Eleven days ago, Mick Jagger of the iconic rock group, The Rolling Stones, had a birthday. It made me feel incredibly old to learn that it was his 80th birthday. Keith Richards, the Stone’s guitarist and backup vocalist, posted a video wishing his co-founder of the band a happy birthday and jokingly saying: “Long may we keep saying this to each other. Happy birthday Mick, have another good-one and give me a call and let me know what it’s like.” Richards may soon find out what it’s like because his 80th birthday is coming up this December.[1] It seems like yesterday that I was stuffing a tape into the 8-track player of my canary yellow, Chevy Vega—listening to Mick Jagger belt out one of his early hits, “Sympathy for the Devil.” In the closing lyrics of this song, the then 24-year-old Jagger sang these words:
Pleased to meet you / Hope you guess my name / But what’s confusin’ you is just the nature of my game / Just as every cop is a criminal / And all the sinners saints / As heads is tails / Just call me Lucifer ’cause I’m in need of some restraint / So if you meet me, have some courtesy / Have some sympathy, and some taste / Use all your well-learned politeness / Or I'll lay your soul to waste.[2]
Back then, I thought that song was cool. I’m not so inclined to give it such high ratings today. I now realize that those lyrics are truer to life than I knew back then. Satan—or “Lucifer” as Jagger calls him—does try to “confuse” people about the “nature of his game”—because the nature of his game is to turn truth into lies. He goes about calling “heads”—“tails” and “sinners—“saints.” He wants you to have “sympathy” for him. And, if you are so foolish as to give him any, he will surely “lay your soul to waste!” So, how pervasive is Satan’s power today? When we look around this world in which we live, where do we find “sympathy for the devil”? The answer is very clear: We find it EVERYWHERE ON THIS EARTH. Let me give you a few examples of where we find Satan at work today. You may be surprised by some of the places that have given him their utmost “sympathy.”
One of the places that Satan has found great sympathy is in corporate America. I can understand places like the Target store chains catering to the things of Satan. It isn’t my intention to step on the toes of Target shoppers, but the market niche for Target has long been a leftward leaning, yuppie demographic that is, for the most part, indifferent (if not hostile) to matters of the Christian faith. If you want to be grossed-out, just take a trip to Target to purchase a birthday card for a family member or friend. There, you will find cards that are suggestively disgusting with a definite emphasis towards satisfying the immoral depravity of the gay and transgender community. So, I am not at all surprised by Target’s decadent marketing strategies. But, what I cannot fathom is why a corporate giant like Anheuser-Busch, that owns Budweiser, thought it would be a good idea to have an advertising front-“man” who is an activist in the transgender movement. How is it that the beer producer which, not so long ago, had the picture of NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on its beer cans, found it necessary to turn to Dylan Mulvaney as the new face of Bud Lite beer? Mulvaney is the vocal Tik Tok star known for her promotion of all things transgender. This past spring, Budweiser kicked off a promotional campaign featuring Mulvaney’s image imprinted on its beer cans. The whole idea was to celebrate Mulvaney’s anniversary in transitioning from a man to a woman. Budweiser’s traditional customer base responded with outrage. Such singers as Kid Rock and Travis Tritt led the way in spearheading a boycott of Bud Lite beer. And, was this costly for Budweiser? Well yes, it was very costly. According to its financial report issued last Thursday, the transgender ad campaign cost Budweiser millions of dollars with its net profits dropping a whopping 28.2% in the U.S.[3]
Why would a corporate giant like Anheuser-Busch do something like this? The company and its marketing people aren’t stupid. They had to know that their traditional customers were more likely to be “good ole boys” and not “former boys” like Mulvaney. How does one explain this? Is George Soros behind this? Has the bulk of Anheuser-Busch stock been purchased by Vladimir Putin, or by the Peoples’ Republic of China—or perhaps by North Korea?—(all intent upon corrupting American morals). No—I don’t think it has to do with any of those things. Actually, it seems pretty clear as to whom is behind such evil as practiced by Budweiser. His name is Satan—or as Mick Jagger identified him: “Lucifer.” That’s right, the devil is real and he is extremely active in corporate America in promoting his brand of evil. Satan doesn’t care whether Anheuser-Busch experiences profits or loses as long as he can “lay more souls to waste” (again, to borrow from the lyrics of Mick Jagger’s song). We, as Christians, need to be aware of this and mount our own boycotts against those corporate devils who seek to promote Satan’s agenda instead of following God’s plan for this world. After all, the Apostle Paul called us to stay strong in resisting Satan when he wrote:
10 Last of all I want to remind you that your strength must come from the Lord’s mighty power within you. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan. 12 For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies—the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world. 13 So use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up. Ephesians 6:10-13 (TLB)
