“A Royal Identity”
Lessons from Prince Caspian
FCC – May 4, 2008
Text: Various
Reference: C. S. Lewis’ Prince Caspian
Introduction: This morning we begin a short sermon series entitled “Lessons from Prince Caspian.” There are 7 books in the Narnia series and they have sold over 100 million copies. Prince Caspian is book two in the series and is a classic book by C. S. Lewis, and will be one of the biggest movies of the summer…to be released May 16. In November of 2005, I preached three sermons from “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” That was so much fun for me, and I have been such a big fan of the Narnia series, that I’ve read and re-read Prince Caspian and I’m ready to share spiritual lessons from this story.
In “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” you may remember 4 children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy entered the world of Narnia through a wardrobe and began an incredible journey in the land of Aslan. Narnia represents the kingdom of God and Aslan represents Jesus. We discover that the land is under the control of the White Witch and in Narnia it is always winter, but never Christmas. Edmund falls under the witch’s spell because of his uncontrollable desire for a special candy, Turkish delight. The only way for Edmund to be saved and the land to be free of the witch’s magic is for Aslan to volunteer to die in Edmund’s place. Aslan dies at the hand of the witch, is resurrected and destroys the witch’s power. That was the basis of the blockbuster movie in 2005.
This summer, Prince Caspian hits the big screen, and many in this room will see it…it’s message is not as obvious as the message in “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” but it is a powerful message none the less. “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” describes the gospel message as the Christ figure, Aslan dies for sin and is resurrected to give new life. Prince Caspian takes us back to Narnia...the same four children return. It’s a year later for them…but it’s 1300 hundred years later for Narnia. They find the ruins of their castle, Cair Paravel, and a world that shuns the “old stories” of Aslan. It’s up to Caspian and the children to fight to restore the Kingdom of Aslan to its previous glory.
How do we fit into the story? The NT talks about our royalty. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Pet. 2: 9 As a born again believer you are a chosen to live in a different Kingdom. The child-ren in Prince Caspian lived in the Kingdom of Alsan…we live in the Kingdom of God.
Romans 8: 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Wow. We are heirs of God. We are royalty. You are a prince or princess of the Kingdom of God. What would a prince or princess of God look like? This morning we want to look at four things that identify royalty in the Kingdom of God. A prince or princess’s identity is found in his or her…
1. Pedigree – In the story Prince Caspian, we discover that he is in line for the throne, but the current king is really not his father. His father was killed by King Miraz when he was a baby and was raised by King Miraz to forget the old stories of Aslan. You see to be a prince…to be royalty…you have to have the right pedigree. King Miraz took his royal position by power and murder and he was not the rightful King of Narnia. When Caspian discovers that the King is expecting a new heir to be born, he learns the truth of his pedigree and what happened to his father. He runs from King Miraz to learn more about the old stories and to find help to restore the Kingdom to its rightful heir.
What about us? Do you know that to be a prince or princess in God’s Kingdom you have to have the right pedigree? We have to be blood related to the King. "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." 2 Corinthians 6: 18 Jesus paid the price with His blood that we would have the right pedigree…heirs of the Kingdom of God.
There is another prince in the world and the Scriptures indicate that we have to choose which Kingdom we are going to live in. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. Ephesians 2: 1-2 Just as Caspian had to reject the usurper, the false king of Narnia, Miraz, we have to reject the prince of this world and follow the true King…and the Good News is that the King has chosen us!!
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. Ephesians 1: 4-8
Let’s remember that we have a royal identity in that we have a royal pedigree. Secondly, you can identify a prince or princess of the Kingdom by their…
2. Primer – Caspian’s nurse told him the old stories of Narnia about of Aslan. These stories were forbidden by King Miraz. No one was able to speak of the old stories… they were seen as mythical and out of date. When Miraz heard that his nurse was telling him the old stories, she was banished from Narnia. Caspian is assigned a tutor who is to teach him the things needed to be a prince. He learns math, etiquette, philosophy... Caspian asks his new tutor about the old stories. The old stories are forbidden to be taught to children so his tutor takes him at night to a tower and tells him the old stories of Aslan. Caspian loved them and His primer shaped his identity.
It takes no imagination to see the parallels between the new Narnia and our culture. It is taboo to talk about God in the public square or schools. We can’t pray at school or even offer intelligent design as an option to evolution. Religious and moral ideas are seen as outdated. If you bring up the 10 commandments or other parts of God’s Word you are seen as out of touch and a moral dinosaur. C. S. Lewis says that we suffer from “chronological snobbery.” We assume that as time progress, technology progresses, species evolve and moral ideas progress. To remain with old moral thinking is to take us back to the stone ages. That’s “chronological snobbery.”
Biblical morals due not progress or regress with time…they are timeless and we are told to teach them to our children. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deut 6: 4-7
We are to tell our children the old stories! As our kids watch Prince Caspian may we go home and remind them of the old story of Abraham, Moses, David, and most of all, the timeless story of Jesus. The Bible is our primer for preparing for Kingdom living…it is our primer to learn how to be royalty in the Kingdom of God.
