Transcript
It’s time to start our service today, and it’s so good to have you here with us. I want to extend my greetings to everyone, especially those I had the chance to speak with, exchange messages, or meet over the past week. I had the opportunity to visit with several former Message preachers this week, including some from Europe, and we had a truly wonderful time of fellowship. Let’s make sure to keep all of our brothers and sisters in prayer, whether they are here, in Europe, or in South America or Africa, where I also spoke with some this past week. We all face many of the same challenges when we make decisions and take steps like we have.
If this is your first time joining us, and you wonder who we are and what we are up to, my name is Charles Paisley. I, along with most of our listeners here, am a former member of the cult following of William Branham known as “The Message.” The Message is a global doomsday cult with millions of members and thousands of churches. It has flown under the radar for a long time, and many people outside don’t even know it exists. It started here in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and spread all over the world. I was formerly an associate pastor of the second oldest Message church in the world, right here in the Jeffersonville area. This little mission we operate offers encouragement to those leaving the Message and provides a fresh look at the plain reading of Scripture as we seek to wash out of our minds what, for most of us, has been a lifetime of indoctrination.
Bible Study and Current Events
Today, we are resuming our study of the book of Ephesians. We are in chapter 5, and I invite you to open your Bibles there to follow along with me.
There has been a significant event here in the United States that occurred yesterday, and I’m sure everyone has heard about it by now. Several brothers and sisters reached out to share the news with me yesterday, and I appreciate that. If you listen here regularly, you know that I very rarely speak about the political situation in our nation. This is largely in reaction to the cult we come from, which is obsessed with doomsday and constantly focuses on the political situation. Most of the people on this side are just sick of hearing about it, and you can put me in that camp.
Anyone who knows me from our days in the Message would know that, politically, I was a very hardline conservative—we were Republicans. I don’t think it would surprise anyone to hear that most of us on this side are still conservative Republicans. However, the last ten or so years have been complex. Usually, the Republican Party has at least a nominal Christian as its candidate for president, but the last three cycles, we haven’t. We’ve had Donald Trump, who, overall, is a moderate but is certainly not a Christian. He is openly sexually immoral, has poor character, uses filthy language, and is deeply materialistic. While there are some good things he has done, and some of his political positions have had good results, on a personal level, it is a very ugly picture. The sad thing is, he has influenced a lot of people to start acting out in the same inappropriate ways that he lives his own life.
In this, the Republican Party has lost the moral high ground. It used to be that when you defended Republicans, you could do so from a position of moral high ground, but that is not possible anymore. In many cases, Trump is just as bad or worse than the alternative. Trump is more sexually immoral than the average Democrat. Trump is more foul-mouthed than the average Democrat. Trump is just as dishonest as your typical Democrat. And you know all the rest. Yes, we could say he has a better tax policy or a better energy policy, but Christianity is not concerned with those things. When it comes to what the Bible and Christianity are actually concerned with, Trump is in most cases no better than the alternative.
This situation puts genuine Christians in a challenging position. It may mean begrudgingly supporting him because we don’t have any other viable option at this point in time. For many Christians, that might mean not voting at all or maybe even voting for someone else. In this election, and since Trump has come on the scene like this, I totally understand why people might make those decisions. It’s up to each one of us, brothers and sisters, to decide what you feel is right. Personally, I voted for him once, and I wrote in Mike Pence the other time because I couldn’t bring myself to vote for Trump.
Recent Events and Scripture
Regarding what happened yesterday—if you haven’t heard the news—Trump was shot in the ear during an assassination attempt. He took a minor injury and seems like he’s going to be fine, but the person who shot him is a registered Republican. In the incident, three other bystanders were shot, one killed, and the other two are in very serious condition.
In our lesson today, I’m going to say some things that some people might not like. If you love Donald Trump, I want you to know it’s okay if you don’t agree with me. I can still respect you, and I hope we can still be friends and get along. But I am going to be pretty direct in what I say today, so if you want to turn this off and listen to another brother preaching today, that would be just fine.
We are in the book of Ephesians, looking at the same scriptures as last week because there’s a portion here we didn’t cover last week. I will reference this situation as we go through. Let me read our text to you this morning—Ephesians 5:1-8 in the English Standard Version (ESV):
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.”
Prayer
Let us pray.
Lord God, as we approach the Scripture this morning, we pray that You bless our understanding. Help us to have a pure heart before You, to see clearly, and to properly apply what we read. We also pray for the situation that happened yesterday. You see the brush with death that Donald Trump experienced. We pray that, like Nebuchadnezzar of old, You use this experience to get ahold of the heart of Donald Trump and wake him up to his need for a Savior. Let him realize his days are numbered and that unless he comes to saving faith in Christ, it will have profited him nothing to have gained the whole world but lost his soul.
