Reel Talk
Pt. 3 - Rogue One 1
I. Introduction
Any Sci-Fi Fans in the house? I am admittedly not one of those. So, for those of you who are like me that are oblivious to the whole Star Wars scene let me try to explain the plot.
The movie opens by showing former scientist Galen Erso living on a farm with his wife and young daughter, Jyn. His peaceful existence comes crashing down when the evil Orson Krennic takes him away from his beloved family. The scientist is forced to becomes the Empire's lead engineer assigned to develop the most powerful weapon in the galaxy, the Death Star. Darth Vader wants this weapon to destroy the rebellion once and for all. However, years later, Galen sends a message to his now grown daughter that he went to work on the weapon because he knows his involvement is the rebellions best bet to destroy it. So, he plants a virus, that will destroy the weapon. However, the virus must be activated. Jyn joins forces with a spy and eventual love interest, Cassian, and other resistance fighters to get to the Death Star and set in motion its destruction. Together they face overwhelming odds and save the universe and of course give way to another Star Wars movie.
Text: Numbers 20:1-12
In the first month, the entire company of the People of Israel arrived in the Wilderness of Zin. The people stayed in Kadesh. Miriam died there, and she was buried. There was no water there for the community, so they ganged up on Moses and Aaron. They attacked Moses: “We wish we’d died when the rest of our brothers died before God. Why did you haul this congregation of God out here into this wilderness to die, people and cattle alike? And why did you take us out of Egypt in the first place, dragging us into this miserable country? No grain, no figs, no grapevines, no pomegranates—and now not even any water!” Moses and Aaron walked from the assembled congregation to the Tent of Meeting and threw themselves facedown on the ground. And they saw the Glory of God. God spoke to Moses: “Take the staff. Assemble the community, you and your brother Aaron. Speak to that rock that’s right in front of them and it will give water. You will bring water out of the rock for them; congregation and cattle will both drink.” Moses took the staff away from God’s presence, as commanded. He and Aaron rounded up the whole congregation in front of the rock. Moses spoke: “Listen, rebels! Do we have to bring water out of this rock for you?” With that Moses raised his arm and slammed his staff against the rock—once, twice. Water poured out. Congregation and cattle drank. (By the way as an entirely side note and life lesson - people won't care what it costs you as long as they get what they want.) God said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you didn’t trust me, didn’t treat me with holy reverence in front of the People of Israel, you two aren’t going to lead this company into the land that I am giving them.”
"There are all sorts of prisons and I sense that you carry yours wherever you go!"
I just read to you the story of another rebel who resisted an empire. You know the account. Moses, a Jew, destined for death by order of the Pharaoh, is saved by his mother. She puts him in a reed basket to float on the Nile. Rescued by Pharaoh's daughter. Adopted into the Pharaoh's family. Called by God to deliver. He rebels against the empire and kills an Egyptian who was beating a Jewish slave. He is a man caught between two nations. Detached from his family. An outsider on all sides. Free but bound. Rejected by his adopted people. Rejected by his biological family. We fast forward to Numbers 20. Moses, called, anointed and used by God has orchestrated the most shocking and unlikely escape ever recorded in history, perhaps to this day. Now this stuttering, insecure man is leading up to a million people on a journey to the Promised Land. But it becomes clear very quickly that it won't be a quick or quiet journey. Out of Egypt but Egypt isn't out of them. So slaves, who are now free, long for bondage and do what slaves do best . . . Complain and whine. Now they face a dry spell and they cry out to Moses for help.
This brings us to the scene I have just read to you. Notice two things that occur prior to Moses' colossal and Canaan missing choice to strike the rock he was instructed to speak to.
In verse 6, the Bible says Moses saw the glory of God. Second, in verse 7 it says God spoke to Moses.
Before I go any further I have to stop and make a couple of statements.
Moses didn't have a glory deficiency! He had face to face encounters with the unhidden, unobstructed, unhindered glory of God. I mention that because even with exposure to glory he still missed The Promised Land.
Moses also didn't have any Word deficiency. He heard the audible voice of God. He was listening and hearing. He was tuned in. He was taking weekly notes in the bulletin. And yet with a direct pipeline of pure Word of God he still misses the Promise.
How is that possible?
Prisons can be portable.
The reason Moses missed The Promise was because he had a prison that he never allowed God to address. The first glimpse of Moses' prison is when he kills the Egyptian. He transported that prison all the way into his leadership of the people of God. His prison was anger and he never got out of that prison. We see it on full display again in the passage I read to you.
