You're listening to Women Infused Radio, where women in the marketplace connect with purpose and spirit, where the conversation covers all things women, business and fascinating faith. And now, your host, Christy Lynn Olson. Hello and welcome to episode 29. On today's show, I want to talk about a new model for Kingdom Business, one that focuses on the massive impact and influence that we as women of faith have on shaping our world in this generation as we arise and step into our destiny that God has already formed inside our spirit.
It's all about Kingdom transformation, being brave, bold and fearless. It's about transformational transactions and taking a fresh look at Esther from the Bible as an example of how prophetic proclamations can change the future. I've been studying the book of Esther recently and have received some amazing revelations on how I believe her story relates to conducting Kingdom business and influencing the marketplace through preparation, prayer and pursuing our callings with action full on. It has been heavy on my spirit for a number of years now that women will arise and step into their destiny like never before and I think the time is now.
I see it around me. I see groups of women meeting in places they've never had access to before. I've seen women collaborating like never before. I've seen global change happen because of women stepping up into their destiny not afraid to let their voices be heard.
God is calling his daughters all around the world and I do believe this will be a global movement. It just has to be. To arise he's been calling them and as they have a vital and irreplaceable role in the plans that the Lord has for our individual spheres of influence as well as for the nations of the world. And it's going to be all about, like I said before, transformational transactions.
That's the shift that I think we have to make as women of influence. We as women need to arise and awaken to the importance of our destiny, step into the purposes that the Lord has for us and in doing so I believe we will start to recognize our destiny. We recognize that an important part of his plan includes transformation of families, workplaces, regions and even nations. I personally believe that the next wave of ministry will be in the marketplace and that's why I'm so excited to talk about this today on the show and that as women with global influence we will have to step up to the call by preparing, praying and then pursuing that call with a spirit of wisdom and truth as we take risks, take action and boldly lean into the whisperings of the Holy Spirit like never before and then we have to become unshakeable.
We have to be resolved to do it above all else. Honestly, we have to be sold out for the kingdom calling that God has put on our lives. And in order to do that, I think it's time that we really take a look at what a kingdom business is. It's a term that we as Christians love to toss around, I'll be honest, almost like a buzz word and I think that a lot of us really don't understand what that fully means or we just use it in our language and use it in our marketing material because it's the new money maker.
Seriously, look around, look at all the different, whether they're Christian or not. Everyone's talking about a soul filled business, a purpose filled business, a spirit filled business, you know, get the divine downloads, whatever it is, they're using it just to make money because I've seen people jump on the money bandwagon and they'll be doing something else in 30 days if this doesn't work. And that's just the honest truth. I don't know if you've seen that, but I've seen a lot of that.
So let me tell you for real, just because you are a Christian and you own a business or work in a business does not necessarily mean that you are active in a true kingdom business. You can't just put a cross or a fish symbol on your marketing materials and think that qualifies you to be a kingdom business. There are protocols that you must put in place and actively carry out to truly understand the depth and breadth of operating in a kingdom business mindset. I call them protocols of the palace and the book of Esther gives us our marching orders that we are willing to look at it from the perspective of the palace.
And I am so excited to share this with you seriously because my mind is about ready to explode from all the new revelations about being a woman in today's palace or otherwise known as the marketplace and how God has truly set everything in place for us to follow if we are just willing to press into him like never before and be willing to stand with authority, grace, joy and boldness and the truth of his word and purposes for our lives. So before I get into more about the specific protocols that have been set before us and revealed through Esther, I want to take a minute first to lay a little groundwork for you on your definition of kingdom business. A scripture that came to mind right away when I started studying this took me to the New Testament. First Peter chapter 2 verses 9 and 10 in the message Bible.
It goes, but you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him to tell others of the night and day difference he made for you from nothing to something from rejected to accepted. Here's what I loved about that verse when I read it with fresh eyes. We are chosen for the high calling of priestly work. We're supposed to be working.
We're supposed to be out in the marketplace and whatever that looks like to you it's going to be different for everyone, but we need to be out there doing the work that God has told us to do speaking out for him and more importantly telling others about the difference that he has made in our lives. I don't know about you, but if you've ever felt rejected, if you've ever felt like your life hasn't really had much meaning or you're not making much of a difference, this verse just really solidifies, reminds us that because of the sacrifice that God made by sending his son, we have been released from that. We've gone from being rejected to being accepted. We are accepted in the body of Christ to do the high calling of the priestly work.
So understand this woman of God, we are chosen and called to work to do the work of priests and kings combined. I think a lot of us were raised thinking it had to be either or, but this verse confirms to me that it's both and we are called to both spheres, priests and kings, to be his representatives and to speak out for him as women of impact and influence. We carry his glory in us and we all have that mission regardless of our profession or season of life. If we are to have a kingdom business more specifically what I want to talk about today, we need to know who our king is and who we are.
He owns it all and we are put here to rule and reign for him until he returns to rule and reign with us. We are here to rule and reign over the realm to which we have been assigned, whether that's land, territory, resources, wealth, money, family, etc. Whatever that looks like to you. That's our domain here on this earth, but he owns it all and we are just the stewards over it.
