The Voyage of the Dawn Treader  Part 4 Aslan’s Country

Today on this Sunday before Christmas we are going to conclude our series of

          messages inspired by C.S. Lewis children’s story:

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

“Sometimes fairy stories may say best what’s to be said.”

(Devin Brown, Inside the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, p.238)

When you look closely at what Lewis has written you can see that his characters

          point us to a reality,

a reality that is concerned about the spiritual journey,

about maturing in Christ.

Three characters were chosen for us to examine

We have looked at Eustace,

          The boy who turned into a dragon and then was transformed back into a boy.                      We discovered that we all start out our spiritual journeys as dragons.

                   We need the atoning grace of God to change from being a dragon,

                             into a human being.

The cure begins when you

          Acknowledge the fact that you are stuck being a dragon.

          Believe that Jesus can transform you from being a dragon into

                   being a human being, into being like Him.

          Commit yourself to being one of Jesus disciples, unlearn your

                   dragon ways and gain the mind of Christ.

          Then you need to ask God to accept your faith.

                   When God does, He will undragon you,

giving you a new life,

                                      He will begin the cure in you.

Then we looked at Lucy.

          We learned about temptation.

                   Temptation reveals the things that still need to be transformed in our                                   hearts.

                                      A temptation can reveal an unmet need deep within us.

                   We know that God will not allow us to be tempted by something that

                             is greater than our ability to resist, overcome or escape from,

                                      we are called to watch and pray so that temptation

                                                doesn’t cause us to fall in our journey.

Last time we looked at Reepicheep.

          We learned what having a pure heart was all about,

                   The importance of having one governing desire,

                             To be a person of singular vision.

                                      It’s the pure in heart who see God.

          For us,

Those who have committed themselves.

 that singular vision is loving God and loving others.

Today we are going to journey with, Edmund, Lucy and Eustace to the very End of

          the World where we will get a glimpse of Aslan’s Country.

Aslan’s Country is the equivalent to Narnia Heaven.

What I hope to accomplish is to give you a glimpse at the two possible endings to

          your spiritual journey.

Those possible endings are what we commonly call Heaven and Hell.

After a short review of these eternal destinations we consider how the birth

          of Christ makes it possible for you to choose the destination you

                   desire.

As the tale of the Voyage of the Dawn Treader draws to an end the pace of the

          book slows dramatically.

Only Reepicheep will travel on into Aslan’s Country.

We are left with the humans outside, looking in,

and that look is just a passing glance.

King Caspian and the Dawn Treader are headed back to Narnia.

Reepicheep, Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace continue east in their little row boat.

“On the third day they see a wall of water around 30 feet high,

          like a waterfall in reverse.”

(http://www.shmoop.com/voyage-dawn-treader/chapter-16-summary.html)

“Beyond the wave and the sun,

the four of them see an incredibly tall mountain range.

Although it's awe-inspiringly high,

it has warm green forests and waterfalls instead of snow and ice.”

(http://www.shmoop.com/voyage-dawn-treader/chapter-16-summary.html)

The wall of water wave marks the boundary of this land called Narnia.

          Behind the wave, and behind the sun is the narrators way of saying outside

                   the world.  (Devin Brown, Inside the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, p.229)

                             Outside the world is Aslan’s Country

“From the warm, green mountains of Aslan’s country comes a mysterious breeze

          that lasts only a moment but brings ‘a smell’ and ‘a musical sound.’”

(VDT, chapter 16)

The narrator tells us that Edmund, Lucy and Eustace never talk about the scent and

          the sound but always remember it.

The scent and the sound have a profound affect on the companions,                            Lucy says “though not sad, the sound, would break your heart.” 

(Devin Brown, Inside the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, p.231)

“The little boat runs aground.

Reepicheep lowers his coracle, throws his sword into the sea, and says goodbye.

     He gets into the coracle and paddles toward the wave.

When he reaches it, the coracle is pulled upward along the wall of water,

     then it vanishes at the top.

The sun rises and the vision of the mountains fades away.”

(http://www.shmoop.com/voyage-dawn-treader/chapter-16-summary.html)

The sight, the scent and the sound of Aslan’s country is all that we get.

          We do not accompany Reepicheep.

                   All we get is a glimpse of Narnia Heaven.

                             More on that in a moment.

Hell and Heaven, that’s the either or destinations of the spiritual journey.

          Let me share a few thoughts with you.

Hell, when we think of Hell we have pictures of fire and brimstone,

          Devils and demons tormenting the souls of the wicked.

                   The stuff of Dante’s Inferno fills our imagination.

                             Different levels of eternal suffering for different degrees of evil

                                       committed while on Earth are justly distributed.

