False Gods

Today’s sermon is about false gods. We think too little about false gods nowadays, but they were once considered so deplorable that they led off the Ten Commandments. I am the Lord Thy God. Thou Shalt Not Have False Gods Before Me. But what does it mean to us today? What does it mean to us as a society, or to each of us as an individual?

If you look at the words of the bible, you realize that this commandment means the same exact thing today that it meant back in the time of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. False gods can take many shapes. They come in the form of false prophets walking among us. We hear their voices in the lyrics of heavy metal music, or disguised in the form of the so-called rock ballads. We worship these false prophets, placing them in a position alongside or even above our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Today we talk about a false god that we know only too well – The Satin Strangler.

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As we read in Exodus in the Old Testament, Moses dealt with false gods as soon as he returned from the mountain with the Ten Commandments.

When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
 

– Exodus 32
 

Despite his efforts, and despite the efforts of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and his followers, false gods walk everywhere among us. They are the stars that we deify on our movie and television screens, our music stages, our sports fields and our political arenas.

The false god that we see every day when we wake up and turn on our television or boot up our computer or download our news feeds is the Satin Strangler. We are her followers – the straying flock. She is leading us away from the kingdom of heaven – down the easy and slippery path to hell.

The Satin Strangler is the ultimate false god – preaching to us in her cloak of good. She is everywhere. EVERYWHERE. Yesterday – in a local card shop – right in the front window – staring at me – representing the false god of the 21^st century – was a row of Satin Strangler bobble-head dolls. Dolls in the visage of a murderer. Every doll carried satin stockings – ready to kill. KILL. Children were tapping the heads of the dolls and pressing their hands against each other’s necks, laughing.

How should one react when we see dolls glorifying murderer? How should we react as a community under God? I tell you right now that we should not act as we are – standing silent as evil takes over.

What would our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ do if He walked the streets of Main Street, USA, and saw the news stands filled with this week’s magazine covers? What would He do if he saw children pretending to strangle each other in front of dolls worshipping the image of a murderer? He would tell us we have had enough murder. He would tell us not to accept this modern day icon of Satan. He would tell the world not to accept the Satin Strangler as our false god.

Follow the example of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and say “no” to the Satin Strangler and her legion of false god worshippers. Follow the example of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to the gates of His kingdom in heaven, my friends.

Readers of this article may also be interested in purchasing the following items:

t-shirt: “No False Gods” with picture of Destiny Blande – $22 plus shipping
t-shirt: “Say ‘No’ to the Satin Strangler” – $22 plus shipping
t-shirt: “No Salvation for Stranglers” – $20 plus shipping
Mouse pad: Destiny Blande face on the devil – $20 plus shipping
Mug: “Denounce Destiny’s Denial” – $9 plus shipping
Plaque: Destiny Blande face on the devil - $75 plus shipping

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This is post #75 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).

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The Transfiguration

Matthew 17, Mark 9, and Luke 9 tell the story of the transfiguration.

Many rumors had been circulating about the identity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as he walked among us. One day He asked his disciples who they thought he was. Simon Peter spoke first, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16) Jesus then explained the need for Him to suffer, die, and rise from the dead in order to pay for the sins of man.

Six days later, Jesus walked with Peter, James and John to the top of a mountain for prayer. The three disciples soon fell asleep. When they awoke, they saw Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah. Jesus had been transformed, His face shining, His clothing dazzling white. He spoke with Moses and Elijah about His pending crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.

A brilliant cloud then surrounded them, and a voice spoke out, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." (Matthew 17:5) The disciples collapsed to the ground, paralyzed with fear. When they finally looked up, only Jesus remained, once again in his normal appearance, telling them not to fear. While descending the mountain, Jesus told the disciples not to speak of the vision until He had risen from the dead.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ knows when we are ready to hear The Word, and when we must spread The Word. He is speaking to us now. He knows that we, much like the disciples on the mountain, are ready to spread The Word. Join me in this mission.

Loaves and Fish

All four Gospels (Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9, and John 6) tell the story of Jesus and the loaves of bread and fish.

One day Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ received terrible news. His friend John the Baptist, the prophet who proclaimed him the Messiah, had been beheaded by Herod. Jesus' disciples had just returned from a mission. After recounted to Him their journeys, He led them in a boat voyage across the Sea of Galilee to rest and pray in solitude with Him.