This next place where you will find Satan actively at work might surprise you. Satan is promoting his evil schemes in the news media. That’s not the surprising part. The shocking part is the identity of the news media outlet that has been actively assisting Satan. What news outlet am I referring to? Sadly, it happens to be the normally conservative-leaning Fox News. Whistleblowers who are both former and current employees at Fox News allege that Fox sponsors an employee-based charity program that supports several “sympathizers of the devil.” For example, Fox makes donations to: The abortion provider, Planned Parenthood; an LGBT activist group known as the Trevor Project; and, the Southern Poverty Law Center which is an organization that thrives on spreading Satan’s lies by labeling Christian organizations as “hate-groups.”[4]
But, beyond these devilish donations, what is it that makes Fox News a true “sympathizer of the devil”? The most shocking news is that Fox has been a contributor to The Satanic Temple. You see, Fox News supports a program for its employees whereby Fox will match employee donations up to $1,000 for qualifying charities of their employees’ choosing. Fox has tried to smooth all this over by claiming it was unaware that some of its employees supported such liberal causes or that money was contributed to Satan’s favorite charity—The debased Satanic Temple. Spokesmen for Fox now claim it was simply a problem with the app the company uses to implement the donations. That response, however, fails to explain why Fox News deemed The Satanic Temple to be eligible for its donation program, but disqualified The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Talk show host, Glenn Beck, whose organization exposed what Fox News has been doing, stated: “It is incredible how far Fox has fallen.” Now, belatedly, Fox has purportedly invited Billy Graham’s organization into the donation program and has removed The Satanic Temple.[5]
There are a couple of good lessons in exposing the “sins” of Fox News. First, note that Fox felt compelled to repent only after Glenn Beck reported their wrongdoing. That’s not the way it works with God and humans. The Lord knows everything and you can’t hide any sympathy you may have for the devil from God, for as the Scriptures say: “A man’s conscience is the Lord’s searchlight exposing His hidden motives.” Proverbs 20:27 (TLB) The second lesson is that there is only one source that gives you the truth about everything all the time. It isn’t Fox News, CNN, ABC News, CBS News or NBC News. Rather, the only reliable source of the Truth is the Good News of Jesus Christ! It is the one source of unchanging, absolute Truth in a world that hates the Truth, but loves lies.[6]
Lastly, there is place where Satan can be found that feels very comfortable for him. It’s in many so-called Christian churches today. A few Sundays ago, we were visited by Billy Swann and his family. Billy is the Pastor serving three United Methodist Churches in Dillwyn, Virginia. He asked that we pray for him and the churches to which he ministers because they have a vote coming up soon. His churches will be voting whether to disaffiliate from the main body of the United Methodist Church. As I am sure you know, the main body of Methodists has decided to reject God’s Word and give their “sympathy to the devil” by accepting both the ordination of gay pastors as well as endorsing gay marriages.[7] Billy Swann is praying that his three churches will stick with God’s Word as it relates to homosexuality and vote to leave the main Methodist denomination.
So, what does the Bible say about the matter of homosexual conduct? Well, the Scriptures are decidedly in Billy’s favor whatever the votes of those churches may turn out to be. Leviticus 18:22 makes it very clear: 22 “Do not practice homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman. It is a detestable sin.” (NLT2) Leviticus 20:13 reiterates: “If a man practices homosexuality, having sex with another man as with a woman, both men have committed a detestable act. They must both be put to death, for they are guilty of a capital offense.” (NLT2) That’s what the Old Testament says. The New Testament isn’t any different. For the Apostle Paul states unambiguously: 9 “Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.” 1st Corinthians 6:9-10 (NLT2)
These verses from God’s Word are unambiguous. And yet, some liberal pastors try to twist the Scriptures in a way to declare that a gay lifestyle is completely compatible with the Christian faith. As just quoted, the Bible says it is not acceptable. Practicing homosexuals are sinners, just as those who practice heterosexual sins are sinners. In fact, the truth is we are all sinners[8] in need of God’s forgiveness.[9] And yes, all sinners of every variety are welcome in our church provided they genuinely want to repent of their sins. But, those pastors who twist God’s Word into lies have missed their calling. Their talent for distorting the truth may have better prepared them for being lawyers than preachers. The reality is that such false preachers and teachers have been around for a very long time. The Apostle Peter noted their existence 2,000 years ago when he wrote about those who tried to distort God’s Words as delivered through the Apostle Paul. Peter commented:
15 And remember, the Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him— 16 speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction. 17 I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. 18 Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen. 2nd Peter 3:15-18 (NLT2)
What Peter said is so very true. Today, we need to be on guard and stay alert to reject the false teachings of these errant pastors and denominations. As faithful followers of God’s Word, we must take a stand when such evil is preached. And, we need to pray for those who are being faithful to the Scriptures despite those around them who have “sympathy for the devil.” So, pray for Pastor Billy Swann and those in his congregations who remain faithful—that, whatever the outcome of those votes may be, they will stay faithful to God’s Word, and not bow to the pressures of a corrupt few who have become so vocal in many churches today.
