One of the prominent failure scenarios in Kingdom business is that we correctly understand Father’s purpose and run out of money trying to do it. It doesn’t help to come from a religious background where another offering solves every cash flow problem under the God is our provider theology. People also believe that other people’s money (OPM) will pay for their vision. That translates to a charitable foundation! In business. The same OPM attitude shows up as venture capital or shareholders in a business startup with an 80% chance of failing in the first two years, even though the whole initiative started with the will of God.
OK, How – do we balance creating value and financial solvency versus expecting God to provide miraculously? It starts with how we hear from God and get the prophetically correct direction. First, let’s contrast our traditional charismatic tradition with Kingdom. Something new is happening.
Charismatic – God does show us things to come (Rev. 4:1). We can discern it, feel it, and know it’s true. Faith has tangible substance. It’s more than what we hope for or screw up our optimism to believe. Faith comes from God speaking and us hearing every word that proceeds from the Father’s mouth (Mt. 4:4 and Rom. 10:14). Spirit-filled believers do hear from God, period.
Kingdom – Kingdom business doesn’t stop at getting direction from God. Sons are in God’s Council, having conversations about why, how, and when. It’s the difference between a charismatic word and a Kingdom conversation. God’s council includes Jesus and the seven spirits of God, and they each carry a different facet of the purpose in Father’s heart. We use 7 Spirit Cue Cards as reminders of the unique emphasis similar to the summary below. Hard copies are available at www.OnlineHeartPlan.com.
The conversation that goes with Father’s word in the Council touches on these kinds of amplification.
- Father – hear every word that proceeds from His mouth and conveys His purpose
- Jesus – the living word makes it alive
- Holy Spirit – The spirit of truth behind it
- Wisdom – the strategy of Heaven to implement Father’s purpose
- Understanding – the tactics that make the strategy work
- Counsel – your role in the context of your Book/Calling
- Might – the spirit of your authority (warfare, courts of Heaven)
- Knowledge – The revelatory download (the keeper truth we take with us, summary)
- Fear of the Lord – the honor, the culture of being a son who carries Father’s purpose
The Work – The second dimension of sonship is that when we are clear on Father’s purpose, we’re not afraid to roll up our sleeves and work on it. Charismatic prophecy focuses on what God will do and waiting for Him to do it. In the Kingdom, the focus shifts to what God’s sons can do and the initiatives we take in a Spirit of Wisdom to bring Father’s purpose to earth. For example, sons and daughters in the business mountain carry a unique anointing/ministry to simultaneously create value and bring new wealth to the earth. Father co-labors with them to expand the Kingdom, expand the level of abundance and the blessing on nations.
Matt 25:16 – Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. NKJV
Traded (ergazomai G2038 = Work) doesn’t convey passive income, it conveys value via Work.
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- Jn 5:17 – My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too am working
- Acts 18:3 – Because (Paul) was a tentmaker, he stayed and worked with them.
- 1 Cor 4:12 – We work hard with our own hands
- Eph 4:28 – must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
- Col 3:23 – Whatever you do, work at it with all our heart as working for the Lord
- 1 Thess 4:11 – Work with your hands, just as we told you
- Gen 26:12 – Isaac planted crops in that land (Work) and in the same year reaped one hundredfold because the Lord blessed him
Managing Cash Flow – There is one single reason businesses go out of business. One day the bank account is empty because somebody didn’t do the work of wisely stewarding the direction of the business. What is amazing is that profits and revenue can be going up, and by all outward appearances, everything is rosy.
The sad truth is that Christians hear from Father regarding their business. It’s a source of optimism and God’s favor that is real. However, they mistakenly expect God to provide for their finances instead of managing the cash flow themselves. Expanding the business and borrowing for growth can be traps that kill the company and leave owners mad at the banker and God. It’s a scenario that God expects sons to fix. That’s why we’re here – to bring Heaven to earth in our business.
Businesses always represent some combination of walking through a door God has opened and fulfilling a dream in our heart – it is often a dream God wrote in our heart, so it’s not wrong. Those are two good reasons why a business failure is particularly crushing. We are left unable to trust ourselves and God.
What’s the answer? – Cash flow is an accounting term few people understand, and even fewer have any natural appetite to navigate. Do you mean God might want me to do something I don’t enjoy???
It really means getting the help you need to steward your initiative. Cash flow is something you do before you even start a business to see if it will work in the first place. That level is called a business plan. The same logic is used to monitor the health and expansion of a growing business. We don’t just run the business because it’s fun, and God has called us to it. We steward the financials to faithfully and wisely increase the value we provide and the cash flow that value creates.
If that doesn’t sound spiritual, it just means you have never had a conversation with the Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding; the reason we go to God’s counsel (so we don’t have to go to His woodshed).
- Deut 8:5 – Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. NIV
- Matt 25:30 – And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ NIV
- Heb 12:5-6 – “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” NIV
Actions that Bless Businesses
- Get the full conversation in the council instead of just running with a charismatic word.
- Do the work of creating value through your business.
- Get your banker, bookkeeper, or accountant to help you monitor cash flow.
- Consider Kingdom business coaching for both linktr.ee/johngarfield.
Click to access 2023-02-11-Kingdom-Biz-Coaching.pdf
Cutting Room Floor
G4137 Pleroo – full / fulfilled (the word is fulfilled, bears fruit, cash flows, overflows)
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- Jn 15:11, Jn16:24 – That you joy might be full
- Acts 2:2 – a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house
- Acts 13:52 – Disciples were filled with Joy and with the Holy Ghost
- Eph 1:22-23 – the church which is his body the fullness of him who fills everything in every way
- Eph 5:18 – Be filled with the Spirit
- Phil 4:19 – My God shall supply all your needs according to his Riches in Christ Jesus
- Col 1:25 – To fulfill the Word of God
G4124 Pleres – replete, covered over, full
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- Mt 24:20 – remained 12 baskets full
- Lu 4:1 – Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost
- Jn 1:14 – only begotten full of grace and truth
- Acts 6:3 – seven men full of faith of the Holy Ghost
- Acts 6:5 – Stephen a man full of Faith and of the Holy Ghost
- Mark 4:28 – All by itself the soil produces first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel
Gen 1:28 – Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion ESV
Ps 72:19 – may the whole earth be filled with his glory
Jn 7:38 – out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water
Business Sons in their Kingdom purpose and culture multiply and fill the earth with glory (Reformation)