When people learned that Jesus was near, they rushed to Him, bringing their ill loved ones in the hopes of a miracle. Jesus was merciful, teaching them of The Word and healing the sick. Looking at the crowd of thousands, Jesus asked his disciple Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" (John 6:5)

Philip did not have enough faith and knew not what to do, but Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, brought a young boy who had 5 small loaves of bread and 2 fish. Jesus took the loaves of bread, looked up and gave thanks to God, and passed them to his disciples. He then did the same with the fish. Somehow, as they passed the food through the crowd, they all ate as much as they desired without the food running out.

When everyone was finished eating, they still had enough food left over to fill 12 baskets. The crowd was convinced by this miracle that Jesus was the Messiah for whom they had waited.

So many people had to directly witness the miracles of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in order to believe that He was the Messiah. We see evidence of these miracles every day, in almost everything that we do, and yet so many falter and forget The Word at moments when we are at our weakest. It is at those times that we need the reminder of The Word, perhaps from each other, perhaps from the writing on these pages of Salvation Sermons. No matter what the source, we hope to end up together on the path to the Kingdom of God.

Woman at the Well

John 4 describes the story of the woman at the well.

While traveling from Jerusalem to Galilee, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and his disciples walked through Samaria. Jesus sat by Jacob's Well, exhausted and thirsty, while his disciples went to Sychar to get food. During the hottest part of the day, a Samaritan woman came to the well to get water.

Jesus then broke three Jewish customs. First, He spoke to a woman. Second, the Jews traditionally despised the Samaritans. Third, her getting Him a drink of water would have made Him ceremonially unclean. The woman was shocked by all of this.

Then Jesus said that He could give her "living water" so that she would never thirst again. By this He meant eternal life, which confised the woman at first, but as they talked more about their beliefs, she voiced her faith that the Messiah would soon be coming. Jesus said, "I who speak to you am he." (John 4:26) The woman now understood her encounter with Jesus. She left her water jar and returned to town. Many Samaritans soon arrived and asked Jesus to remain with them. Jesus stayed and spoke to them about The Word of God.

How often do we look upon others and believe that we understand them from their outer appearance? How often do we think that we know the whole picture from the outside? Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ sees through this outer layer. Similar to seeing through the woman at the well, He continues to look with penetrating eyes into our hearts, into our souls, and knows what we are truly made of. The inner self can only hide from so long from the all knowing power of God.

The Wedding at Cana

John (2) describes the wedding of Cana.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ attended a wedding feast in Cana with his mother Mary and a few disciples. They ran out of wine at the wedding, which threatened humiliation for the bride and groom. Mary gestured toward Jesus and then told the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." (John 2:3-5)

Nearby were six water-filled stone jars commonly used for ceremonial washing, each holding up to 30 gallons. Jesus instructed the servants to fill the jars with water and then take some to the master of the banquet. Amazed, the master took the bride and groom aside and complimented them. Most couples serve the best wine first, he said, then bring out cheaper wine after the guests would no longer notice the difference. "You have saved the best till now," he told them (John 2:10).

Through this miracle, Jesus was able to demonstrate that he was the Son of God to all of the guests at this large wedding. Nonbelievers look for proof from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ every day, but they miss the signs right before them. Look for Him as you go through your day, and listen for His Word.

Jesus Walks on Water

Matthew 14 tells the story of Jesus walking on water.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ sent some fo the disciples ahead in a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee. During the night, the disciples encountered a storm. Jesus came to them by walking on the water. At first the disciples thought they were seeing a ghost, but Jesus said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Peter replied, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water." When Jesus agreed and invited Peter to come join him, the disciple began walking on the water toward Him. But then Peter momentarily took his eyes off Jesus, saw wind and waves, and began to sink. He cried out, and Jesus immediately reached out his hand to catch Peter. The storm ceased as they climbed into the boat together.

Similar to Peter, we must keep our eyes on Jesus and stay focused on His Word. If we get distracted by the swirl of wind and waves around us, we will lose focus on what is important, and we, too, will begin to sink. We, too, shall begin to give in to the evil forces that swirl wround us, hoping to drag us down. Of course, when we call out to Jesus, he reaches out to bring us back toward Him - back to safety. Once we have Jesus in our boat, the waters calm and we can see everything around us with a new clarity.

