The Gospel According to Jesus' Enemies

You would like to turn to acts chapter 17. There's a few bibles on each table. You can turn there act 17, and we're just gonna read the first 9 verses together. When Paul and his companions had passed through amphipolis and Apylonia, they came to thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue. And on 3 days, he reasoned with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. This Jesus, I am proclaiming to you Is the Messiah, he said? Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and silas as did a large number of god fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. But other Jews were jealous.

And so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason's house in search of Paul and silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials shouting These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar's decrees, saying that there is another king, 1 called Jesus. When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil, then they put Jason and the others on bail and let them go.

This is god's word to us this evening. Pete's gonna come and preach it to us now. Well, good evening. My name's Pete Woodcock and 1 of the passes of the church. We're doing this series, through sort of words that, are against Christ or against the early church, that actually proved to be sort of true words, they're from the enemies, but there's a lot of truth in them.

Let me pray. Father, help us now as we look at this hot evening and, we can be so easily distracted. Help us to learn good stuff from this that we may be followers of Christ in Jesus' name, our men. So the angry mob are shouting. We've we've seen angry mobs around, around this country, and you know what angry mobs are doing.

They just sort of shout, they chant. They don't even really know why they're there half the time. And they're shouting and look at verse 6, the second half of verse 6, these men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here. That's what they're shouting. These men who of course trouble all over the world have now come here.

We we don't want this type of teaching that these men have brought. We we really don't want this sort of people in town. We want them out of town. They they're upsetting the status quo. They're intolerant to our belief systems.

They do some awful things. They try and convert us away from how we were brought up. They're they're not of our people and they come with their conversion therapy and they They're upsetting our families, and they're upsetting just sort of normal natural behavior, how we've been brought up. We we don't like these people. We don't want them in town.

We wanna cancel them. We wanna shut them up. We wanna get them out of town, and they're very, very angry. The old English version, the authorized version puts verse 6, this way. These These that have have turned the world upside down have come hither to us also.

They've turned the world upside down. Actually, the the ESV is which is a a more modern version. It says these men who have turned the world upside down have come here also. They've turned the world upside down, and now they're here. We heard of them coming and now they're here.

We want them out of town. The message, which is a paraphrase, puts it brilliantly, I think. These people are out to destroy the world, and now they've shown up on our doorstep attacking everything we hold dear. That's what they're shouting out. And, actually, that message, version is is quite near the truth of the the original Greek words because the original words caused trouble or turned the world upside down literally does mean turning something over.

It it means that. It means upsetting. You're up setting. It means raising 1 part at the expense of another part resulting in confusion and dislocation. That's that's what that's what the actual word means.

Upsetting, up, unsettling, stirring, That's what the word means. And so these are the words of the angry mob. You know, they're turning the world upside down and they're here. But actually they're not the words of the angry mob because the angry mob don't really know what's going on. They're the words of the religious leaders who've been utterly offended by Paul and silas preaching the Christian message, and they've put those words in the mouth of an angry mob.

Look at verse 5, but other Jews were jealous. That's why they're doing this. They're jealous. So they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason's house in search of Paul and silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.

Now they couldn't find Paul and Siler, so we don't quite know where they were. So they just took Jason. Paul, he was he was just showing hospitality to, these 2 preachers. So they grab Jason and drag him out, and, I mean, it's a very frightening scene. As I say, we're doing this series on statements that those who oppose Jesus or oppose the early church say in angry moments like this, but those statements prove to be actually true.

And, what is what we've got here is, and what we're looking at here is these have turned the world upside down. These people are out to destroy the world. And now they've shown up on our doorstep attacking everything we hold dear. First thing I wanna say is, is the the upside down world. That's my first point.

The upside down world. There used to be when I was, younger, I first became a Christian and would give out quite a lot of, little leaflets, Christian leaflets, tracts they're called Christian tracts. 1 of the ones I really loved was like a cartoon. It was, you know, pic it was pictures, and it was a cartoon of a crowd. Now there's nothing special about that except The whole crowd were standing on their heads, and, that that was the picture.

I loved giving this 1 out. And of course, this was extremely uncomfortable, and gave the whole crowd a completely distorted picture of of the world. In fact, around the sims house, I don't know whose it was, but someone had was someone had these vernacular things you put on these sort of glasses that turned the world upside down. Is that is that yours? Yeah.

Weird, brother. Oh, it's your kids. It's not yours. And and I put them on last night, and it's really weird because someone said come and shake my hand. And you can't find the hand.

