Edna Harding [00:00:03]: Welcome to Estrepreneur, a podcast for entrepreneurs and leaders doing business and life God's way. Each week, we discuss biblical and to improve your mind, business, spirit, relationships, and finances. Listen along as I speak with special guests on how to thrive in all aspects of life. Hi, I'm Edna. Like many of you, I wear many hats. I'm a military wife, mother, author, certified John Maxwell business and executive coach, trainer, and founder of Favor and Wealth where we help the good guys win. So tune in as we bring on the light. Well, hello, everyone. Edna Harding [00:00:47]: Thank you for tuning in for another episode of the Entrepreneur Podcast. My name is Edna Harding, and I'm so excited that you guys are joining me in here today. Well, technically, you're not here, but you know what I mean. Here at the AskJentpreneur podcast, wherever you're tuning in from. I'm super excited that you guys are joining me for season eleven. I can't believe I've already done eleven seasons and, just excited for what the Lord is doing in our midst because God is definitely moving in the marketplace. For those of you guys who are new to me, remember in this podcast, we talk about all things success in the business and in life, utilizing the lens of biblical wisdom. And so today we are going to be talking about when the vineyard fails, when the vineyard fails. Edna Harding [00:01:52]: And I, first of all, I wanted to say that if you're looking for real truth, you're looking for the filet mignon of the word. You are in the right podcast. I understand that, there are a lot of, Christian podcasts out there maybe related to business. And I, one of the things about me, and if you guys haven't been following me on my journey, I started actually a YouTube channel back in 2016, and kind of let that fall through the, the holes a little bit just because I'm a busy mom now. At that time when I did it, I was single. And I used to really just share my time with the Lord, in video format and just share the the nuggets I've been learning in the secret place. And it really blessed a lot of people. And then the Lord challenged me to continue to do it through podcasts. Edna Harding [00:03:00]: Because at that time I had a three month old or a four month old, and it was just hard for me to do with videos, editing, all that stuff. And so that's where podcast came along. And I guess I'm what I'm saying is, I have this is not new to me. I've been sharing the filet mignon of the word since 2016, technically before then, but in this type of platform, since 2016. And for those of you guys have been following me for a long time, you know, that I love the word of God. And so if you are hungry for like revelation, if you're hungry for, looking at scriptures, through modern lenses, you are in the right place. This is something that I truly enjoy doing, and I pray and hope that as you are listening to this, you hear that. And if I'm kinda not, as loud it's because I'm recording this like at three in the morning because my family is asleep and I didn't have this week was a has been a very, very busy week because my daughter graduated kindergarten. Edna Harding [00:04:11]: And so she is with me during the day as I work on my business, so I can't really record anything, but I'm here. So welcome. Welcome. Welcome. Okay. So I just wanna start off by saying that today's message is kinda a sobering one. Okay. We're going to talk about Isaiah five. Edna Harding [00:04:34]: And in this chapter, God is singing a song, but it's not a joyful one. It's actually a lament and it's a song of a failed vineyard. You see, here's the thing, my friends, God planted his people strategically intentionally with love and care. He gave them everything they needed to thrive, fertile soil protection, a watch tower wine press. But when it came time for fruit, the fruit that came out of the vineyard or grapes, but they were wild grapes, wild grapes. Now, if you're listening and you've got a business, if God has positioned you, bless you, provided for you, but you're not seeing the fruit you expected, then this episode is for you. So today we're going to talk about three kingdom business lessons from Isaiah five. Okay. Edna Harding [00:05:40]: So let's begin. The first lesson is God plants the purpose and he expects fruit. Okay. Isaiah five two says he dug it up, cleared it of stones. He built a watchtower. Then he looked L O O K E T D sorry, not T D for a crop of good grapes. Okay. He looked for a crop of good grapes. Edna Harding [00:06:12]: Remember this? My friends, God is not random. Everything that happens in your life, even though it's bad, he knows he's sovereign, right? So he's orchestrating everything for your good. And he knows ahead of time what the enemy is going to do through people, through coworkers, through employers, through business partners, through customers, through friends. He knows, but he's also very strategic. Okay. He's very strategic and he's already kind of like, think of it like, I don't know how else to explain it, but he it's kinda like he's like a a I wouldn't say a fair godmother because that's a wrong impression. Lord, how do I explain this holy spirit? Oh, thank you. He's like a parent. Edna Harding [00:07:04]: Duh, he's a parent where, you know, your children is just living their lives. And if you're