Message 5 - By Leroy Surface
Armageddon
-
The Bitter Fruit of Our Way
Introduction
America is in serious trouble with God. Jesus expressed the
present plight of America, and all the western world, with just a few words in Luke 21:25-28: “And there shall be signs in the sun,
and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which
are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming
in a cloud with power and great glory.
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up
your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Jesus was prophesying to us, the
last generation to live just before His second coming to earth. This generation began in June 1967, and will
end with the visible return of Jesus. These are words of comfort to those
that know Him. In seeing the horrible events
in the world around us, we are to “lift
up our heads... our redemption is near.” To the nations and the governments
of this world, however, we have entered into the time Jesus spoke of as “distress of nations, with perplexity.”
Strong’s Concordance and Greek Lexicon defines “perplexity” as “a state of quandary.” The root of the Greek word
used means “to have no way out,” and “to
be at a mental loss.” That is where we are in America and the entire
western world. We are in a “quandary;”
we “have no way out” of the “distress” we are in. Strangely, the Greek word translated “distress” actually means “restraint.” In the present world
conflict between radical Islam and the western world, our responses have been “restrained.” Jesus also told us the
reason for this “restraint.” He said
men’s hearts would “fail them for fear,
and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.” We have
the military “power” to end the
conflict, but to do so would mean the slaughter of a billion souls in a few
days time. In doing so, we could also bring a virtual end to all life on
earth. Who among us could recommend such an action? It is our own great
power and potential for absolute destruction that has brought the leaders of
the western world to impotence. In the
mean time, we are at the mercy of those that continue to strap suicide belts
upon the bodies of their youth and send them out to murder Jews, Americans,
Christians, and any other people that do not give honor to Allah.
Repentance and returning to God through His Son, Jesus Christ is the only
answer set before man. If we do not repent, God’s answer is
“Armageddon.” The nations will not repent, so Armageddon is where we are
going. For this entire generation the
nations of the world have been on the move in that direction. America is marching the death march to
Armageddon.
Armageddon
And I saw three unclean spirits like
frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast,
and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth
unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the
battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth,
and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and
they see his shame. And he gathered them
together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
Revelation 16:13-16
For a full generation unclean spirits have been bringing the
nations of earth to “Armageddon.” Armageddon
is a Hebrew word meaning “mountain of
rendezvous.” My English dictionary defines “rendezvous” as “An
appointment or engagement made between two or more persons to meet at a fixed
place and time.” Thousands of years ago God made “appointments” with man. The first was when He sent His Son
Jesus into the world to redeem us from sin.
Jesus kept that appointment and at the appointed time gave Himself to
the cursed and cruel “death of the cross”
to “redeem us from all iniquity, and
purify unto Himself a peculiar people…” (Titus 2:14). The next appointment is at the “mountain of rendezvous,”
Armageddon. That “appointment” is for the “battle
of that great day of God Almighty.” Every nation and person that has denied
Jesus Christ will be there. They may
have refused their appointment with their “saviour,”
but “Armageddon” is an
appointment they will most certainly keep.
Notice that this sixteenth verse of Revelation is the only place in
the Bible the word “Armageddon” is
used. But this is not a conflict that is
confined to the “plain of Megiddo” in
northern Israel. This is the “battle of that great day of God Almighty.”
Every nation will be there. One third of all living will be slain (Revelation 9:15-18). The conflict
will be worldwide. The meeting place, “Armageddon” is a “spiritual” meeting
place. Unclean spirits, from the mouths of the “dragon, the beast, and the false prophet” have brought us to the
place of conflict with God. I first
wrote to warn of this coming conflict well over thirty years ago, in the year
1973. I warned of a “revival” of Satanism, witchcraft, and eastern religions to come “out of the mouth of the dragon.” I
spoke of a revival of Catholicism to come “out
of the mouth of the beast,” and an “ecumenical”
spirit to come “out of the mouth of
the false prophet.” I spoke of a union between the Catholic and the
Pentecostal in the form of the “Charismatic.”
I had received a “vision” from
the Lord in July 1969. I saw a false spirit come to the churches claiming
to be the “Holy Ghost” and the
churches receiving it as from God. I have lived to see untold millions
even in the churches deceived by unclean spirits at the same time the churches
themselves have become bloated and impotent in the world. I have lived to see our once great America
systematically reject Jesus Christ, following in the footsteps of Western
Europe, and being prepared for destruction by God Almighty. The title and the text for this message speak
of “eating the fruit of our own way.”
