Message 20 - By Leroy Surface
The Day That Shall
Burn as an Oven
And NOW we call the proud happy; yea,
they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even
delivered. Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the
LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him
for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. And they
shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels;
and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. THEN shall ye return, and discern between
the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth
him not.
Malachi 3:15-18
There are two days (two periods of time) spoken of in Malachi’s
prophecy. The first he calls “now,” and the second he calls “then.”
“Now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set
up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.” This “now” speaks of how
things have always been throughout life on this earth. It is the longest
period of most people’s lifetime; in which it may seem to many that it is
useless to “serve God.” In the verses
just previous to our text, there were those who questioned and said, “It is vain to serve God: and what profit is
it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before
the LORD of hosts?”(Malachi 3:14). Oh how easy it is for the enemy to
whisper these words into the ear of a believer in the time of adversity. I
heard those words many years ago when my house burned to the ground on November
21, 1972. We had given far more than a tithe to the work of God for a number of
years. In fact, I had been audited by the IRS in March of 1972, and it was
found that we had given over fifty percent of our income to the ministry. We
had sold our only house and bought a large revival tent. We had traveled the
nation, preaching the gospel, sometimes living on “commodities” that were given by the people. We bought our clothes
in “Good Will Stores,” not because we
had to, but because we wanted to give more to the ministry. Even before
the IRS audit we decided we were giving “too
much” to God. We made a decision to spend our money on ourselves and be
more like other ministers we knew. They lived in brick homes and drove fine
cars, and we would be like them. I bought a three-bedroom brick home. It was a “shell-house,” meaning that it was not
finished inside. In 1972, I used my income to finish the house, spending my
time doing the work. That was also the year I bought a Lincoln Continental
car. Our ministry was neglected as we began to live for “self.” The day finally came that the carpet people were to install
the carpet and our nice brick home would be finished. That was the day the fire
came. It was a total loss. I was outwardly strong at the time of the loss. I
still had my business income. I could rebuild the house, and life would go on.
On January 6, 1973, we poured the foundation for an even larger house. There
were many hardships during that winter. I had moved my family of eight into a
trailer home on a vacant lot. It snowed three times in Houston that winter,
something that had never happened before, and I remember that we had to wade
through mud from the house to the car. It was the first day of March that year
when I received news I had lost my maintenance contracts with the power
company. That was when my world came crashing down and I began to hear these
words in my ear, “You’ve done so much.
You’ve given half your income, and all your time to ministry, and just when you
try to have something for yourself, you lose it all.” My “pity party” had begun. I went to the
store and bought a bag of beans and a loaf of bread for about seventy-five
cents. I told the wife to prepare a meal with the few things I gave her. That
night I fed my family of eight for seventy-five cents and had some beans left
over. I told them, “Get used to this;
there will be much of it in the future.” I was determined not to take
a public job; but to continue in the ministry. That night as I was praying, the
Spirit of God asked me a question. “Why
are you preparing to do without?” I answered, “Because I have lost my income,” and I continued praying. A few
minutes later I heard the voice of the Lord ask again, “But why are you preparing to do without?” It is incredible the
things a person will sometimes say to God almighty, but I answered, “Lord, don’t you understand? I have lost my
source of income.” Immediately I heard the Lord ask this simple question, “Was that your source?” I heard the
message, and wept and cried, “No,
Lord! “No, Lord! You are my source! You have always been my
source.” It was then that I heard something I can never forget; He said to
me, “Child, nothing can come into your
life unless I permit it. If you receive these things as tragedies, they will be
tragedies, and your wife and children will suffer and live in poverty; but if
you receive these things as blessings from me, they will turn to be great
blessings.” How could I understand such things at that time? Yet, from
that day, even as bad things continued to come for a time, I would lift up my
hands to the Lord and say, “Lord Jesus, I
thank you that your will is done in my life.” A little less than one year
after our house burned, we moved into a larger, much nicer home, built with my
own hands, with some volunteer help, and it was paid for in the one year of my
life when I had no visible source of income. “Now” was when we suffered loss under the chastening hand of God. “Then” was when we accepted His
chastening.
