Working The Dream

Your Relationship with God Dictates Your Success

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Eric Kelly

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Series Code: WTD

Program Code: WTD000007A


00:30 Hi, welcome to "Working the Dream"
00:32 I'm your host Eric Kelly and today we're going to
00:35 share why your personal relationship with God
00:37 will dictate your success.
00:40 So, let's recap why this is important...
00:43 Our acronym for career success is "P-I-E-S"
00:48 P - is for performance.
00:49 You must be a topnotch performer to be considered
00:53 of value to any team that you're on.
00:55 I - is for image.
00:57 It should reflect the accepted image of your company.
01:00 E - is for exposure.
01:02 How many people know you and know you positively.
01:06 S - which is really the most important is for spirituality,
01:10 the secret weapon for defeating workplace evil.
01:14 Now, please don't get spirituality and religion
01:19 confused... I did for so many years.
01:21 It took me a while to learn what God was trying to
01:24 teach me while listening to sermons week after week.
01:27 I remember going to church and trying to put
01:30 work people in Bible Stories, like when David slew Goliath
01:35 and cut off his head... I inserted my work giant
01:38 by the name of "Darla," rocks, swords, hmm.
01:43 Oh and the story of Pharaoh drowning in the Red Sea,
01:46 that definitely would be our division manager, Walter,
01:51 and his entire team of henchmen.
01:53 And oh, the story in 1 Samuel 14 when the king went out to
01:58 fight the Philistines and found them killing themselves,
02:02 oh yes! Everybody and the technical support group
02:05 should have been in that story.
02:06 You see, I was missing what the stories were really teaching...
02:11 And that is that God is bigger than your problem,
02:13 or problems no matter what their names are.
02:16 The biggest test of our spirituality will be at work
02:20 and dealing with people.
02:23 Years ago, I complained to my dad about one person or another
02:26 in expectation that he would side with me over
02:29 how unfairly I was being treated.
02:32 I was often disappointed because he would quote
02:35 Ephesians 6:12- as follows...
02:49 His point was, "Don't look at the person, look behind the
02:52 person with spiritual eyes and you may see who is really
02:57 pulling their strings."
02:59 My friend, there are only two forces in the world...
03:02 That is the force of good led by Jesus Christ,
03:04 and the forces of evil devised
03:07 and championed by Satan.
03:09 And here's the issue, you will not always
03:11 be able to tell which force you are encountering.
03:15 We tend to think of people as neutral and when they do
03:17 something that riles us, we're angry at them,
03:20 but was it all them or were they being led by a
03:24 force that was malignantly evil?
03:27 Let me ask you a question...
03:29 Some days, are you the person not being led by the
03:32 Holy Spirit doing something to someone else?
03:35 One morning, I got up and I read my Bible,
03:40 and I loved the verses that I read and then I prayed
03:44 and I felt so connected, I felt a little, maybe a little
03:48 lofty - it was great!
03:50 So I got in my car, I drove to the road,
03:54 and as I entered the freeway, I was cut off by a
03:57 landscaping truck.
03:59 Now at that moment, I felt like I should catch up
04:03 so that I could witness to the gentleman driving the truck...
04:08 Is it still wrong if you don't say the bad words?
04:12 Anyway, in the moment that I was rushing the truck,
04:18 I could kind of feel something from my devotional.
04:21 I could hear God almost tell me, "You know that's one of mine."
04:26 Oh my God, please forgive me, bless him, let him get
04:29 more lawns to do, but the tests of spirituality
04:33 will not happen in church, it will happen in your daily life.
04:37 So, let me give you the beginning of your daily
04:40 work experience - tell me if any of this touches home.
04:45 You get in your car and you immediately get into rush hour.
04:48 I have NO IDEA why they call it "rush hour" because
04:51 nobody is rushing anywhere.
04:53 You are going encounter some bad drivers.
04:56 During the week, I was going down the freeway
04:58 and there was a lady next to me who was putting on
05:01 makeup, drinking coffee and talking on the cell phone.
05:05 I sped up because I had no idea whose hands
05:07 were on the wheel.
05:09 I mean, they have accidents on a clear day when there's
05:11 no ice, no water on the ground,
05:13 and people just bang into each other.
05:15 Now, if you happen to have the news on,
05:19 ahh - you day starts terribly...
05:20 Robbery, murdering, cheating executives, dishonest leaders,
05:25 just an unfair life.
