"Prayer Introduction: If you have walked around the church’s buildings at all you have seen an obnoxious number of Narnia posters all over the place. There are two reasons for this. First, I requested some free posters and they sent a couple hundred. Secondly, I am hoping that you are getting excited about exploring the Christian themes in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe – the first book in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series. The book has been made into a big budget movie – which comes out this Friday (December 9th) – directed by Andrew Adamson (who directed the Shrek movies), with special effects by those who did the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and produced by Walden Media (who are all about producing family friendly films) and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.
Truthfully, my goal is not promoting the movie to you, but promoting the book to you – moreover promoting the Gospel truth that is illustrated in the book. It is my hope that you are reading the book, and that those with children are reading it together as a family – getting quality and quantity time together as a family.
If you see the movie, fine. If not, that’s fine too. Over the next 4 Sundays (and twice on Christmas Eve), the sermons are going to flesh out the Christian truths that are given in God’s Word and are illustrated in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Let me say that again. If you see the movie, fine. If not, that’s fine too. Over the next 4 Sundays (and twice on Christmas Eve), the sermons are going to flesh out the Christian truths that are given in God’s Word and are illustrated in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.
You will be able to follow these sermons whether you’ve read the book or not; but, obviously, reading the book will greatly enhance your understanding of it as an illustration. Let me set the story line.
Set in 1940’s England, four children travel through a wardrobe and enter the magical world of Narnia. In Narnia, the children meet all kinds of talking creatures – including talking animals. They come to discover that a witch has placed a curse over Narnia, and that there is a prophecy that two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve will break the curse with the help of Aslan.
And so, this morning we are going to look at the truth of God’s Word given in Revelation 5 and the way this truth is illustrated in C.S. Lewis’ book. Next week we will get into the turning point in the book – I don’t want to spoil it for you if you haven’t read it – so make sure you finish the book by next Sunday.
The third Sunday will be the Children’s program (note that it was going to be next week, but we are pushing it back one more week), with a kid-friendly sermon focusing on the children of Narnia. There will be two different sermons for the two different services on Christmas Eve. And then Christmas morning will close out the series as we celebrate the Lord’s birth on the Lord’s Day. It is very exciting to have Christmas on a Sunday.
Before we begin, let’s pray…We pray now for the preacher in the pulpit. He is not worthy, but by your grace he is able. And so it is through Jesus Christ that we pray – Amen!
Sermon Introduction: It was the opinion of C.S. Lewis that for a story to be a good story, it must stand on its own as a story. In other words it couldn’t be a good story, because of its religious imagery; it had to be a good story with or without the imagery. The book begins, “Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. This story is about something that happened to them when they were sent away from London during the war because of the air-raids.”
And if you were simply to read the story as though it was just about those four children and what happened to them it would still be a good story. In fact, it is considered classic children’s literature; and in many school districts it is required reading.
The book is even more exceptional because of the Christian truths it illustrates. This morning I would have you see what the story illustrates in Hearing About Aslan; Meeting Aslan; and Knowing Aslan. Your green insert contains all of the quotations that I will pull from the book as well as other Scriptures to which I will refer – you should also have your Bible open to Revelation 5.
I. Hearing About Aslan
First, I would have you see what the story illustrates in Hearing About Aslan. It is in Chapter 8 (entitled: “What Happened After Dinner”) when Susan asks – “Who is Aslan?” “Aslan?” said Mr. 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 in Narnia at this moment.”…”Is – is he a man?” asked Lucy. “Aslan a man!” said Mr. Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the Sea. Don’t you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion – the lion, the great lion.”
It is in Revelation 5 that we read (beginning at verse 1), READ Revelation 5:1-5 – “Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, ‘Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?’ But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.’”
Jesus is the Lion of Judah, the Son of the Triune God of heaven and earth. Hearing about Aslan illustrates what it is like to hear about Jesus.
The first time the four Pevensie children hear about Aslan is in Chapter 7 (entitled: “A Day with the Beavers”) – The children meet Mr. Beaver who whispers to them, “They say Aslan is on the move – perhaps he has already landed.” And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoke these words everyone felt quite different…At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer.
What feelings does the name of Jesus evoke in you? There is great power in hearing the name of Jesus for the one who has true faith.
Philippians 2:8-11 says of Jesus – “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Does the name of Jesus cause your knee to bow and your tongue to confess Jesus as Lord to the glory of God the Father? In my childhood I remember being ashamed to say the name of Jesus out loud. I could tell my friends that I went to church, but I remember that saying the name of Jesus was awkward. That changed as I grew in faith and submitted my whole self to Jesus as Lord. And now I love to say the name of Jesus and I love to hear His name.
Now notice the various reactions in the children? Next week we will look at Edmund and understand his reaction. For now let’s return to chapter 8 and see what Susan says after hearing that 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? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
What a wonderful illustration of Jesus – he isn’t safe, but he’s good; he’s the King. Unfortunately, this is not what most people hear about Jesus. For years, Jesus has been presented as safe – the gentle Jesus. The world, and much of the church, has turned Jesus into a peace-loving hippie. And that is one reason why churches have seen their pews empty.
