Narnia: Introduction & Explanation
It may seem a little strange that we are building our Advent series around a “fairy tale” as C.S. Lewis called his novel, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Let me set your mind at ease, we’re going to do what Lewis himself hinted at concerning all of the Chronicles of Narnia: enjoy the truths in the stories and learn from the truths behind the stories.
When C.S. Lewis wrote The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in 1950 his intent was not to write a Christian story, but to simply write a good story. However, there is no better story that the true story of God loving this broken world and fixing it.
Ultimately, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is about righting what has been wronged through the only means possible – a term we call redemption, paying the price to buy back what has been taken away. So The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, along with the other six books in the Chronicles of Narnia series are about redemption – righting wrong and coming into relationship with the creator. If that sounds Biblically familiar it was meant to be.
Lewis’ desire was to portray good as good and what happens when bad is allowed to rule. The story is not a parallel or allegory to the Bible, but it is filled with Biblical truth, some of which we will discover together over the coming weeks.
We will use the journey of discovery the Pevensie children experience as a springboard to some important Christmas truths. So, let’s get started at discover together: Opening the Door To Your Spiritual Journey: Your Own Wardrobe experience.
Break (Song):
Narnia Sermon One: Opening the Door To Your Spiritual Journey: Your Own Wardrobe Experience
Though none of us have seen the movie yet, the pivotal scene near the beginning of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe features my favorite of the characters, Lucy Pevensie. Maybe you’ve seen the trailer...
Lucy walks into the room and stands before the cloth covered object. A decision is made and she pulls back the cover revealing a wardrobe. Slowly she opens the door...
“To her surprise it opened quite easily, and two moth-balls dropped out. Looking into the inside, she saw several coats hanging up – mostly fur coats. There was nothing Lucy liked so much as the smell and feel of fur. She immediately stepped into the wardrobe, and got in among the coats...she took a step further in-then two or three steps-always expecting to feel woodwork against the tips of her fingers. But she could not feel it...And then she saw that there was a light ahead of her...” [from, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, chapter one)
The story begins with one little girl stepping into a wardrobe and beginning a journey that lasts a lifetime in another world. Soon others follow, but it seems that even though they are mostly together, each is on a journey of their own. Well look at the other two main characters, the White Witch and the Lion, but for this morning I want to make a simple statement and then show you from the Christmas story that it’s truth.
The statement: If you’re going to begin the journey you have to open the door.
In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis wrote of a closet (wardrobe). We learn later that the wardrobe was made from the wood of an apple tree grown from a magic apple brought back from Narnia years before. The point being that there was something very special about that particular wardrobe and that specific door. But more importantly there was something that made her open that door and step inside. There was something that kept her moving toward the back of the wardrobe and eventually into Narnia.
Once in Narnia, once she saw the light of the lamp post, something kept her moving. Later when her brothers and sisters joined her something kept them moving as well. The call of Mr. Beaver in chapter seven summarized their journey: “Further in, come further in.” Mr. Beaver called.
In many ways the first Christmas story chronicles a similar journey. The world on the other side of Christmas was a cold, dark place.
As Mr Tumnus described Narnia in the second chapter of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, it’s “Always winter and never Christmas, think of that!”
“Never quite Christmas” That’s a good description of what it was like before Christ’s Advent. Always winter, always spiritually dark. Never quite Christmas – at least not yet.
The inhabitants of Israel lived in spiritual darkness: speaking of Jesus, the Apostle John wrote: “The light shines through the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it.” (John 1:4) It was a dark world that the Messiah was born into.
Matthew quotes Isaiah when he prophesied about Jesus, “the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.” (Matthew 4:16)
The birth of Jesus in many ways was like that light post in a dark world. It marked the place where spiritual journeys began.
Two groups of people saw the light and began their spiritual journey that first Christmas. They didn’t need a wardrobe, but they did see the light. The two groups of people were the wise men and the shepherds. Both opened the door to their spiritual journey after experiencing the light of Christmas.
I. THE WISE MEN OPENED THE DOOR TO THEIR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY BY SEARCHING
"Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king. When Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. They asked, “Where is the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” ... After the wise men heard the king, they left. The star that they had seen in the east went before them until it stopped above the place where the child was. When the wise men saw the star, they were filled with joy. They came to the house where the child was and saw him with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their gifts and gave him treasures of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But God warned the wise men in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they returned to their own country by a different way.” Matthew 2:1-2,9-12
It’s a simple yet profound thought: the wise men were searching.
That’s a perfect place to begin. Some of you are here this morning because you are seeking, searching. You were drawn to FamilyFellowship because there’s something you’re looking for. Seekers are to be commended.
We don’t know their entire story; a lot can be historically surmised about these wise men from the East. These were educated men who were seeking a king. They knew enough to be looking; they knew enough to follow the star they had discovered, and they knew enough to bring gifts of worship. For seekers, that was enough!
