SPEAKER_00: And let there be light.
SPEAKER_00: If Jesus defines his purpose on earth, we should probably listen.
SPEAKER_00: It sounds strange to our ears when the Prince of Peace says, I've come not to bring peace, but a sword.
SPEAKER_00: A sword that brings division.
SPEAKER_00: And not just any division, but division amongst the household.
SPEAKER_00: But how does that happen?
SPEAKER_00: And how do we experience this in our lives?
SPEAKER_00: First, it's important for us to let Jesus' words sink in, sink into our hearts.
SPEAKER_00: Because the Lord of life bespeaks our reality to us.
SPEAKER_00: And in this text, Jesus is not talking about division amongst the body of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: He's not talking about the division amongst the people of God.
SPEAKER_00: He's talking about the division that happens amongst a household when believers cling to Christ, and those who don't believe reject what the Lord is giving out.
SPEAKER_00: That will bring division in a household.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe some of you have experienced this.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you haven't.
SPEAKER_00: Father against son, mother against daughter, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law because of unbelief.
SPEAKER_00: The ties to the family of God are greater than the ties to the family, the nuclear family, the family that naturally comes out of our flesh.
SPEAKER_00: And that's what Christ is trying to tell us today.
SPEAKER_00: Second, he tells us if we love mother or father or son or daughter or child more than Christ, we're not worthy of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Man, that seems like a hard thing to say.
SPEAKER_00: And those are really difficult words for our ears to hear.
SPEAKER_00: But we must understand that peace with God will bring strife with man.
SPEAKER_00: If we don't stop and take a moment to realize what defines our identities, then we won't understand what we're up against.
SPEAKER_00: And we won't understand how this will affect our relationships.
SPEAKER_00: If we don't understand why there's persecution in the world, well then we won't understand why there's persecution might arise in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: By the way, Christian persecution is high in the world right now.
SPEAKER_00: North Korea actually happens to be the highest place of Christian persecution this year, followed by Somalia.
SPEAKER_00: But don't think to yourselves for a moment that thank God I don't live there.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, we should be thinking, well, that's my family of Christ being persecuted there.
SPEAKER_00: And I should pray for them.
SPEAKER_00: But the reality of Jesus' words puzzles us.
SPEAKER_00: Because we just want to love everybody.
SPEAKER_00: Christians desire for everyone to know Christ, that He came, that He died on the cross, that He died for our sins, that He came to save us, to set us free, that we would have eternal life with Him who rose from the dead.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, what is more amazing than that?
SPEAKER_00: And it puzzles us because there are those who refuse to believe.
SPEAKER_00: Those who refuse to believe what is preached into their ears by the Holy Spirit, who harden their hearts against the preaching of Christ's long gospel, that which crucifies us and that which quickens.
SPEAKER_00: That's why Jesus tells his apostles today, his preachers, he who hears you hears me.
SPEAKER_00: But if the hearer refuses to hear, then the hearer is not rejecting the preacher who's called and sent.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, he's rejecting Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: This was true then.
SPEAKER_00: It remains true now.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus said, Whoever loves a father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.
SPEAKER_00: And whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
SPEAKER_00: And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
SPEAKER_00: Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
SPEAKER_00: However, the fact is we're not born worthy of Christ, and we all fail to bear our own crosses.
SPEAKER_00: How often we would much rather profess our love for our families than confess Jesus to the world or in the grocery store.
SPEAKER_00: How much we would rather bear, not bear any conflict in our community for our beliefs.
SPEAKER_00: We would prefer not to have any strife with man of any kind or bear any cross and live happily in our own self-built paradises.
SPEAKER_00: We would much rather hold on to our worldly treasures, our relationships, our families, even self-preservation, than suffer conflict and pain, or even the unthinkable death for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: But we must remember the things of this world are fleeting.
SPEAKER_00: They are temporal.
SPEAKER_00: And we will die with them if we desire them more important than Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Are we really worthy of Christ?
SPEAKER_00: Dear baptized, hear this truth today.
SPEAKER_00: What makes us worthy of Christ is Christ.
SPEAKER_00: He alone must make us worthy of him through his means.
SPEAKER_00: If we are baptized into Christ, that means we bear the marks of our Savior.
SPEAKER_00: We are joined to Christ's death and resurrection, as St.
SPEAKER_00: Paul would say.
SPEAKER_00: We're joined to Christ through water and word.
SPEAKER_00: We're joined to him through the preaching of his word.
SPEAKER_00: We're joined through his body and blood, because you can never separate your salvation from the flesh and blood of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And through these means, the Holy Spirit calls, calls us by the gospel, enlightens us with his gifts, sanctifies us, and keeps us with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.
SPEAKER_00: We are Christ's, and he is ours.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
SPEAKER_00: Behold, the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.
SPEAKER_00: But what does this do to us?
SPEAKER_00: That's the question.
SPEAKER_00: It sets us apart.
SPEAKER_00: It sanctifies us.
SPEAKER_00: It makes us holy.
SPEAKER_00: It sets us apart for his purposes.
SPEAKER_00: We're no longer of this world, and that is what causes division.
SPEAKER_00: It's been said that blood is thicker than water.
SPEAKER_00: But that is not true in the body of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Here, the Spirit, the water, and the blood all testify to what belongs to the family of God and to who belongs.
SPEAKER_00: That which binds us together into one body is the Spirit, the water and the blood of Christ.
