Untitled Sermon

All Saints Day

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The Inside Out or Right Side Out Kingdom

I. Me

Something has happened at my house. I am not sure when it happened or how it happened, but it most certainly has happened. Clothes seem to always come out of the dryer inside out. I don’t get it, when we fold them they go into the drawers right side out, when the kids wear them they are right side out, but when they come out of the dryer almost always they are turned inside out.

If you took a look at our laundry you would think these people are crazy. Don’t they know that you are supposed to wear your clothes a certain way. That shirts and pants are designed for the tags to be on the inside.

I am only kidding, I know how it happens when the kids strip off their dirty clothes they aren’t pay attention to the way the clothes look they just know it is dirty and throw it in the dirty clothes bin. They don’t even think about it. But if all you saw were our dirty clothes you would think the people in our house don’t understand the way that clothes were made or intended to be worn.

You might think we are living with an inside out understanding of life as far as how clothes were made and designed. And if you were an alien who landed in our laundry bin, then you might try to fit in by wearing what you see, clothes inside out and then wonder why something just doesn’t seem to be right but not able to put a finger on what it is.

II. You

I know it is a silly illustration, but many people look at the Church and Christians today, especially in the developed parts of the world and can’t understand how, what, or why, this Christ following thing is supposed to be such a big deal. All they see is inside out living, dirty clothes, Christian who at the end of the day look just like everybody else.

People all around the world live their lives searching for something that will make the difference but never able to identify or find what that something is. Often within the Church this something can be hard to identify when looking at the lives of people who worship there.

III. God

The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Good News of Jesus is the right side out picture of the Kingdom of God. What seems so hard, what feels so strange, what sounds so different is actually the right side out picture of the Glory of God.

Ever since the fall of man, ever since sin has entered the world, our humanity has been stained by it. And we might say that we have gotten used to living inside out from how God intends for us to live.

And as long as we live with the stain of sin guiding or controlling our lives we are living inside out from how we were designed to live. And when we are living inside out from how God designed us to live, the world who does not know the power, presence, and purposes of God assumes their way of living is just as good and any other.

It is only by the power of the blood of Jesus that we are washed and through God’s presence in our lives that we begin to experience his purpose for us. A purpose that actually turns life right side out and becomes the fullness of life, the promise of life that God has designed and intends for us to live.

An email I got earlier this week that paints a picture of the right side out kingdom in a world where most people are living inside out lives.

Oct. 31, 2019 | Nepal Living the Christian Life with Beautiful Aroma

An extremely poor family who came to Christ has experienced intense persecution but also rapid spiritual maturity. The family is so poor that they live in a shelter on government-owned land and lease land to grow crops. At each harvest, they owed their landlord half of their crops and they struggled to survive. They met a pastor who told them about Christ. Eager for the hope Jesus promised, they accepted Christ as a family and began attending church, walking eight miles each way. Then the persecution started. Their landlord confiscated their land. Their neighbors prohibited them from using the village water tap. “They are alone from society,” their pastor said. However, he is impressed with their mature faith in such a short time. The family told him, “The Christian life is like a rose that blooms and spreads aroma in the midst of a thousand thorns.” The family ask for prayers that they will continue to grow, stand firm in their faith and have strength to face their difficult situation.

“like a rose that blooms and spreads aroma in the midst of a thousand thorns.”

Do you see the only the thorns in this story or do you see the rose and smell its fragrance in the midst of the thorns?

Today we celebrate All Saints Day and as we reflect on the Saints who have gone before, we are reminded of the right side out kingdom of God and how God can and does desire for all of His people to live according to his purposes walking in his ways and for his glory. And in the lives of the Saints we see a glimpse of what this means and how different from the stain of sin life is meant to be lived.

In our Gospel text today, we hear Jesus say:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

22 “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.

23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

24“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

25“Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.

“Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.

