So, Jesus came to this world to usher in the Kingdom of God. And those of us who want to follow in his footsteps, well, we’re meant to do the same. But there’s a difference – a profound difference – between Kingdom building and empire building.

The Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God, these are terms that Christians wave around a lot. And I guess in one sense, they’re entirely self-explanatory. And yet in another, I wonder sometimes whether others, and I really, really get it.

Here’s why.

You and I are, by and large programmed to be empire builders – in other words, we’re programmed to look after ourselves – our needs, our wants, our reputations, our influence, our comforts, our dreams … from birth we’re taught how to become self-reliant.

Over 20 years working as a consultant in a few hundred organisations around the world, I dealt with many, many senior managers and leaders. Thousands of them in fact. My observation is that 95% or more were empire builders. They were interested in building their networks and their control and their influence … to achieve their ends. Most organisations had a high degree of conflict – that’s often why I was called in: to navigate the political mine field so that the boss could get done what he or she wanted to get done.

And very sadly, can I tell you, over the past almost 20 years now, since I became a Christian, the vast majority of churches that I’ve encountered are not a lot different. There are factions jockeying for control. There are church splits. There are many people who are hurt by leaders, abused even. Sadly, many a church is full of empire builders rather than kingdom builders.

Am I saying that all churches are bad? Of course not, but they are full of imperfect people like you and me and one of the ways in which our sin manifests itself – I know “sin” it’s a stark word, a harsh word, but it’s the right word – one of the ways that we sin within the family of God is to be a control freak. We become all tribal, we form teams, we compete against one another – that team has a different theology to our team, that team belongs to a different denomination to our team, that team … You’ve seen it right? We have to criticise, we have to separate, we have to, well … we have to win, right?

So today on the program we’re kicking off a series of messages that’s all about becoming a Kingdom Builder rather than an Empire Builder. It’s not for the fainthearted. This series is for those who know that they’re imperfect, but whose heart is to see more and more and more people around them, and around the world, experience the love, the grace, the mercy, the peace, the power of God that can only be found in an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

This series is only for those who want to nail their sin, their empire building to the cross, and discover a new way to live, a new focus, a new priority – it’s for those who want to become Kingdom builders rather than empire builders. So if that’s not you, I suggest you go and make a cup of tea or coffee, find something else to do for the next 6 or 7 minutes, and then come back.

So what is the difference between the Kingdom of God and the empires of this world that we’re so deeply programmed to be a part of? Well, that’s by no means a new question. It’s a question that arose about two thousand years ago when Jesus started talking about the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven – two terms, which by the way I take to mean pretty much the same thing.

When Jesus first started talking about the Kingdom of God, He had a lot of explaining to do, because back in those days, a Kingdom was a very specific thing, and it was all about power and control and land and wealth. Nations were, by and large, ruled by kings – and those kings often went to war over land, wealth and power. In Jesus’ day, Israel and much of the then known world, was ruled by the Romans. Their king was the emperor. And it was a brutal form of rule. Insurrection and rebellion were brutally crushed.

And yet Jesus came out and said He was here to introduce the Kingdom of Heaven. Have a listen to this exchange between Jesus and some of the religious leaders of the day:

Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, ‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is! or There it is! ’ For, in fact, the kingdom of God is within you.’ (Luke 17:20,21)

In other words, this is not a physical kingdom, a worldly empire, like the Roman Empire (which was at the front of their minds), but the Kingdom of God is something else entirely. The Kingdom of God lives in our hearts. It’s not a bunch of chariots and warriors coming over the hill to take the citadel of Jerusalem by storm, it’s a battle that’s fought and won, it’s a peace that endures in the hearts of men and women and children.

What’s a kingdom? Plain and simple – it’s the place where a king rules; it’s the place where what the kings says, goes, it’s a place where the king’s subjects submit to the will of the king. Back then, kings had the absolute power of life and death over their subjects. And the people who were listening to Jesus had one particular kingdom in mind … well, it was actually an empire. The Roman Empire answerable only to the self–declared deity of the Roman Emperor.

