“I was on my way to school this morning spending time with God. I went through my iPod and decided to play the Christian song More Beautiful You by Jonny Diaz. As I listened, God threw a thought into my head. I seem to have once again forgotten the purpose of my Indy gear.The purpose? I’m the Indiana Jones of the Spirit.
My motive is different than that of any other cosplay.What are their motives? One motive, the motive of another Indiana Jones cosplay that I met about two or three months ago, was that he was just tired of people telling him what to wear. As for a majority of all other cosplays, the person is just a big fan. So yep… Mine is definitely different.”
Now allow me to share a line from a book I’ve been reading:“It’s the Christian’s task to follow the example of Christ and bring the revelation of what each story means, what spiritual truth is calling out to the people from that story” (Skelton 79).
So, in this sermon, I will be doing exactly what Stephen Skelton spoke of doing in The Gospel According to the World’s Greatest Superhero. I will be teaching you how to be the Indiana Jones of the Spirit by comparing what the Bible preaches to the Indiana Jones trilogy. I pray right now that God speaks to you in a mighty way. I know that he spoke to me as I put this sermon together. Now, with all that said, why don’t we get started?Seeking after the Lord
“Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy. Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee. Be merciful unto me, O Lord: or I cry unto thee daily. Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me. Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them. But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. O turn unto me, and have mercy upon thee; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid. Shew me a token for good, that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me.”
-Psalm 86:1-17
Remember how Indy never stopped seeking after the Cross of Coronado (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)? Well, in a similar way, we should never stop seeking after the Lord our God. We should seek after Him both day and night. At all times God should be our all. Please, oh please, remember that!Temptation
Indiana Jones is cautious of snakes, which in the Bible, represent temptation.To go even further, in the torch used by Indy to fight off the snakes in the original Indy film could very well be God’s word (Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark). Do you see a Bible story in there? Well, I see Matthew 4:1-11. That’s where Jesus used the word of God to fight off the devil’s attacks of temptation. Now, why don’t you keep that in mind the next time you see that particular scene?Leave the Judging to God
Now, before I begin this next part, allow me to tell you that once again God has shown me that He really is there. You see, I told Him that I just couldn’t seem to remember where the scripture which I’m about to share with you was, and, sure enough, it was exactly where he told me to go. Anyhow, in the fourth Indy film, Mac warns a fellow KGB agent not to judge Indy by saying, “Don’t get clever, Boris! You don’t know him” (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)! You mustn’t forget that the Bible warns us not to judge others based on their mistakes. The only one who knows enough to judge is God.“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”
-Colossians 2:16-17
Love and Forgive Your Enemies
Once again, in the fourth Indy film, Mac betrays Indy. Still, when Mac is brought face-to-face with death, Indiana is willing to do what he can to try and save him (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). With that said, are you by any chance familiar with what happened during the arrest of Jesus? In Luke 22:47-51, Jesus is willing to heal the ear of the soldier brought by Judas to arrest Indy. Just remember that Judas was betraying the Son of God at the time.“And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before him, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said unto him, Judas, bretrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss? When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye this far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.”
-Luke 22:47-51
The Stripes of the Lord
For my final comparison, I would like to bring up the one Indy film not yet used, the second film. In it, Indy takes a beating from his very own whip. He does this so that the children of a tribal village in India may be saved (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). Now, this comparison will bring up the whole reason that Jesus Christ was sent down to Earth. That reason? So that we may be saved of sin.“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye we were healed.”
-1 Peter 2:24
I would like to thank you for your time. God is so grateful that you were willing to giving even just this tiny bit of your time to learn about Him. I pray many blessings over your week. God bless! Oh, and good luck at becoming an even better Indiana Jones of the Spirit!Works Cited:
Skelton, Stephen. The Gospel According to the World’s Greatest Superhero. Eugene, Oregon, United States: Harvest House Publishers, 2006. 79. Print.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Paramount Pictures: 1989. Film.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Paramount Pictures: 1981. Film.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Paramount Pictures: 2008. Film.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Paramount Pictures: 1984. Film.
No comments:
Post a Comment