Hearing God

141 How to UN-Stuck your head when you don’t understand

We just had the craziest week ever! We were on the east coast looking (unsuccessfully) for house. We then had an executive retreat with 30 business leaders (outstanding!). In the middle our daughter took herself to the ER with chest pain (she's now ok). We have another daughter navigating a student tragedy on her college campus. Then our flight home got delayed overnight. Then they dropped me off the next flight so Janine would have gone home alone and somehow I was flying ANOTHER day later (It's ok we managed to sort it out). Needless to say, it was an emotional and spiritual rollercoaster.

In the middle, our youngest (15yr old) daughter sent us a text:

"Read Matthew 16 9 to 12"

So we did. Actually, the same story is in Mark 8:17-18 in more detail.

It's the story of the disciples who are with Jesus on a boat and he talks about the leaven of the pharisees and of Herod. The disciples are clueless (again) and wonder whether He is messing with them because they forgot to bring lunch. Jesus challenges them with these questions:

1. Why do you reason amongst yourselves? (stuck in your head - mind)

2. Do you not perceive? (understand with your heart - spirit)

3. Is your heart still hardened? (clueless to what is really going on and who you are with)

Basically the unspoken answer is "YES I AM STUCK IN MY HEAD TRYING TO WORK THIS OUT AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND AND I GUESS MY HEART IS HARD..."

"So, please help me!"

Here's the good news: God will give you a new heart if you simply ask...

"Create in me a clean heart Oh God, and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit with you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26

Then, how do you STAY UNstuck? How do you KEEP a tender heart? How do you stay in faith rather than running circles in your head (logic and reason)?

Here's the deal - Jesus lays it out real simple:

1. What do/did you see? What do you see God doing in you, around you, through you? What do you see happening? Lean into it.

2. What do/did you hear? What do you hear God saying? Are you doing that? How are you keeping His Voice louder than all the other noises? 

3. What do you remember? Even when we can't see or hear anything, we can ALWAYS remember. What has God done in the past that you need to remember? How has he led or provided or protected you? 

 

 

 

140 How to Fight for Peace in Uncertainty

What do you do when you have a plan that isn't going according to plan??!! Right now we are in Pennsylvania for the second time this month looking for a home for when we move in June. The deadline is fast approaching. We have yet to sell our California home. We have yet to find a suitable home here. We hear God say 'don't settle' (don't lower our expectations) and 'trust me.' So how do you practically trust God in the midst of shortening timeframes? How do you navigate expectations? How do you avoid getting irritable, anxious, uptight and discouraged? Here's my routine that is (mostly) working! 

First I like to anchor myself in the DAILY word of God. If I'm not sure where to start, I always defer to the Proverb that matches the date. I read until I find myself in the words. Or something I read resonates within me, even if my head doesn't understand. Here's the process for now:

Today I read in Proverbs 18:10 (TPT) "The character of God is a tower of strength (homonym – bed of flowers), for the lovers of God delight to run into His heart and be exalted on high."

This combines with what I read the day before in Psalm 17:4-6 (TPT): "Following your word has kept me from wrong. Your ways have molded my footsteps, keeping me from going down the paths of the violent. MY STEPS FOLLOW IN THE TRACKS OF YOUR CHARIOT WHEELS, ALWAYS STAYING IN THEIR PATH, NEVER STRAYING FROM YOUR WAY. You will answer me God; I know you always will. Hear my words like you always do as you listen to my every prayer."

I write down the scripture in my journal then reflect on my situation and what the scripture means: We are fighting for peace and direction in transition and uncertainty. God’s word and ways are my anchor, strength, hiding place, protection and safety – unmoving, impenetrable, bulletproof, fixed and firm… a shield of defense… resolute – tense and high adrenalin but strong and stable. AND at the same time (or other side of the coin), I can step back from the front line decision making and rest in His character and nature and ways that are a bed of flowers. Like grandmothers garden… beautiful, comfort, rest, breath-in refreshing oasis of peace… where the only decision I have to make is whether Grandma buys me one or two pieces of battered fish for lunch 😊

So what will I do = Action. Today I do BOTH. Meditating on his character and ways that are the tracks that I walk in – protection and comfort; following His way to His victory. AS I WALK I anchor my heart in His character and He will keep me from wrong decisions or wrong timing. I trust He will answer me.

So we go to look at houses… not knowing any of these are the right one or whether our offer would be accepted or whether our house would sell in time.

Nevertheless I keep following in the tracks of His chariot wheels. I follow the Good Shepherd.

Stay tuned! If this is an encouragement to you please post a review on Apple Podcasts and share the feedback.

139 So Valuable It’s FREE!

You may think I'm weird, but I have ALWAYS had a sense that there is more to life than following a set of rules or principles or fulfilling some form of Christian religious obligation. I believe that it is truly possible to walk in friendship the Creator of the Universe and this should be a daily experience (for everyone) in ALL of life... not just an event or 'quiet-time.'

