The Priestly Function in Business

by | October 5, 2022 | Courts & Council, Greatest Hits, Kingdom Corporations

The Priestly function in business deserves a practical explanation and some examples. We are not advocating that managers become pastors and their businesses become churches. However, CEO’s can bring a Kingdom culture into their business and release their staff as an ecclesia to co-labor with Father to solve society’s problems and add what’s missing (that’s the Marketplace ministry of businesses!). We introduced Priestly Leadership and provided the Biblical Basis in recent blogs.

The balanced business leader is both King and Priest. There are tangible spiritual transactions in Heaven that take place over every business. Kingdom Business has a culture that includes face time in the Courts and Council of Heaven with Father, Son, and the Seven Spirits of God. Yeah, it’s new; that’s the point! What is the nature of those priestly functions in Heaven, and what difference do they make on earth?

Father – is all about bringing many sons to glory (Heb 2:10-11), so they bring many Nations to Reformation (Mt 28:19-20). He has written His desires in our hearts. He is gathering his family and pulling sons and daughters into their inheritance. Father is all about opening His son’s books and engaging them in His work of bringing Heaven to Earth.

Tobe has a restaurant business with a clear Kingdom purpose (book) for himself, and the business mapped into Aspirations to fulfill his Kingdom assignment. He has a Compelling Story that makes sense of his past, present, and future. We use 1-on-1s in business to help our staff get their Kingdom purpose in writing. Kingdom culture is premised on the momentum of people connecting with what God wrote in their hearts. It’s powerful. That connection is the worship that comes from their work. When the Kingdom seed is planted in hearts, all by itself the soil produces (Mark 4:26-29). We all love doing what God wrote in our hearts, living out the purpose-full story in our book (Ps. 139:15-16). Sons love doing what Father does.

Jesus – is all about setting captives free from hindrance and setbacks. Spiritual warfare is present around opening books and Kingdom business culture. Accusations with roots in our family line are broken in the courts of Heaven. In the Courts of Heaven, we agree with the accusation, nail it to the cross, and trade for decrees that release books. It’s an answer to chaos at its roots.

My experience is that nearly all our staff carry accusations from generational compromise and spiritual covenants that are broken in the Courts of Heaven. It’s practical, and it works. Kingdom businesses use this priestly function to navigate the competitive and contentious mix of big egos and spiritual warfare in the real world. The priestly role is owning the responsibility to manage the spiritual atmosphere over our businesses. We go after the one to set captives free and call it priestly pursuit. We’re taking the willing to the courts of Heaven to set them free, or we go ourselves on their behalf (whatever it takes!). Sound business practices, an aligned leadership team, and personal character integrity are not a defense for spiritual warfare; nor are they an offense for releasing your Kingdom Business Book – it takes place in the spirit! Sons are both business Kings on earth and spiritual Priests in God’s Council.

Holy Spirit – connects us with the living words that proceed from Father’s heart. We come away from the council with specific decrees to implement that purpose on earth. Holy Spirit also imparts a prophetic unction to articulate Father’s purpose and the anointing to make it happen on earth. Businesspeople don’t need to be called prophets, but they do need to be prophetic (Fluent in what Father is saying and doing right now, John 5:19).

Wisdom – Father has a strategy that the spirit of wisdom reveals. The smart way to approach the fulfillment of purpose in our business book that makes our dream come true. She takes our hand and walks us through Father’s purpose; shows us His strategy; lets us in on why. Sons are not servants, happy with mindless obedience. Father wants sons who know the why behind His will and who can show initiative and creativity in co-laboring with Him.

Understanding – is navigating the tactics to implement the strategy behind Father’s purpose. There is always more than one way, and it’s often a conversation with questions and answers where we play a role in offering up ideas. As a result, we come away from the council with how to bring Heaven to Earth in our business.

Counsel – Father is doing many things on many fronts with many people. Our role gets clarity from the spirit of counsel. Staying in our lane, metron, or assignment is a big part of replacing frustration with fruit in our lives. Conversely, most of us underestimate the scope and authority Father has given us as sons. We are joint heirs of God’s Kingdom on earth, bringing Reformation to people, businesses, and Nations. Seeing my role in the context of the big picture is exhilarating.

Might – Sons carry an anointing for valor and exploits. The Spirit of Might opens a door into a courageous anointing that reminds us of David’s mighty men. Understanding Father’s purpose and my role make us dangerous to the devil and powerful in establishing God’s Kingdom on earth. We don’t back down from difficulties; we reign with Father on earth.

Knowledge – The spirit of knowledge alludes to the downloads we get in the council. Our seer gift is activated to see new ideas, new approaches, and innovations. Like our Father, we are designed to be creative; to speak to things that are not as though they are because we have already seen them in Heaven. Knowledge is the spirit behind prophetic leaders who paint where we’re going and what we’re doing.

Fear of the Lord – Once our seer gift is activated, we see books in people, and we can’t help honoring what they carry. The Kingdom is a culture of honor; we are very aware of what Father God carries, and we are in sync with what is written in the books of our brothers and sisters. We can’t help but love them and help them inherit their land because we can see it.

Devotional Ascension (how it works for me) – About 3 or 4 times a week, I sit down for an hour with a notebook and use the graphic themes as a guide to ear or see. It is going around the table in Father’s Council, listening to Heaven’s thoughts and guidance on an issue I raise or questions I bring. We go by faith, and it’s natural to question what you get. I just write the conversations or the scenes I am shown and transcribe the notes later on my laptop and save the file. If the results involve someone else, I will share the file. That works out to several stages of discerning the prophetic quality of what I get. It’s amazingly high! It has revolutionized my prayer and prophetic life in healthy, practical, and Kingdom ways. Here is a recent example.

Fruit, Ascension works in business – We beta-tested the Kingdom Business Culture Field Guide with Tobe Finch (Happy Day Restaurants). He has a clear purpose for himself and his business on a mind map, a road map of aspirations to fulfill his Kingdom assignment, and a compelling story that makes sense of his past, present, and future. The next step is honoring his 13 store managers and 550 employees with the same cultural phenomenon of Kingdom. It’s a jailbreak from the chaos and works for people, businesses, and nations!

 

Resources – The purpose of Heaven for each of us is already written in your heart and can be seen and heard in the Council. Your business can shift from a Christian business full of obedient servants to a Kingdom business full of creative and industrious sons who make a difference. We help people and businesses get their prophetic purpose in writing and then make it happen on earth. Taste and see! Tools to get started are here:

 

Other books by John S Garfield are available on Amazon:

 

 

 

 

 

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