The Celebrity Everyone Likes but Nobody Loves Part 2

So why do I say that nobody loves the celebrity who I was referring to in part one? Because I don’t think anyone is telling him the truth about how his artistry has deteriorated morally. Now I can’t be sure of it, but I think that if someone features you in their pulpit, has you on their Christian Television show, attends your studio opening, then they are pretty much sanctioning your work.

Years ago, healing Evangelist Kathryn Khulman got involved with a married man when she was in the ministry. This man divorced his wife and married Kathryn. I read about this story in her book. Well what happened back then, would never happen now. No churches would receive her and her ministry and she ended up getting out of that adulterous marriage because no one would allow her in their pulpit. After that, her ministry soared. The ministry she is known for happened after her fall. But today, you can claim Christianity and live any kind of lifestyle and you will be featured and celebrated as long as you are financially successful.

I can’t be sure of it, but I think the reason why no one will take a stand against this man’s compromising artistry is that he is probably writing some big checks. I know that he did write a large check for Joel Osteen’s church. And sadly today’s church is ruled by the mentally that if we mention something is wrong, then you are judging. How tragic!

I started out watching some of this man’s TV shows and then for a year or two, I didn’t have cable. Later when I got cable again, I went to watch the shows and I couldn’t. I noticed the cursing and explicit heterosexual and homosexual loves scenes and I just couldn’t watch anymore. A few times I tried to give his shows a chance, it was like an assault on the eyes. I know it’s because I am very careful about what I watch, so some people would not have this reaction. My spirit was grieved and I was so saddened by the blatant moral decline.

So I have seen this argument online: The Bible deals with sex, violence, etc, so the shows are no different. But here is the difference. When you show debauchery it has an effect on your spirit. There is a big difference between reading about something in general and watching an explicit depiction of it. It’s no different from pornography. It corrupts the soul and the spirit.

²⁸ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 5:28 English Standard Version (ESV)

⁵ Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Colossians 3:5 English Standard Version (ESV)

⁹ Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Corinthians 6:9-11 English Standard Version (ESV)

So what is the problem? The problem is this man’s artistry has gone from edifying to corrupting. And even though he is very popular, nobody is saying anything. And don’t give me that “but he’s successful:”. Porn Hub has 95 million views per day. Pretty successful right? Also pretty corrupting.

Listen, if you don’t attend church, you drink, party, cuss, fornicate and live with your girlfriend, you’re NOT in the faith. It’s no big mystery.

A Tree and Its Fruit

¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. Matthew 7:15-20 English Standard Version (ESV)

2 Corinthians 13:5 King James Version (KJV)

⁵ Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

I know this sounds harsh, but when you care for people, you tell them the truth even if it hurts. God is not going to allow this to continue, especially when the person creating this stuff claims to be of the Lord. A storm is coming to get this brother back on track and in my next post I will share what I see. Meanwhile, pray for this brother, whether you know who I am referring to or not.

The Celebrity Everyone Likes, but Nobody Loves Part 1

I have wrestled with writing this post for weeks now. I know that whenever you are this specific in giving a Word from the Lord, there will be a prophetic backlash. But I love this brother with the love of the Lord, and God has for many years been warning me of something impending, giving me many details along the way, so I must share this Word of warning. I have decided to not use his name, but it may be obvious to some, who I am referring to. My purpose is not to shame him because even though I don’t know him personally, I have interceded for him for many years and I still feel a connection to him. I can’t explain it, but I feel a sense of spiritual responsibility (as an intercessor) to him if that makes sense.

A few weeks ago, I was watching the Dr. Phil show on OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) and a commercial for a show called Ambitions came on. The OWN network can be notorious for playing the SAME commercials over and over again. I usually mute the TV and a lot of times look away because the commercials can be on the explicit side. The commercials for Ambitions are that way and when I saw a shower and bedroom scene the Lord spoke to me and said: “This stuff is corrupting those who watch it”. Not surprising to hear, but in my spirit, I knew the Lord was very serious about what he had spoken.

