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As any business owner can testify, building a successful business is not an easy task. It takes many long, dedicated hours of following an established business plan, in order to build a successful business.
As Christians, we should be engaged in doing the Lord’s business (Luke 2:49; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:58). However, there are some unique reasons why more members of the Lord’s church are not as successful as they could be.
The following are six reasons why members of the Lord’s body fail in successfully doing the Lord’s business:
1) Treating the Business Like a Hobby – After being baptized into Christ, some Christians treat the Lord’s business as a “hobby“ – not a business. This is why it makes it “easy” to walk away, i.e., apostatize from the Lord’s church (Luke 8:7,14; cf. 2 Timothy 4:10). Also see Hebrews 3 and Hebrews 6.
2) Lack of Consistent Effort – Similar to the first reason, some members get involved in the Lord’s work, but work at it only when it is “convenient.”
The most successful members in the Lord’s church, follow the Lord‘s business plan (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16; 2 Timothy 2:1-2; cf. Deuteronomy 4:10; Ezra 7:10), and work that plan on a daily basis. If we only have one or two hours a day to work the Lord’s business, then we should work the plan for that period of time every day (Acts 5:41-42; cf. Acts 20:20-21).
3) Failure To Get Properly Trained – There are members of the Lord’s church who do not believe they need to be trained in order to successfully work the Lord’s business.
Know this – successful business professionals either require years of training or college, and additional years of experience, in order to be successful. Being successful working the Lord’s business requires the same dedication, education and training – it’s not a “hit-or-miss” type of business – it’s a serious business with serious eternal ramifications (1 Corinthians 9:16; Romans 1:13-18; Colossians 1:20-29; cf. Romans 2:1-11).
4) No System, or Failure to Follow the System – If members are not willing to follow a proven system that works for everyone who works the system (1 Corinthians 2:1-2; cf. Acts 8:26-35; Acts 9:22; Acts 17:1-3; Acts 18:24-28; Romans 6:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4), they will not be successful (cf. Amos 3:3).
5) Unrealistic Expectations – Sometimes this is due to “how” people are motivated to become Christians. Unrealistic promises that Christians will not have to face any kind of hardships or persecution, are simply not true (2 Timothy 3:12; cf. 2 Corinthians 4:9; 2 Corinthians 11:25-27; 1 Thessalonians 2:15; 2 Thessalonians 1:4).
The Christian life is not a life of wine and roses, but a very spiritually challenging and rewarding life (1 Corinthians 9:19-27; John 10:10; Revelation 2:10).
When spiritual success does not come as quickly or as easy as expected, the new member may simply say, “this doesn’t work” – and simply gives up. Brethren, we can’t give up! Consistency and persistency are the keys to success! (cf. Luke 11:5-8; Luke 18:1-8; Hebrews 6:10-15).
6) Not Enough Budget – Some folks become members of the Lord’s church thinking that their only monetary “investment” in the Lord’s business, is randomly placing a few dollars into the collection plate every Sunday.
However, like any other successfully run business, the Lord’s church needs to have a planned budget for various monthly expenses, and then meet that budget every month. In order to achieve this goal, each member of the church must “plan” to set aside monies for the purpose of funding the work of the church, i.e., the Lord’s business (1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7).
Conclusion:
Again, members of the Lord’s church fail at working the Lord‘s business, simply by not treating it like a business or not doing the necessary research before getting involved. Not having or following a business plan, not taking the time to get trained, or not taking persistent and consistent action, are the quickest ways to fail in doing the Lord‘s business.
Brethren, let’s consider the Lord’s business as being the most important business on earth, and then seriously and prayerfully start putting into practice the Lord’s business plan of saving the souls of men (1 Corinthians 2:1-2; cf. Acts 8:26-35; Acts 9:22; Acts 17:1-3; Acts 18:24-28; Romans 6:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
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