PART 12UPSIDE DOWN

Backwards Christians• Scripturally, in what ways

are we told that our Christian experience will be opposite from the mainstream?

• Personally, my interpretation has mainly been passive or observational.–…until now…

The Active• Read Acts 17:1-9

• You may have missed it if your Bible isn’t ye olde King James Version.

And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain

brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither

also;

ACTS 17:6 (KJV)

Upside Down• So far in Acts, we have seen:–Empowerment by The Holy Spirit–Selfless Sacrifice–Miraculous Signs and Wonders–Improbable Conversions–Massive Paradigm Shifts–…and Now a World Tipped On-End

Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations,

and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel,

Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that

whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch

over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and

turning it upside down.

2 KINGS 21:11-13

The Wiped Dish• An expression of wrath and

judgment.• Cleansing.• Clearing valuable space for

something more appropriate.

Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to

the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners: The LORD openeth the

eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous: The

LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow:

but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

PSALM 146:7-9

The Way of the Wicked• Confounding• Interrupting• Confusing• Undoing

Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste,

and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants

thereof.

ISAIAH 24:1

A Broken World• Re-Creating• “Once More Shaking”• Overturned and Scattered

Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had

no understanding?

ISAIAH 29:16

The Potter’s Clay• The Process of Perfection• The Art of Craftsmanship• Complete Control of The

Master• Reformed into Something

Better

Consolidation of Points• Upside Down Verse

References:–Clearing the way for something better.–Preventing wickedness from filling the void.–Ultimately global in scale, with a deadline.–The perfect craftsmanship of our Creator God.

The World We Touch• God is ultimately working

toward turning this world upside down.• God has empowered us to

play a role in this work.• Not only are we made

“backwards” by the world’s standards upon conversion, but we have a commission to “spread the condition.”

The World Touching Us• The world (and its ruler), likewise,

wish to turn us on end.–How easily are we drawn into trivial vs. eternal concerns?–How easily are we drawn into battle lines of the world’s choosing?–How easily do we find ourselves trying to use the world’s own tactics?

The POWER Room• Anza Elementary, 4th Grade,

Failed Debate–How do you store immense power for the time in which it is most needed?

• In Christ, you DON’T.–He is the source of unlimited power, ample for any given task at any given time.–He does not commission without equipping.

Dorcas• Read: ACTS 9:32-43–Do you see God’s power tapped when and where it is most needed?

• Here lies [you], always doing good and helping the poor.–May our acts through faith be mourned more than our name when the time comes…