Jesus asked His businessmen disciples if they could drink His cup. It's the same question He's asking you and I, "Can you drink your cup?" Sonship has a precondition of maturity and covenant. Are you willing to do what Father is doing? For richer or poorer, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health. Youthfulness and exuberance in business mixed with a touch of bravado and optimism have a unique scent (diaper). The fragrance of maturity is tempered with humility and wisdom.
We've all had a great idea or dream that ignited the desires of our heart. We pursued it with our time, talent, and treasure. But in the end, it didn't work, and in hindsight, it was obvious God wasn't in it. It wasn't just a personal failure, it revealed something missing in our relationship with God. Why did he allow this disaster when it all seemed so right? That collection of mishaps is not as damaging as success. Failures tend to clean our ears so we can hear the Spirit of Wisdom. Success is prone to lead to deafness, an I-have-need-of-nothing mindset. One is humble, receptive, teachable; the other is arrogant, independent, and self-ish.
Imagine moving from a Christian business to a Kingdom business. The former emphasizes the good character and the do-this list to maintain the standing and standards (The conformity is not particularly inspiring). A Kingdom business isn't focused as much on what you are doing, more on what Father is doing and whether we are we doing it with him? It feels like a movement motivated by prophetic purpose, passion, and people! Somehow God is working with us, instead of just watching from Heaven, waiting for the next mistake.
Deception has roots in our perceptions of lack in important areas of life (fear of death, love of money, lust, love). We all try to shore up our self-esteem and happiness by inventing identity and purpose to make sense of our story. When we're done building this castle that houses who we hope to be, it's a fortress that protects us from feeling of insignificant. Each brick in our castle is an argument or a pretension that props up a fragile ego.
I want to start out with a story. I was raised on a ranch in Montana, and my dad had a cow-calf operation. We had horses and often gathered or moved the cows. A boy on a good horse was as good as a 40-year-old man if he knew what he was doing. My dad came from a ranching background and was really good with horses, as was his dad. He took pride in teaching me everything he could. He also liked to do things the right way because he had done it before and hated having to do it over if we screwed it up.
We all have roots in the Spirit of Religion, where we had the answers, proof texts, and knew what to do because we know what God wants without talking to Him. We've read His book, have systematic theology, know all the principles and promises! Sonship starts when we admit we don't know what to do, and ask Father to show us what He is doing.
In the Kingdom, work and business are forms of worship. So how do we worship in Spirit and in Truth in the business Mountain? How do we connect the wind of God's Spirit in our lives with the practical necessity of meeting payroll? How do we participate in the movement of Reformation and the challenges of business at the same time? The answer is found in a dynamic relationship, not a static recipe. The formulas for flow and fruit in the marketing hype take time to discern their superficial vacuum. What is real and eternal is you, your sonship, and your Father.
Sue and I get a newsletter from a stock trading service. They had a recent meeting for their clients and the report is that that one presenter stole the show. He had a new AI generated stock trading technique that got immediate results. The story of humanity is one of temptation for my immediate results. The secret is that something like this happens at every meeting. It encourages existing clients to sign up or more services, a mix of garden-variety marketing and spin on additional value.
We all got saved via an experience with Jesus. We came from a very rational, intellectual space disconnected from our hearts and God. Then, we experienced Jesus in a way that doesn't lend itself to explanation or need to. Yet, surprisingly, many believers who start from a very relational, supernatural experience with the Holy Spirit try to revert to an intellectual explanation for how God speaks. There are rational reasons for spirituality; we are just adding Spiritual Intelligence (SQ) to IQ, EQ (Emotional Intelligence), PQ (Political Intelligence), AQ (Adoptive Intelligence), and ZQ (Visionary Intelligence).
We all want to ask the Lord for revelation, understanding, provisions, and physical manifestations. But most of us have had an experience with suffering that made God feel distant or moral failures that made us feel distant. Those experiences left our hearts with a conclusion, God has abandoned me, and I'm on my own. The religious spirit enters at this stage and invites us into his orphanage to help cement the stronghold. We're supposed to serve a God who is distant. Others hear, have seer gifts, prophecy, and experience Father's fellowship, but I don't.
Follow Up
