The Upside-Down Kingdom ~ Luke 6:20-26 September 15, 2013 ~ New City Church Calgary ~ Pastor John Ferguson

Intro: Its hard to read the paper or watch the news without sometime shaking your head at what a messed up place this world is. Sometimes, it just seems like everything is upside down and things are not the way their supposed to be. The same was true in Jesus day. The world was upside down: Gods people were living under a foreign govt; religious leaders laid unbelievable burdens on the people. And along comes Jesus, forming a community of followers. And Jesus tells them that things will not always as they appear. A Great Reversal is coming: the good news of the Kingdom of God (Luke 4:43).

After a two-month break, were back in the Gospel of Luke. Context: Luke is writing and orderly account of the story of Jesus for Theophilus who has little understanding of Jesus & his message about the Kingdom of God. Text: Jesus illustrates the revolution that will come about the Great Reversal Story of two different ways of life, two choices of what we live for, & two destinies

The Upside Down Kingdom ~ Luke 6:20-26 // 6:17-19 is the immediate context. Lookout for: (1) the promise transforming hope; (2) a sober warning

20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 1. Called The Beatitudes // NLT: God blesses you who are. Remember the context: Jesus is preaching about his Kingdom; vs. 20, he specifically addresses his followers.

2. Luke esp. notes Jesus concern for the poor. Jesus himself was poor (2 Cor. 8:9), loved the poor, called his followers to care for the poor & oppressed. But being poor is not an automatic qualifier to enter the kingdom of heaven. Here Jesus is speaking about those who follow him, and because of this suffer poverty. Not a generic happiness, but a particular blessing from God for particular people (vs. 20 his disciples). He is speaking to those who are not living for their own little kingdoms, but are living for Gods kingdom. These beatitudes serve to comfort and reassure those who suffer poverty for the sake of the gospel.

3. Ryken, He was not pronouncing a blessing on humanity in general, but on his followers. He wanted them to know that in spite of their present poverty, they were in possession of an everlasting kingdom. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. 1. Similarly, Jesus speaks to his disciples who may experience hunger as a result of following him. Far from thinking that this is a sign that God has abandoned them or that Gods blessing doesnt rest upon them, Jesus encourages them with a promise, You shall be satisfied. 2. CS Lewis, The Weight of Glory, If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 1. This is a reminder that for those who follow Jesus, the kingdom is not fully here. Heaven still awaits us. This life is often marked by weeping b/c we live in a fallen, broken world. We have never experienced life apart from the fall and curse of sin. It vandalizes and tarnishes everything. 2. 2 Cor. 4:16-17, So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all description. 22 Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and revile and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 1. John 5:20, Remember the words I spoke to you: No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. 2. D. Bonhoeffer, Suffering, then, is the badge for true discipleship. The disciple is not above his master. Discipleship means allegiance to the suffering Christ, and it is therefore not at all surprising that Christians should be called upon to suffer. In fact, it is a joy and a token of His grace. 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. 1. Note the commands: rejoice and leap for joy. How is that possible? You must be listening to a different Voice. What Jesus says must carry far greater weight than what anyone else says. You must be confident of 2

the smile of your Heavenly Father or you will shrink back at the smirks, frowns, disparaging comments of co-workers, family members, or govt thought police. 2. Acts 5:40-41, and when [the Sanhedrin] had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 24 But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 1. Woe can have a couple of nuances: A sound of alarm indicating coming judgment. This is how the prophets spoke. A word of lament: How terrible (CEV) or What sorrows await those (NLT)

2. Consolation = Paid in full. He who dies with the most toys still dies. 3. The contrast is between those who follow Christ and those who live for the moment. 1 Timothy 6:10, But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

25 Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. 1. Seems to be directed to those who would crave the easy life instead of the narrow path that leads to life, to those who are preoccupied with the pleasures of life (Mt. 7:14). 2. It is possible to gorge oneself on the things of this world and have no appetite for God. These things can never fill us, and the result is that we are left hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 1. Dont hear Jesus being against laughter. God created laughter, and Jesus promises that though his followers may mourn now, they will laugh. 2. This warning / lament is spoken against those who live for laughter, who will not get serious about his Kingdom. Ryken, Jesus knew that some people never do get serious about spiritual things What a sad way this is to live, because people who never get serious about Jesus will never inherit eternal life. For them there will only be weeping and gnashing of teeth (e.g., Luke 13:28). Most frustrating thing in talking to Calgarians about the Gospel is the refusal to take Jesus & what he said seriously. Ill cross that bridge when I get there. Those 3

wanting to live for the now now, and deal with eternity later, is exactly what this woe is spoken against. o Hell is simply this choice set on an eternal trajectory. If a person doesnt want to live with God in his life, then the only logical outcome is for this person to be separated from God, and thats what hell is. o The only difference is that here they experience his common grace, the pleasures of this life; but then there will only be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Luke 13:28). 26 Woe to you, when people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets. Again, Jesus is speaking about those who are spoken well of because they reject the Gospel of Jesus. They are open-minded, not narrow. They are applauded by the world for seeking the truth, not for saying Jesus is the truth.

Main Idea: The upside down kingdom of Jesus Christ will turn everything right side up.

1. Count the cost. I wonder, How do we as North Americans hear this passage? I wonder how we as Christians living in North America hear this passage? If Christ were to bring poverty, hunger, mourning, and persecution into the lives of Christians living in Calgary, how many would still follow Christ? o 1 Timothy 6:17, As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of tha t which is truly life.

2. Remember the Cost: the Great Reversal that happened on the Cross 1 Peter 3:18, For Christ also suffered once for since, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.

Live your life with an eternal perspective, and especially the perspective of the Great Reversal coming when King Jesus comes to set the world right side up.