a parent, you know what it is, but you've already taken care of everything and you've already, if they make mistakes, you already made a, you have a way to help them. Right. And the good thing about him is he's a perfect parent, us in flawed parent, flawed and flawed, flawed parents. We tend to make a lot of mistakes. He does it. He knows exactly what he's doing and he sees ahead of time and he's so perfect and so sovereign that he doesn't make any mistakes. So what I say this when he plants you, he sets you up with attention, but he also looks for a return. Edna Harding [00:07:48]: That means if he gave you that business idea, that voice, that platform, it wasn't so you could just exist online. It was so you could produce fruit. Okay. It wasn't so you could just exist in your specific city. It's so you could produce fruit. Okay. But here's the thing, my friends, he doesn't just want you to produce any fruit. He wants you to produce kingdom fruit, kingdom fruit. Edna Harding [00:08:17]: What does that look like? Okay. Here's the question I want you to ask yourself is your business bearing what heaven, what Jesus, what the holy spirit, what the father is actually expecting, or is it what culture calls successful? Right? Is it the fruit that is making eternal impact or is it what makes you look good in man's eyes? Okay. Let's go to point number two, proximity doesn't equal purity. The vineyard was very close to the beloved because it was planted by God himself, but the fruit was still wild. So I want you to hear me. You can be in the Christian business circles. You can quote scriptures on your landing page, even end your emails with blessings. Okay. Edna Harding [00:09:25]: But if your sales strategy is built on fear, if your pricing reflects insecurity, if your team culture reflects control, then your vineyard might look right, but the fruit is not. Your vineyard might look white, but the fruit is not. I just did a post on LinkedIn. Talk about sales strategy. That's built on fear, rejection, manipulation. Really it's just witchcraft. Right. And that was a really hard post for me to post because I didn't want to talk about that. Edna Harding [00:10:09]: I knew a lot of Christians were utilizing the same methods that, you know, the grant Cardone's the, the Russell Brunson, like all these people are teaching and how to sell and not to say that it doesn't work. It probably does at some point, but he's not looking for just any fruit. He's looking for godly fruit. He's looking for fruit. That's going to show his character. And when you're following the strategies that the world teaches, even though it may work for some point. So for the, if you guys are not familiar with the world systems, basically they use emotional selling, they use positioning, they use, you know, create a a resistible offer, tax offer. They tell you to do all these things so that you could get people to buy, show them perceived value versus actually val and not not to say that none of them have the value. Edna Harding [00:11:08]: They probably do. But to, at what cost though? So let, let me just make it clear if you're telling your clients, okay, I want you to get in debt to hire me. That's not godly. Now mind you, there is a difference, right? Putting $20,000 in debt versus $300 in debt or $500 in debt is a huge difference. Right? So let me give you an example. So yesterday I was on a call with a mastermind group. I'm not going to tell you what it is and it wasn't really a mastermind. It was more like a, academy that had access to online coaches, access to the material. Edna Harding [00:12:00]: And they were talking about just basically, just the kind of same stuff that I've heard before. Right. And the pitch was there's only 50 spots left. And after that, you wouldn't they, they will no longer do this lifetime deal. Now I get the concept, not to say that it's not true. It could be true, but based on my experience, every time when they say the spots are filling up or there's a limited spot, there really isn't a limited spot. Now, example for me, I do have a limited spot because like, for example, for my business unlimited group, I am limiting to 30 people. Why do I have only 30 people? And I mean it by 30 people is because my bandwidth, Right? It's me right now. Edna Harding [00:12:52]: I don't have a team. It's just me. And I can only handle a certain amount of people to be able to give them quality feedback. So when I say there are limited spots, there are actually limited spots. Does that make sense? So if there are limited spots, tell people you have limited spots. If you if it's not limited spots and you're using it as a scare tactic, that is lying and that's manipulation. Does that make sense? Alright. So let's go to the third point. Edna Harding [00:13:22]: God judges misaligned fruit, even if the structure looks good. Verse seven. Okay. And Isaiah chapter five says he looks for justice, but saw bloodshed for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. Do you know what this tells me? My friends, God doesn't judge your business by your Instagram grid or your revenue report. He judges by the fruit is your business creating justice. Does it reflect righteousness? Are your clients experiencing peace or pressure? You know, the biggest compliment for me is hearing my client say, you're such a blessing. I'm so