God speaks of “then” as
being another day. It is a day when everything has changed. He said, “Then
shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that
serveth God and him that serveth him not” (Malachi 3:18). The “change” of the other day begins in
verse sixteen: “Then they that feared the
LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a
book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and
that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in
that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his
own son that serveth him.” Change is coming, but it is not the “change” that millions in America are
chanting and shouting for. God describes the “change” that is coming in the fourth chapter of Malachi:
For, behold, the day cometh, that
shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall
be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of
hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear
my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye
shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
Malachi 4:1-2
This is the day of which God was speaking when He said, “Then shall ye return, and discern between
the righteous and the wicked.” In the day that “burns like an oven,” God will provide for His righteous people as “calves of the stall.” The “Sun of righteousness” shall arise; it
will be a new day, a day in which there is real healing for the hurt of God’s
people. Everything will be turned upside down in that day. The proud and the
wicked who seemed to be so blessed in the past will be as stubble in the day
that burns as an oven. I believe we are at the dawning of that day.
Change
Change is in the air. Everyone is talking about change. In the race
for the presidency, both candidates are claiming to be the best agents for
change. One thing is certain, regardless of which candidate wins the Oval
Office change is coming. In fact, it is already here. Whether change is bad or
good depends on who you are, and what your core belief system is. Some
people want socialism in America, and much larger governmental control over the
lives of the individual. Others want unfettered capitalism with no government
controls whatsoever. It is as though we have suddenly found ourselves as a
nation wrestling with the same issues of a hundred years ago. At the beginning
of the twentieth century, the struggle between capital and labor was raging
worldwide. The “Bolshevik revolution”
of 1917 in Russia was the result of that struggle, and we saw what godless
communism did to that nation and every other nation it conquered. Is this the
change that is coming to America? It is not entirely “out of the question.” We are certainly seeing a strong move
toward socialism in America, but even if it comes, it is not the “change” that God has promised. In the
opinion of this writer, what we are seeing, is not the decline, but the fall of
America as we have known her. We have come to the day the Spirit of God has
warned us of, both from the scriptures, and by the mouths of a few men of God
who have stood to warn the people of America for the past fifty or so years.
America is bankrupt, and has been for decades. She is like a person who is so
addicted to spending they cannot quit until all the credit cards are maxed out,
they cannot make the house payment, and the lights are turned off. Not only is
America bankrupt, she is (at the time of this revision; Dec. 21, 2010) almost
fourteen trillion dollars ($14,000,000,000,000) in debt. In order to place this
amount of debt in perspective, consider this. Ten percent interest on this
amount of debt is, in itself, almost one and a half trillion dollars each year.
The actual interest paid on the ten trillion dollar national debt of fiscal
year 2008 was over four hundred and fifty billion. That was over twice as much
as the total cost of Hurricane Katrina, and over four times the yearly cost of
the Iraq war. Even if we could balance our national spending budget (which I
cannot foresee), our debt will continue to increase by over seven hundred
billion a year (at 5% interest) to over one and a half trillion (at 10%
interest) and could go higher than that. We are kidding ourselves if we think
this financial crisis can be solved and we can continue to maintain the level
of “prosperity” we have enjoyed in
the past. The “bubble” has burst;
and just as it was prophetically spoken in Proverbs 1:32, “The prosperity of fools shall destroy
them.”
It was thirty-five years ago when I first began to hear politicians
speak about the coming “global economy,”
and the great prosperity it would bring. I was just a young preacher in my
early thirties, but I had received many visions from the Lord concerning things
to come to both America and to the church in America. I had been preaching and
warning the people that the day was coming in which every “system” of the world would fail. I specifically spoke about the “financial systems,” as well as the “medical” and “educational systems.” I sat down one day and drew a very
simple sketch of the financial system of a global economy. I drew pictures of
six or eight barrels. One of the barrels was full to the brim with water. This
barrel represented America, and the water represented our great wealth as a
nation. Some of the other barrels were shown as being half full, or maybe three
quarters full. These represented Britain, and other European countries, as well
as Japan. There were other barrels that were only about one third full,
representing Russia, China, India, and the Asian nations. Finally, there were
those barrels that were almost empty, representing the African and other third
world countries. Next, I drew a sketch of a pipe connected to the bottom of
each of these barrels. This “pipe”
represented the “global economy” that
our leaders were promising would bring prosperity to the entire world. All the
barrels would eventually reach what is called “water level,” and while many nations would begin to prosper above
their measure, it would all be due to America’s wealth flowing to them. That
simple sketch I drew thirty five years ago predicted exactly the conditions
that have brought America to our present day bankruptcy, from which there is no
way out. Within this past year it has been revealed that America’s wealth has
been flowing to other nations at the rate of seven hundred billion dollars ($700,000,000,000.00)
a year, much of it to radical Muslim and Communist nations.