Jesus used a variety of word pictures to describe the torments of  Hell.

Fire appears in many of His sayings

          “hellfire” (Matthew 5:22 MSG)

                   “Thrown into the fire” (Matthew 7:19 NIV)

                             “The fiery furnace” (Matthew 13:49 NIV)

                                      “Eternal fire” (Matthew 25:41)

                                                “Unquenchable fire” (Mark 9:43)

                   If you’ve ever been burned, you begin to imagine what a horrible

                             image this is or if you have a much more conservative bent

                                      what a horrible fate this is.

In the book of Revelation Hell is the second death

Revelation 20:15 (MSG)

Anyone whose name was not found inscribed in the Book of Life was hurled into Lake Fire.

Hell has been prepared for the devil and his angels. (Matthew 25:41)

          The sinner, the unrighteous, the ones who reject God will share it.

Revelation 21:8 (NIV)

…the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

Now I have a bias,

          An opinion—and everyone is entitled to their own opinion no matter how

                   wrong it may be.

                             I have a different concept of hell.

If you recall last week I told you that God gives you the desire of your heart.

          Now I wasn’t talking about a brand new sports car,

                   I was talking about the way you live your life.

                             Your deep heart’s desire.

          You know that sin deters, damages and destroys right relationships.

                   The reason why we sin is because we start out this life as dragons,

                             Remember Eustace.

                   Eustace was well practiced in all the self sins:

self-righteous, self-conceited, self-centered, self satisfied,

          self-interested, self-absorbed while lacking

self-awareness.

                   Another name for the self sins is egoism.

                             What motivates egoism is the desire to be God.

If indeed God gives you your life’s desire,

          And your life’s desire is to be God,

                   Albeit a self-absorbed God,

          Could hell be solitary confinement in a place where there is no

                   one to be responsible to and no one to be responsible for

                             except the thing you love the most, yourself?

Jesus paints more than one kind of picture of hell.

          Jesus describes hell as being thrown out,

                   “into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of

                             teeth."  Matthew 8:12 (NIV)

          Utter darkness means total separation from God

                   Weeping refers to grief , sorrow, sadness and despair.

                             Gnashing of teeth refers to angry resentment,

slander, viciousness, hatred, and blasphemy 

          {Maybe like a sensory deprivation tank}

So I am of the opinion that Hell is a place of utter isolation where one is consumed

          by despair and hate;

                   A place where one’s existence is like living eternally in a lake of fire.

Heaven,

          When we think of heaven we think of angles and harps and choirs singing,

                   Walking on streets of gold, living in mansions just over the hilltop,

                             Where there is no sickness or sorrow, no pain, no death.

Revelation 22:3-5 (NIV)

No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

The scriptures are generally vague about what heaven is all about.

          We do not have a clear picture other than its going to be a good place to be.

                   We know we will dwell in heaven in some bodily form,

                             But exactly what an imperishable body is,

                                      We’re not given detail. (1 Corinthians 15:42)

We know that we will be with Jesus. (John 14:3)

                   One more thing we do know, the after life is going to be incredible.

1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"

All Edmund, Lucy and Eustace got of Aslan’s Country,

was a sight, a smell and a sound, just a glimpse.

What’s heaven like?

     Again in my opinion, everything that we judge to be beautiful,

              And true, and good is a glimpse,

                        Just a sight, a smell and a sound,

                                  But it creates a longing in our hearts.

                                           We want to be there.

In a more adult book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis writes:

“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy,

the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

     ..Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy,

but only to arouse, to suggest the real thing…”

(C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 121)

Whatever we find that is true, or noble, or right, or pure or lovely or admirable

     or excellent or praiseworthy its just a glimpse of what heaven is like.

     (Philippians 4:8)

          Its the sight, the smell, the sound that arouses the desire,

                   The longing to go there

                             Actually its not a there, for it all emanates from a Him,

                                      The Triune God.

In another work for adults, “The Weight of Glory,” Lewis writes:

          “The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located

                   will betray us if we trust to them:

it was not in them, it only came through them,

and what came through them was longing….

For they are not the thing itself;

they are only the scent of a flower we have not found,

the echo of a tune we have not heard,

the news from a country we have never yet visited.

(Brown, Inside the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, p. 232 quoted C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, p. 30-31)

Lewis elaborates:

          We do not want merely to see beauty, through, God knows,

even that is bounty enough,

we want something else which can hardly be put into

          words—

to be united with the beauty we see,

to pass into it,

to receive it into ourselves,

to bathe in it,

to become part of it.

