Movie Clip: LION KING – IDENTITY AS GOD’S CHILD - A young lion runs away after
being led to believe he is to blame for his father’s death. As such he is refusing to return as the
new new king who could help his fellow clan to battle their now impending enemy. In this scene
the rather strange baboon character leads him to face his call. He sees a vision of his father in the
sky in which the father concludes by repeating, “Remember who you are.” (Citation: The Lion
King (Disney, 1994), rated G, written by Jim Capobianco, directed by Roger Allers and Rob
Minkoff)
While this movie – The Lion King – may have been given a lot of levity and lightness for
children… the underlying story is rather poignant.
It told of a son who wanted to wander off beyond the boundaries his father had told him were
safe… the trouble and cost that he realizes… as his father is killed trying to save him… and
wandering off again… only this time in shame.
He meets a couple creatures who try to face their hardship with a ‘Don’t worry – be happy’
motto… joins them in trying to forget his past… to escape the responsibility that he feels he has
forever failed at. (Sound familiar?)
It’s at this point… that one leads him to face his higher calling.
He is lead to hear father’s voice once again… to remember who he is… whose image he bears.
> It is his destiny being reclaimed.
And so at a point in history… Christ came to reclaim our destinies… by providing for the
forgiveness of our failures and wanderings… and freeing us / allowing us… to hear the Father’s
voice again…
The father never addresses the failure…but in the calling itself lies forgiveness… and a
freedom to return to who he truly was meant to be.
Father never lets the son discuss his failure… perhaps that sounds familiar… just like how Jesus
described our own way back to the father. In the parable of the Prodigal Son… the father
interrupts the confession.
> Why… because the father knows when one is already aware of their failure…
but also because the ultimate issue is about embracing your true identity…
home.
It’s connecting / reconnecting to that identity… destiny… that gives life it’s true passion…
energy… enduring determination
Up until that point, Simba had approached life as mere duty… but now he filled with desire.
In that he imparts his own passion… as the true son…
Re-state a definition of passion that I’m referring to…
Passion is the energizing flow that comes from connection to a desire that
transcends duty.
Passion is energizing. Everything in life takes a certain amount of energy… but what you do that
you find passion in… gives you back energy.
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It’s a determination … and drive… that runs beneath the surface of our activity.
Duty and desire are not intended to be opposites. They are bound together. Passion
flows when duty is infused with desire.
Jesus restores the wholeness… gives
Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw
off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and
perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its
shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who
endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose
heart.
> Don’t grow weary… don’t lose passion !
These words are written to lives who knew the challenge of maintaining passion amidst
hardship.
It’s saying to us… “Look at those who have succeeded… they kept a hold despite what they
couldn’t see.” Pinnacle of all focus is on Christ… who revealed life with the power of destiny.
I want to continue to consider how we can discover and develop the true sense of passion… that
can energize our lives…
Three aspects… and offer some questions that will help you think about your own process
finding passion… of growing to enjoy that energizing flow of a desire that transcends duty.
Christ imparts a passion in life that is ultimately…
1. More defined by the future than the past.
Was the passion… energizing determination in Christ defined by the shame he bore (which
was our own) … or the future at hand?
> The future… ‘the joy set before him’… his ultimate destiny.
Like Simba… we can all become aware of our flaws and failures… acutely aware… and
wander off in shame. Like the Prodigal… we head off for a distant country… where like
Simba… we find people who are content to repress a higher calling… and exchange pleasure
for purpose. Psuedo – freedom… free from responsibility … but actually bound in a way of
living that degrades who we truly are… and enslaves and exploits us under other powers.
All because we the failures of our past… the flaws we feel so deeply… become the only vision
of our future.
We see ourselves only as we’ve been told by those around us… and our primal origins in
God become too faint.
When Christ breaks into humanity… he declares that our original destiny… is still at hand.
He breaks the power of the past… and reveals God is sovereign… able to redeem… -
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Romans 8:28-29 (NIV)
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who
have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also
predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers.
Define the future by the future… not the past.
God is redeeming our past... able to work in all things. That doesn’t mean that he created all
of such things… but that he is able to work ultimate good from them.
> Passion is not found is denying our past… but in trusting God to incorporate it into a
future being redeemed.
Questions to help assess your own internal perspective…
• Do I tend to dwell on the limitations and losses of the past … or the potential of the
future?
Perhaps even more immediate… Did you come this morning with expectations shaped more by
your natural feelings… or by faith?