³⁷ Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things, and give me life in your ways. Psalm 119:37 (ESV)

You see some stuff is WORTHLESS. It carries no value and is not edifying to your spirit or soul, so you need not even watch it. It’s designed to corrupt you.

So recently, I saw this celebrity, who professes Christianity on TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) and he also spoke at Joel Osteen’s Church in Texas. The messages were very positive, encouraging people to follow their dreams. What was striking to me was that this celebrities’ last movie was his first R-rated comedy. When he talked about his reasoning for the R-rating, he seemed to talk as though this decision was out of his control. Like there was no way he could make a clean version even though he has COMPLETE creative control. Then I saw this same man on a couple of talk shows using profanity. Yes, cursing. It kind of surprised me because my mind went back to years ago when he wore the following shirt on his movie set:

Even though he wore this shirt many years ago, clearly, something has changed and this was is longer his conviction.

Below is my go-to place for movies (christian site) and here is what they said about the Christian celebrities last movie.

Plugged In review:

“This Director gets his share of grief from movie snobs, but from a Plugged In point of view, his stuff can be pretty interesting—even he typically makes us reviewers work overtime. Many of his movies are filled with all manner of sexual and violent and drug content. But many of them have some positive lessons they want to convey, too. And given that he is a Christian, his movies can often be overtly and encouragingly spiritual.

But his latest comedy, unfortunately, is not one of those films. This R-rated raunchfest is stripped of any real spirituality and largely free of positive or redemptive lessons. And that frees me from having to say, “Well, the movie’s terrible, but at least it had this going for it.”

No, this movie’s just terrible. Terrible aesthetically, terrible ethically, terrible in every which way a movie can be. For discerning moviegoers, it’s an assault on their eyes and ears and better standards.

Perhaps the Director made this movie with us in mind, knowing how hard we at Plugged In work to count swear words in his films. Why even this film’s title does some of our work for us: Nobody’s Fool? Nobody should be foolish enough to see it.”

So why do I say that everyone likes this man, but nobody loves him? Because with the exception of this review, nobody is telling him the truth. In my next post, I am going to share why I believe this man is in grave danger even though he is at the peak of his success, and why I think he could lose it all.

Hollywood: The Real Wolf

The people say the rating should have been NC-17

I’ve been wanting to write this post for some time and was trying to come up with a good title to get your attention and I think I got it. So when I saw the nominations this morning for the 86th annual Academy awards, I thought this would be a great time to post this.

Last year, for some reason, I probably saw more R-rated movies than I have seen in probably the last 20 years (pray for me). I saw Fruitvale Station (which was excellent). It was based on the true story of a young African-American man who was unjustly shot and killed. The movie was chilling and left me in tears. Then I think I rented Argo and Zero Dark Thirty, also based on true stories. Then against my better judgment, I went to see The Heat, which could have easily been reduced to PG 13 just by eliminating the 50 plus times the F word was used. But in all of the cases I saw something R-rated, I knew what to expect because I checked to see what was in the movie ahead of time. This year, I’ll probably go back to my PG only rule and here is why:

This morning when I saw the Wolf of Wall Street was nominated for an Academy award for Best Picture, it hit home how much you cannot trust Hollywood and how they are the real “wolf”.

I really like Leonardo DiCaprio and when I saw the trailer for this particular movie, for a very brief fleeting moment, I thought I might go see this movie, but one scene in the trailer was definitely a yellow light for me. I don’t do the sex and nudity thing, PERIOD. So I did what I usually do and read what was in the movie and honestly, I couldn’t with all good conscience repeat anything about this movie. Let’s just say, don’t believe the lie of Hollywood and destroy your mind with this trash. And it’s three hours of trash! The movie is three hours long!

I read the reviews of the people and I have never read so many reviews where the people said they had to get up and leave the movies. I mean people were leaving in droves because of the constant salacious drug and sex scenes in this movie. The general consensus, was that this movie was not rated correctly and should have received an NC-17 rating (which is X rated).

Sadly, as I read the responses of the people, I realized that the people were being bamboozled. This movie was released on Christmas Day and people were horrified as they took their parents and teenage children to what they thought would be a routine  R-rated movie only to discover it was pornography.