(Brown, Inside the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, p. 221 quoted C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, p. 42)

So these glimpses of heaven call to us.

          They touch something deep within,

                   Something primordial yet profoundly human,

                             That creates a longing desire for that which is beyond our

                                      here and now.

John 18:36 (NIV)

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world…”

John 15:19 (NIV)

“…as it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.”

2 Corinthians 5:1 (NIV)

“…we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”

Hebrews 13:14 (NIV)

For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Philippians 3:14 (NIV)

“…God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 3:20 (NIV)

“…our citizenship is in heaven…”

Can you recall the words of Lucy as she tried to communicate her glimpse of

          Aslan’s Country?

“Lucy will say only that the sound, though not sad,

‘would break your heart.’”

(Brown, Inside the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, p. 231—VDT Ch 16 p. 243)

                             It’s the longing desire that breaks the heart,

                                      The glimpses arouse us to the reality of what will

                                                truly satisfy every need of our heart.

                                                          We are to respond.

Hell, heaven,

          Outside, Inside,

                   Darkness, Light,

                             Fire, Feasting,

                                      Isolation, Community

                                                Despair, Joy

                                                          Hate, Love

                                                                   Gnashing, Praise

                                                                             Punishment, Reward

                                                                             Separation, Connection

God will eventually give you the desire of your heart.

          What’s your desire?

                   Hell or heaven?

                             Its not just an intellectual choice—

                                      It’s a choice decided in the heart,

                                                It’s a life lived centered on the desire.

Reepicheep has left the humans.

“Eustace, Edmund, and Lucy get out of the boat and wade south through the

     water, keeping the backwards waterfall on their right.

Eventually they come to a grassy plain.

As they walk along the plain, they realize they are at the place

          where the sky actually meets the ground,

like a bright blue wall.”

(http://www.shmoop.com/voyage-dawn-treader/chapter-16-summary.html)

“On the grass they see a white lamb.

The Lamb invites them to have breakfast and

they see a fire with fish roasting over it. (John 21:12)

They eat hungrily.”

(http://www.shmoop.com/voyage-dawn-treader/chapter-16-summary.html--VDT Ch 16 p.246)

“Lucy asks the Lamb if this is the way to Aslan's country.

The Lamb says that, for them,

the way to Aslan's country is through their own world.

          As the lamb talks,

telling them there is a way to Aslan’s country from every

          world,  the lamb transforms into the golden lion.”

(http://www.shmoop.com/voyage-dawn-treader/chapter-16-summary.html)

“Lucy asks Aslan to tell them the way to his country from their own world.”

“’I shall be telling you all the time,’ said Aslan.

‘But I will not tell you how long or short the way will be,

Only that it lies across a river.

          But do not fear for that, for I am the great Bridge Builder.”

(C.S. Lewis, VDT, p. 247)

“’Are you there too, Sir?’ said Edmund.

          ‘I am,’ said Aslan. ‘But there I have another name.

 You must learn to know me by that name.’”      (C.S. Lewis, VDT, p. 247)

Aslan opens a door in the sky and the three children instantly find themselves

          back in Aunt Alberta’s spare bedroom where their adventure began;

Back in the world they belong to, this world, our world,

          where Aslan is known by another name.

Aslan reveals to Edmund, Lucy and Eustace that in this world,

          He is the great bridge builder.

                   He is the great bridge builder between heaven and earth,

                             He is the great bridge builder between you and God.

You and I must come to know Him by His name here.

Luke 1:26-33 (NIV)

²⁶ In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

     ²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

There are two possible destinations to the spiritual journey—heaven or hell.

Knowing Jesus and knowing Jesus as the desire of your heart

will determine your destiny. (John 17:3)

Jesus enters this world as a lamb.

Luke 2:4-7 (NIV)

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Even though this lamb is a Lion too,

          Now is not the time to be afraid,

                   Now is the time to approach,

                             To acknowledge that you want heaven in you and you in

                                      heaven.

                   Now it the time to approach,

                             To believe that Jesus is the one who can make you fit for

                                      heaven.

                   Now is the time to approach,

                             To commit to discipleship, to learn how to be the dwelling

                                      place for heaven and to dwell in heaven.

                   Now is the time to ask God to accept your faith,

                             to allow you to begin knowing Jesus.

Now, Christmas, is the time to consider the desire of your heart.

          Let the sights and the sounds, the smells, the tastes,

                   The loved ones, friends and family be to you a glimpse of heaven.

          Ask God to let those glimpses create in you a heart breaking longing,

                   the deepest desire to live your life in such a way

                             as that when this life is all said and done,

                                      God grants you the desire of your heart,

                                                And you find yourself in glory.

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