Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 393 | Lil Nas X’s Satan Shoes & Why Christians Should Rejoice

Episode Date: March 29, 2021

Over the weekend we got a ton of requests to talk about the rapper Lil Nas X and the Satan shoes he released for sale. The shoes feature a pentagram pendant, a Bible verse about Satan, and a drop of human blood in the sole (gross). While it's true this is an example of our society's rapid moral decline, it's also possible to see this in an encouraging light. We Christians know that God can use anything, even something evil or ridiculous (or both, like these shoes), to demonstrate his glory and bring people closer to him. --- Today's Sponsor: Built Bar is high in protein and fiber, and low in calories and carbs. Go to BuiltBar.com & use promo code 'RELATABLE' to get 15% off your next order! --- Show Links: Charles Spurgeon: "The Blood of the Lamb the Conquering Weapon" https://bit.ly/3u56G2l --- Buy Allie's book, You're Not Enough (& That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love: https://alliebethstuckey.com/book Relatable merchandise: https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey

Hey guys, welcome to relatable. Happy Monday. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. So if you are watching this on YouTube, you can see that I have a little bit different of a setup. It's a temporary setup. You might know that I am about to give birth here in a few weeks. I don't know exactly when it's going to be, but sometime in a few weeks. And so we have given me a temporary setup at home. It's a little bit more convenient so I can spend a little bit more time at home before this baby comes. But thank you guys so much who have been following along and who have been praying and who have been encouraging me and our family. I just really appreciate that so much. I say all the time that I have the best audience in the world, the smartest and most thoughtful audience in the world. And I

truly believe that that is true. And so thank you guys for being as wonderful as you are. We're very excited. It's a it's a it's a it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, fun time for our family. So today we are going to talk about something that I got a ton of messages about over the weekend and that is Little NASX. I think I have to put the X at the end of it. His shoes that he designed along with a company that is glorifying Satan. It apparently goes with a music video that is also glorifying Satan. And I try to not be on social media over the weekends for the most part, or that's something that I've recently tried to do. But when I got Instagram or when I opened Instagram on Sunday night, I had a ton of

messages from you guys asking me my thoughts on it. And I know a lot of conservative commentators have already given their thoughts on it. And I'm going to not give you the standard analysis of what I think about all of this. This turned into a strictly theological episode. I was preparing for this last night, and we were actually going to go a totally different direction with this episode. But then I ended up looking into this story and just thinking about it and thinking it through and thinking about why or how I can make this encouraging and uplifting to talk about something so dark. And that's exactly what we're going to do. And I don't have time to talk about any of the other stories that I wanted to talk about.

I want to talk about so much of the media hypocrisy that we're seeing when we are looking at, story about the border or the COVID vaccine passport. There is so much that I want to talk about newswise. But when I was preparing for this particular story, it ended up just being everything that I wanted to talk about because I truly actually think, I know it sounds crazy. I actually think this is an encouraging story in light of scripture and something to rejoice over. And so that's the angle that we're going to take on it today. Let me back up in case you have no idea what I'm talking about. Let me tell you how NBC report to this story to kind of set up what this is and why we're talking about it. So NBC News says this, Lil Nas X, the Old Town Road artist. So you guys

might remember that. I think it was with Billy Ray Cyrus. You know, Old Town Road, that one, I won't sing the whole thing for you. I'll spare you. But it was a very catchy song. Maybe last summer, maybe two summers ago. I don't remember. I'm old. And so my memory is failing me. I don't remember when it was. But he was singing on the song, I think, with Billy Ray Cyrus, it was really popular. I didn't know him from anything else. And then a few months later, he came out as gay,

which everyone's always a big deal because that's not very, that's not something that typically happens in the world of rap. And so he's kind of almost become this, like, representation for a lot of young people who like rap from a representation of LGBTQ. and their causes. So just FYI, some contacts there. So anyway, NBC reports, the Old Town Road artist is collaborating with the streetwear company, MSCHF, on a pair of Satan shoes, only 666 pairs of which will be on sale Monday. So I guess that's today. The controversial kicks apparently modified Nike Air Max 97s are decorated with a pentagram, pendant, and a reference to Luke 1018, a Bible version,