Let each one of us mourn and pray for the family of those who have died. Let us each realize that if they had obeyed the very scriptures we are reading today, they would not have died, because they would not have been partnered with a wicked man.
Lord God, show mercy on them, I pray, and wake up each person who is trapped in delusion. Trump is not a harbinger of the end of days. Trump is not Your servant. Trump is not advancing Your program. Trump is, in fact, the very sort of thing the Apostle Paul is telling us not to partner with.
How he managed to get to the top of the conservative Christian political party is a scary thing to think about. Give us peace in our hearts today, and help us to look at these things in a biblical way.
Amen.
What is Covetousness
Good morning, brothers and sisters.
As you can see from the title of our lesson today, we are going to be diving into the topic of covetousness. Last week, we focused primarily on Paul’s warnings against sexual immorality in our scripture passage, but today we are going to turn our attention to covetousness, which Paul also addresses in the same breath.
Paul places covetousness— which is idolatry— on the same level as sexual immorality. If we consider the Ten Commandments, we see that these things are clearly forbidden, and they remain forbidden under the law of Christ, which is the law of love.
Before we delve into the specifics of covetousness, it’s important that we understand what it is. So, what is covetousness? It’s a simple question, but the answer carries profound implications.
Covetousness is a consuming desire to have something— a desire so strong that it begins to override everything else in life. It is when the pursuit of this desire erodes good character and good manners to some degree.
This is a broad definition, but it captures the essence of what covetousness is: a strong desire for something that becomes an inappropriate priority in your life.
Now, let me remind you of our last lesson since we’re examining the same verses of scripture. We discussed how sexual immorality, which comes from lust, is actually a subcategory of covetousness. Covetousness is a broad category that can be broken down into specific desires. For example, lust is a form of covetousness when it pertains to sexual immorality. But covetousness can extend far beyond just immoral lust.
It could be a strong desire for anything—a new iPhone, a new car, a promotion at work, winning a race, or seeing your cause succeed. Covetousness can grow out of any desire a person might have. It’s not the object of desire that defines covetousness, but rather the intensity of the desire and the lengths to which one is willing to go to satisfy it.
It’s essential to understand the line between healthy, normal desires and covetousness. As we discussed in our last lesson, appetites are natural and given by God. Our desire to eat, for example, is necessary for survival, but if that desire becomes an unhealthy obsession—like bankrupting your family for a $100 steak every night—then it has crossed over into gluttony, which is a form of covetousness.
When a desire is so strong that it drives us to do bad or unhealthy things to satisfy it, that is when it becomes covetousness. It’s when feeding that appetite takes an inappropriate priority in our lives.
Covetousness is not just about desire itself, but an overriding desire that takes control. To understand where this line is drawn, we should follow Paul’s advice in verses 1 and 2: look to Jesus as our example. In the Gospels, we see that Jesus had desires, but he never let them override his good character or godliness. He balanced his work, life, and ministry while pursuing healthy natural desires in a way that was always ethical and respectful of others.
Covetousness, however, is incompatible with the love of God. Love is patient, kind, and selfless, but covetousness is envious, proud, and selfish. It breaks the rules, steps on others, and causes harm to get what it wants.
Paul also points out in verse 5 that covetousness is a form of idolatry. When our desires control us, they become our master, and we are no longer led by the love of God. Covetousness turns our desires into idols, and we obey these desires, disregarding the consequences, even to the point of harming ourselves or others.
I want to make it clear that a normal, healthy human desire is not covetousness. In the doomsday cult we escaped from, there was a habit of turning any desire into a sin. But that is not the case. It’s when the desire becomes so strong that we act inappropriately to fulfill it that it crosses into covetousness.
It’s up to each of us to look into our own hearts and souls to recognize when our desires have crossed that line. It’s not my job as a preacher to figure out where each of you stands with your desires. That responsibility lies with you. But if people are being harmed by your desires, then we might need to have a conversation about it.
The Case of Trump
Brothers and sisters,
I want to bring the topic we’ve been discussing into focus by reflecting on what transpired yesterday. It appears that a young Republican attempted to take the life of the President. As lifelong Republicans, many of us are questioning what our party has become, especially with Donald Trump as our candidate for the third time. It certainly doesn’t feel like the Christian party it once was.
Let’s revisit these verses of scripture:
Verse 4:
“Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”
Brothers and sisters, this description aligns precisely with who Donald Trump is.