No wonder they were so confused. And that confusion goes on still today. We’re constantly confusing God’s Kingdom with human empires, because we’re programmed to build and look after our own personal little empires. Laying them down, taking up our cross, following Jesus – that’s a totally unnatural act, right?

The Apostle Paul put it this way:

For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17)

In other words, the Kingdom of God isn’t something physical, it’s not a bunch of religious rules, it’s not about things that we can see and touch, as much as it is about the stuff that God is doing in our hearts – and the battle that God wants to win in our hearts – yours and mine – is the battle of our will.

John Piper in his book The Supremacy of God in Preaching says this:

Therefore, the goal of preaching is the glory of God reflected in the glad submission of the human heart.

The kingdom of God is alive and well in the hearts of all those people who worship Jesus, and whose hearts ache to obey Him. The Word says that we express our love of God through obedience, much in the same way that a man and a woman express their love for one another through fidelity:

1 John 5:3 – For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments.

Empire builders like the Roman Emperor of Jesus’ day, are interested in furthering their interests and power and control. Kingdom builders are interested in laying down their own interests so that others around them might experience the righteousness, peace and joy of the Holy Spirit that only come through faith in and a personal relationship with Jesus.

Empire builders and Kingdom builders are two profoundly different kinds of people. Empire builders are about furthering their own interests. Kingdom builders are about sacrificing their interests in order to further God’s interests. The life of an empire builder is on a totally, totally different footing to the life of a Kingdom builder.

Which one are you? An empire builder or a Kingdom builder?
Which one would you like to be? That’s what we’re going to be talking about over the next few weeks.

Empire builders are about furthering their own interests. Kingdom builders are about sacrificing their interests in order to further God’s interests. Which one are you?

John Piper is one of my favourite authors and speakers – he has a way of just hitting the nail on the head. Here’s one of the things that he writes in his book – A Hunger for God:

If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.

I think that is profoundly correct. As we talk about the kingdom of God – which, Jesus said, isn’t a physical kingdom but in fact it’s something that lives in our hearts, then we can’t do that without talking about our relationship with God through Jesus.

Back in Jesus day, when He was out there talking about the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God, many were confused, because the only Kingdom they’d experienced in their lifetimes was the Roman Empire, which ruled the occupied land of Israel with an iron fist.

So imagine if that’s the picture you have in your head – you’re living under the brutal dictatorship of an occupying force, that’s all you’ve ever known, that’s the only kingdom you’ve ever experienced – and then the Son of God comes along and starts talking about the Kingdom of God.

What you start thinking to yourself is that God must be like the Roman Emperor. That God has a bunch of rules and you have to obey them and if you don’t then you’re toast, that’s it, God will punish you. That’s how the Roman Empire worked, and in a sense that’s how God’s old covenant with Israel worked.

If you obey me I’ll bless you says God to His people, but if you don’t, I’ll curse you. Here it is from Leviticus Chapter 26, Verses 3 to 7:

If you follow my statutes and keep my commandments and observe them faithfully, I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall overtake the vintage, and the vintage shall overtake the sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and live securely in your land. And I will grant peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and no one shall make you afraid; I will remove dangerous animals from the land, and no sword shall go through your land. You shall give chase to your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.

Great, but what happens to them if they don’t obey God? Verses 14 to 17:

But if you will not obey me, and do not observe all these commandments, if you spurn my statutes, and abhor my ordinances, so that you will not observe all my commandments, and you break my covenant, I in turn will do this to you: I will bring terror on you; consumption and fever that waste the eyes and cause life to pine away. You shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down by your enemies; your foes shall rule over you, and you shall flee though no one pursues you.

But with Jesus coming into this world to take the punishment of Israel on His shoulders on that cross, and your punishment and mine too, He wants us to begin to realise that the Kingdom of God is really totally different to what they or we would expect. He tells many, many parables that begin with the words ‘The kingdom of Heaven is like …’. Here’s one of them:

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:44–46).