about Satan's fall from heaven, they will be sold for $1,018. The sneakers also contain a drop of human blood in the soul drawn from members of the MSCHF team. The company told NBC News on Sunday, Nike was quick to distance itself from the shoes, pointing out that their custom adaptations of existing products. Quote, we do not have a relationship with Little NASX or MSCHF. Nike said in a statement Nike did not design or release. these shoes and we do not endorse them. So this company apparently got the shoes. They designed

them independently and they just happened to be Nike shoes. Nike didn't actually have anything to do with this. The release of the Satan shoes coincide with Little Nas X's latest single, Montero, call me by your name. And it's a company music video in the video. Little Nass X is seduced out of what appears to be the Garden of Eden, falls into hell and gives the devil a lap dance. The music video has been viewed more than 29 million times since its release on Friday. So that's what the deal is. I haven't watched the music video. I've heard descriptions of it or I've read descriptions of it. I don't think it's something that I necessarily need to see. Like, I get the gist. And honestly, I hate that I'm even talking about this because since this is, obviously, they're not trying to

hide this like a marketing tactic for the video. They like the controversy. Like the PR company that's representing him, this marketing company, they like the controversy because it makes people talk about it. I'm talking about it on this podcast. But the point of this episode certainly has nothing to do with the shoes themselves. But why we as Christians can actually look at something like this and say, okay, I'm actually, I'm excited to see what comes of this. And I know that sounds crazy, but I've seen a lot of people just say, oh my gosh, this just means the, absolute degradation of our culture, which that might be true, but it's not a reason for the Christian to despair. So like I said, a lot of people have asked me what I think about this.

And yes, I do agree with what a lot of conservative commentators have said that this is certainly not a sign of culture progressing. Like, this is not a sign that we are doing well as a society, thinking about what we don't tolerate and then what we do tolerate the things that we glorify versus the things that we just can no longer allow to exist anymore, they're not good. Like our priorities are obviously out of whack when it comes to the things that we elevate and the things that we try to bring down. That's absolutely true. But it's honestly, it's a little, or I would say a lot comforting.

And the reasons why is because number one, what Satan means for evil, God can always use for good. And really, I say number one, but really, that's the whole point. That's the whole point of this episode. That's everything that I'm going to explain. And here's what I mean by that. God has the power to work everything according to his will for his glory to draw people to himself. Most of you probably know the story of Joseph. He was the favorite son of his father, Jacob, who made him this amazing colorful cloak, Joseph's brothers were super jealous of him. They hated him because of this.

And to make matters worse, Joseph had this dream that all of his brother's bundles of grain were bowing down to his bundle of grain. And he went and he told his brothers this. And they were like, why are you telling us this? This is really annoying. You're such an annoying little brother. Why are you telling us about this dream?

And then to make matters worse, even worse, he had another dream where the sun and the moon and then 11 stars were bowing down. down to him. And even his dad at this point was like, what? Why are you really saying that we are going to all bow down to you? Just stop. But secretly, his dad, the Bible says, wondered if there was actually something to this vision. But his brothers did not even want to entertain the idea. They were so mad about this that they actually decided that they were going to kill him. But then the older brother came along, Rubin, and was like, no, no, no. He heard his, the other brothers plants and they were like, don't kill him, just throw him into this pit when we see him

coming this way. The other brothers did that. They threw Joseph into the pit while Rubin was gone. They sold him as a slave to a caravan that was on its way to Egypt. They ended up having to lie to their dad, Jacob, and say that a wild animal killed Joseph. And Jacob was not okay. He was like, I'm never going to get over this. I am going to mourn the loss of my son forever and ever. These were not good people. When you think about what I just described and just went down, like Joseph's brothers were not good people and they had no care or affection, apparently, for their dad, who was now mourning this for the rest of his life. But that's just an aside. So Joseph goes to Egypt. And lots of things happen. He goes through lots of ups, lots of downs. There are so many good stories