If you’re going to begin the journey you have to open the door, you must begin by searching.
You know that verse we quote often from Jeremiah? “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
Well, just a verse away the Lord makes another promise: “You will search for me. And when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me!” (Jeremiah 29:13)
Amos 5:6 says, “Seek the LORD and live.”
The principle is this: God reveals Himself to those who are looking for Him.
If we are going to discover Christ this Advent we need to be looking for Him.
Yes, this applies to those who need salvation, but the thrust in these verses is to God’s people. God wants us to continue to seek Him; to continue to look for Him.
The call to every believer is still “Further in, come further in.”
What’s holding up your search for Christ this Christmas? As we saw last week, is it indifference? Is it fear? Is it preoccupation?
If you’re going to begin the journey you have to open the door, you must begin by searching.
The Wise Men opened the door to their spiritual by searching.
II. THE SHEPHERDS OPENED THE DOOR TO THEIR SPIRITUAL JOURNEY BY LISTENING.
Look at the Gospel of Luke with me. (Luke 2:8-16)
"That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.” When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Come on, let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger."
The shepherds listened. It’s interesting that they don’t credit the angels with the announcement of Christ’s birth. In verse fifteen they say, “Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
These were uneducated field hands, but they knew enough to know where the message came from. They listened.
It’s going to be easy during the next few weeks to not hear. We’re going to have our ears and eyes filled with so much noise about the holidays that it will be easy to get numb to the real message.
A couple of weeks ago Terrie complained to me about her hearing. She had spent the evening with the worship team practicing and had enjoyed the addition of Clyde our new drummer. She came home talking about how great it all sounded, but the next day she couldn’t hear very well. She had been sitting to close to the drums. It took a few days away from the loud noise to regain the subtleties of the sounds around her.
That’s what happens to us. The beating of this world can often deafen us to what God is trying to say to us. Our ears are ringing with everything but God’s voice.
That’s why it’s so important to take some quiet time with God throughout the day. Get alone, if just for a few minutes and listen to God. Listen to His WORD by reading and praying over what you read. Listen to how He’s directing you in the situations of every day.
Listen.
You couldn’t find two groups that were farther apart in their social or spiritual status that the wise men and the shepherds. Too far apart to be comfortable even placing them in the same narrative. It’s interesting that a writer focused on the Jews (Matthew) mentions the Wise Men and a writer focused on the Greeks (Luke) brings in the shepherds. Totally different groups.
Yet even in their differences there are common threads – the same bonds that hold all of us together who have opened the door to a journey with Christ.
FIRST, THEY WERE OPEN TO GOD’S INTERVENTION.
In both stories you see a genuine receptivity to God stepping into their lives.
There’s no fighting it as was the case of Herod who set out to kill Jesus after his birth. There’s no fear, no complacency.
In Revelation 3:20 we have some of the final words spoken of Jesus in the Bible. He’s actually speaking to a church when He says, “Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in...”
If you want to see God work in your life, you have to be open to His intervention. You have to open the door to begin the journey.
SECOND, BOTH GROUPS WERE FOCUSED ON WORSHIP
The wise men brought gives and the shepherds shared the story: giving and telling. Both are acts of worship.
When we talk about opening the door to your spiritual journey we are talking about a relationship with Jesus Christ. The journey is all about relationship and nothing builds relationship more than worship, focus on Jesus Christ.
THIRD, BOTH GROUPS WERE OBEDIENT TO GOD’S VOICE.
This is pivotal. Lots of people want to hear from God. Lots of people want to say they have worshipped God, but few really want to do what He asks them to do.
Remember the words from the Old Testament:
“What pleases the LORD more: burnt offerings and sacrifices or obedience to his voice? It is better to obey than to sacrifice. 1 Samuel 15:22
What would have happened if the wise men had waited? What if they decided they needed more information that what God had already revealed? What if they had simply listened, but then decided not to act on what they had been told? They would have ended up like the religious leaders in Jerusalem who even knew the village where the Messiah was to be born, but couldn’t be bothered to make the short walk to see Him.
What if the shepherds had thought, “maybe we should wait until we know what we’re supposed to do after we find Him”?
Neither group was given the next step until it was time to take the next step. In both cases they simply had to act on what they had been told and trust God for the next step.
Opening the door to your spiritual journey involves searching and listening, but it also involves worship and obedience.
Let’s begin a journey together through Advent. Let’s open the door and step inside and see where it takes us: a journey into a deep relationship with our Creator and Lord.
In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Narnia’s creator and lord is seen in Aslan, the Lion. (We’ll learn more about him soon.) In our world we know the real Creator is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let’s go on a journey to meet Jesus.
Commit today to searching for Jesus in your life every day this week. Start with his WORD to you in the Bible. Let’s learn some things about Jesus together this week.
Then commit to listening. Listen to what He’s telling you. You’ll know you are listening, really listening, when you obey what you hear.
Seek, listen, obey, worship.
