Here’s a question to kick the week off for you: What are you on this earth for? I mean – what purpose, what plan do you think God has for your life? What does He want you to accomplish?

Last week on the program we were taking a look at what exactly it means to become a Kingdom builder on this earth. You see, I’m convinced that God has a plan for your life just as He does a plan for my life. 

And I strongly suspect that the main focus of that plan is not to make ourselves wealthy and comfortable. I strongly suspect that God’s plan for me and his plan for you is not that we should get out there and build our own little empires – but rather to roll up our sleaves and be about the business of building His Kingdom.

Our empires, man–made empires are so vastly, profoundly different to God’s Kingdom. We want to build things that we can see – a business, a reputation, success… that’s an empire. God wants to build a spiritual kingdom on this earth that involves winning over the hearts of men and women and children with His love, through Jesus His Son.

And I think in this age of affluence and wealth, whether we’re partakers of that affluence and wealth, or whether we simply aspire to it – it’s all too ways to get the two confused. Of course, there’s nothing new in that. People had it all confused back in Jesus’ day too. Jesus was out there talking about the Kingdom of God coming, and the religious leaders (who, just quietly had been feathering their own little nests, making themselves wealthy and powerful at the expense of God’s people) well, when they heard Jesus talking about the Kingdom of God, the picture they had in their heads, was the picture of a worldly empire.

Their own despotic little empires. The Empire of Rome – that was their world view. And so Jesus said this to them:

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 the relationship we have with Jesus. It’s about the glad submission of our hearts, to the will and the rule and the plan of God.

And so that brings us back to the question I asked a few minutes ago. Why are you on this earth? What purpose does God have in mind for you? There are many who don’t have answers to those questions. Perhaps you’re one of them. 

Want to introduce you to a couple of men one young, one not so young that God’s brought across my path lately. Let’s start with the not so young man. He’s in his early fifties, very much in the prime of his life. He’s about to build a new house. He’s very successful in his chosen field, works for a large corporate. I was asked to speak at a men’s breakfast at his church not so long ago, and the organiser was really disappointed that not as many people turned up as expected.

I smiled – I never worry about numbers, they belong to God. And I had a sense that morning that God had some things to do in people’s lives. It turns out the thing that I was led to speak about – Psalm 139, all about God’s purpose for our lives, really touched this man. It brought something to the surface that had been there for a while. God stirred him up. Despite all his apparent success – and by the way, he’s also an elder in a very large and prominent church – this guy had a feeling deep inside that God has something else for him. Some plan, some purpose that hasn’t quite been revealed yet. I’m catching up with him shorty for a cup of coffee, to have a yarn about it.

The second man – a younger man. A very successful author and speaker – travels all over the world as a speaker and gets paid a bundle of money just to show up. Often on the news at night on TV, being interviewed about this and that – he’s emerging as the go-to guy in the media whenever something in his particular area of expertise pops up. I mean this guy has the world at his feet – he has talents and abilities that I’ll never have. 

He felt to seek me out after we met at a conference – and asked me if I could spend a little time each month mentoring him. Now, the guy is full on for Jesus, he’s successful, everything’s going really well… and yet again, something inside, prompted by the spirit told him, there’s more.

As I sat having coffee with him, I know in my heart of hearts that God has the most amazing plan for this young man’s life, beyond anything that He can imagine right at the moment. Two men, in the space of a couple of months, come across my path, and just at a time when God is prompting me to write about becoming a Kingdom Builder. Coincidence? Don’t think so. I don’t believe in coincidences anymore. 

I remember almost 20 years ago, when I’d given my life to the Lord, and it was the same pattern. My worldly empire was pretty successful, but my heart yearned for something. I couldn’t put my finger on it back then. I couldn’t have said to you – you know I think the Holy Spirit was starting to get me to step out on this journey to discover God’s call on my life. 

But that’s exactly what it was. And I know that as I speak about this right now, there are many, many people quietly nodding their heads; I know that God is touching people – perhaps you – with this same realisation that no matter your circumstances, your age, what’s going on in your life, He has more for you. 

It may not mean a change of job or career – for most it doesn’t. Or perhaps it does, I don’t know. But if your heart longs to follow Jesus, if deep in your heart you want to be a Kingdom builder, not an empire builder, then perhaps – just perhaps – today is a turning point. Today is the start of something new. 

