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The movie clip you just saw is from the life of Frank Abigale Jr. is based on the true story of his life as told in the movie, "Catch Me If You Can." Did you notice that he successfully pretended to be an airline pilot, doctor and lawyer. Before he was caught he cashed over $4 million of bad checks and he did all this before his 19th birthday. When it came to dealing with Frank Abigale Jr., things weren’t always as they seemed to be.
Let me suggest a method for doing this. Jesus tells us in Mt. 18:15 that if someone does you wrong it is our responsibility to go and try to make it right. Now, in that passage Jesus is talking specifically about someone who sins against you but I think this can also be applied effectively to someone who is in trouble. Here’s what he says.
First step: Go to them face to face. Have them out to lunch or take them to a ball game and just say, “___________ there’s been something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.” Then, very gently lay out what you’ve seen or heard and be honest with them. Help them see the circumstances a little clearer, remind them of the consequences.
CLIP FAMILY MAN - Chap. 9 - 1:02:00 - 1:04:17 - 2:17
That confrontation takes courage but you’re trying to save them & others pain.
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
The film takes place three years after the onset of the Clone Wars; the noble Jedi knights are spread out across the galaxy leading a massive clone army in the war against the separatists. After Chancellor Palpatine is kidnapped, Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his former padawan, Anakin Skywalker, are dispatched to eliminate the evil General Grievous and rescue the chancellor. Meanwhile, Anakin’s friendship with the chancellor arouses suspicion in the Jedi order and proves dangerous to the Jedi knight himself as the chancellor turns out to be Sith lord, Darth Sidious who tempts Anakin to come over to the dark side, with the promise that the death of his wife, which he has constant dreams about, can be reversed. A tussle begins in Anakin’s heart over following the light and the Jedi order or stepping over to the dark side with the Sith lord Darth Sidious. Anakin succumbs to temptation; he steps out of the light and his whole character changes as he enters the dark side and becomes the evil Darth Vader.
Why am I telling you that fictional story? Because it’s a picture of how we are all prone to acts of darkness and how darkness entered into our world in the beginning. I want to share another story this time; it’s a real historical story about our ancestors, the first man called Adam and the first woman called Eve, who were serving and living in the presence of God, who is light and all that is good and perfect. Yet evil lurked in the shadows under the guise of a serpent. It was Satan (Lucifer), a fallen angel who wanted to be like God and who had been banished from God’s presence in heaven (Isaiah 14:12-14). Satan brought temptation and doubts before them both, with the promise they would be like God and the lie that they would not die. They succumbed to eat of the fruit that God forbade to eat (Gen 3:1-7). Adam and Eve succumbed just like Anakin to the dark side. As a result, darkness has entered into our world and our lives with separation from God becoming the norm, physical and spiritual death awaiting us and the world in utter darkness as evil prevails to this day.
When Jesus says the Holy Spirit would convict the world of guilt in regard to sin. What this simply means is what we went through in Bible class this morning: when we compare ourselves to God’s Law and see how we measure up, we don’t like what we see. It’s like we are looking into a mirror, and seeing an ugly, sin-stained person staring back at us. Have you ever read the book or seen the movie, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde? In this story, a 20-year-old Dorian has a life-sized picture of himself painted. And he sees this picture and how beautiful it is, and he’s sad. Because the picture is going to always look the same while Dorian gets old and the stress and sins of life are going to cause him to age. And then Dorian makes a wish: he wishes that the picture would change while Dorian’s appearance would remain the same. And that’s what works out. When Dorian is cruel to people, those cynical lines show up around his mouth on the picture, but not on him. And as he ages and becomes a much more nasty person, he keeps his innocent exterior, and ...
Do you remember the Incredible Hulk? If you do you either remember the big green monster from the comics or the television show. Dr. Banner had a serious problem. In an experiment he had unleashed a terrible monster. In times of stress he would turn into this huge raging monster. One of the classic lines from the television program was "Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry." In the comics his destruction was much more vivid and much larger-than-life. This monster would pick up armored tanks and toss them at his enemies. He could stomp one his big green feet on the ground and cause a mini-earthquake that would knock his opponents to the ground. He could survive almost anything short of a nuclear blast all the time bellowing catch words like "Hulk strong! Hulk smash puny soldiers!" When the rampage was over, however, Dr. Banner was left to live with the results of the Hulk’s actions. His clothing was ripped to shreds so that he was exposed to the elements. His life was shattered into little pieces, and he had to move to a new location where he would attempt to start a new life.
Each of us has a raging Hulk in us. The sin nature that dwells within us attempts to bring about mass destruction in our lives. If we allow it to rule over us we will find ourselves like Dr. Banner, searching for some shred of our lives that we can cling to. Sin will destroy...