If Jesus is just a nice guy with a nice message about being nice, well people can get that at home watching Oprah or Robert Schuller. But Jesus as the Lion of Judah, the King of Kings – well now that’s something.
To be sure Jesus is both Lion and Lamb – Revelation 5 describes Jesus as the Kingly Lion in verse 5 and then he comes as a Lamb in verse 6. However, he is not a wimpy lamb – he is the sacrificial lamb – “Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne…”
In Revelation 5:9 the angelic beings proclaim to the Lamb, “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
Anyone that wants you to hear about a gentle lamb doesn’t want you to hear about the real Jesus. The real Jesus is the Kingly Lion who voluntarily offered himself as the sacrificial Lamb. He sacrificed himself, to redeem us as slaves to sin, so that we would be a kingdom of priests – a kingdom of priests with Jesus as King.
II. Meeting Aslan
And so not only would I have you see the illustration in Hearing About Aslan, but I would also have you see the illustration in Meeting Aslan. It is in Chapter 12 (entitled: “Peter’s First Battle”) where the children meet Aslan for the first time – But as for Aslan himself, the Beavers and the children didn’t know what to do or say when they saw him. People who have not been in Narnia sometimes think that a thing cannot be good and terrible at the same time. If the children had ever thought so, they were cured of it now. For when they tried to look at Aslan’s face they just caught a glimpse of the golden mane and the great, royal, solemn, overwhelming eyes; and then they found they couldn’t look at him and went all trembly.
We meet Jesus in worship – personal worship, family worship and corporate worship. There are many who go through the activity of worship, but don’t really worship. How can you tell if you are truly worshiping? Do you, like the children before Aslan, go “all trembly” when you come before Jesus?
It has been said, “If you’ve ever stood before God and felt like anything but a peon you were standing before an idol.” Let me say that again, “If you’ve ever stood before God and felt like anything but a peon you were standing before an idol.”
Let me take a moment to discuss idols. We often talk about how everything in the world, which we make more important than God, is an idol. This is only partly true. The true idols are the images we make of God, which lead us to worship the image rather than the true God.
There is a danger of doing this with pictures of Jesus – especially the pictures that portray Jesus with light brown hair and blue eyes. These pictures portray the false image of a peace-loving hippie Jesus. The pictures actually point us away from Jesus rather than toward Jesus.
When the movie The Passion of the Christ came out my dad, half-jokingly said, “The Book was better.” Indeed, Christians are people of the Book – we are people of the Word. A picture cannot possibly give the full expression of the written word.
A picture may be worth a thousand words; but a thousand words aren’t enough. One person has counted almost 800,000 words in the Bible.
I know some people who don’t want to see the movie coming out this Friday, because they know that there is just no way that it can fully live up to the book.
III. Knowing Aslan
Which brings us to the final point this morning. Not only would I have you see the illustration in Hearing About Aslan, and the illustration in Meeting Aslan, but I would also have you see the illustration in Knowing Aslan. To know someone is to have them speak to you and you speak to them – to have conversation. It is when the children meet Aslan in Chapter 12 that Aslan first speaks – “Welcome, Peter, Son of Adam,” said Aslan. “Welcome, Susan and Lucy, Daughters of Eve…” His voice was deep and rich and somehow took the fidgets out of them. They now felt glad and quiet and it didn’t seem awkward to them to stand and say nothing.
Have you heard Jesus greet you by name? It was my freshman year of college when I was filled with an irresistible desire to really know Jesus. And so I picked up my Bible and read straight through the 4 Gospels and it was as though Jesus were in the room with me. His voice was almost audible as I read His Word.
Peter’s first words in response to Aslan were words of confession (regarding his brother Edmund) – “That was partly my fault, Aslan. I was angry with him and I think that helped him to go wrong.”
When you truly come before the holy Lion of Judah, confession is on your lips. That is why a prayer of confession is placed so early in our worship service each week. When you meet Jesus in worship – you are instantly moved to confession.
This is also why so many people do not come to worship with the church, or when we do come we do not truly worship. Facing Jesus means confession. Do you remember what Adam and Eve did after they sinned? They hid. Genesis 3:8 – “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”
But knowing Jesus means knowing grace. Knowing Jesus means knowing that you don’t need to hide. Knowing Jesus means confessing your sin and being assured of his forgiveness.
I love the way Aslan’s response to Peter’s confession is described – And Aslan said nothing either to excuse Peter or to blame him but merely stood looking at him with his great unchanging eyes. And it seemed to all of them that there was nothing to be said.
Knowing Jesus means knowing that Jesus does not excuse your sin, but that he offered himself as an atonement for your sins, which also means that Jesus has taken the blame for your sins.
This is the truth that we celebrate at Christmas – the coming of the Christ as a child. May you not just hear about the coming of Jesus; but may you meet Jesus, and moreover, may you know Him as the sacrificial Lamb and the Kingly Lion of Judah.
MAY THE TRUTH SET YOU FREE – AMEN!"
