Living Right Side Up in an Upside Down World

Introduction

On the first Sunday of a new year, it is a good time to remember that God provides! He brought you through last year, and He has plans for you in 2026. The hard part is figuring out what those plans are. Do you ever have trouble with that? You know that the Lord has a plan for your life, but sometimes you struggle to know what exactly that plan is? See, the Bible doesn’t tell you what outfit to wear to church. What job you should have. What major you should declare. Or even who you should marry. I learned several years ago, though, that by getting the spouse right, I didn’t have to worry about what to wear because I could ask her and she could pick out what to wear better than I could! Even with all the help from family and friends, there are still decisions that we have to make that are not explicitly laid out for us in the Bible. There isn’t a verse that says, “Thou must weareth a suit on January 30th.” So, how do we know what to do? We need guidance to help us know what to do and where to go.

In the world of maps and guidance, one thing that helps is a compass. Some of you remember these devices, some might not because they’re built in on phones nowadays… but think of a compass. It helps you by pointing north, which can help guide you to where you need to go. We can think of our life like a journey and we’re trying to navigate our way through in the way that God wants us to… but there’s a problem with our compass. The compass that has been given to us by God to navigate the hills and valleys and twists and turns. That compass doesn’t always work like it’s supposed to. The arrow still moves around, but it has been flipped in the wrong direction because of sin. See, if you have a magnet or a large metal object next to your compass, the compass can actually be pulled away from north because it is pulled to that object. Many people still look at the compass to know what to do, and they see an arrow that points a certain direction, and they use that to justify what they do because “it feels right” and looks good on paper, but in actuality, our compass has been distorted by something: money, comfort, approval, success, and over time these things change the arrow God gave us away from true north to whatever our heart is truly after. This is the upside down world that we live in… a world where looks can be deceiving. A world where we need redirecting.

This morning as we dive back into our study in Luke, we’re in Luke 6, we’ll see how this is what God’s Word does. How God’s Word is our lamp and our light and how Jesus helps us live right side up in an upside down world. How God’s Word calls things the way they truly are, not necessarily the way that they seem to us. Let’s read this passage together

Luke 6:17–26 CSB

17 After coming down with them, he stood on a level place with a large crowd of his disciples and a great number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those tormented by unclean spirits were made well. 19 The whole crowd was trying to touch him, because power was coming out from him and healing them all. 20 Then looking up at his disciples, he said: Blessed are you who are poor, because the kingdom of God is yours. 21 Blessed are you who are hungry now, because you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, because you will laugh. 22 Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you, insult you, and slander your name as evil because of the Son of Man. 23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy. Take note—your reward is great in heaven, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the prophets. 24 But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort. 25 Woe to you who are now full, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are now laughing, for you will mourn and weep. 26 Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the false prophets.

Jesus flips worldly wisdom right side up by reminding us of what truly matters in life. Let’s ask Him to help us as we seek to live for Him in this new year and learn today from His Word, let’s pray.

We left off with Luke back in November, and I’m not sure about you, but I’ve slept since then and can use a reminder about what has just taken place. In Luke 6 we saw Jesus teaching the Jewish leaders and telling them that He is the Lord of the Sabbath. He spent the entire night in prayer, and then He woke up and called these 12 men to be His apostles. Remember, though, that Jesus had more than 12 followers… He had hundreds by this point. Today in verse 17, we see that Jesus comes down the mountain with these apostles and stood among this crowd of disciples from all over. These people didn’t know everything about Jesus, but they knew there was something different about Him. He could heal. He could do the impossible… but remember earlier in Luke as Jesus gave us His stated mission in Luke 4:43

Luke 4:43 CSB

43 But he said to them, “It is necessary for me to proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.”

He was sent to proclaim good news about God’s Kingdom, and in the verses that follow, we see Jesus preach a sermon about God’s Kingdom and something changes. Jesus has shown us His power… now He begins to force a question on His audience: Am I Willing to Live the Life He Demands of Me? The crowd loved Jesus’ miracles, but they didn’t really like His message. They loved the show, they didn’t love His sermons.

In Matthew 5, Jesus begins with the beatitudes - and the first one is “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” In Luke 6:20, Jesus begins by simply saying “Blessed are those of you who are poor.” This morning, we’re going to look at our lives and deep inside our hearts to see where our compass points - towards the things of the world or towards the things of God.