It is in fact, “our own way” that has
brought us into conflict with God Almighty, and we are even now beginning to
eat the bitter fruit of that “way.”
It is impossible to speak about God’s judgment against the nations
without also speaking about the failure of the churches. Jesus told us that we are the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-16). He warned us that if the “salt (church) lost its savour” it would from that time forward be “good for nothing, but to be cast out, and
to be trodden under foot of men.” Jesus also warned us in Matthew 6:23, “If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that
darkness!” The church was given to “keep
(as salt)” the nation and to give
light to it. The church has become much like the Pharisees that Jesus
rebuked so much for their “hypocrisy.”
Notice that He never rebuked them for their lack of “zeal” to make converts. In
fact, it would have been a better thing if the Pharisees had not reached a
single soul. Hear Jesus in Matthew 23:15: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea
and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more
the child of hell than yourselves.” They could not convert a person to God,
but only to their “religion.” They
could only reproduce what they were in their converts, and the next generation
would be even more so the child of hell than the first. I watched a “worship service” of what must have been
hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Washington D.C. I do not know
just who the ministers or the worship leaders were, nor do I know what
organization brought this mass meeting together. I only watched the
worshipers. I heard their words, and some of their words were good
words. I saw their zeal, and it was great. The intensity of the moment was
incredible. Some with hands uplifted cried at the tops of their lungs to “Jesus.” Others leaped high into the
air, also crying with loud voices to Jesus. Some made strange arm and
hand gestures for whatever reason I do not know. Yet, it wasn’t these things that troubled
me. It was that in the hundreds of worshipers the cameras swept close to
I did not see a single broken spirit or contrite heart. I did see the faces of a multitude trying to “touch God” out of tortured expressions,
tormented eyes, and taught methods. It
was no different with the worship leaders and ministers. Their zeal was unquestioned; the zeal of
their followers was real, but “salt” and
“light” I did not see. Nor did I see a single tear in a single eye,
or upon a single cheek. It is amazing
that such a “church” has increased by
great leaps and bounds at the same time our nation has fallen away and is being
brought into judgment.
Our “Ways”
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.
Revelation 9:20-21
In this final conflict before the return of Jesus, one third of men
shall be slain. In these two verses the apostle tells of the five sins
that brings the anger of God against the nations and the inhabitants of the
earth. They are listed in order as “idolatry, murders, sorceries, fornications,
and thefts.” I have repeatedly warned of the great anger of God that is
being kindled against the nations for these five sins. It is true that
these sins have been in the world since the transgression of Adam. The
difference today is that these sins are now approved and even sponsored by the
nations, most especially the western nations and America. We will not be
judged for the sins that we have judged and put away. It is those sins
that are established and approved by the national laws of the nations that will
bring great destruction upon us. In
fact, we as a nation have chosen the very things that will destroy us.
America will reap the harvest and eat the fruit of all her every way that is
contrary to the Law of God.
Idolatry
Thou shalt have no other gods before
me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any
graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is
in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not
bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous
God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and
fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exodus 20:3-5
Idolatry is literally the worship of “idols.” An idol is a “graven
image,” or any of the “works of man’s
hands” that man will worship.
Included in the first commandment is
“no other gods before me.” The worship of any other god, whether fashioned
by man’s hands or fashioned in man’s imagination, is strictly forbidden.
Not every false god is the product of man’s hands or imagination however. Demonic spirits often seek the worship of
man, and very often receive it. Lucifer is quoted in Isaiah 14:13-14, saying, “I
will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I
will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most
High.” The “mount of the
congregation, in the sides of the north” was the location of the Old
Testament Temple, and Lucifer said he would sit there and be “like the most High.” For the past
thirteen hundred years it has been the location of the Islamic “holy place,” the “Dome of the Rock.”