• Do I see the past merely as something restrictive… as a power I wish I could deny… or as
something redemptive… that God is able to use?
Christ imparts a passion in life that is ultimately…
2. More positive than negative.
As our model of living with passionate enduring energy… was Christ’s mission ultimately
positive or negative?
He said he came ‘to seek and save that which was lost.” Is that positive or negative?
The purpose that empowered his life was that of reclaiming… a recognizant mission.
Full of confrontation about what was wrong… what needed changing… BUT HERE IS THE
KEYS… it all flowed from the ultimate purpose of reclaiming human life to it’s original intent…
it was positive.
He came announcing GOOD NEWS… of the kingdom at hand… and it was heard by those
willing to let go of the status quo… as good news.
He spoke of righteousness… even one greater than the religious leaders offered… BUT all to lift
people out of the powers that exploited and into the arms of love.
What he was against FOR was more dominant and defining of what he was against.
The purpose that energized him… that allowed passions energy to flow… was POSITIVE.
> That is what we must consider in our own lives.
Our current cultural form of Christianity often tends to breed a greater sense of what we’re against
than what we’re for… AND THAT WILL QUENCH LIVING WITH PASSION.
Question to help assess your own internal perspective…
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• Do I communicate more about what I am ultimately ‘for’ or what I’m ‘against’?
Christ imparts a passion in life that is ultimately…
3. More internal than external.
Where did Jesus draw his sense of purpose? How was it defined?
> Defined by the voice of His Father… but it is made clear that it is the hardest thing to hold onto.
Jesus had many voices that would speak into his life… parents… pals… and eventually public
expectations.
At the very start of his ministry… led by Spitrit into the wilderness… 40 days of prayer and
fasting. He is alone and there the enemy comes…and he must contend for his true identity.
> We all have to do some work in the wilderness… where the deepest determination is forged.
At this point he emerges… and he is energized… not by what is offered around him… but from
within.
Questions to help assess your own internal perspective…
• How dependent am I on external motivation (praise, rewards, etc)?
I’ve found it’s easier to compensate motivation that to motivate with compensation.
• When others don’t seem to fulfill my purpose, do I tend to have resentment that turns me
against them?
Jesus got frustrated with his disciples… but never resented them… his frustration wasn’t that
which divided and drove him away from them. Why? Because his own purpose wasn’t dependent
on their success… his ego was at peace in his own faithfulness. Resentment comes when we need
others to bolster who we are.
The Apostle Paul – Responded to criticism that was from a worldly perspective… “I don’t care
what you think… or even what I think… only what God thinks.” Most pf us haven’t reached that
place of spiritual maturity… but we can… and in it lies the energy of passion that flowed in Paul
to the very end.
• Does my purpose tend to give me a sense of superiority or self-righteousness?
‘Superiority’ and ‘self righteousness’…such distasteful words we never want to be associated with
them… but whenever we are operating out of an outwardly defined sense of self… … we tend to
live by comparison… we hold our own court of comparison… and need to find affirmation in
the inferiority of others.
• In relationship with others, am I comfortable with the nature of influence rather than
control?
It flows that if we need others to fulfill our success… we will tend to want to control their
behavior… rather than influence.
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Conclusion: Jesus understands religion that is based in shame… self-righteousness…and
becomes reduced to merely pointing out what is wrong and what it’s against.
He has come to reclaim God’s original inmtent… our deeper identity.. to allow us to hear the
Father say “Remember who you are”… your true destiny.
> That is source of reclaiming true passion in life.
Closing Story -
In the movie Spiderman… Peter Parker holds a special love for his chuildhood friend … a girl
named MJ. But he can’t express it because his identity as Spiderman has made it too complicated.
At one point, M.J. and Peter discuss her mysterious rescuer, and she confesses her love for Spider-
Man. Mary Jane is impressed to learn that Peter "knows" Spider-Man. In fact, Peter admits he’s
had a "conversation" with Spider-Man about Mary Jane. She presses him to know what Peter told
her hunky heartthrob.
Peter searches for the right words; "I said, um, ’Spider-Man,’ I said, ’the great thing about
M.J. is when you look in her eyes, and she looks back in yours, everything feels not quite normal,
because you feel strong-and weak at the same time. You feel excited, and at the same time
terrified. The truth is you don’t know the way you feel, except you know the kind of man you
want to be.”