It it actually turns everything upside down. And that's what this track did except there was 1 person in the crowd and he was deeply offensive to the crowd because he was standing on his feet, and he was saying to everyone, you've got it all wrong. This is much more comfortable. This is how we were designed. This is a better way to live.

If you just stand on your feet rather than your head, But in this little cartoon, the crowd thought he was a simpleton, thought he was sort of nuts, and actually some were really angry at him. How dare you come here and tell us to stand on our feet. It's offensive to us. You not only got it wrong, but you're offending us by telling us that we're wrong. And then it then it goes on and says, some people were shouting out, reeducate the bloke.

You know, he should be taken, really taken out and converted. He needs to get through conversion therapy because he's not standing on his head, the idiot, and that was the whole point of the tract to get people, you know, how are you thinking? I love giving that tactile and they often really offended people. They're and that's what happens. But when you open the Bible, the Bible declares that actually the whole world is upside down.

We're upside we're living in an upside down world, and that's my first point. The theologians talk about this in terms of the fall humanities fallen. We've fallen says the Bible from the utter privilege of friendship with god and enjoyment with god and understanding that weird creatures and he's the creator and living in that situation is actually really good news. We've fallen on our heads upside down. And so now suddenly we're suppressing the truth about god.

We're, either denying that god even exists we're we're or or or all our experiences of design and creation and art that we see in the world, we're saying there isn't a designer or an artist or a creator. It's all an accident. It's all by chance. It's extraordinary. And when you actually say, no.

No. That's just so ridiculous. Look, there's art and design and creation. People are really offended at that, aren't they? You you're you're walking the wrong way up.

You're on your head. And not only that. Humankind is has fallen from its knowledge of itself. And it's become confused because when you're standing on your head, blood rushes to your head, and you actually it's hard to think. You go a bit dizzy.

And there's a sort of schizophrenia have you noticed amongst us as as humankind. On the 1 hand, We know we're different from the animals, but on another side, we're just naked apes. On the 1 hand, we know there's right and wrong. We know that to stab little children is wrong. There's something wrong about that.

We know that lying and murder and mocking and, I'm just wrong. And yet, We say that, no, we should all be driven by our own passions, and you've gotta go your own way, and whatever makes you happy, do. This total schizophrenia, the blood has gone to her head. And then the Bible very clearly shows us just how on our heads we are, how in an upside down world, because when god sends preachers, people who are standing on their feet, prophets that come to tell us about god and how wrong we've got things and proclaiming god's truth and showing us this sin dark world and how we've gone wrong. And yet if we turn to god, we've turned the right way up.

We hate those preachers. So out the history of the bible, we kill the prophets. We put them down. So when we come to this story in the book of acts, we shouldn't be surprised at the crowd's reactions. The passage is non Christians complaining loudly very angry, these people are turning the world upside down.

Of course, they're turning it the right way up. The gospel message, the message about the lord Jesus Christ always turns the world upside down. If it doesn't, if our message is just agreeing with the world, you can almost guarantee. In fact, you can guarantee It's not the message of god. If it's just agreeing with the message of the world, that the world says it's not the message of god.

If it's turning the world upside down and it's thinking upside down, then it's much more likely to be the message of god. And so what you've got here is the gospel message, and the reputation of these preachers has gone before them They're coming to town. They're in town. They're the ones that have turned the world upside down. The world wants to ignore the gospel, but these preachers preach it.

That which is center stage and really important to the world is not center stage to these gospel preachers. That, which is to be put in the background, and it's alright if you believe it, if you want to, is now brought center stage. With the preachers of the gospel. The world wants to ignore the real god of the Bible, the gospel preachers proclaim him. The world would like to forget god's laws The gospel preachers bring a message that writes the law of god on the heart.

The world would like to forget Jesus. They like a nice sort of Jesus, but they're not that interested in in what he said and how he died and how he rose again. And how he's coming back to judge the wicked. The gospel pronounces that. Jesus is the 1.

He's the king of the universe. He's the 1 who's gonna judge the weak world sort of knows the world is gonna come to an end. It's gonna be frazzled in the sun or sucked into some black hole or it's gonna end through environmental crisis. The world might say that but the gospel says that isn't how the world's gonna end. The lord Jesus Christ is gonna come back and judge the living and the dead.

