Check out the book "The Upside Down Kingdom" by Donald Kraybill
https://www.amazon.com/Upside-Down-Distinguished-Professor-Emeritus-Kraybill/dp/1513802496/ref=sr_1_2?crid=226Z0R7BQKLQ3&keywords=donald+kraybill&qid=1669518981&s=instant-video&sprefix=donald+kraybill%2Cinstant-video%2C182&sr=1-2-catcorr
-I’ve always been fascinated by mountains.
-I climbed my first real mountain when I was about 16 years old.
-My youth pastor took 12 of us to climb a central Oregon mountain called Three Fingered Jack.
-There is an infamous section on this mountain called “the crawl”.
-It is a flat wall with a tiny little ledge and a huge drop.
-You thread a rope through some rings that are installed and then everyone can travel across safely attached to the rope.
-Except the first person. The first person is the one to thread the rope and if they slip they fall a long way.
-Several people have died over the years attempting this.
-And so, when it was time for someone to go across…our youth pastor sent me.
-Not because I was a great climber or the bravest, but because I had small feet for that small ledge.
-(And was dumb enough to say yes…there was this girl I wanted to impress…long story)
-So we made it to the top and lived to tell the tale.
-There is something about mountains.
-They are massive, unyielding and immovable.
Mountains are places of solitude for mystics and gurus.
Places for mighty men to build fortresses and strongholds.
Mountains are metaphoric for power and strength.
-And, in the Bible, many pivotal moments involved mountains.
-A quick run through the Scripture reminds us of some of those:
*Noah’s Ark landed on top of Mt. Ararat.
*The 10 Commandments were given on Mt. Sinai.
*God spoke to Israel audibly from that same mountain.
*Moses gazed on the Promised Land from Mt. Nebo
*Elijah’s showdown with false prophets was on Mt. Carmel
*In Matthew 4 Jesus was tempted by Satan on the top of a mountain…we’ll talk about that next week.
*Jesus was transformed in front of three disciples on the top of a mountain Mt. Tabor (according to tradition)
*Jesus famously prayed on the Mount of Olives on the night that he was betrayed.
*And the most famous teaching of Jesus was on a mountain; a message we call The Sermon on the Mount
-And the beginning of that message is a special portion that is called the Beatitudes.
-I’d like to begin by just reading that portion to you and it’ll probably sound familiar.
Matthew 5:3-10 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
-If you’ve spent any time in church you’ve probably heard those words before. (Picture of Jesus)
-Many of us have heard these words so many times that maybe they’ve become old news rather than good news.
-They’re so common for us that we might miss just how world changing they words were for the people that first heard them.
-Let me share a bit of history with you.
-Before Jesus arrived the Jews were conquered and ruled by foreign countries for a period spanning about 500 years. (pg 35)
-It started with the Babylonians.
-Next came the Persians.
-All things considered they were better; they allowed the Temple to be rebuilt.
-But then came the Greeks. Not so nice.
-When the Greek empire fell, Egypt gained control over God’s people again.
-And that lasted about 100 years and then an evil Syrian king named Antiochus Ephiphanes came to power.
-His nickname was “the madman”. Not usually a good sign.
-He’s the guy who infamously defiled the temple.
-Under the leadership of the Maccabeans, the Jews rebelled and actually gained freedom for about 100 years.
-But then came Rome, same old song, different verse and God’s people were once again under the thumb of merciless outsiders.
-And they conquered Israel for the same old reasons.
-The same reasons that Russian attacked Ukraine.
-It’s about money, power, resources, control.
-It’s about the egos and ambitions of powerful people.
-This may seem like the stuff of kings and armies.
-But if you study all of this you’ll find something really interesting; there were also culture wars being waged.
-Each one of these dominating cultures tried to impose their culture on God’s people.
-We should take note of that, because the same thing is happening today with us.
-But it wasn’t through social media, pop culture, celebrity spokespeople, or political parties.
-The Bablyonians shipped the Jewish people all over to weaken their culture and integrate them into Babylon.
-They literally said “pack your bags, you’re moving.”
-Alexander the Great had an approach called Hellenization which was a strategy to introduce Greek culture, values and religion to all of the people groups he’d conquered.
-And this was done…forcefully.
-Antiochus the madman outlawed the Scripture .
-And he also set up a statue of Zeus in the Holy City of Jerusalem.
-All these civilizations, the kingdoms, brought their culture, values and religions to Israel.