05:27 I heard someone put it this way, "That the news is
05:31 simply an announcement of all the things that Satan was able
05:35 to accomplish in the last 24 hours."
05:37 Oh, and then you get to work and somebody is already in
05:41 your parking space!
05:42 Then you walk into an early morning meeting...
05:45 on a topic that you absolutely hate...
05:49 Oh and by the way, you're sitting next to a
05:51 know-it-all coworker and the meeting is run by a
05:55 smart alec boss.
05:57 Oh, also in the meeting - no matter what you say,
06:00 you're kind of getting bitten in the back by another
06:03 coworker.
06:06 You need God at work!
06:09 Sadly, money and greed run many of the corporations
06:13 that we work for.
06:14 Now the sole determinate of many executive decisions is simply...
06:18 "What will this decision do to our stock price?"
06:21 "So if laying off 500 people will cut the labor cost
06:24 line and reduce our expenses, let's do it."
06:27 "If we can sweep this mistake under the rug and not own it,
06:30 let's not be completely honest about absolutely everything."
06:34 And sometimes even at lower levels - what people will do
06:37 for a raise or a promotion is pure evil if they are not
06:43 connected to Jesus Christ.
06:45 It is into this workplace that God allows
06:48 many of us to matriculate.
06:49 Now it's not just so we can make money and buy
06:52 creature comforts and take our ease, but we are to be His
06:56 hands in situations that need to be addressed.
07:00 In fact, Jesus said it best when He said the following:
07:13 He wants us to go to work, do our best and represent Him
07:18 in the workplace.
07:20 Now, one of the biggest issues is integrity and honesty.
07:25 Interestingly enough, based on the financial reward system,
07:29 and it's motivation of the workplace,
07:31 your integrity and moral fiber will probably
07:34 be tested sometime in your career.
07:37 Okay, if I said I would give you a dollar for walking into your
07:40 boss's office and in one sweeping motion,
07:43 knock everything off of his or her desk onto the floor
07:48 while they are sitting in there working - you probably
07:51 would say, "Huh - no way."
07:54 Now you reason that since you probably will
07:57 be unemployed after that, that the dollar would not
08:01 be enough to even pay for your gas home
08:03 after you got fired; however, let me up the ante...
08:07 Would you do it for a thousand dollars?
08:11 Now you still may say, that's not enough to
08:13 carry me too long if I can't find another job,
08:16 so pretty much you'll decline.
08:20 Well let's continue to increase the price...
08:23 If I gave you a cool million dollars to walk into your boss's
08:29 office, knock everything off of their desk,
08:32 well, I might have your attention.
08:35 In fact, by the time I offered you a certified check for
08:38 10 million dollars to wreck their desk,
08:40 you might snatch the check off of my hand,
08:44 dance on their desk, kick the staplers and mail
08:47 trays everywhere - I mean for 10 million - you might
08:52 reek a little havoc in that office because you know
08:55 that 10 million dollars would end most of your employment
08:59 worries for a considerable amount of time;
09:02 however, the issue was never about the amount of money.
09:06 It was about - "is it right or wrong for you to knock
09:10 things off of your bosses' desks?"
09:12 Notice how easily it was to rationalize why it would
09:16 be okay for 10 million dollars.
09:19 Sadly, without the Spirit of Christ guiding us,
09:23 on any given day - we all have a price.
09:28 Let's look at a situation our friend, Cole, has to deal with.
09:34 Hello, this is Cole speaking.
09:38 Yes sir, I'll be right there.
09:46 I finally broke a hundred yesterday.
09:48 Hey, how did that happen - was it just those brand new clubs
09:53 of yours or you fixed the score?
09:56 Ha, ha, actually it was a 98.
09:59 By the way, I have a 3:30 tee time today,
10:01 why don't you come out?
10:02 Hmm, I have this piano recital, my daughter,
10:07 I don't think I can make it.
10:08 I'm glad I don't have to worry about that.
10:11 Hey! Hey! Hey!
10:13 There you are! Nice to see ya!
10:17 Cole! So how long have you been with us?
10:20 Um, 6 months, sir.
10:22 And are you enjoying what you do?
10:25 Ah yeah, definitely I'm learning a lot and this is the second
10:29 company I've worked with and by far, it's by the best.
10:33 Hm! Well, Cole, I have a question for you. Um hm
10:36 What are your career goals?
