Acts 17:6 (NKJV).
But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too.“
This was the term used by the (unbelieving) Jews to describe Paul, Silas and the apostles. They were men “who have turned the world upside down”. This was not due to any miracle they performed, nor their stature or position held. No, this was merely because of the ‘message’ they preached. The gospel which the Apostles preached was of such a nature, it seemed to have disrupted the natural order of things. Their message turned things “upside down”. It was a gospel that challenged even the most prominent religious teachers’ beliefs and understanding.
Continuing with the ‘Upside-Down’ nature of the Kingdom of God, we see the message which Jesus preached, was the same message He sent the disciples out preaching. Matthew 10:7, “As you go, preach this message: “The Kingdom of Heaven is near”. Sermons preached today are aimed at the believer being successful, walking in divine health, seeking greatness, and the need to be relevant in the world. Most messages currently taught are aligned with worldly concepts and desires, and a worldly point of view. The church adopted this worldly notion of “living your best life”. To be “blessed” is to be successful, accumulate wealth, be in complete health, own property and have an abundance of material possessions. A life that is void of any kind of suffering. Again, these are all measurements according to a worldly standard. You cannot measure ‘spiritual matters’ with a worldly perspective.
Acts 14:22 (NIV).
Strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships (sufferings) to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
Contrary to popular teachings prevalent in mainstream churches, Jesus, the Apostles and disciples, knew that the message of the Kingdom of God would produce an aspect of suffering in the life of the believer desiring to live an accurate kingdom lifestyle.
Matthew 10:24-25 (NKJV).
“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!”
Jesus said, if they treated me in this manner, then anyone who seeks to be like me would be treated the same way. As believers we need to understand that as they persecuted, mistreated and hated our Lord, so will they be with us – who seek to live righteous and holy lives. The word says in Ephesians 5:1; “Be imitators of God”, this, through the observation of the life of Christ.
Mark 8:35 (NIV).
Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.”
There is no true following of Jesus outside of denying yourself. In today’s culture the “self” has become the most pivotal aspect of our existence. We hear so much concerning ‘self-improvement’; ‘self-development’; ‘self-education’. This focus on ‘self’, reveal man’s desire to elevate himself and exposes his lust for success and power. This is man’s attempt to exalt himself through ‘self-reliance’, and confirms his rejection of God; even in the church. But Jesus once again establishes the ‘upside-down’ nature of His Kingdom by saying, “deny the self”. That’s the only way to truly follow Him. Give up your selfish desires, the longing to please yourself, the desire to live life according to your own way. This is a hard task to accomplish. There are so many “Christians” who claim to ‘follow’ Jesus, but have yet to “nail” the ‘self’ and it’s pleasures to the cross they’re meant to take up and carry.
Philippians 3:10 (NIV).
“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”
The Apostle Paul is seeking the ongoing power of Christ’s resurrection, the power that is the day-to-day experience of being ‘in’ Christ. Paul understands that there is an undeniable participation in, and acknowledges the value of the struggles and persecutions that accompanies a believer who lives to be like Christ. Paul wants to imitate Christ, even in His death, that he may be completely obedient to the Father.
Generally the church has come to associate suffering and persecution as the evidence or presence of sin in one’s life. Yet, we see how contradicting this is to what the scriptures are pointing to. That’s because it’s a ploy by the enemy to make us think that way. To keep us from experiencing and participating in Christ’s suffering, in order that we become like Him.
Through Jesus’ teachings, we see that He is seeking to change the minds of His listeners. His teachings are always pointing towards a different way of thinking and being. Jesus is presenting us with a thought-pattern and mindset, accurate with the Kingdom of God. We find in scripture, that Jesus makes the continuous effort to describe the nature of Kingdom citizens. Looking deeper, we begin to see Jesus attempt at bringing man’s nature and character into alignment with that of His own, and the expectation of the Father.
Mark 10:42-45 (NIV).
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
John 12:25-26 (AMP).
The one who loves his life [eventually] loses it [through death], but the one who hates his life in this world [and is concerned with pleasing God] will keep it for life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must [continue to faithfully] follow Me [without hesitation, holding steadfastly to Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]…”.
These passages of scripture once again directs’ our attention to the ‘upside-down’ nature of God’s Kingdom. The general concept of being a ‘servant’ is not a popular one. Furthermore, to associate being a ‘servant’ with being “great” is unheard of; almost absurd. Our common understanding rejects the implication that a servant could be someone great. Yet Jesus says, so it is in His Kingdom.
We make every effort to preserve our lives. We taught to, “do good in school; get that degree to get the good job; make a good living and earn a good salary to have a good life”. We work hard and “toil by the sweat of our brow” to make life as comfortable as humanly possible. Persisting and striving for more, the increase, the abundance, the overflow. We want to live a life that we’re satisfied with, a life we love living; the same life Jesus says, we’ll ultimately lose. The scripture says, these are what the pagans, the world, the unbeliever, works and strive for.
Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV).
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon, in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Is it a bad thing to work hard, study hard to get good grades, or to have and possess nice things? No, it’s absolutely not considered a bad thing. But not when it is our objective for “serving” God. And in many instances, we find God is served only for what we can get from Him. When we chase after these things, or we serve God in order that we have our needs met, we are not serving Him at all. Our only reason for serving Him should be the same reason He created us, for His purpose and for His pleasure!
God will not be mocked! He knows our intentions for doing the things we do. God is not impressed by our accomplishments; our awesome jobs; multiple homes; etc. Man; the world; are impressed by these things.
Luke 12:15 (MSG).
“…… Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot.”
Jeremiah 17:10 (NKJV).
“I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind…”
The Kingdom of God has an order, nature, and operating factors contrary to the kingdoms of this world. When we understand that the “kingdom is within” (Luke 17:21), resident in us by the Spirit of God, we come to the conclusion that it is our lives that must now reflect this order, nature and operating factors of the Kingdom. Our lifestyle, behavior, character and the very core of our being must be subjected to the order and ways of the Kingdom of God.
So we see, in the Kingdom of God, we live by dying; we become great by serving; we possess everything by giving up everything. This is what we are called to, not to worry about our lives. That the God whom we give up everything for, shall not fail in giving us everything we need. Therefore, we do not live, behave, think, or conduct ourselves in any manner according to the ways of this world. Our very nature becomes an ‘upside down’ nature, and begins to reflect this ‘upside-down’ Kingdom.
2 Corinthians 1:5 (AMP).
For just as Christ’s sufferings are ours in abundance [as they overflow to His followers], so also our comfort [our reassurance, our encouragement, our consolation] is abundant through Christ [it is truly more than enough to endure what we must].