Embracing the Upside Down Kingdom of God

The kingdom of God operates on a logic. Listen to me. The kingdom of God operates on a logic that turns worldly priorities upside down. In addition to this Matthew 25 passage, if you and I were to scour the scriptures, we would notice that the priorities of us people, the priorities of us are often time opposite, reverse or upside down of how the kingdom of God is set up. Uh, for example, within the kingdom of God, we see love over power. It's no secret that power in the grief for power in our world has created and continues to create issues among people across the globe. [00:05:13]

But what if we align our God-given purpose of having love over power with what God does in his word, which is speak love to power? Instead of us being as it is today with people desiring power over loving one another, what if we uh put a priority over loving people over power? We don't only see love over power. We see sacrifice over self-interest. The self-interest of people, yes, should be important to all of us. But what if it were balanced with a nearly equal focus for all of us to sacrifice within ourselves for the interest of people and the well-being of others that that that when we sacrifice our time, talents, and treasure so someone else can be blessed and better by our sacrifice. [00:06:04]

Being rich and wealthy isn't always about what you have. Being rich or wealthy is sometimes about what you can give. So instead of us prioritizing what we have which is self-interest, what if we we are intentional about serving other people and giving to other people which is sacrifice. Church say sacrifice. In scripture we see love over power. In scripture we see sacrifice over self-interest but we also see purpose over convenience. Our society is shaped around convenience and comfort. But what if our God-given purpose serve as priority over the convenience and comfort that we enjoy? That as we we acknowledge and operate within our purpose, we should become so focused and intentional, watch this, not to allow what's convenient and comfortable to get in the way of our purpose. [00:06:50]

It wasn't always convenient for Moses when he was assigned his purpose and called to God to lead the children of Israel from the land of bondage toward the land of blessing. But he did it. It wasn't always convenient for Joshua after the death of Moses to lead many of those same people and their descendants into the land of blessing. It wasn't always comfortable and convenient, but he did it. It wasn't always convenient for Jonah to hear and heed the voice of God to go travel and preach a warning to people that he wasn't a fan of. But despite what he felt after coming to his senses, Jonah still did it. And I'm sure it wasn't convenient for our Lord and Savior Jesus to leave heaven and come down 30 and three generations to take off divinity and put on humanity to die on a cross, be buried in a bar tomb for three days and on the third day get up because he didn't want to be dead no more and was raised with all power in his hand. [00:07:54]

Here's the reality. Everything God calls us to do ain't always convenient. But he called us because the kingdom of God because the kingdom of God operates on a logic that turns a worldly priorities upside down. And that is what I believe we see here in this Matthew 25 passage. My brothers and sisters, Jesus is speaking, trying to help the people to realize the value and the benefit and reward of being selfless and being of service to those around them. Jesus is helping them to realize, watch this, that how we treat others matters to him. That that that that how we are to other people, it matters to him. [00:08:55]

Because when you consider how people in the world will look at you and determine how they will treat you by how you look with how people in the world would look at you on the outside and determine how they're going to treat you on the inside, you ought to appreciate a God that looks at you and still enjoys the view. Because people in the world will determine how they'll treat you by what we have or don't have. By what we look like and don't look like, by where we live and don't live, by what we're from and where we're not from, by what we know and by what we don't know. Treat us like we are. People who are beneath them because of the mistakes we've made and the family we've come from. And you ought to be glad you serve a God that can look at you on your worst day and steal. Enjoy the view because everything about the kingdom of God is upside down from the logic we have in the world. [00:10:41]

God sees us where we are and looks at us by where he can take us. God sees us from what we have and looks at us from what we can obtain. God sees us from where we are and looks at us by where he can take us. Because the kingdom of God is upside down from the world that we live in. God sees us through the image of his son who suffered, who bled, who died, who was buried and was raised and is now sitting at the right hand of the father. Is there anybody besides me grateful that you serve a God like that? [00:11:52]

Everything about the Bible we believe, about the God we serve, and about the Jesus we follow is upside down from the world we live in. I'm going to say it again. Here it is. Everything Everything about the Bible we believe in, about the God we serve, about the Jesus we follow is upside down from the world that we live in. Here it is. But it's a beautiful logic. But while it's beautiful, everybody don't embrace it. [00:12:36]

