Our text, this morning is found in the Book of Luke, the 12th
chapter and beginning. There in verse 49 Jesus said, I
came to send fire on the earth and how I wish it were already
kindled but I have a baptism to be baptized with.
And how distressed am I until it's accomplished?
Do you suppose that I came to give peace on Earth?
I tell you not at all, but rather division in verse number
51. It says, Jesus asked the
question, do you suppose? If I came to bring peace on
Earth, He said, I tell you not at all but rather Division and
think back in your mind's eye, as you picture those, perhaps
Pharisees that were in earshot of Jesus or those Jews that
would have really had an expectation of Peace.
In other words, Jesus is going to shatter all Jewish
expectation. When he says, what he says
about. Not bringing peace on Earth and
bringing division now. Jewish expectation in Psalm 72,
the Bible says that in his days the righteous will flourish with
an abundance of Peace. Zacharias, the father of John,
the Baptist said the sun would guide our feet into the way of
Peace when Jesus healed that woman.
You remember, he forgave that woman.
She was bowed down before Jesus and she was crying and she
washed his feet with her tears and dried those feet with her
hair. Jesus said your It has saved you
go in, peace. Jesus further said to his
disciples. Peace, I leave with you.
My peace. I give to you and one more
passage or one more idea. Jews would.
The Jews would have also understood prophecy and Isaiah
chapter 9 and verse 6. It says about the Messiah that
he would be the Prince of Peace in Isaiah 55 and also Isaiah 66.
It says, the Messiah would bring peace.
Nice. But here was the problem.
They thought he met National peace.
They thought it would be a time when Jesus would come and
establish his kingdom and would lift the thumb of Oppression
political oppression, and it would remove the thumb of Rome
from them and be lifted. And they would have peace from
that. They misunderstood you remember
in the last week in the life of Jesus, when Jesus is traveling
to Jerusalem and heading there, for the Passover, there were
many that followed Jesus because they thought when he gets to the
kingdom, he's going to establish his kingdom in Jerusalem.
Elam and it would be a worldly Earthly Kingdom and religious
and had nothing to do with religion.
But what Jesus was talking about is Jesus was talking about
spiritual, peace. And may I just say this, we may
have unrest in our country. People are divided in our
country. Political parties are divided.
I got to share something with you.
The first time I've ever seen this, there were these little
boys the other day and I overheard them, you know,
they're arguing over. You know, I was a little boy of
ten years old, I was thinking about throwing a ball around or
playing with toys. I was thinking about hanging out
with my friends, you know what they were arguing over?
One said, Biden is a Biden is horrible.
And the other guy said, I'm not going to talk to you anymore.
If you badmouth mine, I'll pull it back and forth about politics
arguing. So it's true that our country is
divided with regards to political ideas.
Okay. What about in the world?
What about unrest, in the world? There's all kinds of unrest
right now. We've gone through this
pandemic, we have things that we have not had before and we had
we have to talk about and deal with K.
We've been inconvenienced. We pray to God that we will have
peace in this world and there will be War.
Absolutely, we pray to God, that the laws of our country would
not keep us from worshiping God. We pray for that.
We pray that there won't be unrest and when God answers
those prayers favorably he does. So by his Providence and an
answer to prayer, and that's wonderful, and that's great, but
that's not what he promised when he talked about promising,
peace. It was talking about spiritual
peace. And may I say this, the peace
that surpasses all understanding that the Bible talks about in
The Book of Philippians chapter 4 is having the peace that
everything is okay between you and God from a spiritual
perspective and that is not subject to circumstances.
That means, you can have all kinds of bad stuff going on, but
you can be at peace because that's spiritual peace, and it's
not subject to the circumstances of life.
Now interestingly, though Jesus says this, Do you suppose that I
came to give peace on Earth? I tell you not at all. but
rather division, what we have here is, we've got Division and
we have a dividing event And we have also a dividing instrument,
please get that. And really this sermon has two
points, the dividing event, and the dividing instrument.
Now, let's talk about the dividing event for just a moment
in Luke chapter 12. Beginning in verse 49, 50, I
came to send fire on Earth how I wish it were already kindled,
but I have a baptism to be baptized with and how distressed
I am until it is accomplished. I'm going to get to that event
and, you know, just a moment but notice this, that one event,
divides people into two categories and that division is
in both time and also eternity. Okay, the dividing event.
So, let's notice in verse 49. Jesus says, I came to send fire
on the earth. This phrase I came by the way,
you can trace it through the New Testament and you can find it to
be a technical phrase or Term describing it aspect of the
Lord's Ministry or his purpose, or his mission.
For example, he came to seek and save that, which is lost in the
great Sermon on the Mount. He said, think not that.