Where is Your Security? (20, 24)

Security is a big deal in our world. It’s sad that we live in a world where we need a security team in a church, but I’m thankful for the team that we have here at South Gate that aims to not be seen but to keep us safe. The world of security is a big business in the 21st century. Between security cameras, security teams, data protection, and so much more, people want to be secure. If we had a linear choice between being secure and being in danger, we’d likely rather be secure. But there’s a problem. So often we gauge security based on what we can perceive. I was talking to someone earlier this week about ice machines and how dirty they can get and how you can get sick just because those filters don’t do their job right! Here I am just thinking that everything is fine as I’m getting some ice for my soda at the gas station and lo and behold, that ice might be dirty and I might get sick because of a threat I didn’t even know of. We think everything is fine, until it isn’t. So many people go throughout their lives thinking that things are fine, they have a good job, they are comfortable, they have friends, they have a good personality, but in actuality, they are in extreme danger because they don’t yet know Christ.

There is a temptation to find security in things around us. Money, relationships, even jobs. But all of these things change, and when push comes to shove, they fail to provide us with the security we really crave. So, Jesus wants us to examine where we truly find security. He isn’t against wealth here. We see Jesus say “Blessed are you who are poor… woe to you who are rich.” How do we define these things? Did you know that roughly half the world lives on less than $7 US a day? Now, compared to Elon Musk, we all are extremely poor… but compared to many people on the planet, we are considered rich. If you make $40,000 a year, you are in the top 1% of income earners on earth. Church, we are so blessed, but we rarely realize it!

In the Bible we read that Abraham and Job and David were extremely wealthy individuals. Abraham had many servants and lots of land, silver, and gold. Job had thousands of sheep and camels. David was king whenever Israel was one of the most powerful kingdoms in the world. These individuals were wealthy, but they were also faithful to trust in the Lord. I’ve been blessed to know some people like this in my life. Not many, but some. Individuals who God has given MUCH to and people who have a mind that is able to manage people, businesses, and projects and through God’s faithfulness and their giftedness, they too have much. Look to Matthew 6:24

Matthew 6:24 CSB

24 “No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Jesus isn’t against money, but He is against money being your master! There was a temptation for people in Jesus’ day, and long before Jesus as well, to view wealth as a sign of God’s blessing and poverty as a sign of God’s cursing. In fact there is a whole movement about this in our world called the prosperity Gospel that promises that God wants you to be happy, healthy, and wealthy, and that you will be if you just give enough, have enough faith, and do enough good things. At one level, it makes sense why this sells so well - in our heart, we’d rather be wealthy than needy. There’s a temptation to think that more money equals less problems. This is our world’s motto - get all you can, can all you get, sit on the can until you can’t. This is the direction that the world’s compass points towards - towards wealth. That if you have more, you’ll feel better. More powerful. More popular. Less dependent on others. Jesus flips the compass here and reminds us that true security isn’t found in what we have in our real estate portfolio, 401k accounts, W2 statements, and our possessions… true security is found in knowing who we once were and who we are today because of God’s grace! That’s security. Not in what we have, but in who we belong to!

Paul David Tripp shared this earlier in the week, “Reflect on how little is under your control and celebrate that your Lord controls everything for His glory and your good.” Friends, there is security available today in Jesus!

Psalm 110:1 CSB

1 This is the declaration of the Lord to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”

Everything over my head is under Jesus’ feet! God’s people find security in the abundance of God’s grace! Today, have you experienced God’s grace? If you have, you have security that this world and all its money and power cannot provide and cannot take away. Ask yourself this: If everything else were taken, my house, my bank account, my cars, boats, property, clothes, friends, jobs… what would I still have? If you have Jesus, you have all that you need.

