I love movies. Anyone who knows me well will verify that. If I am in the Philippines (where movies are cheap) I can watch 3-4 movies a day no problem! The bigger the screen and louder the music the better the movie environment! I rarely watch a movie twice. I can only recall two off the top of my head: End of the Spear and The Mission. Both are about jungle tribes which is one of my favorite topics. Several years ago I showed the T’moan their first movie. I brought a generator, LCD projector and a bed sheet on my motorcycle and showed the movie on the side of a little house. We call it “Good News”, it is not a real Hollywood movie yet (a big budget version is in production called “Kingdom Come”), but it is a hack job of the Jesus Film, Independence Day, 10 Commandments and some 1970’s Adam and Eve flick. It is exactly one hour long and powerful! (I am not joking). If you have ever seen the Jesus Film you know that it is the story of Jesus’ life as told in the Gospel of Luke. So it is purely a historical movie. You can go away quite easily and have only a foggy idea of what the gospel is. So, some Japanese friends of mine (with some Scandinavian pirate blood in them) made this hack job movie to show people why Jesus was born and why we need him. It is clear, concise, and powerful.
It starts with a little boy looking up into the night sky filled with stars. He is pondering: “Who made all this?” Then it demonstrates creation and the variety of beautiful life we have on earth. Then it talks about sin and how sin has caused us to fall away from God. People even created their own gods out of objects such as wood, rock and gold.
Then it has a section about the basics of Jesus. He was born, lived a sinless life, went around performing many miracles and focuses specifically on what he taught. It climaxes with Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection from the dead. From here people now can understand why Jesus came to earth and why they need him. But it does not quit there. We know how it is all going to end: The return of Jesus. So using modern computer graphics you can see Jesus returning in the clouds with his angels to judge the world. This is where the movie Independence Day comes in: cities are blown up (they deleted the flying saucers and aliens), tidal waves and massive global destruction. It culminates with millions of people standing before the judgment seat of Christ. One by one the angels drag the people up to Christ’s throne to give an account for their lives. One by one they are thrown into a fiery afterlife. (Again, really cool graphics).
But, it is not over there. Those who have believed in Jesus, who have repented of their sins, are ushered into a life of peace in heaven with Jesus. It ends with the “Hallelujah Chorus” and everyone is thrilled. Computer graphics simulating heaven top off the movie.
Well, we had shown them this movie a few years ago, and they were begging to see it again. I only had a borrowed six inch portable DVD player with me, so I set it up on my truck. I plugged it into the cigarette lighter on my truck and about 150 people sat on the ground staring at a six inch screen for exactly one hour to watch the movie.
You may wonder what the result was. Well, they are already Christians, so I don’t think we had any new conversions. I know that it was a good reminder to them of why they need Jesus to forgive their sins and the importance of seeking righteous living. Also, those 150 tribal people living in the middle of the jungle sure had a fun time watching a movie on a six inch screen!