From the birth of our nation until 1965, we greatly restricted
immigration from the eastern nations of the world. Our forefathers knew that a “democratic republic” such as ours could
only survive and thrive in a “Christian”
culture, and our immigration policy reflected that knowledge. In 1965 Congress changed America’s
immigration law and opened the door for the worshipers of other gods to flood
into this nation. Within a decade we
began to see the strong influence of the Hindu, Buddhist, and other eastern religions. I recall in 1975 when the first image of
Buddha was imported to America to be worshiped. I was shocked in the
early 1980’s to discover there were more Muslims in America than members of the
Assemblies of God. During this time, I
still considered America to be a “Christian
Nation.” I was angered in 1984 by a campaign speech by Walter Mondale
in which he declared America to be a “Polytheistic
Nation,” saying, “We worship many
gods.” It was a wakeup call for me. I realized the horrible truth in
what he thought was a good thing. America had become an idolatrous
nation, the most idolatrous nation on earth.
Throughout the decade of the nineties, we heard continually from the
Clinton administration that “our strength
is in our diversity.” Again the sad truth is that religious diversity is
the seeds of our destruction. We have
opened a door that must be closed. Our
borders must be secured even if it means building a wall from coast to
coast. Our immigration laws must be changed once more to protect the
Christian values this nation was built upon.
Sadly, a “Pandora’s box” has
been opened in America, and it will never again be the same. Peace on
earth, or peace in America will never be again until the Prince of Peace, Jesus
Christ the Son of God makes His second appearance. Until then, America will eat the fruit of the
seed she has planted, and the harvest will become only increasingly bitter.
Murders
Thou shalt not kill.
Exodus 20:13
In this generation, nearly fifty million American citizens have
been murdered and there has not been a single arrest made. We know who is
committing these murders, and exactly where they are taking place, yet not even
one of the guilty parties has been prosecuted.
In fact, these “murders” have
been approved and even sponsored by our national government. I am speaking of “abortion,” the “American
holocaust.” In 1973 the American Supreme Court handed down a ruling that
would result in an average of almost a million and a half unborn babies a year
being horribly murdered, and the fact is, there is no end of this slaughter in
sight. The fact that we as a nation have
killed almost 50 million of our people in the past thirty-three years has
ramifications that are well worth considering in this message.
One of the great problems in America today is that of the illegal
immigrant. The number of illegal aliens
living in the United States is estimated to be from eleven million to seventeen
million. We are told that we must have these people that have come to
America seeking jobs because our economy needs them. We do not have
enough American workers to fill the positions.
This is the first of the bitter fruits of abortion. We do not have enough “workers” because we killed them while they were yet in their
mother’s womb. Statistical analysis shows that over nineteen million of
our aborted babies would be from twenty one to thirty four years of age at this
time. Almost all of these would be in the job market.
It is well known that nothing can exist in a vacuum. Wherever there is a “vacuum” something will rush in to fill it. Abortion has
created a vacuum in America’s work force that the illegal aliens have rushed in
to fill. It is amazing that the number
of our children America has killed is parallel to the number of illegal aliens
in America. From 1987 through 1996, the
abortion rate continued at an average of 1.5 million a year, reaching its peak
number at 1,608,600 in 1990. The labor “vacuum” caused by abortion will
continue to draw at least 1,500,000 immigrants a year for the foreseeable
future. It is one of the bitter fruits of abortion.
Another major problem America is facing is Social Security benefits
for our senior population. America made
a promise to her elderly she will not be able to keep to future
generations. The reason is that we do not have enough workers paying into
the system to sustain the system. Again,
we as a nation have killed our children that would have supported our
elderly. The vast majority of illegal
aliens work in the underground economy, avoiding most if not all taxes while
costing our medical and welfare systems billions of dollars annually.
They are sending another forty billion dollars out of the country every
year. Add the loss of productivity and tax collections from our aborted
children to the drain on our medical and welfare systems, including the
billions sent out of the country by the illegal aliens, and we see that
abortion has cost us more than enough to balance our budget and care for our
elderly. Just another bitter fruit of
abortion.
Name almost any problem America has today, and abortion will be at
least indirectly the facilitator of that problem. Consider what was at
first the “moral decay” of our
culture that has become a “landslide of
immorality” in America. Consider
that over fifty percent of America’s firstborn children are born without either
marriage or a daddy in the home. Consider that the “role models” who entertain America’s children today are nothing
more than the streetwalking “pimps”
and “sluts” of a past generation.
