vladimirgrebenar 
We read in the New Testament how Jesus taught the people that by believing in Him the kingdom of God descends to earth. In a world full of unrest, wars, betrayals and growing depravity, modern man wonders where the kingdom of God can be seen and what are the characteristics of that kingdom. The same question was asked of Jesus by the apostles, disciples, and Pharisees at the time. What did the Lord answer them? “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21).
The Lord teaches about the nature of that kingdom which is completely different from the nature of earthly state arrangements. According to Jesus’ teaching, the kingdom of heaven is not limited by space, has no legal arrangements, nor is it based on philosophy or ideology. On the other hand, Jesus said that this kingdom gives great blessings to people who have faith.
According to Jesus’ parables about the kingdom of God: a) endeavors sowed with faith succeed: they “hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit” (Mark 4:20), b) results come without man’s worries and fears: “a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise… and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how” (Mark 4:26-27), and c) is not tempting to reason and requires patience for a great result: “It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs” (Mark 4:31-32).
In other words, when we speak of the kingdom of God, we are talking about a superior reality, at a higher level of cognition and intelligence than earthly reality. By reason, the kingdom of heaven cannot be known without faith, and it gives a special experience. Thus, such a superior reality can only be experienced through life in faith and prayer. That is why Jesus taught his disciples to pray to heavenly Father: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done.”
Do we know what we pray to our Father for? Jesus invites us to ask the Father to bring down the kingdom of heaven on earth! However, where do we expect this kingdom to go down? Some will say to political power and other people in order for prosperity to come about. However, Jesus came to earth for the sake of the individual and expects personal change from each of us. Parties and states cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. The inhabitants of the kingdom of heaven are persons.
The inhabitant of such a kingdom becomes a person who constantly prays to the Father, “Thy will be done,” and then carries out that will. There is a will of God for each individual and fulfilling such a will in a personal life story on earth is entering the kingdom of heaven. So, already for our life on earth! Believers must fight for the kingdom of heaven by listening to the will of God in their hearts and carrying out that will.
Unfortunately, many people carry out only their own will, and many have chosen to do the will of the enemy of God by seeking help in the occult. The will of God is carried out when man consciously prays with his heart, receives and executes the stimuli that have come through the Holy Spirit. Jesus calls us to personal responsibility and teaches us how to enter the kingdom of heaven: “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matt. 11:12).
Jesus made it clear that one enters the kingdom of heaven with great perseverance. Believers must know that in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, already here on earth, we must be committed to this endeavor and persevere in listening to and doing the will of God.
Can an entrepreneurial business story have anything to do with learning about the kingdom of heaven? One of the key areas of human action for the Kingdom of God is human labor and entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurs need to know that their companies are a means of entering the kingdom of God, not a satisfaction for their own ambitions. There is a significant difference in the entrepreneurial story, between committing to Jesus and committing a business venture to Jesus.
By commitment, the entrepreneur believes that Jesus is God and that prayer can help manage the venture. A committed person thinks to himself, “I will start a venture and pray to Jesus that the venture will succeed.” True faith in Jesus is more than commitment, and remaining on commitment alone can mean that we are lukewarm Christians. A person who is only committed to Jesus may be attached to earthly things, just as many entrepreneurs are attached to their business, business stakeholders, or social status.
Surrendering to Jesus Christ is doing the will of God as God wills it. Surrendering is a greater degree of spirituality and courage for an entrepreneur than commitment. Entrepreneurs who have surrendered their ventures to Jesus are not attached to their company and can feel a special joy in their hearts that attached people will never feel. By surrendering to Jesus Christ, the entrepreneur thinks to himself, “Jesus, is this venture Your will, and if so, help me understand what I need to do.”
The attachment of an entrepreneur to a company or business stakeholders is not God’s will. Many entrepreneurs and managers seek various networking, affiliation with certain organizations, political parties, professional associations and the like in order to create potential business relationships. In principle, activism of this kind is good when the reason for activism is in line with the mission of the organization. Nevertheless, a significant number of entrepreneurs enter such associations for fear that their companies will lose their jobs in the future and with the intention of creating greater job opportunities.
Such forced relationships are not sincere relationships, but relationships out of fear and interest and create false friendships. Most of these relationships can be found in political activism, but also in free enterprise. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs instead of worshiping Jesus who surely wants and can help them, they worship other people they think could help them. Instead of meeting Jesus who knows their problems perfectly, they seek to meet influential people who think mostly of their own problems.
A writer once wrote: “I am lonely only when I am with people.” Entrepreneurs have a hard time finding sincere friendships because they opt for fake friendships. God does not want a person running a business venture to have fears about what the future holds and any kind of dependence on any stakeholder. Jesus teaches us that He came to earth, among other things, for the following reasons: “to announce deliverance to the captives… to deliver the oppressed” (Luke 4:19). An entrepreneurial story without Jesus Christ leads the entrepreneur into many compromises, concessions and unhealthy business relationships with stakeholders, because of which there is never real peace.
Such business relationships are spiritual shackles and knots that oppress the entrepreneur and his family. It should be borne in mind that in the undertaking of the creation of the world, in the “seventh day,” without attachment to the world, he entered into “rest,” handing over the world created before man. We often see how companies depend on one customer, or one supplier, or one manager, or the entrepreneur himself. Any such attachment is an unhealthy spiritual bond for the entrepreneur, because of which he cannot have a peaceful sleep until he breaks those bonds.
In addition, any business attachment situation is a major business risk and proof that the entrepreneur or his organization does not have enough creative capacity to achieve competitiveness at a higher level of decision making. Thus, God does not want an entrepreneur to be dependent on business relationships with stakeholders, but to have healthy relationships that he can always end. The criterion for establishing healthy relationships is the mission of the venture, which benefits all stakeholders, not just the interests of entrepreneurs.
Any attachment is an expression of insufficient freedom, and an alarm for the entrepreneur that he is not creative enough. It is the desire of the enemy of God for entrepreneurs to be attached and dependent on stakeholders, and that is the desire of the spirit of discord and ruin. Faith in Jesus Christ frees the entrepreneur from attachment to others, building an independent business venture on an ever-increasing scale. Entering the kingdom of heaven with an entrepreneurial story implies complete freedom from all kinds of attachments.
An entrepreneur who begs to receive the blessing of the kingdom of heaven as a superior reality must first renounce all unhealthy business relationships and sever those ties. Unhealthy business relationships and idolatry are a barrier to which the blessing of the kingdom of heaven, material and spiritual, cannot come. Thus, the blessing of the kingdom of heaven can come only when the entrepreneur is independent of any stakeholder or company and committed to Jesus Christ with all his heart. Otherwise, there is no peace regardless of profit.
What does an entrepreneur need to do to be independent? The answer to this question requires a lifelong commitment to Jesus Christ. The business venture needs to be handed over to Jesus, and that means appointing Jesus as the leader of the venture. Not even the most intelligent man in the world can run a venture without fear and uncertainty if he has not surrendered the venture to Jesus.
The enemy of God, the evil spirit, sows fears and threats, and it cannot be resisted without the faith and protection that God gives. Rational competencies do not free you from fears of uncertainty in the future. What is life like when we suffer fears of uncertainty day by day and wonder what will happen? The future belongs to Jesus, and by faith one’s future must be submitted to His will. This creates perfect peace and confidence that we will always be protected and blessed. Only Jesus Christ permanently frees the entrepreneur from the pressures of uncertainty and gives blessings in business. The Lord gives peace that the world cannot give.
“I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him“ (Ps. 34:4-8).