Avatar is Much More Than A Movie....
I want to share a modern parable with you today. As you know, Jesus used parables throughout his ministry. These were stories which were about things, people and places that most of thelocal population were familiar with, and Jesus used these things to extract and present a Spiritual truth from them.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a Big Si-Fi fan. And one of my favorite Si-Fi movies is Avatar! I am one excited camper about the fact that Avatar 2 is coming out in December 16, 2022. Then #3, #4, and #5 will be released every other year until 2028. My goal is to see the 3-D version which has so far eluded me, but I have hope! I say that Avatar is much more than a movie, because I see it as a major revelation about living the Christian life. It is a revelation of our true identity and our reason for believing that all of us are much more than we can see. But once we get the revelation, we will never be the same.
In the movie, we are not told what the very first Avatar was, but we are told that the Avatars were biological life forms, which were produced in the likeness of the native inhabitants of the planet Pandora who are called “the Na-vi”. These biological life forms would allow the humans to interact with the local inhabitants and learn their ways and customs, when they entered these genetically altered bodies.
My scripture as we begin, is a real life record of the first Avatar.... Genesis 2:7 “Then the LORD God formed man (a biological life form) from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life (His own Spirit life) into his nostrils, and the man became a living being”.
Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in His own image; (He breathed His own life into them) in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.” The word incarnate is what happened when the Spiritual life breath of God entered into the lifeless biological form of man.
I’m sure you know what incarnation means? If you've ever had chili con carne, or you remember what a carnivore is, then you know. Chili con carne is chili with meat. A carnivore is a meat eater. In-carnate is literally "in the meat." or God in the flesh,with His life in us.
Wow, man had it all, and his mandate was to subdue the earth and have dominion over it, but he gave the power that was his to Satan who had appeared to Eve as a beautiful, beguiling serpent. Now, because of this, mankind became the slave of sin through disobedience to God. God said “thou shall not eat of this tree”... but Satan’s argument was that God was holding out on them, and they could do as they wished, no matter what God had told them..... (sounds a lot like the avatars of today, doesn’t it)
But God already had a plan to give the human race a second chance. Once again He formed a biological life form in Mary’s womb who had never been with a man. This Avatar would not fail to accomplish what Adam and Eve had failed to fulfill. That Avatar would be known as Jesus. The angel told them “You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins (or their willful rebellion and disobedience against God)
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shone in darkness; and the darkness could not understand it
(skip to verse 9) He was the true Light, which sends light (Divine life) into every man that is born into the world.10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
v12 “But as many as received him, to them He gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.14 And the Word was made flesh, (a biological life form) and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”.
So Jesus, became the Son of God, Son of man, or God’s Biological life form, which He could use to become one of us, in order to be tempted in every way we are tempted, and break the cycle of spiritual failure which would then break the power of the curse and take back what was lost.
1 John 3:8 “For this reason was the Son of God made manifest (given a physical body) to undo (destroy, break, and cancel out) the works of the devil”.
You see Jesus went beyond the sin of man, and struck at the very heart and soul of sin.... The first sin originated in the Devil, so that’s where it had to be stopped. Oh, yes, Satan still has power, we see that all around us, but now, power had been given backto mankind, to overcome the Devil.
In the movie, Jake Sully was crippled and confined to a wheel chair. But when he went into his Avatar, that was named “TorukMakto” he is able to do things he could never do as Jake Sully.His Avatar was 10 feet tall, and powerful. In his avatar body, He could now stop those who wanted to destroy the planet of Pandora and all the local inhabitants...
Ephesians 4:22 Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
And what about Romans 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your physical body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not offer your body to sin as an instrument for unrighteousness, but offer yourself to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and submit your body to God as an instrument for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
And we have to include....Colossians 3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your[a] life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Consider as dead what is earthly (of the old life) in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, drunkenness and covetousness, which is idolatry.
6 Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming on the earth. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you have the power to put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, cursing and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old way of living with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
Wow, how clear the scripture makes it, that with the Spirit of Christ in us, we have been reborn, so that we can now do what we could never do before. Our redeemed Spirit now inhabits this biological life form and makes it possible for us to overcome what we could not overcome before. You see, it’s not how much of the Holy Spirit you have, but how much of you, the Holy Spirit has!!!
My mom used to call us in and tell us to wash up before dinner. I always thought that it was such a waste, because I was going to go right back out and get dirty again. Well, now I realize it was not dirt that mom didn’t like. IT WAS OLD DIRT SHE DIDN’T LIKE.
