“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

— Jesus, Matthew 4:17

Matthew’s gospel captures the story of Jesus: the One eternal God, come to us as the king and savior of the world. Jesus’ mission was to bring heaven to earth—described in the phrase repeated over 30 times in this book, “the kingdom of heaven.”

God’s plan from the beginning of time has been to bring heaven to earth. This plan has been disrupted by human sin, but the Bible begins and ends that way—with heaven coming to earth. And in Matthew’s gospel, we learn that the way of heaven is altogether different from the way of the world. Everything about the kingdom of heaven is upside down from the way of the world. But in reality, the Upside Down Kingdom is the way things ought to be:

• The way of the world is marked by self reliance and pride.

• The way of heaven is marked by God-reliance, self sacrifice, and humility.

• The way of the world is marked by injustice.

• The way of heaven is marked by justice.

• The way of the world is marked by violence.

• The way of heaven is marked by peace.

• The way of the world is marked by death.

• The way of heaven is marked by life.

THE GOSPEL

So what does that actually look like? Well, the clearest view of the kingdom of heaven is seen in Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, ascension, and reign: the gospel. And the gospel story calls us to surrender to Jesus Christ as the Lord of the universe and Lord of our lives. When we do, we enter into God’s kingdom, where we get to partake and participate in how things are meant to be, bringing all the benefits of heaven to the people and places where our lives intersect.

Through this series, my hope and prayer is that we will grow as Upside Down Kingdom people, that by God’s working in and through us, the earth would be one step closer to heaven.

Love,

Pastor Joel