The FORGE review

I’ve been wanting to watch this movie for the longest time! And I had been seeing a few clips here and there online until I finally decided to watch it sometime this month! And it truly did not disappoint!

The Forge is a film that happens in the same cinematic universe as the movie ‘War Room’ which also starred Priscilla Shirer, and we see a lot of the characters in other Kendrick Brothers movie make appearances in this powerful movie. If you haven’t yet, please go watch the movie on Amazon Prime or through Crave subscriptions. It is worth it!

I won’t go into many details to avoid spoilers, but I would like to draw our attention to a few things that stood out to me. If you don’t want any spoilers at all then perhaps skip reading and come back to read once you have watched the movie.

Come back oo and share your thoughts! Please and thanks!

Review Time

El Roi

In the very first few scenes we see Isaiah showcasing his insecurities and lack of his Fathers presence. He loses focus and instead of asking for a job in the coffee shop, he’s out here trying to chase a shawty.

Although it really might not have been his thing since he eventually ends up going to a fitness center instead. But then again, why did he go into the coffee shop if it wasn’t his thing? He saw a beautiful damsel and got distracted. This to me is a beautiful show of how God uniquely and intentionally directs our steps and guides us to where it is where are meant to be.

I love that Mr. Joshua Moore looked beyond his so-called tough exterior and really saw Him. It reminds me of the Fathers love. El Roi, the God who sees us and looks beyond our bravado, to meet our true needs.

Beginning of this year I wrote in the value of discipleship, and this shows the impact of one individual seeing you and walking you through the process of becoming like Christ. Mr. Moore really took time to impact wisdom into Isaiah. He met his need by giving him a job but inviting him for mentorship and going beyond what he needs are to what Isaiah didn’t even realize he needed until it was too late.

“The big part in becoming a man, is showing up!!”
Mr Joshua Moore (The Forge movie)

This quote applies to so many aspects of life!

The importance of godly community

Also, not the doppelganger of Priscilla Shirer showing up in the movie! I wonder how they did that part with her and ‘her sister’.

If you haven’t seen the War Room this seems to be a wonderful advert to go check it out.

It was very interesting to see Cynthia invite and bring her sister, Miss Clara and even her friends into her situation and to share her burdens with them in order to get their support in prayers. It reminds me of the hymn ‘What A Friend We Have in Jesus’ That we should take our burdens to the Lord in prayer and how we often forfeit peace because we refuse to take it to God in prayer.

What a Friend we have in Jesus,
  All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
  Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
  O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
  Everything to God in prayer!

And of course there are some comedic moments with a customer coming into the salon at the moment talking about: ‘my edges need to be delivered!’

Discipleship is about giving and taking

Mr Moore truly had too many nuggets in this movie.

You need to be more of a fountain than a drain. Need to start giving more than you’re taking.
Mr Joshua Moore (The Forge Movie)

He speaks about Galatians 5 and its impact in the life of a Christian for we have been called to live in Freedom.

Galatians 5:13-18 (NIV)

¹³You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh^[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^[b] ¹⁵If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

¹⁶So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever^[c] you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The concept of church that Isaiah was trying to avoid came to meet him in the workplace and Mr. Moore took the time to disciple Isaiah, to meet him where he was at and to call him higher. So many of us have assignments to do in the marketplace and in our workplace. Not everybody will meet us or come to church. So, we must be ready at every time in every space and moment to do what God requires of us.

Each one teach one.

We learn the value of passing down the baton. We learn that Mr. Moore’s devotion is because he has received that same discipleship and mentorship from someone else in his church. I won’t spoil the reason why, but it was really wonderful to hear that Mr. Moore was passing down what he had freely received form another person without hindrance.

Mrs Moore was also equally insightful in this movie. She said:

‘We are not just Christians; we are devoted to Jesus, and we will do anything He calls us to do.’
MRS MOORE (THE FORGE MOVIE)

That was powerful!!

‘I’ve been trying to figure things out by myself, and I realized that I need Jesus…’ –

This for me was a real tearjerker right here! Because I can truly relate with this statement. How many times have we tried to figure things out on our won without seeking God first and committing things into His hands.

Also, Miss Clara is sooo cute! Her little dance and jump when Cynthia called her to share her testimony over the phone was so adorable! It is impactful when we share our testimonies with those that have been seeking and trusting God with us on long standing prayer points. We should not be ungrateful or keep the Lord’s goodness to ourselves. We are further asserting the victory of Christ and also bolstering the faith of ourselves and those around us. Testimonies are powerful, so share wisely.

We get salvation for free with no cost BUT to follow Jesus, there is a cost to discipleship. We must deny ourselves, take up the cross daily and follow Christ. Some things will die. Habits, agenda and goals. Anything that stands in the way of our obedience to Him. Our main priority is living for Him, knowing Him. It’s no longer about us. At All.

Real and Raw emotions

There are so many real and raw moments in this movie including this one scene that I truly loved. The scene where Mr. Moore teaches Isaiah how to introduce himself to someone new and offers him practical and real life skills and tips.

I absolutely loved the men’s circle!! I’m sure you’ve seen some clips online.

The Forge: where you mold and sharp your character. In this movie, this is where men eat together and get physically nourished, and their souls refreshed, and spirits revived.

‘It’s either You are Lord, or You are not.’
Isaiah (THE Forge Movie)

At another scene, we see how life functions. You’ll be going along on your way thinking you have the hang of things until something comes that takes you off kilter and discombobulates you.

Emotions are raw and real and I’m glad Mr. Moore allowed Isaiah the space to fully express his emotions without judgement. He made him realize that he could relate with Isaiah’s pain, yet Mr. Moore brought clarity and perspective.

Ahhh, the Infamous sword scene!! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then you need to go watch the movie!

I love when Isaiah said I’ve given it to the Lord.

The Father’s Blessing and Total Transformation

I appreciate Mr. Moore speaking words of life and encouragement over Isaiah and blessing him in the Forge circle.

The symbolism of the car being damaged at the start of the movie to becoming shiny and brand new by the end of the movie is just a show of how God can completely transform our lives!
Sometimes, we don’t even realize God is working in the background and putting all the pieces together and orchestrating a beautiful outcome for us.

God will always get the glory!

Miss Clara came with a kicker: you devote your heart to following the Lord, no matter the cost.

The lasting scenes showcased the compounding effect of faith. There’s a multiplication in showing up as God requires us to do. As we show up in our Jesus suit, we are taking over territories for our King and for his Kingdom!

Matthew 28:18-19

My conclusion is that we are forged in the fire. In the midst of our troubles, God is working something out in the inside of us, so we come out stronger and bolder.

Wow, this was such a wonderful movie, and I highly recommend that you watch this movie when you can. We are taking over the media spaces for Christ and propagating the gospel in every form. This is most especially precious to me because the first blog post of this year was on discipleship and this movie really solidified that message for me. I hope it does the same for you as well!

#ByGodsGrace

Mo 🙂