It is amazing that when America’s stock market began to fall, stock
markets around the world also fell, most even more than ours. That is because
the prosperity of every nation in the world depends upon the prosperity of
America. If the American economy fails, the economy of every nation in the
global economy falls. There is an amazing prophecy in the eighteenth chapter of Revelation which I believe applies to America
and to the economy of the entire world.
Mystery Babylon the Great
And upon her forehead was a name
written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF
THE EARTH.
Revelation 17:5
A “mystery,” as the word
is used in the New Testament, is a “secret.”
Paul speaks in several places about a “mystery”
that was “hidden” from the time of
Adam’s transgression until the first coming of Jesus Christ. It was the “mystery” of the “new man” and the “new
creation.” Paul reveals that mystery in the gospel. He says it is “Christ in you, the hope of Glory” (Colossians 1:27). It had been concealed for four thousand years until it was
revealed in Christ. The secret of “Mystery Babylon the Great” has also
been concealed for many centuries. In the seventeenth
chapter, the prophecy seems to speak about the city of Rome, which ruled
over the nations in the days of Jesus and His apostles. Some have believed
it speaks of the destruction of Rome when it was burned by fire in A.D. 64; but
John did not receive this vision until over thirty years after that event. I
have always believed that the woman in the seventeenth
chapter of Revelation spoke of a spiritual harlot, while the eighteenth chapter remained a mystery
until just recently. I do believe the mystery has begun to be revealed in
recent years. I have no pleasure in the things I must say, but in the present
world there is only one nation or people that can fulfill the following
prophecy.
And after these things I saw another angel
come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his
glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is
fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of
every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Revelation 18:1-2
This text speaks of a spiritual fall, which must precede the
economic collapse. America was once a truly great nation. In saying this, I do
not deny the social problems that have prevailed throughout our history. Our
greatness was based upon the fact that we were founded on Biblical values; that
which is called the “Judeo-Christian
ethic.” As long as America remained upon that foundation with our national
laws reflecting that ethic, we were truly a great nation. We began moving off
of that foundation in our public schools a full generation ago, with the
rejection of public prayer, Bible reading, and even the Ten Commandments. Our
decline has followed step by step. In the message for the month of July 2008, “The Beginning of Sorrows,” I told of a
vision from the Lord I received in 1969 concerning the “fall” of the church in America. I will not repeat the vision in
detail, only to say that I saw an unclean spirit come to the churches, and they
received it as the Holy Ghost. Since that time I have seen that “unclean spirit” manifested many times
in religious circles. Jesus gave His church to win and keep the nations. He
said that we are “the light of the
world,” and “the salt of the earth.” If
the church fails in its mission, the nation also falls to unclean spirits. We
who are old enough to see the contrast have seen the decline and fall of
America during this past forty-year period. Who can deny that our once
beloved nation has become a habitation of devils?
For all nations have drunk of the wine
of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed
fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the
abundance of her delicacies.
Revelation 18:3
We need only look to Hollywood and our entertainment industry to
understand this scripture. The “wine of
fornication” has been poured, first to America, and from there, to all the
other nations of the world. America is hated by many nations, not because of our
“goodness (and there is much “good” remaining in America),” but because of our immorality,
perversion, drug culture, and basic depravity as a nation. It is no wonder we
are called the “great Satan.” We
deceive ourselves if we yet believe that our “goodness” outweighs our “evil.”
Spiritually, we are a fallen nation, as evidenced by our “abortions,” our “gay marriages,” our “drug
culture,” and the “promiscuity”
of our children; with over fifty percent of firstborn babies being born outside
of marriage.
And I heard another voice from heaven,
saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and
that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven,
and God hath remembered her iniquities.
Revelation 18:4-5
I do not believe that God is calling His people to leave this
nation to hide in some foreign wilderness area. This call is the same as the
one given in II Corinthians 6:17-18:
“Wherefore come out from among them, and
be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will
receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” Many “plagues” are yet to come upon America because of her sins. God
promises His people who have “come out from
among them” that He will receive them, and they will not suffer the plagues
that He will send. Whenever God is doing a thing, the righteous need not
fear. It is for certain that God has not seen repentance in America, and
has cast a stumbling block in her way. If there is no repentance, something
much worse is at the door.