SPEAKER_00: That which is poured over our heads, received on our lips, preached into our ears, which then we confess with our mouths.
SPEAKER_00: This is how Christ Jesus bonds us to himself and to one another.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, we shouldn't be surprised that we don't have peace with men when we have peace with God.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus explains how this happens in St.
SPEAKER_00: John's Gospel.
SPEAKER_00: In John 15, he says, if you were of the world, the world would love you as its own.
SPEAKER_00: But because you're not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
SPEAKER_00: Quite honestly, this changes our relationships.
SPEAKER_00: It changes our bonds.
SPEAKER_00: It changes our ties.
SPEAKER_00: Because we now belong to Christ.
SPEAKER_00: The world rails against us just as it railed against him.
SPEAKER_00: But fear not, dear children of God.
SPEAKER_00: In Christ we bear God's word, which is the sword of the Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: And to those who are perishing, but to those who believe in Jesus Christ, this is hope and peace.
SPEAKER_00: This is the word we bear, which is Christ in us.
SPEAKER_00: And it has an effect on people, and it has an effect on all of you, and it has an effect on all of us.
SPEAKER_00: Because as the writer of Hebrews said, for the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and the intentions of the heart.
SPEAKER_00: This word of God is none other than Christ Jesus Himself.
SPEAKER_00: The word became flesh and dwelt among us.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is the word made flesh, and just as the author of Hebrews explains, the word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword.
SPEAKER_00: That sword is his word, his law, his gospel.
SPEAKER_00: It looks like a double-edged sword coming out of Jesus' mouth in the book of Revelation.
SPEAKER_00: But friends, don't be surprised if the gospel causes division.
SPEAKER_00: Doesn't St.
SPEAKER_00: Paul remind us the gospel is folly to those who are perishing?
SPEAKER_00: But to those who are called out of darkness, it's life.
SPEAKER_00: It's salvation.
SPEAKER_00: And now that we're in Christ, we have enemies.
SPEAKER_00: And in Christ, we are enemies of Satan and the world and even our own flesh.
SPEAKER_00: And none of these want God want what God wants for us.
SPEAKER_00: And these enemies are all around us.
SPEAKER_00: But our flesh, the world, and Satan, guess what?
SPEAKER_00: They no longer get to define who we are.
SPEAKER_00: When we are baptized into Christ, this changes who we are.
SPEAKER_00: This changes our identities.
SPEAKER_00: When God's word fills our ears and our eyes and our mouths and our hearts, it changes our identities.
SPEAKER_00: As we have received this truth, we can't help but speak from this new identity.
SPEAKER_00: When we receive Him, we confess Christ and Him crucified with our mouths.
SPEAKER_00: When we confess Jesus, well, we shouldn't be surprised that this creates discord among men, especially by those who reject the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: But for those who have received the gospel, this is pure joy.
SPEAKER_00: Confessing Christ doesn't bring peace between believers and non-believers.
SPEAKER_00: Rather, like a sword, it often cuts the relationship, even within our families, as Jesus tells us today.
SPEAKER_00: It creates enemies.
SPEAKER_00: And enemies like those are hostile to the faith, ready to put us to death for the sake of the hope that is within us.
SPEAKER_00: But dear beloved, baptized into Christ, do not be afraid.
SPEAKER_00: Do not fear.
SPEAKER_00: Because in Christ we can face our enemies.
SPEAKER_00: In Christ we can bear our crosses.
SPEAKER_00: In Christ we can find our lives.
SPEAKER_00: In Christ, we are made worthy of Him.
SPEAKER_00: Christ died on the cross and he rose again for your sake and for mine.
SPEAKER_00: And we can't bear the weight of our own crosses without the Lord who bore his cross for us.
SPEAKER_00: And we're not worthy of Christ, but his death and his resurrection make us worthy of him.
SPEAKER_00: His all-atoning sacrifice cleanses us from all our iniquities, all our infirmities, all our brokenness, all our unworthiness.
SPEAKER_00: And he rescues us from sin, death, and devil, and makes us his own in the holy waters of baptism.
SPEAKER_00: And he sanctifies us by shedding his own blood.
SPEAKER_00: And he makes us worthy of him.
SPEAKER_00: The new man in Christ doesn't look back at his old life in order to live in it and flourish.
SPEAKER_00: But he has a new life.
SPEAKER_00: The new man doesn't wish to save all the treasures of this life, even family, only to forfeit the world to come.
SPEAKER_00: Eternal life begins now.
SPEAKER_00: Don't look back.
SPEAKER_00: Don't look back like Lot's wife to turn into a pillar of salt.
SPEAKER_00: But from there, realize it'll all pass away.
SPEAKER_00: Look to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Look to his atonement as he sends you forth out into the world with his word, his spirit.
SPEAKER_00: The world is a cruel, sinful place, and strife will continue until the end of the age.
SPEAKER_00: But those whose lives are in Christ will surely keep them.
SPEAKER_00: For the sword of his spirit, his word, defends us against the devil, it pierces the heart of the world, and it even slays the passions of our own flesh.
SPEAKER_00: He made you worthy because he died on the cross for you.
SPEAKER_00: He baptized you in his name, and he brought you into his family.
SPEAKER_00: You are the Lord's family.
SPEAKER_00: For you all have been forgiven of your sins in Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And you have received life and salvation this very day.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Now the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.