Over the next few weeks, we are doing this series on called the Gospel according to Will Smith - in reality, what we are really doing is using a few of Will Smith’s movies to discuss some things.
So why Will Smith? Who is Will Smith?
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, film producer and rapper. He is one of a small group of people who have enjoyed success in three major entertainment media in the United States. Newsweek has called him the most powerful actor on the planet. Smith has been nominated for a Golden Globe, two Academy Awards, and has won multiple Grammys.
Smith rose to fame as a rapper under the name the Fresh Prince in the late 1980s. Smith’s most notable television role was that of William "Will" Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In his film work, his notable roles include Agent J in Men in Black and its sequel, Men in Black II, Detective Del Spooner in I, Robot, Muhammad Ali in Ali, Detective Mike Lowrey in Bad Boys and its sequel, Bad Boys II, as well as his role in the blockbuster Independence Day and more recently as Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness with his son Jaden Smith and as Robert Neville in I Am Legend with his daughter Willow Smith. He is the only actor in history to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office.
(From Wikipedia)
Over the next 4 weeks we are going to look at 4 of Smith’s movies: I, Robot; Pursuit of Happyness; I Am Legend; and Hancock.
I think its really interesting to look at movies. Movies shape our culture - and sometimes they even shape the way we think. A movie is really just a story right?
So tonight we are talking about I, Robot. Here’s the plot summary from the Movie Guy, Douglas Young:
The story takes place in 2035, in a world filled with robots. Del Spooner (Will Smith) is a Chicago Police homicide detective, who hates robots. Del is sent to investigate the death of Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell), a scientist at U.S. Robotics, who fell out of an office window, an apparent suicide. Del has an uneasy feeling that his friend Lanning was murdered, and he needs to find out who did it and why. With the help of Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan), the company psychologist, they both try to find answers to the mystery. Del believes that a new NS-5 robot, Sonny (voice of Alan Tudyk), killed Lanning, which means the robot broke the Law of Robotics. If this is true, the mass distribution of NS-5 robots will be stopped, and it will hurt U.S. Robotics. Someone in the company does not want this to happen and tries to stop Del.
I want to look at 3 Characters tonight... maybe just to give you something to think about:
is Viki - Viki is a computer. She is the posatronic operating core for all the other robots. Viki is basically the robot that runs all the other robots.
(role clip 01:30:00 to 01:31:28)
What would you do if you had control? Given that mankind is inherently evil - wouldn’t you try to control it? Manipulate it?
There are many people who think that God is that way - that he controls us... But I believe something different about God, because I believe that God gives us free will.
God gives us the choice. The choice to do right, and the choice to do evil. The choice to worship him, or the choice not to...
The next character I want us to look at is a robot named Sonny. In the movie, Sonny is seen to be different than all the other robots. He’s accused of a crime, but there’s also something really special about him...
(role clip 01:08:13 to 01:10:14)
Sonny is what’s known as a Jesus type. He is a character that will sacrifice himself for others. Dr. Lanning created Sonny for one reason - to save the others...
It’s interesting to me that in the middle of this science fiction, murder mystery, you have the gospel...
The gospel message is pretty simple. God created the world and we chose, remember free will, to do our own thing - we chose to sin - so God gave his son, Jesus so that we might be redeemed. Jesus death on the cross paid the penalty for our sin. He sacrificed our life so that we could be reunited with God. He gave his life, so that we might have life.
In 2 Corinthians 5: 17-21 listen to what Paul says... (Read Text) if we trust Christ we are made new, we are also given this message of reconciliation, this idea that we are called to share this great message - the message is that God made Christ, who knew no sin, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
If you read through the New testament, at even a cursory level, you are confronted with the fact that Christ is special. he was made for a purpose....
Detective Spooner - The final character I want us to look at is Will Smith’s character. From the outset of the movie, its clear he has a beef with the robots.
(Role Clip - 01:02:40 to 01:06:53)
Spooner is a broken man. He was put back together by Alfred Lanning, and Lanning uses him ultimately to save the world. What Spooner and everyone else sees as a weakness is actually a strength.
Most of us are just like Spooner. We try to hide our weaknesses. We hide anything that makes us different: especially the stuff that we are not proud of, or the stuff that happened before we got saved...
But I need you to know something. God wants to use all that stuff - all of your broken pieces that God has put back together - God wants to use that to help other people.
What you see as baggage and as weakness, God often sees as an opportunity.
That passage we looked at earlier says that God has made us new. In Christ we are made new, given a second shot, another chance - but it also says now our job is to help others... You have the best shot at helping others just like you!
You may think that because you had an abortion, or got divorced, or were in prison, or have an addiction - that God can’t use you - but you are wrong.
In Christ you are made new, the old is gone ...but the old becomes huge if you will allow God to use it. You will speak into the lives of people who were just like you, and who need to hear your story - that Christ has made you new...that Christ has given you life!