Do you think it possible for one out of every three pregnancies in America to
be aborted without consequences? Do you think that America can continue
to “murder” a baby every twenty-five
seconds and not destroy every fiber of the moral fabric of our nation? Do
you still think that God will stand with America against her enemies? I
tell you, it is God that has called our enemies against us. We are eating
the bitter fruit of abortion, and we will yet taste the fury of God Almighty if
there is not repentance.
Sorceries
The third sin mentioned in our text is “sorceries.” At first sight, it may not seem that this is a great
problem today. Sorcery is, however, very
commonplace in America. In fact it has utterly destroyed millions of our
youth during the entirety of this generation. The word translated “sorceries” in our text is the Greek word “pharmakeus,” which
is defined by Strong’s Concordance as “a
drug, i.e. spell-giving potion.” Added to idolatry and abortion in
America is our national “drug culture,” our
third national sin. It began about forty years ago and continues to
destroy the minds and abilities of millions of our youth each year. It is
the major cause of poverty in America. It robs its victims of life and
future, leaving them unable to function in society, unable to hold a job, in
fact, unable to face the simplest responsibility of daily life. Almost no
family in our nation has been left untouched by this problem. I
personally know numerous elderly mothers that have spent their lives caring for
sons that have been rendered worthless by their drug addictions. Drugs
have filled our land with what the Old Testament called the “sons of Belial,” meaning “worthless sons.” They cannot hold
a job. They cannot support a
family. They bring children into the world that most often must be reared
by grandparents. Just as abortion kills the unborn child, America’s drug
culture has destroyed entire families and untold millions of our children,
reducing them to the mental level of zombies, desiring nothing more than their
next “fix.” Just as abortion has robbed our work force of millions of
workers, the drug culture has robbed our work force of excellence, and given us
mediocrity in its place. Just forty
years ago, America was number one in almost every measure of a nation. “Made in America” was the mark of
excellence on every product. Oh how we have fallen. Workers from
other nations are building our houses and our highways, preparing our food,
maintaining our properties, operating our motels, gas stations, and convenience
stores, and in general becoming the “backbone”
of our nation. One day soon the sons
and daughters of America will be working for those who were once their “servants.” The pride of America is
being cast down to the ground.
Illegal drugs are not officially approved in America.
Millions of our men and women are in prison because of the lives of crime they
entered to support their drug addictions.
I have met and ministered to many of these. In prison, where for the most part they have
no access to drugs, these young people come across as some of the nicest
individuals you could ever hope to meet.
Many of them are in the prison churches, worshiping, ministering, and
loving the Lord. We cannot but wonder
why some of the finest of America’s youth should be confined behind prison
walls, and the answer is one word, “drugs.”
Given access to drugs they will once again be dragged down to the level of
the worthless. Unless these young men and women find the “truth that is in Jesus;” that “truth” which Jesus said would make them
free, and “free indeed,” they have
very little possibility of making it on the outside. I have watched helplessly as several have
been pulled back into the pit of addiction, only because they were never
free. I have also seen those who were
made free in a moment of time by the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The “light”
of the gospel shined into their darkened souls, and every unclean spirit,
all bondage, and every sin had to depart. I have seen them continue as
shining lights for Jesus in the midst of this darkened world.
Millions of America’s children are being raised in dysfunctional
homes by drug-addicted parents. Many of
them do not even know who their daddy is. Often the children are abused
both physically and sexually, and the cycle continues into the next
generation. How did we get to this place in America? It is because we
have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ. America, we must put Christian
prayer, Bible reading, and the Law of God back in our schools. The name of Jesus Christ must be lifted up in
public places, and honored before the children.
If it is not so, we will continue to eat the bitter fruit of our ways.
If America could win World War II in less than four years,
certainly we could win the “war on
drugs.” We have waged war against the victim more than we have the
source. I will not pretend to tell how it should be done, but surely the
nation that put a man on the moon in less than a decade can do this. The
penalties for raising the drug crop, operating the drug lab, transporting the
drug, and pushing the sale of the drug must be raised to whatever it takes to
dry up the source. It was brutal, but
communism solved the drug problem in China in a very short space of time just over
a half century ago. There are those we
count to be our enemies that can do the job. America, we must, before God
gives us into the hands of those who will.