Illus & Ideas not used –
SPIDERMAN MOVIE SCENE DECRIBING THE POWER OF A LOOK THAT REDEFINES
YOU
In the beginning of the movie Spider-Man, Peter Parker undergoes a transformation. Bitten by a
spider that’s been subjected to genetic experimentation, Peter develops superpowers. Beneath his
lycra union suit beats the heart of a hero who nightly swings between the skyscrapers, looking for
some endangered soul to rescue.
One such soul is Mary Jane, a young woman he secretly loves. She falls for Spider-Man-
but not for Peter Parker. Mary Jane (M.J.) doesn’t know who Spider-Man really is-even when he
comes to her rescue.
Just after Peter and M.J. part company outside a diner late one night, four thugs approach
M.J. and back her into an alley. Peter watches as one of the men pulls a knife on her. M.J. tries to
defend herself for a moment, then, suddenly Spider-Man appears, spins a web, and ties up the four
bad guys.
It’s as if you’ve reached the unreachable, and you weren’t ready for it.’"
What Peter describes is the same phenomenon we experience when we come to know
Jesus Christ. Looking at the God-Man, we feel weak, but he makes us strong; we are terrified, and
at the same time more exhilarated than we’ve ever been in our lives; and in him we see the person
we want to become.
Content: Spider-Man is rated PG-13 for violence and frightening images.
- Citation: Spider-Man (Columbia Pictures, 2002), rated PG-13, written by Alvin Sargent, directed
by Sam Raimi; source: Lisa Gertz, Leadership (Fall 2002), p. 65+
"In that He becomes a Thou to us, He makes us into an "I," which may answer
Him. In that He encounters us as a person, He summons us to be persons."
-Weber, Found. of Dogm. Vol., p.360+
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When he refers to sharing in his sufferings… he’s not referring to the pain… but the purpose…
the underlying determination at work in Christ.
DEMANDS GIVE MEANING TO LIFE
Rabbi Loy’s life work was the study of the demand for obedience given by God to his people. In
explaining the above to Dave, Dave’s every gesture and movement bespoke unwillingness.
"In a life in which there is no demand," he had told Dave, "there is no meaning." "That’s
nuts," Dave snarled rudely. "Demands are the whole trouble."
Rabbi said, "If no demand is put on you, then you are in a sense excluded.
"From what?"
"Life itself. To be demanded of gives us dignity." Rabbi continued, "If someone expects,
demands something of you, it means he takes you seriously."
Dave non-verbally communicated he couldn’t care less. Rabbi: "Don’t you see that the demand is
that you take part in the huge cosmic struggle that is going on? Apathy is the gravest of sins.
Even the tiniest creature can shake the universe . . . Only obedience is perfect freedom."
-The Young Unicorns, by Madeleine L’Engle, p. 155+
We want our own way - we want to meet our own needs as we will. Just as the true self
emerges in union with Christ, the false self arises in separation from Him.
The false self wants to be left alone. It fends for itself, and will go to any length to
forage for love, or at least its own conception of love. Like a hungry animal, the false self will
feed off of others without conscience, often compromising itself or others in the process.
What drives the false self is its own pursuit of love. However "loveless" that pursuit
may be, the false self resists anything higher and truer that may challenge its course.
-Andy Comisky, Desert Stream "Cross Current"+
DOGS IN RACE CONFUSED WHEN MECHANICAL RABBIT CEASES
Did you ever see a greyhound race? Dog racing is a popular gambling sport in some
states. Greyhound racing is different from horseracing in that there are no jockeys, so they
have to use some other means of keeping the dogs running in the right direction. The
greyhounds are trained to chase a mechanical rabbit that runs on a little track. The remote-
control rabbit goes just fast enough to stay ahead of the dogs.
A few years ago at a racetrack in Florida, a funny thing happened. The dogs were all
crouched in their cages, waiting for the start of the race. The starting gun sounded. The
cage doors dropped open and the dogs took off after the mechanical rabbit. As the rabbit
rounded the first turn, however, an electrical short caused it to explode and catch on fire. In
seconds, all that was left of the rabbit was some black stuff hanging on a bit of wire.
The dogs were so confused they didn’t know what to do. Most stopped running.
Some of them just lay down on the track with their tongues hanging out. A couple of them
went on around the track at top speed, but without the rabbit to chase they ran into a wall
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and broke several ribs. Several of the greyhounds just started howling at the crowd. Not
one dog finished the race.
