Introduction: Today we are continuing our sermon series, “Lessons from Narnia.” The land of Narnia is a magical land created by C. S. Lewis in the series, “The Chronicles of Narnia.” The first book, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” will soon be a major motion picture. The book and the movie share our Christian world view and gives us an incredible opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus with our friends and neighbors.
Last week, we looked at “The Lion’s Roar.” In C. S. Lewis’ books, Aslan represents Jesus. Aslan is a powerful lion who is not safe, but He is good. He is King of Narnia, yet He gives His life for sin, is resurrected, and restores the land of Narnia to a new golden era. We discovered that the lion of Narnia and the Lion of Judah roars with a holy, loving, and winning roar.
This week we are going to focus on the witch in the story, “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.” At one point in the book, two of the children, Lucy and Edmund are discussing the White Witch: “The White Witch?” said Edmund. “Who’s she?” “She is a perfectly terrible person,” said Lucy. “She calls herself the Queen of Narnia though she has no right to be queen at all…And she can turn people into stone and do all kinds of horrible things. And she has made a magic so that it is always winter in Narnia-always winter, but it never gets to be Christmas. And she drives about on a sledge, drawn by a reindeer, with her wand in her hand and a crown on her head.” (Chapter 3)
The witch corresponds to the devil. We can learn about our adversary from Lewis’s story and from God’s Word. 2 Cor. 2:11 (NIV) says…in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. Before we get into the story, I would like to say a couple of things about the White Witch:
• First, the White Witch is white, not because she is good, but because she is cold and frosty. She is evil. The concept of a good witch probably began with Glinda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz. Today there are growing number of folks, even in our area, who call themselves White Witches. The implication is that they are good witches. It is one thing to have a witch in a fantasy, but in this world, that there are no good witches. All witchcraft is forbidden by Scripture. In Lewis’ book, the Witch is represented as evil. Don’t let her title fool you.
• Secondly, in our culture there is growing myth that evil is equal with good…good and evil battle each other and the outcome is uncertain. Some folks might even believe that evil is more powerful and stronger than good. Some TV shows, the main character is bad or corrupt…some even portray evil as a counterbalance of good. In our culture the Darkside battles it out with The Force and we wait to see who will win. That makes for a good movie, but in reality we know from Scripture that the Darkside hasn’t a prayer.
To become aware of his schemes let’s look at the witch’s spell in Narnia, and what God’s Word has to say about Satan’s spell. In the story we discover that the Witch’s spell…
1. CURSES CREATION – We are told throughout the book that the witch makes Narnia always winter and never Christmas. The land is under a curse. In a later story, “The Magican’s Nephew” we learn about the details of creation of Narnia, but also learn about its fall. We learn who the witch is and how she got into Narnia. We learn that the Fall of Narnia and the reign of the witch came about because of a son of Adam and man’s sinfulness. Like our world, Narnia is under a curse. It is cold, frozen, and always winter. Winter is a time when plants lie dormant and lifeless and symbolizes a time of lifelessness or a season of death.
Rom 8:18-22 (NIV) I consider that our present sufferings are not worth compar-ing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expecta-tion for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustra-tion, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Not only do we long for Christ’s coming and for things to be set right, all of creation is longing for the curse to be reversed. Gal. 1:3-5 (NIV) Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Romans 8:18-19 (NLT) Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Satan curses creation…God redeems creation. God wants to redeem the entire world, including you. If you know the Lord, thank Him for redeeming you. If you have never repented and asked Jesus into your heart, let this be the day when you settle that issue.
2. LURES LUST – We learned last week, that one of the children Edmund, becomes enthralled with the White Witch and comes under her spell. When the witch first meets Edmund, she is mean and wants to destroy him…but then becomes nice to him as a means of luring his brother and sisters to her castle. She asks him for his favorite food, which of course is Turkish Delight. Turkish Delight is a confection rolled in sugar…it is very sweet. She offers it to him, and he becomes hooked. It is enchanted candy and He lusts for it. He becomes a prisoner to it. It symbolizes the way sin becomes enslaving. Listen to Paul from the book of Romans.
Romans 6:16-18 (NIV) Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Edmund craves Turkish Delight and will do anything to get more, even become a traitor to his brothers and sisters. Just like Edmund’s craving, drug addicts or alcoholics will lie, steal, and kill to feed their addiction. Pornography can grow to the person needs to seek more and more sexual thrills. Addictions typically grow even though their actual pleasure seems to diminish with time… this just means that you just have to have more and more to try and satisfy the hunger.
Edmund…had eaten his share of the dinner, but he hadn’t really enjoyed it because he was thinking all the time about Turkish Delight-and there’s nothing that spoils the taste of good ordinary food half so much as the memory of bad magic food. (Chapter 9)
Alcohol, drugs, and sexual fantasies have the quality of Turkish Delight, but what of other sins? Food? Hobbies? Anger? Lust can be for anything that controls you, and doesn’t allow you the freedom to serve our Lord. I found this quote from my wife’s devotional Bible:
“Another thing that distracts us is the lust of vindication. St. Augustine prayed-‘O Lord, deliver me from this lust of always vindicating myself.’ That temper of mind destroys the soul’s faith in God. ‘I must explain myself; I must get people to understand.’ Our Lord never explained anything; He left mistakes to correct themselves. When we discern that people are not going on spiritually and allow the discernment to turn to criticism, we block our way to God. God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.”
