Unstoppable (2013) - full transcript

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: This is the big mother
question for people,

no matter what
your background is

or what your
belief systems are:

is there any real justice
in the world

and why do bad things
happen to good people?

If there is a God of love
and power

and he can heal
and he can do miracles,

why doesn't he heal
all the amputees

and eradicate cancer
and pain and suffering

and all these kinds of things?



Where is this God?

And so I want to answer
that question based

on what we can know
from experience,

and from history,
and from God's word.

There's always going
to be a question mark

this side of heaven.

I think we get to find out

the big answers
on the other side

in ways that will, you know,
amaze and thrill us.

But for now, how do
we get through?

How do we deal with it
in a way

that doesn't make us want to
just crawl into a hole and die

and give up all faith or hope

that God is there
and that he cares?



I think, I think about it even
more now that I'm a father.

My wife and I have
six precious little kids.

There's nothing in the world
that I wouldn't give up

to keep them healthy and happy.

And my wife and I have been
serving at a camp

for terminally-sick children
for the last 20 years

and so we've met over 100
families who are struggling

with things like cancer
and terminal illnesses

and this is a question that
comes up every summer for us:

Why doesn't God heal
my baby girl?

As a dad, I wanna fix things.

I wanna fix problems
and the one problem

that I would do anything to be
able to fix, I can't fix.

I can't...I can't make this,
this cancer go away.

And so, yeah, it's a question

that's been on my mind
a long time.

[Vocalizing] ♪ Oh, oh, oh,
oh, oh, oh, ohhhh...♪

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: Well, actually I got home,
I actually got home with Jack.

Um, where were we?

What was... Oh, I was
at Living Waters.

Um, we got home
in three hours of traffic

and the funny things was,

is that I was talking with
Chelsea on the way home

and she was telling me
about the day.

And I was telling her
about all the things

that we accomplished.

We went down to a local college

and were witnessing
to these kids.

Had some great witnessing
conversations.

Got to share the gospel
with them, you know.

They stepped right into
an apologetic trap

and I was like, "Yes!"

You know... [chuckles] and
a great day of witnessing.

And I get home, Jack was
in the house before me,

and as I'm just gathering
stuff out of my Jeep he says,

"Dad, Luke said Matt died."

I said, "What?"

And he says, "Well, that's
what Luke said."

So I got on my phone
and I called, uh,

I called Matt's dad and he
answered, "Hello?"

"James, it's Kirk."

"Hey, Kirk."

I said, "What's going on?

I heard something's going
on with Matt?

I don't know anything.
What happened?"

And he just said, "Well,
Matthew went home

to be with the Lord today."

[Somber instrumental music]

KIRK: I was like, "Wow."

You know, I was expecting it,

because I knew he was that sick,
he was days away,

but, you know, just, you know,
you hear that news

and I had just seen him.

So, you know, you get that
lump in your throat where,

you know, your throat
closes up and you can't talk.

And so he was, he was
pretty choked up

and he was just saying how...

he told the story
that... [sniffs]

He said, "Yeah, Matt,

Matt went to be with
the Lord today."

He said, "He went peacefully,
he went quietly."

And he told the story
of how, you know,

they were with him
pretty much 24/7.

He was sleeping in their bed

and how he had a real hard time
breathing last night

and they gave him some medicine
to help him sleep.

And then the next day they
just left for just a few minutes

to go get some lunch in
the living room, in the kitchen,

and their daughter had
a funny feeling

and she went back in
to check on him.

And she came out and said,
"I think Matt's not breathing."

And he was gone.

[Somber instrumental music]

KIRK: When I was talking
with Matthew's dad he said,

"You know, the hardest
part is," he said,

"A couple days ago, Matt was
laying in his bed

and I was sitting
on the side of his bed

and he looked at me
and he said, 'Dad,'

he put his hand on his chest
and he said,

'Dad, I feel so weak.

I don't have anything
left in here.'"

Then he held up his arms,
and he said,

he made a circle with
his fingers and said,

"But Dad, my arms are this big."

And he said, "I don't know if
I can make it this time, Dad."

'Cause he had been battling
cancer for ten years.

And then he looked
at his dad, he said,

"He looked me right in
the eyes and he said,

'Dad, can you fix me?'"

And his dad said,
"Buddy, the only one

who can help me fix you
right now is God."

And he said Matthew
just looked down

and just nodded his head
and he knew...

that God was not gonna
heal him this time.

KIRK: Of course, the question
that we can't help but ask is,

God, why did you let this happen
to such a good family?

James and Marcy Sandgren,
they love you.

Matthew loves you.

Kylie loves you.