The last decade I've been devoted to pursuing this partnership with God in all of life even more. We call it Heaven in Business. And the fruit has started to multiply - people all over the world partnering with God, following His voice, and getting wisdom and insight for day to day decisions. We have recorded over 700 testimonies ourselves but there truly are too many to count.

For the last two years I've gone deeper into what are the keys to live this out on a consistent basis. Everything points back to a clearer understanding of the Kingdom of God and my relationship with the King. This is called seeking FIRST His Kingdom, His way (see Matthew 6:33).

Ive been reading Myles Munro and Jack Taylor and E.Stanley Jones and Bill Johnson. I've rubbed shoulders with national faith-centered business leaders and refined the language and learning. And now we are ready to give it to you.

Why is it free? Because I received it for free - freely received, freely give. I want you to experience what I am experiencing. More so, I am RELYING on you to succeed! I will never be all I am called to be without you stepping into who you were born to be. You carry an aspect of the nature of God that all creation is longing for.

So don't wait, jump in! 

Here's how I can help you on your journey...

I'm doing  a one hour live call, daily, for the first week of May. Join me. I will give you the best keys I know to access and activate the Kingdom of God in your workplace. You will also get full access to interviews on the Kingdom of God that I did with Bill Johnson, Kris Vallotton and Shae Bynes. You can access that right now! AND you get the one page summary of 'What is Kingdom Business' that Shae and I put together with Patrice Tsague and Mark Caner - all proven practitioners of the Kingdom of God at work.

So, what's stopping you? 

Simply sign up at KingdominBusiness.org and I will see you soon!

In the meantime read the testimonies on Facebook.com/HeaveninBusiness and SPREAD THE WORD! 

It's so valuable, it's free!

 

138 Why on Earth Would You Do THAT???

God's way sometimes looks foolish. In other words, His way is not always the best strategy... from a human perspective. You can try to reason your way around it and you will always come up short. Bottom line is will you be led by the Spirit of God or will you settle for human wisdom? What is the best strategy? 

We are in Pennsylvania looking for a house for our family (see Episode 127: Hearing God and Expanding to the East Coast). We have been here for week. We thought we would have sold our California house and be in a position to make a strong offer over here. But it hasn't worked like we expected. We haven't yet sold our house. And we haven't yet found a house that we all love over here. That delay and disappointment and failed expectation reveals where my trust and faith really lie. The level of stress and irritability and feeling out-of-control would indicate that my faith is being invited to grow! (That's putting it nicely).

It also pushes on why on earth would we leave the 'best place on earth'? Why would we leave our dream house? Couldn't we just stay there and travel over here...? Surely we could make some arrangement? Think of all the uncertainty and expense and change in relationships and risk and potential loss and failure... Surely it would be a better strategy to keep our base in Redding, CA and not Pennsylvania, 3,000 miles east?

Yes that would be the easier strategy right now.

Then I have what God said.

You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s. John 16:23 

This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength. 1 Corinthians 1:25 

The cross NEVER looked easy. Surrender and trust NEVER look easy. 

But will I trust Him even when I can't see it working?

I will.

So, HOW do you do that???

1. Remember He is your GOOD Shepherd. Psalm 23. He can lead better than you know how to follow. You are clueless compared to what He knows about what's best for you.

2. Remember the testimony. Reflect on and repeat to yourself the stories of God leading and providing in the past.

3. Don't let your heart get troubled. John 14:1 This is hard when surrounded by uncertainty. I need to keep declaring and praying and feeding myself with His voice, otherwise i do get troubled. Sometimes I need to phone a friend and ask them to pray. Sometimes I need to just go for a run and get some of the physical pent-up-energy released. Sometimes I need to put on worship music... the kind that is not passive or depressing! Sometimes I just need to stand still and realize I control a lot less of my life than I think. 

So, when the Son of Man comes searching will He find FAITH?

137 How to Avoid Legal Problems - with Brock Shinen

Litigation is expensive! And MOST of it can be avoided. That's why we asked Brock Shinen to share the four areas where most legal issues occur and even better, what YOU can do to avoid ending up in one of them! 

This content was used with permission from the Heaven in Business membership platform where you can grow in identity, grow in culture and grow in influence with God at work. Find out more HeaveninBusiness.com

If you have any questions following this episode, please don't hesitate to email us andy@heaveninbusiness.com

Also, check out Brock's most recent book The Christian Entrepreneur - How to Dream, Plan, Execute and Grow.

