Narnia Christmas Series
“Encounter the Power”
Oakbrook Church 12/18/05
Intro.- “What’s up with the lion?” (slide) On posters and TV advertisement everywhere, billboard on Schuering Rd, the 8’ oil painting; what’s up with the lion?
Here we are in the middle of December 2005, when people are afraid to say "Merry Christmas" because it isn’t politically correct, Hollywood has given people a chance to show in cold hard cash, what they are hungry for. This past weekend, Americans paid over 67 million dollars to see the well worn and loved tale of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. It’s debut this weekend was the second-highest December opening ever! It trails only The return of the King- the final film in Peter Jackson’s three part adaptation of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
But, “What’s up with the lion?” The lion’s name is Aslan. He is the talking lion from TLTWTW. He is the true King of Narnia.
(Snapshot of the story via slides- wardrobe, children, Narnia map, “always winter...”, witch, temptation & betrayal, Aslan on the move)
The lion-
The inhabitants of Narnia have long ago lost the memory of warmth and sunshine, they can’t recall joyous or happy times- but they hold out hope. They look forward to the day when Narnia will be delivered from the curse of the White Witch; when the rightful ruler of Narnia returns, does battle with the witch and brings life and freedom to their land. The rightful ruler of Narnia is Aslan (slide) just the sound of His name fills the air with excitement, even after 100 yrs. of winter and waiting.
But rumor has it that Aslan is on the move (slide) and when He returns things start to change, with His mere presence snow starts to melt and spring begins to set in. The mention of His name causes joy to well up in the hearts of many and invokes fear in the hearts of those loyal to the queen/witch.
In Aslan we have a portrait of a God who is both awe-ful and good- full of awe and good, inspiring both wholesome fear and wholehearted love.
Of Aslan it is said-
(slide) “Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes 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.”
C.S. Lewis
When the children are in Narnia, they meet Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, who describe the mighty lion to them.
"Is he a man?" asked Lucy.
"Aslan a man!" said Mr Beaver sternly. Certainly not. I tell you he is King of the wood and the son of the great emperor-beyond-the-sea. Don’t you know who is the King of the Beasts? Aslan is a lion - the Lion, the great lion."
"ooh!" said Susan, "I’d thought he was a man. Is he - quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."
"That you will, dearie, and no mistake" said Mrs. Beaver; "if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly."
"Then he isn’t safe?" said Lucy.
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver; "don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you?
(slide) Who said anything about safe? ’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you The Lord of the whole wood."
At the end of the story, Mr. Beaver emphasizes this in a slightly different way, claiming that Aslan is not “a tame lion”.
A Narnian lesson- (slide) People want a tame God, a safe God. But Lewis portrays Aslan as neither tame nor safe. We want a nice, safe, kind God who accepts us where we are, makes no demands on our life, and though He wishes we would do better, He simply sighs, smiles and kindly forgives us. Aslan isn’t like that, and neither is the One True Living God.
He loves us, He forgives us, and He calls us to follow Him. In that He’s not safe. He calls us to move out of our comfort zone; He’s not a God to make us comfortable, He’s concerned about our character not our comfort. He’s not safe b/c He makes demands on our life, if we claim Him as our God He makes claims upon our life. Luke 9:23-24 (slide) “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”
The betrayal- (slide)
In TLTWTW one of the children, Edmund, is deceived and tempted by the evil witch. He succumbs to the temptation of personal glory and falls prey to the White Witch, betraying his family and the other Narnians. Edmund is tempted with the delicious taste of Turkish delight... and the offer to be King of Narnia, with his siblings as his subjects; if he would simply deliver his siblings into the hands of the wicked White Witch, Jadis.
The downward slide of temptation that Edmund experiences is consistent with what the Bible says in James 1 (slide)
“Temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires. These evil desires lead to evil actions, and evil actions lead to death.” (NLT)
Edmund is a traitor who has betrayed his family and rejected Aslan as the true King, preferring to follow Jadis. And the Deep Magic of Narnia decrees that all traitors be turned over to the Witch to be killed. Jadis exercises her right and claims his life.
A Narnian lesson- (slide) sin is dynamic not static and sin brings death
(slide) Rom. 6:23 “...the wages of sin is death,”
The “Deep Magic”- (slide) Are the laws upon which Narnia was created. Once when the witch begins to quote the deep magic law, Aslan roars- “Don’t tell me about the Deep magic, I was there when the law was written.”
When Edmund’s treachery is revealed she springs into action (TM read p. 139...)
Susan asks Aslan “can’t we do something about the Deep Magic? Isn’t there something you can work against it?” (p. 140...)
