PERILOUS TIMES SHALL COME

By DR. MORRIS O. WRIGHT, Pastor

KEY WEST BAPTIST TEMPLE

P.O. Box 2298 – Key West, Florida 33045

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous boasters, proud, blasphe- mers, disobedient to parents, unthank- ful, unholy. Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, inconti- nent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." (2 Tim. 3:1-5).

Reading the above scriptures is like reading the front page of your newspaper on any given day. I wish to complete my thoughts made in last month's issue of The Seed for the Sower. We are indeed seeing perilous times even in these days.

There is no one that knows the exact time the Lord will return, but be certain HE IS COMING. We are living in the final eight pages of my bible, and, if the other 900 pages have turned out to be true, why should we doubt the last eight pages?

I want to go through the verses quoted above with you. I want you to see the remarkable resem- blance between those days in which it was written and the days we are living in. I doubt any of you would even dare to think the Holy Scriptures are contradictory or contain error. I well know we do not have a verbally inspired Bible but we do indeed have a perfectly preserved set of the Holy Scriptures. (Being without fault or defect.) (Faithfully reproducing the originals).

In other words, a book you can believe. With that established, we will look at the individual com- ponents of the text. First, men will be lovers of their own selves! Have you ever seen so many in love with themselves? Cosmetic sur- gery a 3 billion dollar a year business! Face lifts, vein removal, but don't dare ask for help for a poor missionary whose house was destroyed by thugs!

Heavens, wasting so much on missionaries when I wish to be appealing to the lady folks. You and your vanity will burn in hell! Why can't you just be like God made you? All you need is a bar of soap and a bath once or twice a week. We will let you sit in the choir loft.

Covetous, proud, boasters and blasphemers. These all go to- gether and are consumed in the words "to blaspheme." One would think God's last name was damn it is used as such so much. One day, friend, you will bow at the feet of Jesus and confess His name as Lord. He is coming.

Now to the most destructive component of the list given by Paul. ". . disobedient to parents . . !" After the Big War, the home went south. No parental guidance by parents, children roamed the streets, destroying just to see it burn. Johnny Cash said his mother told him not to play with guns, so he obtained one and went to Reno and shot a man just to see him die! (Folsom Prison Blues).

George Jones said the "bottle let him down." I guess so. But the gos-pill never has. Our kids look to these and even worse, the Rap bunch. Got their own language and wonder why they can't get a decent job.

Tammy Wynette could not say the word so she spelled it out: D.I.V.O.R.C.E! My mother did not even know what the word meant. Now it is written in the "pre-nupts." 58% of all babies born today are without a responsible Dad. Homosexuals make up the major part of "Big Brothers, Big Sisters."

The system of foster care is ¾ two men or two women. Can you imagine how a child will grow up if all he sees is two men together or two women? Can they help but think the union is acceptable?

The Muslims cannot take the Nation from the outside, so they invade us as citizens, spawn their babies and in 20 years take us from the inside. Same for the homosexuals. Time is on their side and we sit here looking stupid. All rebellion is against God. Rebellion is direct disrespect for God!

In 1 Cor. 10 we have the Godly order. God the Father, God the Son, Man, the head of the home, woman a help-meet for the husband and then the children under the authority of the Head and helper.

Reverse the order, which we have done in America, and you have rebels. If a child will not respect the authority of its father, how on earth can he ever have respect for God? And how can he have respect for his father if he has no father in the home? Remember, that all rebellion is aimed at God and His authority, and rebels hate authority.

The last portion of the verse I wish to exegete is: "having a form of godliness, but denying the power there-of, from such turn away. . ." These go through the rituals of religion but lack life and reality. When Paul says to turn away from these people he means for us to avoid them.

Let me ask you a question: if you are in a dead, cold, liberal church, and you are a true believer, what are you doing there when the Word of God says to avoid these things? You can find a church in your vicinity that preaches the truth if you look for one.

I tell our people that when they leave Key West, they should find a good, Bible preaching church as soon as they possibly can, and if they cannot find one, to start one in their living room and begin praying for God to send them a pastor. There are Godly men out there and you can surely find one.

I tell them to ask their prospective pastor three ques- tions: 1. How much time do they spend in prayer and Bible study; 2. What Bible do they use? (Is it the preserved Word of God), and 3. Is he a soul-winner and a believer in the Second Coming of Christ?

If his answer to these three questions pleases you, join up!

-- The Seed for the Sower, May, 2008