26 “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

27 “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

There are 4 blessings and 4 woes. If taken at face value, which of these blessings or woes describe your life the best?

Jesus isn’t necessarily intending to place judgment upon his hearers in this text, but he is letting them know that following him is going to mean something. It is going to change the way they see life. And what seems ordinary today will become known as inside out when Jesus becomes the center of their being. What appears to be the normal way people react and respond will become exposed and backwards living and the foolishness of a sin stained life.

Jesus intends for his disciples to understand the transformation that the Holy Spirit will work in them will be the only way in which the right side out kingdom of God will be seen.

4 blessings and 4 woes, which of these describe your life the best?

Maybe we find that our lives look a little too much like the world around us. From the outside looking in: there is not much difference in the way we respond then there is from people who don’t claim to know Jesus. As an alien landing in our lives and viewing our social media, email, texts, and web pages viewed might think that everyone lives this way and yet know something doesn’t seem just right. From worlds understanding of life: money, love, and material possessions is there a difference from what drives your heart and desires from that of the world around us.

Reflecting on the Saints or hearing the stories of the persecuted church are we a bit too quick in thinking that we are glad not to be in their shoes.

Have we counted the cost of following Jesus? Are willing to lay down our lives in order to pick up our cross and follow Jesus? What does this even mean for a Christian in the Developed world of the 21st Century?

I certainly do not claim to have all the answers, but I do know that the inside out living that world would have you to believe is normal is not the way God created and designed His people to live. His power, His presence, and His purpose turns life right side out where we begin to see the glory of God in an unstained life.

To turn a shirt or pair of pants right side out is to find a fit that you had hope for all along.

IV. You

What does right side out living look and feel like?

First, it is different than the world around us. Whatever the world is screaming for, whatever the world is chasing after, whatever the world says you have just got to do or got to have, you can pretty much count on it that this will lead you to an inside out life filled with woes instead of the blessings of God.

Second, we can begin to experience the transformation of being turned right side out by the power of the Holy Spirit when we say yes to Jesus as Lord and begin to be obedient to the Word of God. What has, what does God Word say, what does the Holy Spirit reveal about whatever relationship, situation, or issue that you are facing? We could be served well by following the directions of Mary the mother of Jesus in her last words recorded in the Bible, In “Mary said the servants, do whatever he tells you”

If you don’t know what the Bible says or what the Holy Spirit is saying, it is worth taking some time to ask and to explore that you might hear and receive the wisdom of God and experience right side out truth guiding your life instead of sin marred lies leading down destructive paths.

Obey the Word of God and build your life upon His word of truth and you will discover life as God designed you to know and enjoy. All of this section in the Gospel of Luke is summed up in chapter 6:46-49

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you? 47 I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. 48 That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house.” [1]

Obey, Unity: Right side out living is gives praise and thanks to God for who he is and what he has already done for us. Right side out living is not so much concerned about fears and anxiety of our lives but instead it gives thanks and praise in the face of fear, in the face of anxiety, in the face of uncertainty , in the best of times and in the worst of times because God is here and He is worthy. Committing to Join together as unlikely people giving praise to God for who he is in spite of who we are but for who He has made us in his love. I can promise you this is right side out living because the world today certainly does not want you living and finding joy, love, fellowship, and worship with people who think differently than you. But this kind of unity is powerful and reflects the glory of God to a world living inside out.

Obedience, Unity, and Tithing: Bringing the whole tithe into the storehouse that the floodgates of Heaven would be opened up through God’s people, the Church. I cannot state this strong enough, how powerful and desperately need this is. In a world that looks for government to solve the worlds problems, what might happen in a community where the church becomes the beacon of hope and giver of life to its community. God desires to make his name famous through his people, you and I the church as we give back to God what he has given us and as he blesses us with more than we can store such that it pours out in overflowing measure to our community with joy, passion, power, and love for the least, the last, and the lost.

V. We

[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. (1989). (). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.