In other words when we discover the true Kingdom of Heaven – when we discover how utterly awesome and stupendous it is to have a relationship with God, to be forgiven through Jesus, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to have peace and joy, to taste grace and mercy – it’s so fantastic, we want to get rid of everything else, in order to have what God wants to give us – what Jesus died and rose again to bring us.

Do you see the profound difference between the Kingdom, the reign of God in our hearts that Jesus is talking about, and the idea that people had in their heads back then of what a kingdom is? An idea which, by the way, is not a lot different to what many people think being a Christian is all about – a bunch of rules that ruin your life.

Imagine if you found a treasure hidden in a field – a chest full of gold and diamonds, rubies and emeralds, more precious stones than you could ever imagine, worth so much more than what your current assets are worth. Wouldn’t you sell everything you have in order to buy that field and own that treasure? Of course you would!! So would I.

That – Jesus is saying – is exactly what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. That is exactly what accepting Jesus into your heart is all about. It’s so wonderful that the few things that you have to give up – the stuff you always knew was wrong anyhow, the rubbish that was ruining your life anyhow – those few things are so easy to give up because the Kingdom of God is worth so much more. That’s what it’s like, Jesus is saying. Or this one: Matthew 13:31,32:

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.

In other words the Kingdom of heaven is a place where you really, really want to be. This is fantastic. A place of shade and rest and safety. That’s what the Kingdom of Heaven is, according to Jesus!

I’m going to let you in on a little secret here – I’m not perfect. Far from it. But a profound thing has happened to me over the past couple of decades as I’ve journeyed with Jesus. His work in my heart through His Spirit and his Word has taken away my desire to build my own empires. And I have to tell you that I used to be an empire builder par excellence.

I’m simply not interested in having my own empires anymore. I’m simply not interested in factions and power struggles and growing my influence, and winning the battles of control. It … it just doesn’t make sense to me. It doesn’t hold any value for me anymore because the joy of seeing lives transformed as the Kingdom of God brings yet another heart and another and another into glad submission, into experiencing the joy of knowing Jesus – nothing compares to that. No empire that I can build could ever bring me the joy that playing my small part in the Kingdom of God brings me.

Why do we trade diamonds for stones? Why do we imagine that building our own petty, despotic little empires of control is better than experiencing the love and peace and joy of God? I don’t know – but that’s how I lived the first almost 4 decades of my life. And I’m not going back to that. I wouldn’t give up the treasure that I discovered in my field for anything!

I’m not going to trade my place of safety and security in that tree for living out on a stormy ocean again like I used to!

My friend, listen to me. The reign of God’s love in our hearts is such a wonderful thing, it is so greatly to be desired, so that the more we hunger and thirst and seek after a deep, intimate, personal, one–on–one relationship with Jesus, the more God changes our hearts, from being focussed on our own interests, to being focussed on His. From being an empire builder to being a Kingdom Builder.

That’s just how it works.

Are you a kingdom builder or an empire builder? Tough question I know – but are you more interested in seeing God’s interests furthered in this world, or your own?

In the natural, you and I are programmed to be empire builders aren’t we? We’re constantly thinking about furthering our own interests in our little corner of the planet. In a sense, building our own despotic little empires. It’s just the way we’ve been programmed. And yet Jesus – topsy–turvy Lord and Saviour that He is – calls us to turn that whole self-interest thing completely on its head. Matthew 16:24:

Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me’.

That’s easy for Him to say; it’s a lot harder for you and me to do by living it out in our lives, right? So how do you live it out? The reason I ask that question is that anybody who’s ever followed Jesus knows that feeling when you’ve tried and tried and tried and tried … and yet still you fail. Still you find yourself pulling up short. Still you see the selfishness or the arrogance or the insecurity or the faithlessness that you wish wasn’t there rearing it’s ugly head in your life.