People are a lot like those dogs. We’re all chasing something. We need some reason
for living. What would happen to you if your goal, your reason for running the race,
suddenly evaporated? Be sure you’re not chasing an illusion--something that is attractive
but eventually will prove to be of no lasting value.
-Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks by Wayne Rice. Youth Specialties, 1994. Pages 106-107.+
FIREMAN UNABLE TO CARRY SLEEPING MAN FROM FIRE TOLD TO "WAKE
HIM SO HE CAN SAVE HIMSELF"
"I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!" (Luke 12:49).
A preacher told the following story to explain his views on motivation:
A fire broke out in a cramped attic. The firemen who rushed to the rescue found a
man deep in sleep. They tried to carry him down the stairs but could not, and they despaired
of saving him. Then the chief arrived and said: "Wake him up and he’ll save himself."
The moral of the story is clear. Children bored and asleep will not be affected by a
well-intentioned rescuer. They need to be awakened to their potential, and they will save
themselves.
-Preachers Illustration Service, Vol 7, May/Jun 1994+
DARK DEPICTION OF A YOUNG MAN STUCK IN HIS HIGH SCHOOL
DREAMS
He emerged from the determined darkness one fine fall football Friday, his body boozed to the
brim and eyes saturated to the rim. Bobby blurted, "Nobody remembers me! I go to the games, I
walk around, I try to talk to people, but they aren’t interested. Nobody remembers the last two
years, how many yards I gained and the number of touchdowns I scored and the passes I
completed. Nobody even notices me! They are watching the game." And so Bobby cried and
cursed into the mellow night. He moped, moaned, and murmured his liturgy how he had endured
for the fall so he might attend the Friday football games to grant him some worth and bestow on
him some significance. But the gods of time do administer their booth of toil and toll, and Bobby
was rendering the lofty levy of living in the past, when youth measured accomplishment by a
crowd’s cheer and savored life from a girl’s grasp. Since high school graduation, Bobby had
managed meager jobs -- all part-time -- while attempting to run with his old friends and continue
to recount the days and plays of football season buried in broken dreams. Bobby’s buddies
deliberately migrated from the small town, leaving Bobby unaccompanied to cruise the old high
school streets in the twilight and to sit alone in front of the TASTY FREEZE while watching
another age group eat chili dogs. Bobby continued to work in petty part-time jobs, and he
proceeded to grow fat and friendless throughout the hungering night as dreams fade with the light
of day. The few acquaintances Bobby preserved quickly grew tired from his ceaseless
commentary on a football season no one wished to remember or cared to recall. The years
delicately have folded one into another, and Bobby has moved, married, mated, and is modeling a
family for the future. As Bobby’s gray hair howls for a heeding, and the receding locks linger in
the mind’s mirror, Bobby continues to drop back into the high school pocket of protection in his
faded memory and recall the passes and plays that made him prominent in memory’s manor.
Buddy, Bobby’s eleven-year-old son, grows annoyed listening to Dad’s stories from long ago, and
Buddy is exasperated trying to live up to his father’s recollection and reflection. Bobby maintains
an old 1966 Chevy, and he is constantly tinkering and toying with the engine, trying to keep a
dream running, constantly listening to oldies on the radio. But the auto never works properly,
much like Bobby’s life. Bobby has mislaid his Being, and his soul is a little broken; like his
Chevy, his faith, and his belief in God. Somewhere along life’s journey he grew into adulthood,
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but never developed into manhood. He is existing, but not participating in Life’s fullness. He says
he wants to grow, but the prospect of mental work is too terrifying. Bobby continues to play with
his car and fiddle with his life. But he is frightened of the present and fearful of the future. He
finds comfort in faded fame and dismissed dreams. His wife and son cannot discover any peace.
How many Bobbys are we?
-Submitted by Charles Treptow, Angel of Joy Lutheran Church, Lufkin, Texas+
LEADER MUST NOT BECOME THE "CAUSE" (NEEDING IT) RATHER
THAN SERVING IT
A true leader is committed to the cause, and does not become the cause. Staying personally
dedicated to the cause can become extremely difficult, particularly if the cause succeeds. A subtle
change in thinking can overtake the leader of a successful ministry. He or she begins "needing"
certain things to carry on the ministry -- things that were not needed earlier. I admire Mother
Teresa, who decided after winning the Nobel Prize that she would not go to accept any more
recognition because it interfered with her work. She knew she was not in the business of
accepting prizes; she was in the business of serving the poor of Calcutta. She maintained her
dedication to the cause by refusing unrelated honors.