2 Tim. 2:26 (NIV) …and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. Do you feel captive to a powerful force beyond yourself? Do you feel like you can’t control yourself? Get help! Satan lures lusts into a trap…Jesus came to set the captives free! He can set you free!
3. HARDENS HEARTS – As the four children visit in Narnia with the beavers, they are concerned about the faun, Mr. Tumnus, who initially helped Lucy when she first came to Narnia. Mr. Beaver is not very optimistic about Mr. Tumnus’ fate:
‘I’m afraid it means they were taking him to her house,’ said Mr. Beaver. ‘But what’ll they do to him, Mr. Beaver?’ gasped Lucy. ‘Well,’ said Mr. Beaver, ‘you can’t exactly say for sure. But there’s not many taken in there that ever comes out again. Statues. All full of statures they say it is-in the courtyard and up the stairs and in the hall. People she’s turned-‘ (he paused and shuddered) ‘turned into stone.’ (Chapter 8)
Lucy and Peter are distraught and inquire if there is anyway that Mr. Tumnus can be saved. Mr. Beaver says it is useless for them to try: “It’s not good, Son of Adam,” said Mr. Beaver, “No good your trying, of all people. But now that Aslan is on the move…”
Just as the White Witch could turn the characters in Narnia into stone, Satan can harden our hearts. Zech. 7:12 (NLT) They made their hearts as hard as stone, so they could not hear the law or the messages that the Lord Almighty had sent them by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. That is why the Lord Almighty was so angry with them.
Lewis goes on to write that the children had a strange feeling—like the first sign of spring. “Who is Aslan?” asked Susan. “Aslan?” said Mrs. Beaver, “Why don’t you know? He’s the King. He’s the Lord of the whole wood, but not often here, you understand. Never in my time or my father’s time. But the word has reached us that he has come back. He is Narnia at this moment. He’ll settle the White Queen all right. It is he, not you, that will save Mr. Tumnus.” “She won’t turn him into stone too?” said Edmund. “Lord love you Son of Adam, what a simple thing to say!’ answered Mr. Beaver with a great laugh. “Turn him into stone? If she can stand on her two feet and look him in the face it’ll be the most she can do and more than I expect of her. No, no. He’ll put all to rights as it says in an old rhyme in these parts:
Wrong will be right, when Aslan come in sight
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again (Chapter 8)
Hebrews 3:15 (NIV) As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." Have you allowed your heart to become hard to the things of God? It probably didn’t happen overnight. It was a gradually chilling because of priorities, bitterness, or dabbling in sin. Satan hardens heart…God melts hearts. Pray that God will thaw your heart this morning.
4. FOSTERS FALSE-TRUTHS – I used the word false truths on purpose. Like Satan, the White Witch seems to tell the truth, but twists the truth for her own purposes. She tells half-truths…which are no truths at all. They are false truths.
John 8:44 (NIV) You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Her appearance is the first false truth. When Edmund first meets the White Witch, he is taken with her appearance. She is described as a great lady and taller than any lady that Edmund had ever seen. “She was covered in white fur up to her throat and held a long straight golden wand in her right hand and wore a golden crown on her head. Her face was white—not merely pale, but white like snow or paper or icing sugar, except for her very red mouth. It was a beautiful face in other respects, but proud and cold and stern.” In 2 Cor 11, Satan is described as an angel of light. He too can appear to be beautiful—but both the White Witch and Satan himself reveal their lack of beauty when they reveal their hearts. Evil and sin are often portrayed as attractive, but in the end it leads to death.
The second lie that she portrays is that she is Queen of Narnia…we discover in the Magician’s Nephew, that she comes to the throne by treachery. Lucy describes her this way: “She is a perfectly terrible person…She calls herself Queen of Narnia though she has no right to be queen of all.” (Chapter 3). Of course, her self-proclaimed reign is cut short by the return of Aslan. Satan believes the same lie, that he is ruler of this world. Ephes. 2:2 (NIV) …in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. His self-proclaimed reign will be cut short with the return of Jesus.
The third lie is that Edmund himself will be made her prince and eventually rule in Narnia. Of course this is true. Edmund is destined to reign over Narnia with his brothers and sisters…The White Witch offers Edmund a shortcut. It reminds me of when Satan took Jesus on a high mountain and offered him the kingdoms of this world. Satan offered Jesus the shortcut of a reign without a cross. In truth, she enslaves Edmund and is only interested in using him for her purposes. The Turkish Delight that she gives him only makes him sick and captive to her.
We often think there are shortcuts to happiness, fame, significance, or financial freedom. Acts 13:10 (NIV) "You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?
Conclusion: Satan curses creation, lures lusts, hardens hearts, and fosters false-truths. James 4:7 (NIV) Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
And we have to remember our side whens! Romans 16:20 (NIV) The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