You want to be a Kingdom Builder, and yet you realise that really, you’re just trying to build your own empire. Ever been there? Yep – me too. So … what’s the answer? Well Jesus has the answer, and it goes much deeper than you and I might think. Luke 6:43–45:

No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.

In other words if you and I truly want to take up our cross and follow Jesus, if we really, really want to become Kingdom builders rather than our own despotic little empire builders, it’s a matter of the heart. Good things and bad things that we do begin in the heart. Jesus also pointed out that murder begins in the … heart, right? (Matthew 5:21–26). So what you and I need is a change of heart, not a change of actions.

Come on, you and I know that we can do anything if first, it begins as a work in our hearts. Problem is, there are some things deep down inside that you and I simply cannot do. There are some major works required in our hearts, that only the Holy Spirit can do. So to answer this question – how can we become kingdom builders rather than empire builders, we’re going to go to a man who had a right heart and see what it was about His heart that enabled Him to build the Kingdom of God, rather than His own personal empire.

Now this man – David – ultimately became the greatest King that Israel ever had. So if anybody could have been an empire builder, it could have been Him right? And yet He was much more interested in Building God’s Kingdom than His empire. Here’s why – a thousand or so years after the life and reign of David, Luke the Apostle is writing the book of Acts and this is what he writes under the power and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Acts 13:22:

When he had removed him, he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.’

Do you see? The heart comes first then the actions. David was a man after God’s very own heart and as a result, he was a man who would carry out all God’s wishes. Not the great thing about choosing David to talk about being a Kingdom builder is this: David was a terrible sinner. He was an adulterer, a murderer, a bandit and marauder. He had times when he was faithless in his life – causing huge punishment to fall on the nation of Israel. In fact, he did things that you or I would never dream of doing.

In other words He was a sinner just like you and me, only much, much worse than us. And the point of God calling him a man after His own heart is that God knows we’re not perfect, He doesn’t expect us to be perfect, but He wants our hearts to beat as one with His.

Over the last little while I’ve been reading through the books of 1 and 2 Samuel in the Old Testament in my personal devotion times. Now of course, as always, certain passages leapt out and I highlighted them, thought about them, prayed over them, as you do when you’re reading God’s Word. But the biggest thing that struck me was the big sweep of the story of God and David. I think sometimes it’s easy to miss that.

We read this verse, or that verse, this chapter or that chapter – it’s as though we chop up God’s Word and we miss the huge story of God’s love and salvation. You know what I mean? So it’s a great thing sometimes just to read the Bible as a story, and ask, what’s the whole story telling me here?

And the thing that this story showed me is what it was about David that made him a man after God’s own heart. What was it about his heart this mighty warrior, this sinner – despite all his failings – that made him a man after God’s own heart?

And here’s the answer: time and time again David showed through his actions that he considered the nation of Israel to be God’s Kingdom and not his empire. Israel wasn’t his, it was God’s.

But over and over again, David showed respect for authority even when that authority was murderous and despotic, he forgave those who persecuted him, he honoured those who were nothing. As I read about those things, I could see the heart of God beating in and through David’s attitudes and actions. And as tough a life as David had, I found myself praying – God, make some of those changes in my heart too. And let me tell you, there’s power in a prayer like that.

Friend, you and I can’t produce good actions out of a bad heart. When there’s arrogance, selfishness and pride dwelling in our hearts, in a little room there that we’ve locked up tight to keep God out, then there’s no way that we can have the God–given security to honour authority that God has set over us even when we don’t agree.

When we hand everything over to God, except just this one little thing, let me tell you, that one little thing is going to ruin our lives. That one little thing is going to be the devil’s foothold; his beachhead from which he’ll plunder our whole lives; our effectiveness in ministry. Because let me tell you something, the devil definitely wants to keep you and me in our natural, sinful state.

What does the Bible say? Ephesians 4:27:

Do not make room for the devil.

Romans 13:14:

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.