The whole family goes
to church every Sunday.

They sing songs.

They're still singing songs
on Sunday.

Why didn't you heal their son?

Where are you in this?

Why did you let this happen?

This is the faith-wrecking
question of so many people.

This is the question that turns
Christians into atheists.

Why does God allow bad things
to happen to good people

when we know he could stop
those bad things?

Does it mean that God doesn't
exist, like some wanna say?

Does it mean that
God does exist,

but that he's not able
to stop it?

Or maybe he doesn't know it's
gonna happen until it happens.

Or is it that God is able,
but that he doesn't care?

Or he's just not listening
to you and your prayers.

But this was a good family.

If you can't answer
the question,

"Why does God allow bad things
to happen to good people,"

it can destroy your faith

and prevent you from moving
forward in your life.

You'll go crazy.

But to answer that question

requires understanding the
character and nature of God,

the one who made all this and is
allowing these things to happen.

But understanding that
is like trying to pour

the entire ocean into
this coffee cup.

It just won't fit;
it's too much information.

So what do you do?

Well, the best way I know how to
get a grip on what God is doing

is looking into the book
that he wrote

and understanding that
there is an author

who is writing the greatest
story in the world.

The great drama of life is
being enacted right now

on the stage of this world

and you and I are characters
playing roles in this.

And I'm not saying this
just because I'm an actor,

it's because that's
really what's going on.

And everybody we know,
everything we experience,

every mountain, every stream,
every ocean, every bird,

every sun, every moon,
every star

are props that have been
placed strategically

where they are
in order to assist

and ultimately make sure
that this story is told.

And right in the middle of this
story written by God, history,

you and I are making
real-world choices

with real-world consequences

and somehow God is steering
the whole thing.

So let's go back to the very
beginning of the story.

This is dirt.

God's whole story starts with,
with dirt.

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: He makes the dirt.

He calls it the land, the earth.

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: And in the dirt, he causes
seeds to come forth

that grow into plants
and fruit-bearing trees

and then he takes the dirt
and forms a man out of it.

And God takes the dirt

and causes a mist to come up
from the dirt

and cover the face
of the ground.

So he's working with mud
and shapes a creature

that is made in his own image.

He breathes the breath of life
into his nostrils

and he becomes
a living creature,

the main character of the story.

[Breath Blowing]

[Instrumental music]

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[Loud Crash of Thunder]

KIRK: And this creature is
called man, Adam.

He is made of the earth,
that's what Adam means,

it means earth, it means dirt.

And he's not like any
of the other creatures.

Not only is he made
in the image of God,

he's given the authority to rule
over every other creature.

He's given privilege
and authority

to name every other
living creature.

I mean, when you have authority
to name something

that means you have authority
over their life.

And Adam's naming everything,
elephants, giraffes.

And so here he's, he's naming
animals as they go by,

male and female,
and male and female.

And it had to have been
just a pounding question

in his own mind, "Where is
the female for me?

Where is my partner?

Where is the counterpart,
someone for me?

Everyone else has one,
but I don't."

This was the only thing that
was not good in the story,

but Adam had no ability
to provide for himself

what he so desperately needed
to make it good.

He was incapable of doing that.

He needs someone else
to provide that for him.

And then Adam gets put
into a deep sleep

and while he's sleeping,

God is busy forming
a new creature for him.

It would come out of his side
and this creature would be

something that his eyes
had never seen,

with a voice that his ears
had never heard,

and something his mind
never could have imagined.

She would be bone of his bones,
flesh of his flesh,

and they would be naked
and not ashamed.

[Dramatic Crashing Sound]

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KIRK: So now man is
no longer alone.

He has his woman and the two
of them are beautifully,

perfectly designed to
compliment one another.

The two have become one flesh.

Adam says, "This is bone of
my bones and flesh of my flesh.

She shall be called woman."

He names her and they
become one flesh.

So here you have,
just think about this,

here you have God taking

the creature he made
in his image,

breaking him into two,
removing part of him,

he becomes two, and then
the two become one.

So one becomes two,
two become one,

and that oneness is seen
most clearly in the birth

of that union of male
and female,

a child that's half dad
and half mom.

There's a picture of complete
humanity right there

in marriage and the birth
of a child.

And then God gives them
the assignment,

the great mission,

and that is to be
fruitful... multiply,

have lots and lots of babies
and fill the earth

and subdue it, rule it,

take dominion over
all of God's creation.

Just as God used heaven
as the pattern

for the Garden of Eden,
everything was perfect,

everything was good,
everything provided.

It was very good.