And the world doesn't wanna hear that. It's a it's an upside down world. That doesn't like what god says. Turning the world upside down, and that's certainly in line with the teaching of Jesus. Now, I mean, I could have gone on all night about the teaching of Jesus and it was hard to know quite where to go, but just very briefly go to Matthew chapter 5 and see the the sermon on the mount and how Jesus starts and just hear these words because they're upside down to the world's thinking.

This is his introduction to the sermon that is an upside down sermon. Bless. Happy that is. Who's happy in the world? What does the world say?

How are you gonna become happy? Yeah? Well, you wanna be rich, don't you? Wanna be rich in yourself. Discover yourself.

Discover your riches. Just be rich. Bless. This is Jesus. This is how upside down our world is.

To him. Bless of the poor in spirit. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Wrong? Bless to those who mourn, what?

Happy are those who mourn wrong? Well, that wrong, Jesus? For they'll be comforted. Bless of the meek. What?

Wrong? Got that wrong. Meek. But be strong and believe in yourself for they will inherit the earth. Bless of those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

No. They're not. Wrong. Less of those you go for what everything the world says. You've got it wrong Jesus.

Bless of the merciful. Wrong, strong, unforgiving. Get your own back. Tip for tat. Someone upsets us.

Let's have a riot. Yeah? Blessed of a pure in heart. Oh, come on. We love the dirt.

You know, there's more pornography on the internet than anything else. Billions and billions us, are spent on pornography on the internet. Dirty stuff. Actually, it's alright. It's okay.

You'll be blessed if you can keep it quiet. If someone finds out, then you might get sacked. But if you can keep it quiet, it's alright. You see how schizophrenic we are? On the 1 hand, it's all good news, but if a news teller does it, then we have to sack him.

Weird, blessed are the peacemakers, blessed are those who are persecuted. It's an upside down world. Jesus, when he said, when he came into this world, said my kingdom is not of this world. It's a very different kingdom. Jesus taught us and we've been seen in in the lord's prayer, which again is on the sermon on the Mount.

That you should pray, your kingdom, talking about god's kingdom, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That's revolutionary. That god's will would be done. Yeah? On this earth.

No. No. It's my will. And god's sort of helping me do my will. We like that.

Been a supernatural power to do my will is good news, but your will. No one's asked you god. We don't want your will. We want our will with a bit of your help. So you see what's going on here.

We live in an upside down world and it's so true then what the mob are shouting. This message is turning our world upside down. It's turning our world on its feet, and that's the Christian gospel. It's unsettling. It's upsetting.

It's offensive. It feels like it's attacking everything we hold dear. Yeah? How dare you say this stuff? Listen to Paul's description.

Paul describes what happened in thessalonica in a letter that he writes to the thessalonians. You don't need to turn to it, but just listen to what he says that what happened here after this riot for we know brothers and sisters loved by god that he has chosen you because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. When we spoke, and it caused a riot, some of you, or you who are in the church, believed because there was a powerful message that convicted you and turned you the right way up. Listen to what he says. They tell how you turned.

Yeah. The right way up. You turned to god from your idols. The word is repented to god from your idols to serve the living and true god and wait for his son from heaven whom he raised from the dead Jesus who rescues us from the coming wrath. There's so much there that the mob don't like.

They're turning from Diana. You've upset our gods. Yeah? We wanna live like this. And they've turned from that god, and they're loving the 1 who rescued them, and they're realizing that there's a judgment day coming.

You're telling us we're gonna be judged. How dare you? So the mob don't like it. These men have turned the world upside down, and they've also come here. Verse 6, see it again in in our version.

These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here. And how have they done it? How have they turned the world upside down through preaching the message of Jesus? That's how? It's not violent.

They're not actually violent at all. It's the mob that are violent. They don't go to war. It's not diplomacy. They don't do politics.

They just preach this message. And that message causes offense because it turns the world upside down. Yep. My second point then. So an upside down world, but there's an upside down king.

Did you notice that? So Paul and Solis come to town. It says in verse 2, as his custom, Paul went into the synagogue. That's the Jewish place of worship. And on 3 Sabbath, 3 Saturdays, He reasoned with them from the scriptures explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead This Jesus I'm proclaiming to you is the Messiah, he said.

So you see what he's doing. He reasons with them, and those that reject the message get the mob. To cause a riot. See if the difference. 1, he's preaching, he's reasoning, and the other is I'm not gonna listen.

I'm gonna put my fingers in my ears. I'm gonna get a mob violence. He reasoned with them, but how did he reason with them? What did he reason with them? Now again, we could spend hours on this point because it's in fact the entire old testament.