Reward her even as she rewarded you,
and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath
filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived
deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I
sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her
plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be
utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
Revelation 18:6-8
God’s judgment against nations that turn away from Him has always
been to cause them to “eat the fruit of
their own ways.” God has said, “Be not
deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap” (Galatians 6:7). It follows then that, “that he shall also eat.” God said in
this text, “the cup which she hath filled
fill to her double.” God has been so merciful to America in the past, but
in the near future she will drink a “double
portion” of the anger of God at the hands of the nations.
And the kings of the earth, who have
committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and
lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off
for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that
mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants of the
earth shall weep and mourn over her; for NO MAN BUYETH THEIR MERCHANDISE ANY
MORE:
Revelation 18:9-11
It is in the last verse of this text that we begin to see more
clearly that this prophecy must be of present day America: “And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more.”
America is a “consumer nation.” Sometimes
I wonder if anything is “made in America”
today. The great wealth and prosperity of many nations is dependant upon the
consumption of Americans. We have five percent of the world’s population and
consume twenty five percent of the world’s energy and other goods. It is
because of America’s insatiable appetite for “things” that China has become an incredibly powerful and wealthy
nation, yet if America ceased to buy her goods, China’s economy would
immediately collapse. Russia, whose economy totally collapsed less than twenty
years ago, has become one of the wealthy nations of the world today, due to
their oil exports, yet, even the recent slow down in America’s economy has caused
world oil prices to fall over fifty percent in just a few weeks. Imagine the
misery world wide when the prophecy comes to its fullness, that “No man buyeth their merchandise anymore.”
The merchandise of gold, and silver,
and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and
scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner
vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, And
cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and
fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and
slaves, and souls of men. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are
departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed
from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
Revelation 18:12-14
Notice in the list of products, that almost everything listed is a
luxury. “The fruits that thy soul
lusted after…all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee,
and thou shalt find them no more at all.” The present conditions in America
were described by the prophet Jeremiah some twenty six hundred years ago in Jeremiah 8:9-13: “The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed
and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in
them? Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their fields to them
that shall inherit them: for every one from
the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet
even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. For they have healed the hurt
of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they
had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could
they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of
their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD. I will surely
consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on
the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the
things that I have given them shall pass away from them.” According to
the definition of the Hebrew word “shalowm,”
which is translated “peace” in this
text, the prophets and priests of that generation were probably saying “prosperity, prosperity” when there was
no prosperity. Certainly that has been the message of the “prophets” and “priests” of today. Prosperity in America has been a mirage for the
past generation as we have lived luxuriously as a nation on the incomes of
those who may not even be born yet. As many years as it took to build a
national debt of ten trillion dollars, it will take twice that many years of
sacrifice and hardship to pay the debt. America was greatly blessed by God for
two hundred years, but we have lived to see the day God spoke of, saying, “The things that I have given them shall
pass away from them.” America, we have lost the blessing of God, and will
continue to see His severity until the “change”
we seek is a return to God.
The merchants of these things, which
were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment,
weeping and wailing, And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed
in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious
stones, and pearls! For in one hour so great riches is come to nought….
Revelation 18:15-17
“Wealth” in the world
system today is nothing more than paper, and it could become worthless in an
hours time. In the years after World War I, the German currency was so devalued
by inflation that it took a “wheelbarrow
full” of money to buy a loaf of bread. Unbelievably, the German mark
was so devalued that a loaf of bread that had cost 1.20 marks in 1920 would
cost 80,000.000.000 marks (that’s eighty billion marks for a loaf of bread) in
November of 1923. Almost two thousand printing presses printed paper money
twenty-four hours a day and could not keep up with the inflation rate. The
wealth of Germany’s citizens was totally destroyed by that inflation. The
interest on their national debt was greater than the gross national product of
the nation. In order to correct the economic situation, Germany issued a new
currency in 1924 with a stable value tied to the American dollar, and virtually
shut down all government spending. Only then did Germany’s economy begin to recover.