Adam and Eve were to use
the garden as a pattern

for the rest of the world,

to bless the world,
to heavenize the world...

and make it beautiful.

Adam had one job and it was
to tend and keep the garden.

In other words, to cultivate
and guard,

to beautify and protect.

Well, if I said that to you,
"Guard this.

Protect what has been
entrusted to you."

The obvious question you
should be asking yourself is,

"From what?"

And this is the worst part of
the story, up until this point.

Adam is in the garden
with his wife,

the most precious thing
in the garden.

He is to be protecting her,

beautifying her,
doing his job...

and a serpent enters the garden.

This is exactly what Adam
should have been watching for.

He should have smelled him
a mile away

and ran to him
and crushed his head

the second that he saw him,

especially after he saw what
he was doing to his wife.

This is the ultimate breakdown
of a man's responsibility.

This is a story of a man
throwing his wife under the bus

and using her as a guinea pig
in the human experiment.

Remember God had said
to Adam,

"The day that you eat
of this fruit,

you will surely die."

And the Serpent says,
did God really say...?

God did not really mean
that you will die.

He just knows that
if you eat of this fruit,

you will become like him.

Surely you won't die."

So who's telling the truth here,
God or the Serpent?

And so Adam allows his wife
to be deceived by the serpent.

He fails to protect her,
he fails to guard her

and he watches while
he stands there with her,

the story says,
and watches her eat.

[Instrumental music]

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[Crow cawing]
Caw, caw...

[Crow cawing]
Caw, caw...

[Singing and music]

KIRK: And we all know what
happens in the story next.

God comes looking for Adam,
"Adam, where are you?"

Well, Adam and Eve are hiding.

They're running from God.

They're filled with guilt
and shame and fear

and they're covering themselves
with fig leaves.

And then God pronounces
a curse on the serpent

and the ground and on Eve's
childbearing

because he knows that
they're gonna have kids,

it's gonna be difficult,

and then he clothes them
in skins of animals.

Now why did God do that?

Was it because the fig leaves
were gonna wear out

and this was a better covering?

Probably, but have you ever
thought about this:

God clothed them in
the skins of beasts

because they had just
listened to a beast.

Maybe it was a reminder
of their sin.

God is saying if you're gonna
act like beasts,

you're gonna look like beasts.

Because people always
end up looking like

the gods they follow.

[Somber instrumental music]

♪ It's been so long,
long hard days ♪

♪ and they don't say
God's changed my ways. ♪

♪ Change my ways,
those evil ways. ♪

♪ So I set out across that way

♪ to strike them down,
to make them pay. ♪

♪ Change their ways,
their evil ways. ♪

♪ But I can't cry, whoa.

♪ And I won't hide, whoa, hey!

♪ My evil ways

[Instrumental music]

♪ I found how their hate
grow cold ♪

♪ That God rise up
and damn my soul ♪

♪ 'cause I ain't changed,
changed my ways. ♪

♪ I ain't changed.

♪ So I won't hide, whoa.

♪ And I won't hide, whoa.

♪ No, I can't hide,
yeah, whoa. ♪

♪ I can't hide, hey...
my evil ways. ♪

[Instrumental music]

[Instrumental music]

[Instrumental music]

♪ But I can't hide, whoa

♪ And I won't hide, whoa, yeah

♪ I can't hide, whoa.

♪ No, I can't hide, hey...
my evil ways ♪♪♪

KIRK: The first human being's
blood has just been spilled.

There is a person dead
for the first time

in God's perfect world.

I mean, if you're gonna tell
a story about a family

and the family has two boys,

the worst thing
that can happen

is you have one of the boys
kills the other one

and the one that dies
is the good one.

It wasn't the bad kid that died,

it was the good one,
the innocent one,

the one who did the right thing.

His blood is spilled and God
protects the murderer.

The bad guy doesn't die,
the good guy dies

and then God places
a mark on Cain

and it was a mark
that protected him.

That told everyone around him
if you come after Cain,

I am coming after you,
with this mark on this beast.

I mean, we could almost wonder

if this isn't the first mark
of the beast,

the original mark of the beast,
and it's a mark of protection.

Why is this happening?

I mean, if I were
writing the story

I'd have the bad guy die
and the good one win,

but that's not what happens.

What's going on?

[Somber instrumental music]

KIRK: When we ask these
big questions about why,

why do these things happen?

Why does pain and suffering
exist in a world like this?

We gotta get a perspective

that is much bigger than
where we are right now

and we open up the Bible.

This is God's story and this is
where he explains

how to make sense of this world
that we're living in.

But when we open it up,

we start out with this wild
story of creating a world

and a universe out of nothing.