So he reasoned with them from the scriptures, that's the old testament part of the Bible explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. This is an upside down king because this is a king that's coming to go to war to rescue the enemy. That's what the king's doing. The king has come as a servant for the enemy, for his enemy. The king has come not to just die for a people, but to die for a people that hurt his enemy.

And so Paul spends the time proving from the scriptures before he mentions Jesus that the Messiah and the word Messiah and Christ are the same, the Messiah, which is god's reigning king, god's ruling king, all the way down, you know, promised all the way through the Bible, Old Testament, all the way through the line of David, King David, that this promised son of David, this promised king, this promised ruler would set us free, but how he sets us free is by dying and rising for us who are his enemies. Right. Just turn to, to, Isaiah 53. It's really well known. And that's why I've picked it, but you could pick loads of things.

I VI 53. I am pretty sure Paul went to this chapter. He reasoned explained and proved from scripture. See, what had happened is in their thinking at the time was that the Messiah, the king would liberate them but liberate them. It was twisted, not from themselves as the enemy of god and their own sin and their upside down thinking.

But he would liberate them from the Romans that they were alright. They were just in prison to the Romans. And that had sort of become the big way of thinking. Now you've got to remember they all knew the story of Jesus. There's no doubt about it.

When Paul came into town and silas, they knew about Jesus and they knew that Jesus was crucified That's a cursed death. In fact, the old testament says cursed is anyone who dies on a tree. And the cross is like a tree. It's wood. So here's this Jesus who was claiming to be the Messiah king, and it's stupid.

How could he be? Because he dies a cursed death, cursed under god. God curses people. It's a shameful death. He dies a criminal's death.

How could he possibly be enthroned as god's Messiah, god's king? Gotta get this in your head. Messiah and crucifixion, Christ and crucifixion were 2 words that shouldn't really go together. It's absurd. How can he be a king if he's dead on a cross under the curse of god?

How can he be god's reigning Messiah king when he's actually cursed by god and has died. So what are you talking about? So Paul spends his time going through the scriptures showing that we need liberating from ourselves that we're upside down people that we need a king who's gonna die for his enemies because we are the enemies of god, and he's not gonna just liberate us from romans, he's gonna liberate us from sin and death and hell and the wrath of god and that he's gonna be this amazing conquering, death, life resurrection bringing king. So he recently explained he proved. Just have a look.

Let me just read it and I'll try not to say too much. I'm just gonna read the whole chapter Look, who has believed our message to whom has the arm of the lord been revealed. He, this is the Messiah He grew up before him like a tender shoot and like a root out of dry ground. This one's come miraculously in this dry desert land be kept stop me preaching, brother. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him.

He's he's just like a man. Wasn't that beautiful? That's the problem with these films that showed Jesus as a significantly good looking blow. It's trouble. It's it's 1 of the troubles with preachers like me when we're so good looking.

It's very hard to represent the lord Jesus Christ. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him. Nothing in his appearance that would that we would desire him. Why? Because he was despised and rejected by mankind.

A man of suffering and familiar with pain. Like 1 from whom the people hide their faces, he was despised and we held him in low esteem. If you want to understand what the crucifixion was like, it's worth listening to Tom Holland's podcast on the crucifixion. Now I've been preaching the crucifixion for years, but there was stuff in that podcast that I didn't know. It's extraordinarily shameful.

It's so revolting crucifixion that even the Romans kept it a bit quiet. They wouldn't talk about it in polite society. Shortly, he took up our pain and bore our suffering. Yet we consider him punished by god stricken by him and afflicted. He's on the cross How could he be god's king?

But he was pierced for our transgressions He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was on him and by his wounds, we were healed. We all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way and the lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted.

And yet he did not open his mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter and a sheep before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away, yet who of his generation protested. He was cut off from the land of the living for the transgressions of my people. He was punished He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer And though the lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days. And the will of the lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life resurrection and be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous servant will, justify many and he will bear the iniquities. When it says by his knowledge, it means our knowledge of him.

When we understand who he is, when we understand as Paul is trying to prove from scripture, then my righteous servant will justify many. We'll be justified as we were seeing this morning. And he will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will give him a portion among the great and he will divide the spoils with the strong because he poured out his life unto death and was numbered with the transgressions. For he bore the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressions.

There's the 1 He's come to those who have transgressed against him. He's come to those who have of like stupid sheep turned away from him. And he's laid his life down for his enemies to die for them. That's an upside down king. But what a king?