And to start to live out that something new, we need to have a shift in focus. The expansion of God’s kingdom needs to become more important to us than growing our own empire. It changes everything. It’s about putting everything on the line. Our careers, our finances, where we live, how we live – it’s not about tipping God with a 10% tithe, but putting everything on the table – all in, boots and all.

I know that’s scary. Jesus knows that’s scary. That’s why He said to His disciples:

If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life. (Matt 16:24–26)

That’s the dilemma we all face. You, me, anyone who has that nagging sense in their hearts that Jesus is calling them on to something new. That Jesus has a plan for their lives that involves stepping out, taking a risk. 

But here’s the thing. So long as we stay in our comfort zones, so long as we try to ignore that… That quiet still voice that’s telling us there’s something more – we’ll never be satisfied. We’ll never be content. We’ll never have that sense of knowing that we’re on the right path; God’s path.

And that’s exactly how it’s meant to be. Following Jesus, becoming a Kingdom Builder, often means… no, it always means the end of our own little empires. It’s a whole new focus. 

The Kingdom of Heaven; The Kingdom of God – two terms that roll oh so easily off the tongue of many a Christian. Jesus came to usher that Kingdom, His Kingdom into this world. And it cost Him… everything.

The Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God – is a strange concept to you and me. You know I’ve read a lot of my Bible, particularly the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

It’s only in the Gospel of Matthew that you find the term “The Kingdom of Heaven” – Mark Luke and John record only that Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God. And at various different times, Jesus talks about the Kingdom of Heaven being here, and at other times as something that’s in the future. 

Sometimes it’s something we enter into now, sometimes it’s something we have to wait to enter into. It’s this idea of – here already but not quite. Have a listen:

Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near. (Matthew 3:2)

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3)

And then at other times, He talks about the Kingdom of Heaven as being something in the future:

Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 7:21)

I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 8:11)

But this whole Kingdom of Heaven, Kingdom of God thing was and is a big deal for Jesus. Those two terms together are mentioned 98 times in the New Testament, mostly by Jesus.

And often, you find Jesus saying things like: 

The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a man sowing seed in the field. (Matthew 13:24)

or…

The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. (Matthew 13:31)

or…

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field (Matthew13:44)

Or like a treasure hidden in a field, or like a merchant in search of pearls, or like a net thrown into the sea, or like… On and on He goes about the Kingdom of heaven. Jesus came not just to open the door for you and me into the Kingdom of Heaven through His death and resurrection, but to show us what the Kingdom of Heaven is actually like. 

Think about that – Jesus came to this earth to bring the kingdom of heaven near, to tell us about God’s kingdom, to open the way for us to enter God’s kingdom. His whole purpose, His whole mission, His whole focus was on inviting you and me into His Kingdom.

Why am I rabbiting on about this? Why am I making such a big deal about this? Because it is a big deal because it was a big deal for Jesus. The King inviting you and me into His place, under His protection, to receive all the benefits of being one of the king’s kids. 

When I was a child, I lived in my parent’s house – I didn’t really appreciate the benefits of that, but looking back on it now, I totally get it. My parents brought me into this world, they sacrificed a lot to clothe me and feed me and educate me. They put up with my childish ways and my teenaged tantrums. 

Of course, I didn’t always like the discipline they dished out and the rules that they imposed – but I was endowed with considerable benefits through living in their house.

Now imagine that you get to live in God’s house, in God’s family – here and now and for the rest of eternity. The kingdom is like a man who found a treasure in a field and he was so overjoyed that he sold everything to buy that field so that he could have the treasure. That’s what Jesus said. That’s what the Kingdom of Heaven is like.

The benefits are vast: Back in union with God. Forgiven. Peace. Power. Provision. Plenty. And the whole purpose of Jesus coming to this earth was to usher in the Kingdom of God, to open the way into His Kingdom to you and me. Then… then He calls disciples to be His followers; His people’ His family. And He says to them:

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18–20)

He builds His here and now Kingdom on this earth in the hearts of these disciples and calls them to go and build the Kingdom of Heaven in the hearts of people all over the world. In other words, the great commission handed on from Jesus to His disciples – is to go and build the Kingdom of God. 

So that one day, all those who have entered it will spend eternity in it and receive all the glorious riches of their inheritance in Jesus Christ. The Kingdom of Heaven’ the Kingdom of God –as not just terms to slide off our tongues unthinkingly, God’s Kingdom is everything. It’s the most important thing. 

Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That’s how Jesus taught His disciples to pray. Jesus was and is a Kingdom Builder. Okay a whole bunch of people didn’t get it. They thought His kingdom was there to compete with the Roman empire. But that wasn’t it at all. Jesus came to usher in the Kingdom of God, to show us what it was like, to open the door for us to enter through His death and resurrection. 

Jesus was and is a Kingdom builder and He’s calling his disciples, you, me and anyone else who believes in Jesus to be exactly the same. A Kingdom Builder. Nothing more. Nothing less. So the question is, what are you going to do with the rest of your life?

And it’s at that question, it’s at that point that many turn away. They were looking for an easy road, not this. But just think about how crazy that is. Think back to your childhood – and of course, I get it that your parents weren’t perfect. But 99% of parents try their best.

Was it hard growing up in your family? Sure it was. It’s always hard growing up. But for most of us, the benefits vastly outweighed the downside and pretty much, there’s no easy road to anything that’s worthwhile. Imagine if you’d turned away from your parents, instead of persevering with them. And here I’m not talking about those very small percentage of parents who abused their children – I know there are some people listening today who went through that. I’m not trying to downplay that in any way.

But for most of us, we had good parents, imperfect though they were, and we accepted their word and their rules and their love and their discipline as children accept these things. Willingly. Openly. Almost naively. And that my friend is how we enter the Kingdom of God. Mark 10:14–15

Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.

Listen to me. Jesus came to build His Kingdom, God’s Kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven on this earth. He gave His life so that you and I could enter it – now and for all eternity – and receive all the benefits of being children of God. 

And then… then He called you and me to do what He did – to be Kingdom Builders. That’s what our lives are meant to be all about. Kingdom builders.

Jesus talked a lot about the Kingdom of Heaven. But talk is cheap. It’s what He did that tells us how important God’s Kingdom really is. It’s what He gave, so that you and I could enter the Kingdom of God that totally, totally blows me away. 

As you can imagine, I get a lot of emails from people who listen to this program. People stop by our website christianityworks.com or they just email us – and many, many times, they’re struggling with something in their lives. One man the other day emailed me and he was struggling about a lie he’d told a few years back, and in his heart of hearts, he didn’t know whether God would ever forgive him.

Another woman recently wrote to me about one of her children who’d gone seriously off the rails. People going through marriage breakdown and divorce. People struggling to be accepted at a church. People who are hurting. People who have lost their jobs. There are so many issues that we face in life, and I guess sitting where I sit, I get to see a pretty comprehensive cross-section of those issues.

And it doesn’t seem to matter where people live, in a wealthy country, or in a poor country; east or west; north or south – the issues are the same.

I even had an email from a woman living on the streets who’d sold her body into prostitution just to be able to afford to buy food. Despite all the growing affluence and all the things you can buy with your hard-earned money, she’s a tough old world out there. Real people struggling with real things. 

And into all of that, walks Jesus. How relevant is He? How much of a difference is he really making? Believe it or not, that’s something I often ask myself about these programs – because if by sharing the Word of God with you and many others who listen, if it’s not making a real difference, if it’s not giving real answers, if it’s not touching your heart with the powerful love of God, then frankly, I’m wasting my time.

So – how relevant is Jesus to you? How much of a difference is He making in your life? Because Jesus went to extraordinary lengths to bring the Kingdom of God near to you. And that’s what I want to spend a few minutes focussing on today. The extraordinary lengths that Jesus went to purchase for you, entry into the Kingdom of Heaven, which begins, by the way, down here on earth. Because it’s once we understand the passion in the Lord’s heart to do all that’s required for us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, that it starts making a real difference in our lives.

Of course, neither you nor I can ever enter the Kingdom of God in our own right. We’ve all sinned; we’ve all fallen short of the glory of God and the outcome, or the wages of our sin is death. That’s the whole point of Jesus dying for you and me on the cross. There He hung, beaten, nailed to that wood, gasping for air, in agony, dying – because God is a just God. Justice has to be done. But the dilemma for God is that He is also a loving God – so, how does He reconcile His justice and His love – by allowing Jesus to take my punishment and your punishment in this brutal way.

The other day, I read a tweet from a great guy called Peter Pelt – he’s a pastor and he asked this question, quite simply ”Would you die for someone else?” It’s a tough question to answer isn’t it? And I suspect that had I been facing such a brutal Roman execution, you’d have had to drag me there kicking and screaming. Why would you possibly die for a bunch of people you didn’t even know? And yet for Jesus, it was the obvious thing to do:

John 10:17,18 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.