What Satisfies You? (21, 25)

This next question is similar but slightly different. Jesus says that those who are hungry now are blessed because they will be filled, but WOE (warning) to those who are full because they will one day be hungry. Again, just like Jesus isn’t saying that money = bad and poverty = good, Jesus isn’t saying that food is bad! He’s going deeper than food. Have you ever been sitting at church, during service, and your stomach starts growling? I remember being a teenager and there were Sunday’s when I’d be playing bass guitar and my stomach would be growling when we were playing, and I knew I had a 40 minute sermon coming up after that before I’d have the chance to eat something. In those moments, I knew that a nice donut would satisfy my stomach, but I also knew that I didn’t want to leave the service. But then the stomach would growl and remind you that you need something to satisfy that hunger. Eventually, I’d eat lunch with my family, but then time would go on and then I’d get hungry again. See, as much food as you eat when you’re hungry, as much water as you drink when you’re thirsty, you’re always going to get hungry and thirsty again… because those things cannot fully satisfy you. This is what Jesus taught the woman at the well in John 4

John 4:13–14 CSB

13 Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.”

And He says this in John 6:35

John 6:35 CSB

35 “I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in me will ever be thirsty again.

See, Jesus isn’t talking about physically being hungry and thirsty in Luke 6, He’s digging deeper. He’s talking about our spiritual state. Jesus promises to satisfy our cravings and longings… and the person who is blessed in Luke 6 is the person that hungers for more of Jesus. More of His Word. The reason that He cautions the person who is full is because that means there is no room for Him. This is a danger for us each day as there is a temptation to be so full of things, that we have no room for Jesus. To think that we don’t need more of His Word. God’s people are satisfied by God’s Word!

So, Jesus flips the compass here and reminds us that we need something to satisfy because we all have this craving inside of us. God’s Word is meat and potatoes in a world that settles for junk food. God’s Word satisfies the growl in our stomach unlike anything else can… and whenever you taste God’s Word, whenever you develop that type of appetite, you know what you crave more and more of? God’s Word. Today, what satisfies you? Are you content with junk food? That’s the appetite of our world, and that can trickle into the church. Comedy, entertainment, lights, and humor… they will not satisfy longterm. What satisfies? The Word. Prayer. Fellowshipping with God’s people. And coming to church - I heard it preached yesterday that if we say that we are for the Church, we ought to be in the Church at 10:15. The primary thing that we do at South Gate is what we’re doing right now at 10:15. Corporate worship is the gathering of the saints that Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us not to forsake. Lifegroup? Good. Wednesday night Bible study? Good. Those are secondary, and anyone who tells you those things matter more is out of step because those things aren’t commanded in the bible. Corporate worship is! What matters most is the ministry of the Word when God’s people gather to see the Word (ordinances), sing the Word, speak the Word (Scripture), and sit under the preaching of the Word that God commands His pastors/elders to do on the Lord’s Day. This gathering satisfies God’s people… and whenever we don’t gather, we should miss this gathering. As we enter a new year, the best thing for your spiritual growth is to dive into God’s Word on your own throughout the week and to worship with God’s people week in and week out. The enemy would love for us to be sporadic, to emphasize the wrong things, and to minimize our need for this gathering. Don’t give an inch. God’s Word satisfies and worshiping with God’s people is the nourishment our souls need!

How Do You View Yourself? (21b, 25b)

Next, Jesus says that those who weep now and laugh later are blessed and woe to those who laugh now, because they will mourn and weep later. Does this mean that laughing is sinful? Brothers and Sisters, God isn’t against fun. God created fun! Life is so hard, that without laughing, as Abraham Lincoln once said, “I would die!” We need to laugh, in fact Proverbs 17:22 says

Proverbs 17:22 CSB

22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

Joy is good! God isn’t a killjoy, but He is against things that will kill your joy. Our world seeks thrills and laughs and excitement and entertainment, when in actuality some of these things are things that we should avoid entirely. Right now our world, and especially our teenagers are being bombarded with a demonic attack on their identity. Gender is fluid, truth changes, feelings are Gospel, and happiness is the goal. It’s all about self. Follow your heart. Do what feels right. This isn’t just outside the church, these things are said often in churches as well. Instead of taking God at His Word, instead of talking about hard things like repentance and sin, there is a temptation to laugh it away… to not have hard conversations… to be true to you. But this isn’t what Scripture calls on us to do when it comes to sin

2 Corinthians 7:10 CSB

10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death.

