursday hit he got a phone call about something they had put proposals out and one person called them and says you know you gave me a proposal quite a few months ago and I'm ready to pull

[00:22:50] the trigger on that can I have your wire you can't have been that don't take much thought when it emptied your account that's right and waiting for something of that nature to happen

[00:23:00] and when he did that it more than almost tripled what he had before and so obedience yes no obedience comes in there and that's a beautiful thing well and in first Timothy 6

[00:23:17] verses 18 and 19 it says command them to do good to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share in this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation

[00:23:33] for the coming age so that they may take whole of life that is truly life you see so so he saying that when you do those things that Bishop is talking about that you're laying the foundation

[00:23:49] for the wealth that we otherwise pursued naturally through listening to John Maxwell and Zig Zigler and all these other techniques when we have already been given the power and the ability to obtain

[00:24:04] those things by simply executing the purpose for which we were on the planet and that purpose is multifaceted yes there are things that we do in the ecclesia that will pour into people's lives

[00:24:18] from the spiritual standpoint but but God's got that covered okay so he said what I need you to do is let me guide you in the earth and realm you are fleshling you're the one that's down there

[00:24:31] so here's what I want to do for you if you keep in mind that whatever you do unto them whether it's to least to these or the greatest of these you do unto him if you use that as the

[00:24:46] guiding business principle imagine how the conversations go when you have a customer who has a complaint instead of trying to obviously gave responsibility or make it out as they're wrong or they're the ones that are being unreasonable you're trying to say well you know how would Jesus

[00:25:06] look at this scenario how would I deal with it and and as I have said to my wife on many occasions you cannot come up with a scenario that you can't go into scripture and find a solution

[00:25:21] Jesus knew about AI 2000 years ago but if he'd imagine that you thought it was you know we've been like what what's the AI nothing surprises God that's part of the reason Jesus said

[00:25:35] that we will do greater things because he knows about the tools that we would have but when we get those tools if our only motivation is our own self-aggrandizement there's a college where for you

[00:25:48] then he's thinking you missed the point and then it's short lived right so we'll have this decision of of great gain and gathering and by houses and cars and fancy clothes but when it turns

[00:26:02] to just being about you it will always fail it will always fail we understand that we were put on earth to have dominion and that wasn't dominion from the standpoint of oppression or being able to say

[00:26:20] I'm you know big I little you it was dominion driven by love driven by compassion driven by concern for the other person I shared a story with with Bishop Jackson about a young man who was

[00:26:35] doing some work at my house and to make a long story short he was only paid to do one job but notice that the product was defective and changed all of the things on my house the

[00:26:52] same way and tried to not charge us in any more money when I realized what he'd done I asked him to give me back the check that my wife gave him and I wrote him a check for 50% more

[00:27:08] why two reasons because out of the compassion of his heart he could not in good conscious walk away knowing that my home needed something that he could fix and then secondly the word says

[00:27:26] that God is a rewarder for those who diligently seek him so it was that his compel he was being compelled by the Holy Spirit to fix the rest of my house even though he wasn't going to ask for

[00:27:37] anyone and I wanted to be the instrument through his God be watered up you know that's a powerful thing and see this is again what separates us when we are moving in the marketplace this is supernatural

[00:27:56] aspect of the marketplace not a spooky spiritual aspect there is something that dead because the Bible tells us we're going to go to a third god or a man and that's only place in

[00:28:09] scripture where something like that is met and man and a power of man is a governing force that's been governing throughout the world and so it's something interesting to think about when

[00:28:20] you get an opportunity so we as a business people that are evolving that there are things that have not existed in the earth before that the earth needs now they're so therefore God is trying to

[00:28:33] get a people that will look at things differently well he can as he said in his passage the scripture where he opened up their understanding and put the knowledge in them so there's an infusion of knowledge

[00:28:48] something that has not existed at any collegiate level because when it's coming through a human being there are strict limitations on it particularly when something that has been repeated over experience of time it can lose its effectiveness or lose an interpretation of things that is there

[00:29:10] but there's an old staying back in the 70s when there's something I hot off the press you know and something that came straight from the throne of God to individuals I believe Dr. Carellide

[00:29:20] did this is where we are at this particular point so we have to realize okay it's a town as business people do we are we recognizing divine appointments you know and while we the

[00:29:33] divine appointments I believe that that individual who came to do the work on your home there was a divine appointment. Moko he got there from the point of getting hired for a job but God

[00:29:44] had another plan for him and it was probably another need in his life or something in his cash flow with anybody in business or low cash flow that little thing that keeps you going okay

[00:29:53] if you won't have it you will not be in business long so and could have met a need that he was not going to voice Dr. Carellide probably wouldn't have never met Dr. Carellide because he was doing

[00:30:04] with the home and probably the wife and wrote the check and so on so here at the end of that the divine appointment to line up and someone whose heart was prepared to be a blessing didn't

[00:30:16] realize that how much of a blessing they might have been this is something that we can explore and change multiplied millions of people's lives here in the United States of America this

[00:30:32] should not be a homeless person this should not be a hungry person this should not be there's opportunity now we can't make everyone do anything you know we can't do that you can this the

[00:30:44] old people you just thought you can need a horse to worry but you can't make them drink and that's the reality but the opportunities they're asting and ways of getting things done that are in

[00:30:54] the mind of God and he wants to share with you and I'll close with this particular statement something else that we build businesses and we establish our business as unto the Lord is what

[00:31:06] our belief systems but are we actually cultivating a kingdom culture in the company so I know that in my personal business that I am a soul member you know this is oh that's it but I mean

[00:31:24] challenge in the thought processes of that because I bring more to the table than just that how many other lives can I speak into that will have to be granted the opportunity to be around me every

[00:31:38] day that I could pour into out an industry that they may never have an opportunity to have access to or they would not be able to take the unnecessary pressures that are applied to the lives

[00:31:52] of people or the unnecessary scrutiny to be in that industry and so I have to think about that so now I'm waiting in the presence of the Lord is to direct this because I'm being called something

[00:32:06] else as well so it's like I'm hearing you know have to do a hand off you're going to have to do a hand off so I'm going hand off what to who in that situation so I want to share that with you

[00:32:20] today and I'm sure that someone is going to hear this podcast and it's going to be a blessing to you today yes and just go along or follow up to the young man that did the work on my house

[00:32:33] I'm working on a project where we're restoring a house what a guess who I call I call them just a few moments ago and he's going to work on this project so here's the second part of the blessing

[00:32:47] for him being diligent for him taking his function that the Holy Spirit gave him and it lead to blessings far beyond what he anticipated so brothers and sisters Christians and the marketplace have a profound responsibility to embody their faith through ethical conduct exemplary work

[00:33:10] evangelism and social responsibility by living out these principles we not only on a guide but also serve as a testimony to his transforming power in our lives influencing the world around us for good and his disapproach to faith and work together that underscores the importance

[00:33:35] of integrating Christian values into every aspect of our professional lives I thank you for joining us on today I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to our conversation on Sunday until then God bless. The Bible speaks is sponsored by C squared reality and new

[00:34:05] gen construction group to help spread the gospel to the corners of the earth if anything you've heard put into your life please share it with someone you can find the Bible speaks on Spotify Amazon music, Deezer and many more follow us on youtube at the Bible speaks online

[00:34:31] you may contact Elgin at PO box 5582 or California 34478 or by email at the Bible speaks online at gmail.com