Jesus gave His life for you and for me willingly. He always knew He’d have to and He died for you and me so that we could enter into the Kingdom of heaven here on earth and for all eternity. And the only way to enter into His kingdom is through faith in Jesus:

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son so that who so ever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life. 

And for this reason, in order to save you and me, Jesus went willingly to the Cross. He gave up His life so that the Kingdom of Heaven would break out in our hearts and take us through to spend eternity with Him.

That’s the powerful Gospel – good news – of Jesus Christ. It’s available to you, to me, and to anybody that would put their trust in what Jesus did for them on that cross – that He paid the full price of our sin, so that we can enter God’s Kingdom by faith, through God’s grace in Jesus.

Question is, does that make a difference to your life today? Does the power of God’s love break through the difficult circumstances that you’re facing – today – and bring joy and peace and confidence to your heart? Today?

I remember a time when I was completely alone on this earth. The people who should have stood by me had deserted me. I think there’s nothing worse than being completely alone. Nobody to call. Nobody who cares. Nobody to deeply connect with – soul to soul. It was a dark place, I have to tell you. I’d never seen such darkness before, and I’ve never seen such darkness since. Inky black. Alone. 

And it’s in that darkness my friend that the light of the love of Jesus Christ shines so brightly. It’s when fear and loneliness and anxiety and pain are washing over you so that you feel like you’re drowning that Jesus reaches into the pit. For God so loved you that He gave His only begotten Son, so that if you should believe in me, you will not perish but will have eternal life. My friend – that’s the good news. And it’s for you. The old rugged cross is for you. God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ is for you. His love, His presence, His comfort is for you. 

The kingdom of God… is for you.

The Kingdom of God is many things – it’s multi–faceted. And one of the things that God’s Kingdom is, is a place of shelter and safety and comfort and love, that can never be overrun by the cares of this world. It can never be overrun by the hatred and sin of others and it certainly can never be overrun by the devil and his legions. 

Why is this important? Because when we’re travelling through those dark places in life that we all travel through when we’re feeling alone or unappreciated or under attack – we need to know that the Kingdom of God – is like a fortress that we can run into. Romans 8:31–39

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord

The love of God in Christ Jesus, the fact that you if you believe in Jesus are in the Kingdom of God right now, the fact that nothing can separate you from God’s love or defeat God’s love – is the only thing… the… only… thing… that makes a difference. That’s why the Kingdom of God is so important.

We’ve all met people who are like wolves in sheep’s clothing. They appear to be godly, they say all the right things, they even seem to do the right things, but one day you realise that really, they’re far more interested in building their own empire, than God’s kingdom. So… which one are you? An empire builder, or a kingdom builder?

Over these past few weeks on the program, we’ve been talking about how to transition from being someone who is all about building your own empire, to someone who is first and foremost about building God’s Kingdom on this earth.

Empire building comes very naturally to you and me – because sin is ingrained in our very DNA. It’s something that King David knew all too well when He came to God to confess his sin of adultery and murder: Psalm 51:3–5

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment. Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me

And that question that I asked of you just a moment ago – are you an empire builder or a kingdom builder? – is not just a question that I’m hurling in your face, but it’s a question that I ask myself constantly – over and over and over again. Because I know that there is such an incredibly fine line between being an empire builder and being a kingdom builder.

I see it in the ministry of Christianityworks all the time. Here’s how it plays itself out. As well as here on your local station, these programs that we produce are heard all over the world – on well over a thousand radio stations. So as you can imagine our team interacts with lots and lots of other ministries.

What do we want to achieve? Well, we want as many radio stations as possible to broadcast these programs. Why? Because the more stations that air them, the more people that are going to hear about Jesus and the more lives are going to be touched and transformed by the good news of Christ. It’s that simple. 

Some organisations that we interact with – in the name of the Lord our God – are open and collaborative. They deal with us in love – and after all, whether they choose to air these programs or not – it’s acting in love that matters, right? Others… well, let’s just say… others aren’t like that at all. I remember one station that I dealt with in particular a few years ago – no names, no pack drill – for them it was like… it was like this business they were in was just that. A business. Tough, brutal, dismissive. And yet others are more concerned that the Gospel is preached than the business side of things.

