The Upside-Down Kingdom – A Wake-Up Call

📖 Luke 6:17–26

Opening Prayer

Almighty God,

You have called us to gather as Your people, to hear Your word, to be shaped and challenged by it. Give us ears to listen and hearts to receive what You are speaking to us today. May Your Spirit stir within us, breaking down our pride and complacency, that we might see Your Kingdom as You intend it to be. Guide us in the way of Jesus, that we would not merely hear but live out Your truth in our daily lives.

Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Sermon

I’ve been unwell for two weeks, which, on its own, is not particularly remarkable. We all have those weeks where we feel like life forces us to stop, whether we like it or not. But something strange happened in that time—I found myself rereading an article that I had read the last time I was sick, in December/January. At first, I thought nothing of it, but after a while, I started to wonder if perhaps God was trying to get my attention. The Holy Spirit, tapping me on the shoulder - psst...

Maybe He wanted me to stop and reflect, not just on my own circumstances, but on something far bigger. And I don’t think it was just for me—perhaps it’s something we all need to hear today.

The passage we read from earlier is one that should make us all stop in our tracks.

"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God" (Luke 6:20)

It is, in many ways, one of the most radical things Jesus ever said. When we think of blessing, we think of comfort, success, security. But here, Jesus tells us that the ones who are blessed are the poor, the hungry, the sorrowful, and the persecuted.

"Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh" (Luke 6:21)

And just when we think it couldn’t get any more upside-down, He follows it with warnings: woe to the rich, woe to the well-fed, woe to those who laugh now, woe to those who are well spoken of. It completely contradicts everything we have been taught to value. We assume that those who have made it in life—those with wealth, those with stability, those with power—are the ones God has favoured. And yet Jesus seems to be saying the exact opposite.

It’s uncomfortable, isn’t it? But maybe that’s the point. Maybe we have spent too long assuming we know what it means to be blessed. Maybe we need to stop and rethink what really matters in God’s Kingdom. The poor, the hungry, the grieving, the persecuted—these are the people who, in the eyes of the world, have nothing. But perhaps that is why Jesus calls them blessed. Because when you have nothing, you are forced to rely entirely on God. You are not deceived by the illusion of self-sufficiency. You are not lulled into complacency by the comfort of wealth or status. You know your need for God in a way that those who have everything often do not. This isn’t to say that wealth or success are inherently evil, but they can be dangerous. They can make us believe that we are in control, that we have no need of God, that our security is found in what we possess rather than in Him. That is why Jesus follows His blessings with warnings—because those who are full now may find themselves empty when it truly matters.

The world measures success by what we can accumulate, by how comfortable our lives are, by whether we are respected and admired. But Jesus measures success very differently. He looks at the heart. He looks at dependence, humility, faithfulness. He looks at whether we are living for ourselves or for Him. And when we really stop and think about it, we have to ask ourselves: who do we prioritise? Are we drawn to those who make us comfortable, those who benefit us in some way? Or do we, like Jesus, move toward the broken, the forgotten, the overlooked? The way of Jesus is not about climbing the social or economic ladder—it’s about stepping down. It’s about seeing people as God sees them. It’s about recognising that the ones the world considers least are often the ones closest to God’s heart.

If we were to rewrite the Beatitudes to reflect the values of our world today, they might sound something like this:

Left to ourselves, our natural beatitudes would go something like this: Blessed are the rich, for they have it all and have it all now; blessed are the happy, for they are content with themselves and don’t need others; blessed are the arrogant, for people defer to them; blessed are those who fight for the good things in life, for they will get them; blessed are the sophisticated, for they will have a good time.

James Montgomery Boice

This past week, I found myself reflecting on how easy it is to ignore what God is trying to say to us. It’s easy to go through life without stopping to listen, to fill our days with distractions, to focus on what feels urgent rather than what is truly important. And sometimes, it takes a moment of stillness—whether it’s illness, hardship, or some other disruption—for us to finally hear what God has been saying all along. Maybe today is that moment for you. Maybe today is the time to pause and ask yourself: am I living for the things that matter? Am I aligning my life with the values of God’s Kingdom, or am I chasing after what the world calls success?

