“Promises Foretold.¨ Mark 1:1-8, 12-4-05, Advent 2, Narnia 2
Children’s Message: For those of you who were here last week, you know that we. re getting ready for Christmas by thinking about a story called, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,.¨ from the Chronicles of Narnia. Today, we’re going to continue reading some of this wonderful little story.
[from the Narnia “Movie Storybook.¨ read pages 7-15, starting with “Beside the Faun. s blazing fire. ¨ and ending with, “Then they would ascend to four thrones in a palace called Cair Paravel!.¨ Have the pictures displayed on the screen so everyone in the congregation can follow along!]
Does anybody know what a prophecy is? Many times it is a promise spoken long ago of something that is going to happen. In Narnia, there were two prophesies, they call them two old rhymes, that we. re going to look at in the sermon for today in just a few minutes. We also know that there are some very real prophecies and promises that God has made about us and about Jesus. Can you think of any of those promises, one especially as we. re getting close to Christmas? [take responses] He would send a Savior .V that He would come to us and save us! Today, listen for those promises, those prophecies and how wonderful it is to have a God who loves us so much! Pray.
We continue our series, “A Glimpse Into Narnia: A Kingdom on the Move,.¨ by looking today at those prophecies from C.S. Lewis. delightful little book, “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.¨ We’ll see the parallel in Jesus to what we know from the Scriptures to be far more than a make believe story. I realize that there were some of you who were gone last week and missed the start of this series as we explored “Winter in Narnia.¨ and the thought of having it always winter but never Christmas. So to help everyone both to catch up and to hear and see again those prophesies we’ll be talking about, let. s watch the following clip: [from the Narnia Resource DVD from Outreach, under “The Story,.¨ use from 0:37-2:28. At 1:21 into this clip, you can splice in from the Narnia Resource DVD from Outreach, under “Visual Effects,.¨ from 1:57-2:11 where the beavers are speaking]
[after clip, have the following two prophesies on the screen, white on black] 1) Aslan will come back! 2) Four Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve will sit on the thrones of Cair Paravel and that will be the end of evil. s reign.
There are two prophecies .V I’ve summarized them on the screen. Let me read these old rhymes as they are from the story itself. First, in regard to Aslan, both his coming again and what will happen when he returns. As you listen to this prophecy, see if there is anything that that sounds somewhat familiar [put on the screen]:
Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bears his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.
Does any of that have a familiar ring to it? How about these as we think about our Aslan, our King Jesus coming and what the results will be when he comes again: [have on the screen]
„h Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
„h Isa 9:6-7 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David. s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this..¨
„h John 14:3 Jesus said, “if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am..¨
„h Is.25:8 “he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth..¨
„h Is.61:1 “the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for the prisoners, .Kto comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve..¨
„h Rev 21:3-4 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, .¥Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.. .¨
This is our King, friends, our Aslan. And He is on the move .V in the hearts and lives of people and in this world, through the likes of you and me. He has come to wipe away our tears, to bring us healing, peace, forgiveness, and hope, which He did for us on the cross. He has claimed us as His people, His children, and He says that He is our God. We are not alone. He has gone away but He is coming back again! We have one who is far more powerful than anything or anyone in this created world can throw at us. We have one who is far more powerful than even the White Witch, that is Satan and all his evil.
I share that with you for the purpose of telling you not to lose hope. In “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,.¨ the four children had plenty of opportunities to lose hope, to give up, to feel all is lost. But Aslan was on the move, Aslan had a plan, Aslan knew of a magic far more powerful and far deeper than the White Witch was aware, a magic and power that went back to the very beginnings of time. You must know, friends, that the same is true for you .V not in a fairy tale, magical sort of way. Jesus knew what it would take to bring hope back into your life. He has come to tell you not to give up, not to lose hope. He is on the move and He has come to be with you!
Our call for today is to prepare .V both to prepare and to be prepared. It begins with believing the unbelievable .V believing that the Lion of Judah, our King is all that He says He is. And this, in spite of all the sin and troubles that you see around you and perhaps are even experiencing right now in your life; in spite of the hardships and seemingly upper hand that evil has all around. It. s not true. Jesus is here. Believe it in your heart. Grab onto the promises that He has made for you. Worship the One who has died for you and who has come back for you. Serve Him and live your life for Him. It begins with repentance, acknowledging our sin and our need for Him in our lives. It finds resolution as we continue to lean on His promises and His faithfulness, and find ourselves the recipients of His grace, forgiveness, and love.
Hear those words from 2 Peter 3:8-9 where we. re reminded of our Lord. s heart .V “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance..¨ He loves you! He wants you with Him--always!
The second prophecy or rhyme from the story was in regard to the children, the four Kings and Queens, Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve, who were to sit on the thrones [put this on screen]
When Adam. s flesh and Adam. s bone
Sits at Cair Paravel in throne,
The evil time will be over and done.
Look at these verses:
„h Matt 19:28-30 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
„h Rev 3:20-21 Jesus said, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.
The truth of the matter is, we have been called by God in a very special way. We have been called, invited to come and sit on the throne with Him. He needs us to be His people, active in mission, active in our faith, living out and sharing this wonderful truth, this amazing hope, this unending love that Jesus has come to bring. In the words of 1 Pet.2:9-10, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy..¨
The prophecies are true .V you and I are precious and integral parts of God. s plan in the world. We are here to show just how real God is. To show that God is faithful to all His promises. That we are loved, forgiven, redeemed, and precious children of the King.
What does that mean? How does all of this touch the reality of the day-to-day of our lives? That. s what needs to be lived out and experienced by every one of us. They are questions that require us to be in prayer, in conversation with the Lord, seeking Him out and His desires for us. It requires us to be introspective but extroverted! To look inside of us and then to live out our calling as His children, bringers of hope to the people in our lives.
Take a look at the “What Now?.¨ for this week. [“What Now?.¨ is a tear-out that we have each week in the bulletins that offer people something that they can work on in the coming week, based on the message] 1) In light of the prophecies and promises of our God, what are some practical ways that you can prepare for His coming .V both in regard to the celebration of Christmas and in His ultimate return? 2) How are you part of His prophecies and promises being fulfilled today? What impact do they or can they have on you as you live each day in His love?
Would you spend some time seeking out these answers? He has a throne prepared for you! He not only is coming, but He has come. In light of those amazing promises and gifts, let’s continue to walk in hope and in love.