And then God creates man
out of dirt

and then he creates a woman
out of a side of a man

and we think, wow, that's
amazing, and it's beautiful

and I can buy that.

Then we can see how man falls
into rebellion and sin

and then there's the story
of Cain and Abel

and that's a very sad story,

but you can, you can
believe that.

You see people doing
horrible things

and taking people's lives.

But that's a story about
brothers and bad things

that they're doing
to one another

and we can believe that

because we see that
happening all the time.

But then the story takes this
drastic turn to what God does.

The world gets so filled
with violence

and corruption and wickedness,

God decides to unleash
a giant flood.

He decides to break open
the great fountains of the deep

and the windows
of heaven open up

and water floods
the whole world

to the point where
everything dies.

Everything that has breath
on the land and in the air

completely perishes,
except for one man, Noah,

and those who are with him
on the Ark.

From a storytelling
point of view,

that is such a hard sell.

It's funny because I've been
in plenty of meetings where

you're trying to pitch a story
to Hollywood executives

and you're trying
to convince them

that this is the greatest story
in the world.

-EXECUTIVE: Hey, Mr. Cameron.
-KIRK: Good to see ya.

-EXECUTIVE 2: How you doing?
-KIRK: Good to see ya.

EXECUTIVE 3: Hey, Mr. Cameron,
good to see ya.

KIRK: But if this was the story
and this was the script...

EXECUTIVE: How's it goin'?
How's Jack?

KIRK: That I had to pitch
as a story.

EXECUTIVE: So, what's next?

Give it to us.

KIRK: I can't even imagine
getting to the point

where I tell them that
the hero of the story

actually floods the entire world
that he made and everyone dies.

Because God gives
man a choice

to either obey him
or to rebel against him

and man chooses to rebel
against him, as you know,

that sends the whole world
down a path of destruction.

I would imagine that
they would say to me

you need to go back
to scriptwriting school.

Clearly, you missed
a few classes.

That's not how you endear
the hero to the audience.

We see the apex of evil.

EXECUTIVE: Hmmm.

KIRK: We see humanity
is destroying itself.

This part in the story is such,
it's such a hard sell.

And before man destroys
the entire world,

God steps in and he raises up
a man named Noah.

[Silence]

KIRK: Who has a, who has
a heart after God...

EXECUTIVE: Hero.

KIRK: He's blameless
in the sight of God...

EXECUTIVE: Hero.
[makes trumpet noise]

KIRK: Who begins calling
everyone else

to turn from evil...

-EXECUTIVE 2: Oh, he saved them.
-KIRK: And turn back to God.

EXECUTIVE: He's a savior.
He's a savior.

KIRK: And the way God
commissions him to build
a giant ship.

EXECUTIVE 3: Like a cruise ship?

EXECUTIVE 2: Ooh, cruise ship.

EXECUTIVE: Oh, I like that.

EXECUTIVE 3: I'm thinking
like a cruise ship maybe.

That can appeal to people.

Who doesn't like a cruise ship?
I know I do. I do!

EXECUTIVE: Midnight buffet!

Ooh, attention travelers,
Midnight Buffet.

EXECUTIVE 3: I know you got
that martini deal.

EXECUTIVE: Like how many
desserts can you have

at like, one in the morning?

EXECUTIVE 2: I gained ten pounds
on my last cruise.

KIRK: Hey guys, guys, I know
we all love cruise ships,

but this is not...this is not
about a cruise ship.

It's a three-story,
massive cargo barge.

With Noah and his family,
they're inside together

with two of every
kind of animal...

EXECUTIVE: Well, but he's,

he's with his family
and the animals?

KIRK: Yes.

EXECUTIVE 2: All right,
this is where

the family movie comes in.

EXECUTIVE 3: The animals could
possibly talk to each other.

Kids love talking animals.

EXECUTIVE: Absolutely.

KIRK: No.

There is a complete deluge
of the entire world

and everyone in all the world...

EXECUTIVE: Gets into these
cities, I'm seeing it, cities.

And everyone's on these
floating cities.

They're like pirates,
but they create

all their own little
sub world and culture.

EXECUTIVE 3: Yes,
that's a great idea.

EXECUTIVE: Right, with animals,

they have to live with
sea creatures.

And everyone forms like a,
like a republic.

KIRK: No floating cities.
[murmuring]

One ship with Noah
and his family and the animals.

EXECUTIVE: So where are
all the people?

KIRK: Drowned... dead.

EXECUTIVE 3: It kind of portrays
God as the enemy here.

EXECUTIVE 2: Are we talking
like babies and families?

EXECUTIVE: When you say
everyone,

you mean just locally
in that area.