If in your heart of hearts you want to be used of God to be a part of building His Kingdom rather than your own empire then that thing that you’re hanging onto that you know is wrong, the one thing that you’ve locked away tight and kept from God, needs to be handed over to Him. I know you’re never going to be perfect; so does God. But wilful rebellion in your heart, will rob you of your role as a builder of God’s Kingdom.

There’s nothing surer than that. 2 Timothy 2:20,21:

In a large house there are utensils not only of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for special use, some for ordinary. All who cleanse themselves of the things I have mentioned will become special utensils, dedicated and useful to the owner of the house, ready for every good work.

Okay, imagine this situation. Someone whom God apparently has put in a position of authority over you is giving you a really hard time. What do you do? Do you deal with them, or do you grin and bear it?

At no place and at no time is our tendency towards looking after our own interests more sorely tested than when a person in authority over us is being unjust or unfair. When they’re treating us badly. The more “me–centric” our society becomes, the more we think about our rights. I deserve better than this!! He can’t treat me like that!! That’s just not fair!!

And these days, people leave their jobs and find another, because they don’t like the boss; they don’t like their colleagues; what’s going on doesn’t suite them.

But let me ask you this question: what if that boss whose been treating you harshly needs a godly man or woman around them, to support them through a crisis that’s going on behind the scenes? What if in fact, God means to use you as His disciple in that place to share the love of Christ with this brute of a boss? What if God’s plan is to transform this person’s life, in fact his or her whole family, by you sharing the Gospel of Christ with them. But instead, you go get a new job because … it’s just not fair?

Over and over again in this series we’ve been asking ourselves the question: are you and I kingdom builders, or empire builders. Are we more concerned about God’s plans an interests in this world and playing our small part, or are we focussed on our own self-interest?

And this example that I have just given you is a perfect litmus test for the degree to which you and I are kingdom builders or personal empire builders. What would you do in this situation?

Would you seek hard after God to find out if He wants you to stay; what role He wants you to play? Or would you just go to the job pages and start looking for a new job. We’ve seen so far that King David was a man after God’s own heart and as such even though he ultimately became King of Israel, he treated Israel as God’s Kingdom, not His own personal empire.

And nowhere do we see this more than in his relationship with Saul. Here’s a quick thumbnail sketch of the situation. Saul was the very first King of Israel, but in all sorts of ways he’d gone off the rails and God had taken his anointing off Saul, and put it on young David. Problem was, Saul was still king. Every man and his dog could see that God’s anointing, God’s favour and power had come off Saul and fallen on David, but Saul was determined to cling to power … at all costs.

And so Saul set about hunting David down to kill him. Imagine – you know and the world can see that God has a plan for you, but the guy whose job you’re meant to take decides to murder you. Pretty extreme – wouldn’t you agree? Now David by this time in his life had become a skilled warrior. He was a great leader of men, and he won just about every battle he’d engaged in to this point. So with those skills and a band of loyal followers, hey – why not kill Saul? Makes sense. Nobody would get upset – the whole nation can see that Saul’s time has come to an end, and that David’s time as king has come. It’s as plain as the nose on everybody’s face.

And in fact twice – twice David has Saul in a place where he has the opportunity take his life, and twice, David declines to do so. Why? Well here it is. This is what transpires between David and Saul after the first time. Saul is relieving himself in a dark cave. David sneaks up behind him in the dark and cuts the corner of Saul’s cloak off as evidence that he’d had the opportunity to kill him. 1 Samuel 24:5–19:

Afterward David was stricken to the heart because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s cloak. He said to his men, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord ’s anointed, to raise my hand against him; for he is the Lord ’s anointed.’ So David scolded his men severely and did not permit them to attack Saul. Then Saul got up and left the cave, and went on his way.

