At the Movies | The Secret Life of Walter Mitty | Jeremy DeWeerdt

All right, all right, welcome City First. It is so good to see you. Thank you so much for being here today. And if you are with us for the very first time, you've joined us during a very special month. Not only do we have baptism today at all of our locations, and I wanna say congratulations to everyone who is baptized, but also on top of that, we have at the movies. And you say, what is this? Well, this month we focus on movies, but movies aren't really the topic, rather they're the beginning of the conversation. It's based on the idea of like 2000 years ago, Jesus revealed life's truths through stories. We call them parables. Well, movies are in some ways modern day parables. And so we are going to talk about life's truths that are biblical truths. And we're gonna do the same thing this month by using some movies. And so today, like you just heard, we're gonna talk about a fabulous movie called The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Now, how many of you have seen this movie? I'm just curious. All right, yeah, a few of you have. Most of you haven't. I would highly suggest seeing it. It's actually a really great movie. And it's about a guy by the name of Walter

who worked for Life Magazine. And Walter has a good job as a negative assets manager. Now, I wanna take a moment and I wanna explain what a photo negative is to the younger demographic with us here today. Because there are some people here that are like going, what is a photo negative? What is that? Well, back in the day, all right, you used to take pictures, not with your phone, but what was called a camera, all right? And when you would take pictures with a camera, you actually had to go buy film. And it came in a little container. It was like a little metal container. You put it inside of this device called a camera. And then you would take pictures. And what it would do is the camera would actually put the imprint of that photo on what is called a negative. It was like a little strip. And then you had to take the little container full of negatives and you'd have to go to a store. And then you would say, would you please develop these negatives into pictures? And that could take three days. And then, because of the marvels of modern technology, there were some stores that could do it in one hour. Do you remember this? All right, and then what you would do

is you would get your photos back and they were actually printed photos. And then you would also get your negative back in the little like paper envelope. And so nowadays, we don't have negatives. We just take pictures with our phones. It's all digital and stuff. But back in the day, Walter was a negative assets manager, which means that he had to organize all the negatives. And he's just going through the motions, day in and day out. And he had a good job, but his dreams of a better and a more satisfying life were consuming him. And it was like he was missing something. No matter what he accomplished in life, it still felt like his life was way too small. Watch this. We begin by meeting Walter Mitty, a steady man living a common life. We see him open his online dating profile and try to build up the courage to send a wink to his crush, Cheryl. Cheryl's online dating profile says that she's looking for a man who is adventurous, brave, and creative. After much debate with himself, he finally musters up the courage to hit wink. And of course, technology fails him, and it doesn't work. He tries over and over to send the wink, but to no avail.

He finally leaves for his walk to work. Upon waiting for the train, he calls the online dating customer service to complain. The man on the other line says, you left your online profile blank. You need to fill in where it says, been here, done that. Walter replies, I haven't really been anywhere noteworthy or mentionable. And the man says, well, have you done anything noteworthy or mentionable? At the moment, Walter hears a dog barking and valiantly runs to his aid, jumping across the platform into the adjacent building to save the dog from the building explosion. The dog ends up belonging to his crush, Cheryl. Cheryl thanks him and says, you're noteworthy. And Walter says back, I just live by the ABCs, adventurous, brave, creative. Then it quickly flashes back to the train platform and we realize his noteworthy rescue was all a daydream. Adventure, brave, courageous. I believe all of us want a life. that is full of meaning and purpose. In essence, that we want to be an adventurer, we want to be brave, we want to be courageous. You know, I've spoken to countless people over the last 34 years of being a pastor, young and old, those that have affluence, those who maybe don't have as much, those that are famous, those that are maybe more hidden,

and the one thing, the one thing that I've decided that all of them really want deep down inside is a life that is full of meaning and happiness. In fact, many people, they try to find meaning and happiness in all kinds of various ways. They try to find it through relationships. Maybe they try to find it through making money or experiences or achievements or success or maybe by gaining other people's approval. And one thing I've discovered in the last 34 years of talking to probably thousands of people is this, that none of those things are necessarily wrong, but none of those things that people are pursuing will bring total fulfillment and lasting happiness. And it reminds me of the Bible character we're gonna talk about today, and his name is Zacchaeus, and his story is in the New Testament. Now, if you grew up in Sunday school, you probably remember singing a song about this man. Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see. How many of you remember that song? Okay, then a few of you do. All right, Zacchaeus was a man of small stature, but ironically, he was also living a small life. I think it's interesting. This story has all kinds of not only realities, but symbolism.

