Genesis 17:20-21 And God talked to Abraham saying, And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.”
The works you build with gold are what we call LIVING/LIVELY WORKS.
All your works which are not initiated by God are Dead Works. They might be good, but they are dead nonetheless – and God takes no pleasure in them.
The Bible tells us Ishmael was born of the flesh(Rom 4:23) because God didn’t initiate his birth – It was Sarai and Abraham trying to help God because according to them, it had become too difficult for God to give them a son. They felt God needed help.
Dead works are produced anytime you go ahead of God and try to help God. You initiate something God had not initiated and try so hard to do it by yourself. The deeds you produce, as a result, are born from the flesh and not from the Spirit.
You will come to one conclusion in your struggles, that:
NO FLESH CAN PLEASE GOD. God may bless it, like the way He blessed Ishmael but He takes no delight in it. And all such works will be burnt by fire, in the end.
Friend, DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME AND YOUR EFFORTS TRYING TO DO YOUR OWN THING TO PLEASE GOD. LET GOD BE THE SOURCE OF YOUR DECISIONS AND YOUR ENDEAVORS. Hallelujah!
GRACEFUL MORNING