KIRK: Everyone's bad,
and not local, worldwide.

Everywhere, the whole world.

Everyone dies except Noah
and his family.

And the reason God does this...

EXECUTIVE: If we go back to
the boat and the animal thing.

[All talking at once]

EXECUTIVE 3: And the more
I visualize this,

I see this more as a cartoon,
more than a...

EXECUTIVE 2: Well,
the animals talk.

EXECUTIVE 3: Yeah, absolutely.

EXECUTIVE: What if
they don't know

that there are
snakes on the boat?

EXECUTIVE 3: That would be
great, I like that.

EXECUTIVE: "Hey!
Who's going to feed us?"

Right? A cobra's like, "Oh!"
[laughs]

That would be good...

KIRK: And then the water
recedes,

the boat rests
on a mountain.

Noah...Noah comes
out of the ship

and he sees in the sky
a giant rainbow.

EXECUTIVE: If we could make
this more about the rainbow.

Like, this is the story
of the rainbow.

This is not the story of God,

"I'm angry, I'm going
to flood everybody!"

But how about we sort of
make this, you know,

have you ever wanted to know
where the rainbow comes from?

I can even see a song.

♪ Have you ever wondered

♪ where the rainbow
comes from? ♪

EXECUTIVE: Focus
on the rainbow.

EXECUTIVE 2: I can see
kids all over the world

painting rainbows
in their rooms.

EXECUTIVE: Yeah.

EXECUTIVE 3: Things would spike
on Pinterest, that's for sure.

EXECUTIVE: Yeah.

KIRK: Well, then God sends
out a dove

and this dove comes back...

EXECUTIVE 2: How about an eagle?
Not a dove.

EXECUTIVE: Yeah.

And that eagle, pfhtt,
kind of comes to me

in slow motion like ramping,

you know, what I mean,
like, "Pfft." "Caw!"

EXECUTIVE 2: That's good.

Well, he lands right...

it could even be a falcon.

EXECUTIVE: Even better, yet...
Noah, "pfft," right?

And then comes down and
just perches right there.

EXECUTIVE 3: That's our
hero moment.

EXECUTIVE: You know
what that is, guys?

Poster moment.

EXECUTIVE 3: Hello!
EXECUTIVE: Poster moment...

EXECUTIVE 2: I can see it, yeah.
You know, we can actually...

[Instrumental music]

EXECUTIVE: Back to you, Kirk.

KIRK: Guys, this is not
a kids' story.

The story can't change.

The story has to be this way.

EXECUTIVE: I think what
we're all saying here is

this is a fantastic movie,
we love, we love the story,

we love where you're going,
we love all the characters...

EXECUTIVE 3: And we love you,
Kirk.

EXECUTIVE: We love...
we're all huge, huge fans.

EXECUTIVE 3: Look at that smile.
EXECUTIVE: Kirky Kirk fans.

My neighbor was like,
"You're working with Kirk?"

I was like,"Yeah."

He's like, "Tell Kirk
I love him."

But what I don't want to do is
go back to my neighbor

when they ask and say what
kind of movie is Kirk making

and I say, well,
he's making a movie

about a God who floods
the whole world.

But, and I want you
to hear me on this,

from a marketing standpoint,

from a storytelling standpoint,
if we focus on the ark,

the family, the adventure,
the animals and the rainbow,

and sort of try
to skip over...

I'm not saying you can't
have this part,

but if we just focus
on those three elements,

that's a story people
want to hear.

You don't want to be telling
a story about death.

It's not what people
want to hear.

People don't want to go to
a movie and hear about death.

[Instrumental music]

EXECUTIVE [in echo]: People
don't want to go to a movie

and hear about death.

[Instrumental music]

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KIRK: The problem with stories
that we think we know so well

is that sometimes we become
so familiar with them

that we get confused because
we overlook details

that actually make
the story make sense,

the details that actually
complete the whole story.

Think of Adam and Eve.

It's easy to be caught up with
the serpent and the rebellion

and the fruit on the tree

and God pronouncing
a death sentence

and being expelled
from the Garden.

But what should captivate
us above all other things

is the fact that God
is demonstrating

his mercy and his kindness,

his care, his protection
and his grace towards them.

I mean, think about it, God
did not kill Adam and Eve.

He didn't abandon them.

He didn't throw them into Hell.

He begins providing for them.

He gives them clothes,
he gives them food.

he gives them more children.

He sends angels to watch
over them

and He gives them a promise.

When they were filled with guilt
and shame and fear,

He gives them a promise

that must have filled them
with hope.