-Fred Smith, Learning To Lead (Christianity Today, 1986), page 29. An outstanding book in The
Leadership Library from CT.+
COW WHO COULD NOT BE PUSHED WAS EASILY LED BY TASTE OF MILK
Ralph Waldo Emerson and his son once spent a half-hour trying to force a calf into the barn so
they could close it for the night. They pushed and struggled with that calf, all to no avail. When
they finally gave up, an amused farm hand walked over, put his finger in a pail of milk, and placed
it in the calf’s mouth. The calf, seduced by this maternal imitation, peacefully followed the man
into the barn! Some of the most effective evangelism comes from a life so winsome and attractive
that it draws other people to follow after it.
-Preaching, Vol. 8, No. 2, submitted by John Killinger, Samford University, Birmingham, AL+
WHO PUSHED ME?
Dennis Pedrin tells the story of a great king who had a beautiful daughter that every man in
the kingdom wanted to marry. "The king didn’t think any of the suitors were good enough, so he
devised a test to prove who was the bravest.
"He called all of the young men in the kingdom together and told them about the test.
`You see in front of you a large pool filled with hungry alligators. Whoever can go through the
alligators and come out on the other side alive winds the hand of my daughter and half my
kingdom!’
"Suddenly there was a loud splash, and one young man was swimming desperately toward
the other side. An alligator came at him and snapped at his hand. Another one came and swiped
at his head. While the young man swam erratically, another one tried to bite his leg and also
missed. Finally, the young man got to the other side and was helped out of the pool.
"The king rushed over to him and said, `Such a brave man! To you goes the hand of my
daughter and half my kingdom!’ To which the young man replied, `That’s all well and good, but
first I have a question: Who pushed me?’
"Sometimes commitment needs a little push!"
-Enrichment, Sum 1996. Pages 114-115+
SALVATION FROM FALSE SELF (SHAME)-ANDY COMISKY
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Getting saved! Sounds a little desperate. But relationship with Jesus requires some
desperation. It means crying out for the Savior because we’ve finally realized we can’t save
ourselves.
Saved from what! The power of our separateness from love, both from the love of God and
the love of others. We’ve already talked about our need for love, and also how Jesus in His love
knows who we are and wants to define us according to our true selves.
But the hard reality is - everyone of us faces a very real obstacle to love. That obstacle is
the false self. In spite of Jesus’ loving invitation to us, we resist Him as much as we long to receive
Him.
That resistance constitutes the false self. We want our own way - we want to meet our
own needs as we will. Just as the true self emerges in union with Christ, the false self arises
in separation from Him.
The false self wants to be left alone. It fends for itself, and will go to any length to
forage for love, or at least its own conception of love. Like a hungry animal, the false self will
feed off of others without conscience, often compromising itself or others in the process.
What drives the false self is its own pursuit of love. However "loveless" that pursuit
may be, the false self resists anything higher and truer that may challenge its course.
The false self is as old as humanity itself. It results from the created disobeying its Creator.
From the beginning of time, we have tried to be gods in our own right. Even though we were
created in His image, we’ve sought to do more than reveal Him - we’ve tried to be Him!
Adam and Eve first demonstrated the false self when they partook of the fruit that God had
forbidden them to eat. That fruit had the power to make them as gods. In eating the apple, both
chose the prospect of godhood over obeying the Creator (Gen. 3:1-7). That choice resulted in
separation from God, and laid the foundation for the false self in all of us.
In scripture, the false self is represented by the "fig leaf" which Adam and Eve used to hide
from God and from one another. They were no longer free for love; painfully and shamefully
independent, both sought to hide themselves from the searchlight of love (Gen. 3:8-13).
We’ve been wearing the fig leaf ever since. That fig leaf represents the reality of sin, or
separation from God and from one another. Though that separation resulted from the disobedience
of Adam and Eve, we are their descendants; each of us bears that tendency toward godhood, and
the loveless independence of the false self which separates us from God and from one another.
We still bear the image of God. But we must face the truth that the image, or the true self,
is veiled by the false. The only way that we can be saved from the false self is through the Savior -
Jesus Christ.
Jesus alone can save us because only Jesus’ love is powerful enough to break through the
cold, hard shell of the false self and reclaim the true. We see a powerful glimpse of His authority
to raise up the real self in the story of Lazarus in John 11. Lazarus had literally died, still Jesus
claimed He would raise him up again. Before He actually called the dead man forth into life, He
said: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and
whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this!" (vs. 25, 26)
Here Jesus asserts His claim that He is the Lord of life, real life inspired by its Creator and
Redeemer. As you consider your own need for that saving life in light of the false self, I ask you:
Do you believe that Jesus is the Source of life that can raise you from the dead of sin and
separateness from God and others!
