Upside Down - Living Upside down

Today, we are launching our sermon series, Upside Down from the Sermon on the Mount.

I have always wanted to matter and make a difference.

When I was 13, I spent the night with my friend Chad.  We decided that we would stay up for a little while, pretend to fall asleep, then sneak out of the house and go find a party. So, we did.

Now, Chad lived in the middle of nowhere.  So he grabbed a baseball bat just in case we needed it for protection.  We were walking along the little country road, with just the moon shining through the trees to light our path.  As we approached a turn in the road, from deep in the woods, we heard a woman scream. We froze in our tracks. I stopped breathing. Then, we heard her scream again.

I had always wanted to matter.  I had always wanted an opportunity to be a hero.  I was always too terrified of my dad to do anything to stop the abuse I experienced growing up.  But for some reason, I felt like I could rescue this screaming woman in the dark, in the trees.

I squinted and saw a mobile home back in the woods. I theorized that this woman was being hurt by somebody in the mobile home…  Chad said, “Let’s help her.” And just as we started moving toward the trailer, the woman screamed again.

We dropped to the ground.  I looked over at Chad, and he was gripping his bat.  I felt around on the ground, and grabbed a short little stick. So, we started army crawling toward the concrete block steps that led to the backdoor of the trailer. We got within twenty feet, and from behind us…the woman screamed again. We took off running, jumped down behind a fallen tree, peered above it…

How many of you know what a Peacock sounds like?  A PEACOCK was cocking its head, looking at us, and screaming. There was no damsel in distress.  There was no villain to beat with my stick.  Just a bird in the woods making fun of us.

Maybe you, too, live with something inside you that wants to be a hero and make a difference in the world.  Maybe you are born with that “hero complex” that I have.

Today, as we launch this sermon series, I want you to understand that you can be the hero to people around you every single day.

We spent the past 13 weeks looking at the explosive growth of the church in Acts, and today I want to point you to a verse from Acts 17.

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 who have turned the world upside down have come here too.

Followers of Jesus were accused of turning the world “upside Down” not because they were creating a political movement but because they truly were seeking to live more and more like Jesus.  They took to heart the teachings of Jesus and truly tried to become like Jesus in their lives. Their values were different than the world’s. Their attitudes were different than the world's.

1 John 2:6 (NLT2)
Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

They truly tried to live out the teachings of Jesus in their lives.  So, during this series, we will be looking at the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7, talking about the teachings of Jesus, and wrestling with how we too can turn our world “Upside Down.”

Matthew 5:13-16 (NLT2)
“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. 14  “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15  No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16  In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

In the days of Jesus, salt enhanced flavor and it preserved meats. Salt mattered. It was essential. Without it, meat spoiled, rot spread, and the whole household suffered. So when Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth,” He wasn’t handing out a compliment - He was giving them purpose. He was saying, “You are what keeps this world from falling apart.”

If we want to turn our world upside down, we start by speaking with flavor that preserves what matters. So, if you want to turn your world upside down…

Speak with flavor that preserves what matters

We live in a world that’s constantly losing its flavor.  Truth gets watered down, respect erodes, compassion feels rare. But Jesus didn’t say to withdraw from it. He didn’t tell us to complain about the way things are. He said we are salt.

That means we are meant to be people who speak words that slow the decay and bring back the flavor of what matters most. Grace, truth, and the goodness of God.

Paul echoes this idea in Colossians 4:6 when he says,

Colossians 4:6 (NKJV)
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

Not full of complaints. Not full of sarcasm. Not pointing out what we think is wrong with everybody. Our speech is supposed to be filled with of grace. Seasoned with salt. In other words, we are to speak in a way that preserves the dignity of the person in front of you. Speak in a way that reflects Jesus.

I wonder how much of the division in our homes, in our marriages, or even in our friendships could be traced back to the way we speak to one another? The tone. The volume. The content.

Are your words preserving what matters? Or are your words tearing down what God is trying to build up?