So what’s my point? My point is you can’t trust Hollywood. ALWAYS do your own research before seeing any movie and remember that Hollywood is NOT our friend. I really believe there is an agenda in the entertainment industry and as Christians  we must maintain our own values and stick to them. No compromise.

We also need more Christian film makers who will not compromise after they become successful. One of the best movies I saw last year (as far as a Godly message) was “I’m in love with a Church Girl”. I remember feeling like I was in church when I saw that movie. I say, if you are supposed to be a Christian and are in the industry, why be like the world? Get God’s agenda for why you are in the industry. Why make more of what is already out there? Do something different!

I wanted to post a link to the news stories about how this movie has been banned in many foreign markets, but most of the articles describe what is in the movie, so I will pass. But the truth of the matter is I guess ratings don’t mean much today because as soon as this movie goes to DVD, many kids will get their hands on it and then of course many have been exposed to filth online already, so what is the point? The point is there are still many moral people who do not want to be fooled into seeing trash (porn) in the name art or entertainment.

Here are a few reviews about the Wolf of Wall Street, from Fandango. See for yourself:

Wolf on Wall Street

by doeallen1

After one hour of this incredibly disappointing film, my party of three left. There were many reasons for leaving the least of which was the intense drug use, explicit sexual encounters and the endless gut wrenching language. Language that was disrespectful of woman and humanity at large. The scenes were graphic and would qualify as hardcore porn. The gifted actors were lost in the intensity and the shock. The most interesting reflection is that this film was released on Christmas day. Now I do not consider myself a self-righteous zealot or a person that has not enjoyed a depiction of a sexual encounter based on human connection in a respectful visual, but people this is way over the top and the reviews need to say so in graphic detail. At least provide the consumer with enough information in order to make a choice based on truth. NOT “wildly entertaining, Nudity and Language kinda of information just does not reveal what is in store. Thank you for the opportunity to express my self.

Should have been a rated x movie

by dmlc313

This movie was basically a porn with a semi-decent story line. The pornographic scenes added nothing to the actual plot line. I would not recommend this movie at all. Leonardo Dicaprio’s worst movie.

No

by kbhaught

Acting was good. Hated the film. An unnecessary assault of pornography, drugs, and non-stop cursing for over three hours. Not for kids of any age, or for adults for that matter–unless you think the world is really like that rather than a small subset of very troubled people. I wish I had read the reviews before going, or at least hadn’t chosen a middle seat as I would have left in the first ten minutes. I found it fascinating that the audience seemed to have no discomfort with full female nudity, a constant barrage of lewd sexual scenes and perversions, graphic drug use, glorification of same, and constant filthy cursing–yet gasped in horror when one character swallowed a live goldfish. Seriously??

The moral is that if you have enough money you can do anything with just a slap on the hand, and then remake yourself as a motivational speaker. Gross, just gross. Okay, I will grant it was a good character study, but was it really necessary? Hardly.

The Wolf of Wall Street

by Merica1

Do not waste your money. It is too long, if you like porn you will like this movie. I did not and I don’t recommend it.

The Wolf OfWall Street

by kahn3988

I lucked out, got to theater a little early for my movie, so went in at the beginning of the show, it only took the first minute for me to see it was not my cup of tea. This is a porn movie, Please dont take your kids to this movie, and be prepared for the f word , nudity, drugs, and more. Leonardo can do much better, he is a very talented actor.

The Wolf on Wall Street

by mwilliams8

I thought it was disgusting and trashy. The story could have been told without so much filthy and trashy talk and showing the actual act of intercourse. People got up and left the movie. I love the main actor, but disappointed that he would choose to do this kind of acting.

wolf of Wall street

by krishanand80

Too much sex….. Unnecessary– which makes it difficult to watch.. Last stages were too much of a drag..
Story was good but this much sex is unnecessary– and so unrealistic.

Will not recommend- except for Lio Nardo Di caprios acting.. which is very good

Nothing redeeming about this picture or its message

by Bill Duffey

This over the top movie with its excessive profanity, abundant male and female full frontal nudity, rampant and continuous drug use and valueless message make this a must miss film. Scorsese shocks again with a shockingly bad tale badly told.