I've come to destroy the law or the prophets.
I didn't come to destroy, but to fulfill.
So anytime the Bible talks about the Lord, saying I have come or
I came, it always refers to various aspects of his mission.
What did he say? What was this?
Purpose. His purpose was to send fire on
the Earth. Now, let's talk about fire for
just a minute. Fire does one of two things.
It consumes or it purifies. It consumes that, which is
combustible. It purifies that which is non
combustible now. Purifying is a good thing
consuming is a bad thing. In other words, it matters what
you subject to the flame. You've heard me say this many
times over the years, the fire that melts, the wax is also the
same fire that will harden the clay.
It depends on what you subject to the flame.
So, fire does two things. The purpose that Jesus said I
came to bring fire on the earth and fire either can Zooms or it
purifies something else does too.
And that's the gospel, the gospel purifies or punishes or
condemns one of the two. Now how do you know how do you
know if the gospel is purifying or punishing it's based on your
response? The gospel either saves orphans.
I'm going to tell you, we believe what the word of God
says, and we're so thankful that there's a message given and
there's a way that we could be saved.
And the Bible says that God has chosen the foolish Miss of
preaching to save them that believe the world thinks it's
foolish and sometimes people that reject the gospel, they
think it's foolish. How many people in your life
think the way you believe in the way you practice in the way you
Worship in the way you live, how many people have thought you're
ridiculous? How many people have criticized
you in your life? And said, I don't understand how
you can go for all that stuff. It either saves or fangs and
what determines whether it's saves her fins.
Is your response to the gospel in verse 49?
after he said, I came to send fire on the earth and he said
this and how I wish It were already kindled.
Now that's an interesting phrase because kindling is something
that gets fire started. The new King James says, how I
wish you were already kindled, and I like that because that's
in the form of a statement, the King James.
Renders it like this, more, like a question, it says, and what
will I if it be already kindled? So what we're talking about is
this, we're talking about an event, a dividing event.
He said I came to bring fire on The Earth and how I wish you
were already kindled. Interesting about that phrase,
it's talking about this. It's talking about I wish you
were already over. Okay, I wish it were already
over. What's the event?
The event is the cross. The event is the cross, the
event is the kindling. To get the fire started. now in
verse 50, Jesus said, but I have a baptism to be baptized with
and how distressed I am until it is accomplished, make no mistake
about it. The Garden of Gethsemane was not
the only time the Lord was in agony.
When his soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.
Don't think for a minute, that the only time he felt that the
only time that he felt that was in The Garden of Gethsemane.
The Lord lived, a life of Perpetual Gethsemane.
He knew from the very foundation of the world that it was God's
Will from the foundation of the world.
God's appointed will that Jesus Christ would be the Lamb of God
and die for the sins of the world.
Jesus knew that he willingly came to this earth lived, a life
that was flawless. Alice and Perfection sinless
Perfection, so that he could be God's lamb and go to the cross
and died for the sins of the world in the Garden of
Gethsemane, though. We see it brought forth when he
prays to his father, multiple times.
If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.
But not my will, but your will be done.
Finally with a determined resolve.
He said if there's no other way except I drink it, he said your
will be done. That's the Garden of Gethsemane.
This is before the Garden of Gethsemane.
And he says this. I have a baptism to be baptized
with and how distressed I am until it is accomplished.
So what's that talking about? That's talking about the the
cross in Matthew chapter 20? You remember this when the
mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with the sons and
said, when you established your kingdom, and when you go into
your kingdom, would you put my son one here on the left and one
here on the right. In other words, give them a leg
up in the Kingdom. You know what?
Jesus said, he said you did not know what you ask.
Are you able to drink the cup that I'm about to drink and be
baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
You know, interestingly about the word baptism.
The word baptism, there means to its Baptiste.
So it means to plunge, Dipper, immerse.
We know that, right? And for water baptism.
How many times have we describe what that means?
And for scriptural, baptism? It has to be in water as a
burial. We get that.
But did you know? The word baptizo also has a
fourth definition, and this is the definition that Jesus is
using baptism here. The fourth definition, literally
means to be overwhelmed. It means to be.
In fear. Make no mistake about it.
It doesn't take anything away from the Lord.
When we say he had fear. Because there is no such thing
as courage when there is no fear.
So, to have courage and stand for courage and stand for,
right? You have to have some fear what
he's saying is the baptism. He's overwhelmed with this.
And then he says this. I am distressed.
That's what the Lord said. And the word distress literally
means to cease or be overcome with fear until it is
accomplished. So notice this, there's one
event dividing event. It divides people into two
categories and that one event is the cross.