The truth is, our words carry power. You can speak life into someone who’s hanging on by a thread, or you can pile on the weight that finally breaks them. That’s how powerful your words are. When Jesus calls us salt, He’s reminding us that what comes out of our mouths should make people better, not bitter. Our speech should draw people closer to Jesus, not drive them away.

So think about the last conversation you had with your spouse. Think about what you said to your kids on the way to church. Think about what you’ve posted, what you’ve texted, what you’ve said under your breath in frustration. Would you say that was flavor that preserves? Or flavor that condemns?

This week, someone in your life is going to need a word of encouragement. Someone’s going to need a reminder that God hasn’t given up on them. And you might be the one God sends to say it.

You might say, Pastor – you don’t know me.  If you knew the things I have done and the harm I have caused, you would know that I have spent so much of my life hurting others with words.  I can’t put toothpaste back into a tube.  I can’t erase the words I have said or the hurt I have caused. You are right.  You can’t.

In fact…be comforted and remember that…

Jesus shines through cracked lives

God knows you have blown it time and time again.  God knows you have not shown mercy to those who needed it.  God knows you have caused harm to others and even destroyed others through your words. But if you are a follower of Jesus.  You also are the LIGHT of the world.

Let’s pause right there.

John 8:12 (NLT2)
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

Jesus said HE is the light of the world.  How can Jesus say that you and I are the light of the world, if he is the light? How can both these statements be true? Well, we are not the source of the light.  We are the reflectors that reveal it.

Think about the moon. It gives light at night, but it has no light of its own. It reflects the sun. In the same way, we reflect Jesus. That’s a relief, isn’t it!  Sometimes, when I am overwhelmed with depression or begin shutting down when life doesn’t make sense, it’s not my light that I am given an opportunity to reflect, it’s Jesus’.

Paul said this in Col. 4:6-7:

2 Corinthians 4:6-7 (NLT2)
For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. 7  We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

If you are a follower of Jesus, the light of Jesus shines from your hearts, and like a fragile, broken, pieced-together clay jar, the light of Jesus reflects through your brokenness. Through your cracks. Through your failures. Through your mistakes.

That’s why Transparent Living is one of our Guiding Values at Beach Church.  When you admit your flaws, your character issues, and your sin to each other, you are allowing the light of Jesus to shine out from the cracks in your life.

Think about it…When you pretend to have it all together and no flaws, the light of Jesus cannot shine out to others to draw them to the grace of Jesus!  You are concealing the light of Jesus that wants to flow out of your life through your mistakes, sin, failures, and regrets.

But when you live transparently…

Jesus shines through broken marriages.
Jesus shines through addiction recovery.
Jesus shines through depression.
Jesus shines through financial failure.
Jesus shines through weakness.

When we stop hiding. When we stop pretending. When we start being honest about who we are and what we’ve walked through, that’s when the light of Jesus becomes visible to the people around us.

Some of us grew up in church environments where we learned to hide our mess.
We learned how to fake it. But Jesus was never meant to be hidden behind a lie.
Jesus was meant to shine out of brokenness.

So,

Live boldly so people see Jesus

I think that for each of us, there’s a voice that never went away. That quiet ache to make a difference. That hope that somehow, some way, our life could count for more. You wanted to be someone people could trust, someone who mattered. You have always sensed you were made for more. That didn’t come from your ego. That came from your Creator God. God hardwired eternity into your soul.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NLT2)
Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.

God planted the concept of eternity in your heart. That’s why you want to make a lasting difference. That’s why you want to be remembered 100 years after you die. And when the Holy Spirit made you alive in Christ, He didn’t only save you from sin. He saved you for a purpose.

God’s goal isn’t just to shine light on you. It’s to shine light through you. So, live out the cracks of your life boldly. Let Jesus radiate through your brokenness. Be salt and light for others. Live transparently and reflect the light of Jesus through your brokenness.

You can still make a difference.  You can still be somebody’s hero by pointing them to Jesus through your life. Go, be that hero. Make a difference. Be salt and light and turn your world “Upside Down.”