glad God sent you to me. Edna Harding [00:14:15]: I'm so glad God showed me your program. I'm saying, I'm not saying this. People actually say this. If you call any of my contacts or my contacts, my customers, my current clients right now who are active, everybody says that why? Because I make it intentional and I make it a habit to ensure that my programs and my services are producing godly fruit is producing the fruits of the spirit is producing the character of God. Now, obviously I'm a flawed individual. I'm a human being and I don't always make the right call. But one thing about the Holy spirit is he'll convict me. He'll say, yeah, the thing that you said this, or the thing that you did this, that's not godly. Edna Harding [00:15:01]: And I have to go back, repent to my customer, repent to them and let them know, okay, guys, I told you guys this, but this is what the holy spirit told me. And I'm okay with that because I realize that I am nothing with the Lord. Okay. And so it's okay to make mistakes, but you have to constantly be seeking the Lord, asking him for wisdom, asking for direction, asking for discipline, asking him for correction so that you ensure that you produce godly fruit, the fruit that's going to speak for eternity, the fruit that's going to remain the fruit that when your people go to heaven and they reflect on the earth, they're going to say, wow, that time with so and so was truly a game changer was truly such a blessing. Wow. God, thank you for sending me so and so, right. You want them to think that about you. All right. Edna Harding [00:15:57]: The next thing I want you to ask is not just your external clients, but if you have a team, are your team members flourishing or are they afraid? Are your team members flourishing, or are they afraid because you can't claim kingdom and run on control? You can't say God gave me this business and then sell with Jezebel tactics. Right? You can't do that. God sees it all and he loves us enough to confront it. So here's my prayer for you today that you let Isaiah five be your mirror, not your condemnation. Remember Jesus didn't come to condemn. Who's the cruiser of the brethren. It's the enemy. It's Satan. Edna Harding [00:16:45]: Jesus doesn't do that. He uses the word to be like a mirror to reflect on ourselves. Am I doing what God has called me to do? Am I truly okay. Being Jesus's hands and feet, let it reveal Isaiah five. I want you to read Isaiah five today. Let it reveal what needs to be realigned. Let it call you back to the root, right? Jesus himself. You don't need more hustle. Edna Harding [00:17:17]: What you need is harvest, but not any kind of harvest. You need holy harvest harvest. That's going to be sweet fragrance, the Lord, Because my friend, when you build with obedience, according to the word of God, the fruit, it actually multiplies without striving. Have you ever seen fruit multiply without you striving? That's supernatural. My friends, cause I don't know about you, but every fruit that you that that you see that you eat, like fruit, like actual fruit, like apples, oranges, peep someone toiled, someone planted, someone watered, someone nurtured, someone I don't know what I'm not a farmer, so I don't really know exactly what the terms are called. But imagine if all of a sudden you just had a tree and the fruit keeps bearing more trees and more fruits and more trees and more fruits that my friend is supernatural. Now mind you, it might not be immediate and not might be quick. It might be a longer process for this to remain because he's purging out our character. Edna Harding [00:18:43]: He's cleansing our mind from all toxic strongholds, anything, any belief systems that is going to get in the way of a beautiful harvest. He's he's purging that he's molding us to be like him so that we can handle the supernatural fruit that will remain guaranteed. If you build your business based upon the truth of the word of God. But my friends, if you want that type of supernatural business, you have to bear fruit, holy fruit. That's based on what principles of God. And that's what I'm seeing in the world is that in mind you, I'm not there yet. I'm not at the point where I'm like, oh my gosh, look at all the fruits to get all the fruits, like, but I know that every seed I'm planting is good. So it's on good soil. Edna Harding [00:19:42]: And I'm, I'm doing my best based on my human limitations and by the grace of God to ensure that every program, every seed I planted is based on the revenue, revelational knowledge that Jesus has shown me in my time with him. And the holy spirit has guided me to, so that it really represent who Jesus is, who the holy spirit is, who the heavenly father is, because I truly believe the word that he's gave me, that I will create wealth, right? Lasting wealth without toiling. And that it's just bound to happen. It's just a matter of time. I just have to allow the Lord to refine me more and more until I have the character and the wisdom to handle the supernatural businesses that he's going to entrust to me as I steward my current resource as well. See, that's another thing I want to talk about stewardship because a lot of us, the reason why we're stuck is because we are not passing the test when it comes to stewardship. Are you stewarding your resources well? So let me give you an example. So