To further press my point about the upside down kingdom, consider this pattern we see in Jesus's life and how he lived it in scripture. Consider this. Consider this. We serve a king in Jesus who wash his feet. Yeah. Kings get their feet washed, but we serve a king in Jesus who is not so high he can't wash feet. Okay, watch this. We serve a teacher in Jesus who uses examples like the good Samaritan to uh teaching us how we street how we treat strangers as if they're friends. We we we we we serve a teacher in Jesus that teaches h turning the other cheek, forgiving one another when they wrong us. [00:13:14]

We serve a coach in Jesus who calls for short people like me and David to slay giants like Goliath. He he he he causes stutterers like Moses to be his spokesman to an entire nation of people. We we we serve a leader in Jesus who who caused outcasts and failures to be on his leadership team of disciples. He didn't give them no interview process, no background check. He didn't run them through biometrics to see where they come from. But he looked at their failures and their outcasts and says that you are not disqualified. And I'm talking to some people. You weren't disqualified from the job you have. You weren't disqualified because the family you came from. Let me come tell you, you ought to give God praise that you got the job you have because God gave it to you. [00:13:56]

I'm so glad that God looks at me and sees the best in me. Even when I've demonstrated the worst of myself. Am I talking to anybody? You ain't always dotted every eye. You ain't always crossed every tea. But you can thank God on a Sunday in Charleston at the 3MBC Missionary Baptist Church and you can give him praise. Ah, we we we serve a leader in Jesus who chooses outcasts to be on his team of disciples. Who who who chooses the least and the likely of those within the community to to serve and lead their communities. [00:15:06]

We follow a father in Jesus who gives strength to the weak and who elevates the humble. We follow a shepherd in Jesus who leaves none and nine who are with him and go finds the one who is not. Why? Because everything about the Bible we believe in, the God we serve, the Jesus we follow is upside down from the world we live in. But even though it's beautiful and different than the world we live in, why do some people res Y'all can sit down. Y'all can sit down. I'm going to keep preaching. Hold on. Y'all got to I'm just let Here it is. Here. Here it is. [00:15:47]

Why don't people embrace it? Why don't many embrace this body? I believe it's because, don't miss this. Normality and what's familiar provides comfort while different and abnormal profer disconnection. Okay. Normal and familiar is comfortable. Different and abnormal profers disconnection. We gravitate to normal but we're not willing to acquies to that which is not normal. So, so with this thought, I got three questions I want to answer real quick. Three questions I want to answer. Here's the first question. How do we embrace the upside down kingdom? That's the first question I want to answer. The second one is, how do we enter the upside down kingdom? And then, how then are we examples of the upside down kingdom? [00:16:31]

I believe I can help us all demonstrate an inherent willingness to embrace the upside down kingdom when we think about how God did the most upside down thing of all. Here it is. Here it is. The most upside down thing that God ever did in the history of ever did. That sounded good in my head. I don't know how it sounded when it came out. But the most upside down thing that God ever did in the history of ever did is that he chose us. You don't know when to shout. He the the the most the most upside down thing that God ever did in the history ever did is that he chose us. And he chose us and he didn't just choose us one time. H he he he he chooses us and he keeps on choosing us. And he didn't just choose us to choose us, but he chose us to save us. [00:17:35]

Romans 5:8 says, "But God commanded his love toward us. And that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." In an upside down world, God sent Jesus to save some upside down souls. And you can fool me because you just met me, but you can't fool that person in the mirror. You ain't always been in church on a Sunday morning lifting holy hands. You ain't always drove up in church and you were awake in church. But some of you can testify there was a day that you didn't even come to church. And if you came to church, you wasn't awake in church. But thanks be to God that he chose. [00:18:44]

How do we embrace the upside down kingdom? We first accept that God embraces upside down souls. He ain't looking for us to be perfect. We can embrace it because we benefit from it. We have been chosen by it. We have been chosen by God. And because God has chosen us, we then becomes receivers and recipients of his blessings and his grace. I just added this back in the study. I had to close my book because this sermon was about to go a whole another way. Watch this. We are receivers and recipients of God's grace and blessings because he chose us. [00:19:30]

Grace is when God gives us what we don't deserve. Okay. Favor is the unmmerited, untraceable blessings that God gives to us as believers that cannot be traced, tracked, or trail back to human origin. Come here. Come here. Come here. Here it is. Grace. Grace is when God gives us what we don't deserve. But favor is when you got what you got and you can't trace it back to nobody around you in your family in your circle who you know. But favor is when it don't make sense. Favor is when people shaking their head at you. Favor is when people can't understand why you still alive. Favor is people wink they can't understand why you are what you are and you have what you have. But all you got to do is look up and say, "God, I thank you for favor that don't make sense, but it ain't got to make sense." [00:20:14]

