Lessons from SPIDER-MAN
Scripture: Isaiah 30:21 Date: 17 October 2010
Purpose: To encourage the congregation to the power and responsibility we each have as Christians.
Within the last few years or so America has gone Super hero crazy!! With movies out like The Hulk, Superman, Iron Man, The X-Men, and even cartoons out like Astro Boy, and the Incredibles, we have gone Super Hero Crazy.
I noticed on television that recently a new series has begun called “No Ordinary Family”, a series about a family with super powers. It seems everywhere we turn, we see something about super heroes.
Last week I shared with you some lessons from my all -time favorite super hero, Superman. I believe God has placed before us a message in all things and I do believe we can draw some guidance from super heroes as well.
Spiderman has been a popular super hero; there for a while it seemed that good ol’Spidey was everywhere you looked. Lunch boxes, bedding, toys, costumes, clothes, bikes, comics, and even three very successful movies.
Today I want to use each movie as a point that we can draw a lesson from today.
The Scripture that God has lead me to use today is found in the book of Isiah chapter 30 verse 21. The main theme is the Guidance of God.
Isaiah 30:21Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
SPIDER-MAN I “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”
A.Peter Parker was bitten by a genetically modified spider. This event gave Peter, a nerdy, shy, and awkward high school student spider-like ability that he eventually must use to fight evil as a superhero.
1.This one event changed Peter’s life forever. He went to bed that night and awoke as a new creature.
2.This is what happened to us as well. When you accepted Jesus, your life changed from that event. You became a new creature.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
3.At that point of salvation you were given great powers.
4.When we became a Christian we ceased looking out only for ourselves. There is a power in us not only for holy living but also for helping others, and if you and I are only concentrating on one and not the other, then we are off balance and out of the will of God.
Illustration: In Spiderman 1 after Peter was bitten by the spider. He passes out in his bedroom at home, and the next day his vision is perfect, he has become more muscular, his wrists emit web strings, and his reflexes are super-quick. At school, he saves Mary Jane, the girl he has a crush on, from falling and easily defeats her boyfriend in a fistfight. Realizing that the spider's bite has given him spider-like powers, he learns how to scale walls, jump between building rooftops, and swing through the city.
Peter enters a wrestling tournament, hoping to use his new spider skills to win $3,000 so he can buy a sports car to impress Mary Jane. On the day of the tournament, his Uncle Ben tries to give him some fatherly advice, but Peter lashes out at him.
VIDEO: “Uncle Ben”
5.What do you want to be this morning? As Peter’s uncle challenged him to choose to be the man he ought to be, so God challenges us to be the person He wants us to be.
B.Jesus has not given us His power to waste on ourselves but to help humanity - to make a difference. Because it is right!
1. Jesus came to serve rather than be served. He asked those who followed Him to care for one another and help one another. “By this they will know you are my disciples in that you have love one for another.” (John 13:35)
2.The real test of a person’s faith is not just a belief he/she may hold or a weekly appointment every Sunday morning at church. Real faith is measured in what one is doing to help others – to care for the needs of the broken, the hurting and the hopeless.
3.Not everyone is called to go to the jail to minister to the prisoners, but we are to support the ones who do. Not everyone is led of God to go to a third world country and serve as a missionary, but we are to support the ones who do.
4.The fruit of faith is our works. That is what James meant when he said, James 2:21 “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of works, faith was perfected.”
5.To be a Christian and do little to nothing to help others and care for their needs is as ridiculous as claiming to be a sailor but not knowing how to swim or worse yet, not wanting to get into the water.
6.But there is a need for caution as well. There are many people today who are great humanitarians. They have given their lives for the care of the needy- for the less fortunate. They are part of an array of organizations from the “Peace Corp” to “Doctors without Borders.”
7.I applaud their work and sacrifice but to care only for the physical needs of others and neglect their spiritual darkness is to offer no hope at all. As Christians we share, minister, give, serve and sacrifice because Jesus is the truth, the Life and the Way and every human being needs Him.
SPIDER-MAN II “Serving Takes Sacrifices”
A.Peter Parker struggles to balance his crime-fighting duties with the demands of his normal life. He loses a job, faces financial difficulties, and struggles to maintain his physics studies at Columbia University.
1.Peter’s calling to serve as Spiderman has taken a toll. He is confused as to what is important in life and in the process he fails at being Peter Parker and as Spiderman.
2.We too have a super calling. A calling that is far greater than that of Spiderman. God has called each of us to serve not just Him but others as well.
3.This is a battle that rages within many Christians today. We find it difficult and life draining trying to juggle our Christian duties alongside of the everyday normal stuff. And in the process we fail at doing both.
4.We become inadequate in most areas as life. We search for purpose and meaning and we just want to throw in the towel and give it all up.
5.We think back to how our lives were before our calling into Christ’s service and we may see a simpler and easier life. This becomes tempting for us and then we start entertaining the idea of quitting Jesus.
6.Jesus never gave up on us. As he was beat, persecuted, bled, and hung; He didn’t give up. How very easy it would have been for Him to say “enough” and give up on the high calling that he was here for.