He was small in stature, but he was also living a small life. And we're told that Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector in the area. Now, tax collectors in Jesus's day were very powerful people. They would lord over people, and they were also very hated, all right, very hated. And the reason why they were hated is because most tax collectors would go to collect taxes from the common people, and they were kind of like thugs. I mean, honestly, they were very like pressure, and they would be like, you owe money, but most of the time that the tax collectors would actually demand more money than what the common person owed, and then they would keep that extra money. They'd skim off the top. In other words, they were stealing from the common people. So Luke chapter 19 tells a story of Zacchaeus. Let's look at it for a moment. It says here, Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through town. There was a man there by the name of Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and listen to this, he had become very rich. Now, the way he became rich is he stole people's money, okay? So then it says this, he tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd.

So he ran ahead, and he climbed a sycamore fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. Put yourself in the story for a moment. You see Zacchaeus, small in stature, but also living a small life, and he runs ahead. He kind of sees where Jesus is heading, and he runs ahead, and he climbs up into a tree. And honestly, Zacchaeus, from a financial and a sociological standpoint, had everything that we would probably say would make him happy and fulfilled. He had money, he had status, and he had comfort, and yet he wasn't happy. Walter Mitty, in the movie, had financial security, he had a position, and quite honestly, a pretty comfortable life. Yet both of them, listen, both of them longed for something more than what their current lives were offering. And the reason why I picked this movie is because I believe right now there are a lot of people right now in America, in this room, in the rooms that are listening to me, that they are longing for something more. They want something more. In America, we have more than any other nation, but you look at the surveys, and our happiness level is decreasing almost by the second. And it has been magnified, I believe, over the last couple weeks.

People are shaken by the events that have taken place in our nation. are asking serious questions. People are wanting more than this. And many people are wishing and wanting and dreaming for a different world, but they're also wanting and wishing and dreaming maybe even for themselves for a different life. They're thinking maybe more money might help, less fear. Maybe wishing for less stress in their current job or life or marriage or family, less noise, more love. They're wishing, they're like, isn't there a way that we could have less of the bad and more of the good? And maybe even you're one of these people today. And you like Walter, you're feeling like life is maybe full of some things you don't want. And maybe it's even a little mundane or maybe even a little stuck. Or maybe you're like Zacchaeus, that you have had accomplishments and you have gained some level of success, but yet you still feel like empty on the inside. Or maybe you're like a lot of people in culture right now that you're searching for more. There's just something inside of you. You look at the news, you look online, you look on social media, you go to work and you go, gosh, is this all there is right now? What is going on?

Is the world gone crazy? Are things crazy right now? Through a series of events, Walter Mitty is forced to step out of his comfort zone. And it's a combination, listen, of frustration and fate. And it changes his life. And you look at even like what we're going through. And I think to myself, I think, that's kind of a normal reaction. When we feel like we're stuck or we feel like days are dark, our lack of fulfillment causes us to step out of our comfort zone that really we're stuck in and into the fears of the unknown. It's really something that is happening right now in our culture. Zacchaeus does the exact same thing. Zacchaeus risks public ridicule. I mean, this is a person of stature and affluence and power. And he climbs a tree. Like this is something that he's risking his reputation. Why? He's desperate. He's desperate. A powerful tax collector. This is well beneath his dignity, but his hunger outweighed his pride. And there are many people right now in our nation, maybe in this room or watching online, that your hunger for something that's real

