Most of us are pretty darned good at looking after our own self-interest aren’t we? So good that we become builders of our own petty little empire rather than of God’s Kingdom. So what’s the difference then between an empire builder and a kingdom builder?

Kingdom vs Empire

The kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, these are terms that Christians wave around rather a lot, and I guess in one sense they’re entirely self-explanatory, and yet in another, I wonder sometimes whether I and others 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 our own self-interest: Our needs, our wants, our reputation, our influence, our comforts, our dreams. From birth, we’re taught how to become self-reliant, and for 20 years working as a consultant in (I guess) a few hundred organisations round the world, I dealt with many, many senior managers and leaders – thousands of them.

My observation is that 95% or more were empire builders. They were interested in building their networks, their control, their influence, to achieve their ends. Most organisations had a high degree of conflict, and that’s often why I was called in – to navigate the political minefield, 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 aren’t 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’re full of imperfect people like you and me, and one of the ways in which our sin manifests itself (I know; sin’s a stark word, a harsh word, but hey; 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 those whose heart it is to see more and more and more people around them, and around the world, experience the love and the grace and the mercy and the peace and 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 go make a cup of tea or coffee and find something else to do for the next 6 or 7 minutes, and then come back to the radio.

So what’s the difference between the kingdom of God, and the empires of this world that we’re so deeply programmed to be 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, or 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 and wealth and power.

In Jesus’ day, Israel and much of the then-known world was ruled by the Roman empire. Their king was the emperor, and it was a brutal form of rule. Insurrection and rebellions simply 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. Luke 17:20-21:

Once, Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and He answered: ‘The kingdom of God isn’t 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’.

In other words, this is not a physical kingdom – a worldly empire like the Roman empire, which was at the front of everybody’s mind, 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 peace that endures in the hearts of men and women, and children.

What’s a kingdom? Well, plain and simple: It’s the place where a king rules. It’s a place where what the king says goes. It’s a place where the king’s subjects submit to the will of the king. See, back then, kings had 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 wasn’t actually a kingdom; it was an empire – the Roman empire, answerable only to the self-declared deity of the Roman emperor.

No wonder they were confused, and that confusion goes on still today. We are constantly confusing God’s kingdom with human empires. See, we’re all programmed to build and look after our own personal little empires. Laying them down; taking up our cross; following Jesus … well, that’s a totally unnatural act, right? The apostle Paul put it this way. Romans 14:17:

For the kingdom of God is neither food nor drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

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 for God through obedience, much in the same way that a man and a woman express their love for each other 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, they’re interested in furthering their own interests and power and control. Kingdom builders are interested in laying down their own interests, so that others around them might experience the righteousness and peace and joy of the Holy Spirit that only comes through faith in, and a personal relationship with, Jesus. Empire builders and kingdom builders are two profoundly different kinds of people. Kingdom builders are about sacrificing their interests in order to further God’s interests. The life of an empire builder is totally, totally different to the life of a kingdom builder.

So, let me ask you something: Come on, which one are you? Are you an empire builder or a kingdom builder? Are you someone who’s much more interested in building their own circle of influence and control than laying down what you want, in order to build the kingdom of God? And, which one would you like to be? That’s what we’re going to be talking about over the next few weeks on the program.

A Change of Heart

John Piper is one of my favourite authors and speakers. He has a way of just … I don’t know … 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’s no room for the great’.

I think he’s 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, 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 people were confused, because the only kingdom they had 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 control of a 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 a bit 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 26:3-7:

If you follow my statutes and keep my commandments, and observe them faithfully, I will give you your rains in their due 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 your sword.

Great! But what’s the flip-side of the coin? What happens if they don’t obey God? Well, God tells them. Leviticus 26:14-17:

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; 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 to this world to take the punishment of Israel on His shoulders on that cross, and your punishment and my punishment, He wants us to begin to realise that the kingdom of God is really totally different to what they or we would really expect. He tells many, many parables that begin with the words, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like’ … Here’s one of them. Matthew 13:44-46:

The kingdom of heaven is like a 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.

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 mercy and grace, hey; 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 might be? An idea which, by the way, is not a lot different to what many people think being a Christian is all about today! 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 and rubies and emeralds, more precious stones than you could ever imagine, worth so much more than what your current assets are worth. Would you sell everything, in order to buy that field so you could own the treasure? Course you would! So would I! And that’s what Jesus is saying. It’s 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 you have to give up, the stuff you always knew was wrong anyhow, the rubbish that was always 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 parable. Matthew 13:31-32:

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

In other words, the kingdom of heaven is a place where you really, really want to be. Hey, this is fantastic: A place of shade and rest and safety … That’s what the kingdom is all about, 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 been journeying 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 just … I don’t know … it 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, got to tell you: Nothing compares to that. No empire that I could build could ever bring me the joy that playing my tiny 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 can be any better than experiencing the love and the peace and the joy of God? I don’t know, but that’s how I lived the first almost four decades of my life, and I am not going back to that. I wouldn’t give up the treasure 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 that 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 great to be desired. 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 focused on our own interests to being focused on His: From being an empire-builder, to Becoming a kingdom builder. It’s just how it works.

