Why does the Prince of Peace cause such turmoil in the
world? Does Jesus cause turmoil in
your life?
Luke 12:49
“I have come to bring fire on the
earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50
But I have a baptism to undergo, and how
distressed I am until it is completed! 51
Do you think I came to bring peace on
earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52
From now on there will be five in one
family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They
will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against
daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
54
He said to the crowd: “When you see a
cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and
it does. 55 And
when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites!
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it
that you don’t know how to interpret this present time? [1]
Jesus
is the line in the sand. I
can remember growing up and being challenged to step over the line.
Once you step over the line then you knew the fight was on.
1.
The fight/struggle between darkness and light.
Jesus makes us decide what we believe and what we will follow.
He is the line in the sand. He
leaves no middle ground. We have
many things that leave us standing in the middle, but the Lord causes people
to make a decision. Why?
Because He is the way the truth and the life.
He came to the world not to condemn the world but the world through Him
might be saved. In order for that
salvation experience to occur the world has to hear and to decide to believe
in Him. Thus the fight.
The darkness rejects the light and tries to extinguish it, but the
light cannot be stopped. When the
light comes on the darkness flees so fast that you wonder where it went.
It is gone. It ceases to
exist in the presence of the light.
2.
The fight/struggle that is within the world.
John 1:1 In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He
was with God in the beginning. 3
Through him all things were made;
without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In
him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness,
but the darkness has not darkness has not overcome it. [2]
3.
The fight/struggle that is within ourselves.
Jesus said you can’t serve two masters in Matthew
6:24
“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the
other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot
serve both God and Money.
4.
The fight/struggle that is within our families.
Joshua said choose you this day whom you will serve..
Joshua 24: 14
“Now fear the Lord
and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers
worshiped beyond the River and in
Egypt
, and serve the Lord. 15
But if serving the Lord
seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will
serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods
of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household,
we will serve the Lord.” 16
Then the people answered, “Far be it
from us to forsake the Lord to
serve other gods! [3]
5.
The fight/struggle that is within our churches.
Rev. 3:20 Jesus said Look, I am standing at the door of the church
and I am knocking. You must
choose to answer the door.
Some will believe and follow while others will turn away.
Mat. 7:21
“Not everyone
who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only
he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many
will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name,
and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I
never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ [4] Corruption has
subtlety crept in and the Lord will separate those who follow from those who
appear to follow.
Why the sword and why the fire?
The sword and the fire are cleansing symbols.
The process creates turmoil but the end result is the peace that passes
all understanding.
Peace or war. Unity
or division. The struggle
continues. How does Jesus fit in
and how do we fit in. The unity of
the believers is the testimony of the work of the Holy Spirit and the
testimony of the love of the Lord in a person’s heart.
Jesus’ desire is for peace in your heart and
reconciliation, but the result is obvious.
Before there can be life there must be the pain of birth.
God didn’t create the world in such turmoil, but when Adam and Eve
ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they entered into an
entirely different world. It is
war in the spiritual world that results in conflict in the physical world in
which we live.
Jesus’ message is obvious…Luke
12:56–57. Such weather
predictors (12:54–55) were obvious; Jesus says that the truth of his message
is equally obvious.[5]
Jesus’ message is to you and me.
Will we believe in Him? Will
we follow Him? Will we obey Him?
He has the words of life. Will
we listen? Should we ignore the
message and thus avoid the conflict? Don’t
risk loosing what you can have by ignoring the message of life.
He is the way the truth and the life.