Don't Let It Go To Waste

Have you seen the movie Taken with Liam Neeson? Even if you haven’t seen the movie, I am sure you have heard about The Scene. Sermons have been written about it. People quote it all the time. It has become iconic, and it is easy to understand why. I feel like Liam Neeson is being his authentic self in this scene. I mean the man has played a jedi master and God for goodness sakes, who in their right mind would think they could kidnap his daughter and get away with it? I certainly wouldn’t. Anyway, I am sure that I have shared this clip from Taken before, and I apologize for that, but it is just too perfect not to use again for this blog post.  

Pastor Clay touched on this in his message on Sunday as he wrapped up our series about learning to fear less and trust God more. He talked about healthy, or constructive, fears and unhealthy, or destructive, fears. There absolutely are some fears that are necessary and helpful in our lives. Unfortunately, we tend to be more familiar with the fears in our lives that are unnecessary and unhelpful. There is no shortage of those, and they are the ones that can take control over our lives in an instant. So, how do we stop them? How do we prevent those destructive fears from taking control of us? I believe that one minute clip from Taken shows us exactly what we can do.

I talk a lot about the many names for God and Jesus, but do you know what some of the names of our enemy are? He is most commonly known as Satan, which means accuser or adversary. It is derived from a verb meaning primarily to obstruct or oppose. He is also known as the father of lies (John 8:44). He is referred to a couple of times as the tempter (Matthew 4:3, 1 Thessalonians 3:5). I have heard him referred to as the great deceiver because of his work in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). He is also often called the evil one (John 17:15). The point is, as his many names imply, there is nothing good or right or true about him. His goal is to separate us from God and prevent us from living the rich, satisfying life that Jesus provides. 

How do you think the enemy accomplishes his goal in our lives? From my experience, he goes after our minds first. He knows that if he can convince us that we are not who God says we are and that God is not who He says He is, he wins. He works to confuse us and make us second guess both ourselves and God. He speaks just enough truth into our minds that we begin to believe the lies that follow. It is pretty smart on his part, I’ll give him that. 

I have been watching a lot of documentaries lately, and I have learned a few things. These documentaries have reminded me of just how powerful the human mind really is and how easily it can be manipulated. I really believe this is why 2 Timothy 1:7 exists. God made us. He knows how powerful our minds are and how easily they can be manipulated. He knew we would need that reminder when the enemy starts to weasel his way into our minds. This is why I am so passionate about identity. When we know beyond the shadow of a doubt who we are, it becomes much more difficult for the enemy to manipulate us with his lies. 

This is why I believe that clip from Taken fits so perfectly. We have the tool we need to defeat our enemy. That’s right, I said tool…singular. All we need is God’s truth to fight off our greatest foe, and we have access to that 24/7/365 in the pages of scripture. The problem is we don’t go to it as often as we should so that we can be ready when the enemy attacks. We have come to rely on Google or social media for our knowledge. Some of us even look to pastors or Christian books for knowledge of who we are and what God says about us. I am not saying that pastors and Christian books can’t be trusted. What I am saying is that there is only one book that you need, and you probably have a minimum of three copies of it in your home and access to even more copies on your phone. 

Every time you dig into scripture, you are building your arsenal and strengthening the skill set you need to defeat your enemy when he comes knocking. Every verse of scripture that you memorize is another piece of armor added. When you read God’s word, you gain knowledge (head knowledge). When you talk to God about His word and allow Him to speak wisdom and insight into your life, you gain understanding (heart knowledge). As the saying goes, the more you know, the more you understand. The more you understand, the more you know what to do. You have everything you need to prepare yourself for the enemy’s attacks; you just have to decide that it is important enough to do it. 

Once you begin to armor up each day, you will be able to give that speech from Taken to the enemy every time he spits lies at you and tries to fill you with fear. Don’t think he will just roll over and take it either. He will reply to you the same way the guy in the movie replied to Liam Neeson’s character. Don’t be fooled by his response. He knows he doesn’t stand a chance against the truth of God’s word in your life, but if he can drum up even a little bit of fear at the end, he will. 

Here is my version of the speech. Maybe it could help you the next time fear comes knocking at the door of your mind. 

I know who you are, and I know what you want. I know you are after my mind, and I can tell you that you are not going to have it. Why? Because I have a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired through a very close relationship with my Father. Skills that make me a nightmare for you. I suggest you go on and leave now and let that be the end of it, because if you don’t, I will call on the name of Jesus, and you will have no choice but to flee. You see, my Daddy didn’t give me a spirit of fear. I have the spirit of God in me and that gives me power over you and everything like you. So, we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way, but I can promise you that either way we do this, I will conquer you and come out victorious. 

Do my fears always flee? No. A lot of times we have to battle it out. The thing is the end is always the same. It always ends with me conquering those fears and coming out victorious. It may take a few days sometimes, but the end is always the same. I would encourage you to write your own version of the Taken speech and file it away to use the next time your mind becomes flooded with fear. You do not have to succumb to the lies of the enemy. You were given a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. Don’t forget that, and don’t let it go to waste.