Sermon for 8/14/22 "A Dividing Time" 15 Minutes

Luke 12:49-56

This morning I'll be reading Luke chapter 12 verses 49 through 56. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Luke 12:49-56 We are continuing to look at the journey,,, as Jesus travels to Jerusalem,,,teaching along the way,,, a journey that Luke made sure that he had written down,,, so that it could be shared,,, with us today.

Luke 12:49–56 (HCSB) 49 “I came to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze! 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how it consumes Me until it is finished! 51 Do you think that I came here to give peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52 From now on, five in one household will be divided: three against two, and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” 54 He also said to the crowds: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, right away you say, ‘A storm is coming,’ and so it does. 55 And when the south wind is blowing, you say, ‘It’s going to be a scorcher!’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why don’t you know how to interpret this time? God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ----------------------------------------------------------- Last Sunday we looked at Luke 12:32-40 and we learned that Jesus gave these words to the ones that followed Him during His time on earth to remind them that they should always be ready.

Luke wrote these words of Jesus so that we can use them as a guide for our life today.

What we do with these words,,, each day of the week while we are away from church,,, will be up to each one of us.

Jesus has warned us,,, and we can ignore that warning.

But,,, that is not what Jesus intends for us to do.

Jesus intends for us to listen to His words,,, follow His directions,,, and truly,,, “Be Ready” just as He wants us to be.

That was His purpose for everything that He went through while He was here.

Jesus’ birth,,, life,,, death,,, resurrection,,, and ascension into heaven where He sits at the right hand of God interceding for us today,,, was all done with our best interests in mind.

God wants what is best for us,,, but it will not be forced upon us.

Just as Jesus gave them this warning while He was here,,, He is still warning us today.

But it’s our choice to make,,, so we understand,,, that we must answer the question,,, “Are We Ready?”

Do we take these words with us when we leave and use them each and every day,,, so that we can truly be ready,,, for that day,,, when Jesus comes back,,, again!

This morning we will continue on the journey with Jesus as we look at these verses in Luke 12:49-56 and see how they will help us in our walk with God this week.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 49 and 50 say: 49 “I came to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze! 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how it consumes Me until it is finished!

What did Christ mean when He said that He came to bring fire on the earth?

Well,,, It seems to refer to strife and division as you continue further in the verses.

Part of this statement may come from the end of chapter 11 and the beginning of this chapter,,, a situation rising out of the opposition of the Pharisees to Christ.

On the meaning of fire here,,, A. B. Bruce says: “the fire of a new faith, or religion, a burning enthusiasm in believers, creating fierce antagonism in unbelievers: deplorable but inevitable.”

“Jesus wishes that the fire was already kindled,,, because it must happen,,, before the kingdom of God can come.”

But there is perhaps another meaning of fire to be added to this.

John the Baptist had said of the coming Messiah, “he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire,” and “the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire” (Luke 3:16-17 ).

Christ longed for the beginning of the purifying work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers,,, which would come after the Crucifixion and the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost.

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And the baptism that Jesus speaks of,,, no doubt referred to His death on the cross which He said would be completed

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 51 through 53 say: 51 Do you think that I came here to give peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52 From now on, five in one household will be divided: three against two, and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Jesus’ mission actually did result in the kind of family divisions of which He spoke here.

We don’t see it much in our communities,,, but families have been divided and loyalties broken.

Jewish believers are still separated from their families and friends,,, they cannot have any dealings with them anymore,,, their friends and family have nothing for them anymore,,, all because of their acceptance of Jesus Christ!

However,,, this must be something that we are prepared for,,, and be able to withstand if it happens,,, because unbeliever’s usually don’t understand what has happened to us.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 54 and 55 say: 54 He also said to the crowds: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, right away you say, ‘A storm is coming,’ and so it does. 55 And when the south wind is blowing, you say, ‘It’s going to be a scorcher!’ and it is.

Jesus told the people in the crowds that they could pay attention to the weather and interpret what was coming.

When they saw a cloud rising in the west,,, they knew that it would probably rain soon.

And when a south wind was blowing,,, they knew that it would be hot.

But then,,, as we see in the next verse,,, Jesus calls them hypocrites!

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 56 says: 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why don’t you know how to interpret this time?

He called them “hypocrites”,,, because they knew how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky but they didn't understand the times that they were living in.

They should be able to see what was happening there that day but they couldn't see it.

These were God's chosen people and they were familiar with the scriptures that foretold of Jesus' coming and they appeared blind,,, when they should have been able to see clearly.

But they couldn't see or understand what was going on.

As we see later,,, during the arrest,,, trial,,, and crucifixion of Jesus,,, even the disciples really didn't see and understand.

----------------------------------------------------------- What about us today?

What can we learn from this scripture?

We need to be aware that division will come from our decision to follow Jesus.

There will always be those that don't believe and they will do all they can to change our mind.

There will also be those in our immediate family that might not accept Jesus as Savior.

For these,,, we must be in constant prayer for,,, praying that God will open their hearts and minds to accept Christ as their own Savior.

We can't force it or make them accept it.

Actually trying to force the situation might make it harder,,, but you never know.

But prayer is never a bad idea about anything,,, so let that always be part of your decisions about everything and everyone!

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Another thing is the fact that today,,, people are doing their best to make Christianity only about Jesus' love without repentance.

Yes,,, God is "love"!

I'll never deny that part,,, but God is also "just"!

We are still at a crossroad here in the United Methodist Church,,, we have been for awhile now,,, where they are wanting to lower the standards of holiness and purity.

They say that if we would do that then we could reach so many more people.

They believe that if we only concentrate on the love of Jesus and leave out the parts that divide us,,, then we would have many more coming to church.

What good will it be to have more in the church today,,, if they can't hear all of the words of God preached!

And I don't mean a watered down version of God's word,,, but every word of the Bible that is needed to keep each one of us out of hell and headed down the path that Jesus intends for us to take to make it to Heaven!

----------------------------------------------------------- Since Jesus is here with us today,,, through the Holy Spirit,,, He speaks these same words to each of us as we hear them today,,, as you read them at home or wherever you are when you read the words that God speaks to us,,, just remember that Jesus is warning us today,,, to be aware of the signs,,, be sure that we can interpret the “time that we are in today”!

We need to be aware that we are in “A Dividing Time”,,, a time when we should be different than the people of the world,,, we should stand out from them,,, still loving them and helping them,,, but without living as they do,,, we can live with them,,, without being like them,,, and as we love them and help them,,, they will strive to understand what makes us this way!

It’s this type of love that can change the world,,, and those around us,,, if we,,, the people of the churches everywhere,,, will just realize that we are different,,, live like Jesus has shown us,,, different,,, but loving,,, as we go through,,, this “Dividing Time” today!

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