in this highly fake world it feels like, it outweighs your pride. Both men in these stories had desperation. And I think there's a growing desperation right now that we're seeing in our world. I think there's a growing desperation. This desperation, let me just tell you, is not gonna be satisfied by the things that people are focusing on right now. The desperation is not gonna go away if all of the arguing and all of the debates and all of the division and all of the things that right now America is focusing on, if that gets resolved, the desperation is still gonna be there. And I'll tell you, here's the reason why. Because the desperation that we are feeling right now in our nation is spiritual. It's a spiritual desperation. And I'm telling you, only a spiritual and divine solution can fix a spiritual desperation. It's not just material, it's not just emotional, it's not just sociological, it is spiritual. I recently had someone say this to me. They said, you know what, I should be happy. In other words, looking at where they're at in life, what they've accomplished. But I'm not. And they said, I should be good, but I'm not.

I thought that encapsulates a lot of people right now. I should be happy. I have. have resource or I have I have access to to a life that that is in a nation that that's free and has all kinds of problems but but still we have a free nation and you know people are saying I have I have like the ability to reach to things and and and to have freedom of speech and I should be good but I'm not so here my question to you today City first and maybe you're visiting for the first time and can I just say you're adopted into our family whether you like it or not all right so welcome okay but I have a question for all of us City first whether it's your first day or your your 50th year of being with us all right how are you doing how are you doing right now I mean really some might say I'm doing okay and some might say like that person to talk to me I should be good and I'm not see in the movie Walter overseas organizing the negatives for life magazine and life magazine is about ready to go out of physical print they are gonna cease physical copies and go completely online and digital and so the photographer that's in the field sends Walter the negative for the perfect picture for the final cover of life magazine the final physical cover and here's the problem Walter misplaces the negative and Walter must step out of his fears and try to go find the photographer that's on the other side of the world to try to get another copy another negative of the picture that he took and in doing so as he's trying to find this photographer he faces a lot of challenges obstacles and doubts let's watch we see Walter finally decide to walk in courage and begin the adventure into the unknown he runs towards the helicopter as it begins to take off he makes it and leaps into the helicopter and it flies away he can't believe he actually did it nervous as they fly over the ocean the pilot turns back to him and says you comfortable to which Walter replies no emphatically they approach the ship that Walter is attempting to get on splashing through the waves the helicopter descends closer to the ship Walter asks where do we land and the pilot responds we don't they circle and

the pilot says you just gotta jump into the boat after much hesitation fear and questioning Walter in a panicked moment of courage jumps out of the helicopter into the water the pilot ironically says I meant the little boat just then a shark begins to swirl around Walter the shark starts to attack Walter as the crew hurries to save him he fights off the shark and evades its attack just as the crew pulls him into the rescue boat Walter exclaims out of breath that really happened you know what that tells me transformation requires courage and I want to take a moment I want to talk to two groups that are listening to me today there are two groups are listening today and I want to talk to each of you okay first I want to talk to those of you that maybe don't know Jesus or maybe at one time you did and you followed him but for one reason or another you don't anymore I just want to first of all say if you're in this group I want to thank you for being here and I want to just tell you I invite you as the pastor of this place to just go on a journey of discovery and maybe curiosity but maybe if you're in that category that you don't know Jesus maybe you're sensing right now that there is some level of dissatisfaction maybe even heaviness maybe the current events as you see things online or watch the various news programs or you know look at social media maybe these current events have rattled you as as they probably should rattle us right and and maybe you feel an empty feeling to a certain degree and and maybe a little bit of a hopelessness of like what is happening to our world where were we going and and again maybe this is something that's well even beyond the last couple weeks maybe you've been feeling it for quite some time you might be accomplished or maybe you're just starting off in your career maybe you're just right now in school or something like that but but you may be at the top of your field or maybe you feel like you're in a valley right now maybe you're going through something in life that is Super challenging. But you find yourself at a place where you're searching.