What a savior? And you could go through the whole of scriptures, all the sacrificial system of a lamb dying, and the sins being laid on the lamb, all about the lamb of god that takes away the sin of the world. And so, Paul says, This Jesus I proclaiming to you as Messiah. He's the servant king. He's different from any other king.

He's the king of love. He's the god of love. He's the he has sacrificial love. He's the the life giving love. Of a king for his enemies like you and me.

He's death defeating resurrection hope. He's a king who can rule forever. And goodness me, don't we want a king like that ruling over us forever because he's good and he's full of love and he gave his life for his enemies. We can trust him and love him forever and ever. Jesus flips the whole pattern of leadership upside down.

He's the servant king who gave his life for us. That's the message Paul is preaching. And it's wow. What? And it's an offense to the Romans.

Look at verse 7 of our chapter. Here's the mob shouting out they, these people, these preachers are all defying Caesar's decree, saying that there is another king, 1 called Jesus, poor little Caesar. He's upsetting him because he thinks he's king. And we're meant to worship Caesar, aren't we? Caesar is king.

And anyone who's king doesn't like the idea that Jesus is king. And it upsets us. Why why can't he just be nice like a nice savior? I just have to be king and lord. Because he is king and lord.

And poor little Caesar, you're telling you are saying that Caesar has to bow the needs of Jesus? He sees her. Look at him. He's brand, and he wears the royal robes, and he's powerful, and anyone that doesn't he doesn't like he kills. Yeah?

He's a powerful man. You don't wanna come up against Caesar. In fact, Caesar is the 1 behind, isn't he? The crucifixion of the Romans. Can you say Jesus is lord?

So these men, of course, trouble all over the world, and they've now come here. Actually, if you follow them through, and again, we've no time, they're not troublemakers. They're never troublemakers. Christians aren't troublemakers. They're just standing on their feet and everyone's on their head, and people think they're stupid, and they get offended.

They're not troublemakers. It's the mob and the religious ones that are the troublemakers, aren't they? That's what happens, isn't they? So thirdly, let's move on quickly. So we've had an upside down world and we have an upside down king but there's an upside down kingdom, isn't there?

You know, I I might I might miss this point. I'll I'll do it very briefly, actually. Just turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 18. Because from this upside down king comes the upside down kingdom, and there's loads of stuff to say here, really. But look at 1 Corinthians, this is Paul again writing to a Corinthians Church.

And in verse 18, he says the message of the cross That's the Christian message that Paul was and silas were preaching. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. But to us who are being saved, it's the power of god. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the intelligence of the in intellect. Intelligent, I will frustrate.

Where is the wise person? Where is a teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not god made foolish the wisdom of the world. For since the wisdom of god, the world through its wisdom did not know him God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

Jews demands signs, Greeks, look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the gentiles, but to those whom god has called both Jew and Greeks, Christ, the power of god, the wisdom of god, For the foolishness of god is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of god is stronger than human strength. I mean, see if we could spend weeks just going through that, but it's an upside. We are so upside down We think that god's wisdom is foolish. That's how stupid we are. And that offends us, doesn't it?

We think we're on our heads. Oh, yeah. What's Zap bloke doing on his on his feet? It's so foolish. And this kingdom, this upside down kingdom is so very, very different, isn't it?

Now I've got like 5 or 6 things here. It's alright. I'm not gonna do them. Because we're hot and you'll you'll you'll hate me. And there'll be a mob riot.

Any Jason's here? Is anyone called Jason here? Because I'll push him forward. But you can see a number of things. There's a different the different powers we believe in.

The kingdom of this world trust in the sword and power. And you see that in the mob. What do they trust in? That Paul's just reasoning. Paul's just talking.

I'm like, alright. They can't argue. I mean, I've noticed today now now with the whole council that's canceling culture that the the the latest trend is not even to shout any words, but is to woof like a dog. So if you're trying to say, well, look, let me can I just talk to you about God? Whoa.

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. That's what people are doing. They haven't got words.

They can't reason. They can't argue. So they go to the most basic mob mentality shouting out, woofing like dogs. And you see that in this this whole story? So the world's kingdom is about power and sword and violence and shutting people up.

I was thinking about this, and I'll I'll just do this. I was thinking about After Christianity, what what are the what are the big things that came to the world, the big philosophies, the big ideologies, and there are there's a couple of them, and I'll I'll just deal with 1. 1 of them is communism, and communism is is sort of basically an atheistic Christianity. That's that's what it's sort of trying to be. No god, but it wants to be like Christianity, but it's nothing like Christianity.