A Living Sacrifice

So let’s take all of that and turn it around and look at ourselves through those scriptures and a few others to boot. God’s Word is particularly good for that – it’s like a mirror into our souls, it discerns the thoughts and the intentions of our hearts. 

On the one hand, the Kingdom of Heaven is greatly to be desired and yet, it seems that to lay hold of it, we have to let go of the things to which we cling so tightly in this world. 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.

Now at this point many people say to me – Berni that’s all well and good, but I’m not good enough for this. I know that in my natural being, there is so much rubbish, so much sin. And can I tell you, many people are afraid of God because they think that if they turn to Him, they’ll get clobbered, punished. Listen to me, God 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. He 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. Laying down our very lives and all our selfish desires and all our pride and all the things that we know don’t honour God as a sacrifice. It always feels like a sacrifice when we lay down those terrible things that we’ve been clinging to; when we go against the ways of this world, the things all the other people tell us we deserve. But when we do that, we discover that treasure hidden in the field. With all that I am, I’m telling you, I’m imploring you that it’s absolutely worth it. But the only way it happens is when we yield our hearts to the Kingship of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

So many people struggle to give up their old ways and live a new way – to give up their personal empire building habits to become true builders of the Kingdom of Heaven. But honestly, before we can change our behaviour, we need a change of heart.

A Man After God’s Own Heart

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 its 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 their 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 emperors, it’s a matter of the heart. Good things and bad things, all 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 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. Now 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.

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.

I Will Not Raise My Hand Against God’s Anointed

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 suit them.

But let me ask you this question: what if that boss who’s 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 this 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 and 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 24:5–22:

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?

Weeping Over Your Enemies

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 saw 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.

David knew what was right but 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.

The reason Jesus came to earth was to usher in the Kingdom of God – to show us what God’s Kingdom is like and to open the door for us. In short, Jesus was, and still is, a Kingdom builder. So – what can we learn about that important task from Him?

A Whole New Focus

For the last couple of weeks on the program, we’ve been 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 has a plan for my life, and I strongly suspect 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 our sleeves up and be about the business of building His kingdom.

See, 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 that 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 easy to get these 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 this is what happened. Luke 17:20-21:

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’.

In other words, this is not a physical kingdom – a worldly empire like the Roman empire, which was at the forefront of people’s minds back then, 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 all about the glad submission of our hearts to the will, and to the rule, and to the plan of God.

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

I want to introduce you to a couple of men, one young and one not-so-young, that God’s brought across my path recently. 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 and he’s very successful in his chosen field; works for a large, corporate organisation. I was asked to speak at a men’s breakfast at his church not so long ago. The organiser of the men’s breakfast was really disappointed that not as many people turned up as he’d expected. I smiled, because you know, I never worry about numbers; they belong to God. I had a sense that morning that God had something to do in people’s lives.

It turns out that the theme 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 man had a feeling deep inside that God has something else for him: Some plan, some purpose, that hasn’t quite yet been revealed. I’m catching up with him shortly for a cup of coffee to talk about it.

The second man, a younger man, a very successful author and speaker. He travels all over the world as a speaker and gets paid a bundle of money just to show up. Often you see him on the news at night on TV, being interviewed about this and that. He’s the emerging go-to guy in the media whenever something in his particular area of expertise pops up.

I mean, this young guy has the world at his feet. He has talents and abilities that I will never have. He felt to seek me out after we met at a conference, and ask 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 has to be 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 even imagine right now. Two men in the space of a couple of months come across my path, and just at a time when God was prompting me to write about becoming a kingdom builder. Coincidence? I don’t think so. I don’t believe in coincidences anymore.

I remember almost twenty 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 (maybe 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 be a change of job or career. For most people it isn’t. Maybe it does involve that; 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 just an empire builder) then perhaps, perhaps today’s a turning-point. Maybe today God’s speaking to you. Maybe today is the start of something new.

Jesus The Kingdom Builder

The kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, it’s 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’ used. Mark, Luke and John record only that Jesus talked about the kingdom of God. At various times Jesus talks about the kingdom of heaven being here, and at other times as something that’s way off there in the future. Sometimes it’s something we enter into now; sometimes it’s something that we have to wait to enter into. It’s this idea of here already, but not quite. Have a listen to Matthew 3:2:

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.

