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A Spiritual Lesson In Toon Language: Lesson 27

Topic: When Your World Falls Apart

Series: Voltron: Defender Of The Universe

Episode: Pidge's Home Planet

Lesson PDF link: 27.pdf

Introduction

We are discussing faith and prayer in times of trouble or sorrow. I use an episode from the Voltron (1980's Japanese Anime) episode "Pidge's Home Planet". We discuss the righteous ones being heard and their reward for being faithful and the unrighteous ones not being heard and their impending doom if they don't repent. We discuss citizenship in the kingdom of Heaven mostly, but there is of course the other side of the coin. Mostly as stated, we are staying with the righteous side of things.

Scriptures Used Include: Psalms Chapters 34 and 46; Ephesians 2: 11-22; Philippians 3: 12--4: 1

Today, we are discussing something about your life, your hopes, dreams, and your calling. Let's say that you've got everything including a home, friends, parents, and life's work. This is everything you love. What if you lost everything that you loved? How would you feel? In our cartoon today, our character focus is Pidge from Voltron (this is an old Japanese Anime from the 1980's). In this episode "Pidge's Home Planet", he literally loses his home planet from an enemy attack. We will discuss God's grace (which is very important). This is one of the chief reasons why we need to have God on our side (having Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior). Without Him, we are nothing.

Cartoon Show: Voltron: "Pidge's Home Planet":

Voltron: "Pidge's Home Planet": Direct link for video/webm

For this lesson, we are going to assume that Pidge is a Christian who literally lost his physical home and all of his hopes, dreams, maybe all relatives, and citizenship in Planet Balto (because there is no planet Balto anymore). Without knowing the ending of the story of the episode, how would you feel (hopeless or not)? Would you be able to start over or would you obsess on what you had and lost? If you were him how would you feel after finding the new citizenship on the planet that you serve in? In Pidge's case, the planet in question is Arus. In this lesson we are referring to Heaven. The reason being is because we serve the kingdom of Heaven, if we are talking about believers in Jesus Christ, and live on Earth.

The righteous ones would pray something like Psalms 34 and Psalms 46 for help in times such as this.

The Bible States:

Ps 34:1 I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.

Ps 34:2 My soul will boast in the LORD? let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

Ps 34:3 Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.

Ps 34:4 I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.

Ps 34:5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.

Ps 34:6 This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.

Ps 34:7 The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.

Ps 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Ps 34:9 Fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him lack nothing.

Ps 34:10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Ps 34:11 Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Ps 34:12 Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days,

Ps 34:13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.

Ps 34:14 Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

Ps 34:15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry;

Ps 34:16 the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

Ps 34:17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.

Ps 34:18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Ps 34:19 A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;

Ps 34:20 he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.

Ps 34:21 Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

Ps 34:22 The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

This is a prayer of praise and asking for deliverance. God hears the righteous pray and is delighted to answer, although sometimes we don't get the answer when or how we want it.

God always has enough power to save. This is God's promise for the righteous. These verses coming up show just how much power God has in summary (however not enough to do Him justice - because no words can).

The Bible States:

Ps 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Ps 46:2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

Ps 46:3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Selah

Ps 46:4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.

Ps 46:5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.

Ps 46:6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

Ps 46:7 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Selah

Ps 46:8 Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth.

Ps 46:9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire.

Ps 46:10 'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.'

Ps 46:11 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Selah

Yes, God is a mighty fortress indeed. But, what about the unrighteous like Prince Lotor? He obviously is not with God at all. He doesn't want to go to Planet Doom in disgrace. Why? For Lotor, he feels, failing is worse than dying in battle because his dad's wrath is worse than death itself. For Satan's kingdom this is true. The thing is that God's wrath is worse than death (because it is death without actually dying). Although Lotor's dad is not a God character or righteous (because he is a villain), we can clearly see that Lotor is spiritually and physically in a heap of trouble. How much faith do you have in God, in other words, would you stand firm for the Lord Jesus if you lost everything (literally) except your soul?

Let's look at one more thing. Pidge becomes a citizen of Arus with full citizenship. Pidge can become anything that he wants to be. Moreover, he can become what God wants to mold him to be (a Duke, a Baron, or a King), or something else that would be really cool. He has a new hope. As Christians, we need to be ready for God's plans for us. We can plan on Heaven. Heaven is the place that Christians will serve God forever and ever in whatever capacity needed without any inhibitions or a tempter to steer us wrong. Our final passages are found in Ephesians 2: 11-22 and Philippians 3: 12'4: 1

The Bible States:

Eph 2:11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called 'uncircumcised' by those who call themselves 'the circumcision' (that done in the body by the hands of men)'

Eph 2:12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

Eph 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,

Eph 2:15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,

Eph 2:16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

Eph 2:17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.

Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Eph 2:19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household,

Eph 2:20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

Eph 2:21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.

Eph 2:22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

The Bible States:

Phil 3:12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

Phil 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

Phil 3:14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Phil 3:15 All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.

Phil 3:16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Phil 3:17 Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.

Phil 3:18 For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

Phil 3:19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.

Phil 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

Phil 3:21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Phil 4:1 Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!

Where is your spiritual citizenship: Heaven or Hell (the destruction Paul is talking about)? Do you want to accept Jesus as your Savior? To those already in God's kingdom, how much faith do you truly have to receive what God wants you to?