Denial

Today’s sermon is about denial. Let’s take a look at Peter denying knowing Jesus in the Gospel of Mark.

While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him. "You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus," she said. But he denied it. "I don't know or understand what you're talking about," he said, and went out into the entryway. When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, "This fellow is one of them." Again he denied it. After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, "Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean." He began to call down curses on himself, and he swore to them, "I don't know this man you're talking about." Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows twice you will disown me three times." And he broke down and wept.

– Mark 14

Peter has a chance to do the right thing here. To support his Lord. To tell the truth. When Jesus tells Peter that he will disown Him three times, the disciple boasts that he would never do such a thing. The others may, but not Peter. Jesus is then taken away to face the High Priests on charges that will eventually lead to His death. Peter follows behind, but he does not stay by His side. He does not come through in the moment of truth. He wants to do the right thing, but he is weak. When he has the opportunity to prove himself, he instead lets the Lord down by denying Him.

There are many examples of denial taking place in front of us today. Each of these is actually a denial of The Lord. Many of you watched the Satin Strangler trial. Here we see Destiny Blande denying the Satin Strangler.

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In court Destiny Blande denied being the Satin Strangler. The rooster crew in the courtroom, my friends. We heard it. But how did she respond? With a deaf ear.Destiny is enjoying all of the fanfare of the spotlight – but she wants none of the responsibility that comes with it. Is she a killer or is she not? Her desire is to have it both ways.

Peter wanted to be the number one disciple of Jesus – the Rock upon which the Lord would build his Church. He stood tall in the garden of Gethsemane, making promises and stealing the glory from the others. But then he could not stand up to the challenge.

Destiny Blande had a decision to make. She is standing at the divergence of two paths. A turn in either direction would prevent crossing back over – to confess to the murders or to deny them. Nothing in between.

So far Destiny Blande denies the Satin Strangler. She chooses to remain an anonymous nothing rather than satisfy her Lord by accepting her designated role. She denies her Lord when she denies the title. Denies her Lord.

Readers of this article may also be interested in purchasing the following items:

t-shirt: “Say ‘No’ to the Satin Strangler” – $22 plus shipping
t-shirt: “No Salvation for Stranglers” – $20 plus shipping
Mouse pad: Destiny Blande face on the devil – $20 plus shipping
Mug: “Denounce Destiny’s Denial” – $9 plus shipping
Plaque: Destiny Blande face on the devil - $75 plus shipping

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This is post #47 in The Satin Strangler Blogs (TSSB).

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John the Baptist

The story of John the Baptist comes from Matthew 3, Mark 1, and Luke 3 of the New Testament.

Before Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ began his ministry on earth, John the Baptist had been preparing the people for the coming Messiah. He challenged them to repent, turn away from sin, and be baptized. But when Jesus appeared, coming to John to be baptized, John told him, "I need to be baptized by you." He wondered why Jesus needed to be baptized. Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness."

John agreed and baptized Jesus. As Jesus rose out of the water, heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form of a dove. A voice from heaven said, "This is my son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

By asking to be baptized, Jesus was confessing sin on behalf of the people and identifying with those who were repenting. He also set an example for his followers. Most importantly, Jesus was announcing the beginning of his earthly ministry.

John devoted his entire life preparing for the arrival of Jesus, but John resisted His first request. He felt inadequate for the task. Are you worthy of the Lord? Are you ready to accept Him into your life? Time is running out for your decision, friends. The time is soon upon us.

Jonah and the Whale

The story of Jonah and the Whale, one of the oddest accounts in the Bible, originally comes from the book of Kings, but is also mentioned in Matthew 12 and Luke 11 in the New Testament.

God spoke to Jonah, son of Amittai, telling him to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh. Jonah was upset at this command because Nineveh known for its wickedness and was the capital of the Assyrian empire, one of Israel's fiercest enemies.