Brock Shinen is a lawyer, a speaker, an author, and the founder of the Law Office of Brock Shinen, Inc., which represents some of the largest churches in America. Brock is a sought-after business advisor and personal business strategist to globally recognized organizations and ministries. He has spoken at conferences and business gatherings including the National Religious Broadcasters national convention, the Southern Baptist national convention, and the Vineyard USA National Conference, and his writing has been featured in publications such as the Huffington Post. Brock lives with his wife and two children in Orange County, California.

136 The Kingdom of God at Work

What does the Kingdom of God, California High School wrestling championships, and your business have in common?

Listen and learn... This is an edited version of the foundational session at the recent Heaven in Business conference. If you want more of this and practically unpack how to activate this in your own place of work, join us for a free course. Find out more KingdominBusiness.org.

Other resources I refer to in this session are the following books:

The Cosmic Initiative by Jack Taylor

The Unshakeable Kingdom and the Unchanging Person by E. Stanley Jones

Rediscovering the Kingdom by Myles Munroe

135 Spirit Wars... What to do.

There are a LOT of things going on at the moment! What we are finding is that MANY people have let go of their spiritual anchor and are wondering why they are overwhelmed, distracted and feeling like they are losing. STOP! The battle is FIRST in the spirit realm. When you realign and understand this, then take intentional steps from your spiritual authority, things start to change.

Here's a message we intentionally sent out this week to the Heaven in Business community. It is Kris Vallotton talking about Spirit Wars. Listen then grab a copy of Kris's free resources on KVministries.org. 

134 In the room where it happened...

Last week I was IN THE ROOM where some incredible things happened. It was our annual Heaven in Business conference and the theme was Kingdom Business. Here's a report that will GREATLY encourage you and release hope in midst of your world.

Listen and you will hear:

- Business multiplication 120% ($10M) in two weeks

- 90+minute budgeting process completed in TWO minutes

- Breast cancer disappears and is verified by doctor

- Kingdom of God is advancing at work and YOU are invited to grab hold of it (find out more Kingdominbusiness.org)

1. Salvation and Miracles

Previous attendees are sending their employees to conferences. We didn't know they were unsaved. One attendee from Alaska was so impacted by the love and power of God she was led to Jesus Thursday night by her fellow attendees.

One speaker had a dream Thursday night that he and I were embracing Bill and Beni and praying for their health. He DID NOT KNOW what is happening with Beni. As he shared this with me a 22yr old woman walked in with her parents asking to attend one day. Turns out she is brand new oncology nurse and one week ago diagnosed with aggressive form of breast cancer. We got ALL in room with cancer to stand and surrounded them and prayed for healing. WHILE WE WERE PRAYING one man received phone call from doctor saying he was all clear. Many were greatly impacted. Later report the 22yr old went to healing rooms Saturday and by end of day lumps were reduced in size and pain gone. She went back to doctor the following Tuesday and the report is attached. NO SUSPICIOUS MASSES, NO ABNORMALITY, NO MALIGNANCY. 

2. Guests

We had 215 guests plus our team and speakers. Although we had personally had contact with many of them through Heaven in Business travel and online activity, this was the FIRST time to Redding for about three quarters of them. We had people from east coast to west coast of USA plus Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Germany, Philippines, Indonesia, Austria, England....

We got the entire group to pray multiple times for Ukraine/Russia conflict. Turned out there were a number of Ukrainians and Russians in the room (US residents) so we surrounded them. One married couple was Ukraine husband and Russian wife who had not been able to have children. Powerful prayer moment.

12 local businesses came in to the conference on Friday and we had the guests activated to pray for them. Excellent reports.

3. Immediate Application.

The testimonies we are hearing back are SUPER encouraging. Here's a couple emails:

"I cant thank you enough for facilitating the recent Heaven in Business conference.  We really didn't know what to expect but we were so filled up!!! I have been a Christian my whole life 48 years and somehow the revelation of Kingdom came alive in a whole new way!! I am so excited to know, understand and explore the kingdom of God on earth!!!

I was physically healed during conference which is a side note.  Monday morning at 7 am we laid hands on my employee and God healed him instantly! He was so shocked.  It was a conformation we are doing the right thing and more to come.  I felt super compelled to start a prayer meeting immediately.  We had our first one today and there was 9 of us.  I was so blessed I feel elated.  I am so excited for the fire that was started and its just the beginning. Pray for us as we continue to pray and look for opportunities to bless our clients and business around us."

 

"Last week in Redding at the HIB conference was life-changing for me and my wife. A time we will never forget and my wife was totally healed (back/knee)!  I’ve been to every Heaven in Business Redding main conference since January 2018: this conference was a qualitative shift that reflects the season that we are in right now.

I am living, thinking, acting differently and seeing an entirely different level of breakthrough because of the transformation and impartation that I received at this conference this year.

Something very special is happening here. We are grateful to be working in the Family Office with all of you!"