At the conclusion of their discussion, Aslan announces, “I have settled the matter. She has renounced the claim on your brother’s blood.”
What happened? Why did she renounce her claim? B/c Aslan offered her a trade- His life for Edmund’s. In a dramatic scene at the Stone Table Aslan is killed. p. 150-152
With that she plunges the knife and takes his life. In order to redeem Edmund and save Narnia, Aslan offers himself as a sacrifice, and is bound, humiliated and killed. The children are in despair, all hope is gone, Aslan is dead
A Narnian lesson- We can’t do anything about the “deep magic” the law that was written from the begining (Rom. 6:23...)
Death must occur, but a substitute is possible...
The “Deeper Magic”- (slide) As night moves towards dawn, Susan and Lucy mourn over his body, draped limp over the stone table, but suddenly the stone that he lays upon cracks, his body disappears, and he returns with glory and power, having defeated death itself, to save and free Narnia.
Afraid that he is a ghost, he assures them that he is not. And with joy they cried, “You’re real, you’re real, Oh Aslan.” Susan asks “But what does it all mean?” p.159-160...
(slide) “Death itself would start working backwards.” Aslan’s victory over death makes death work backwards for Edmund. He’s forgiven and restored, not b/c he deserved it, but b/c the price for his sin was paid for by another. Paid for by One who did not remain dead, One who conquered death and brought life to all who would receive him as their substitute.
Listen to Lewis’s description of life working backwards in Aslan. He has the resurrected lion romping with the children- p. 160...
A Narnian lesson-
Rom. 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, (Slide) but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Aslan’s joyful romp with the children shows God’s intention for all of us. Jesus died so that we could each escape the misery that sin and Satan have inflicted and in its place we experience the joy God intended. Wild, extravagant, ride on the back of a lion joy!
So What? (slide)
I think there are a number of pretty cool so whats.
Ordinary, bumbling, sin prone humans can be friends with the Master of the universe. He cherishes us, He delights in us. He wants to be with us and longs to have us love Him. When we choose to follow Him, when we allow Him to rule in our personal world we enter into a warm, tender, powerful relationship with the Lord of all joy.
What you want from God, what you long for in God is what Aslan is- real concern, tender care, unconditional love, deep joy and amazing power.
It’s easy to fall in love with Aslan, he shows his love so vividly. He romps with his Narnian children, lets them ride on him, kisses them, instructs them, leads them, protects them, embraces them, corrects them and even dies for them.
Aslan’s death is a picture of Ultimate love- a substitutionary sacrifice for one who is undeserving; great mercy, relentless grace, life giving hope and unending love, I think that is just what we want (and need).
If Aslan’s death is a picture of Ultimate love, his resurrection is a picture of Infinite power, power over sin and death, power to free us from all that keeps us frozen in bondage. Power describe by the Apostle Paul in Eph. 1
(slide) I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.
Now What? (slide)
There is an interesting chapter in the last book of the Bible, where a lion is a lamb. It’s in Rev. 5
“Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, (slide) the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals. Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center before the throne... You are worthy to take the scrolls and to open its seals, b/c you were slain and with your blood you purchased for God members of every tribe and language and people and nation."
The conquering Lion of Judah is the sacrificed Lamb of God. (slide)
The One who gave His life is the One who lives to reign. Christ is the resurrected lion, He’s the conquering lion b/c He became the sacrificed lamb.
Lewis calls his fantasies, “supposals” rather than allegories. In a letter to a fifth-grade class, Lewis explained that Aslan is not meant simply to "represent" Jesus: "Let us suppose that there were a land like Narnia and that the Son of God, as He became a Man in our world, became a Lion there, and then imagine what would happen." Just suppose.
Well let’s flip that around for a second, suppose Aslan took on human form and came to our world, imagine what might happen; just suppose, God took on flesh and moved into our world. We might call that Christmas.
Then, suppose He offered to be your substitute and pay your sin penalty, we might call that Good Friday. And suppose after 3 days in the grave He was raised from the dead, we might call that Easter.
Suppose you believed it’s all true, and it is; how might you respond? I suppose you could respond like our friends in Narnia, you could
(slide) receive, follow and romp
Receive- forgiveness and life from Jesus (Edmund and the frozen inhabitants fo Narnia...)
Follow, like the children did, eventually ruling Narnia
Romp with Aslan, live each day with exuberant joy, b/c He’s alive.
According to the rumors, (SLIDE) Aslan’s on the move; (slide) Is He on the move in your life? Aslan’s power freed Narnia and saved Edmund. He wants to do the same for you, so you can follow Him and romp with Him. Rev. 5:12-13...
