The seduction that has taken over the entertainment industry: sacrificing morals, value and certainly the fear of God, in exchange for wealth, fame and numerous carnal pleasures. The deal comes with an expiration date. Jesus Christ said: And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? – Mark 8:34-37. All the riches in this world are not worth an eternity in hell. This passage is not saying that it is wrong to make money, have material success or be famous. It is perfectly acceptable for a Christian to have all of these things. What the Scripture is saying is that if you put the pursuit of material riches above everything in life then you are setting up yourself to ignore God in your life and your need for His forgiveness. So bold is the enemy, that the Devil even tried to tempt Jesus Christ with fame, power and riches: And the devil, taking [Jesus Christ] up into a high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. – Luke 4:5-8. In this moment in history, the Devil took Jesus onto a mountain and gave him a supernatural vision of all of the kingdoms on Earth. And note that Satan made it clear that he had the authority to give power and wealth to whoever he chose. Satan has temporary authority in this world and can indeed reward those who serve him. But the cost was clear – worshiping him. Nothing with Satan is free. It all comes at the cost of being forced to rebel against God. In this instance, Satan was offering Jesus a chance to rule the world, something Jesus was prophesied to one day do as Messiah, but without dying on the cross. Satan’s temptation would have given Jesus rulership without ever giving His life. But that sacrifice on the cross was precisely why Jesus came to Earth – in order to save sinful humanity from sin and the clutches of the Devil. Satan wants to offer every person “the Kingdom without the cross”, just as he did to Jesus Christ in the wilderness. But that “kingdom” is different for every person. It could be a multi-million recording contract. It could be a sinful romantic relationship. It could be living a life of crime. Or just living a normal “happy” life, working and making an honest living, but not believing in Jesus Christ. In all these situations, a person sacrifices their soul in exchange for earthly, temporary pleasures. And this temptation is especially strong, because all people by nature are sinful and have strong desires to disobey God. This is the fallen state of humanity since the Garden of Eden (again because of Satan’s deception). What Satan does not want anyone to remember, are the numerous entertainers who have died at young ages despite “having it all.” Many at their own hand, as they became drug addicts and deep in depression. Whether it is Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger, Kurt Cobaine, Amy Winehouse or most recently, Philip Seymour Hoffman, many, many multi-millionaire entertainers have ended up dead at shockingly young ages, due to their depression and demons. Do not be deceived.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Feb 2014 17:25:41 +0000