And it completely fails. Christianity is based on this, not on power over people. Christianity is what is mine is yours. Communist is what is yours is mine. That's how communism works.

What is yours is mine. Christianity is what is mine is yours. And so it's completely different. 1 is power, violence, revolution, taker, and you see it in the mob? And the other is speaking a message of love and kindness.

And, hey, listen, you know, want a reason to think with you. You see it in the different reactions as I say. The kingdom of this world intrinsically is a tit for tat world. It's an eye for an eye and a a tooth for a tooth. You do something against me and we'll do something against you.

I demand, and that's what you're seeing in the in the the riots really. You come over to our country. You take our women, you take our job. They don't even know what they're saying, and they're shouting out absolute violence, aren't they? And yet Christianity is 1 of not repaying violence for violence.

But loving our enemy, praying for our enemy. See the difference? See the difference? It's an upside down world that we bring. And you see that in the whole Paris thing.

So when when, you know, France, the the Olympics want to mock Christianity and and put up, you know, a, what it what what what are they? I forgotten the name, not transvestites, but a drag queen as a Christ. So when they dress Christ up and make him look like a drag queen, You know, Christians complain. They're upset. They're offended, but they don't blow them blow the hell out of everyone.

They might write and say this isn't right. But other religions, if you say anything against their profit, you saw it in Paris. It's extraordinary. It's a there's a big difference, you see. Between the world's kingdom and our kingdom.

And so we could go on for another 4 points, but we won't. There's a difference. And so it's an upside down kingdom. It's a kingdom of love It's a kingdom of giving ourselves to the world, my last point. Cornerstone, are we an upside down church?

Are we upside down? Is our Christianity in this country anodyne and a philosophy that just follows the world. Are we just preaching stuff that the world preaches save the planet, you know, stop the oil. However, good those things may be. That's not our message.

That's not our message. You might wanna sign petitions for various things like that, but that's not the church's message. That won't upset people, really, but preaching Christ will. As I I as I said last week in our in our baptism, You preach activism and you'll get activists. You preach environmentalism and you'll get environmentalists.

You preach religion and you'll get religious people. You preach Christ, and you preach an upside down world. You preach an upside down king who gives his life for the world for his enemies. Who changes everything. You preach, as we were seeing this morning, it's not It's not about you.

It's not trust yourself. That wicked message that is everywhere. Trust yourself. It's trust Christ. It's an upside down message.

It's offensive to the world. We preach Christ, and that will offend. There's a whole load of talk, isn't there that what we do in church, and and there's some good stuff, and I'm not saying, you know, we don't pick up rubbish and clean our rivers, you know, let let's let's have a go at Tim's Water. They need to have a go at. I'm I'm more than happy to to go at Dave Law's wherever I see him.

I'll bring up Tim's water and, you know, have a go at him. It's clearly his fault. And he's taking on money. Just remember that, you know, in 19000000000, they're in debt. Where's that gone?

Dave? What? In your wages, is it? No. So we can do that.

Of course, we can do it, but that's not our message. You know, we can we're not not just to be nice to the world. Surely, there are people saying that group down there, they turn the world upside down, and they're against everything we hold dear. Yeah? We should expect that type of language if we're followers of Jesus.

How dare he say that he is the Christ crucify him? Kill him? Yeah? As we preach this message of peace to a violent world. We expect surely for people not to like us, but that's not what we're about.

We're about love, not like, and we want to preach the Christian message. Over to you, brother. We thank you, but his glory and greatness is seen in a place of shame and weakness. And, lord, that is so contra what what the world thinks And father, we pray that you would help us to take this message of an upside down kingdom that we would take it into the world, that we would preach Christ and him crucified that we would not be afraid to name the idols in our own hearts and and in this world and to call people out from under them. And to call them under the lordship of Christ.

And we thank you Holy Spirit that through the gospel message, you put us back on our feet. You turn us the right way around. You save us from the confusion and madness of our sin, and you help us to see things clearly and, help us we pray to to keep taking that message out, lord. We need your help to do it, because otherwise, we will just be too weak and too nervous, and we will conform and we'll say things just to be liked. And so we need your help.

We need the courage of the Holy Spirit to go out with this message and to proclaim it, with confidence, lord. And, to help to do these things we pray, in Jesus' name. Oh, man.