Learning Our Lines- Jeremiah 10:23, Proverbs 7:1-3, Matthew 4:1-13 - BREAKAWAY WEDNESDAY
How important, would you say, is it
for an actor or an actress to learn their lines if they are going to be in a
movie? What would it be like on the set
if they hadn’t learned what they were supposed to say or do? I want to push us a little beyond just whether
the folks starring in a movie have memorized their lines, but actually whether
they truly know their lines. Do you
think there is a difference? How many of
you have ever watched a movie and thought, “the acting in this movie is just
sorry.” You know, those kind of movies
where it is obvious that the folks in the movie have learned their lines, after
all they are saying them, but they seem to just be regurgitating them from
memory without appropriate emotion behind them—maybe even as far to their actions
not even matching up with what they are saying.
Maybe something like this...(pick
someone from the congregation and have them stand there)…supposed we were
filming a movie entitled The Joy of
Breakaway Reunion about how great it is to get back together with friends
we have made here at Breakaway, and I simply said, (in a droning voice, not even looking at _________): “Hey ___________, it is so good to see you. I have missed you. What have you been doing since last year?”
On the other hand, what about those
movies we have watched where the actor or actress has learned their lines so
well, they truly know their lines. As
they are acting, the way their character comes across is so real, so true that
we might have trouble separating the character from the actor. Their lines become part of who they are. Their acting is so believable that we begin
to just associate that actor and character together automatically. For instance,
I cannot hear Johnny Depp’s name without automatically thinking Captain Jack
Sparrow. The acting is so full of
energy, emotion, and action that it comes across as real. Take for instance our Breakaway Reunion movie, if the actor did this, (full of emotion and engaging ______):
“Hey _________, it is so good to see you.
I’m glad you’re here. I’ve missed
you. What have you been doing since last
year?” Is there a difference?
We hear from Proverbs, the wisdom of
Solomon in these words, “My child, keep my words and store up my commandments
with you, keep my commandments and live, keep my teachings and store up my
commandments with you; keep my commandments and live, keep my teachings as the
apple of your eye; bind them on your fingers, write them on the tablet of your
heart.” In these words we here Solomon
encouraging his son, and through God’s Word, God encourages each of us, to make
the Scriptures that which we treasure above all else and that which becomes
such a part of us that it courses through our veins, filling us completely, and
is visible in everything we touch and do.
This it is such a part of us that we don’t just repeat a Bible Verse to
earn a star or a prize, but that God’s Word becomes so much a part of us, that
our complete lives reflect that we haven’t only learned it, but it is an
inseparable part of who we are.
What I would like to do now is for us
to find out just how well we know the Scriptures—it’s time for the Breakaway
Bible Challenge. I will offer you
several quotes. After each quote, you
will have to tell me whether it is from the Bible, or from somewhere else.
“The harvest is past, the summer is
ended, and we are not saved.” Jeremiah
8:20
“If you vote for me, it will be summer
all year round.” Summer Wheatley (Haylie Duff) from Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
“Whatever life holds in store for me,
I will not forget these words: ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’” Peter
Parker (Tobey Maguire) – Spiderman
“Casting the lot puts an end to
disputes between powerful contenders.” Proverbs 18:18
“…the badgers are a people without
power, yet they make their homes in the rocks…”
Proverbs 30:26
“Tell me something, my friend. You ever dance with the devil in the pale
moonlight?” The Joker (Jack Nicholson)
Batman (1989)
“David danced before the Lord with all
his might; David was girded with a linen ephod.” 2nd Samuel 6:14 Please understand, though, my gentleman
friends that this is not a dress suggestion, it would clearly be a violation of
our Breakaway dress code to wear an ephod to the dance.
“Dancing—a series of movements
involving two partners, where speed and rhythm match harmoniously with
music.” Ship’s Computer (Sigourney
Weaver) WALL-E (2008)
“Then shall the young women rejoice in
the dance…” Jeremiah 31:13
“God helps those who help themselves.”
Benjamin Franklin
“God won’t give us more than we can
bear.” How many of you have heard that
before? Who said it? Lots of people—but not the Bible. What the Bible actually says (in 1st
Corinthians 10:13) is, “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to
everyone. God is faithful, and he will
not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also
provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.” There is a big difference between saying that
“God is not going to put so many burdens in our lives that it will break us,”
and saying that “God is not going to allow us to be tested or tempted beyond
what we can endure, and that when we are tested or tempted, God is always going
to provide us with a way out.”
Does that mean that God is going to
pile so many burdens on us that we may break, that we might collapse, have a
breakdown, or die? No! In knowing God’s Word, we remember to “Cast
your burden upon the Lord and he will sustain you…” (Psalm 55:22) and “Come to
me, all you that are wearing and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give
you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).
However, what that often misquoted
verse does mean is that we will not be tempted beyond what we can truly endure,
that God is going to give us the strength to overcome those temptations…and
that strength comes in knowing God’s Word and letting it be a part of us.
Nothing makes that more clearer that
the scene of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness by Satan. Jesus had just come from being baptized and
hearing God’s voice say, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well
pleased.” After hearing those words,
though, Jesus is confronted by Satan whose temptations are to make Jesus
question who He is:
The first temptation: “If you are the Son of God, command these
stones to become bread.” If you are who
you think you are, you don’t have to be out here hungry, use some of that power
you supposedly have and turn these rocks into food. Jesus’ reply comes from knowing God’s Word,
“One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth
of God.”
The second temptation, taking Jesus up
on the top of the temple: “If you are the Son of God, through yourself down
because God’s Word says that he will command the angels to protect you.” Jesus, not just quoting Scripture like Satan
was, but truly knowing it comes back with, God’s Word says, “Do not put the
Lord your God to the test.”
The third temptation, taking Jesus to
a high mountain, Satan points to all the world and says, “I will give you all
of this if you will worship me” tempting Jesus to forget that as the Son of
God, it already all belonged to Him.
Jesus responded again with god’s Word, “it is written, ‘Worship the Lord
your God and serve only him.”
We face temptations every day…Satan is
constantly trying to make us forget that we are Children of the One True King.
Satan tells us when someone wrongs us,
“A Child of the King shouldn’t be treated that way, get even, put them in their
place.” God’s Word reminds us, “Do not
be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21)
Satan tells us, “It’s your body, do
whatever you want to with it. Feel good,
whatever it takes.” God’s Word reminds
us, “…do you not know that your body is a temple…and that you are not your
own…therefore glorify God in your body.”
(1st Corinthians 6:19-20)
Satan tells us, “You can’t be a Child
of the King, storms and troubles surround you, people make fun of you, you are
alone.” God’s Word reminds us, “In the
world you will face persecution. But
take courage; I have conquered the world.” (John 16:22) and “And remember, I am
with you always, to the end of the age.”
My friends, we need to learn our
lines…we need to know our lines…God’s Word needs to become such a part of our
lives…so that whatever temptations we encounter we can hold true to who we are,
and remember that we are not acting, but truly are a Child of the King.
In the Name of the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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