9
Oct

Anointed for Business

   Posted by: Jim Watkins   in Marketplace Messages

One of the greatest dangers of our society is that we are constantly trying to separate the secular from the sacred.. and the Lord never intended it so. That is why there is such a lack of business leaders today with true integrity. We think that we act a certain way at church and another way in business. The true “kings” today recognize they have a calling that is just as spiritual and just as essential to establishing God’s Kingdom as any preacher that ever graced a pulpit.

In fact, many business leaders that I know have a much higher pulpit than most preachers ever aspire. It is imperative that we as the body of Christ begin to recognize the callings of God on the “Kings in the House”.

Often when we hear a sermon or think about the need for revival and the steps that are necessary to achieve revival in the church our first reaction is to think that the church meetings will be more lively, more will be encouraged, maybe even a few will get saved.

Did you ever stop to think that the very steps a person would take to bring revival in the church are the same steps that you need to take to transform your business or profession?

For instance, revival has been accurately described as a time when God’s life is poured out on His church. When His Glory comes and fills His temple ( and we are the body of Christ is His temple)! In Exodus 25:8 He tells us that He wants to LIVE in our midst, that His desire is that we make Him a sanctuary or dwelling place.

Do you have any idea how that would transform your job, business or profession if that happened to you?

God has given precise instructions on how to prepare a Holy place for Him to dwell. If we follow the pattern then God will come!

In Leviticus 6:8-13 we are instructed to offer a burnt offering and that it is to be a continual offering. In Hebrews we are told to offer up the sacrifice of praise continually. A voluntary act of worship is expressing your commitment and complete surrender. To recognize that it is God alone that empowers you and enables you to do the things He has called you to do.

And YES that is for business as much as it is for the pulpit. Mr. Banker, Mrs. Salesperson, Mr. Truck Driver, Mrs. Farmer , it takes us all in. You are called of God to minister in the marketplace and you need the power of God and the anointing of God as much as any preacher that ever lived!

In Leviticus 6:14 we find the law of the Grain offering which speaks of provision. Begin to thank God for His great provision for your business. Take nothing for granted and never believe that it was your own ability that accomplished your tasks. If it was, your tasks are too small! The Lord takes pleasure in providing what you stand in need of to accomplish your calling in the earth.

For many years I worked as a computer programmer starting back in the early sixties when the only computers were huge main frames. The programs that we wrote back then had esoteric names like IBM 360 Assembler Language. Many times I had to call upon the Lord to help me to have wisdom in “debugging” a problem. Back then when a problem occurred the computer would create a “core dump”. Basically, it would just start printing everything that was in the core memory at the time of the error. The only problem is that it was printed in hexadecimal. I know, I’ve probably lost you by now. Hexadecimal is a base 15 mathematical language. A certain digit represents a letter and so on. At any rate, when you have a “core dump” you have hundreds of pages of funny looking characters that have to be deciphered one at a time. Many times when faced with such a problem, I had to cry out to the Lord for help. And you know what? He helped me! The answer would come as I worked over that report, silently praying, seeking guidance. I still had to work at it, sweat over it but so many times the answer would leap out at me. I gave Him the credit. I was thankful for the provision.

Leviticus 24:2-4 tells us about the Golden Lampstands which is a symbol of the Holy Spirit releasing revelation from God. Look for and depend on that revelation of the Holy Spirit concerning your work. He has promised to give you what you stand in need of. He will reveal to you the secrets of the universe if you’ll only ask Him!

The Altar of Incense in Exodus 30:7-8 is a symbol of God’s people’s prayers. Vs 8,”And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations.

Continual worship Continual thanksgiving Continual fellowship with His Spirit Continual prayer Wherever these conditions are met, the Lord says He will meet with us THERE! Exodus 29:42-46. I will speak with you there. I will meet with you there. It shall be consecrated by my Glory. I will dwell among the sons of Israel.

The Key to Continual Revival

Where there is continual praise, prayer, thanksgiving and worship, God’s presence will come! It doesn’t say it has to be in a church on Sunday morning (although He wants it there too). He says where ever He finds someone that is meeting those four conditions, He will manifest Himself in you.

Let’s have Revival in our business this week.

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9
Oct

The Role of a King

   Posted by: Jim Watkins   in Marketplace Messages

Rev 1:6 “And has made us Kings and Priests to his God and Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Let us look at the role of a “King”. I know that some folks still have trouble with this terminology. At the risk of being redundant, let us review the callings and functions of “Priests and Kings”.

All blood washed believers qualify for the title of “Priest and King”. The difference is simply in our calling of God in life. If we are a part of the five fold ministry, (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher) then we function primarily as “Priests in the House”. All others function primarily as “Kings in the House”. These titles represent our callings in a far superior way than the terms: “clergy : laity”, “sacred : secular”, etc.

The task of the “Priests in the House”, is to teach, train and lead by example in the areas of character, integrity, humbleness, meekness, submission, biblical knowledge, and other such attributes. Take special notice of this assignment as we study the task of the “Kings in the House”.

First of all, let us establish the fact that we are all called to be ministers of Christ. Remember, the clergy : laity division is not of God. We are all called to the FULL-TIME Ministry.

II Cor 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Rom 13:1 - Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good.

Ministers:
The definition of the word minister from Strong’s Concordance.
1. Li-toorg-os’ (liturgy)
The combination of two Greek words. Lah-os’ and ergon.
Lah-os’ ? a primitive word meaning a people
Ergon - to work or toil as an effort or occupation; by implication. An act, deed, doing, labour, work.

Isn’t interesting that the word minister or ministry basically means a people at work?

The kind of Ministry that Kings Perform:
Jer 22:1-5 Thus says the Lord: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates! Thus says the Lord: “Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. For if you indeed do this thing, then shall enter the gates of this house, riding on horses and in chariots, accompanied by servants and people, kings who sit on the throne of David. But if you will not hear these words, I swear by Myself,” says the Lord, “that this house shall become a desolation” ‘ “

The role of a “King” is much more than handing out Gospel tracts or reciting the 4 spiritual laws. Yes, much more than that!

Kings are to make things better! To make wrong things right!

Are people in our society oppressed? Do they need a deliverer?

Hear O King! You have the power to execute judgment and righteousness in the marketplace. Your ministry is not to just hand out tracts (there is a place for that) but to change the moral climate of the marketplace!

But, isn’t that what preachers are for? Isn’t that their job?

Eph 4:11-12 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.

No longer can the “Kings in the House” be considered a Cash Cow for the ministry of the church. They have a higher calling than that! They are called to correct social ills and deliver the oppressed.

Do you see the relationship between the “Priests in the House” and the “Kings in the House”?

The task of the “Priests in the House”, is to teach, train and lead by example in the areas of character, integrity, humbleness, meekness, submission, biblical knowledge, and other such attributes.

The Kings must be trained to model this same teaching, leadership in the marketplace that the Priests are modeling in God’s House! There must be a partnership between the Kings and Priests that is based on equality and respect for one another’s callings and functions in the Kingdom of God!

The Christian workplace should be the model for the marketplace to emulate.

We must change the mindset of getting the most out of our employees to bringing out the BEST in our employees.

Mark 10:43-45 Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.

Servant Leadership: The ingredient in the marketplace that will transform the world.

The biggest hindrance to fulfilling our roles as Kings and marketplace ministers is a lack of faith on our part. The world tells us that if we don’t treat people a certain way they will run over us and take advantage of our good intentions. We must believe God that He will honor His Word if we implement His plan into our businesses and jobs. If you want a powerful breakthrough in your business……..
We must learn how to trust one another to obey God.

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