But, despite God’s call to the contrary, many other church members seem to prefer remaining silent. They don’t want to “rock the boat.” In the name of avoiding conflict, they shirk from their Christian duty to confront evil directly, when they should be openly and actively opposing it. Too many pastors and Christians in Germany adopted this same approach in the 1930’s as a vocal and charismatic maniac by the name of Adolph Hitler rose to power. Hitler was very cunning in seducing Christian leaders. He promised them that he’d recognize religious liberties and flattered them by inviting pastors to “high level” meetings in the halls of Nazi power. Hitler promised the German church leaders that they had no reason to fear him. He assured them he’d always preserve religious liberties. In one of those meetings with church leaders, there was a young pastor present by the name of Martin Niemöller. Niemöller turned to Hitler and said: “Herr Hitler, our concern is not for the Church. Jesus Christ will take care of His Church. Our concern is for the soul of our nation.” Hitler paused for a moment and then gave a chilling reply. He told the pastors: “That is not your responsibility. The soul of Germany, you can leave that to me!” The problem was that many Christians in Germany did leave the “soul” of their nation to Hitler by waiting until it was too late to stand up against his evil. In American today, we cannot afford to make the same mistake.
But, I warn you. There will be a cost to pay if you stand up for Jesus Christ and the Truth of His Word. When this warning is given today, there are many who don’t believe it’s an alarm to take seriously. They contend that there are no parallels between where we are morally in our society as compared to pre-World War II Nazi Germany. To a degree they are correct—we are worse off morally than those of pre-Nazi Germany! Those nay-sayers might want to consult with a young Christian man, in his mid to late teens, about his recent experience in Wisconsin this past week. His name is Marcus Schroeder. Marcus was arrested, without any prior warning by local police. Was he caught in a robbery? Was he selling drugs on the street corner? Was he a pimp for some local prostitution ring? Oh no—according to the police, it was much worse than that. Marcus was arrested simply because he is a Christian who had the courage to speak out against the debauchery of a drag queen celebration sponsored by a gay pride event in a public park in Watertown, Wisconsin. He wasn’t being disruptive, but he refused to be silent. On a sidewalk outside the event, Marcus was wearing a T-shirt with “Warriors for Christ” stamped across the front as he took a microphone in hand and read from the Bible those very same verses we read a few minutes ago. One of his friends recorded a video showing three police officers handcuffing this young Christian and placing him under arrest. The police claim that they were enforcing a local ordinance that prohibited the use of amplified sound from the microphone that he was using. These police officers had very selective hearing because it was undisputed that many amplifiers from boom boxes and car radios were at higher levels than Marcus’ hand-held device. The person who took the video complained to the police: “You guys are acting like thugs, straight up thugs. He has every right to be out here engaging in speech. There are cars driving around with radios playing, that is amplified sound—people are standing out here with radios, that is amplified sound. The ordinance has to do with a decibel gauge, you don't just get to pick and choose which amplification you like and which you don't. That is selective enforcement of the law, that is discrimination on the basis of speech, that is what you all just did.”[10]
This person voicing this complaint was absolutely right. But, he might as well have been complaining to Hitler’s Gestapo as Marcus Schroeder was hauled away to jail by the initial group of officers who were reenforced by three more policemen. Yes, it took six armed policemen to take him away—although Marcus showed no signs of resistance. You see, they didn’t want to take any chances that God’s Word might fall upon the ears of those nearby. Oh—did I mention that the same thing eventually happened to Martin Niemöller—the pastor who stood up to Adolph Hitler? Yes, Niemöller was imprisoned by the Nazis for 8 long years from 1937 until the end of WWII in 1945. Those who say there are no parallels between the Nazis in Hitler’s Germany to what’s happening in America today—they need to wake up! I am afraid young Marcus Schroeder may be the first of many who will be called upon to pay a price for proclaiming the Truth of Jesus Christ. But Jesus is always truthful. And so, He warned us about the cost of following Him when He said: 34 “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospel’s will save it.” Mark 8:34-35 (NKJV) What’s really interesting about this warning is that Satan had just tried to dissuade Jesus from following the path to the Cross that God the Father had laid out. Jesus had just preached a sermon in which He told the crowd: “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” Mark 8:31 (NKJV) Jesus, of course, was referring to His coming death on the Cross that would be followed by His glorious Resurrection. But, Satan knew that the Cross and the Empty Tomb would offer the way to salvation for so many lost souls and would seal Satan’s own fate. So, Satan tried to use Peter to get some sympathy for his evil plans. Mark’s Gospel goes on to say: 32 “He [Jesus] spoke this word openly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.’” Mark 8:32-33 (NKJV) Yes, and the same holds true today—so many remain unmindful of the things of God and are determined to follow the things of men who are so tragically guided by Satan.