in Joseph's life that you should read about if you haven't read it in Genesis already. But through all of these ups and downs of Joseph's life, he remains. faithful to God and God remains faithful to him. And ultimately, the dreams that he told his family, they got them so angry and so annoyed, come true. Joseph goes from servant to a leader in Egypt. And in that position, he helps ensure the land of Egypt has abundance in the seven years of famine they endured. But it wasn't just Egypt who suffered in the famine. The famine was worldwide. So people were coming from all over to buy grain from Joseph in Egypt, including Joseph's brothers. And there's a lot that goes down after Joseph and his brothers see each

other when his brothers come and say, hey, we need some grain from you. Because Joseph recognizes his brothers, but his brothers don't recognize him. They're just going to this powerful guy in Egypt to try to get food for their families. And then once it is revealed that this is their brother that they're talking to, they are freaking out. They're like, oh my gosh, he's going to do something to us, especially later after their father died, and they reunite in all this stuff. I don't want to get into all the details of it because it's going to take too much time, but the brothers are freaking out that Joseph is going to exact some kind of revenge, but Joseph, full of the spirit of God, refuses to hold his brother's sins against them and simply says, as for you, you meant evil

for me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. You've probably heard that verse if you grew up in the church. Let me read it to you again. So after all of this goes down, many years later, Joseph is elevated to this position of leadership

under the Pharaoh in the land of, in the land of Egypt. His brothers come to him and they're like, hey, we need food from you, dude. Joseph is like, oh my gosh, these are my brothers. They don't know. Long story short,

they reveal that to each other. They know each other. Brothers are scared that Joseph is going to do something. So I just wanted to resummarize that for clarity. and they're like, please, don't do anything to us. I know that we deserve all these bad things to happen to us because we did all these terrible things to you. We sold you into slavery.

And Joseph simply responds, as for you, you may evil against me, but God meant it for good. To bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. So he says, you may evil against me, but God, minute for good. Jealousy is evil. The hate that his brothers felt is evil. Throwing your brother into a pit,

selling him into slavery, lying to your dad about it for years and years and then having the audacity to come to Joseph after he graciously provides food for you and your family and beg him not to punish you in return, that's evil. Like that's the work of Satan to create rivalry and malice and deceit and cowardice. But we see so often throughout scripture that wickedness and sin are actually not Satan's endgame. They're simply these tools that he uses to try to take glory.

from God. That is his goal. That is Satan's goal to try to take glory from God. This Luke 1018 verse that's on the Satan themed shoes says this. And he said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. That's Jesus speaking. And Jesus said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Now here's the thing about this verse. And this is going to tie back into the story of Joseph. Joseph, this is going to tie back into the original point that we made, that God uses what Satan means for evil, what Satan means for his own honor, for his own honor, and for the good of those who love him. So Jesus is saying this in Luke 1018 in response to 72 messengers that he had sent out to heal and preach the gospel. Those messengers were rejoicing to him, that even the

demons were subject to them when they were going out and doing these miraculous works. And Jesus says, look, I watched as their master was thrown from heaven, which I take to me, this is my own subjective interpretation. Duh, you think that you gospel preachers empowered by me, Jesus don't have authority over them? Of course you do. And then he says that they're not even supposed to rejoice over that, though, like that's not the most impressive thing. The coolest thing he says about this is that these people, these 72 messengers, are going to heaven. So this verse is in the context of Jesus telling believers that they have authority over demon. that that's a given, that Jesus has authority over Satan, and that the real thing to rejoice over

is not that, as amazing as it is, but that this actually means eternal victory and salvation for all of those who believe. And Isaiah 55, 10 through 11 tells us that the word of God does not return void. So God will use his word to do his bidding to accomplish that which he wills. This verse in particular is about Satan's ultimate defeat. And what a perfect representation these shoes are of Satan's desperate and pathetic attempt for relevance and power. So much so that the verse used is about him being an eternal loser. And because the word of God does not return void, we understand that God is going to use this.