Weeping over our brokenness and fallenness takes humility - laughing away our problems represents pride and denial. This is our world, though. In a world that celebrates and promotes and exalts self, it shouldn’t surprise us to see that so many compasses point away from sin and towards idolatry. But Jesus gets pointed here: If you laugh and don’t deal with sin today, you will weep in the future… when it’s too late. If you weep and mourn over your sin today, you will rejoice and laugh in the future whenever sin is destroyed once and for all. There is a Biblical corrective to this world of happiness. God cares more about your holiness than He does your happiness!

Jesus flips the compass right side up here. See, whenever God saves you, He changes you! Leviticus 20:26 reminds us that God is holy and He calls us to be holy. To be set apart! As we trust in Him, as we obey His Word, as we look more like Jesus, the things that make you happy change because you grow in holiness. What prevents you from growing in holiness today? Maybe it’s your comfort in what you’ve done or how you’re wired. Maybe it’s mistaking holiness for legalism. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus uses the picture of a splinter and a log… How it’s easier for us to spot the splinter in the life of another person and miss the log in our own eye. To spot little sins in others, and ignore massive, unrepentant ones for ourselves. In 2026, may that not be the case for your life and for our church. May we have eyes to see and hearts that break most of all over our own sin, and whenever we do sin, may we seek repentance because whenever we do this, there is joy that comes!

God’s people know their only hope comes from the Lord, not themselves. Today, do you look back and see how desperately you needed Jesus? Do you see today just how much you still need Jesus? Do you see the change that Jesus has brought to your life? Understand that this changes everything because you are no longer defined by your sin or your past… you are an adopted child of the King, not through your merit but through His mercy! He changes our identity and calls us to be holy!

Who Are You Living For? (22, 26)

This is the apex of this part of Jesus’ sermon. “Blessed are you when people hate you, exclude you, insult you, and slander your name as evil because of the Son of Man… Woe to you when all people speak well of you.” This is the climax. This is the main point. This is also shocking. Who in their right mind would say that it is better to be hated than to be spoken well of? Maybe if you don’t have feelings this makes sense, but for everyone else this seems impossible. Let’s break it down.

Notice what Jesus doesn’t say, “Blessed are you when men hate you, exclude you, insult you, and slander your name as evil PERIOD.” There is an important ending here, “Because of the Son of Man.” Understand this friends - living for Jesus and standing on His Word will make you stand out from this world. The Bible isn’t endorsing being a jerk for Jesus and provoking people to the point of hatred and you call it persecution. We see this in our world today, especially on social media. Someone pokes and keeps poking and poking and eventually they get in trouble, and they cry persecution. That’s not always persecution, sometimes it’s poor behavior. But other times you live for Jesus. You stand on His Word. You try your best to be like Him… and you receive hatred, exclusion, insults, and slander. Understand this, friends: Jesus promised this would happen.

John 15:20 CSB

20 Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

John 16:33 CSB

33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

We will be persecuted as we follow our Master. We will suffer. This isn’t abnormal, this is to be expected. In fact look at how Paul worded this to his dear friend and protégé Timothy

2 Timothy 3:12 CSB

12 In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Not most, not some, but all! We see this throughout Scripture.

Abel was killed because he gave God his best. Think of some Old Testament prophets: Jeremiah was mocked. Elijah was hunted. Isaiah was sawn in two. This doesn’t stop in the New Testament: Paul was imprisoned. John was exiled. Peter was crucified upside down. And we think that if we live the right way, things will be smooth sailing? Friends, we’ve believed a lie if that’s the case. See, God’s Word stands out from a godless world. The people who consistently suffered in Scripture were exactly those who refused to back down from God’s Word… while the ones who survived and were praised were the people who spoke what the crowd wanted to hear.

2 Timothy 4:3 CSB

3 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear.

The tide in our culture is to hear what we want to hear. And when we don’t like what we hear, we leave to go to where we can hear what we want to hear. The verse before this one commands pastors to not do this - to preach the Word. Not feelings. Not stories. Not comedy. Not TED Talks. Preach the Word. That’s simple, isn’t it? Living for Jesus should be straightforward, shouldn’t it? What’s the problem? God’s compass and our world’s compass don’t line up… sin distorts things. Sin makes it so that God’s Word looks evil and boring… when in actuality, God’s Word is life-giving and good! When you stand on the Biblical definition of gender or marriage, don’t be surprised when you are met with hatred, insult, rejection, and slander. Because our world is blinded to the truth. Look at what Paul shares in Romans 1 about our world

Romans 1:24–25 CSB

24 Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.