-Some of the Jews resisted these efforts and frankly, many just went along. The same is happening to Christians today.
-And throughout all these centuries God’s people were waiting for the promised deliverer to come.
-A Savior. A Messiah. Someone who could set things right.
-They believed the Messiah would come and restore Israel’s glory and rid them of the outsiders once and for all.
-But when the Savior arrived…
*He didn’t do what they wanted
*He didn’t say what they expected.
*And in their eyes, he didn’t live up to the hype.
-He was completely opposite of what they expected.
*He didn’t muster an army. He didn’t form a militia.
*He didn’t run for office.
*He didn’t propose political reform.
*He wasn’t interested in seizing thrones.
*He wasn’t a military leader.
*He was poor. He was humble.
*His followers were peasants, farmers and fishermen.
-And on a mountain top, he gave this groundbreaking message to all of his followers: the beatitudes.
-You might say these are the Bill of Rights for his new kingdom
-On the mountainside Jesus gave the most famous speech in the history of the world.
*And he didn’t promise wealth or prosperity.
*He didn’t guarantee certain inalienable rights.
*He didn’t talk partisan politics.
-Just 8 simple statements.
-And these statements don’t outline the plans of a nation.
-They describe a way of life for a people.
-Life in the Upside Down Kingdom of God.
-So let’s walk through these statements together and see how upside down they were to life in Israel and life in America now.
Matthew 5:1-10 “One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down.
-In Jewish culture it was common for teachers to sit while they taught. (Luke 4:20; cf. Matthew 13:2; 23:2; 24:3)
-That’s the way it was done in the synagogues. The teachers would sit and the audience would stand.
-Maybe we should try that! I’ll sit you stand. (Sounds great!)
His disciples gathered around him, 2 and he began to teach them.
-This is not only the 12 disciples but a whole crowd of disciples
-Luke 6:17 tells us that this crowd included….
“...people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon.”
-So there is Jesus on the mountainside with a crowd of people.
-He’s gaining popularity, they’re starting to think he’s the one who’s going to overthrow Rome.
-He’s going to restore Israel to its former glory! Finally!
-But on the mountainside he said things that were completely upside down from what anyone expected.
-All of these beatitudes begin with “God blesses those who…” or “Blessed are the”.
-The word “blessed” literally means “happy”.
Not happy like my team won the game.
Not happy to see an old friend.
Or happy for chili and rolls from Texas Roadhouse
-Jesus was describing the kind of deep down happiness that comes from being right with God.
-This is true and deep seated happiness. And he describes how we attain this happiness.
-Here’s the first beatitude.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
-Jesus isn’t talking about people with low incomes.
-He’s talking about spiritually poor people.
-The “poor in spirit” are people who are spiritually bankrupt and they know it.
-They aren’t self-righteous, proud, or defiant.
-They aren’t convinced they are somehow good enough to make it to heaven on their own.
-This is important: You can’t have Jesus as your Savior until you’ve realized you need saving.
-I remember a parent who brought their kid into my office and said the kid wanted to be baptized.
-I talked to him for a while and then asked about sin.
-“Do you know what sin is?,” I asked.
-Oh yeah, “lying, stealing, murder” They named the usual things.
-Then I asked, “Do you ever do things like that?”
-“No way. I would never do things like that.”
-I later told the parent, “I don’t think your little guy is ready.
-I believe he loves Jesus, but he doesn’t understand his need for Jesus. You could say baptism is for the poor in spirit.
-Those who’ve realized their sinfulness & their need for a Savior
-It’s publicly acknowledging your trust in Jesus to save you from your sins; and joining the ranks of other sinners who’ve reached the same conclusion.
-By the way my friend Roper is getting baptized today at Dierke’s Lake at 1:30.
-If you’re ready to be baptized today, we’d love to include you.
-The Kingdom of God belongs to people who know; they are spiritually bankrupt and that they need God.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
-It’s tempting to read this as a general comfort to anyone who is sad over anything.
-Some people read this and think, “all sad people will be comforted by God”.
-That’s a nice thought but not what Jesus is saying.
-The Beatitudes are talking about people’s spiritual condition.
-So the mourning here describes people mourning over their sin.
-And people hate stuff like this! They think God wants us to sit around and feel bad about ourselves all the time.
-It sounds judgmental & negative. That’s completely wrong.
-We all know what it’s like to be broken up over our sin.