The point is this; paper wealth can disappear in a day’s time. I personally
know people who lost up to a million dollars in less than three weeks in the
stock market. Untold thousands of American families have lost much of their
retirement in their 401-K funds. Where did the money go? Nowhere! It was
never there to begin with. It was only “paper,”
and it is value depended on nothing more than consumer confidence. When the
confidence is gone, the wealth is also gone. If the stock market were to
continue to fall to somewhere around twenty five percent, huge fortunes would
be wiped out, many large corporations would cease to exist, millions of people
would lose their jobs, and we would see more and longer food lines in America
than we could ever imagine. Where would the money be? Nowhere! It was
only paper. “For in one hour so great
riches is come to nought….”
And every shipmaster, and all the
company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, And
cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto
this great city! And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping
and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all
that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she
made desolate.
Revelation 18:17-19
These verses as much as any other seem to indicate that America is “Mystery Babylon the Great.” All
commerce between America and the nations of Europe, Asia, and Africa must be
done by ship. Almost everything Americans buy today has made that journey
across the ocean by ship. Not even our clothes are made in America. “Every shipmaster, and all the company in
ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea…cried when they saw the smoke
of her burning…” All that had ships “were
made rich…by reason of her costliness!” When the American economy falls,
the entire world falls with it. Our great wealth is gone…we can no longer
afford the merchandise of the entire world.
Lying Vanities
They that observe lying vanities
forsake their own mercy.
Jonah 2:8
These are the words of the prophet Jonah. Little is known about
Jonah other than the fact that he was a prophet in Israel during the years that
Joash and Jereboam reigned as kings in Israel. We know that he prophesied
restoration to the land of Israel in the days of Jereboam (II Kings 14:25), and his words came to pass. There is no question
that Jonah was a true prophet of God. There came a day, however, that God gave
Jonah a commission he did not want to fulfill: “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their
wickedness is come up before me” (Jonah
1:2). The next verse says, “But Jonah
rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to
Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and
went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the
LORD.” Surely we know the story of Jonah fleeing from the presence and will
of God. We must remember the “storm”
God sent to sink the ship, and how the only salvation for the crew was to throw
Jonah overboard. The heart of the story is about the great fish that God
prepared to swallow Jonah, and took him to the bottom of the sea. It was there
that Jonah finally repented. It has always amazed me to see the lengths a
person will go, and how much they will suffer, rather than simply surrendering
to the purpose of God for their life. In the belly of the whale, Jonah
repented. He surrendered to God, promised to pay his vows, and said for the
entire world to hear, “They that observe
lying vanities forsake their own mercy.”
It is vain for America to think she can reject the God and Father
of Jesus Christ and continue under His blessing. It is vain to think that a
million babies a year can be aborted in America, and not suffer for it. It is
vain to believe we can rear a generation without the conscience and restraint
that comes from knowing the commandments of God, and not suffer the actions of
that generation. It is vain for Americans to believe that all “gods” are the same, and welcome
idolatry into our nation. These and many more are “lying vanities” that America has observed. America has forsaken
her “mercy,” which is the true God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom the founders of this nation honored
in our founding documents. America, what must we suffer before we repent? What
will it take to bring us back? I am sad to say, the apostle John received that
answer in Revelation 9:20-21: “And the rest of the men which were not
killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they
should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone,
and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they
of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of
their thefts.” Even after one third of all men lay slain, the word of
God said they “repented not.” Oh
child of God, weep for America.
God’s Jewels
Then they that feared the LORD spake often
one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance
was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his
name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make
up my jewels; and I will spare them,
as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
Malachi 3:16-17
The Hebrew word translated “jewels”
in this text is the same word that was translated “peculiar treasure” in Exodus 19:5, where God said, “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice
indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me
above all people: for all the earth is mine.” God is “making up His jewels” of those who “fear Him, and think upon His name.” These are the same as
those who “obey Him, and keep His
covenant.” They are His “jewels,”
or, His “peculiar treasure.” These
are written in a book of remembrance. It was from a “book of remembrance” that King Ahasuerus remembered the heroic
deed of Mordecai only the night before wicked Haman planned to take his life on
the gallows. It was because of the “book
of remembrance (chronicles of the kings)”
that Mordecai was brought to great honor before his enemies on the same day his
enemies were hanged on their own gallows (read this beautiful story in Esther 2:21-8:10). God has a “book of remembrance” where the record
of his faithful people is kept. They are His “jewels,” and God has promised to “spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.”