A promise that God would send
someone, a descent of Eve,

who would crush that serpent's
head and fix all of this.

When you're standing in
the midst of a crime scene,

it's easy to notice
and be shocked

by bloodstains on the ground,

but what should shock us
even more

at this point in the story is

the grace and patience
and kindness of God.

Think about it, if ever
there was a time

where God could have said,
"I am done with the human race.

I am going to end this
right now," it was here.

Adam rebelled against God.

And the apple didn't fall
far from the tree.

Now his son murders his brother
and lies to God's face.

While he was talking to God,
God heard Abel's blood crying

through Cain's lying teeth,
but God didn't kill him.

And he didn't forget about Abel.

He wasn't oblivious
to Abel's cry.

Abel's blood had a voice
and it cried out from the ground

and reached God's ears
in Heaven,

and Abel made it into
the Faith Hall of Fame.

He's been given a lasting legacy
and will be forever remembered

as an example of someone
who approached God

the right way, by faith.

There's only one world.

The world that Adam
and Eve lived in,

Cain and Abel lived in, is
the same world that we live in.

We breathe the same air,
we walk on the same ground

and we look at the same ocean.

During the days of Noah,

this was not about God
destroying the world,

humanity was destroying itself.

Men had filled the world
with so much wickedness

and violence that they were
going to completely kill

and annihilate one another.

All they needed was more time,

but God mercifully steps in
and cuts that short.

He puts a period at the end
to stop evil.

[Waves crashing]

KIRK: He packs the whole world
up into a wooden box

and fills it with everything
needed for a brand new world.

He floats it on top of the ocean

while he deals with all
of the evil below.

And when He's finished, it rests
on the top of a mountain

and He opens the wooden box

and everything is there
to start all over.

A new man, a new woman,
children, a family,

food, animals.

Noah plants a vineyard.

We're back in a garden.

We're starting over,
a new and better world

is being birthed
through tragedy.

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: The world has
been born again.

And then God gives them
a promise,

a brilliant sign in the sky,
a rainbow.

KIRK: Let's think for a minute
about the rainbow,

The promise that God
put in the sky,

this symbol that would be
a permanent promise

that He would never
again use water

to flood and destroy the world.

It's interesting that the word
"rainbow" is not the word

that God uses when
he promises Noah.

The word he uses is "bow,"
just simply my bow.

He says, I'll place my bow
in the clouds.

I will hang my bow
in the clouds.

Well, what's God's bow?

His bow is only one thing,

it's what God says he will bend
and he will dip the arrows

and point them at the hearts
of his enemies.

God's bow is his weapon
of judgment,

it's a war bow of wrath
aimed at his enemies.

And God's saying, I'm going
to hang that up in the clouds.

He's putting it away.

He's not using it,
he's hanging it in the clouds.

In essence, he's suspending
his judgment

and he will no longer use
water to flood

and destroy all flesh
and the world.

But have you ever noticed
how the bow is positioned?

How it's oriented?

Look at the way it's hanging.

It's hanging like this.

If it were a bow, the string
would be stretched

along the horizon.

And where is the bow pointed?

Where would the arrows
be directed?

Where?

Up to Heaven.

Where is God?

In Heaven.

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: The next time we see
God pouring out his judgment

and wrath for the sin
of the whole world

is at the cross where Jesus
Christ hangs and dies.

He, himself, God himself,
becomes a man, a perfect man

and then he takes upon himself

the judgment for the sin
of the world.

Could the rainbow possibly
be pointing to that day?

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: When God's judgment
and wrath comes to him

instead of upon his creation?

[Instrumental music]

[Instrumental music]

[Instrumental music]

[Instrumental music]

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: I mean, let's just fill in
the distance

between the bow and the cross.

God washes the world
clean of sin,

he drowns evil and gives man
a brand new chance.

You have a new beginning,
but you have the same old heart

and the same pattern starts
to emerge again.

Man is pushing God away.

He wants to get out from
under the authority of God

and make a name for himself.

And bad goes to worse

and eventually you come
to the Tower of Babel

where they're all together
as one people,

in one place, with one language.

You have a one-world government

building a tower to reach
to the heavens,

so that we will not be scattered
all over the earth.

Well, that's exactly what
God told them to do.

He told it to Adam,
"Be fruitful and multiply,"

spread out and fill the earth.

He told the same thing to Noah.

And that's precisely what
they're not doing.

So God confuses their language,
they have no more communication

and they are forced
to scatter and disperse.

And all of that develops into
the Babylonian Empire

and then we see
the Assyrian Empire.

These are cultures of death,
human sacrifice, idolatry,

wickedness, violence,
immorality.