That’s one of the many reasons I no longer think “Sympathy for the Devil” is a cool song. In fact, if you harbor those sympathies, they will end up sending you to a very uncool, extremely hot place where Satan resides. It’s a place of no hope and no love. It’s the place called Hell where Satan will have no sympathy on you whatsoever. But, there is an infinitely better place that can be found through a very different Way. Jesus points you to that heavenly Way, when He proclaims: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 (NLT2) Yes, Jesus provides the Pathway to Eternal Life—a way filled with hope, peace and joy. It’s the Way of the Cross. Satan will do all within his power to keep you from that Way. Satan wants you to exchange the Truth of that Way for his lies. He wants to keep you from the Truth, and the Truth is: “God is love.”[11] When you accept that Truth, God’s love will come into your life and your heart will no longer have any sympathy for the devil. You will no longer feast upon Satan’s polluted food nor guzzle the transvestite beer that the world offers you. Instead, you will long for the bread of life and the cup of salvation God provides through Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross for your sins and mine. Knowing that Truth—that Way to Eternal Life—join with me now as we go in prayer in preparation for the Lord’s Supper.
Darvin Satterwhite, Pastor
Forest Hill Baptist Church
August 6, 2023
©2023 All Rights Reserved as follows:
Anyone is at liberty to use this sermon or any portions thereof for educational or religious purposes, with or without credit. The pastor believes the material presented herein to be true to the teaching of Scripture, and desires to further, not restrict, its potential use as an aid in the study of God’s Word. The publication of this material is a grace ministry of Forest Hill Baptist Church in Louisa, Virginia.
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[1] Emily St. Martin, “Mick Jagger turns 80! Keith Richards wishes him happy birthday: ‘Long may we keep saying this’” Los Angeles Times, https://www.latimes.com/ (July 26, 2023).
[2] Mick Jagger & Keith Richards, “Sympathy for the Devil,” from the album Beggars Banquet, Studio: Olympic, London, Decca Records, producer: Jimmy Miller, (recorded June 4-5, 8-10, 1968, released December 6, 1968).
[3] Aleks Phillips, “Anheuser-Busch U.S. Sales Decimated ‘Primarily Due to’ Bud Light Boycott,” News Week, report in https://www.msn.com/ (August 3, 2023).
[4] Jessica Prol Smith, “The Southern Poverty Law Center is a hate-based scam that nearly caused me to be murdered,” USA Today, https://www.usatoday.com/ (August 18, 2019).
[5] Milton Quintanilla, “Fox News Reportedly Removes The Satanic Temple from Donation Matching Program,” ChristianHeadlines.com (August 2, 2023).
[6] John 18:37-38 37 “Pilate said, ‘So you are a king?’ Jesus responded, ‘You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.’ 38 ‘What is truth?’ Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, ‘He is not guilty of any crime.’” (NLT2)
[7] See: “What is the Church's position on homosexuality?” produced by Ask The UMC, a ministry of United Methodist Communications, https://www.umc.org/.
[8] Romans 3:22b-23 22b “For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (NKJV)
[9] 1st John 1:8-10 8 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (NKJV)
[10] Gerrard Kaonga, “Christians Arrested for Preaching Gospel in Wisconsin, Video Shows,” News Week, reported on https://www.msn.com/en-us/news (August 2, 2023).
[11] 1st John 4:8 “Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (TEV)
