The Force of God

As a kid, there were many things that sparked my imagination, but none so much as Star Wars. I was too young to see A New Hope in the theater, but I watched The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi on the big screen. From then on, as a kid, I dreamed of being a Jedi and having those supernatural powers that I had seen Luke Skywalker wield against the forces of darkness. Of course, the best that I could do to fulfill that dream was pretend that I had the ability to “use the Force.” There was a many a pine tree and shrub in the woods that felt the sting of my light-saber (a.k.a. stick, or club).

As an adult, ever since the X-Wing game came out for the PC, I have delved into the world of Star Wars to a degree that I never could have imagined as a kid, but to “use the Force” is still only virtually done in a digitized world. Despite the disappointment of this reality, “the Force” has remained a fictional source of fun for me to this day.

I have revisited the idea of this dream since I became a believer in Jesus Christ, because some of the things that I had dreamed of as a kid have been realized through my faith in Him, but not in a way that I ever would have expected or understood before. Please hear me out before you say, “This guy is nuts!” As a former atheist, die-hard Star Wars fan, and now a preacher, I believe that I am qualified to make a comparison between the fictional “force” and the real “force” that God can have on anyone’s life when he or she chooses to believe in Him.

In the movies, young padawans must learn not to trust to what their eyes alone can see, because their eyes can deceive them. It is no different with trusting in Jesus by faith. The Bible says that “…faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1, NKJV). Faith is trusting to what God says is true, rather than your own perception. Trusting to your own perception of truth is dangerous, as the Bible warns, saying, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 16:25, NKJV) Jesus clearly explained the only safe way to finding the truth about God and how to get to God, when He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6, NKJV)

In Episode III, Obiwan tells Anakin that “…only Sith deal in absolutes,” but he was absolutely convinced that the Dark Side was evil and that Anakin had become evil by embracing it. In reality, it is absolutely true that all humans are evil in the sight of God, which means that each of us do things that God says is wrong. God has absolutely defined right and wrong by His own standard, just like the Jedi did concerning what is of the “Light Side” or “Dark Side” of “the Force.” We have all done wrong, or in other words, sinned in the sight of God. The Bible says that “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, NKJV).

The Jedi’s judgment on those falling to the “Dark Side” was death, just like God’s judgment is death on all those who have sinned. Death for Anakin as a Sith would be similar to the kind of death that sinners experience in reality, not the snuffing out of a life, but the separation in eternity of a person’s soul from all that is good forever. From this point on the fiction of Star Wars goes down a different plot line than the facts of the Bible. In the movies, Anakin survives as the ultimate traitor only to be personally saved from the consequences of his actions by doing the right thing in the end. In the reality of sin’s consequences with God, we can do nothing to save ourselves from the fate that we deserve. We can’t do anything good enough, even in the end, to be saved. The Bible makes this clear, saying that our salvation comes “…not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy…” (Titus 3:5a, NKJV). That is why the Bible also explains, “…the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, NKJV) To summarize the difference, you could simply say that Anakin died to save himself, while Jesus died to save everyone else. Jesus alone could die in your place, taking your punishment of death, because He alone never sinned. Only God Himself could live a perfect life and so God Himself died to save you from the ultimate punishment. The Bible says that God “…made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21, NKJV).

Anakin’s redemption does have one similarity with the real salvation that can be found only in Jesus Christ. Anakin was not saved from his fate unwillingly, but only through being willing to turn from his past life and possible future to embrace what was right and good. It is the same with finding salvation in Jesus Christ. There came a day when I turned my back on my past way of life and whatever future it would have brought, to embrace a future with Jesus Christ by faith. It was God’s “grace,” or “undeserved love,” for me that made it possible for me to be saved from my fate through simply believing in Him and asking Him to save my life. The Bible thankfully says that “…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved… For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:9-13, NKJV).

I want to draw it all together with this thought. When someone in the movies embraced “the Force” and began to use it, they were able to do things that would have otherwise been impossible for them to do, not to mention that they went places that they never imagined they would go. It is similar with coming to really believe in Jesus Christ. When you embrace the truth of Jesus Christ by faith, God uses the force of your beliefs to not only save your life, but also to change your life. What you were never capable of before, such as being self-controlled and being truly satisfied in life, is suddenly possible for you on a daily basis. Life does not become a miracle movie of supernatural proportions, or a trouble-free existence, but rather an opportunity to experience God at work in and through your life. This personal “force” of faith in your life only comes through believing in Jesus and placing your life in His hands. The Bible promises that “…if anyone be in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV).

I can say from personal experience that believing in Jesus Christ is life changing. No, my dreams of wielding “the Force” have not and will not come true, but God has given me new dreams of things much bigger and actually possible for me. That is why I must ask, “If God is with you, who needs the Force?” That is also why I say, "May God be with you!"

To learn more about Him, go to www.needhim.org.

The Return of the King of Kings

Often, in discussing prophecy of the end times, the focus is on the devastation alone. That is an easy thing to do considering how much detail that Revelation gives of each part of the final judgment. Sometimes it is easy to forget what the outcome will be when the King of Kings returns. That is why it is good to read such passages in the Old Testament like Zechariah 14:1-9, because in such passages one can see a summary of the very end of all that end-time strife, as well as the return of the King of Kings.

Zechariah began with the persecution of Jerusalem and her people, but did not leave out their ultimate salvation. Zechariah wrote, "Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south. Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, for the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, and all the saints with You." (Zechariah 14:1-5, NKJV) As Antichrist moves the world against Jerusalem and the Jews, Christ the LORD will return to keep His covenant with them. Though Jesus came first to suffer and to die, He will come this time to conquer and to rule!

Those who know Him and have followed Him down through the ages will stand with Him on that day. The Bible has often mentioned the coming of "the saints" with the King at His return. Jude affirms that the Enoch of Genesis 5:18-24 said, concerning the return of the King, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all..." (Jude 14b-15a, NKJV). One of the psalmists praised God for the same, saying, "Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, to execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute on them the written judgment -- This honor have all His saints. Praise the LORD!" (Psalm 149:5-9, NKJV) Revelation confirms that when the King returns, He will not be alone! The Bible says, "Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called 'Faithful and True,' and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called 'The Word of God.' And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: 'KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.'" (Revelation 19:11-16, NKJV) That sword coming out of the King's mouth is the same sword with which His saints will execute judgment on the earth. That sword is the Word of God and is far more powerful than any sword of metal ever could be. The Bible says, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:12-13, NKJV)

Back in Zechariah 14, he completes the summary of the King's return by describing what it will be like after the King's victory in battle. Zechariah writes, "It shall come to pass in that day that there will be no light; the lights will diminish. It shall be one day which is known to the LORD -- neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen that it will be light. And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; in both summer and winter it shall occur. And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be -- 'The LORD is one,' and His name one." (Zechariah 14:6-9, NKJV) This is just a glimpse at the glory that Revelation promises will occur when the King has returned. Revelation says of New Jerusalem, the King's capital, "The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of earth bring their glory and honor into it... There shall be no night there: they need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever." (Revelation 21:23-24; 22:5, NKJV) As for the stream of "living waters," John the Apostle mentions, "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads." (Revelation 22:1-4, NKJV)

When all else is said and done, the best part of it all is that those who believe now will see Him then, the One who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords! The Bible puts it best at the end of Revelation, when it says, "...the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17, NKJV)

"Lord, Jesus, I simply want to join with John the Apostle and all those who have gone before me in saying, 'Come, Lord Jesus!' I long to see the fulfillment of the promise that I will see Your face, though I don't deserve to. Make Your face to shine upon us today, our Lord and King, for our King will live and reign forever! Amen."