Verse 6:
“Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them.”
Don’t let anyone deceive you. A person like Trump is not God’s hero; he is bound for judgment unless he repents and turns to Christ. We are clearly and unequivocally forbidden from partnering with people like Donald Trump.
Now, I would love to see a different candidate for president, someone who is truly a Christian. That is a good and righteous desire. But we must not allow that desire to push us into committing dark acts, like attempting to assassinate Trump. Though Trump is not my choice for president, I am not so consumed by my desire for someone else that I would resort to violence. But this is where covetousness can lead— into dark places where people do dark things to get what they want.
Sadly, Trump himself is a man who will do dark things to achieve his desires. He will step on others, just as we saw with the chants of “Hang Mike Pence” and the events of January 6th. People lost their lives that day, and people died yesterday too. These actions were not carried out by Christians, by people who love and respect each other, but by those who want something so badly that they will resort to unethical and immoral methods to get it. They will lie, cheat, break the rules, mistreat people, and even morally compromise themselves.
There’s a man on my street with a sign that reads, “I’m voting for the felon.” This shows how far people will go, utterly compromising their integrity to get what they want.
But Jesus taught us that we cannot fight evil with evil. We must fight evil with good. Trump may win in November and may even have some political successes, but if those victories are obtained through wicked means, then they are ill-gotten, and God will not be pleased.
When we reach heaven, God will not praise us for fighting evil with evil or for using immoral and corrupt methods to advance His kingdom. Those who engage in such behavior will not be in heaven; they will be in hell, among those who say, “Lord, Lord, didn’t we do all these things in your name?” and He will reply, “Depart from me, I never knew you.”
There are many good causes I would like to see prevail, and there are many positive things the Republican Party has stood for over the years. But recently, a deep and ugly corruption has been at the heart of it, and I’m not sure how much longer this will continue. But one thing is certain—time will move on. This is not the beginning of a civil war, nor is it the end of America. These events have nothing to do with the end of days or the end of the world. For those false preachers who claim otherwise, take note of their words today, and when none of it comes to pass, remember it.
Trump is not Cyrus. He has not been raised up by God to help the Jewish people rebuild the temple. That idea is from Satan, not from God. There is nothing in the Bible that suggests anything like that will ever happen. It is a fantasy created by false preachers, and when Trump is gone and none of it has come to pass, I hope you remember this and never listen to those preachers again.
I hope and pray that we all learn a lesson from what happened yesterday. It is because of these things that the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience. Do not be fooled by what people say, and do not partner with evil.
Vote for who you believe is the best option— that is all we can do. But don’t make a hero out of a wicked man who repeatedly spits in the face of Jesus.
Trump is no messiah, and he will not fix what is wrong with America. For that, we need Jesus, and Trump is certainly not pointing anyone toward Him. Instead, he is teaching people to be immoral, covetous, and idolatrous, and that is a tragedy. There has never been a more immoral president than Donald Trump, yet he was elected by the conservative Christian political party. That is astonishing, and for those of us who have spent our lives in a cult, we recognize gaslighting when we see it. We know what it’s like to have people ignore the facts and push an agenda, running over anyone who gets in their way. I have no respect for those tactics anymore.
As I bring this lesson to a close, I want to end on an encouraging note. Brothers and sisters, America has survived worse times than this. This is not the worst crisis we’ve ever faced, and no matter how this situation resolves, America will still be here in four years. Who knows, things might even be better. And no matter what happens, the Church will endure, because the gates of hell cannot prevail against the Church that Jesus Christ established, the Church that we are a part of today. One day, Jesus Himself will set all things in order.
Amen.
Prayer
Let us close in prayer.
Lord God,
I pray for our nation. I ask that you use this situation to wake people up, to help them step back and realize that everyone involved in these political battles has a responsibility to handle them in a way that reflects Christ, encouraging peace, love, and godliness.
I pray that you deliver our nation from the ungodly forces in both political parties that seek to hijack our society for their own ends. Use this situation to awaken Donald Trump and lead him to realize his need for You, bringing about true heart change in his life.
I pray that those who have compromised themselves by partnering with evil will receive a wake-up call and get out of harm’s way. I also ask that you silence the wicked and false preachers who have sold their souls, compromising themselves with evil, and who have deceived their congregations into believing that fighting evil with evil can bring about a victory that Christ is pleased with. Convict their hearts of their sin and lead them to repentance.
Finally, Lord, I pray for peace and comfort for the families who lost loved ones yesterday. May You console their grieving hearts.
We ask this in Jesus’ name.
Amen.