But it’s not just other people – I’m not here to point the finger. See this is the important bit – I have to constantly be asking myself, what are my motivations? What are the intentions of my heart? Is our team out there doing what we do to grow the kingdom of God in the hearts of men and women and children around the globe, or are we just in the business of growing our empire so that we can boast and say – look! Look at how successful this ministry is. Look how successful we are.

Because I don’t care who you are, or what you do – pride will always, always try to raise its ugly head. And so I’ve put checks and balances in place in the ministry to ensure that we deal with that the all too natural sin of pride. Why am I talking so openly and bluntly about my own experiences? Because this, my friend, is right where the rubber hits the road.

We can be like those people I talked about earlier – the wolf in sheep’s clothing – people who talk the talk and pretend to walk the walk, but in the end are only interested in their success, not in the growth of God’s kingdom. It’s all about what’s going on in our hearts. 

Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two- edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account. (Hebrews 4:12–13)

As you live out your day to day life, how much are you driven and motivated by what’s in it for you, as opposed to what God wants you to do? And how often do you get the two mixed up? I know just how easy it is to rationalise one’s own comfort as being God’s will. We trot out passages like Psalm 37:4

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart

And decide, sure – God wants me to have more of this, or a bigger, flashier one of those, or… we all do it, don’t we? We want the benefits without the sacrifice when all along the first part of that verse first says… take delight in the Lord.

What does that mean? It means to delight in His Word, delight in His will, delight in His commands, delight in following Him wherever He calls us. That comes first, all the other stuff gets added later. That’s why Jesus said – let me come back to it again because we’ve visited it a few times in this series – 

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul”. (Matthew 16:24–26)

That’s the language of sacrifice. It’s the language of losing. It’s the language not of success, but of giving up everything – everything – even your life if needs be, to follow Jesus and do God’s will. Do you enjoy losing? Do you enjoy being misunderstood? Do you enjoy people talking behind your back, reviling your for Christ’s sake? None of us do.

But let me suggest to you that unless you and I are experiencing those losses and sacrifices on a regular basis, then that’s probably a pretty good indicator that we’re more into Empire Building than Kingdom Building. If you want to be a kingdom builder – really – then you have to ask yourself these tough questions from time to time. 

But it’s not all downside – because Jesus knows what it’s like to be persecuted and reviled. Jesus knows what it means to hang there on that cross looking like the biggest failure in all of history, in order to do His Father’s will. And He has something to say about that – to you and me – when we find ourselves hanging in the wind because we’ve decided to forsake the idea of our own empire, for the sake of His kingdom: Matthew 5:10–12

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness ‘sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Did you pick it? Blessed are you when you’re dangling in the wind for my sake; blessed are you when they talk behind your back and point their finger at you and laugh at you just as they did with me – blessed are YOU – for YOURS is the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven belongs to people precisely like you.

It’s completely the opposite to our worldly view of success, isn’t it? It totally defies the man–made wisdom of comfort and wealth and reward. 

My friend, we’re talking about this precisely because this is what it means to follow Jesus. This is what it means to be a Kingdom Builder. And that’s exactly what Jesus wants you to be. A disciple of His. One who is reviled just as He was. One who has an eternal impact in the lives of those around you – just as He did. Are you ready to be a Kingdom Builder?

There are plenty of people who set out to follow Jesus, who set out to get out there and build the Kingdom of God on this earth, but at some point they realise… hang on a minute this is a whole lot harder than I expected. Most of them fall by the wayside. So – are you one of those people?

It strikes me that had Jesus been carrying out his public ministry in the 21^st century rather than the 1^st century, I’m sure that his disciples would have suggested that He hire a Public Relations Consultant. Because frankly, PR wasn’t something that Jesus was particularly good at. He just – I don’t know – didn’t put the right spin on things. Take this for instance: Luke 14:28–33

Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish. ’ Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions

Any PR consultant worth his salt would certainly have massaged that little outburst wouldn’t they? Nope – Public Relations wasn’t Jesus’ strong suit. Just as well too – because there’s no way that you can retain the powerful meaning of what Jesus is saying here, by putting some PR spin on it. Here’s the bottom line – following Jesus is going to cost you something. It may cost you your nice, comfortable family/village existence – where the boundaries of your world are walking distance from where you live. It may cost you your life. In fact, everything worthwhile is going to involve some sacrifice. Building a tower involves a cost. Waging war involves losing lives and assets. And following Jesus involves losing your grip on the nice cushy little life that you have planned. It involves breaking free from the iron grip that your desire for possessions has on your will, your imagination, your plans, your hopes and your dreams. 