It reminds me of the old Hymn: Tell me the old, old story, Of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory, Of Jesus and His love; Tell me the story simply, As to a little child, For I am weak and weary, And helpless and defiled.
Tell me the old, old story, Tell me the old, old story, Tell me the old, old story,
Of Jesus and His love.
You can recognize royal identity…you can recognize yourself as a prince and princess in the Kingdom…if you are born again you have a royal pedigree, and you have a royal primer in the Word of God. There is a third thing that identifies a prince or princess…that’s his or her pursuits…
3. Pursuits – As soon as Caspian discovered that he was the rightful heir to the throne of Narnia and understood the old stories were true, he passionately pursued two things. First, he pursued learning more about the old stories. His tutor would talk to him about the old stories and Caspian would say, “I’d like to go on talking about these things for hours and hours and hours. He then pursued overturning the false king of Narnia and to restore the old stories and the values of the Kingdom of Aslan. What you pursue identifies who you are…it identifies the value of your heart.
That is why Jesus said in the midst of all the cares of this world to approach the Kingdom first. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6: 33
What about you? What are you pursuing? Money? Fame? Popularity? What you pursue defines who you are. If you are a born again child of the King, you need to pursue getting to know His Word…pursing Bible study, Sunday School, small group Bible studies, reading at home, meditating, memorizing…pursuing the Word of God. Secondly, you need to reject rival kingdoms and seek to advance God’s Kingdom over your own agenda and over cultural pressures. As a prince or princess, you learn the principles set forth by the King and then you stand up for the King’s principle and pursue the advancement of His Kingdom. It becomes our passion…our pursuits.
You can recognize your royal identity by your royal pedigree, your royal primer, and your royal pursuits… and finally a prince or princess of the Kingdom of God can be identified by their…
4. Power – Prince Caspian is given a powerful tool, a horn. Lewis writes this in chapter five, “That is the greatest and most sacred treasure of Narnia. Many terrors I endured, many spells did I utter, to find it, when I was still young. It is the magic horn of Queen Susan herself which she left behind her when she vanished from Narnia at the end of the Golden Age. It is said that whoever blows it shall have strange help. It may have power to call Queen Lucy and King Edmund, and Queen Susan and the High King Peter back from the past and they will set all to rights. It may be that it will call up Aslan himself.” So Caspian has a horn that he can use whenever he is in desperate need of help. Of course, when trouble comes, he blows the horn and the four children are summoned to Narnia and Aslan begins to move. We are told in Romans, “That whosover shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” The horn in the story gives Caspian the opportunity to admit he needs help and to call for help. It represents prayer and where we get our power from.
There is actually discussion with some in the story to call on the power of the White Witch because they hadn’t heard from Aslan in a while, and the power of the White Witch would be expedient. Wow. Who you call for help defines who you are…whose power you seek really does determine your identity.
Jesus described what kind of power He was offering us: I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 16: 19. Wow! Do you remember when you finally got to borrow Dad’s car keys? There was quite a bit of power there surrendered to you! God says that He gives you the keys to the Kingdom…and our power comes from His authority. His power defines who we are as royal natives of the Kingdom of God.
Conclusion: Today, I wanted to remind all God’s born again children that they are royalty. You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation! You are very recognizable. You stand out. You have a royal pedigree…a royal primer…a royal pursuit…and royal power. Are you known by these things? When the old stories are forgotten the foundation of civilization crumbles…when you forget the old stories, your moral footings are at risk. The four children in Prince Caspian found themselves at home in the Kingdom of Aslan…have you found yourself at home in the Kingdom of God? Here are the words to the theme song of Prince Caspian, by Switchfoot.
“This is Home” by Switchfoot
"I’ve got my memories. They’re always inside of me
But I can’t go back. Back to how it was
I believe it now. I’ve seen too much
But I can’t go back. Back to how it was
Created for a place I’ve never known
This is Home, Now I’m finally where I belong
Where I belong, Yeah, this is home
I’ve been searching for a place of my own
Now I’ve found it, Yeah this is home, Yeah, this is home
Belief over misery, I’ve seen the enemy
And I won’t go back, Back to how it was
And I’ve got my heart set on what happens next
I’ve got my eyes wide and it’s not over yet
We are miracles, And we’re not alone
And now after all my searching, After all my questions
I’m gonna call it home, I’ve got a brand new mindset
I can finally see the sunset, I’m gonna call it home"
Come home today…if you’ve never accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior He wants to give you His pedigree, His primer, His pursuits, and His power in your time of need. If you are a Christian today and you’ve been trying to live in two kingdoms, come home. Today Jesus wants to remind you that you have a royal identity…make a commitment to live like a prince or a princess in the Kingdom of God.