10:39 In other words, where you do see yourself
10:41 in 5 or 6 years from now?
10:43 Hmm, management definitely. Hmm!
10:46 My main goal is to be the CFO of a growing company,
10:50 and take them to the next level. Interesting.
10:53 Good! There are not very many young people with
10:59 that very clear career goals in their minds and
11:02 I have to congratulate you. Thank you.
11:04 If your 5-year plan became a one-year plan...
11:08 Meaning?
11:10 Meaning, there is an opportunity that could
11:13 fast track you to management. Okay...
11:16 Are you interested? I am, I am!
11:19 Good!
11:20 So, do you want to tell him or...
11:22 Go ahead, you go ahead. No problem.
11:24 Cole, I understand that you are a financial guru when it
11:29 comes to our reporting and you're also,
11:33 as-a-matter-of-fact, the youngest analyst
11:35 in our company's history that has been given...
11:37 that's such a great task...
11:39 Yeah well, I pride myself by learning quickly
11:44 and getting the job done.
11:46 Well we have a proposition for you...
11:48 And I'm sure that you already know that our company's
11:51 performance hasn't been great as of late and our stock
11:55 prices fell 16% last quarter which is not good news.
11:59 And this whole Enron fiasco thing, it's been very difficult
12:04 for companies to hide anything, and a deep dive into our
12:08 financials will easily expose some of the most
12:10 recent haven companies that we have.
12:14 We need you, our financial guru, to help with that.
12:18 Okay, help with what?
12:20 Let me explain, it's very simple...
12:24 Well see, he was saying... "hiding" is the key word here.
12:28 We need to protect these companies and hide
12:32 their financials and also boost our segments.
12:37 Ah but, oh oh, that's ah a little bit too much.
12:42 I mean, I can't do that.
12:44 Any auditor will sense the difference in the reports
12:46 and he will know what's in the system.
12:48 That's taken care of.
12:50 IT, accounting and treasury are all on board on this.
12:54 To make sure that the accounting and the cash are in place.
12:57 But what about the idea that this is a fraud?
13:00 Ooo ooo ooo ooo, no, no no...
13:02 Cole, Cole, this is a big company,
13:06 this is not a mom and pop operation.
13:09 This is the game... those companies out there,
13:14 they are the kings and queens,
13:16 we are just the watchers of the throne.
13:18 So you, my friend, you are the last piece of the operation.
13:23 Now, are you interested in management?
13:26 I am, but not like this, I mean...
13:29 I mean, I'm not comfortable with this.
13:31 Well, you better be.
13:35 Does Mr. Martin know about this?
13:37 Does Mr. Martin know about this... why would we
13:40 propose this to you if Mr. Martin had not known?
13:42 Of course he knows.
13:44 (Loud sigh) I mean, I can't do this.
13:47 This is really some unethical stuff, I mean my
13:51 personal ethics and, more importantly, my spiritual
13:54 beliefs won't let me do this, I mean, I'm sorry...
13:56 Hey um, just, just... wait just a second!
13:59 Let me explain something to you...
14:01 If you are waiting for a prayer answered from God,
14:06 you won't get it... more so, Christianity
14:12 in a workplace - especially if you are thinking about
14:14 management - it won't work! It doesn't matter.
14:17 Actually, what matters here, I matter!
14:21 And, if you ever want to work in a city like this again,
14:23 you have to do this, Cole, willingly have to do this
14:28 because whether you do it or not, it's going to show that
14:30 it's your fault anyway.
14:32 Whoa - does Cole ever have his hands full!
14:36 He has a successful career so far.
14:39 He's in line to get a nice bonus at year's end
14:43 which he is already planning to use to pay off all of his bills,
14:47 and as a down payment on a cute little sports car.
14:50 Now if he doesn't do what they say, there's a good chance
14:54 he gets fired.
14:55 All of his hard work and good fortune goes down the drain.
15:00 What would you do?
15:03 (Loud sigh) What am I going to do?
15:06 I can't do that.
15:09 But if I don't, they'll take my job away
15:12 and they'll blackball me.
15:14 Wait a minute... AH, okay!
15:27 Ah, Prophet... Hm?
15:30 I need your help, I'm in a tough spot.
15:33 No you're not.
15:37 What?
15:39 You're not in a tough spot!
15:41 I'm about to lose my job, these people are crazy!
15:46 They want me to do some pretty unethical stuff.
