By Rich Marshall DominionNEWS@aol.com

I want to speak to a new breed of ministers emerging in the world marketplace. Some of you reading this article will quickly identify yourself as part of this up-and-coming army. You are ministers who are passionate about the Kingdom, and are people of integrity and high moral character. You think strategically and creatively about ways to impact the world for the Lord. You are called of God and know it, but not in the traditional sense of preaching, teaching, or even evangelism as we have known it. You serve the Lord, but not in church offices or mission headquarters. You serve Him in the marketplace. Why? Because you are business and professional people, and you know your work is your ministry.

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YOU ARE CALLED OF GOD TO MAKE MONEY FOR THE KINGDOM

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You are called of God to make money-a lot of it. Even though you have been warned that this could greatly affect your holiness, you forge ahead because you know God is leading and blessing. You know and understand money is a tool God has given to you to extend His mercy. Money or the making of money is not your highest goal; money simply allows you to take steps to stop the oppression and end injustice in our world.

You are called to be creative and to think strategically about transforming your workplace, your city and your nation. You know God has called you to live for Christ, as lambs among wolves. You believe God will use you for performing miracles in the marketplace. The call of God is upon you to shepherd those not currently attending an organized church.

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WRONGLY ACCUSED, YOU PERSEVERED

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For many years you faithfully served God in obscurity without training or recognition. You have been misunderstood, maligned and ridiculed. You have been accused of seeking money, power and position more than God. You have also been accused of unfaithfulness to the call of God, because the accusers wrongly assumed that because you did not leave your job, that you did not enter the ministry.

Well, I have good news for you, faithful marketplace minister. You are the called of God. You are in ministry: FULL-TIME MINISTRY. And the faithfulness of God will complete the work He has started in you. This is a new day in the body of Christ; where we are rediscovering the essence of God at work in the marketplace, workplace, school, and home-your world.

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CONSIDER THE CALL OF GOD

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By the time I was five or six years old, I knew I wanted to be a preacher. As I grew older, I said things like, "I want to be a preacher and a truck driver," or, "I want to be coach and a preacher." But basically I knew I was called to preach the gospel. Just prior to my senior year in high school, the Lord dramatically confirmed the call in my life. From that moment at summer camp, I knew, "I was called to preach."

I am sure my story can be retold countless times, with slight variations regarding examples and timing. The call of God is powerful, life changing, and very real. But consider this: If there is "a call to preach" or "a call to missions," is there also a call to business? Does God call some as computer programmers, and others to carpentry, or to the medical professions? What about the little boy who wants to be a policeman? Is that just a childhood fantasy, or does God call believers into law enforcement like He does to preaching? What about the little girl saying, "One day I want to own my own business?" Is it just a dream born out of frustration as she watched women passed over in the marketplace? Or is it a dream placed in the heart by Father God in the same way He placed a desire in another little girl's heart to serve Him in Africa?

The Bible clearly teaches the "call of God" is for the entire Body of Christ, and the call that He issues is for your work!

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SPIRIT-FILLED FOR CRAFTSMANSHIP

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One of my favorite stories in the Bible in is in Exodus 31, where we are introduced to Bezelel. Even though very few sermons are preached about this man, and although he has remained as one of the more obscure of the Old Testament characters, he is still one of my all time favorites.

Why? For one reason, He is the first man in the Bible referred to as being filled with the Spirit. Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying: "See, I have called by name Bezelel.... And I have filled him with the Spirit of God" (Exod. 31:2-3).

That is something! The first mention of being filled with the Spirit is in Exodus 31, and it has nothing to do with what we normally attach to "being filled with the Spirit." There is nothing here about preaching, singing, evangelizing, prophesying, or speaking in tongues. What is here is this: I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in all kinds of craftsmanship (Ex.31: 3).

Bezelel was filled with the Spirit for his work. God has a special anointing, a filling of the Spirit for the purpose of your work. He calls you, and then He equips you by His Spirit for your work.

God has a special anointing for even the most difficult tasks in the high-tech age. With this anointing from the Lord, your mind can stay clear to receive creative thoughts only God can give to you. God can even make your motor skills and mind function in the way it should, so that what He wants you to accomplish will be accomplished.

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SPIRIT FILLED SALES

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For those of you in sales, God will open the door to the people who are ready to buy, and to give you the right approach for the sale.

As you sit at your computer, God will give you special insight.

God has an anointing for marketing, manufacturing, management, and media. He anoints some as attorneys and some as government workers. God can and will anoint you for the business at hand, for your profession.

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GOD HAS GIVEN YOU THIS 'PLATFORM'

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Let me give a plea to you, the new breed of ministers. (Although I say you are a "new breed," you are not really new at all. You are a fulfillment of the plan of God for His people from the beginning of time.) My plea to you is this: Begin to see your workplace as the platform for ministry. God has anointed and equipped you for this platform. Please, don't leave your job with the view of "going into the ministry."

You don't have to change professions when you become a Christian. You don't need to leave your job when you begin to sense the call of God in your life. God has called and anointed you for His purposes right where you are-not just to fund revival but also to be on the front lines in bringing in the harvest.

(Adapted from God@Work, copyright 2000, Rich Marshall; published by Destiny Image Publishers)

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DominionONLINE is a prophetic E-Publication of Exploring the Vision Ministries International & Undrai and Bridget Fizer Ministries 2001. Visit our website@ www.exploringthevision.org

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