Totally Trashy

by Kathyaschuler

We gave the movie one hour and then walked out and asked for our money back. To describe it, it was basically all swearing, drugs and sex bordering on pornography.

Only an R?

by drnason

I walked out of this movie after almost 3 hours, and I never walk out of a movie. The entire movie was profanity and soft porn, I was embarrassed and offended at the content. Do the people in Hollywood think we are too stupid to pay to watch an intelligent movie? I get that it’s a true story, but it was offensive over and over and over again. The manager of the theater said they cut a few scenes to make it “R” and that he had to screen it for work. He gladly gave our money back. Many people got up and walked out of the showing we were in tonight. I love Leo and I was actually interested in seeing this film. I regret that I wasted my time watching it, and I definitely regret wasting the end of my Christmas Day filling my mind with this trash. Not good at all. BEWARE.

Love Series:The Truth of the Matter

I’m meeting too many so-called Christians with convenient faith. They are saved when they have trouble or when they need something from God. But they are not living the life and I am not talking about perfection.

The truth is I’m not going to be with a man who doesn’t believe fornication is a sin. I’m not going to be with a man with a porn or sexual addiction. Of course I always leave room for deliverance because everyone has issues, but God let me know that sometimes you are rejected because you are living right.

Some men want women who will compromise. But some folks are in for a rude awakening. Sometimes people become blinded and don’t even know God is not with them anymore. It’s kind of sad. But I am not interested in someone who compromises and that is why some things cannot happen.

Christians, let’s be who we say we are. Stop pretending you are living for God when you barely consult him. You don’t read your Bible and you don’t pray and you live in sin and don’t want to change. It’s time to be real and return to him

Don’t let the bottom have to fall out in order for God to get your attention.

I understand the truth of the matter.

2 Corinthians 6:14

New International Version (NIV)

Warning Against Idolatry

¹⁴ Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

Public Success, Private Failure

I was leaving the library yesterday when God dropped the title of this blog post in my spirit. My mind immediately went back to a sermon that I heard a minister preach years ago with this title.

I then thought about Samson and his life. It appeared that Samson was winning, but in actuality the sins of the flesh were slowly derailing him and underming his success and his ability to discern. One of the saddest verses concerning Samson is found in Judges 16:20. By this time Samson had fallen in love with Delilah. He was no longer able to discern that she was trying to destroy him. Sin had blinded him.

In verse 20, Samson, who had “gotten away with” much, thought he would get up from his bed of sin, as usual, but the bible says, “but he did not know that the Lord had left him”. Why didn’t he know? Because his continual “success” was deceiving him.

You see, “success”, especially as the world defines it, is not necessarily an indicator that God is pleased, or that God is with you. Here is proof: Hugh Hefner, Larry Flynt and Joe Francis have all been or currently are successful through lewd and lascivious entertainment (porn), and God has NOTHING to do with their success.

Some people start off successful in God, then they begin to compromise and “push the envelope” more and more and then they don’t even know He has left them.

So how can you tell? Just look at what they are successful for. Recently a very famous music artist, (who claims to be a Chrisitian) was asked what she thought about her perfume commercial being banned in certain countries, for being too sensual. Well she became quite defiant, in her response and made no apology for promoting lust. Is God in that?

We must call a spade a spade. The devil gives people success all the time. Just because people have name recognition and money and wealth, doesn’t mean God gave it to them. The more you compromise the more you give yourself over to the devil.

I remember several years back a very famous actor, (who professes Christianity) won a Best Actor Oscar award for his portrayal of a crooked cop in the movie Training Day. I remember thinking I might see the movie, until I checked out the content and saw it had 121 occurrences of the “F” word. Well I passed.

I will end with this. I am not judging these people, but I did want to use examples that we all know of to bring my point across, which is when your so-called success moves toward compromising your Christian values it could be a sign of the “Samson Syndrome”, who was a public success, but private failure. Part two, tomorrow: Behind closed doors.

Mark 4:13-15,18-19

13-15 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown.

18-19
Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come and choke the word, making it unfruitful.