15:48 Who gave you the job? They did.
15:52 Cole, who gave you your job?
15:58 God did.
16:00 Exactly.
16:01 Sometimes when we're in tough situations,
16:04 we lose focus on who is really in control.
16:08 Now Cole, you've been faithful to God for a long time.
16:11 This is just a huge test of your faith.
16:15 Now those two guys, around here some people
16:19 treat them as if they're gods, but trust me...
16:22 they are not God.
16:27 I don't think I'm the one you need to be talking to right now.
16:31 Yeah, you're right, I lost focus.
16:37 I know what I have to do.
16:39 Wait, Prophet... how in the world do you know?
16:43 I know, I know... I got asked that question
16:45 several times today.
16:47 I've been around for a long time, so I've heard a lot,
16:52 I've seen a lot, so I know a lot.
16:56 I just try to help a lot.
16:57 Ha, ha, ha, ha, thanks Prophet.
16:59 You'll do just fine. Thanks.
17:06 Now, Cole looked for some advice from the Prophet,
17:09 but the Prophet reminded him of something he already knew.
17:13 Cole has spent time in the Word of God,
17:16 he knows what Christ taught, so why is this a dilemma?
17:19 In similar situations, we might be saying to ourselves,
17:23 "I don't want to lose everything by not complying,"
17:27 but what really will be lost if you do comply
17:30 with an ungodly director?
17:32 Inherently, how many of you already know what
17:35 Cole's answer should be?
17:52 "Lord, I humbly ask for Your forgiveness.
17:58 I panicked and I lost my focus.
18:04 God, you know my situation, give me strength, Lord,
18:11 and help me get through it all.
18:18 May Your will be done, God. Amen
18:34 (Phone is ringing) Jonas Martin.
18:39 Mr. Martin, there's a Cole Elliot here to see you.
18:42 Oh yes, Cole... send him in.
18:55 Cole, it's been a long time. Ah yeah.
18:57 You don't seem well, are you
19:00 doing all right? Is everything okay?
19:04 Actually, sir, (deep sigh) it is not.
19:08 Cheer up, fall in line over him.
19:14 I don't know, the way he mentioned Martin's name
19:17 didn't make me feel too confident.
19:20 If only Martin finds out... He won't!
19:23 Martin is concerned about results.
19:27 He doesn't care about these things.
19:31 Besides, everybody else is in line.
19:33 And you know what, I think we gave
19:35 this "Cole" kid a big scare.
19:38 He will be with us, don't worry about it.
19:41 Hey! There he is...we were beginning to think that you
19:45 decided to change careers, Cole.
19:47 I take it you made the decision to join us...
19:49 That would be smart!
19:51 Actually, he won't because neither of you
19:55 work here anymore and I suspect that it will be a long time
19:58 before you work anywhere again.
20:01 Watchers of the throne, eh?
20:03 There's only one throne I care to acknowledge
20:06 the power of - God's.
20:10 Here is the foolproof way that you're career in life
20:13 will be successful.
20:15 Every single day, without exception, wake up and read
20:18 God's word - there's power and wisdom in the word of God.
20:23 As you read, be prayerful and be open to the leadings of the
20:27 Holy Spirit.
20:29 For example, today you are going to a meeting where you must
20:33 defend your idea.
20:35 You're pretty sure you're going to have some stiff opposition
20:38 to your recommendation from someone who feels they are
20:41 your rival.
20:43 In fact, you know from past experience that whatever
20:46 you say, they will take the opposite position just to try
20:50 and make you look bad.
20:52 Should you prepare for war?
20:54 Should you learn their position
20:56 and be prepared to take them out by showing
20:58 their sheer stupidity or should you trust in God's ability
21:02 to help you present your plan?
21:04 If you asked God to help you as you built your plan,
21:08 wouldn't He surely be there with you when you presented it?
21:12 Nehemiah 6:16 tells the story of God doing just
21:16 that for His people
21:17 It says the following...
21:29 You might go to the meeting and find out that your rival
21:32 really has nothing much negative to add, but before you started
21:37 scratching your head in amazement,
21:38 you remember the verse that says the following:
21:46 That's in Proverbs 16:7.
21:48 Pray - first giving thanks and then ask for the
21:52 Holy Spirit's guidance in everything that you do that day.
21:57 One day, I was struggling making a business decision,
22:00 and I called my dad and I said, "Hey, I'm working on this
22:04 and I'm working on that," and I explained all the wonderful
22:07 things that I was doing.