And I'm here to simply tell you, I might have a reason or an indicator as to maybe why you're feeling that. There's a Bible verse in the Old Testament, it's found in the book of Ecclesiastes. And this is what it says. It says, God has planted eternity in the human heart. But even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. What does this verse mean? It means this, that every single one of us, every human being, has been internally wired to believe that maybe there's something more than what we're just physically seeing. Maybe there's something more than the 80, 90, 100 years that we get to walk the face of this earth. Maybe there's something more, and I talk to a lot of people who feel this, that maybe they don't know Jesus or follow him or consider themselves a Christian or a church person or whatever, but they say there's something more than just being born and growing up and working and buying and retiring and dying. There's something more. There's something more than just getting money or accomplishments or fame. Something bigger than just pleasure or entertainment. Something more than just ticking items off of a bucket list. But rather, there's something internally

that doesn't feel all the way filled up. And I believe that verse is saying this. I'm gonna put it in very elementary terms because I'm an elementary person, all right? God has created eternity in our hearts because he wants a relationship with us. That God, I'm gonna put it this way. There isn't literally a physical, but I think there is a spiritual God-shaped hole inside of each and every one of us that only a relationship with Jesus can fill that hole. And until then, they're searching, but it doesn't satisfy. You try to get this, you try to do this, you try to date that person, whatever else, there's still this sense of like, is there more? And it requires courage, I would say, to follow Jesus and make him the leader and the forgiver of your life. It'll require faith. Because I know some of you are going, well, I need to understand everything about God and everything about faith and who this Jesus was before I could ever take that step. And I would say, yes, you do wanna understand, but you're not gonna understand everything. It requires faith. But once you understand that Jesus really does love you and that he did die for our sin and that he can forgive you for your shortcomings

as he has mine, you begin to discover a fulfilling life that is not perfect and it is not without struggle. There is struggle because we live in a hopelessly broken world. But little by little, you begin to see and realize a life that truly is fulfilling. Jesus said it this way, I'm gonna quote him, all right? It's recorded in the book of John chapter 10. He says, the thief, meaning Satan, comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. So Jesus is going, you wanna have life? It's in him. It's in a relationship with him. And so maybe for those people that are in this first category of saying, I don't know if I'm really a follower of Jesus, maybe I would just present to you this idea that if you allow Jesus to be the leader and the forgiver of your life, the Bible words for that are Lord and Savior, that you will discover a fulfilling life, not a perfect life, but a fulfilling life. And there are literally thousands of people that call City First home that have made that decision. And even though they would say life is not always easy, Jesus has given them a fulfilling life, that it really is true. It's not just religion.

It's not just made up fairy tales. The second group that I wanna talk to today are those people that you are a follower of Jesus. And I would say this to you, in the days ahead, following Jesus will require a bolder commitment and a deeper faith, that lukewarm Christianity ain't gonna cut it. And watered down faith is gonna fail. I would say that in this day and age, as there's this disruption going on in our. Culture and around our world that was just amplified within the last couple weeks. It's always been there It may just be amplified and on our radar more I have a verse for you and the verse is this it's found in first Corinthians It's Paul writing the Church of Corinth and he says be on your guard Stand firm in the faith be courageous be strong do everything in love No, let me break this down. What does it mean? What's Paul talking about be on your guard from what? Well, you got to go back into the story of the Church of Corinth to find out what he's talking about He's he's writing a letter to this church in Corinth Which was a city in that day that there was a very popular city. It was a it was kind of a mega city I mean it was pretty big and this little group of Christians are there forming a church. So what is going on in the church? What are they needing to be on guard from? Well, here it is false teaching and There were people who held Self-proclaimed religious titles that were spreading false theology and doctrine to that church and Paul is saying be on guard and I would tell you as a Christ follower. You better be on guard right now Because tick-tock theology and some of the things that are being proclaimed by people who say they are Religious leaders is garbage. It is not true theology You have to be wise in who you listen to and I didn't say this Even as you listen to me test what I say with the Word of God