One guests' Takeaways:

• This conference wasn’t about me, or you, it was about US, the royal members of the Kingdom of God.
• We have immense authority in prayer within business to further the Father’s purposes our lives. It should be no less a strategic asset inside a company than your finance group or your marketing group.
• When it’s deployed strategically, it can transform our situation and bring us more into alignment with the Father’s way of doing Kingdom business.
• We work for the biggest Family Office in the universe.
• We are the spiritual and financial stewards of the family and business assets God has entrusted to us.
• We have been given these assets so they might grow, be a blessing in the earth, and further God’s purposes of His Kingdom of Love to come to earth.
• We are here to create a rich divine inheritance at every level, to shift the atmosphere of every city we live in, and to transform every person and system of this world that we touch.
• Our Father’s influence, authority, wisdom and power is unrivaled and unmatched anywhere in the world. We have full access to it.
• We have authority over all systems of this world - regardless of who’s currently operating them.
• That’s not a statement of pride, that’s the situational reality - on earth as it is in Heaven.
• When we are stewarding our Father’s resources and when we need something done, we pray, we gain the spiritual intelligence required to align the systems of this world to do what our Kingdom business requires. We have authority over the systems of this world.
• We don’t move solely in business understanding and best practices ( the world can do that), we also move in divine Love, wisdom and understanding, spiritual and emotional intelligence, power and authority. We are powered by the Spirit of God.
• We have the authority to transform the systems of this world to become the systems of our Lord and of his Christ.
• We can do this because our lives and our work are aligned with the Kingdom of God. Because we know this and live out of this confidence, we reflect the lovingkindness and gentleness of our Father; we transform every person we encounter with His love; we are His fragrance in the earth.
• Every transaction we make leaves His mark of Grace.
• People don’t forget us because the aroma of Heaven is upon us.
• And lastly, the most important takeaway from Michelle Raftery: "When we cross the eternal finish line and look behind us, our family members must cross with us, or our successes are for naught." Thank you Michelle, I needed to SEE that. (Credit - Paul van Hoesen, Nashville, TN)

4. We are going ALL IN

The topic of the Kingdom was the most significant theme that Jesus talked about. So we are doing the same. If you want to know more, get activated and advance the Kingdom of God in and through your work jump onto this FREE resource - KingdominBusiness.org then join us on the live calls May 2-6: How to Activate Kingdom Business

 

 

133 East Coast Update - How are you navigating this?

Here's a quick update on what's going on preparing to move from our home of the last 13 years, to the Pennsylvania in June, 2022. What emotions am I feeling and how do I handle that? (And if this is news to you, first listen to Podcast #127 Hearing God and Expanding to the East Coast)

1. Sadness

Redding is not a drive-thru city - I'm feeling the sadness of leaving people and a city I have invested in for over a decade. Grief is normal... when you have built into a community. Friends. Partners. Team. I am working on being ok with that and working through the feelings (kind of new for me!). I do have a professional counselor and wish I had her as part of my advisory team a couple decades ago!!!

In preparation of moving I am already planning ahead for who I will meet with on a regular basis so that I have eyes-on wise counsel and peers who can speak into my life.

=> who do you have in your life that actually knows you? What are you doing to build that around you?

2. Overwhelmed

When I think too far ahead of myself and all the details that need to be confirmed I feel overwhelmed.

I am working on being present. I have grace for today. I cannot control things in the future; I can control what I do today. I will do today what I need to do today and trust God with tomorrow.

=> where have you got ahead of yourself and fighting anxiety as a result? What is right in front of you that you need to focus on? How's your prayer life, trusting God for everything else?

3. Excited

Actually I'm feeling crazy excited. Things coming together as one. Simplified systems. Sharper focus. More robust online Heaven in Business membership community adding tactical business growth in partnership with Ray Edwards (Marketing), Ford Taylor (Leadership and Organizational Growth), Krish Dhanam (Sales), Patrice Tsague (Startup), Ken Fish (Healing, Deliverance, Prophetic...)...

And we are kicking off a Five Day Launch Process: How to activate Kingdom Business to help  understand, access and apply the Kingdom of God in your day to day work. Find out more and spread the word - KingdominBusiness.org

If you have any questions or comments please don't hesitate to contact me andy@heaveninbusiness.com

 

 

132 Kingdom Business with Kris Vallotton

This week we have our annual Heaven in Business conference and the theme is Kingdom Business. What is the Kingdom of God? What does this look like in business? How do you access it? Is it just principles or is there something more. 

In this episode I interview Kris Vallotton, Senior Associate Leader of Bethel Church on the topic of the Kingdom of God. This was recorded for conference attendees and members of the Heaven in Business community. 

If you would like to go deeper in understanding and applying the principles and power of the Kingdom of God to your business, then join me for a five day launch process: How to Activate Kingdom Business, the first week in May. Find out more and sign up free here - KingdominBusiness.org