Afterwards David also rose up and went out of the cave and called after Saul, ‘My lord the king!’ When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance. David said to Saul, ‘Why do you listen to the words of those who say, ‘David seeks to do you harm’? This very day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you into my hand in the cave; and some urged me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not raise my hand against my lord; for he is the Lord ’s anointed.’ See, my father, see the corner of your cloak in my hand; for by the fact that I cut off the corner of your cloak, and did not kill you, you may know for certain that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you are hunting me to take my life. May the Lord judge between me and you! May the Lord avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you. As the ancient proverb says, ‘Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness’; but my hand shall not be against you. Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A single flea? May the Lord therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and you. May he see to it, and plead my cause, and vindicate me against you.’

When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, ‘Is this your voice, my son David?’ Saul lifted up his voice and wept. He said to David, ‘You are more righteous than I; for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. Today you have explained how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. For who has ever found an enemy, and sent the enemy safely away? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. Now I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. Swear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not wipe out my name from my father’s house.’ So David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home; but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

Friend these are the actions of a man after God’s own heart. He won’t take his kingship of Israel by force. Why? Because it’s not Saul’s empire or his, it’s God’s Kingdom. So, how do you see things in a time of conflict? Is it about your life, your empire … or God’s Kingdom?

As I read and thought about that story, together with the story of the second time that David spares Saul’s life (1 Samuel 26 if you’d like to read it for yourself) it hit me between the eyes that David was more interested in honouring God than he was in seizing power. So much so, in fact, that he was prepared to live out his honour to God, even though it may cost him his life.

Which when you think about, is exactly what Jesus said we should do – a thousand years later: Mark 8:35:

For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

I’m going to be honest with you here – I can’t live my life that way in my own strength. I don’t have the strength. I can only do it, day by day, as the Holy Spirit works in my heart, to make my heart more like God’s heart.

Father God I pray for each of us who has received your word today. I pray for the battlefield of our hearts, the places where the enemy wants to get a foothold, the places that we’ve been holding back from you, the places where we fail time and time again.

Lord God, we are your people. We want to honour you with all that we are – with everything we have, with every hope and every dream. It’s just that we can’t do it.

So we pray that your Spirit would take this Word of yours that we have heard today and change our hearts, transform our hearts, renew our hearts, empower our hearts so that the attitudes, the aspirations and the actions that flow out of them, will be all about building your kingdom in the hearts of those around us. Make us Kingdom builders we pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

When was the last time that you cried? When was the last time that you wept? When was the last time that you wept over the hurt and loss suffered by your greatest enemy? Not your hurt. Not your loss. Theirs.

You and I see the world principally from our own perspective. We judge people and circumstances, we weigh our thoughts and actions on the scale of self-interest – what we feel, what we think we need, what we want, how we want to be seen.

And that self-centric attitude gets us into a whole bunch of strife. That’s the reason this program is called A Different Perspective. It’s about taking a look at the same thing that we look at every day you and I, but seeing them from a completely different perspective. God’s perspective.

Here’s how I see the Bible, when I read the tough truths that God shares with me through His Word. It’s as though He’s inviting me up into heaven’s balcony to see the view from there, lovingly putting His arm over my shoulder and pointing things out from where He sits; from His perspective.

And when we do see this whole melee that you and I call life through His eyes, our mistakes become obvious; the confusion becomes clearer; the world starts to make sense. And I guess as we chat about becoming someone who is more of a builder of God’s kingdom than a builder of their own personal empire – seeing things through God’s eyes is incredibly important.

We’ve seen how David viewed a terrible situation of conflict between the outgoing King of Israel Saul, who was trying to kill him, and himself. David’s whole perspective on this life and death struggle was this: God owns Israel. It’s His kingdom. He appoints the king. And if he wants to remove Saul and replace him with me, well, He’s going to have to do it. I will not – I WILL NOT – raise my hand against God’s anointed. Despite what my supporters say. Despite the fact that I could easily take his life. Despite the fact that I know I should be king. IT’s up to God. This is what David said to Saul in that dark cave where he could have killed him:

May the Lord therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and you. May he see to it, and plead my cause, and vindicate me against you.