We see this tension everywhere. We live in a world where people use Christian language while ignoring Christian values. Politicians talk about faith while enacting policies that favour the powerful and neglect the vulnerable. Churches, at times, have been more concerned with preserving traditions and status than with doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God. And then there is the other extreme—the idea that justice itself can become an idol, that activism alone can save the world without Christ at its centre. We live in a time when words like "woke" have become weapons, when people are more interested in drawing battle lines than in seeking truth. But Jesus doesn’t fit neatly into any of these categories. His Kingdom is not about left or right, conservative or progressive—it is about righteousness, mercy, and faithfulness. It is about humility, sacrifice, and love. And so, we must ask ourselves: are we truly living out the values of the Kingdom, or are we just picking and choosing the parts of Christianity that suit our personal comfort?

One of the dangers of modern Christianity is that we can become so comfortable in our faith that we forget how radical it is meant to be. We come to church, we sing the songs, we say the prayers—but do we actually live differently? Do we love those who are difficult to love? Do we serve without seeking recognition? Do we stand up for the oppressed, even when it costs us something? Jesus never promised us an easy life. He never said that following Him would make us popular, wealthy, or respected. In fact, He promised the opposite.

And yet, many today want a Christianity that asks nothing of them. A faith that reassures them but never challenges them. But Jesus does not call us to cheap grace—He calls us to costly grace.

In the Biblical Greek, the word for disciple, μαθητής (mathētēs / mä-thā-tās), means more than just a follower—it means a student, an apprentice, someone who actively seeks to become like their teacher. In Jesus' day, a disciple didn’t just listen to their rabbi—they patterned their whole life after them. They followed them, observed them, imitated them, and sought to embody everything they taught. Discipleship was not about passive belief—it was about full transformation. That is why Jesus didn’t say, "Admire me from a distance"—He said, "Follow me" (Matthew 4:19). To follow Him is to walk in His footsteps, to take up His mission, to live as He lived. It is not about mere agreement—it is about commitment. It is not just about knowing His words, but living them.

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it:

"Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession... Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate."

Real discipleship costs something. It demands more than just words—it demands our very lives. That is why Jesus said:

"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23).

If our faith never costs us anything, we must ask: are we truly following Jesus, or are we simply following our own comfort?

When we look at Jesus, we see the ultimate example of this upside-down Kingdom. He had all the power of heaven at His disposal, yet He chose to be born in poverty. He had the right to rule over all nations, yet He chose to serve. He had the ability to command legions of angels, yet He allowed Himself to be rejected, beaten, and crucified. He did not seek security or comfort—He sought obedience to the Father, and in doing so, He turned the whole world upside down. And if we call ourselves His followers, then we are called to do the same.

So, what does this mean for us today? It means that we cannot define success the way the world does. It means that if we are comfortable, we need to ask whether our comfort has made us complacent. It means that if we are full, we need to ask whether we are feeding others. It means that if we are well respected, we need to ask whether we are using that influence for good or simply enjoying the privilege it affords us. And for those who feel weak, for those who feel like they have nothing, for those who are struggling and suffering—take heart. Because Jesus sees you. He has not abandoned you. In fact, He calls you blessed.

I don’t know what God might be saying to you today. But I do know that when Jesus speaks, it is not just to be heard—it is to be obeyed. Maybe this is our wake-up call. The question is—will we respond? Will we realign our hearts, refocus our priorities, and live for what truly lasts? Or will we walk away unchanged?

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus,

You have shown us what it means to live in Your Kingdom. You have called us to a life that is not about power, status, or comfort, but about humility, dependence, and love. Open our eyes to see where we have been blind, soften our hearts where we have been hardened, and give us the courage to truly follow You. May we seek first Your Kingdom, and trust that everything else will fall into place.

In Your name, we pray. Amen.