We enter by embracing differences in our heart and making decisions in our mind that moves our hand into action to do for others what's already been done for us. Okay. Okay. We we we we we enter by by by being moved with our head and heart that then moves our hand to do for other folk what has already been done for us. So by then we move from being receivers and recipients to being reciprocators. We we we I don't just wanted to have it, but I want to be such a good steward with it. I bless other folk. And then when God see me blessing other folk, God say, "I'm going to give it to you some more because you ain't just keep it. I'm going to bless somebody else." And then God going to look at me again and say, "Oh, I'm going to give you some more because you're blessing somebody else." [00:21:40]

Can I tell you the reason why I got some of the stuff I got ain't because I've been good. It ain't because I knew all the right people. I don't even know how I got it. But all I'm gonna keep doing is saying, "Lord, I thank you for how you bless me. And because you bless me, the least I can do is bless somebody else." So, so, so, so I was just telling the minister in the back, I said, "My grandfather will be 100 years old in October." 100 years old. 100 years old. He moves without a cane, no wheelchair. He he he tends to his chickens in the backyard every day. He wants to build stuff every day and and he he really wants my mom and my aunt to let him drive, but we got his keys so he cannot drive. [00:22:31]

He said, "Make it all count." Hold on. He said, "The time you spend, what you say, what you do, make it all count." He says, he says, there ain't even a shot. Here's the shot part. He says, find something to do that is bigger than you in the moment that will last when you gone. The legacy you, he said, the legacy you leave is the legacy you build. Lord have mercy. Let me come get you. What's going to be here when you leave? What will people say about you after you are gone? And the reality is Jesus is helping them to understand that we enter the kingdom by these examples that he's paint. [00:23:50]

The only voice you need to hear is the shepherd, which is Jesus Christ. And sometimes the reason why you are where you are is because you got too many voices going around in your head. And Jesus says, "I'm going to put the ghost on the left and the sheep on the right." So he separates them. Here's what he says in verse 35. He says, "But I want you to come, sheep on the right, to get your inheritance." Well, what qualifies us to get the inheritance? He says, "Well, when I was hungry, you gave me something to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I needed some clothes, you didn't look at what your tag said. You took it off and you gave it to me. When I was sick, you went to CVS and got me some minadil and some allergy medicine. You brought you came to see me. When I was locked down and locked up, you came to see me. And because you have done these things, come and receive your inheritance." [00:26:52]

But they start asking logical questions. They said, "Well, when did we see you hungry? When did we see you thirsty? When did we see you, Jesus, locked down and locked up and sick?" I don't remember. He says, "Let me come get you." It ain't just about me being sick, but it's the people around me. It's the people that follow me. It's the people that know me. It's the people that don't know me. It's the people that's in your life that you know need your hand and my hand, but you too bougie. You you you too stuck up. You you too all got it together. You don't want to help nobody. Jesus says, "For the least that you've done of these, you've done it for me." [00:27:52]

How do we embrace it? We realize he embraces us. How do we enter? We use our head and our heart to move our hand to help others. How then are we examples? We talked about being recipients and receivers. We then move to being reciprocators. We do what's been done for us. Now we become restorers. And this is what World Vision is all about. We come to restore broken circumstances. I truly believe that God blesses us and aligns people in our path to be blessed by us. Yeah, I truly believe this. I truly believe this. Maybe I need to find something that substantiates this stronger case in scripture, but I truly believe that when God blesses us, there are people who are waiting for the blessing God has for them, but we are the vessel that gives them what God has for them. [00:28:45]

I want you to not just be a receiver and a recipient. I want you to be a reciprocator. do for others what has been done for you. Restore broken circumstances. So, World Vision, that's what we're all about. Dr. Ben has already stated it. I'm going to call him up in a second after this quick video. Here's the reality. There are people who need your heart and need your hand. Not because they know you, not because of this evaluation to how and why they got where they are. It is simple. Because Jesus has been good to me, the least I can do is demonstrate that same goodness to somebody else. [00:30:06]

I can't be a Christian by title without being a Christian in action. Okay, maybe that Christian word is throwing some people off. I can't be the blessing that Jesus keeps blessing without being the blessing that he actually keeps blessing. That sounded good in my head and it came out good on this microphone. I'm going to say it again. I can't be the blessing that Jesus keeps blessing, but not want to be the blessing that he actually keeps blessing. I'm trying to let it know. Here it is. Um, okay. I have boys and and and and there and one of my boys at that age will he want to do everything daddy does? If he could, he would have got on a flight and came to Charleston with me today. [00:31:54]