Being a Kingdom Builder – a true disciple of Jesus Christ – involves letting go of your own personal empire. Now that doesn’t mean that we can’t own anything or that we can’t build anything. In fact, in the Kingdom of God, we need business people who build wealth that funds the growth of God’s Kingdom. We need ministry entrepreneurs who grow organisations that take the Gospel into the lives of people who otherwise would never have encountered the amazing love of Jesus. But the question is who are we building it for?

You know the syndrome don’t you? The harder you work for something, the more you own it and the more it owns you. No, sometimes that can be a good thing. Any parent who has been through the joys and challenges of bringing up children will know that the blood, sweat and tears that they’ve invested in their kids over the first couple of decades of their lives, has an enormous amount to do with how much you love them, and how proud you are of them. That’s great.

But I remember when with a couple of business partners I built a consulting firm that we’d started from scratch and grew to a healthy, medium–sized international business. We decided to sell it to a public company and that was great – but letting go of my baby was hard because I’d invested so much in it.

The things we sacrifice for, become a part of us and they can have a grip on our hearts and our lives that we don’t even realise is there. That’s why I keep saying that there’s a very fine line between being a kingdom builder and being an empire builder. 

And so what it comes right down to – in drawing a clear line in the sand between those two in your life and mine – is what we’re prepared to give up. Let me be blunt about it – the things that you’ve built – the career, or the reputation, or the business, or the standing you have in your church, or the position, or the title, or the recognition, or the kudos that you’ve built up over many hard years of toil – are you prepared to give them all up for Jesus? Are you prepared to walk away from them and do what Jesus called you to do? I’m not saying that He will always ask you to give them up – but in a real, practical rubber hits the road kind of way, this is exactly what it means to count the cost.

What are you prepared to give up?

I am so passionate about the ministry of Christianityworks that produces these radio programs. I am so passionate about seeing lives transformed. I am so passionate about the small but amazing team of people that make it all happen. But my constant prayer to God is this:

Lord never, ever, ever allow this ministry to become my idol. Never, ever, ever allow me to worship the works of my own hands above you. And when the time comes when your plan is to move me on, to replace me with someone else whose call it is to continue on the work of YOUR ministry – let me give it up with grace and with ease to follow you Lord Jesus onto the next thing that you have planned for me. Whatever it is. Whatever it may cost. In Jesus’ name.

I pray that constantly because the greatest commandment of all is that I should love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, strength and mind. That’s the first and greatest commandment – that God’s name, God’s will, God’s Kingdom should be first in my heart before everything else. That’s why Jesus taught us to pray ­– Our father in Heaven, Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

No – that’s not an easy position to take. Not at all. We’re all going to struggle with it from time to time. I know that. God knows that. But that’s the position that we’re called to. What are you prepared to give up in order to be a Kingdom Builder rather than an empire builder? Are you ready? Are you prepared to lay it down at the foot of the cross, or not?

I remember being at that fork in the road in my life – there were two ways forward – to the left, continue on with my lucrative consulting career. To the right, follow Jesus into a tiny, ailing little ministry that looked like it needed someone to read it the last rights before it curled up its toes and died. 

And that’s the point when I realised the grip that my career and reputation had on my heart. I don’t mind telling you that it was a real struggle to turn my back on career and reputation and – let’s be blunt about it – money – to follow after Jesus. A real struggle. And every now and then, someone rings me and asks me to do this bit of work for them or that, and the temptation presents itself.

But truly, with all the ups and downs and trials and challenges of following Jesus down this meandering, dusty, sometimes very lonely road that He’d called me to – I wouldn’t swap it for the world. Because in my heart of hearts, I know that I’m doing what He called me to. Imperfectly mind you. Making mistakes along the way.

But that’s no surprise to my Lord. So let me encourage you to sit and think and ponder and pray about what it is that the Lord your God is calling you to – and then to count the cost. To look at all the things that really matter to you and to bring them before the Lord, lay them down in the power of the Holy Spirit. 

And then… then to take your cross – whatever that may look like, and follow your Lord, wherever He may lead, whatever it may cost. Because that’s the only path – the only path to becoming a Kingdom Builder.