*When we’ve made a royal mess of things…
*When we’ve done that thing we swore we’d never do…
*When our sins have finally caught up with us…
*When we’re disgusted with ourselves…
*We’re sitting in the consequences of our own decisions…
-We’ve all been there. Those moments when your soul is in mourning. When you’re grieved over your own sin.
-And in those moments when we’re sure that God must hate us and has surely abandoned us for good…
-In those moments, there is a supernatural comfort available from our Father.
-God is ready to jump in and comfort those humble people who are remorseful for their sins.
-But proud people aren’t broken over their sin.
-They aren’t frustrated by their sin.
-They are defiant. They do whatever they want without concern.
-And there is no comfort for people like that.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
-Meek isn’t a word we use in modern English much.
-In fact, “Meek sounds weak” and we don’t like that.
-Many of the newer translations say “humble” which is a good choice because it sounds like an attitude that we choose.
-Humble sounds like a decision and meek sounds more like a character flaw. Meek sounds wimpy.
-But Jesus isn’t talking about people who are wimpy.
-He’s talking about strong people who keep their strength in check.
-I went to see these massive draft horses at the County Fair a few weeks ago.
-Man they are like 7 feet tall. Rippling with muscle.
-They are like the Arnold Schwarzenegger of horses.
-If they wanted to hurt you they could.
-But they’re harmless, really tame.
-But none of that is natural to them.
-They’ve learned to take a bit, or take a harness.
-They had to be broken, and learn to keep their strength under control.
-And that’s how it goes with us and God.
-We all know wild stallions that want to be unrestrained.
-They don’t want to submit to God, or anyone else.
-They’re always fighting, always trying to bite the hand that feeds them.
-Maybe you’re someone who refuses to get humble.
-Have fun with that. There’s lots of heartache and pain coming your way.
-But to those who get humble before God he says something astonishing. They’ll inherit the earth!
-That’s a way of saying, “you won’t regret it.”
-You’ll literally have the keys to the kingdom. (#4)
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
-It’s interesting to think about being hungry or thirsty for righteousness. How about a cheeseburger?
-We can all understand what it’s like to hunger for something.
-We all have appetites. We crave certain things.
*You hunger for escape so you drink too much.
*You hunger for sex so you find it on a screen.
*Or why wait for marriage when you hunger for it now?
*You hunger to be recognized so you put others down.
*We hunger for things that make us feel good, look good.
*For things that make people like us or envy us.
-We hunger for all kinds of things, and in my experience…people find ways to satisfy their hunger.
-But have we ever been hungry for righteousness?
-Hungry for the good things that Jesus gives.
-The pure things, the lasting things, the eternal things?
-Have you ever been hungry and thirsty for more of Jesus in your life? And I suspect for many the answer is “yes and no”.
-But Jesus said, if you hunger for righteousness you will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
-There are people who have the gift of mercy and others who fall into the needs improvement category.
-Romans 12 says mercy is a spiritual gift but I guarantee you it’s often under-appreciated.
-Preaching, teaching, leading, those are usually more desirable spiritual gifts. But Jesus was merciful.
-God’s people want more of mercenary, and and they mercy..nari.
-Not what they expected!
-Instead of rounding up an army, he trained up some preachers.
-Instead of raising up weapons, he raised up leaders.
-Instead of fighting the powerful, he bolstered the powerless.
-Instead of judging condemned people…he showed mercy.
-You’ve received that mercy and so have I.
-And Jesus said that people who show mercy will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
-The pure in heart are rarely celebrated.
-The pure in heart are kind of rare in my estimation.
*People with pure motives.
*People with pure desires.
*People with pure intentions.
*People who have guarded themselves from impure things.
-It’s hard to be pure in heart in our culture.
-We celebrate violence, indulgence, materialism, and every other worthless thing.
-I’m affected by it and so are you.
-This beatitude hit me harder than the rest.
-Reading this again made me evaluate some things.
-I love watching gritty British detective shows.
-But I found myself wondering why I’m interested in violent crimes, mayhem…and murder. (That’s how the brits say it)
-So instead, I’ve been watching The Great British Bake Off this week. Not as exciting I admit.
-I’m not claiming my heart is now officially pure.
-But part of following Jesus, is teaching ourselves to desire good and pure and godly things.
-I want a pure heart. I really do.
-We’ve all got to start somewhere and evaluate frequently.
-Jesus said that people with pure hearts will see God.
-It occurred to me this week that the pure-hearted people are in a better position to see God.