We know that God is going to use this in some way to bring glory to Him. himself, and that is what Satan hates. And this in particular, this story that we're talking about to this vying for relevance, this vying for power, and for his own honor and fame and glory is exactly what Satan does. He wants attention and cheap worship however he can get it. Isaiah 14 tells us that Satan was once an angel whose pride, whose desire to be like God, got him cast out of hell. And we see throughout the Bible that his goal since then has been to steal God's glory by stirring up as much evil, preventing as much redemption as possible. Here's what I mean.

If there's one thing that Satan probably hates, I would guess, more than anything, it's redemption. Because he can't do it. It's not in his wheelhouse. He can only destroy. He can only tear down. He can't rebuild. He can't restore.

He can't renew. He can't redeem. And what's frustrating for him, I'm sure, is that where he tries to take him, he can't tear down, God somehow manages to build up something good and something new. And redemption is exactly what the story of Joseph is. It's exactly what God is always up to and has always been up to. It is God through his great power redeeming that which sinful men, tented by Satan, try to destroy.

In the story of Joseph, they met harm and death and destruction for him. They meant for him to no longer exist. They wanted murder, exploitation, ruin for him. And God just says too bad. Like, I've got plans of my own. And guess what? I put this caravan. God, I'm paraphrasing God.

I put this caravan on its way to Egypt for you brothers even made your plot to sell him into slavery, which means I was way ahead of you. So God foiled the plan before it was even thought about by these people. So nothing Satan and sinful man plot is a surprise to God. God alone is omniscient and omnipotent. Satan is not. So he sees Satan. God sees Satan rubbing his hands together, conspiring. God already knows exactly how he is going to use Satan's wicked plans for the good of those who love him and for his own glory. Over and over again in scripture, we see God seemingly stack the odds against himself purposely using situations that look beyond hope and then swoop in and show up and show off. Like, let's think about some stories in the Old Testament where this is true, where it seems like God could have made things easier or more automatic than he did. God could have given Abram and Sarai, for example, kids in the prime of their youth.

He waited until they were old and seemingly barren. God could have figured out a way to free his people from Egyptian slavery easily, but instead he hardened Pharaoh's heart. And he opened the Red Sea. He could have just handed Cain into Joshua's hands, but he fought his people's battles on their behalf instead. God could have stopped Joseph from being thrown into the pit. He could have stopped a lot of bad things from happening to Joseph throughout his life, but instead he shows his grace and provision to the whole world through Joseph in a time of famine.

God could have protected Shadrach, Meshach, and Bedigo from punishment entirely, but instead he stood with them in the fiery furnace and shielded this. him from the flames to show his own power. He could have spared Daniel from the king's edict, but he allowed him to be thrown into the pit of lions and come out unharmed. He could have taken Jesus off the cross, but instead he watched as his son died a death. He didn't deserve to die on our behalf and then raised him from the dead to confirm his power. So what we see is that God is going to stop at nothing to bring about redemption for his own glory. And there is not a thing anyone can do about it. So God is just as in charge right now as he has ever been.

And his wrath is being stored up. This is something we talked about last week. His patience is being steadied. Second Peter 315 says that we must count the patience of God as salvation. So it's not God's apathy. It's not God's absence. He is being patient, not because he doesn't care about evil, but because he, like he always has, is going to seemingly stack all odds against himself until the time is right for him to exact justice once and for all and establishes glory forever and completely. Galatian 6-7 is clear. God will not be mocked. In Exodus 25, God describes himself as a jealous God, jealous for worship, jealous for glory. He's not going to let Satan have the last word.