She said, because how he sees you. He sees you in a light that lights his world up. I'm getting happy again because I know where it's going to go. Keep toning in. Here it is. He He sees me at a light that lights up his world. He gets me in trouble sometimes, too, cuz I'll be out of town. I'll be out of town traveling and he'll call me on FaceTime and say, "Dad, I don't like what mama cook." I said, "Boy, you better go and eat that folk. You You want me to say I don't like it, too?" So, we both in trouble. What? He He sees me and it lights up his world. Okay, watch this. She says, "Be careful with what you do." What if when Jesus looked at us, what he saw was a demonstration of how he blessed us? [00:33:14]

But what he doesn't do that, he looks at us and sees himself in us even when we're not demonstrating it. That's the blessing. That's the blessing. So when I look at the world, if Jesus can look at me and see better in me, the least I be, least I got to do is look at somebody else and say, you know what? I got to do that same thing. I want to be a reciprocator of that. So I want media to roll this video. And here's what we're going to do. Lean in right here. We're going to roll this video that shows the work that is happening by people who said yes to be chosen by people who God already chose. [00:34:05]

Radical love gives you a choice. If you don't believe me, ask Shadore Sanders today who thought he would be chosen in the first round. And we all said, "Well, surely the second round, then Jones, definitely the third round. How could it go to the fourth round?" And no way who gets drafted who's supposed to be the top in the fifth round unless they're trying to make an example. Because here's the reality. The people who have the power are the people who make the choices. And when you can make a choice, you've got power. That's why God in God's infinite power did decided to choose us. He says, "You didn't choose me, but what I chose you." Because even how God loves is God chooses us but then just invites us to make a choice. [00:38:21]

Because God says you actually don't have to choose me back. I'll put before you both good and evil and choose this day who you will serve. Because God understands if we are to love, love gives choices. Love gives you a choice. Even when I love you and I died for you, I still give you the option to make a choice of whether you will walk with me. Whether you will call me your Lord and Savior, God's about choices, and that's what I love about World Vision's model. For years, what people have done is put the worst images of children on TV. And I'm not knocking anybody, but I'm going to talk about what I'm going to talk about. Folk who look like us in order to stir emotions out of people. But what about the dignity? [00:39:11]

See, when you look at that Matthew 25, when Jesus talks about the least of these, he talks about them with dignity, as seeing them as human, as seeing them as created in my go day, in the image of God, as seeing them as worthy, as seeing them as valuable. God sees us and loves us by choice. And this is what I love about this model. It's what pricked my heart to make sure that we brought it here. Because instead of giving us an opportunity to choose a child, it puts the power in the hands of these children. Many of which could not go to school. And I saw them and talked with them because they had to take care of the goats. Young girls, my girls age, five, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, having to walk two, three hours one way just to get dirty water. [00:40:31]

If God has given you breath, then use that breath to love somebody regularly. If God has given you anything, use it. Because everybody in Matthew 25 was about those who did not have a choice. If they're in prison, they don't have a choice of what they get to do. If they're thirsty, they don't have a choice of what they get to drink. They don't get Sunny D purple stuff, OJ. Nothing. But today we have a choice. And right now is the most important choice that I invite you to do. Because all of this begins by choosing to make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior. Unless you are led by God, then it'll be hard in your life to build the kingdom of God. [00:44:24]

It doesn't matter who you are, what your background is. Doesn't matter what you've done. Whoever is a new creature in Christ, all things have passed away. And all things have become new. I'm where I am today because God chose to love me. You are where you are today because God radically chose to love you. And if God knows you, if God sees you and gets excited about you, then you ought to live your life in a way that pleases him. You ought to say, "For God, I live, and for God, I die." You ought to say, "I'm not trying to work it out on my own. I'm going to give it to the Lord today." [00:45:31]

Yes, they'll bring up my past. Yes, they'll bring up what I used to do. Yes, they'll bring up who I used to be. But all that is just a testimony so that you know about God's love radically. You know that if God can change me, that God can change you. If God can pick me up, then God can pick you up. If God can turn me around, then God can turn you around. If God can bless me, then God can bless you. If God can save me, then God can save you. It's all about the choice. [00:46:19]