Turning the World Upside Down

Three keys to turning the world upside down:

• Reasoning from the Scriptures

• Receiving the Scriptures

• Replicating the Scriptures

Three keys to turning the world upside down: Reasoning from the Scriptures

• 1 Thess. 1:5 for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction…

Three keys to turning the world upside down: Receiving the Scriptures

• 1 Thess. 2:13 For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted [it] not [as] the word of men, but [for] what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.

Three keys to turning the world upside down: Replicating the Scriptures

• 1 Thess. 1:7-9 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. 9 For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God,

Isaiah 53:5-7

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being [fell] upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. 6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. 

Psalm 22:7-8, 16, 18

All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, [saying,] 8 "Commit [yourself] to the LORD; let Him deliver him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him." ... 16 For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. ... 18 They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.

The “nobility” of the Bereans:

• Received the Word with great eagerness

• Examined the Scriptures daily (to determine truth)

The perspicuity of Scripture: The central message of the Bible is clear and understandable, and can be properly interpreted in a normal, literal sense.

“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance, the only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” C.S. Lewis

James 4:13-17

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." 14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are [just] a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15 Instead, [you ought] to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that." 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to one who knows [the] right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.