Fornication
The Greek word translated “fornication”
is “porneia.” This is the fourth
of America’s sins that will bring the anger of God against us. The
definition as given in Strong’s Concordance is “harlotry (including adultery and incest)” The root of the Greek word is “porneuo,” which means, “to act the harlot, i.e. (literally) indulge unlawful lust (of either sex).” Obviously these Greek words for “fornication” is where the word “pornography”
came from. Fornication is the fourth of the sins listed that brings the
anger of God against the nations. It is
more than a single sexual sin; it includes the entire spectrum of such
sins. It is America’s “sex
industry” that has caught the attention of God almighty. It is the
fourth of America’s national sins.
The second paragraph of our American “Declaration of Independence” begins with these words: “We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit
of Happiness.” I bring our attention to these words from that wonderful
document simply to point out that our forefathers in this great land knew that
the “rights” of man were given by God
and not by Government, and, that government was given by God for the oversight
of our God-given rights. Oh how far our nation has fallen when more and
more our courts are interpreting “life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” to include the “right” to pursue and fulfill the basest of sinful lusts. God
destroyed the world before the flood because “…every imagination of the thoughts of his (man’s) heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). I do not believe it is
possible that the world in Noah’s day had fallen any further than our own
nation and the western world has. What
is it that entertains America today? If it’s from Hollywood, it is “only evil continually.” If it’s on
television it is no better. It seems
there is absolutely nothing that is “off
limits.” The most vulgar, obscene among us are elevated to superstar
status. I simply cannot find the words to
express the horror that is American morality today. God destroyed Sodom
and Gomorrah because “…they were haughty,
and committed abomination…” (Ezekiel
16:50). The “abomination”
of Sodom was “sodomy,” which is “homosexualism.” Who would dare to
believe that God gave the right of sodomy to man? Or, pedophilia? The
American Civil Liberties Union defends the rights of old men to have
pedophiliac relationships with little boys. Who could believe that God
gave that “right” to man? There have
been numerous cases recently of women schoolteachers having immoral
relationships with young boys in their classes. All these things God will
judge according to His commandments.
America has thrown God’s “commandments” out of our public life. I
am reminded of words from the second
Psalm….
Why do the heathen rage, and the
people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and
the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed,
saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from
us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall
laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore
displeasure.
Psalms 2:1-5
Certainly America has determined to “break the bands, and cast away the cords” of restraint. Do we not know that it was God that placed
those bands and cords upon man? Man may cast away the commandments, but
he will yet be judged by the commandments.
It was God Almighty, the creator of heaven and earth that said “Thou shalt not….”
Some time ago I saw an old documentary from 1942 about the “unwed mother” problem. I recall
the exact words of the moderator as he began the program: “Every year in America ten thousand young woman…” He went on to
speak of the “shame” these young
women suffered from having to leave their homes until the baby was born, and
the “trauma” of giving the baby up
for adoption. The purpose of the documentary was to “take away the shame” these young ladies suffered. It was a
call for love and understanding. No one
could deny the need for “love and
understanding” in such circumstances, but to “take away the shame” was to multiply the problem by two hundred
fold. Such a documentary today would have to begin, “Every year in America almost two million young women give birth our of
wedlock.” Sadly, it is true that the “shame” has been taken away. Listen to the words of the
prophet Jeremiah spoken just shortly before Jerusalem was totally destroyed. “They have healed also 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 they shall fall among
them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith
the LORD” (Jeremiah 6:14-15).
It is a “shame” that over
fifty percent of the firstborn babies in America are born out of wedlock. It is a “shame”
that in today's America, thirty seven percent of all babies are born out of
wedlock. It is a “shame” that
almost one third of all pregnancies are aborted. It is a “shame”
that pornography is a larger industry in America than major league
sports. It is said to be “as
American as apple pie,” and that is a “shame.”
America is filled with “shame,” yet
no one is “ashamed.” The
greatest “shame” of all is that
according to surveys done in American churches, fifty percent of the men
admitted to pornography addiction. The
prophet Jeremiah, after denouncing the nation for a lack of shame, gave this
message from God: “Thus saith the LORD,
Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good
way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But
they said, We will not walk therein.
Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the
trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken” (Jeremiah 6:16-17).
Thefts
Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt
not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy
neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his
manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is
thy neighbour’s.
Exodus 20:15-17
The fifth American sin is “thefts.”