The dividing instrument is the gospel and Jesus knew that the
gospel would divide. So we This.
I wish it was already kindled. In other words, the cross part
was out of the way. I am troubled with fear.
I am distressed I am seized in that regard.
So the one event is the cross, the dividing instrument is the
gospel and that division is in Time and Eternity.
Both Now, we understand that, don't we?
We understand about About time about eternity in eternity.
Luke chapter 12, not going to go into these passages, but it
describes two different kinds of people.
It describes an obedient person and a disobedient person.
And we understand that, right, we get that, obviously the
reason we serve God is, we want to go to heaven, but we also
don't want to be lost. And we also understand this too
that, the long-suffering of God is salvation.
God wants everybody to be saved, but not everybody is saying,
why, because of their lack of response to the gospel.
Oil and living a Godly life. That's what the Bible says.
So, we get that. So, when I look at this idea in
eternity, I understand there's going to be saved and lost but
what about this? What about in time?
In verse 52 of Luke 12. Jesus says, for from now on five
and one house will be divided three against two and two
against three. In other words, this is how it's
going to be moving forward. Father will be divided against
son and son against father, and mother against daughter and
daughter, against mother, and mother-in-law against her
daughter-in-law, and a daughter-in-law against her
mother-in-law. Do you know why?
Because the gospel divides. The gospel divides and that's
how it is. I want to share something with
you. One of my favorite passages.
In all the scriptures when Jesus dealt with three men.
He dealt with three men that kind of acted like they were
going to follow him but something kept them from total
commitment, some stood in their way.
The first guy was a scribe and Jesus conveys to him basically
which standing in your way is lifestyle, your lifestyle
standing in the way. The second guy, the riches
worldly riches were standing in his way.
But the third guy, he said I will follow you, but let me
first go bid them farewell who were at my house and Jesus says
no man putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for
the kingdom of God. We understand what that means.
It was an ancient proverb dating back to 800 BC, and it means
this, you can't plow a straight Furrow when your eyes are
looking back. What did the Lord know about
this, man? He knew that family ties were
keeping him from following Jesus.
Now, you may never have to give up your lifestyle.
I don't whatever your lifestyle is.
You may not have to give up your lifestyle to follow Jesus, but
you have to be willing to you may not have to give up riches.
You may have all kinds of wealth are wealthy people in the Bible.
Their wolf wonderful people that use their money for the cause of
Christ. Wonderful stuff.
You may not have to give up your riches or things of that nature
in life to follow Jesus. But you have to be willing, And
you know what? You may never have to stand
against family. But you have to be willing.
I don't know how that is in your life, but I'll tell you this
right now. Serving, God is everything.
I've told this story before 1984, but the young man that
wanted to obey the gospel and he wanted to be baptized and my dad
was talking to him and he understood what he needed to do.
And he's probably I think he was probably about 15 or so at the
time, And we went to his family's house and said that he
wanted to obey the gospel and the grandmother said, if you do
this you're out of my will you're out of the will that
young man says leave me out. In other words, Family Ties.
Did not stand in his way. We can't let anything stand in
our way. So, here's the big question, as
I close as I close Is it worth it?
Is it worth it? Because anytime you pay a price
for something, you have to ask yourself, is it worth it?
And things of Great Value are valuable because of what you're
willing to give up for it. We understand that that's our
life that we live. So I'm asking you this, if you
have to stand against everything in the world, that comes your
way to follow Jesus, are you willing to do it?
And is it worth it? Well, that question was also
asked in Matthew 19, then Peter answered and said to him.
See we have left all and followed you Therefore, what
shall we have two verses later love?
This is what the Lord said, this is about the worst.
That part, what are we going to have verse 29?
Everyone who has left houses, or brothers or sisters or father or
mother, or wife or children or lands for my name's sake, shall
receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life. do you
remember when Jesus said, Except you eat my flesh and drink my
blood. You shall not have eternal life,
remember that? By the way, I don't believe
that's talk about the communion. He's talking about obedience to
the word of God. Okay?
And that's what how he described it.
You know what the Bible says, the Bible says that many stopped
walking with the Lord, because of what he said, And you can
almost hear, can you not the tone in the Lord's voice as he
turns to his disciples? And he said, what about you will
you also go away? And Peter says to whom shall we
go for you have the words of eternal life?
Is it worth it? Yeah, it's worth it.
It's worth anything and everything to follow the law.
We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on by the
Church of Christ at 22:15 plans. Road in Bakersfield, if you
would like any additional information or you would like to
receive a free Bible correspondence, course by mail.
Please email us at info at search of Christ
Bakersfield.com. Our service times are Sundays at
10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. please
make plans to join us. We would love for you to be our
honored.