Don't just take it as bona fide truth Test it and so I'm watching right now the church in America is becoming fractured over bad Teaching, you know what? It's causing the exact same thing it caused in the Church of Corinth back 2,000 years ago when Paul was writing them the result of bad teaching was confusion and division and I'm watching it and I'm just telling you maybe a little prophetic what I'm saying right now, but I'm just saying church city first We need to make sure we test all of the theology that we are hearing with the Word of God Don't just buy into it because it sounds good False theology always sounds good So please stand firm in the faith knows that mean what does that mean Paul says stand firm in the faith? Why? Why was the Church of Corinth having to stand firm here? It is ready Temptation They were in a city. That was kind of Kind of like the Vegas of that day. There's a lot of hedonistic things going on And you know what Paul is saying? Hey listen Stand firm in your faith because you're gonna be tempted. You're gonna be tempted to sin You're gonna be tempted to give up and go back to old living and I would say this to those people that are Christ followers Be careful Because there's a lot of temptations out there There's a lot of temptation to kind of go. You know what this all seems hopeless I just want to go back to having fun and partying and living for the weekends or or whatever it is the Temptation also to kind of give up and just go, you know, I I don't know what's going on. I'm gonna go just have fun Be careful. The other thing that it says there Paul said is be courageous and be strong against who well Satan In fact, he writes this in Ephesians chapter Chapter 6 for we do not wrestle or fight against flesh and blood but against the rulers and against the authorities and against the cosmic powers over this present darkness Against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places now

That sounds a little bit kind of like, you know, almost science fiction, but it's not You got to remember this when you're watching the news When you are tempted to be angry at how people are acting when you watch our culture Imploding in front of your eyes. You need to remember those things are problems, but there is a reason Sorry to sound like a Morgan Wallen song right now, okay But you know those things are problem But there's a reason you know the reason the enemy's at work Satan's at work Therefore the person that you're angry with because of how they're behaving is not the enemy The enemy is the enemy which is why Paul writes and in that other verse he says this he goes do everything in love Do everything in love why? Because hate doesn't eradicate the haters and violence does not stop the violence and sinning does not make sin go away. We must move in the opposite spirit of culture. You understand that? We got to move in the opposite spirit. In other words, where there's hate, we are people of love. When there's division, we don't bring more division, we bring unity. When there is injustice, we be people who say, no, we stand for justice. If there's hedonism, we live holy. If there's fear, we must have faith. If there's exploitation, we be people who are safe. You get my point. See, when the church, the church becomes super ineffective when we fight like the world fights. So how are we to fight? Well, let me read for you a passage on how we fight. It's in the ESV, by the way. I love it. This set of verses has a header and it starts out, the header says, marks of the true Christian. Not just someone who says they're a Christian, the true Christian. Says, let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful or lazy in zeal. Be fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Contribute, or in other words, give to the needs of the saints. And seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, as so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves,

but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For by doing so, you will heap burning coals on his head. Listen to this. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. This is how we fight. I had a lot of people go, we're in a battle, how we fight? Right there, that's how we fight. That's how we fight, because the weapons of our warfare are not weapons that are physical weapons, they're spiritual. We fight by moving in the opposite spirit of the culture around us. This will require a boldness in your school, a boldness in your neighborhood, a boldness in this nation, and a boldness in our city. As we close, Jesus sees Zacchaeus up in the tree, and he says this. When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. Zacchaeus, he said, quick, come down. I must be a guest in your home today. Zacchaeus is hated. And Jesus says, I'm coming to dinner. Zacchaeus went from a sinner to a seeker to being saved. Zacchaeus was not worthy of having Jesus come to dinner, but Jesus said, no, no, I want to come. Why? Because Jesus saw Zacchaeus' desperation, and he pursued relationship. And that's exactly what Jesus wants to do today with some of us. He wants to pursue relationship. For those of us who know Jesus, we need to be bold in our faith and be like a true Christian. And for those of us that maybe have yet to know Jesus, I would say this, have a courage and a boldness to open up the home of your heart to allow him to come in and take residence. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I just pray that God that in this season of great instability, great turmoil, and great division, I pray you'd help us to have courage because transformation requires courage. For those of us that were followers of Jesus, may that courage be to be a true Christian like it says in Romans chapter 12. May we embody those things that Paul wrote about. May we move in the opposite spirit. May we be willing to step out in faith and to be bold. And Lord, I pray for those people that maybe they say, I don't have a relationship with Jesus. May they have courage to step into the unknown today, to make you the leader and the forgiver of their life. The leader, the Lord, the forgiver, the Savior. So that they can discover the fulfilling life that you only give. That God-shaped hole that you only fill. With every head bowed and