Again, it is not the “thieves”
who fill our prisons that will bring the anger of God. Rather it is that
which God said He “abhors” in Psalms
10:3: “For the wicked boasteth
of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.” The apostle Paul said “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the
faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (I Timothy 6:10). The tenth commandment is “Thou shalt not covet …” Just as the “love of money” is the root of all evil,
so “covetousness,” breaking the tenth
commandment, is the root cause of breaking all other commandments.
Covetousness is in the heart of man. Without it there would be no theft,
murder, adultery, or false witness against the neighbor. In the New Testament the “covetous” person is listed along with the murderer, adulterer,
drunkard, and drug addict as those that will not enter the Kingdom of God.
The apostle Paul told us exactly what these last days would be
like. Certainly he described the
generation we live in with these words: “This
know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall
be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection,
trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are
good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of
pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the
power thereof: from such turn away” (II
Timothy 3:1-5). Sadly, the last words of this text reveal that it is the
religious man of today he describes. Peter also describes many of the
religious teachers in the churches of this generation:
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you;
II Peter 2:3
Having eyes full of adultery, and that
cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised
with covetous practices; cursed
children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the
way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages
of unrighteousness;
II Peter 2:14-15
Oh how right Peter was. For almost three decades the number
one message preached in the churches centers around financial prosperity.
It has been a message that leads to covetousness among God's people.
Jesus gave us instructions in Matthew
6:24-33, concluding with these words: “Therefore
take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or,
Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles
seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these
things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you” (Matthew
6:31-33).
America has become a very covetous nation. It is true that we give more to charity. It is true that we give more foreign
aid. It is true that many Americans have
big hearts to help the needy. It is also true that covetousness has
filled the land. Greed has become the motivating factor for many, and
perhaps for most. One of the great fears that Americans face today is
that of being “sued.” Every citizen
that accumulates any property or wealth must also cover himself with every kind
of liability insurance, plus an “umbrella”
policy to cover any loopholes in coverage. Why should this be? It is
because of covetousness. Someone out there wants what you have.
They do not want to work for it; they just want to take what you have.
These would never consider breaking into your house at night to steal from
you. Instead, they will do it “legally.” Notice the advertisements on
television by lawyers seeking lawsuits.
Surely there is some large corporation that has wronged you in some
way. The “American way” is to sue them. It is almost certain you can
find a jury to help you punish them. In
the mean time, the lawyer will take from thirty to forty percent for taking the
case. Consider the case of the woman
that received over a million dollars from a fast food chain because she spilled
a cup of hot coffee on herself. This was a perfect example of “legal theft.” Class action lawsuits
have often won billions of dollars, making the law firms into instant “billionaires.” Many times the
cases have later been proven to be fraudulent, but it would be too late to
correct the damage that was done. All these things issue out of
covetousness, the thing God abhors.
Certainly our major American corporations are not innocent. Just
today in the news the CEO of a large corporation resigned his job and received
a two hundred million dollar severance package. Consider the financial
scandals of recent years. Greed has been
the motivating factor. Consider less than a year ago when we were paying
three dollars a gallon for gas while the oil companies made the largest profits
ever recorded in the history of the world, many billions of dollars per quarter
year. Covetous practices gave us that.
It hurts the nation, it hurts the people, God hates it, and we will eat
the bitter fruit of our own greed.
The way of the Kingdom of God is not as the way of this world. Jesus told us something of His way in the
Sermon on the Mount.
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a
tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever
shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if
any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy
cloke also. And whosoever shall compel
thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
Give to him that asketh thee, and from him
that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
Matthew 5:38-42
“An eye for an
eye, and a tooth for a tooth” is the world’s way of doing
business. To “turn the other cheek,
give the cloak also, and walk the extra mile” is our Lord’s way. Jesus did not tell us these things because He
wanted us to be trodden under. Instead,
His people “reign in life” through
Him. A child of God can get out of the “rat race” of trying to do things the
way the world does and be blessed by God.