As you consider your response, consider Jesus’ unique qualifications to save you from the
false self:
1. He is God. We can’t save ourselves, nor can another human being save us. The power of
separation from God and each other can only be broken by God. Our only hope lies in the One
who stands apart from us as our Creator; He stands above and beyond our status as created beings
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and thus has the unique authority to break down dividing walls that separate humanity from
Himself and from one another.
2. He is man. Jesus shares our humanity; He knows what it is like to struggle with loneliness and
temptation (Heb. 4:15, 16). And yet unlike us, Jesus successfully warred against the temptations of
the false self and its separateness from the Creator. In His life of perfect obedience to the Father,
Jesus represents us to the Father as the obedient Son. In so doing, He cancels out the power of our
separateness and disobedience!
Jesus’ obedience to the Father is more powerful than our disobedience. We can do nothing
to cancel out the power of our sin; all we can do is cry out to Him and the way that He has made
for us. He overcame the tyranny of the false self through His life of radical obedience to the
Father; we in turn overcome the false self through radical reliance upon Jesus. Through believing
in Him, "He gives us the right to become children of God" (John 1:12).
3. In His death on the cross, Jesus died for us. He took our place. The main consequence
for humanity’s disobedience was death (Gen. 2:17). The end of the false self is death - eternal
separation from God and others. Jesus paid the penalty for that separation and its deadly
consequence.
Jesus also assumed on the cross the weight of everything that separates us from God and
one another. He took every sin, every wound, every deception, everything within us that resists
love. He took them all into His body and died with them in order to break the power of the false
self in full.
Jesus’ death on the cross broke the power of hell. That includes the eternal death that
awaits those under the mastery of the false self, as well as the hell-on-earth caused by the false
self.
"I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal
life and will not be condemned: he has crossed over from death to life" (John 5:24).
4. And in His resurrection, Jesus raises up the true self. The resurrected Christ reclaims the true
image from the tyranny of the false self! The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead raises us
up from the false self, and establishes us in our true personhood.
"For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be
also united int he likeness of His resurrection..." (Rom. 5:6).
That means freedom from living a loveless, shameful life; it measn shedding the fig leaf of
fear and hiddenness in relation to God and others, and beginning to discover the way that Jesus
has made for us to live in loving union with Himself and our fellow humanity.
Jesus saves us from death - the death we face from living in separation from Him. Through
His life of obedience resulting in His death, Jesus breaks the power of the false self. And in His
resurrection, Jesus invites us to discover what it means to walk in the true self; He frees us to live
in love.
Calling out to Jesus is the beginning of freedom. When we ask Him to save us and break
the power of the false self, we go from death to life. He brings us under the loving reign of His
Father, and we become His children. Heaven displaces hell as our destiny.
Jesus called out in a loud voice to Lazarus: "Lazarus, come out!" (John 11:43, 44) The
dead man came forth in the power of the resurrection. So shall we as we come forth in our true
selves say "yes" to Jesus.
Prayer of Accepting Jesus as Savior
"Lord Jesus, I accept You as the only One who can save me from the hell of the false self. I
believe in Your death and resurrection as the only way that I can be saved. As I receive You as
Savior, I accept the truth that I am Your child, destined for heaven."
Verses for Meditation:
Hebrews 4:15,16
11
John 11
-Andy Comisky, Desert Stream "Cross Current"+
BAGGER VANCE – REFINDING YOUR VISION (PART 1) –
Rannulph Junuh, a once promising, but now washed up golfer is visited by the mysterious caddy,
Bagger Vance, who rejuvenates his professional golf game, and teaches him lessons about life.
Rating: PG-13
In this scene Junah has had no rhythm or natural game in the tournament. At this point Bagger
Vance challenges him to focus and find his personal swing.
BAGGER VANCE – REFINDING YOUR VISION (PART 2) –
Rannulph Junuh, a once promising, but now washed up golfer is visited by the mysterious caddy,
Bagger Vance, who rejuvenates his professional golf game, and teaches him lessons about life.
Rating: PG-13
In this scene Junah had gotten some great rhythm but then became over confident. At this point
the past haunts him until Bagger Vance again helps him get focus.