Matthew 5:3:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

And then at other times, He talks about the kingdom of heaven as being something in the future. Matthew 7:21:

Not everyone who says to Me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 8:11:

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.

But this whole kingdom-of-heaven/kingdom-of-God thing was and is a big deal for Jesus. Those two terms together are mentioned ninety-eight times in the New Testament, mostly by Jesus, and often you find Jesus saying things like: “Look, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a man sowing seed in a field”, or “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed”, or “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field”. They’re all out of Matthew 13, 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 His resurrection, but also to show us what the kingdom of heaven actually looks 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 is a big deal for Jesus – the King inviting you and me into His place; into His palace; into His kingdom; 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 parents’ 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 to feed me and to educate me. They put up with all my childish ways and my teenage 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 and blessings simply by 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 that he had 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; God’s love, 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 He calls His disciples to be His followers, His family, His people, and He says to them. Matthew 28:18-20:

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising 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, even unto the end of the age.

See, He builds His kingdom here and now on this earth in the hearts of these disciples, and then calls them to go out 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, they’re not just terms that 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. Ok, a whole bunch of people didn’t get that. They thought His kingdom was there to compete with the Roman empire, but that wasn’t it at all. Jesus came to usher the kingdom of God into this world, to show us what it’s like, and through His death and His resurrection on the cross, to fling the door wide-open so that you and I can enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus was and is a kingdom builder, and He’s calling His disciples (you, me, anyone else who believes in Jesus) not just to sit in the pews of a church; not just to complain about the sermon the pastor preached or the music, but to be exactly the same as Him – to be imitators of God, to be imitators of Jesus, to be a kingdom builder; nothing more, nothing less. So, the question is: What are you going to do with the rest of your life?

A Man on a Mission

Over these past few weeks on the program, we’ve been talking about how to transition between being someone who’s all about building your own empire to someone who’s first and foremost about building God’s kingdom on this earth. Empire building comes very naturally to you and me because sin is engrained 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, and a sinner when my mother conceived me.

And that question that I asked 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; it’s a question I ask myself constantly, over and over again, because I know that there is such an incredibly fine line between being an empire builder and a kingdom builder.

I see it in the ministry of Christianityworks all the time. Here’s how it plays itself out. As well as you 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 and lots of other ministries. What do we want to achieve? Well, we want as many radio stations as possible to broadcast these messages because the more stations that air them, the more people are going to hear about Jesus, and the more lives are going to be touched and transformed by the good news of Jesus Christ. It’s that simple.

Some organisations we interact with, in the name of our Lord Jesus, 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 so much like that. 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 was a business that they were in – a business: Tough, brutal, dismissive, and yet others are more concerned that the gospel is preached rather than the business side of things.

But it’s not just other people: I’m not just pointing the finger here. You 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’re doing in order 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 own empire, so that we can boast and say: ‘Look! Look at how successful this ministry is. Look at how successful we are’, because I don’t care who you are or what you do: Pride will always try to raise its ugly head, and so I put checks and balances in place in the ministry to ensure that we deal with that all-too-natural sin of pride.

Why am I talking so openly and bluntly about my own experience? Because this, my friend, is right where the rubber hits the road. We can be like those people I talked about earlier – the wolves in sheep’s clothing; people that talk the talk and pretend to walk the walk, but in the end they’re only interested in their success, not the growth of God’s kingdom. It’s all about what’s going on in our hearts. Hebrews 4:12-13:

Indeed, the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow. It’s able to judge the thoughts and the intentions of the heart, and before God, no creature’s hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the One to whom they must render an account.

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 your 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 we decide, ‘Sure. God wants me to have more of this, or a bigger one of those, or a flashier one of these or’ … We all do it, don’t we? We want the benefits without the sacrifice when all along, the first part of that verse says: ‘Take delight in the LORD’. What does that mean? It means to delight in His Word; to delight in Him; in His will; to delight in His commands; to delight in following Him wherever He calls; to delight in sacrificing our lives for Him

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 this passage a few times in this series), Matthew 16:24-26:

If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses it for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and yet forfeits his soul? What shall a man give in return for his soul?

My friend, that’s the language of sacrifice. It’s the language of losing. It’s the language not of success, but of giving everything up – everything, even your life if needs be, to follow Jesus and to do His will. Do you enjoy losing? Do you enjoy being misunderstood? Do you enjoy people talking about you behind your back, and reviling you for Christ’s sake? Me neither; none of us do, but let me suggest to you that unless you and I are experiencing those losses and those 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 over and over again.

But it’s not all down side, 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 to me, when we find ourselves dangling in the wind, because we’ve decided to forsake this idea of building 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 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? Are you ready to be a kingdom builder?

Way too many people set out to follow Jesus and then they discover – hang on a minute, this being a disciple thing, this kingdom building thing is a lot harder than I thought. Those people are the ones who forgot to count the cost. Those people are almost always the ones who fall by the wayside.

Are You Building God’s Kingdom Or Your Empire? 

As you can imagine, I get a lot of emails from people who listen to this program 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 that 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 a marriage breakdown, people going through a divorce. People struggling to be accepted in their church. 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.

And it doesn’t seem to matter where people live, in a wealthy country, in a poor country; east or west; north or south – the issues are pretty much 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 that you and I can buy with our 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 really? How much of a difference is He really making? Believe it or not, that’s something I often ask of myself, because by sharing the Word of God with you and many others who listen, if it ain’t making a real difference, if it’s not giving real answers, if it’s not touching people’s hearts 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, 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 to make a real difference in our lives.

Of course, neither you or I can ever enter the Kingdom of God of 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 certain 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 had to be done. But the dilemma for God is that He is also a loving God. So how does He reconcile justice and love? His justice and His love? Well, He does it 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?’” 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 to the cross 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 chapter 10, verses 17 and 18:

For this reason my Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have the 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 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 and for what He did for us on that cross and through that empty tomb.

God loved the world so much that He gave his only begotten son so that whosoever believes in him won’t perish, but will have eternal life. (John 3:16)

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 my heart, in your heart, in our hearts, and take us through to spend eternity with Him.

That’s the powerful Gospel. That’s the powerful good news of Jesus Christ. It’s available to you, it’s available to me, and it’s available to anybody who 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 the Kingdom of Heaven by faith, through God’s grace in Jesus Christ.

The 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 who understands. Nobody to deeply connect with, soul to soul. It’s 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 darkness. 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 through you and over you. And you feel like you’re drowning in a tsunami, that Jesus reaches down into that pit. For God so loved you, that He gave His only begotten Son, so that if you should believe in Him, you won’t perish, but you’ll have eternal life.

My friend, that is the good news! And that good news is 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 the sin of others and it can certainly never be overrun by the devil and his legions.

Why is that 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 chapter 8, verses 31 to 39:

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who can be 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 loves 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.

Hallelujah! 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 is why the Kingdom of God is so important.

The Cost of Kingdom Building

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

Whoever comes to me and doesn’t hate his 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, doesn’t first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and isn’t able to finish it, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, “This fellow began to build and wasn’t able to finish.” Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not first sit down 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 off, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciples if you do not first give up all your possessions.

Now, any PR consultant worth his salt would certainly have massaged that little outburst wouldn’t they? No! 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 life. It may cost you your nice comfortable family/village existence, where the boundaries of your world are a walking distance from where you live.

In fact, everything worthwhile is going to involve some sacrifice. Building a tower involves costs. Waging war involves losing lives and assets. And following Jesus involves losing your grip on that nice cushy little life that you had planned for yourself. It involves breaking free from the iron grip that your desire for possessions has on your will, your imagination, your plans and 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. Now sometimes that can be a good thing. Any parent who has been through the joys and the challenges of bringing up children will know that the blood and 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. And that’s great!

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

The things we sacrifice for become a part of us and they can have a grip on our hearts, on our lives and our wills 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 local 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 up for Jesus? All of them? 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 everything up. But in a real, practical sense, this is exactly what it means to count the cost.

What are you prepared to give up for Christ’s sake?

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 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. Amen.

I pray that constantly because the greatest commandment of all is that I should love the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength and with all my mind. That’s the first and the 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 this 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 become 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 rites before it curled up its toes and died.

And that’s the point when I realised the grip that my career and my reputation had on my heart. I don’t mind telling you, it was a real struggle to turn my back on my career and reputation and let’s be blunt about it, on the 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 still presents itself.

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

But that’s no surprise to Jesus. 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 bring them before the Lord, and lay them down in the power of the Holy Spirit.

And then take up 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, my friend, it’s the only path to becoming a Kingdom Builder.

Disciples Build the Kingdom

Now to start to live out our lives as true disciples of Jesus, as Kingdom builders rather than empire builders, we need to have a pretty profound and dramatic shift in focus. Really! Because being a disciple of Jesus, when all is said and done, means that 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.

Following Jesus is not a spectator sport. Following Jesus isn’t about taking up residence in a comfortable pew in your local church. It’s about travelling a difficult and sometimes lonely path to do what Jesus is calling YOU to do. 

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; to that plan that Jesus has for their lives that involves stepping out, and 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. Am I prepared to give up my dreams for the sake of following Jesus? That’s the question. 

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 become Kingdom builders. That’s what our lives are meant to be all about. Kingdom builders. And whilst the road is tough now, the rewards that await us in heaven are beyond anything that you and I could ever imagine.