So you think God is going to allow any bit of glory to be taken from him because of a pair of shoes and a music video? This rapper and everyone who is glorifying Satan were already worshiping Satan before these shoes came out. They're now just being overt about it, but the worship was there before. I mean, the Bible is clear about that, that everyone who is not in Christ, whether they know it or not, is under the influence of who Ephesians 2 calls. the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience,

among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body, and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. So they're children of wrath, just like we once were, who have now been made alive in Christ. That Ephesians 2 passage goes on to say, but God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even while we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace, you have been saved. So it is only by God's grace through Jesus Christ that you and I are not in the exact same place

doing the exact same things that someone like this rapper is. There are two eternal categories in all of the cosmos, according to the Bible, when it comes to human beings. those dead in sin, children of wrath following the prince of the power of the air, and those alive in Christ, children of light, following the God who is rich in mercy. And these categories and those who fall in them will not be changed one iota because of these shoes in this music video. Ephesians 1, 4 through 5 says this, even as God chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as Son through Jesus Christ,

according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of his glorious grace. So if God wants to use this video and these shoes to bring himself glory and to draw people to himself, he will. There is nothing, no power in heaven on earth or under the earth, that can stop him. He is going to claim his beloved. He is going to pursue the lost sheep. He is going to find the lost coin.

He is going to run after the prodigal son. When God sets his sights on someone, he will not stop until he has him. Until that slave to sin becomes a son and an heir, until that rebel becomes redeemed. There is no obstacle too big for God. No sin too much for God to forgive. No burden too much for God to carry. No slate that he can. cannot wipe clean, nothing he cannot use to call his children to himself and give himself glory.

Those of us who are in Christ know we can look back at our own lives and think of all the things Satan meant for our destruction. The times that we were betrayed or hurt or mistreated or abandoned the sins, we almost allowed to consume us the harm and the hurt both inflicted by others and self-inflicted and think, that could have totally destroyed me. My life could look completely different right now. I could have stayed on that path, but God, but God's redemption, his relentless, unstoppable commitment to redeeming that which Satan wants to use for harm to use instead for his own glory and are good. That is the testimony of believers. And guess what? This is like this is the really great, I think, encouraging news.

These testimonies that we have as believers are exactly what God uses to do. declare victory over sin and Satan. I wish we had time to dig into all of Revelation 12. I think that would take us days and what it all means. But let's just look at verse 11. Quotes, and they, believers in Christ, have conquered him, Satan, by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Let me read that again. And they, believers in Christ have conquered him Satan by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. I'm going to link in the description of this podcast episode commentary on this particular verse from Charles Spurgeon that is so good. I wish I could read

the entire thing. So I'm going to link in and I encourage you to read it yourself, but I am going to read some of it because I think his analysis, his application of this verse is so good and so relevant to what we're talking about. So this, this is Charles Spurgeon. They overcame him. My version says, Concord, I use ESV, but he is quoting from this verse Charles Spurgeon. They overcame him. We are never to rest until it is said of us. Also, they overcame him. He is Satan, a foe man, worthy of your steal. Do you refuse the conflict? Do you think of turning back? You have no armor for your back.

Let me just stop right there because I was reading this last night and my mind was blown. He didn't even cross reference this to Ephesians 6 in this commentary, but we're going to. So let's pause right there. He says, you have no armor for your back. Why are you turning around instead of engaging in the fight against sin and the devil when that's what you are called to do? You've got no armor for your back. What does he mean by that?

So if we look at Ephesians 6, we're totally. that we are not at war with flesh and blood. We're certainly not at war with music videos or shoes. We are at war Christians with spiritual forces of evil. And therefore, we are called to take up the whole spiritual armor of God, which includes, again, if you grew up in the church, you probably know this already, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of readiness, the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation. There's no armor for your back. You turn around and retreat now, you're hit in the back with the very arrows that you are afraid of extinguishing, which is exactly why the thing that we're told in Ephesians 6,

uh, extinguishes the arrows is a shield of faith. Spurgeon goes on to say, quote, to cease to fight is to be overcome. You have your choice between the two, either to gird up the loins of your minds for a lifelong resistance or else be or else to be Satan's slaves forever. I pray God that you may awake, arise, and give battle to the foe, resolve once for all that by the grace of God, you will be numbered with those who overcome the arched enemy. Now, what does this mean? Because we're not talking about a physical war. We're not even talking about a culture or political war, although unfortunately sin does manifest itself in all of these ways.