Moving into the Greek Empire
and the Roman Empire.

And the Romans conquered
the Greeks militarily

but the Greeks' morality
infected and conquered Rome

and brought Rome to
the darkest, bleakest,

most wicked culture
on the planet.

This was a culture of death.

Now meanwhile,
we see that God

has still not given up
on his plan

and he is starting
a brand new nation

in the middle of this
culture of death.

He raises up a man named
Abraham, who starts a nation

through his family
called Israel.

And it's through these promises

that God brings that man,
that new and better Adam

into that ultimate
culture of death,

that the Son of God, the author
of life, is born.

[Instrumental music]

[Instrumental music]

[Instrumental music]

[Instrumental music]

[Instrumental music]

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: Let's just talk about
Jesus for a minute.

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: This is the man that God
promised Eve in the Garden

would come as one
of her descendants

and crush the serpent's head.

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: Precisely what her
husband Adam did not do.

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: The last Adam, Jesus,

was the one who would
protect his bride.

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: Adam failed to protect her
in the Garden.

Jesus succeeds and is
victorious in a garden

and he protects his bride.

He crushes the serpent's head.

KIRK: He is the one who is going
to reverse the curse.

This is the new and better
Adam, the last Adam,

who is going to raise the dead,

heal the sick,
give sight to the blind,

turn water into wine,
feed thousands

and restore the whole world
back to its maker

and his people back
to their mission

of heavenizing the earth.

He comes and fulfills all
the law and the prophets

and then his own people
kill him.

[Instrumental music]

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: I mean, that's how
the story goes.

It's Jesus facing his own team
being fully corrupted,

a religious hypocrisy that is at
its worst and the Roman Empire,

which is in charge
of the whole world.

And together they conspire
to kill Jesus.

But then he's resurrected.

So hopes are back up that
he is who he said he was.

That this was the redeemer
who would set people free

from fear and guilt
and shame and death.

This really was him,
but then he leaves.

He's only back for 40 days
and then he leaves.

And he leaves his followers
in this culture of death,

which has only gotten worse.

They were sawed in half,
they were fed to the lions,

they were burned at the stake,
they were crucified upside down.

More tragedy in the story.

At what point does
God say, "Enough?"

Enough of death,
I'm done with it.

KIRK: It's exactly at the moment
that Jesus dies on the cross.

Jesus flips death on its head
by dying for his enemies.

You see, all throughout history,
the manifesto of empires was

you kill your enemies
and take over the world.

Jesus comes in and says,
I'm going to show you

how you use death
to change the world.

And in love, he comes
and lays down his own life

for his enemies.

[Instrumental music]

[Instrumental music]

[Instrumental music]

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: Three days after he was
placed into a tomb,

everything changed.

Nothing is the same.

The funeral is no longer
the finish.

The grave is not the goal.

Jesus said, "Unless
a kernel of wheat

falls to the ground and dies,
it remains alone.

But if it dies, it will multiply
and produce abundant fruit."

Matthew is a seed who was
planted in the earth

and already I'm seeing
signs of life.

Every graveyard is a garden.

In fact, they used to be
called Grave Gardens

because they're full of seeds,

people who love God
planted in the earth.

And one day each of those
seeds, like Matthew,

will burst through the mud
on top of their grave

into a brand new world.

When Jesus rose from the grave,
that was his victory lap.

The battle had already been won.

The resurrection was good
publicly humiliating evil.

This was life swallowing up
death.

This was rubbing the Devil's
nose in the fact

that he had just been stripped,
de-fanged and neutered.

And when Jesus ascended
into heaven,

he wasn't abandoning
his disciples,

he was going to his father
to present all the spoils

from his decisive win.

He had just won his bride,
he defeated the Devil

and he was going to sit down
on his throne

and receive all authority,
power and dominion

both in heaven and on earth.

He put all his enemies
under his feet.

I can even hear the words
of the father saying,

"Well done, son. Well done."

And the son saying, "There's
just one more thing,

let's give 'em power."

And the story goes on to
the whole world being lit up

with the good news that light
overcomes darkness.

That love overcomes hatred
and life overcomes death.

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: We have a God who is not
immune to pain and suffering.

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: He's not a God who's
sitting out on a cloud somewhere

with his arms and legs crossed
and his eyes closed,

with a smile on his face,
not paying attention

or not caring about the things
that are happening right here.

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: He stepped into it.

He entered our world
of flesh and blood,

of pain and suffering.

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: Of tears and death,
he tasted it,

he's experienced it,
he fully, completely gets it.