God realizes that we all can get dirty by the world, but it’s old dirt that He is against. When there is no repentance and no desire to begin to live in the new life that He has provided. So we keep on washing, until we master the art of dealing with the old dirt! I had a friend, who would always stay clean and unspotted when we would be out playing, while I would be dirty from head to toe....I would wash it off if mom made me.... But he was already clean, and only had to wash his hands. You see, God wants to show us how to get less and less dirty so we can devote our time to helping others stay clean, instead of constantly needing to deal with our dirt and never taking charge of our own avatar (biological life form) it is then we move from living on grace and operate in the favor of God....
My mother didn’t just teach me about dirt....My mother taught me RELIGION: When I spilled grape juice on the carpet, she instructed, "You better pray the stain will come out of the carpet." My mother taught me LOGIC: If I questioned her, then I got logic...."Because I said so, that’s why." My mother taught me FORESIGHT: "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident." My mother taught me IRONY: "Keep laughing, and I’ll give you something to cry about." My mother taught me about ENDURANCE: "You’ll sit there ’til all that spinach is finished." My mother taught me about WEATHER: "It looks as if a tornado swept through your room." My mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE: "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out...(Thanks Mom) couldn’t have done it without you!
In the Avatar movie, everything was connected to Eywa (Sounds a lot like Yahweh) anyway, this was the name of the tree of life, and there was a deep awareness of how sacred and connected everything in the life of the Na-vi was. To a redeemed child of God, who has taken the journey into new life in Christ. Everything is connected. There are no little or insignificant things. God has it all connected in a way we cannot imagine. Romans 11:36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen. For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. Colossians 1:6 For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence.…
The railing on our balcony is loaded with lights (it was Chris’ idea. He wanted to help while he was here.) At night, my balcony is ablaze. But during the daylight you can’t even tell that there are lights on it. My point is this. It is in the darkness that you should really shine. That’s when God gets the greatest glory. Hey, real Christianity is not for whimps!!! When it’s all going wrong, and everything is upside down, and you don’t know how it’s all going to land. It is then we have the opportunity to really shine. It’s when our faith, our joy, our peace and our strength allows the Holy Spirit to really reveal Himself through us... That’s why we can give thanks in all things, because we believe God will work all things out for His glory and for our good, in ways we could never comprehend, as we stand still and see the glory of God revealed in it all.
Speaking of how it’s all connected...How could Adam and Eve ever imagine that the authority they gave away, would affect all mankind. That thousands of years later, people would suffer the consequences of their actions. Don’t give away your authority, which Christ has given you. We have Delegated Authority.....A manager has delegated authority. But if that manager resigns, he cannot come back on the job and tell anyone what to do. He has no more authority there . A policeman with a badge and uniform has delegated authority when he directs traffic at the traffic junction or pulls up behind you with the disco lights flashing. But if he quits the force, turns in his badge and takes off the uniform...and stands in traffic, he may qualify as road kill! He’s lost his authority. We just can’t afford to give away our authority because Satan doesn’t care who you are, what you’ve done, or where you’ve been... He only cares about WHOSE YOU ARE. It’s Christ in me the hope of Glory. Jesus said, “I have given you the keys to the Kingdom”....
Mark 11:28“By what authority are You doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave You the authority to do them?” Jesus knew the source of His authority as He moved about in the earthly body of flesh He inhabited. Satan tried his hardest to trick Him, trap Him, make Him think He was just a man, and even crucified Him to get Him to relinquish that authority.
What are the places we have given up our authority? Whatever it takes, don’t you do it! It’s the very authority which was so fought for and hard won by Christ, that allows us to have power in our new life, over the devil. Satan will not just roll over and give up because we don’t like what he has done to us... He only responds to authority, that authority comes from our decision to walk and live in our new life through Christ.
Folks ask me, “Why Me”?....“Why have I had to go! through this”... “Why has this sickness come”, “Why would God allow this to happen”.... The bible says that ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD.... these things come to teach us to use our authority. My answer to anyone.... We are all training to rule and reign. No soldier says they loved boot camp! But when they’re under fire, they appreciate what they learned. God gave Adam and Eve dominion (rulership) and they lost it. Jesus came to give it back. When these things come into our lives, it is so we can learn to exercise the dominion and authority we have to operate in and then learn to walk in it. Good intentions, and a good show, go only so far. You can be Billy Graham’s son, Oral Roberts’ son, or Katheryn Kuhlman’s daughter, and it means nothing. It is only God’s empowering that turns the weakness of man into a force for God against the Devil. Fighting the devil without the impowering of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God is like going into war with a knife and the enemy has automatic rifles! Well, here it is.. Acts 19:13 Some Jews who went around doing exorcisms tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were trying to drive out spirits “in the name of Jesus who Paul preaches”. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. They could have rebuked the demons with the name of Hector the cat, and it would have gotten about the same results.
