Series: Sunday Morning at the Movies
Sharing #1: Movies and Fruit
I. EXPOSITION:
1. (Bring a bruised apple). Look at this apple. Does this apple look good? But see what it looks like when I cut it open
How many of you agree that the world offers you fruit which looks good from the outside, but has bad spots or wormholes?
(By ‘the world’, I mean: friends; TV; movies; magazines; all these kinds of cultural and social influences)
This is what this series, “Sunday Morning at the Movies” is about. We’re going to look at movies like fruit. Since movies are from the world, there are bound to be ‘bad spots’. That doesn’t mean the whole thing is bad, that doesn’t mean we need to throw out the whole thing. But we need to learn to identify the bad spots, so that we can cut them out.
Read 2 Cor. 10:3-5. We’re going to learn how to take the ideas and influences and philosophies we see in the movies, and turn them around, and make them serve the Lord. Do you know, that you can use movies to preach the Gospel?
2. (Bring an unripe kiwi). How many of you like kiwis? I do. Doesn’t this one look good? Should I eat it? The problem is, it’s not ready yet.
How many of you agree that the world pressures you into taking fruit which is not ripe?
The history of sin in the OT is the history of people taking for themselves things which God planned to give them in His own time.
(Adam and Eve; Abraham and Ishmael; Jacob and birthright; Moses and deliverance; Achan and gold; David and Bathsheba)
3. (Bring a rotten fruit)
How many of you agree that the world offers you fruit which looks good on the outside, but is completely rotten on the inside?
(Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, if He would bow down and worship)
II. APPLICATION: The big question is, What about the fruit which you are eating now?
1. How many of you can think of some bad fruit in your life, that is, something which you have let into your life, which you are quite sure that the Lord doesn’t want there? Whether it has to do with eating, or clothes, or hobbies, or friends, or habits, or attitudes, addictions, compulsions?
If this is you, I invite you to raise your hand, as a sign that you want to submit to God, you want to appeal to Him to set you free.
Christian has no excuse for sin. Christian who continues in known sin has either been ripped off by the Devil or not a Christian at all. (John 10:10, Heb. 3:13)
The Law of Spirit of Life set free from law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)
If the Devil has ripped you off, we have the authority in the name of Jesus to get back whatever Satan has taken from you. (Luke 11:20-22).
Pray: “Jesus I surrender to You. I believe that You rose up from the grave, and I receive from You the Spirit of life which You promised, which sets me free from the law of sin and death. In Jesus’ name I rebuke Satan, and I command Satan to be gone from my life.”
2. Some of you, there are things in your life, which you’re not sure whether God approves or not. Something you like to do, appears harmless, but knowing feeling in your conscience when you do it, feel uncomfortable, need to suppress that uncomfortable feeling. Eating, sleeping, wearing, friends, relationships. God wants you to have a clean conscience (1 Tim. 1:5). If you’re not sure, you need to be sure. Read Romans (14:23). Whatever is not of faith, is sin. You need to sanctify it by the Word of God and by prayer. (1 Tim. 4:4-5).
Now these things may not just be something that you are doing, but something you are failing to do. Scripture says, Anyone who knows what is good and fails to do it, to him it is sin (James 4:17).
If this is you, I invite you to raise your hand as a sign that you want to do business with God & want to take any bad things out of your life.
Pray “Lord, I am willing to give up whatever does not please you. Please give me Your wisdom, to know what pleases You and what doesn’t. Expose the lies of the Devil, who tries to excuse what is wrong and accuses me about things which are not wrong. I want to have a pure heart, I want to see You clearly. ”
3. Some of you feel unmoved by God. You feel cold. In your spiritual life, you’re just going through the motions. I can guarantee you, the reason you feel cold is there is something hidden in your life, which is preventing you from making contact with God. If this is you, I invite you to raise your hand as a sign that you want to get close to God
Pray: “Search me, O God” (Ps. 139:23-24).
