I was a little late to the game and just listened to Kanye’s new album, JESUS IS KING, yesterday. Before that though, I scrolled past several articles of criticism on West’s latest gospel collection. Some from Christians, and others from nonbelievers.
I have never met the man. However, becasue of the invasive coverage of his life in the media, it feels otherwise. Regardless if I agree with the way a celebrity is living out their life, I have a huge problem with the way that people talk about them. I have made mistakes that still make my stomach churn when I think too long about them. I cannot imagine just about anyone having the access to see them, with someone else’s opinion on the play by play. With pictures. So with that being said, living in the spotlight is a whole different ballgame that surely comes with a lot of room to become completely ashamed and broken.
Again, I do not know Kanye, but from what I’ve heard, and his shared personal stories, it appears that he lived in a way that was not at all glorifying to the Lord, our creator. He even admits in one of his latest song, Hands On, that the devil had a strong hold on his life.
“Told the devil that I’m going on strike, I’ve been working for you my whole life.”
Now lets back that up with scripture. 1 John 3:8 says,
“The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”
That clearly tells us that someone who is engulfed in sin, is doing so from the power of the devil, not the spirit. And the whole purpose of Jesus coming, was to defeat the devil. Which He did, by rising after His horrendous crucifixion, proving that He conquered death.
The last year while I traveled around the world, the spirit came alive in me like never before. I began to understand the true and relevant power of Jesus Christ on earth. By putting shear faith into what I was preaching and believing in prayer, I saw miracles happen before my eyes. The word of God is something that I now regularly study, to know more about the character of God, and also see Him alive in my own life.
While I know in my heart this is what I am called to do, it is not always an easy thing to stand behind in a world that doesn’t agree.
Matthew 5:10 reads, “Blessed are the persecuted, for they shall inherit the earth.”
BLESSED are they. Kanye is one of them now. If he felt disapproval from his wrongdoings in the past, I can’t imagine how he feels now. By publicly sharing the intimate born again experience he’s had in his spiritual life, there are many eager to reprehend.
In Hands On, he shares that he’s been criticized for being a hypocrite and a halfway believer.
“Nothing worse that a hypocrite. Change, he ain’t really different.”
“We get called halfway believers. Only halfway read Ephesians. Only if they knew what I knew, uh I was never new ’til I knew of True and living God Yeshua.”
While he may be heavily ridiculed by some of his community, it’s pretty evident that he is 100% behind what he is sharing with the world. And that is the power of Jesus.
In my favorite track, God Is, he shares,
“You won’t ever be the same when you call on Jesus name. Listen to the words that I’m sayin’, Jesus saved me, now I’m sane.”
And later in the song,
“This a mission, not a show. This is my eternal soul.”
I honestly couldn’t help but raise my hands and praise God through these words. I could physically feel the spirit alive in my heart singing these lyrics. And for me that’s all the confirmation I need to fully believe in what this album has shown.
It doesn’t matter how far gone you are, there’s always a place for you at the table.
