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You know…some guys can do it all. Some guys can walk and chew gum at the same time. Some guys can even defend freedom and democracy while preaching the Gospel of Jesus.
Of course, there are also some guys who just SAY they can do it all.
Following the death of terrorist Osama bin Laden at the hands of Navy SEALs, Rev. Jim Moats, pastor of Christian Bible Fellowship Church in Newville, Pennsylvania, began to tell fantastic stories of his previous military experiences within the SEALs. His service time took place during the Vietnam War, and Moats was happy to talk about his brotherhood in the elite fighting unit. In fact, the local newspaper even ran a couple of interviews with Rev. Moats over the years, and he was even seen around town wearing the SEAL’s golden Trident Medal.
Just one problem: Moats was never a SEAL.
Whoops.
That’s right. For years, Rev. Moats told his church that he was a former SEAL. His story seemed authentic enough; he spoke of being subjected to waterboarding and endless kitchen detail due to his poor attitude. “I had almost no discipline. I was as wild as they came. That was my nemesis,” he told the paper. “They weren’t looking for a guy who brags to everyone he is a SEAL. They wanted somebody who was ready but had an inner confidence and didn’t have a braggadocio attitude.”
I guess he still has to work on that whole bragging thing a little bit more because….
Hey, wait a second! That story sounds familiar to me. Didn’t martial arts actor Steven Seagal have the exact same experiences in the 1992 blockbuster Under Siege?
Yes. Yes he did.
When the truth finally came out that Rev. Moats was lying about his membership in the SEALs, he also had to explain why he ripped off Hollywood to make himself sound better.
Rev. Moats finally confessed to his whopper(s), and even admitted that he bought the Trident Medal at a military surplus store. “I never served as an actual SEAL. It was my dream. I don’t even know if I would have met the qualifications. I never knew what the qualifications were,” he reported to the Patriot-News. Moats further revealed that though he served during the conflict in Vietnam, he never saw action there.
I guess everybody wants to be a hero…even if it means pretending. Unfortunately, pretending can get you in big trouble sometimes. Just ask the seven sons of Sceva.
God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. (Acts 19:11-20)
These seven guys and Rev. Moats found out the hard way that there are consequences for hypocrisy and pretending.
Click here for the online report.
Topics Illustrated Include:
Audacity
Back Fire
Bragging
Confession
Consequences
Exposed
Hero
Hypocrisy
Imitation
Imposter
Liar
Lie
Military
Pastor
Pretending
Shame
Vietnam
War
(Resource cataloged by David R Smith)
