Upside-Down Kingdom
Kingdom of God • Sermon • Submitted
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· 13 viewsDescribing God's kingdom as a kingdom that only God could have created. It really is the unthinkable Kingdom.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Think with me about our culture’s (our nation’s) values.
We value freedom.
land of the free
Bill of rights/freedoms that we have
Statue of Liberty
We value prosperity.
Life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness.
We value independence.
Declaration of Independence
These are great values to have, and they are not unique to America. Most nations have values that are similar to these. But I want to think for a moment about the nation (kingdom) that Christ has built. If you think about it, it really is an upside-down kingdom.
We get hints of this throughout the NT and even the OT. Matthew 5:1-10.
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
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.
So just from this short section of scripture, we see that God’s new Kingdom is an upside-down kingdom with values that are different from humanity’s traditional values.
This is what I want to talk about in this lesson. I want to talk about the upside-down kingdom, and the different aspects of this upside kingdom.
Someone may ask, “Why do you want to talk about this?”
Here’s why. We get bombarded every day by the values of the world. Sometimes we need to be reminded that our kingdom is different.
Upside-Down King
Upside-Down King
As citizens of this upside-down kingdom, Jesus is our king, and if you think about, he’s an upside-down king. He’s so different from other rulers. Just think about who Jesus is.
1. Savior
1. Savior
As our savior, Jesus is different from other rulers. Think about how other rulers set out to save their people. It usually involves violence, war, and death – doesn’t it?
Do you remember the Exodus? What was Pharaoh trying to do in the book of Exodus? Exodus 1:8-10.
8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.”
Pharaoh is trying to save his people, so what does he do? In the interest of National Security, Pharaoh uses violence, oppression, and even murder. It’s all to save his people.
In response to Pharaoh’s evil, how did God righteously save his people? He sent plagues and ultimately sends death to save his people. And notice with me that this isn’t an isolated incident. Throughout OT history, we’ve seen God use his mighty power to rescue his people. God rescued lot from Sodom and Gomorrah with his mighty power.
Things haven’t changed very much. Throughout history – rulers, kings, and politicians have used guns, war, and violence to save their people.
Now think about Jesus, our upside-down king. How did he save his people? Isaiah 53:4-6.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
2. Comforter.
2. Comforter.
We don’t typically think of our kings or rulers as comforters, do we? Honestly, we can’t even really approach them. That’s why they lived in great palaces away from the people.
This was true in ancient times. Do you remember the king in the book of Esther?
It’s true today as well.
Our true king isn’t like this. We can approach the throne of God at time, and he will hear us.
Think about when eternity comes; how does Revelation describe the city of New Jerusalem? It’s a city with no temple, but why? It’s because God is there.
We have a king who truly cares for each and every one of us. That’s not something that you see when looking through the history of humanity
3. Servant.
3. Servant.
That’s not something that we think of whenever we think of kings or rulers, is it? King’s don’t serve, kings are to be served.
Jesus is quite different. Jesus came to be a servant.
Philippians 2:5-8.
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
In this passage, we see that Jesus was not only a servant to God, but a servant towards mankind as well.
We see the ultimate example of this when Jesus washes the disciples’ feet in John 13.
What kind of king does all of this? An upside-down king.
Upside-Down People
Upside-Down People
We’ve already talked about some of the values that people in modern nations have. In modern nations, people value freedom, prosperity, and independence – but the upside-people of the kingdom are different.
Matthew 19:4-6.
4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
The people in this upside-down kingdom have an upside-down view of marriage.
The world views marriage as an institution to make me happy.
Our primary goal in marriage isn’t happiness. It’s to do God’s will through our marriage.
Matthew 19:13-15.
13 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.
The people of the kingdom have an upside-down view of greatness.
So many people want to be the best.
We understand that the goal is not to be the best, but to be the least.
Matthew 19:23-26.
23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
The people of the kingdom have an upside-down view of prosperity.
Wealth is such an important thing in our culture. Many people put all of their trust in their wealth, and so they hoard it.
Rather than putting our trust in wealth, we put our trust in God. Since our trust is in God, we don’t need to hoard our wealth.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
The people of the kingdom have an upside-down view of freedom.
Freedom is such an important thing in our culture. No one wants to be a slave to anything.
We understand that we are slaves to our King because we were bought with a price. The price wasn’t trivial. It was the death of our king.
To sum it all up, God’s people are a different people. We are not like the world. Ephesians 4:17-24.
17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
As the upside-down people, we don’t look like the world around us because we’ve been renewed.
Upside-Down Mission
Upside-Down Mission
If you look throughout history, you notice that one of the primary missions for most major nations has been to spread its borders. How do nations typically do this?
Through war and violence.
We see this throughout biblical history. When the Assyrians wanted to spread their borders, they went to war with other nations and took their land… This cycle has continued throughout history.
If you think about it, the upside-down kingdom has the same mission. Our mission is to spread the borders of our kingdom, but how do we do this?
Do we spread our borders through guns, war, and violence? No, that’s not what God has called us to do. Matthew 28:18-20.
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
How do we make disciples? Not by war and violence, but by teaching and baptizing.
We see this played out in the book of Acts. Acts 17:1-8.
1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things.
The first thing that we see is that Paul is making some astounding claims. He claims that Jesus is the new king who hasn’t been elected. He made himself king by dying on the cross.
This claim is so astounding that mobs form because they understand what Paul is saying. They understand that Paul was saying that there is a new king on the throne. That statement is almost like an act of tyranny.
So, these people think that Paul is speaking of a new kingdom and new king who’s trying to overthrow Rome.
Paul is speaking of a new king and kingdom, but Paul isn’t speaking of some violent coup. Paul understands that this upside-down kingdom spreads it’s borders another way. Romans 13:1-2.
1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
The borders of our kingdom aren’t spread by overthrowing a kingdom. Rather, they are spread by evangelism. This is why evangelism is so important. We all need to be evangelizing.
This doesn’t mean that we all have to be the person who sits down and has Bible studies. That might not be our talent.
But we all have a talent that can contribute to the mission. That can contribute to evangelism.
Some of you are great at posting on FB!
Conclusion
Conclusion
This sounds like a great kingdom, doesn’t it?
I hope that you want to be a part of this kingdom.