He left it up to God. Our normal reaction is self-promotion, because we’re more interested in self than in God. But a man or a woman who is more interested in God’s will, God’s decisions, God’s kingdom rather than their own empire will leave it up to God. That’s how you can tell a kingdom builder from an empire builder? It’s a person who is prepared to suffer loss on their own part, for the sake of gain on the part of God’s kingdom. Powerful stuff isn’t it? To me this story is a mirror in which I see my own reflection for what it truly is. Well may God say that his Word is sharper than any two-edged sword, able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the human heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

And I’m hoping that you like me are asking yourself – am I really a kingdom builder, or am I a personal empire builder? How else do we know that a person is more of a kingdom builder I’ll tell you how. It’s how they feel about their enemies. How they treat their enemies. Do they weep over the pain and loss and suffering of their enemy or not?

Eventually, Saul and his sons (including Jonathan who had been a dear friend and ally of David’s) are killed in battle. God does in fact judge, God does in fact act – He judges and acts against Saul and his house, and for David and his house. Now – think about how you would respond in David’s shoes – Saul’s been trying to hunt you down and kill you, not to mention the fact that he’s been sitting in a chair that God has clearly anointed you for – and the message comes to you that Saul is dead.

How would you react? A sigh of relief – some tears even over the fact that you no longer have to fear for your life? Would you run Saul down to the people around you – Fool that he was, he deserved everything he got. See God’s finally found in my favour. I was right all along. All pretty natural reactions I’d have thought. You might even throw a bit of a party or a celebration.

Let’s take a look at how David reacted – 2 Samuel 1:1–18:

After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. On the third day, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground and did obeisance. David said to him, ‘Where have you come from?’ He said to him, ‘I have escaped from the camp of Israel.’ David said to him, ‘How did things go? Tell me!’ He answered, ‘The army fled from the battle, but also many of the army fell and died; and Saul and his son Jonathan also died.’ Then David asked the young man who was reporting to him, ‘How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan died?’ The young man reporting to him said, ‘I happened to be on Mount Gilboa; and there was Saul leaning on his spear, while the chariots and the horsemen drew close to him. When he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. I answered, ‘Here sir.’ And he said to me, ‘Who are you? ’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite. ’ He said to me, ‘Come, stand over me and kill me; for convulsions have seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’

So I stood over him, and killed him, for I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.’ Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them; and all the men who were with him did the same. They mourned and wept, and fasted until evening for Saul and for his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. David said to the young man who had reported to him, ‘Where do you come from?’ He answered, ‘I am the son of a resident alien, an Amalekite.’ David said to him, ‘Were you not afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?’ Then David called one of the young men and said, ‘Come here and strike him down.’ So he struck him down and he died. David said to him, ‘Your blood be on your head; for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’ And David intoned a lamentation song over Saul and his son Jonathan.

David mourned over the loss of his enemy Saul. David struck down the man who killed Saul. Now there’s a heart after God. There’s a man who’s a true kingdom builder, rather than an empire builder.

How do you react to that story? Me – I’m totally gobsmacked. I’d have thrown a party, David wrote a lamentation song. I’d have given that young man who killed Saul a medal. David killed him. God loves each man, woman and child equally. For God – He hates to punish. He hates to have to let people live out the consequences of their sin and rebellion.

That’s why He sent Jesus to die for you and me. Because God too is a Kingdom builder. Jesus came to usher God’s Kingdom out into the world, so that you and I and countless others can be part of God’s kingdom. But my friend that means denouncing our desire to build our own empires. It means opening every part of our heart to the Kingship of God, to the Lordship of Jesus.

It means admitting that we are completely incapable in and of ourselves of following Jesus and helping to build His kingdom on this earth – it means submitting ourselves to the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit for God to work in us and through us.

It means being prepared to suffer real loss in this world, in order that the love of Christ can fill the hearts of those around us as well:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1,2)

That’s what it means to be a Kingdom builder instead of an empire builder. And the only way it happens is when we yield our hearts to the Kingship of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit.