The builders in the Kingdom of God..

We all want to serve God, and we know that there is a price we must pay. We will have to sacrifice many things, leave our comfort zones. And we do expect some reward in return. But what if we don’t get the reward we are seeking? What if the things we work for never bear fruit or we don’t see results?

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much son of hell as you are.” Mathew 23:15

Jesus here warns us about the Pharisees and hypocrites who travel around the world to convert people to God, only to make them “twice as much a child of hell” as they are. The reason for this is their hypocrisy, as they do not practice what they preach. Their converts are thus doomed to follow in their hypocritical footsteps. Although the Pharisees and other religious leaders may have the zeal to spread God’s word, they lack the commitment to live by it themselves. They are more concerned with displaying their piety to the world than showing their love for God. If they truly loved God, they would obey his teachings rather than just professing them.

Today, there are still Pharisees and teachers of the law who work hard for the Kingdom of God. Their preaching and prayers may seem to win the hearts of people, but their lives do not please God. When we work for God, we must make sure that our lives are an example for others. We should not do things to show off but to please God.

Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.” Acts 15:5

The Apostles, like Peter and Paul, worked for God’s kingdom and did not just win one convert like the Pharisees. We know how Peter’s one message saved three thousand. Paul seemed to have spread God’s word in the whole province of Asia.(Acts 19:26). They worked for God, and He worked through them. However, some of the people especially some pharisees started to burden gentiles with the laws of Moses. They started to enforce the things they learned and did, to the gentiles. Even Paul had to follow the ideas of these Pharisees and perform the purification rites at the temple to show Jews that he followed the laws of Moses.

We want revival, and people to turn to God, but we must be prepared for such revival. We must be careful how we deal with people, or we may turn them into sons of hell. We should not burden new believers with our petty beliefs and culture. We need wisdom and knowledge to feed and tend to the lambs and sheep of God, just like Solomon asked for wisdom to lead God’s people.

But they plotted against him, and by the order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, “May the Lord see this and call you to account.” 2 Chronicles 24:21, 22

At the age of seven, Joash was crowned king of Judah after Athaliah, his grandmother, killed all the members of the royal family. However, Joash was saved and protected by Jehoiada the priest, who plotted against Athaliah and helped Joash become King. Jehoiada and his sons crowned him as King. After Jehoiada died, king Joash turned evil and when the prophet Zechariah, son of Jehoaida, prophesied against him, Joash ordered the people to kill Zechariah in the temple courtyard, commiting a grave sin. He lived in the temple for six years. He was crowned inside the temple of the Lord. He even saw how Jehoiada ordered the people not kill inside the temple of God. He committed a heinous act within its hallow walls, ordering the killing of Jehoiada’s son, all without fear of God.

Sometimes, the people we try to build may turn evil, and they may never show the kindness we showed them. But our reward will be in God’s hands. We must not be dismayed if we don’t see results, for we have done God’s work, and He will never let us go unpaid. The only thing we must be careful about is not to disqualify ourselves for the prize.

Therefore, some people who work hard to win people for God, but fail to take care of their own lives. Others build people all their lives, but the people fail them. Let us build as many people as possible with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, for the QUIVER OF GOD.