-They’re more likely to hear the voice of the Spirit.
-More likely to discern the activity of God.
-More prepared to see…God now, and they will see God when his Kingdom finally and fully comes.
-Two more.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
-Jesus said peacemakers are blessed people.
-He didn’t say peaceful people. That’s good too. But here he names those who make peace, or those who work for peace.
*Not backstabbers and gossips.
*Not those who divide people.
*Not those who always have a criticism or a snide comment
*Not those who sow discord, spread conspiracy theories.
*Not those who haven’t nothing nice to say…and say it anyway.
-There is no place for gossip in God’s Kingdom.
-When you hear gossip, let’s shut it down.
-We don’t talk about people, we talk to people.
-Those who work for peace, are called God’s children.
-The Jewish people were ready for a warmaker and they got a peacemaker. They were kind of disappointed.
-Are you? Would you prefer a weaponized Jesus?
-Or, is your path, the path of working for peace?
-We work for peace in our marriages.
-With our families, with our friends, in our Growth Groups.
-Wherever the Kingdom exists, we should find peacemakers.
-This may never be how America is.
-But it must be how the church is. Last one.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
-There are some people who are persecuted for just being dumb.
-But the kind of persecution Jesus is talking about is those who are targeted because of their commitment to Jesus.
-Their Christian values have drawn critics.
-Their Christian virtues have spotlighted them in a negative way.
-Jesus went on to say:
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
-There’s no assurance we’ll be protected from persecution if we follow Jesus. It kind of seems just the opposite.
-It seems like Jesus expects us to be persecuted for our faith, and promises that we’ll be rewarded in the Kingdom yet to come.
-So there you go. 8 sayings from King Jesus about how people live in the Kingdom.
-The Beatitudes are the ethics of God’s Kingdom. They tell us who we are in Christ, and how we are supposed to be in Christ.
-And I can only imagine the response of the crowds.
-After 500 years of oppression, they wanted revolution.
-Surely, some there were disappointed.
-Their hopes were set on Jesus restoring a nation. And instead he talked about a spiritual kingdom.
-Some were amazed…this was ground breaking stuff. Still is!
-Surely, some were curious…because no one really talked like this
-It so Upside Down.
-It occurred to me this week that there are some similarities between ancient Israel and America 2022.
-Like the crowds you may be more passionate about our nation than you are about the Kingdom of God.
-That’s understandable. This is our everyday life.
-We live here, our family lives here. I totally get it.
-America is where we live but it’s not our home.
-America is our country but our citizenship is in God’s Kingdom.
-And the trouble we have is that we confuse the two.
-I, often, confuse the two.
-America isn’t Christian and Jesus isn’t American.
-And as our country becomes less and less Christian, we’re going to be forced to make hard decisions about where our loyalties lie.
-The people in Jesus’ day wanted to Make Israel Great Again. -They had red MIGA hats!!!
-They were ready for a leader who could take them back to the glory days.
-And instead Jesus sat down on a mountainside.
-And said, “let’s talk about your spiritual life.
-Let’s work on changing you. On the inside.
-Let’s start a spiritual movement that has some real power.
-It starts with you and God.
-Here’s how it works. Ready?
-Stop pointing out the flaws in your neighbor and own up to your own stuff first. Blessed are the poor in Spirit.
-Stop claiming the moral high ground with others and get honest about your own sin. Those who mourn will be comforted
-Lay down your pride, and get humble before your God. For the meek will inherit the earth.
-Stop feeding your worldly appetites and get hungry for righteousness. If you hunger for righteousness you will be filled
-Show mercy to people instead of contempt and judgment. Those who show mercy will receive it.
-Get rid of the things that corrupt your heart, like British television. The pure in heart will see God.
-Work for peace. Bring people together. Stop pointing a finger of blame and extend a hand. Those peacemakers will be called children of God.
-And don’t worry if you stand out a bit. Don’t worry if people hassle you for your faith. You have an heavenly reward that can never be taken away.
-For 2000 years nations have risen and fallen and the Kingdom of God keeps advancing.
-But not the way people expected. It’s completely upside down.
-The Beatitudes make it seem like the world’s winners are lose out in the kingdom.
-And people the world sees as losers are winners in God’s kingdom. Everything is upside down.
-Jesus is a king whose throne was a mountainside.
-His army were peasants and farmers.
-His focus was inward, not outward.
-And to give all people life, he chose death.
