Monday, August 27, 2007
Treasures In The Marketplace
Ps.Steve Ogan breakfast meeting 27/8/07.
The market place is a sphere of vast potential, with multi-dimensional resources which we can tap into. Sadly, often we do not see the potential of the market place that is in our midst. Successful people in the likes of Henry Ford and Bill Gates were not only great innovators, but were able to see something in the invisible realm that others could not. They saw the invisible, dreamt the incredible and received the unbelievable.
So pray and ask the Lord to open your eyes to "see" (Psalms 119:8). The poorest person in this world is not the person without money, but the person who has no vision, and he whom cannot see. The market place has countless treasures; of the physical - the gold, rubies and royal riches; and the spiritual which is priceless. The physical treasures be of more glitter, but the spiritual with eternal value.
It will be too myopic for anyone to see the treasures of the market place as just a pot of 'gold'. At an outset we can categorize them into:
These days most currencies are not backed by any gold reserves. But a currency provides a medium of exchange. In any economic down turn, remember cash is 'king'.
Good infrastructure is important for transportation, communication and premises for which business is to be conducted. Infrastructure includes not only buildings, highways but the IT infrastructure in today's borderless world. We can now communicate with someone across the globe, at a different time zone at the click of a button, and cheaply.
If you read Isaiah 45:2-3, God will give us the treasure of darkness and riches stored in secret places. If you read the Hebrew word of darkness "chosek", it literally means "in the dark" or "obscure." The Hebrew word for secret "mictaariym" means concealed. God had deposited all these treasures there (Gen2:11) that his children may discover them.
In Ezra Chapter 5, God showed how he can use resources from those who oppose our vision. God was intending to use resources of the Royal Treasury (Ezra 6:4), from the revenue of Trans-Euphrates (Ezra 6:8) to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. It was the governor of Trans-Euphrates, Tattenai who was one of the 2 main opponents to rebuilding the wall.
Some of the values in this category of treasures are implicit - living to God's standards; right partnership (equally yolked); right weights and scales.
Jacob was shortchanged by Laban for many years, yet you could say he had the final laugh. But it was by divine revelation in a dream which he learnt the idea of separating the speckled and streaked livestock (Gen 31:6) for great personal profit.
It has been said, it is not the lack of money being the problem, but the lack of ideas. Pray that the Lord gives us divine ideas.
Sometimes the Lord may give us a one-off miracle like that which fed 5,000 people.
All the material things to a Christian are a means to an end, but not an end in itself. All the world's riches and king's treasure cannot redeem a single soul from hell. If you look for souls, God will give you the "cash", the means for God's redemptive work that not a single soul shall perish.
The Bible says he who wins souls is wise (Pv 11:30). It is our mandate. Will you play your role in God's redemptive plan he began for mankind the moment Adam fell into sin?
In the market place we have a duty as God's children to lead people into righteousness (Daniel 12:3-4). The greatest treasure in the market place is in the missionary, and not the monetary. The greatest treasure in the market place is the soul, and not the silver. If you still cannot arrive at this revelation, just look at the impermanence of the physical treasures.
In this fast pace market place, with technologies ever evolving and obsolete, where does the divine fit in? Arguably it is in the (1)visionary and; the (2) missionary.
There are are many critical success factor in the market place, but it all starts with a vision, for the poorest man is not the one without money, but the one without vision. The vision should not only be limited to material treasures, but also encompass a burning heart for souls. Secondly, the market place is undeniably the world's greatest mission field. In this marketplace, the vision and mission are complementary.
The market place is a sphere of vast potential, with multi-dimensional resources which we can tap into. Sadly, often we do not see the potential of the market place that is in our midst. Successful people in the likes of Henry Ford and Bill Gates were not only great innovators, but were able to see something in the invisible realm that others could not. They saw the invisible, dreamt the incredible and received the unbelievable.
So pray and ask the Lord to open your eyes to "see" (Psalms 119:8). The poorest person in this world is not the person without money, but the person who has no vision, and he whom cannot see. The market place has countless treasures; of the physical - the gold, rubies and royal riches; and the spiritual which is priceless. The physical treasures be of more glitter, but the spiritual with eternal value.
Multi-dimensional
It will be too myopic for anyone to see the treasures of the market place as just a pot of 'gold'. At an outset we can categorize them into:
1).Monetary treasure or cash
These days most currencies are not backed by any gold reserves. But a currency provides a medium of exchange. In any economic down turn, remember cash is 'king'.
2).Infrastructure
Good infrastructure is important for transportation, communication and premises for which business is to be conducted. Infrastructure includes not only buildings, highways but the IT infrastructure in today's borderless world. We can now communicate with someone across the globe, at a different time zone at the click of a button, and cheaply.
3). Mineral treasure & precious metals
If you read Isaiah 45:2-3, God will give us the treasure of darkness and riches stored in secret places. If you read the Hebrew word of darkness "chosek", it literally means "in the dark" or "obscure." The Hebrew word for secret "mictaariym" means concealed. God had deposited all these treasures there (Gen2:11) that his children may discover them.
4). Man-made information
In Ezra Chapter 5, God showed how he can use resources from those who oppose our vision. God was intending to use resources of the Royal Treasury (Ezra 6:4), from the revenue of Trans-Euphrates (Ezra 6:8) to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. It was the governor of Trans-Euphrates, Tattenai who was one of the 2 main opponents to rebuilding the wall.
5).Moral treasures of integrity
Some of the values in this category of treasures are implicit - living to God's standards; right partnership (equally yolked); right weights and scales.
6).Miraculous treasures of divine ideas
Jacob was shortchanged by Laban for many years, yet you could say he had the final laugh. But it was by divine revelation in a dream which he learnt the idea of separating the speckled and streaked livestock (Gen 31:6) for great personal profit.
It has been said, it is not the lack of money being the problem, but the lack of ideas. Pray that the Lord gives us divine ideas.
7).Divine encounters
Sometimes the Lord may give us a one-off miracle like that which fed 5,000 people.
8).Missionary treasures of souls
All the material things to a Christian are a means to an end, but not an end in itself. All the world's riches and king's treasure cannot redeem a single soul from hell. If you look for souls, God will give you the "cash", the means for God's redemptive work that not a single soul shall perish.
The Bible says he who wins souls is wise (Pv 11:30). It is our mandate. Will you play your role in God's redemptive plan he began for mankind the moment Adam fell into sin?
Seek Him First
In the market place we have a duty as God's children to lead people into righteousness (Daniel 12:3-4). The greatest treasure in the market place is in the missionary, and not the monetary. The greatest treasure in the market place is the soul, and not the silver. If you still cannot arrive at this revelation, just look at the impermanence of the physical treasures.
FAST PACE WORLD
In this fast pace market place, with technologies ever evolving and obsolete, where does the divine fit in? Arguably it is in the (1)visionary and; the (2) missionary.
There are are many critical success factor in the market place, but it all starts with a vision, for the poorest man is not the one without money, but the one without vision. The vision should not only be limited to material treasures, but also encompass a burning heart for souls. Secondly, the market place is undeniably the world's greatest mission field. In this marketplace, the vision and mission are complementary.