You can fully surrender to the Lord Jesus and to His way and be blessed
now and kept in the time of trouble that is coming. Paul said that Jesus “gave Himself for our sins, that He might
deliver us from this present evil world.” Our “deliverance” from this present evil world is not speaking of
rapture someday. If that were the case, Paul's deliverance was the Roman
sword, and Peter's, the Roman cross. It
is now that Jesus will deliver you from this world, and the world’s way of
doing things. I could write volumes of
personal testimony of how God has been my doctor and my lawyer for almost fifty
years, and has never failed me yet. Instead, I will tell of something God
has blessed this ministry with.
It was been well over ten years since we have taken an offering at
Calvary Outreach. I did not say we do
not “receive” offerings, for that is
the only support of this ministry, the “freewill
offerings” of God’s people. The
difference is, we do not “take” offerings,
we do not solicit offerings, they must be sent by those who are moved by the
Lord to support this ministry. Thousands
of books, tapes, CDs, DVDs, and magazines are sent out monthly by a staff that
is totally volunteer, and there has never been a price set on anything from
this ministry. We have over twenty-six
thousand square feet of buildings that were built by volunteer workers, without
ever borrowing money or taking pledges from the people. God is faithful. We have never lacked in anything from the day
we began to look totally to the Lord for our supply. Our people at
Calvary Outreach have enjoyed full employment even in slow times. They have been blessed incredibly for their “cheerful giving.” We never mention
money, do not teach “seed faith,” and
do not believe the so-called “prosperity
gospel,” but seldom has a church and people been so blessed as we. What about you? Are you ready to be
delivered from the world’s way of doing things? To “seek the Kingdom of God first?” Are you ready to gain the victory
through turning the other cheek? Through giving your cloak also? Or, through
walking the extra mile? Jesus brings those to the upper seat who choose
the lower seat. He exalts those who
humble themselves. He does these things
because He would have you blessed, but he cannot bless a covetous heart.
America’s End
And even as they did not like to
retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do
those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness,
fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder,
debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful,
proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without
understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable,
unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things
are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do
them.
Romans 1:28-32
I have no desire to be a “prophet
of doom,” but I must tell you that the five sins I have written about in
this message are the “root” that
brings the bitter “fruit.” The bitter
fruit I speak of is the slaughter of one third of all living on this
planet. Go again and read the message of
the sixth trumpet in Revelation 9:13-21.
Please do not be deceived by those doctrines or teachers that will tell
you this cannot apply to us today. The
five sins have been in place for most of this generation. The locusts of
the fifth trumpet are breeding. The four
angels of the sixth trumpet have been loosed out of the river Euphrates.
The army of two hundred million is preparing. Revelation 9:15 says they are
“prepared… for to slay the third part of men.” When the “iniquity”
of the nations is “full,” God will
call the locust army (radical Islam) to swarm.
When that happens, nothing can stop it until one third of all men lay
slain by the warfare. Almost two billion
people are going to die because the nations will not repent and turn to the
Lord. It is the bitter fruit the nations are given to eat of.
We can only touch the tip of the iceberg on this subject. The
absolute depravity of today’s America cannot be questioned. Scripturally,
I must place America in Romans 1:28:32. We have gone beyond the “uncleanness” of the twenty-fourth verse, and the “vile affections” of the twenty-sixth
verse. We have come to the twenty-eighth
verse in our march toward Armageddon: We are being “filled” with all unrighteousness,
fornication, wickedness, covetousness, etc.
We are “full” of envy, murder, debate, deceit, etc, and we (America)
have “become” backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters,
inventors of evil things, etc.
America is being filled
with iniquity. She is being prepared for destruction. The “fruit” of the seed America has sown is
almost ripe, and we will eat of it.
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.
Revelation 9:20-21
Even after one third of all living are slain, the scriptures tell
us that those who were not slain will not repent of their way. If they do not repent before it happens, they
will not repent after it comes. There is
no hope for those who will not repent and turn from their wicked way in this
time. What about you? You did not choose to live in this generation, but
you do. You did not want to face the things that are coming upon the earth, but
you must. You can “save yourself” from
this wicked generation, because there is a “saviour,”
Jesus the Son of God. He died for your
sin. He shed His holy blood to wash you from your sin. He suffered the cursed cross to free you from
sin. He rose again to give you His
life. Repent, and receive Him. Ask His forgiveness and mercy.
Surrender your heart and life to Him. He
will keep you in this last, evil day.
Message 5 - By Leroy Surface - The Bitter Fruit of Our Way
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