The Day of Change
Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked,
between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. For, behold, the day
cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do
wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith
the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Malachi 3:18-4:1
As I am writing this there are only six days until Election Day
2008. The choice is between Senator McCain from Arizona, and Senator Obama
from Illinois. Both candidates are offering “change,”
but neither is offering the change that America must have. I obviously have a
personal choice between these candidates, but that is not what this message is
about. Inasmuch as America has refused to repent and restore her laws to
reflect righteousness, God is bringing a change to this nation that is
affecting every nation. There is another change which God has also made
for the righteous. In the times of great prosperity, it seems to be the ungodly
who are most blessed. In the day that “burns
like an oven,” it is the righteous who will be blessed. I have always told
the children of God not to count their blessings with dollar signs, and that
remains true in this day. We will see the systems of this present world fail,
but we will also see that those who are righteous before God are not tied to
the systems of this world. Those who have learned to “trust the Lord” will be especially blessed. It will be such that
the difference between the righteous and the wicked will be easily seen.
Trusting God in the Storm
It was about seven weeks ago, as I write this, that hurricane Ike
passed through our church and campground property. We had opened the church as
a shelter, and a good number of people slept through the storm in safety. It
wasn’t until the next morning that we realized what God had, in fact, kept us
through. The following short testimony is one I wrote for “The Shepherd’s Voice” newspaper
immediately after the storm had passed.
“Hurricane Ike hit Calvary
Outreach’s church and campground with its full fury. Two tornadoes ripped
through the property, one north and south, and the other, east and west. Huge
oak trees with trunk diameters of four feet, and a hundred feet tall were
ripped out of the ground, with one twisted off at its base. Numerous pine trees
up to thirty inches in diameter were uprooted or snapped off, some as much as
twenty feet above the ground. One pine tree with an 18” trunk was twisted like
a rope until it was limber, and arched over onto the roof of a house on the
pastor’s property. If it had broken it would have destroyed the house. When the
eye of the hurricane came through, we were already trapped on the grounds by
the fallen trees that sealed off the entrance roads and drives. In several
places large trees were fallen into piles like ‘pickup sticks.’ After the
storm passed, we rejoiced to see there was absolutely no damage to any of the
several buildings on the church property. Oh what rejoicing in the services
that followed, even though we did not have lights or air conditioning. We could
know that God brought us through the fire without the smell of smoke. Even more
amazing, we have not found even one of our congregation who suffered any
structural damage to their houses, even though they were surrounded with fallen
trees. Everywhere we look, we see the wonderful hand of God on His people.
‘I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge
and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust” (Psalms 91:2).
I fully believe that God gave us a sign in the midst of that storm.
My heart goes out to those who suffered great losses of property and life. I
know there must have been righteous people among them, and I do not intend
offence to any when boasting of God’s keeping power. We had only to drive out
of the church property to see numerous trees fallen on houses, cars and RVs.
Several houses were totally destroyed by fallen trees in our immediate
neighborhood. The contrast was such that I felt like the three Hebrew
children must have felt. We could have been totally wiped out with no insurance
to replace the buildings, but God in His great mercy, kept us safe.
The storm that was called “Hurricane
Ike” is not to be compared to the economic storm that has already hit our
nation. I certainly have no desire to see the American economy in complete
collapse. I would much rather see a spiritual revival and an economic
recovery. We do not know what the future holds at this present time, but we do
know that the word of God will be fulfilled. Whatever comes, there is something
every child of God must understand; you can trust in the Lord in the midst of
the storm, but don’t wait until the storm comes to put your trust in Him. Jesus
took the occasion in His “Sermon on the
Mount” to instruct us for such a time as this.
The Rich Fool
And he spake a parable unto them,
saying, The ground of a
certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself,
saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And
he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and
there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul,
Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink,
and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall
be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast
provided? So is he that layeth up
treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Luke 12:16-21
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth
and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also.