22:10 And my dad, who is a retired pastor, kind of smiles
22:15 and he has that little lilt in his voice and he simply
22:19 asked, "Do you know how many times you've used the word,
22:24 "I" in the last few minutes?"
22:28 It struck me - Take the "I" out of your plan.
22:32 Submit to God for His guidance.
22:34 Proverbs 16 says the following:
22:40 God wants you to do well to the same degree that He
22:43 wants you to be totally wrapped up in Him.
22:47 God, however, will not bless one of His kids
22:51 so that they can hold it over the other of His kids.
22:55 I saw a mother at the park the other day
22:57 with her children and I wondered...
22:59 I wonder if that's how God sees us?
23:01 She had two children, one was with her and one
23:03 was off playing in another part of the park.
23:07 So there was an ice cream truck that came by
23:09 and she bought a popsicle, and she gave it
23:12 to the child that was there and the other kid was off playing.
23:17 So when the child that was off playing came back,
23:19 he was taunted by his sister.
23:22 "Mama gave ME a popsicle, you don't have one."
23:28 So the mother took the popsicle from the one that she gave it to
23:32 and she ate it!
23:34 And the kid cried out... "Mommy, you took my
23:37 popsicle!"
23:38 So the mother said, "The popsicle belonged to me
23:41 in the first place, so I gave it to you and I can
23:46 take it back - I'm not going to let you use what I
23:50 gave you to tease your brother."
23:52 Now I thought about how some of us look at the blessings
23:56 that we have today...
23:57 God cannot allow one of His kids to taunt the other
24:02 with the blessings that they received from Him.
24:06 If you really want to thrive in your workday,
24:10 get yourself one of these... it's my "Promise Book."
24:14 And no matter what situation is in front of you,
24:16 there's going to be something in here that can help you.
24:20 For instance, I'm going to a meeting and I'm not really
24:24 sure of how it's going to be received,
24:27 the information I'm taking.
24:29 So, I went to my Promise Book and it tells me,
24:31 "You need confidence." Yes, I really do.
24:34 So it sends me over to the "You need confidence" section,
24:36 and here it says, 1 Philippians 4:13...
24:44 Hebrews 13:6...
24:52 And there are so many subjects here...
24:54 When you need power in your life; when you need courage;
24:58 when you need patience...
25:00 So I love this because this brings the word down to me
25:03 on a subject matter level and I can use it as
25:07 I go to work all day.
25:09 PLEASE help as many people as you can today.
25:13 A story was told of a young man that wanted to become
25:16 incredibly wealthy... so he went and found the
25:21 wealthiest man that he could find that was close by
25:23 and he went to ask him... what's the secret of his wealth.
25:28 So the wealthy gentleman took the young man down to the
25:31 lake bed and he had a bucket and then he had a pipe
25:37 in his hand...
25:39 He said, "I want to ask you a question, hold that bucket...
25:41 I want you to go down to the lake and I want you to scoop out
25:44 a bucket of water and bring it back."
25:47 So he went down the bank and brought a bucket of water back.
25:51 And the wealthy, older gentleman said, "How long would it take
25:58 you to empty that lake with that bucket?"
26:01 Well, the young man said, "It would be forever,
26:03 you can't empty a lake with a bucket."
26:06 So then the older gentleman showed him a pipe.
26:11 He said, "How long would it take for you to empty that
26:15 lake if you could get all that water
26:18 to flow through this pipe?"
26:21 The young man said, "Now that could happen - it might take a
26:25 while, but that could happen."
26:27 The older gentleman then told him, he said, "What you can't
26:32 do with a bucket, you can do with a pipe,
26:34 and God's blessings work similarly."
26:38 "You see, there's a point in which the bucket is full,
26:41 but there's never a point at which the pipe is full
26:44 because the pipe's purpose is to make sure
26:47 that the water flows through; however, as long as the pipe
26:52 is functioning and water is flowing through the pipe,
26:56 it stays full, so instead of being a bucket, be a pipe."
27:01 God wants you to be as successful
27:03 as He can trust you to be... connected to Him.
27:06 God inspired John to assure us of this in 3 John 1:2...
27:23 Remember, you may be powerless over what they can do to you,
27:28 but they are powerless over what God will do for you.
27:32 Until next time, keep "Working the Dream"


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Revised 2017-10-02