Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Tone of specific sentences
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FIRE ON THE EARTH \\ Luke 12:49-53 \\ \\ INTRODUCTION \\ Jesus came to set the world on fire.
He was a heavenly arsonist.
However this part of His mission became a \\ source of frustration to Him for awhile.
We learn this from this very personal passage.
In the passage it is almost \\ as if these words are spoken out loud to Himself.
He is reflecting upon Who He is and what He come to do.
He \\ says, "I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
But I have a baptism to be \\ baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!"
After speaking these words to Himself, He then \\ addresses His disciples again.
\\ \\ These words give us a profound revelation concerning the ministry of Our Lord.
They also prepare us for the \\ realities of the Christian life.
Let's look at the details of the passage.
\\ \\ I. THE FIRE ON THE EARTH IS THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT \\ Not all scholars will agree with the statement I have made.
You will find various \\ interpretations of the fire in this passage.
Probably the one most commonly held is that this is a reference to the \\ judgment.
It is true that fire is often associated \\ with judgment in the scripture.
It is also true that a part of our Lord's mission \\ surely did include the bringing of judgment upon the evil in the world.
This was a primary theme in the preaching \\ of John the Baptist as he prepared the way for His coming.
However, this just does not seem to fit in this passage.
\\ It is hard to im¬agine the Lord Jesus frustrated because He had not been able to pour out the fire of judgment \\ upon the earth.
The latter part of the verse can be translated, "how I wish that it were already kindled."
The fire \\ on the earth must embody some special favor that the Lord longed to bestow upon His own.
\\ \\ To see the fire as the gift of the Holy Spirit that He longed to pour out upon them fits in this passage.
It fits \\ because the presence of the Holy Spirit is often associ¬ated with fire.
The Holy Spirit is the earthly manifestation \\ of the presence of the eternal God.
In the Old Testament His presence was often expressed in fire.
Fire fell upon \\ the altar at the dedication of both the tabernacle and the temple.
There was a manifestation of fire on Mount \\ Carmel under the ministry of Elijah.
When the Holy Spirit was finally given by our Lord on the day of Pentecost, \\ there was a mani¬festation of the tongues of fire.
Surely what our Lord is stating is that He had come to bestow \\ upon the earth the gift of Pentecost, even upon a special group of people on the earth, the blessed gift of the \\ Holy Spirit.
When you explore this figure of the fire a little more fully, you will see that this makes sense.
\\ \\ Fire is the emblem of enthusiasm.
As you may know, our word enthusiasm actually comes from two Greek words \\ that mean God in you.
This is precisely what happened when the Holy Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost.
\\ That waiting group of Galileans were transformed by His presence.
They suddenly became filled with a passion to \\ share Christ with the whole world.
There was a fire burning in them that could not be quenched.
This is what \\ Jesus so desperately desired to bestow upon them.
\\ \\ Fire is the emblem of energy.
Again this is the work of the Holy Spirit.
He ener¬gizes the people of God for the \\ task God has given them to do.
They do the work God has assigned in the power that He provides.
Oh, how \\ Jesus wanted His disciples to have the power to live the godly life and to serve the purposes of God.
For this \\ reason He has come to bring the "fire".
\\ \\ Fire is the emblem of purity.
Fire purifies.
It burns out the gross.
It will consume all that is combustible, but will \\ purify that which cannot be burned.
This too is the work of the Holy Spirit.
As He finds a place in your life, He \\ consumes all that is displeasing to the Lord and perfects all that is pleasing.
He will produce in you a \\ genuineness and purity and becomes the joy of the heart of God.
\\ \\ It was the deep desire of the Son of God to bestow this fire upon the disciples.
He wanted the earth to have a \\ manifestation of God in human life.
He longed for this to become a reality.
So we can have no doubt about our \\ Lord's desire concerning us.
He does want us to be filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit.
\\ \\ II.
THE FIRE ON THE EARTH REQUIRED THE DEATH OF CHRIST \\ But there is something that must happen before the Lord can cast His fire upon the earth.
He describes it as His \\ baptism.
"But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished.''
\\ \\ Jesus uses this figure of baptism to set forth His death.
To baptize is to immerse.
In order to be able to give the \\ Holy Spirit, He must be immersed in death.
This gives some insight into the nature of His death.
His death will be \\ complete.
He will not be sprinkled with death, or have death poured on Him, rather He will be immersed in it.
He \\ will utterly die.
\\ \\ It also gives us a suggestion about the importance of His death.
The implication is that the death was a necessity \\ if He was to be in a position to cast the heavenly fire upon the earth.
This reminds us that there was a sin burden \\ upon us that must be removed before we could be given the fire of the Spirit.
A sacrifice for sin must be offered to \\ prepare the sinners for the coming of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
\\ \\ The words of explanation added by the Lord let us see the centrality of this in the mind of Jesus.
He said, "And \\ how am I straitened till it be accomplished!"
"Strait¬ened" is the key word.
It means to be under pressure, to be \\ seized, to be hemmed in.
In the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, a helpful translation is suggested.
"I \\ am totally governed by this until it be finished."
The Cross was ever on the mind of the Lord.
Every decision was \\ made in light of this.
He knew it to be the will of His Father that He be offered for the sins of the world, so He set \\ His face stead¬fastly toward it.
He so wanted the fire of God to be given to the earth that He was ready to \\ undergo the dark baptism of blood, to become a sacrifice for the sins of the world.
\\ \\ What a gift!
Surely a gift that cost so much should be received gratefully and handled carefully.
It is no small thing \\ that we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, that we have the fire of God burning in our hearts.
It is no small thing that \\ we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.
In order for this to be a reality it was necessary that the Son of Man be \\ baptized in the death of the Cross.
He voluntarily underwent the same to bring us to a position where it could \\ happen.
\\ \\ III.
THE FIRE ON THE EARTH PRODUCES DIVISION \\ This confronts us with one of the more surprising statements that our Lord ever made.
"Suppose ye that I am \\ come to give peace on earth?"
The question is not surprising, but the answer that Jesus gave to this rhetorical \\ question is a surprise.
Since He is the Prince of peace, and offered peace to men, surely we can say that He \\ came to bring peace on earth.
But Jesus says, "Nay, but rather division."
This is to be understood in connection \\ with what He has just said.
The result of the giving of the fire of the Holy Spirit will be division.
The division will be \\ painful.
It will in¬volve separation right in the family circle.
It will cause a father to turn against his son and a son \\ against his father.
It will cause division between mother and daughter, and daughter and mother.
It will cause \\ families to be split in every imaginable way.
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