And according to Matthew 6, now let's pull this verse into here. Matthew 6, which is the Lord's Prayer, thy kingdom come. Our role is to bring the heavenly kingdom and governmental order of the supernatural into the natural realm here on earth so that thy will will be done here on earth as it doesn't happen. Are you following me?
To do that, we will need to have the perspective of the palace and whether we are in a palace, now the palace was the place of business back then. That's where all the business transactions took place. That's where all political decisions took place. That's where people lobbied for their point of view.
That's where things were bought and sold. And so today the modern day marketplace, we are called the same way to be priests and kings. Now what do priests and kings do? Priests they sacrifice and proclaim, kings they provide and protect.
So let's kind of piece those two things together now. In biblical times, each priest in the temple or palace was given a specific assignment. But all of them had to work together to conduct the worship of God and God's business in the kingdom. So true kingdom business happens when we all work together, not isolated, to conduct the business of the king and worship only him, not the mighty dollar.
Although I will say you do need to be profitable in order to do the work of a king. You can't have no money. You can't have no transaction. And I'll talk about that later again.
But it's not about the mighty dollar. It's not about building up our own empires, our own ministries, our own platform to the exclusion and isolation of others. Now that's key. Not being fearful that if we work together and share our resources that our own business or ministry will suffer.
That is not possible in God's economy. That is not possible in a kingdom economy. But ladies, I can tell you from experience, we get so hooked up on thinking, I don't want to help promote her event because then some of my women might go to her event and they're going to think she's better and they don't want to come talk to me anymore. We need to stop that.
We need to stop thinking if they sign up for her program, they won't send up for mine. If they sign up for this ministry, they won't do this ministry. That's not true. We're going to sign up for whatever we feel the Lord calling us to do.
So give us the rest of us women a little bit of credit. But it doesn't remember, it doesn't have to be either or it can be both and and when it's both and when we're working together, helping each other out, that's when the glory of God will step in, give you favor and just really, really accelerate everything you're doing in the kingdom. So that was just my little soapbox. But it has to be a two way street.
You know, we can't promote everybody's things and then they don't even want to help us out. You'll kind of figure that out. But I think we always have to step out and start supporting other ministries and quit holding it so close. Just stop it because it's not helping and it's not going to get us to where we need to go.
There is room for everyone. Remember each priest had his own assignment, but that was so that they could ultimately work together to achieve the ultimate goal, something much bigger than their individual efforts, something much bigger than their program, something much bigger than their Saturday night service. You are important and valuable to the kingdom, but you aren't the end game. You aren't the pinnacle.
God is. And that's what we need to remember. And as a result of being a royal priest who had chosen by God, we are called to show others the goodness of God, not the petty, whiny, scathing, judgmental side of God. Verse 17 in that same chapter of 1 Peter says, we are told to respect everyone.
Fear God. Every spec the king. That seems simple enough, but I know we all have seen examples of Christians acting everything, but kind and loving and generous and joyful. Remember, we want the world to see Jesus through us.
And the only way that that can happen is if they see the love of Jesus through us unconditionally. So we're priest and king in the marketplace. We're proclaiming, we're sacrificing sometimes. We do what's right for our people.
And as king, we protect, we defend, we make sure that we're paying our workers good wages. We have to make sure that we provide a safe environment for them to work in. We have to do both. So remember, it's both and, but more importantly, that we do our peace and then we get out and connect with others doing their piece so that we can have a bigger impact on the king and economy.
Now, let me circle back and make, sometimes I know I'm going on a rabbit trail here, but let me circle back and make the connection of marketplace women and Esther's unique story and the protocol and perspective of the palace that has just been given as a fresh revelation to me. And maybe you've already put this together, but for me, it has been eye-opening. And I just have one of those, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, moments. I need to tell someone.
I just felt so compelled to share it with you today. Most of you will be familiar with the story of Esther and how she became queen. Quick background to catch you up to where I want to start making this connection to us. So let me do that first.
Now the King of Persia is out looking for a new queen. We all heard about Vashti. You can go look it up if you're not sure. But he banished her.
He said, okay, now I need a new queen. The king servants go out and gather together all the beautiful young women in the entire kingdom, bring them all together in the city and under the watchful eye of the king's eunuch, the women are set up to begin a 12 month regiment of beauty preparations and purification before they're even able to potentially be presented to the king. So they're going through what I call a not only beautification and purification, but they are going through a training period. I really want you to understand there was something about this preparation and the 12 month of training that she had to go through.
And that's going to relate to us in the marketplace today. Now the king wants his new bride to show off to all the world all of her glory, like a crown jewel of a majestic kingdom. I believe that we are in that same position today. In Revelation 19 verse 7 the Bible says, let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory, where the marriage of the lamb has come and his wife has made herself ready.
Did you catch that? Has made herself ready. Here's the connection point. In these last days, however long it takes for Jesus to come again, King Jesus is calling his bride to display her beauty to the world.