We see this same concept throughout Scripture. Saul's unaddressed prison caused him to try to assassinate the assigned. Absalom's portable prison caused him to try to dethrone his dad. Judas' unaddressed prison caused him to kiss Jesus to death. Peter's unaddressed prison of prejudice caused him to dismiss a move of God.
Don't you know someone who transports their prison? They take their brokenness into every relationship. They are excited about a new love but 2 months in their brokenness resurfaces and ruptures. They carry their anger into every job. Boss after boss bears the brunt of their prison. Chaos is transported into every environment. Fear is their constant companion. If we are not careful, then we carry our prison with us. Moses teaches us some valuable lessons about our portable prisons and teaches us that we must address those prisons if we have any hope of being able to find our way to our promise.
Listen this morning you can't praise your way out of stuck. Praise helps you to cope while you are in prison. Let me see if I can get in most of our realities . . . You come to church, worship, encounter glory, hear Word and then you leave this environment and pick up your prison and go right back into your cell. Why?
Called doesn't mean healed!
It was obvious that Moses was called. He has one of the most profound calling moments in the entire cannon of Scripture. A burning bush, voice of God, can't deny or misunderstand call backed up by a staff that turn into a snake, plagues at his word that buckle the will of a Pharaoh, and defended by God by means of the earth opening and swallowing any mutiny or leprosy sprouting on anyone who dared oppose his authority. He was called but he wasn't healed. Like Moses, too many of us come to the conclusion that because I am being used I must be over it. I am anointed when I sing I must be free. I am called to serve I must be free. I am called to teach I must be free. And yet, we continue to transport unaddressed and unidentified emotional issues - portable prisons. Listen you don't outgrow brokenness. You don't become so anointed that you aren't angry. You don't serve your way past fear. Just because something is dormant doesn't mean you are delivered. We have to address and all Jesus to fix these things!
There are a variety of prisons.
I think most of us want to fixate on the prisons of immorality. That is why most sermons are about drinking, porn, adultery, fornication. I talk about those things because we know without a shadow of doubt those things will put you in shackles and chains. All you have to do is stop and look around you at the lives destroyed by those things and you can come to no other conclusion. However, there are many kinds of prisons. The danger is that so many of us, and rightfully so, address those obvious prisons but never do the hard work of addressing the other kinds of prisons. What Moses shows us is that not all prisons are immorality some of us are bound by immaturity.
Bondage is bondage regardless whether the bars that keep us trapped are immoral or not. Insecurity is a prison. Fear is a prison. Anger is a prison. People pleasing, blind spots, fear of rejection, need for approval, fear of loneliness . . . None of those are immoral but are still prisons. I am glad you broke free from immortality but I want you to be completely free so seeing the destruction of immaturity in Moses life we must go further and break free from every prison!
Prison breaks require partnerships!
You have to have help getting out of prison. The truth is that almost no one gets out of prison by themselves! There are two partners you need.
The first partnership you need is someone who can call a prison a prison. Yes, they will call you out on your immorality but they will also step up and when they see areas of immaturity that are keeping you from your promise. They have the place in your life that allows them to call it what it is. They don't allow you to think that this is just the way you are. Instead, they call you out of every prison. See not only are prisons portable they can be invisible. We have a tendency to be unable to see our own cells. So you need a set of eyes that can see what you can't see so you won't be bound by what you can't see.
Once a prison is identified there is a second partnership we need because there is only ONE who can break you out. That is why we say of Him . . . Whom the Son sets free is free indeed. You can also conclude by that statement that if anyone else tries to break us free they never truly really get us out. By His own claim in Luke 4:18 - Jesus says He has come to set the captives free. I am thankful that He didn't put any restrictions or limits on that. I am glad He didn't say I can only break people free from immorality. I am glad He didn't say I can only release people from immaturity. No! He states . . . I can set you free . . . period. So, that means we can bring every type of prison to Him and we can stop transporting our prison through life until we lose our promise.
"There is more than one kind of prison and I sense that you carry yours wherever you go!"
I have walked with most of you for years now. I can make this statement about me and I can make this statement about you. So, this morning, because I want all of us to be able to make it to our promised place I am challenging you to either identify and address your prison or allow someone else to do so and then bring it to the ONE who can break down the walls forever.