Matthew 6:19-21
Read this parable of the “rich
fool” closely. It is easy to read it and think of the millionaires and the
billionaires of the world who have selfishly lived only to enrich themselves,
and build greater empires. It would be so easy to cast this parable off to
those certain CEOs of America’s financial institutions who paid themselves tens
and hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses, while destroying the national
economy for the rest of the nation. Certainly in the light of gospel truth,
they are “fools,” but they are not
the ones Jesus applied this parable to. Notice Jesus’ conclusion to the
parable: “So is he that layeth up
treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” I assure you that Jesus
was speaking to his own followers, all of whom were people who professed to
believe. In Luke 12:33 Jesus said, “Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide
yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not,
where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.” Jesus is not telling
you to sell everything you have. He is instructing the one who “lays up treasure for himself, and is not
rich toward God.” Don’t build a bigger barn. Sell your surplus and make a
real difference with the money. Be rich toward God. Be “liberal” with your own money, and use it to feed the hungry and
clothe the poor. I see people even in the churches who spend all their money on
themselves and do not bring their tithe to God for the work the ministry. They
cannot imagine what harm they are doing to themselves. They are putting their
money in places where they will lose it. God told these in Haggai 1:5-6, “Now therefore
thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring
in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with
drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth
wages to put it into a bag with holes.” These people were living only for
themselves, and God could not bless them. Listen to the remedy God gave them: “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your
ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house
(temple of God); and I will take pleasure
in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD” (Haggai 1:7-8). Need we wonder when wealth disappears?
God continued in Haggai 1:9-10, “Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to
little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of
hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own
house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is
stayed from her fruit.”
About nine months ago I visited with a very wealthy man who was
concerned about the possibility of losing his wealth. This man was worth
several millions of dollars, and fully lived the lifestyle that is called “the American dream.” As he was worried
about the future, and the possibility of losing his wealth, I advised him to
put it in a place where the enemy could not touch it. I told him to “give it to God.” I explained that I was
not advising him to give it to a church, or to some preacher, but to simply get
on his knees before God and “surrender it
all to him.” Every man, rich or poor, is to bring a tithe (ten percent
of their increase) to God. It is after we have brought our tithe that we may
become “rich toward God.” I know
there are many Christians who spend thousands of dollars a year on winter
and/or summer vacations. I know of those people who regularly go to casinos and
spend thousands of dollars on a weekend of gambling (God forbid that any “Christian” should be so deceived). I
know of those who profess Christ, yet spend all their time and donations on
secular school and community functions. These may be very good citizens, but
they are not “rich toward God.”
I challenged this rich man to “make
a difference” with his money. I told him about the church we recently built
for the poor Indians, high in the mountains of Old Mexico. The cost to this
ministry was something over fifteen thousand dollars, but a house of worship
was built that will bless an entire community for generations to come; or,
until Jesus returns. Why would we spent thousands of dollars on a week of fun
and games at some resort, when we could receive more satisfaction from a trip
to a mission field, and see for ourselves how we could “make a difference” by reaching the lost of this world with the
gospel of Jesus Christ. I told this man, “There
are no guarantees, but I believe if you will surrender your wealth to God, He
will keep it for you.” I was remembering the words of Jesus in Mark 8:35-37, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall
lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what
shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own
soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Ironically,
this man chose to put much of his wealth in the stock market “for safe keeping” just as it began its
first downward plunge.
Treasures in Heaven
And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what
ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than
meat, and the body is more than raiment.
Luke 12:22-23
The Greek word translated “take
no thought” is better understood as “do
not worry.” “Do not worry for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the
body, what ye shall put on.” A person with a good job and ten thousand
dollars in their checking account is not worried about their next house payment
or the food they will eat. A person with half a million dollars in a secure
retirement fund is not worried about their economic future. In reality, these
may have reason to worry, because their “security”
is based on the American dollar. It is those who have laid up their treasures
in heaven that have no need to worry. Let me say that those whose treasures are
in heaven have invested far more than just money in the kingdom of God. Their
time, their affection, their hope, their dreams; all is invested in heaven. Jesus
told us, “For where your treasure is,
there will your heart be also” (Luke
12:34). In Matthew 6:34, Jesus said, “Take
no thought, therefore, for the morrow.” Don’t worry about tomorrow if your
treasure is laid up in heaven today. There is a ready supply for your need.
Jesus gave us two things to consider. The first:
Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which
neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye
better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his
stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why
take ye thought for the rest?
Luke 12:24-26
I knew a man of God who had lived through the great depression.
There was a time that he had no job, and he, his wife, and two little children
were living in a rented room, with no food, and no hope for the future. He
said he was greatly depressed one day as he stood at a window looking outside.
Snow and ice covered the ground, and it was horribly cold outside. Across
the street there was a railroad track with several boxcars sitting on the
siding. In those days, telegraph lines were strung along every railroad track,
and he was watching the hundreds of blackbirds that were sitting on the wires.