Someone with 2 karate lessons is a piece of trouble going somewhere to happen. They know just enough to get themselves hurt. It’s not enough to know about Jesus, you need to have a personal relationship with Him. Using the name of Jesus without a personal relationship with Jesus, will only make the Devil mad. And you don’t want to make him mad without the power of the Spirit to overcome him! If you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, it’s best to let some sleeping dogs lie, until you’re willing to believe on Jesus and receive Him as your lord and savior.
In the Avatar movie, a person could not live on Pandora unless they were able to deal with the poisonous, toxic air on the planet. But if they could be in the body of an Avatar, they could thrive in the midst of a hostile environment. God doesn’t isolate us, but He insulates us, to make it possible to deal with and movearound in the midst of a toxic and sinful world, but be untouched and untarnished by it. One pastor’s wife was very afraid to fly, so she had to drive everywhere. Her Husband askedher to pray and seek God about the Fear that was controlling her. "Just stand on God’s promises and trust Him about your fear and God will help you." He would tell her. Over time, she overcame the fear. One day, she was flying with her friend through a violent storm in a small plane. The friend was sweating it out while she was fast asleep. When they landed, the friend asked her, "How could you sleep so peacefully?" She replied, It’s because my life no longer belongs to me, it now belongs to Christ”!
Galatians 2:20 “My old life has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me. So that I live in this earthly body (my Avatar) by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for my new life.
We have all heard the "Good New!"..."Bad News!" euphemisms. Usually the next question is “Which do you want first?” Most folks say give me the bad news first, then the good news will make me feel better. A fella asked a prophet if they had baseball in heaven, because he was a big fan. The prophet said, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that they actually do have baseball in heaven. The bad news is that You’re up to bat tonight at 11:00. I have some "Bad News!...Good News!.. Best News" for you... The bad news is that you’re dying. That’s right, this very moment your biological life form is dying, but the good news is that it is being regenerated at a cellular level. The best news is found in... 2 Corinthians 5:1 Now we know that if the earthly tent (body) we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 For in this tent we yearn with desire, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling...
If your life is still yours, and you’re living like this is all there is, then you are easy prey for fear, doubt, temptation, worry, the cares of life, the pressure, and all the responsibilities that come daily, to wear you down and wear you out.... Colossians 3:15 - And let the peace of God (Shalom, which is completeness and wholeness) rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body (Avatar) and be thankful in all things.
In the bible, the word heart, is not about your blood pump, butthe Greek word is “kar-dee'-ah” from which we get our word Cardio... and it means “Your Center”... You wouldn’t be much without your heart... and what comes out of your center, the core of your being, will determine the quality of your life...now and for eternity....When the Devil bumps you real hard, make sure only Jesus comes out! (and you will surely get bumped!) When your life is hidden in Christ, then you can say like the old poem... What though wars may come with marching feet and beat of the drum, I have Christ in my heart. What though nations rage as we approach the end of the age, I have Christ in my heart. God is still on His throne, Almighty God is He. And He cares for His own through all eternity. So let come what may, whatever it is, I only say, that I have Christ in my heart. I HAVE CHRIST IN MY HEART!
TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOUR AVATAR... It’s training you to Reign!!!
Prayer......Heavenly Father, I surrender my life to You, my finances, my family, my thoughts, and my will. Sometimes I am so overwhelmed by what is going on around me that I am lost for words, but you see my heart. In those times, I know that all I need to do by the power of the Holy Spirit in me, is call on the victorious name of Jesus. I present my body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is my spiritual and personal worship unto You.
I surrender my burdens, my worries and my fears. Enable me Lord, even when the pressure is on, and I am challenged on every side, that in it all I will magnify and glorify You. When temptation comes my way, I stir up the Holy Spirit within me, to give me wisdom, strength and guidance to triumph over whatever situations I face. I confess Proverbs 3:5 I Trust in the Lord with all my heart, and I do not lean on my own understanding.
In all my ways I acknowledge You, and You make straight my paths. Lord I know that You are with me always, transforming my heart, shaping me, molding me, guiding me and leading the way as I seek first Your kingdom.Help me to manifest Your light and Your truth in this world so that many may find You and discover life in You. Lord I look to You as my source, my provider and sustainer. Keep me as the apple of Your eye and hide me under the shadow of Your wings, In Jesus name, and for Your glory, Amen.