Jonah did the opposite of what he God had commanded. He booked a ship to Tarshish, in the opposite direction from Nineveh. You might imagine that the Lord was upset at this and sent a violent storm that threatened to destroy the ship. Jonah realized that he was to blame for the storm and told the crew to throw him overboard. When they tried rowing to shore instead, the waves only got higher. Fearing the wrath of God, the sailors finally tossed Jonah into the sea, and the water immediately grew calm.

Jonah was swallowed by a giant whale sent by God. In the belly of the whale, Jonah repented and prayed to God. He praised God, ending by saying, "Salvation comes from the Lord." (Jonah 2:9)
On the third day God commanded the whale to release Jonah onto dry land. This time he obeyed God, walking through Nineveh proclaiming that in forty days the city would be destroyed. The Ninevites heeded Jonah's warning and repented. God, in turn, had compassion on them and spared their lives.

In this story God expressed concern even about the wicked. He commands all within His creation to follow his plan. The whale is much like the tomb where Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ lay following the crucifixion, only to rise from the dead into the glory of the kingdom of heaven on the third day. Jonah thought he knew better than his Creator. This foolish notion almost cost him his life. God had the power to destroy him - with so little effort - it would have taken just a moment and minimal effort - Jonah was lucky that God offered so many warnings and so many chances to come back to his beliefs in Him. Others may not be so lucky to have such a patient and forgiving Creator. They must heed the warnings.

Daniel in the Den of Lions

The book of Daniel includes the story of Daniel in the den of lions.

In 605 B.C., when the Babylonians conquered Israel, they took many young men into captivity, one of whom was Daniel. He lived in the pagan kingdom of Babylon in captivity until his 80s. Through obedience to God, his Creator, and an impecible reputation of honesty and hard work, Daniel had succeeded in becoming a political administrator, much to the jealous dismay of the other government officials.

The other politicians tricked King Darius into passing a decree that anyone who prayed to another god or man besides the king during the next 30 days would be thrown into a lions' den. Daniel knew this but still went home, knelt down, faced Jerusalem, and prayed to his Creator. The other administrators informed the king. King Darius loved Daniel but was forced to have Daniel thrown into the lions' den.

The king ran to see Daniel the next morning. Daniel told him, "My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king." (Daniel 6:22) The king was greatly relieved, and Daniel was brought out of the den unharmed.

King Darius had the other politicians, their wives, and their children all thrown into the lions' den, where they were immediately eaten. Then the king issued another decree ordering the people to pray to Daniel's God.

Daniel's story is much like that of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is unbending in his faith, despite the threat of death. When he is put in the den under circumstances much like Jesus' trial before Pilate, he faces what appears to be guaranteed death. The Creator watches over him, however, and he is released from the den much like Jesus emerges from the tomb during the resurrection. Are you at the mouth of the lions' den yourself, trying to maintain your faith? Hopefully this story will be an inspiration to you.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

The third book of Daniel includes the motivating story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

About 600 BC , King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jerusalem and took many of the Israelites captive. Four of the young men were given new names in captivity: Daniel was called Belteshazzar, Hananiah was called Shadrach, Mishael was called Meshach, and Azariah was called Abednego.

All four were very bright and became well liked by King Nebuchadnezzar, who made them part of his most trusted council. Daniel helped interpret one of Nebuchadnezzar's troubling dreams, earling him a high position over Babylon, including the land'w wise men. Per his request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as Daniel's administrators.

King Nebuchadnezzar built a giant golden statue and commanded his people to bow and worship it whenever they heard the sound of his musical herald, or else they would be thrown into a massive furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship this false god, so they were reported to the king. The were sent before the king, who tried to force them to deny their one and only God.

They answered, "If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand. But if not, be it known to you, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."

The king was furious and ordered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be bound and cast into the flames. The soldiers who cast them into the furnace were killed by the heat. King Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace, amazed, and said, "But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods."

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walked from the furnace unharmed, with no signs of the heat on their bodies or clothing. King Nebuchadnezzar was amazed and declared, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God." He then declared that all of the Israelites were free to worship as they chose.

Even threatened with what appeared to be certain death, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not compromise their belief in their Creator - must we have our hands placed to the fire - perhaps our entire bodies cast into the fire - to stand up for our beliefs? When we face seemingly insurmountable obstacles in life, we too must say, "Whether God rescues me or not, I will stand for him. I will not compromise my faith, and I will not deny my Lord."