yesterday I took my daughter to get a haircut and I, bought these new hair products. Edna Harding [00:21:03]: And I notice what not mean. The holy spirit woke me up this morning and said, they didn't give you your 25% discount. Your 25% discount on the products. And yeah, it's probably what $12.15 bucks. But because I know this is not my money, this is God's money. I'm gonna call this salon back and be like, hey, you didn't give me my $12.15 bucks. And I know it sounds so, like, lame, but 25% discount, that's that's more than a tithe. Okay? That's ungodly. Edna Harding [00:21:37]: Alright? I'm kidding, but not kidding. Okay? So I'm gonna take back the 25% back so I could put that towards something else. Right? So that's my example, steward little, because that means you will steward much. Now, if this episode starts something in you, don't just sit on it. I want you to repay, pray, repent, and I want you to realign with who God called you to be. You need to step up to the plate. This is not an episode of condemnation. As I mentioned, this is an episode for you to ascend and step up and be all that God called you to be a Royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar pure people. Edna Harding [00:22:17]: Did I, did I say that right? Lord, I'm just trying to go off of memory. Anyway, if you're ready to detox your business and build the way God designed, I want you to schedule a call with me. Go to my website. There is a section that says, I forgot what it's called, but it's a schedule call with me or connect with Edna now or something like that. Just go over there, click on the link, schedule a diet account, or feel free to email me at hello@favorandwealth.com, and I'll send you the link. Okay? But don't waste any more time, like building things based on sandy sand or, you know, sand. Right? Sand Sandy foundation. Thank you, holy spirit. Edna Harding [00:22:57]: What am I saying? Build your business on the solid rock. Okay? One thing about me, I know I'm accountable to God. And so I take every wisdom and every strategy and everything I share with you to the father. I try my best to, because I know that I don't want to stir you wrong because I'm accountable for your blood. Basically that's according to the word of God. So one thing you're going to get about me, I will speak the truth and love. I will correct when I need to correct, but I will also adjust if I need to adjust. Right. Edna Harding [00:23:31]: Because I understand that seasons change and what might've worked for a specific season might not work for this season. Not because of things that's going on around you, but because what Jesus and the holy spirit is telling me is to come. And so you have to adapt, you have to adjust. You need to be able to see prophetically through the eyes of the spirit what's about to happen so that you could be prepared for that. And that's what I bring to the table. Not out of my own works or my own gifting, but because that's the, that's what I've learned. Thank you, holy spirit through trial and error. Okay. Edna Harding [00:24:10]: That's what I've learned through the process of pain and loss and trauma. Okay. I've learned so many lessons over the past twenty five years, and that is what I am using as a baseline. Does that make sense? Because obviously I have mentors, I have coaches at people who are way ahead of me. They're speaking life into me, but I also have the holy spirit. Who's teaching me, you know, so I'm in a lot of I'm so bottom line is I'm how do I explain this God? So I'm in the same journey as you. I'm just a few steps ahead of you. Does that make sense? I am being purged as we speak. Edna Harding [00:24:53]: Like every day I'm learning something every day. The Lord is disciplining every day. The Lord is showing me, you know, areas that I can improve on and I'm okay with it. You need that in life. You need that. You need someone to tell you, you know, the Bible says iron sharpens iron. Like I have other iron sharpening me and I will do the same for you if you decide to work with me. Okay? And so, thank you so much guys for taking the time to listen to this episode. Edna Harding [00:25:19]: I hope it bless you. I hope it encourage you. Don't forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with another entrepreneur Who's looking to do things God's way and who's hungry for more than just money, right? Who's hungry for more than just money and they want truth. They want joy. They want peace. They want everything that the Lord has in store for God's people. Remember we're after eternal impact, we're after our witness we're after the harvest. And so until next time, keep those hands clean, right? Keep those hearts clear and make sure that your vision is submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ. Edna Harding [00:25:59]: Well, my friends until next time, keep shining, take care. Thanks for joining us this week on Estrepreneur. Make sure to visit our website, favorandwealth.com, for more information on our services. While you're at it, if you found value in this show, we'd appreciate a rating on iTunes, or if you simply tell a friend about the show, that would help me out too. Also, check out my book, The Old New Side of Sales, available on Amazon, where I share seven of my secrets on how to win and grow business the right way. Until next time, keep shining.