But the real struggle, the Bible says that we're facing is one that is spiritual. therefore the tools that we use are trump cards that we play are spiritual too. And what are those trump cards? The things that Satan just cannot withstand. The blood of the lamb, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which stands in the way of the accuser, which is what Satan is calling Revelation 12th. Jesus stands there and says, no, your accusations are hollow here because my blood paid for their guilt and they are completely forgiven forever.

God has got them. My blood has made your accusations absolutely powerless and meaningless. And then two, our testimony to Jesus' intercession and blood. So Spurgeon says this about this one Trump card, the blood of the lamb. He says, quote, the death of Christ is the death of sin and the defeat of Satan. And hence, it is the life of our hope and the assurance of his victory. So Christians, all those who have been called by God, saved by God, saved by God. raised through faith in Jesus, are bought by the blood of Christ, and that is our final blow to Satan and sin and death. Let me read you some verses from Romans 8. We, we as a group, people who listen to this podcast, memorized Romans 8 together, I guess, about a year ago now. And so maybe

if you did that with us, these come to mind easily. So these are verses 28 through 38. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called, and those whom he called, he also justified, and those whom he justified, he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us. He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God

who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ. Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. When I was writing this last night, I was thinking about all the different places where I could try to cut this passage off to make it a little bit shorter

so I wouldn't have to read all of it, but everything is exactly relevant to what we are talking about. So the blood of the lamb has got us covered. There is nothing, no power that can change that. That is the Trump card, but that's not all. Revelation 1211 also says it's the blood of the lamb by which we conquer Satan and the power of our testimony to that blood. They go hand in hand. Here's how Charles Spurgeon explains that. saints overcome through the blood of the lamb by their testimony to that blood. Every believer is to bear witness to the atoning sacrifice and its power to save. He is to tell out the doctrine. He is to emphasize it by earnest faith in it.

And he is to support it and prove it by his experience of the effect of it. You cannot all speak from the pulpit, but you can all speak for Jesus' opportunity is given you. Our main business is to bear witness with the blood in the power of the spirit. To this point, we can all testify. You cannot go into all manner of deep doctrines or curious points, but you can tell to all those round about you that there is life in a look at the crucified one. You can bear witness to the power of the blood of Jesus in your own soul. And are you ready for this part?

This part is super convicting, or at least I found it super convicting. Quote, it is written, they loved not their lives unto death that's still in that Revelation 12, 11 verse. He says, Spurgeon says, we shall not overcome Satan if we are fine gentlemen, fond of ease and honor. As long as Christian people must enjoy the world, the devil will suffer little at their hands. Some of you hardly dare speak about the blood of Christ in any way, but in the most godly company and scarcely there. You are very retiring. You love yourselves too much to get into trouble through your religion. Surely, you cannot be of that noble band that love not their own lives unto death.

Many dare not hold the old doctrine nowadays because they would be thought narrow and bigoted. And this would be too galling. I mean, this is in the 19th century, he's saying this. They call us old fools. It is very likely we are. but we are not ashamed to be fools for Christ's sake and the truth's sake. We shall never give up the doctrine of atoning sacrifice to please modern culture. What little reputation we have is as dear to us as another man's character is to him,

but we will cheerfully let it go in this struggle for the central truth of revelation. It will be sweet to be forgotten and lost sight of or to be vilified and abused if the old faith in the substitutionary sacrifice can be kept alive. This much we are resolved on. We will be true to our convictions concerning the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus. For if we give up this, what is there left? So how do we push back against darkness? How do we and will believers defeat Satan?

Through nothing of our own accord, but through the blood of Christ, and our testimony to that blood. So can you testify to how the gospel has transformed your life? How God used what was meant for harm for his glory and your good? How his sacrifice rescued you, a child of wrath and made you a new creation, a child of light? The Bible says that's unbelievably powerful. Maybe you don't have a platform.

