ANOINTED FOR BUSINESS & WEALTH
Deuteronomy 8:18
“You shall remember the Lord thy for it is he that give you the power to get wealth.”
Let’s briefly x-ray this scripture by considering the following elements;
* You - who are you and who you should be?
~ Entrepreneur characteristic
~ Wealth mentality
~ Millionaire’s attitude
* Remember God
~ The Source
~ The Owner
~ What our attitude should be to worldly possession.
* He gives thee
~ His willingness and readiness to release wealth to you
~ It is a gift
~ Wealth is a gift
~ Whatever we have, we were given
* Power
~ It takes power to get wealth
~ Spiritual power
~ Knowledge power
* The Covenant
~ The Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 12:2
~ You qualify for the covenant blessing too
~ Galatians 3:14, 29. The blessing and responsibility of the covenant is in Deut. 28:1-8
Stop praying for money. God does not give money or wealth, rather, He gives the power to get money/wealth. He gives the ability and capacity to produce wealth.
Here are some of several ways to make money;
Stealing
Begging
Borrowing
Inheritance
Earning
Proverbs 13:11 says “wealth (not earned but) gotten in haste or unjustly or from the production of things for vain or detrimental use (such riches) will dwindle away, but he who gathers little by little will increase his riches.”
We are not talking about overnight success or sudden wealth, but the sure way to wealth. Talking about you and wealth, here are salient points to note;
1. A man’s harvest in life will depend entirely on what he sows. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. (Galatians 6:7)
2. Make it your ambition to ‘mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you…so that you will not be dependent on anybody.’ (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12)
The key word here is “ambition”. How ambitious are you about working with your own hand or about starting your own thing?
3. Wealth can only be created through starting your thing; your business. Has it ever occurred to you how many salary earners end up being wealthy?
Let’s talk about the capacity God gives;
The plans of the diligent lead to profit. (Proverbs 21:5)
I am the Lord God who teaches thee to profit, which leads you in the way to go. (Isaiah 48:17)
These scriptures give the roadmap to profit and plenty in business.
Effective planning must precede action (Luke 14:28)
Revelation instead of Information
Mapping direction to your destination from start.
Again we see that God does not give profit; planning, revelation, direction leads to profit. By implication, success, prosperity and wealth creation in life rests with you. Joshua 1:8 confirms this. “For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous.”
Human life cycle
1. Dependant
2. Scholar
3. Employee
4. Self employed
5. Business owner
6. Philanthropist- your money works for people
Here’s the balance sheet of your life;
Facts to note:
1. We are all in business, though passively. Every day we negotiate, sell and we earn.
2. Someday, everyone will end up in business actively. Whether you start at 20 or at 60, eventually we will venture into business. Why don’t we start now?
3. Learning the art of buying and selling is a basic requirement of starting a business. Remember, no matter the quality or value of the product/service, selling is what converts it to money.
Why go into business?
Here are some of the wrong reasons one can go into business.
1. I am tired of my job. Please, get another job because going into business might entail doing some of the things that tire you on your job. Luke 16:12
2. I want to be my own boss. Being a boss comes with responsibility for success or failure of the business and that takes a lot. It takes leadership and its demands. Are you ready for that?
3. I want to get rich quick or solve my financial problems (Matthew 13:22). Many who intend or wish to start a business are looking for instant gratification; they want to overnight success. But let it be known to you that building a business is a high risk venture with a high failure rate. Research establishes that 90% of all new start-ups fail in their first ten years; so think again.
4. I have a brilliant idea. If a brilliant idea is all it takes to build a successful business, then everyone will be a millionaire overnight. Growing a business requires not only capital, but also thorough understanding of the business, competence, cash flow management, a capable management/business team, diligence, leadership skill and most importantly, the ability to sell. So now you see why it takes more than an idea to build a business.
5. I want to be free. Do you realize that entrepreneurs work even longer hours than employees? There’s never going to be a free time in business; it’s up to you to create the time you want.
6. I am the best in my workplace. In business, team work is more important and valuable than individual skill and input.
7. I have gained a lot of experience from this job, it’s time I quit. If you have gotten adequate experience from your job and you want to quit, then my best advice is this: Get another job. This isn't enough reason to want to start a business if you're not ready for the demands of same.
8. I have a enough money to start a business. If money is all it takes to float a business and to be successful, then we wouldn't have so many business failures in history.
9. I want people to know I can run a business. Business isn't and can never be for show off.
10. I want people to work for me too
Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit but in humility consider others better than you. Each of you should look not of your own interest but also of the interest of others.
The progress to business profit should be
Solution or value: There must be a value you're bringing to the table. It can come in form of a solution to a problem, it can be in the form of value, whatever be the case, there must be an offering.
Service: Whatever you have as an offering or solution, present or package it as a service.
Profit: Sell ot and make profit
Foundation of a good business idea include:
Talent: if you are talented in a thing, don't dwell on talent alone. Take a step further by refining the talent, sharpen it. That you're talented in a particular area isn't a guarantee for success, it's only a pointer to your area of strength. The inherent wisdom in this is to polish the talent.
Knowledge: just as talent is a basis, so also is knowledge. There is a need to step on the next rung on the ladder of success.
Interest: this is good, at least, it shows your degree of readiness in the field. You could be talented in something and not have interest in developing it further. But when there is talent, which is backed up by interest and is followed by seeking right and requisite knowledge, then you're positioned for success and invariably wealth.
Skill/Experience: This is the peak of it all. Just a little sharpening of one's talent can make all the difference. With your talent, you have located or identified purpose, acquiring skill/experience spells that you have taken a step further to go beyond just doing it because it comes naturally and taken it to the next level. You have put a touch of professionalism and excellence, adopting best practices in the field/industry. You have taken a decision, not just to be one of them, but to be the best of them. Then the sky is set for your success.
Consider the figure as depicted below:
How can I deploy my ingredients of wealth? Package into the form of;
Service
Product
Solution
How can you generate ideas or create opportunities?
Creating solutions to problem
Selling solutions
Capitalizing on business failure
Providing better customer service
Providing cheaper variant or selling same product at a lower price
You can start by inventing or investing in a business solution or product. That means you start from scratch, buy an existing business or buy into an existing or successful business idea.
Testing a business idea
1. Talk to your prospective customers
2. Talk to your prospective sales people
3. Talk to people already in that business
4. Talk to your banker
5. Talk to the Lord
Contributing factors to success in business
1. Your selling skills
2. Right pricing
3. Customer/client base
4. Good customer service
5. Accessible and attractive location
6. Your employees
7. Capital base
8. Business ethics and principles
9. Good accounting and accountability
10. Engaging the right partnership
11. Have a good mentor
12. Regular meeting with stakeholders - employees, vendors and suppliers
13. In-depth knowledge and study of competition (Competitive Intelligence)
14. Study the market (Market Intelligence)
15. Create a niche for your business
16. Network or supply chain
17. Ensure adequate cover or protection of your business; law and insurance.
18. Get the right business name
Your goal is to stop working for money; that money should work for you while you take holidays. That is season of rest.
‘I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.’ Philippians 4:11
Christ is derived from the Greek word “Christos” and it means “the anointed and his anointing”.
Hence, the reason you can do “all things” is because of the anointing of God upon you. It is because you are a Christian, the anointed one. It is the same meaning derived from the word ‘power’ as used in Deuteronomy 8:18. You are called to business to make money for Kingdom purpose. God is backing you up. You are anointed for this!
You will make it in Jesus name!