Sermon Tone Analysis

Overall tone of the sermon

This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.12UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.08UNLIKELY
Fear
0.13UNLIKELY
Joy
0.53LIKELY
Sadness
0.54LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.51LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.16UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.82LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.63LIKELY
Extraversion
0.14UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.4UNLIKELY
Emotional Range
0.58LIKELY

Tone of specific sentences

Tones
Emotion
Anger
Disgust
Fear
Joy
Sadness
Language
Analytical
Confident
Tentative
Social Tendencies
Openness
Conscientiousness
Extraversion
Agreeableness
Emotional Range
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
Intro
As I said last week, the first nine verses of chapter 13 are part of last week’s reading from chapter 12 verse 1.
And it is all about judgement.
Remember we are to fear God who will reveal every secret, has the power to throw us into hell, and who knows everything.
But if we have already come to this place then we no longer need to fear for this God has become our God and as His children He cares for us.
But Jesus is still trying to convince the hangers on that if they do not follow Him then judgement will come.
Jesus is not in the habit of pleasing people or telling them what they wanted to hear.
If anything in this passage Jesus gets even more to the point.
1-5
In 2001, John MacArthur, a prominent pastor in the States was not so well-known until he was invited onto CNN in the aftermath of what Americans call 9-11 when two aircraft were flown into the twin towers in New York.
He was asked by their news anchor, Larry King, “What does it mean … what is the lesson … what do we take away from the devastation of the collapse of the Twin Towers under the terrorists and three thousand some-odd people dying, what’s the message?”
And MacArthur’s answer, not knowing what the question was going to be beforehand said: “Well the take away is this, you’re going to die, and you’re not in control of when.”
Everybody is going to die.
Today we are not isolated from the news cycles whether it be earthquakes in Mexico, Italy, Japan, Indonesia, tsunamis in Japan and Sumatra, famine in Africa, Yemen, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes in America, typhoons in the Philippines, avalanches in Asia and Europe, wars in Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, suicide bombers in the Middle East, terrorist attacks in Strasbourg, London, massacres of children in American schools, Indian Schools, Nigerian schools and then there are the plane crashes, train disasters, boats sinking off Libya, and so on and so on, a never ending stream with news of stabbings and murders on our streets and we start to get insensitive to it all for most of it does not directly affect us but what we forget is that this planet is an extremely dangerous place where life is extremely short.
Everyone is headed towards death and that means everyone is headed to one of two destinations: Heaven or hell.
And we know there is only one way to Heaven and that is through faith in Jesus Christ.
And this is exactly what Jesus was saying to those who would listen to Him.
A couple of disasters had struck in their day.
A number of people got killed.
Once at the hands of others being slaughtered and the other when a tower fell and crushed those passing by.
The rumour was the God had something to do with it for the people killed must have been great sinners.
And we always hear such rumours when disaster strikes, for it must be God’s judgement.
These scenarios serve as wake up calls to the rest of us, Jesus says, for if we do not repent we shall also perish.
If you do not repent you will also perish.
This is very important for us to grasp for it also leads to one of the most important reasons why we are here.
But there is an error to deal with first but an error that has existed from time immemorial to the present day.
In fact, we can pick it up in THE book of suffering: Job.
Job had suffered disaster upon disaster.
His friends had come to comfort him but instead confront him.
“It must be your fault, Job.
This kind of thing does not happen to people who are good.
There is sin in your life so God is punishing you.”
Then when Jesus healed the blind man the question raised was: Who sinned, this man or his parents?
And this type of question was in the minds of those present.
They must have been terrible people for Pilate to do these things to those men and those killed by the tower must have done something incredibly offensive to God to die like that, right?
And Jesus gave an emphatic ‘no’.
But it is the same question asked today: Why is this happening?
It is the same type of question I have heard asked here because we have so many who are not well right now.
Suppose that this is not the right question: Not why is this happening?
But why does this not happen more often?
Surely God has the right to simply do away with us straight away.
Who here is sinless?
We have all offended God.
Why, the question should be, is God so gracious and patient?
Jesus makes it clear that the people who died or suffered a calamity are not worse than those who survived.
The ones who suffer no bad things does not mean that they are any better.
I mean, this is the implication, right.
They deserved it, I did not.
They died, I lived.
Bad things do not just happen to bad people.
Good things do not just happen to good people.
Disasters happen to both the good and bad.
Sometimes unthinkable things befall the most godly and committed.
One lazy Sunday afternoon in Papua New Guinea, Wycliffe missionaries Walt and Vonnie Steinkraus were resting alongside their daughters Kerry and Kathy when their world came to an abrupt end.
At precisely 3:00 P.M. a half-mile-wide section of the mountain on the opposite side of the river from their village broke off and buried them.
They may never even have heard the sound.
In a world full of vacant hillsides, in a world full of reprobates, in a world with too few missionaries, the Steinkrauses disappeared under a mountain.
Solomon in his wisdom said:
Just because you have escaped now does not mean you will escape in the future.
The issue for us is the question: are we going to heaven or hell?
Nearly 3000 people died when those planes were deliberately flown into the twin towers.
But on that same day 150,000 others died too.
How many of these had put their faith in Jesus?
You are going to die.
You just do not know when this will be.
There is a saying I hear all too often when they have experienced some disaster or calamity or they recover from a car crash or cancer.
What do they say: “I thought I was going to die”.
And I reply, well, you ARE going to die.
Just not as soon as you could have.
The death rate for humans is 100%.
Going out of our door is taking our lives in our hands.
All sorts of danger lie ahead.
The only difference is where we go when we die.
It can’t get more personal than that.
But you are saved, right?
But what about everybody else?
We need to realise that every day 151,600 people die, nearly 55 million people every year.
All human beings are on the verge of death.
And you and I have the only message that can rescue them from hell.
6-9
Jesus goes on in warning the people again in the illustration of the fig tree.
The fig tree is especially representative of Israel who had three years of Jesus’ ministry and had not produced any fruit.
Jesus hoped that if he tarried in bringing judgement that perhaps the people will repent and so whilst God is incredibly patient there is a limit.
And finally the axe is brought out and the plant cut down.
Jesus desires fruit but does not hold out much hope that it will.
One more year, Jesus said.
Well, that one year became 37 when finally the Romans came and destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple.
Like I said, there is a limit, and God graciously extends the deadline but there is a final date, a final day, when judgement falls.
Like I say, not all the Gospel is good news especially for the unrepentant.
Every human life, not just Israel’s, is living on borrowed time.
Absolutely everyone.
And you and I claim to be Christians and have the Holy Spirit living in us, have knowledge of the Gospel and we’re living and moving through a world where we are lone have the truth that can rescue dying people.
You and I are teh most important people on the planet.
Judgement is near, perhaps this year or next but judgement is imminent.
God’s patience is about to run out.
As it was true for Israel it is true for us.
We have no time to mess about, to be caught up in surface things.
What does Paul say?
We have the most important message yet the world seeks to shut us up.
And as time goes on they will succeed more and more.
They have already rejected the Bible, they have already turned morality upside down calling the bad good, and then there is the demand for tolerance.
All this will lead to persecution of Christians here in the UK and it has already started, even if it is now in small ways.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9