Maybe you feel like there's not much difference you can make. As a Christian, you're unsure of what you've got to bring to the table or you're scared. you won't know all of the answers that you're asked when pressed. Let me remind you that you are chosen as God's redeemed because of what he brings to the table, not because of what you bring. 1 Corinthians 1 is one of my favorite passages in scripture. It tells us that God specifically and purposely chooses that which the world scoffs at and rejects or belittles what seems dumb or lowly or insignificant to the world to display his wisdom and righteousness

and power in order that those that the world deems wise and powerful would be made low, would be shamed. Remember Romans 8, He equips you. You don't equip yourself. He equips you. Remember Ephesians 6, he gives you the tools and the armor that you need. So you were not chosen because you're special and because you're talented. You are chosen because God is gracious and he is absolutely committed to your salvation,

to your sanctification, and to using you. and your testimony for his glory. You don't have to have a platform or a particular skill set or a personality type to be effective for the kingdom of God. God says that the blood of the lamb and your testimony to that blood are the most powerful things in every single realm when it comes to claiming victory in Christ. And a point that Charles Spurgeon makes and Ephesian 6 makes is that that starts now. we push back by waging against sin in our own lives, constantly relying on the Lord for strength,

for righteousness, for holiness, for love to live lives that are completely dedicated to the two great commandments, loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving others as ourselves. Now, I have a little bit more about the application and the practicality of this. So what we see through these shoes and this music video is simply this, that some who follows Satan are not hiding it. And while some Christians are too afraid to talk about hell and the devil,

the devil's worshippers are apparently not. While Christians are too scared to talk about holiness, the world is not too scared to flaunt wickedness. And the Bible says that Satan hides himself as an angel of light, but in this case, he's just out there. in the open. People aren't scared at all to glorify it. That means that Christians need to be all the more confident, all the more bold in glorifying our God. John 8 is a remarkable passage. Jesus is talking to people, specifically Jewish people in this case, who don't believe that he is the

Messiah. So while they insist that they are children of Abraham and therefore Israelites, that they are children of God himself, Jesus insists that the people that he's talking to actually are not children of God because even though they're technically from the line of Abraham and are ethnically a part of God's people, their actions, he is arguing, showed that they're actually slave to sin, not sons of God. His audience is super confused about this, it seems like. They're like, Jesus, what the heck are you talking about? God is our father. We're a part of God's chosen people. Well, Jesus responds to that argument this way in verses 42 through 47. If God were your father, you would love me.

For I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. You are of your father the devil and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character for he is a liar and the father of lies. but because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?

Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God. This message was spoken to Jewish people, but this applies to all of those who don't know Christ. Whoever loves Christ loves God is his child and hears his words and knows his voice. Those who do not love Christ, hate God, are Satan's children, listen to his words, know his voice,

which only spews lies all day, every day. Now, that does not mean that everyone who is not a Christian, by the way, is the worst that they could possibly be. I think that we can all say that we know lots of people who are not Christians, who are generous and loving and hospitable and kind, and we unfortunately know people who say that they're Christians who are none of these things.

This is not about the severity or the overt wickedness of people's behavior, but rather, according to the Bible, the state of our souls apart from Christ. But there are some who do not know Christ to emulate exactly what we would expect to see from people who follow someone Jesus calls the father of lies, and we should not be surprised when they become bolder in their worship as culture allows. It is absolutely, without a doubt, disturbing and scary. This is real stuff. It's been moving in this direction in this country for a while

through the glorification of witchcraft and psychics and mediums for a long time. All things that God very clearly tells us in his word are abominations that we should take no part in. They are darkness. We have to be on the watch for these things in our own lives and the lives of our kids. We don't mess around with darkness. Ephesians 5-8 through 16 is very close. clear about this, quote, for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.

Walk as children of light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them, for it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible. For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says, Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Look carefully, then, how you walk.