People blinded by sin often don’t recognize the light. They lash out at it. Don’t be afraid… stand firm. And remember that there are times whenever we as believers lash out because we’re hurting. We say hateful things. We do mean things. We slander people we shouldn’t. Don’t you know that this is what the devil wants? The church to act like the world? We can do better!

I was talking to a friend a couple months ago, who reminded me that in life there are seasons when our sorrows seem to outnumber our joys - and he pointed me to Luke 6:22-23. Maybe you need this reminder today as well, friend. When you trust Jesus and try to follow Him and you are hated by others, you can still choose joy. When you are insulted behind your back, you can still choose joy. When you are excluded from things, you can still choose joy. When someone slanders you privately or publicly, you can take the high road and still choose joy. I told this story to John Marshall earlier in the week, that the hardest day I’ve had as a pastor in the office was the day after I was voted in here at South Gate. That Sunday was incredible. Exciting. Couldn’t wait to hit the ground running here… but, the next day I had to go to Salem and look my staff in the eye and tell them that the Lord had called us here. Those were and still are friends. Friends who text Lindsey and I. Friends who interact with us on Facebook. Friends who went floating with us and friends who we’d go grab ice cream with after church. That broke my heart… but God called us here. That week was rough, and then Sunday arrived. And several of you actually texted me saying that you were praying for me as I was going to tell 350 people the news. And as soon as I did, people who were once friends stopped looking at me. Stopped talking to my bride. Then came the rumors - left for a bigger church, more money. Then the slander. And I came to South Gate… hurting. Church hurt. A hurt that scabs over, but leaves a nasty scar. And through time, prayer, being in the Word, and the support of so many of you, that cut doesn’t hurt as much.

Friends, we’re all going through something. Every one here in this room is hurting with something. And when you stand for Jesus and try to live for Him, it’s like the devil sees that and attacks all the more. If that’s where you’re at today, keep living for the Son of Man. Keep prioritizing Jesus. Keep staying true to His Word. And understand that the alternative, to be well liked by everyone, isn’t the goal because that’s what they did with the false prophets. Not even Jesus was unanimously approved of. To be well liked by everyone means that you have no spine - you’re like play dough and can be manipulated in any way imaginable. God’s people live for the applause of their Maker, not the approval of man!

The problem with the world’s compass is that it prioritizes the here and now over eternity, and that’s a foolish trade-off. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, but lose his soul? The answer - it doesn’t! So, don’t make this trade. Live right side up in an upside down world by looking to Jesus and living today with eternity on your mind. Jesus told us that there would be a cost to follow Him

Luke 9:23 CSB

23 Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.

The cost is great, but the cost of denying Him is far greater. This is why Jesus focuses on what’s coming. There is a reward for those who follow Christ and far surpasses the treasures and pleasures of this world. This is our hope. This is why we fight the good fight. Yesterday, I was at the funeral service of a man who ran his race well to his dying breath: Phillip Shuford. Phillip’s last few months were marked by sickness and suffering, but this man kept fighting and kept following Jesus. Last week, this man, heard these words: Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant and was welcomed into glory, not because of his perfection or good works. But because he had repented of his sins and placed his faith in a sinless Savior who died 2000 years ago on a blood-stained cross and who rose 3 days later from the dead. Friend, understand that one day the applause of man will stop. The crowds will disperse. The opinions and traditions will fade away… and the one question that will be asked is this: Did you live for them, or did you live for Him?

Philippians 1:21 CSB

21 For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

May our response be like that of Paul and Phillip, and live for Christ today and know that to die is gain. Understand, you can be comfortable now and empty forever, or faithful now and joyful forever—but you can’t have both. Today, who are you living for? Which was is your compass pointing? Is it aligned with God’s Word, or has the world made it drift? Today, submit to God’s Word. Humble yourself. Turn away from your sin. Confess your sin. Repent. Trust in the Lord, Jesus. Ask Him to forgive you and to change you. And start 2026 living right side up in an upside down world.