every eye closed, if you say, man I'm in that second category of not knowing Jesus as my Lord and Savior. And today I want to make a bold statement. I saw all kinds of people getting baptized because they made that bold statement they're gonna follow Jesus. And I want to make that bold statement. I want to make Jesus the leader and the forgiver of my life. It doesn't mean you're gonna be perfect. It doesn't mean that life is gonna be perfect. But that you are saying, Jesus I want you in charge. And I want my sin forgiven. I want to live a life that is full of your purpose in heaven as my home someday. If that's you, go ahead with every head bowed and every eye closed, just go ahead and raise your hand at every location. Just raise your hand right now in this room. Yeah, hands are up. Hands are up everywhere. Hands are up. Give you a moment. Hands are up. All kinds of hands. Yeah, you may go ahead and put your hand down. Can we say a prayer together? And if you raise your hand, this prayer is not to me. It's not to the person next to you. God is listening. He loves you just the way you are. And he loves you enough to not keep you that way. He wants to forgive you and have a relationship with you. He wants to, like he did, Jesus did with Zacchaeus, come into the home of your heart and have relationships. So this prayer is saying, Jesus, forgive me. I want to make you the leader of my life. And we're gonna all pray this together. I'm gonna ask whether you raised your hand or you didn't. Let's all say this out loud. But if you raise your hand, God is listening to your voice. Let's all say this together. Ready? Jesus, I come to you today and I declare you to be my Lord and the leader of my life. Forgive me of all my sin and everything I've done wrong. I believe that you love me and that you died for me. I want to live for you. Thank you for loving me with an unconditional love that I don't deserve, but you freely give. In Jesus' name. And everybody said amen. Come on, let's give God a huge round of applause. What an amazing time together. Wow, what a powerful message. If you just made that decision to make Jesus the leader and forgiver of your life, we are celebrating with you. It's the best decision that you can make. And we're excited for the journey ahead. We're excited for what comes next. A couple of things that we want to give you, a couple handles for

what to do now that you've made that decision. Number one, make sure that you tell somebody, whether it's a friend or family member, share the good news of your decision. And then also we have a resource for you called New Beginnings and we have an electronic copy. Or if you stop by a physical location, we can give you one. Put one in your hand and it just answers the question, now what? It kind of takes you through the next steps. And so again, we are so excited for you and celebrating with all of you. Yeah, and a great next step after you go through that New Beginning resource is to go through Growth Track. And all that is, is a way for you to discover what your God-given purpose and design is. For me, I found that I have a huge call towards the youth and so that's what I've kind of stepped into. But it's definitely something you should look into and you can sign up for that on the app, the website, and it starts the first Sunday of each month. Yes, and then we want you to know we're praying for you. One thing that's great about our app is that you can enter a prayer request and we have a team that prays all week long for every prayer request that comes in. So make sure that you utilize that. Let us know what we can be praying for and believing for. And we also want to hear what God's done. So if there's something that God has answered prayers for, let us know. And then also don't forget to send this link to somebody that needs some encouragement, that needs to hear hope today. We're so glad that you joined us. Yes, and we will keep saying it. The best thing you can do is come back to church. So come back next week, we're going to be wrapping up our At The Movies series, and bring someone with you. Don't come alone, but we will see you then. See you next week!