He thought, “I’m just like one of those
blackbirds in the blizzard. They have nothing to eat, and are just waiting to
die.” He built the pitiful analogy in his mind until he was interrupted
with the sound of a locomotive, which backed up to the boxcars to pull them
away. When the locomotive made connection with the boxcars, they made a quick
jerk, and he saw a little grain fall from the cracks in each of the boxcars. As
the train pulled away, the blackbirds all flew down and began to fill their
craws with the grain. Tears filled this man’s eyes as he heard in his heart the
words of Jesus; “Consider the ravens; for
they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God
feedeth them/ how much more are ye better than the fowls?” He rejoiced in
the Lord, and needless to say, God provided for his little family in those
tough times through many miracles. Oh how it pays to have your treasure laid up
in heaven. God will use it to feed you in the time of need. Next Jesus said:
Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin
not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like
one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the
field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O
ye of little faith?
Luke 12:27-28
Your future is in the hands of God if you have surrendered it to
Him. It is not God’s will that you worry in the least about the provisions
of this present world when you have treasures in heaven. In the next words of
Jesus, He gives the answer to everything you will ever need in this present
world. He said:
And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink,
neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the
world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto
you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give
you the kingdom.
Luke 12:29-32
If we seek the kingdom of God, Jesus assures us, “it is our Father’s good pleasure to give us
the kingdom.” We are not to seek the same things the world seeks after. If
we do, we will come to the same end the world comes to. Jesus said, “Your Father knoweth that ye have need of
these things.” Paul reassured the church at Philippi, saying, “But my God shall supply all your need
according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Are your riches “in Christ Jesus?” Out of these God will supply every need of those
who “seek first the kingdom of God, and
His righteousness.
Many years ago, I received a vision from the Lord. I saw a great
fire sweep across America destroying everything in its path. Nothing could stop
it. It devoured buildings, houses, fields, crops, and leaping great rivers, it
swept the nation from east to west. When the fire came to my little house (this
vision was in 1965) it parted and passed on each side, not touching anything of
mine. I saw friends and loved ones stand and say, “We have lost everything!” Then I heard the voice of the Lord
say, “If you will follow me, you will not
be burned when the fire comes.”
I knew this great “fire”
represented an economic fire. It would be the “fires of inflation.” I saw that vision fulfilled in the nineteen
seventies and early eighties. I even saw those loved ones “lose everything” to the raging inflation of that period. I must
say that I see another fire coming. It is a fire that is prophesied for these “last days” in the eighteenth chapter of Revelation, as I have written in this
message. The “fire” of thirty years
ago will be nothing when compared to that which is coming. The prophet
Malachi said, “For, behold, the day
cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do
wickedly, shall be stubble…” (Malachi
4:1). This fire is coming, and
the proud and the wicked shall not escape. The hour is late; now is the time to
surrender all to Jesus Christ. There is only one place of safety, and it is in
Him. Remember, if you are in Him, you need not fear any judgment He may
send.
Calves of the Stall
But unto you that fear my name shall
the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go
forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
Malachi 4:2
The righteous people of God are as “calves of the stall” in the day that “burns as an oven.” The calf of the stall is in a safe place. It is
not in bondage, as some may think, but it is “hidden in Christ.” It is in the place where no beast of the
field can devour it. It is protected and nourished by the master. The “calves of the stall” of this prophecy
will be “hand-fed” by God. He is
their provision of all things. He is everything to them, and they trust in Him.
Their “stall” is the “secret place of the most high” (Psalms 91:1). It is “under the shadow of
the almighty.” Their “stall” is
Christ Himself, and they “abide in Him.” Those
who thought it was vain and unprofitable to serve God (Malachi 3:13-14) will be the ones who will stand afar off and see
with their own eyes the difference “between
the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth
him not” (Malachi 3:18). Oh people, it’s time to come into the
stall. There is no time to wait. Bow your knees before the Lord Jesus
right now and surrender your heart, your life, and all that you are, and all
that you have, to Him. Love Him and live for Him. He will save you, and He will
keep you in the day that “burns as an
oven.”
He shall cover thee with his feathers,
and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and
buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow
that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for
the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and
ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with
thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou
hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
....
Psalms 91:4-9
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Message 20 - By Leroy Surface - “The Day that shall Burn as
an Oven”
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