7.Jesus understood his destiny and he knew his calling was to serve. Sure He could have taken the easy road and gave up for a normal life with all the perks that come with it. But He didn’t. He knew His purpose in serving the Father and he knew his life was meant to serve.
Matthew 20:26-28 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
8.This is it, our example of how we need to live our very lives as we strive to become great in the eyes of God. We must understand our calling to serve and not to give up doing so.
B.Peter Parker had tribulations and he had troubles. He struggled with his flesh and the things of the world. Peter’s high calling was to be Spiderman and this calling came with a price.
1.Once Peter was given the gift of His spider abilities he was no longer just Peter Parker. He was something greater and with that came a greater purpose. But He was never going to truly grasp his calling if he couldn’t sacrifice Himself completely to who he was…Spiderman.
2.We too were given a gift, the gift of salvation and this has changed us into something greater and with this comes a greater purpose.
3.No longer are we to live for ourselves and the things of this world. When we said yes to Jesus we said goodbye to our self. We are new creatures with a great calling. We are to use our gifts and abilities that God has blessed each of us with in order to serve Him.
4.Bottom line is this: “We were Saved to Serve”
Hebrews 9:14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
5.We will fail at most things until we come to terms with who we are and with what we were meant to do.
Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
6.Each person has a ministry, a service that we are meant to do. And we must continue without giving up, always keeping our faith as we endure the hardship that has been told we will go though.
2 Timothy 4:5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
Illustration: It wasn’t until Peter realized the importance of his calling and truly embraced it to be successful. Crime rises and people are killed without a hero. Aunt May advises Peter that sometimes it is necessary to sacrifice one's dreams to help others.
VIDEO: “Aunt May”
7.Have you ever thought of how many lives you have touched by accepting your calling? How many lives you have inspired to be the people that God desires them to be?
SPIDER-MAN III “The Greatest Battle Lies Within”
A.Peter Parker has begun to feel secure in his life, being Spiderman is working out great and he plans to propose to Mary Jane. While Peter and Mary are on a date, Peter is a small meteorite crashes nearby, and a black alien substance attaches itself to Peter. It soon takes over his emotions and we see that his own desires begin to take over his life as he becomes more vengeful, selfish and arrogant.
1.This is a very valuable lesson that we can learn from Spiderman. In Spiderman 3 we see how if we are not careful about our surroundings, things can attach themselves to us and bring us down by exposing our sinful desires that are deep within.
2.This really is where the greatest battle lies isn’t it? It is within each of us and we battle ourselves, all the hate, vengeance, un-forgiveness, selfish-ness, pride, arrogance, and all the other negatives are in a constant battle within ourselves.
3.We should never kid ourselves. It seems that we enjoy blaming others for our own negative emotions and sometimes we even blame God. James tells us in,
James 1: 13-15 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
4.How very true this is. We each have desires within us that are evil and the enemy knows each of them. Satan will tempt, lure, and entice us at the very core and bring from the depths of our flesh the sinful desire and they will ruin us and those around us.
5.Later in Spiderman 3 we see how this is so true in Peter’s life. The black alien substance exposes all of the negatives in Peter’s life and he pushes away family and friends and ruins all the good and just things Spiderman stood for.
6.How many times have we seen good lives ruined because of their own selfish desires? The all-American boy throws his life away to drugs, the stay at home mom feels unloved and runs off, The preacher falls in love with money and loses his focus, The hard work father gambles and throws away their life savings.
7.Friends, I could go on and on. We all have heard stories or we have all been effected by them. This is the sad truth, we are all weak and we all tempted and each of us are in a battle, a battle with in.
B.The only way we can overcome the temptations to take over our lives is to give them totally to God. This means placing Him first in all we do.
1.Start your day first with God. This time should be an intimate time of prayer and reflection. We see this example given to us from Jesus himself. In the book of Mark we read were Jesus begins the day away from everything else and he devotes time with God.
Mark 1:35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
2.We also need to stay active and involved with the church. How in the world to you expect to have a strong relationship with God if you never come to His house and visit Him?
3.Church is where you can come and lay your burdens and receive the breath of fresh air that God so desperately want to share with you.
4.In Spiderman 3 I found it very interesting in how Spiderman was able to finally get rid of the black alien substance that was running his life.
5.He went into a church and the church bells ran the alien off and out of Peter’s life. The sound of the bells as the rang compelled the evil to leave.
6.Friend’s, this should remind us that in His house this is where we can get rid of all the blackness that is running our lives as well. Throughout the week living in a falling sinful world we pick up all sorts of things that attach themselves to us.
7.Hurt, anger, resentment, just to name a few. And we need to get into God’s presence and allow His Word to vanquish all the evil that is within us.
8.Unlike the movie, I believe this is a never ending process, not just a one-time event at the point of Salvation.
Conclusion: Lessons from Spiderman. I believe God is always giving us messages. We simply need to open up our eyes and be receptive to God in all areas.
