Upside Down Kingdom

Perspective really does change things. “Perspective is 90% of reality.” That might seem a little negative, but it isn’t always. Sometimes a shift in perspective opens a whole new realm of possibilities.

Take the Sermon on the Mount. Arguably one of Jesus most well-known teachings. But to really understand the weight of what Jesus is saying and doing we need some context. Perspective.

Let’s go to the end of Matthew chapter 4:23.

23Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. 24News about him spread as far as Syria, and people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed—he healed them all. 25Large crowds followed him wherever he went—people from Galilee, the Ten Towns, Jerusalem, from all over Judea, and from east of the Jordan River.

So, who was following Jesus? The crowd, right? But what type of people made up the crowd? The broken, hurting, sick, troubled, mentally ill. All the people society didn’t want, that’s who were following Jesus.

These people were not only outcasts. They were considered less than human by the Romans, which didn’t surprise them. The part that hurt was that their own religious leaders considered them sinners or sons of sinners. Many times Jesus was asked “who sinned? This man or his parents.” Can you imagine how that would feel? Your entire life you are torn down by the people who represent God. You would start to feel like God looked at you that way as well. Then along comes Jesus. He meets you were you are, heals you, then starts saying stuff like this:

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

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Jesus is showing you His Kingdom. A Kingdom that seems so out of place in your world, and ours. So you begin to hope again.

Now lets come back to us today. These are great ideas in the Bible, but how do they play out in our lives as believers today? Let’s look at the last thing Jesus said to His disciples..

Matthew 28:18–20 NLT

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

We are to teach people all the commands Jesus gave us. This sermon on the mount is considered a culmination of all His teachings. Then He ends with, I will be with you always. This should give us the strength we need to carry out these commands. It did for these guys. Then He gives us the Holy Spirit to strengthen us in Acts 2. What do these guys do with this? Peter, one of Jesus closest friends and followers, preaches a message that is so powerful that 3000 people respond to his altar call. To put that in perspective, the population of Williams is 3500.

The church is born. Thankfully the Bible shows us, in one verse, what the early church looked like.

Acts 2:42 NLT

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

Was it perfect? No. There was still a lot of residue to clean up. You are working with broken humans after all. But here we can see their priorities. Teaching, community, hospitality, and relationship with God. These are what the men and women who walked with Jesus saw as valuable and instrumental in their walk with Christ. Why? Because that is what Jesus showed them.

Now, it’s hard to teach or receive teaching, have fellowship, share meals, or even pray, when you are not in line with Jesus teachings. It is also difficult to show the world that there is anything different in us if we are not living by these teachings.

Over the last couple weeks I have been considering what should be my first sermon as a lead pastor. I figured we should talk about Jesus and the church. Profound, I know.

It’s fair to assume that the early church had a lot of things right. After all, the leaders had walked with Jesus. If you put those 2 ideas together, the early church probably modeled themselves based on the beattitudes. Over the next few weeks, we will be connecting the 2 portions of scripture.

One portion I want to point out before we go further. Verses 11-12 tell us that we are blessed when we are persecuted. I know that there has been a lot of talk about the opening of the Olympics. It grieves me that they so openly mock something so sacred. It grieves me, but doesn’t surprise me. Just like we are looking at what the church is supposed to look and act like, the world has a way it will look and act. We should not be surprised, or even angered, by the world acting like the world. It should grieve us, as it did the prophets and martyrs before us. Our predecessors followed the model Jesus set before them and us. “Father forgive them.” These circumstances should drive us to our knees in prayer for those lost in darkness. It should show us that our Savior is closer to returning so we need to reach those lost in sin.

There are people in churches all across the world that are saved today, because they saw something different in a friend/co-worker/neighbor. They did not end up there because someone yelled and screamed and fought with them. She we condone sin or ignore it? Absolutely not. Should we allow it to keep us from sharing the hope, love, and person of Jesus? Never. We are called to be light in darkness, naive members of society.

Matthew 10:16 NLT

“Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.

The church is to be a place of acceptance, healing, conviction, redemption, laughter, mourning, and most of all hope. Over the next few weeks we will learn what that means in our everyday lives as believers.

Can I just give you one more challenge for this week? When the world sins, and it makes you angry, make sure that you are responding the same way to the sin in your life.