That's you and me. And that is where you and I step in. It is our time to display our beauty to the world, share our story of how Jesus has impacted and influenced our lives as a representative in the marketplace and create transactional transformations in our world, in our spheres of influence, and in the unique assignment that we have been given to carry out. But we have to first prepare and learn the kingdom protocol, go through all the training and look at it from the perspective of the palace of the kingdom of God.
So I believe that the Book of Esther is our kingdom playbook. It's where I have been finding insight into how God's kingdom uniquely operates. It teaches us about order and protocol. These women had to complete 12 months of preparation and purification.
Now the number 12 is the scriptural number of authority, order, and power. 12 speaks of order and protocol. Ladies, I believe we are coming into a time of perfection and completion. And the Lord of heaven and earth is calling out to us to make ourselves ready to be fully equipped.
One of my favorite verses is Ephesians 4, verses 11 through 13 in the new living translation. Let me read that to you. Now these are the gifts that Christ gave to the church, the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
This will continue until we all have come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. That's exactly what our mandate is. And I also feel that this is the heart cry of so many women who have been waiting to feel equipped and called just to something bigger than themselves. And so just like Esther, we need to follow a kingdom protocol in order to carry out our assignment.
And it starts with the first protocol of the palace, which is preparation and purification. Too often we want to look irresistibly attractive and successful to the world right from the start, without any experience, any training, or any time spent in prayer asking God what his will is for our lives, without any spiritual equipping that refines our character or prepares us on what to do when we face times of uncertainty. We rush into things before we follow all the beauty preparation requirements of the kingdom. Take your time to prepare and purify your soul and spirit for the work ahead.
Don't expect to jump into the spotlight right away. And in my experience and observation, when I see someone just jump right in recklessly, not really understanding what they're doing, that fall from grace that they take is a tough one to recover from. It doesn't mean they don't ever recover. It just means I think that they miss out on the bigger blessing God has for them and if they would have just waited, if they would have gone through the training program, if they would have just served under someone who had wisdom and knowledge to give them, it would have been such a smoother transition.
And when you realize the significance of this, you will never miss another moment to prepare yourself first. Esther didn't miss one day of her preparation. She finished the entire 12 month course set before her, took advantage of learning all that she could by observing, listening, getting a mentor, and then it came time for her to be put on display. Her ability to walk in authority as the bride came at the price of 12 months of preparation and purification.
It was also a time of preparation and submission to Kingdom Protocol in order. She didn't try to circumvent the system. She learned all the things she needed to learn. She didn't just move ahead quicker than the other girls.
In fact, by her adhering to protocol and taking full advantage of all her training time, she actually found favor with the king ahead of the other girls. Too often we want power without the preparation and promotion, without protocol. And we lose out on the blessing because we did not want to submit to that part of the process. We don't like it.
We don't want anyone telling us what to do. A lot of us think we know it all. I know I've been through many seasons in my life where I think, God, I got this, just move aside. We simply just don't want to take the time to get our hearts right.
We want success at any cost, and in the end, it may have left us empty-handed, or at the very least, living a life less than all God has intended for us. Not because he's punishing us, but just because we made the choice to do it our way and leave him out of the equation. We have been given the keys to the Kingdom as believers. So anything less than a victorious lifestyle means that we might have missed something in the preparation process.
Sometimes we ignore the downloads we receive from the Holy Spirit, or we dismiss those who got his sent across our paths who might have something to teach us. We don't want to go through the training program. We want to jump ahead and just do the business at hand. Or sometimes, now this is key.
So we even refuse to serve under someone who is sent in to equip us with the knowledge of their experience. You know, sometimes I think we all already know that. I don't need to learn from that person. But because of order and protocol in the Kingdom of God, if we skip this step, there is going to be a delay or a denial of our blessing.
I know. I understand that feeling of just wanting to step up and stand in the spotlight. But the reality is that we will never be put on display until we are willing to be prepared. In your season of preparation, God is putting things in order under the protocol of his Kingdom's authority.
Remember, we have to go back to whose Kingdom is it in the first place? It's time for all of us to get ready for what I think is this next shift in the Kingdom and prepare ourselves for an amazing life of promotion and prosperity, even in ways we don't comprehend yet. It's time to make yourself ready and prepare for that next thing that God has in store for you as you take your position in the palace. So don't skip the preparation.
It's what will bring you favor with the King. On the next episode, which will be episode 30, I'm going to share more about the purification protocol and talk about what I call the Mer anointing. Make sure you tune in as I continue to unveil the success secrets of Esther and more Kingdom protocol from the perspective of the palace. One more thing before I go, if you've enjoyed this podcast, I want to invite you to download the Women Infused App.
We have created a global broadcast network for women of faith in the marketplace where you can find content from a variety of amazing Christian women and learn biblical principles that will help you in your faith, your work, and your lifestyle. We are gathering new broadcasters each week as we prepare for our formal launch later this fall. Jump on the app now to receive bonus content, scripture study tools, and extended teachings just for you. And I'd really appreciate it if you could help us spread the word, tell your girlfriends, and help us grow our community of spirit-filled women of purpose.
You can download the app at Women Infused App.com and listen to our podcast right there, the entire library on demand. Until next time, remember this. Alone, you are significant, but together, we are amazing.