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: He hung on a cross, alone,

nails through his hands
and his feet,

his arms and his legs twisted,
his back ripped open,

his face bleeding from the thorn
pricks around his head.

his mouth dry and unbearably
thirsty,

plunged into God-forsaken
darkness.

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: And he did it for us.

He understands, he can help.

That's the God that's for me.

That's the God that's for you.

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: I know there's
a question mark

that still hangs over
the subject of suffering.

Why?

Why didn't you heal my friend
when I know you could have?

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: Why doesn't he heal
your pain or my pain?

But I have a peace about
Matthew's life and death.

I watched his mother
and his father and his sister

walk Matthew to the gates
of Heaven.

[Instrumental music]

KIRK: One father handing
his son to another

and I have peace about that

because I've already seen
my God use

the most horrific and tragic
events in history

for the greatest things
in the world.

He was there at the fall.

He was there at the flood.

He didn't take his hands
off the wheel.

He was there in the crucifixion.

And the worst, most tragic thing
that has even happened

to the most perfect and pure
and innocent person turns out

to be the greatest thing
the world has even seen.

It brought the salvation
of God to the world.

And so I have hope that every
tragedy in my life and in yours,

every future tragedy
and every future pain

and struggle and suffering
and death,

God can and will use those
things for his greater glory

and for our good, because that's
what he's been doing all along.

Through all of the pain
and the suffering and the grief,

God is working out this same
unstoppable purpose for you.

He's forming in you
the character needed

for the assignment
that he has for you.

Every father, every daughter,
every mother, every son,

he's creating a sense
of commitment in you.

God is developing a confidence
that only those who experience

trials and tragedy can have.

Only though a Matthew
kind of process

can you have that
unshakable faith

and overwhelming
confidence in God

because he is a God of purpose.

And he floods your heart with
a compassion for other people

so that you can help them
when they go through trials.

What's being created in you

because of your painful
experience,

this is the very apex,

the ultimate expression of
the very heart of God to others.

And that God of purpose
and love and power

somehow transforms
that question mark

into an exclamation point for me
and reminds me that God is good,

we can trust him, and his
purposes are unstoppable.

[Instrumental music]

[Instrumental music]

[Instrumental music]

♪ I cut my teeth on the back
of an old church pew, ♪

♪ I learned to walk in the ways
of light and truth ♪

♪ and I was told not to speak
till I was spoken to. ♪

♪ I heard it preached,

♪ what I should
and I should not do ♪

♪ and the choir sang...

♪ Woh oh oh oh oh
oh oh... ♪

♪ Woh oh oh oh oh oh oh

♪ I tried to be a good boy,

♪ but I ain't a boy no more.

♪ I've seen some things that
a man just can't ignore ♪

♪ and this world's gonna see
what I'm standing for. ♪

♪ I've kept my peace, but I
can't hold my tongue anymore. ♪

♪ You can't buy my silence,
you can't still my voice, ♪

♪ you can't keep me quiet,
I will bring the noise. ♪

♪ Try to beat me down,
tell me to shut my mouth ♪

♪ but there's a time to speak
and the time is now... ♪

♪ Woh oh oh oh oh
oh oh... ♪

♪ Woh, oh oh oh oh oh oh

♪ The squeaky wheel is
always getting greased. ♪

♪ Well, I've been
sitting still, ♪

♪ parked here on the side
of the street. ♪

♪ Always tiptoeing,
trying not to wake the beast ♪

♪ oh, but here I come,

♪ all you monsters had
better run from me. ♪

♪ You can't buy my silence,
you can't still my voice, ♪

♪ you can't keep me quiet,
I will bring the noise. ♪

♪ Try to beat me down,
tell me to shut my mouth ♪

♪ but there's a time to speak
and the time is now... ♪

♪ Oh, the time is now,
yeah, it's now. ♪

♪ Oh, the time is,
time is now, yeah. ♪

♪ Woh oh oh oh oh
oh oh... ♪

♪ Woh oh oh oh oh oh oh.

♪ You can't buy my silence,
you can't still my voice, ♪

♪ you can't keep me quiet,
I will bring the noise. ♪

♪ Try to beat me down,
tell me to shut my mouth ♪

♪ but there's a time to speak
and the time is now ♪

♪ You can't buy my silence,
you can't still my voice, ♪

♪ you can't keep me quiet,
I will bring the noise. ♪

♪ Try to beat me down,
tell me to shut my mouth ♪

♪ but there's a time to speak
and the time is now... ♪

♪ Woh oh oh oh oh
oh oh... ♪

♪ Woh oh oh oh oh oh oh

♪ Woh oh oh oh oh
oh oh... ♪

♪ Woh oh oh oh oh oh oh