Not as wise, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time because the days are evil. So why are we talking about this? Some people might critique this episode saying, why are you even bringing attention to this? Well, I think if this

is an opportunity to share the gospel, if something that's happening in culture is an opportunity to point to God's wisdom is an opportunity to show light in the midst of darkness, to contrast light with darkness. And if we're told to expose these things and anything that is made visible can become light, then I think that we have a responsibility to look at the darkness in our culture and to compare it to God's goodness and his light and his gospel. So we expose darkness, not to just say, hey, this is dark, but to actually show people the light. When you've been in

darkness and someone turns on the light suddenly, that's super annoying. Like if you're sleeping, like this, for example, this says, awake of sleeper and arise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. So if you're in darkness and you are in like a dead sleep and someone comes in your room and they turn on the light, your reaction is not going to be, thank you so much. That's exactly how I wanted to be woken up. This is really fun and this feels great on my eyes. That's not going to be the response. You're going to be super annoyed. You're going to be like, what are you doing? You're probably going to be really angry. Maybe like you'll even throw a pillow or something like that. When you're in the darkness for a long time, when you're dead of sleep and someone

turned on the light and wakes you up, it hurts. So you can't be surprised when people who love darkness and have been in darkness sleeping for so long want to stay in it. It's really comfortable. The light is annoying. It's exposing. It exposes everything that you don't want to see. But once you're there, you realize it's so much better to have the lights on. It's so much better to be awake. Truth is so much better than a lie. So how do we deal with this? We, how do we deal with the darkness that we see around us? How do we deal with worship and glorification of Satan being so overt right in our faces? We just double down on the gospel. We double down on loving God and loving our neighbor. We are all the more outright about what we believe as Christians and why. We hate

darkness and we love the light. We don't fear darkness. Is a lamp afraid of the dark? No, because it is, it's antithesis. Darkness fails around it. It's impossible for darkness to stay around light. darkness scatters when the light is turned on. Remember what Jesus says in Matthew 5 14 through 16. You believers are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand. and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven.

That's what God is about, giving himself glory through us. And you and I and our children were placed on this planet at the exact time and the exact place to face exactly what we're facing according to God's perfect purpose for his specific reasons. So that means we don't have to worry about, am I equipped or am I prepared for what's to come or I'm scared to have kids in this time? Those are all understandable fears that I have felt and wrestled with too. Sometimes I look at Twitter and I turn on the news and I just want to despair at the darkness that seems to be winning. But we go back again and again to Psalm 37, for example, that says, do not fret when it seems like evil doers.

are getting their way when it seems like wickedness is overcoming because one day, even in wickedness will no longer exist. And God tells us, until then, I'm giving you all the equipment that you need. I've given you a trump card. That is the blood of Christ, your testimony to that blood. And there is nothing that happens here on earth. As much as Satan tries to use bad things for his glory, I am going to take it, redeem it, something he cannot do, and turn it into something for my glory and the good of those who love me.

even something as small and as petty as what we're seeing with these crazy shoes and music video. So that means that we're bold. We're happy. We're joyful. We are thankful. We redouble our efforts to through the Holy Spirit walk closely with the Lord and disciple those around us to do the same. So try not to despair when we see things like this. Like the Bible, think the Lord for giving us so much clarity and so much equipment and so much.

through his word and forgiving us as Jesus says the Holy Spirit has our helper. Jesus actually says it's better that I go that the Holy Spirit comes so all believers can be equipped, can be empowered and God is so gracious that he hasn't left us alone for one second. That yes, Jesus says, I think it's Matthew 10 that I'm sending you out as sheep among wolves or actually it might be the other passage that I was talking about in Matthew earlier. It might be both passages, but I'm having a hard time remember. Jesus does say that I'm sending you out as sheep among wolves, that we expect persecution, that we expect pushback, that we expect to be slandered and accused.

That's what Satan dies. But he says, no matter, I've got you. Like my perfect purposes and perfect plans are going to roll out without a hitch. And those whom I have chosen to be a part of it will be a part of it. And so we are fully equipped to engage with whatever comes our way. And we continue to point to God and give him glory, knowing, knowing that he is going to redeem and restore and to continue to draw people to himself through whatever means he possibly can. All right.

That's all I've got for today. Like I said, I've got a bunch of news to get through. But I just couldn't resist talking about the biblical encouragement that I think actually comes from something as demonic, satanic, and discouraging as these shoes and as this music video. So I hope that you leave feeling actually uplifted by all of this and remembering that you've got everything that you could possibly need to face what is ahead of you through Christ. All right. Thank you guys so much for listening. I'll be back here tomorrow.