The Church is an Essential Service Provider

The year 2020 has experienced unprecedented, widespread and global outbreak of the coronavirus. As a result many governments have encouraged or imposed health measures to contain the spread of this highly infectious respiratory disease. Handwashing/sanitizing, wearing facemasks, maintaining a distance of at least a metre from each other and the so called social-distancing are some of the protocols. The immediate implication of the social distancing is the closure of institutions of learning and worship centres. As I write Trinity Baptist Church Nairobi met lastly on the 15^th of March!

However, institutions and businesses classified as ‘Essential Service Providers’ (ESP) have been permitted to operate. These institutions include; hospitals, police-stations, embassies, parliament, retail shops and food production companies. Doctors and all medics, police and other security officers, retail shop attendants, etc. are classified as ESP personnel.

The question that has been raised over and over again is whether the church is an ESP. In this article, I’m seeking to demonstrate the unique and essential nature of the church in provision of exclusive and essential services to the public, which cannot be provide any other way.

The purpose is for believers to be fully persuaded from the Scriptures that we have divine work to do and to be more confident in doing it as unto the Lord. It is not meant to either undermine the government or secure any preferential treatment by the government. However, we pray and hope that the government would always acknowledge the separation of civil and ecclesiastical authority by God and uphold the freedom of worship.

We shall consider this under the following headings:

1)       The Church is the Embassy of God

2)       The Church is the Hospital for the Undying Souls and Hearts of Men

3)       The Church is the Only Custodian of Truth

4)       The Church is the Minister of Love and Mercy

5)       The Church is the Only Beacon of Hope

Caveat

When I talk about church, I mean true churches where Christ Jesus is the Head. I do not mean each and every property or premise bearing the name ‘church’ or denomination, but those that truly represent Christ in truth, purity and godliness. Many, if not most, of the so called churches are really synagogues of Satan, dens of heresy, and assemblies of error. When I talk about Christians, I mean the regenerate (or born again) believers; that is, all those redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. These have repented of their sins and believed in Christ. Church attenders, hypocrites, carnal/nominal Christians and false professors of the faith are out of this church.

Is the church, an essential service provider?

The answer is a resounding, YES! The church of the living God, the body of Christ, is the very first essential service provider on earth. Why is it that God, the infinitely holy God, does not destroy the world which is so sin-infested? Is it that the Lord does not see or hear the wickedness of men? Does He lack the power to act? No, the Lord sees every unholy thought, every evil intent, every act of corruption, every deceit, every lie, every flirting, every hint of pride, every unrighteousness on earth. And if He was to mark our iniquities no one could be able to stand. The reason why God does not destroy this world, even with all the sins committed daily and continually, is because of His elect, His saints.

When God saw the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah, He decided to destroy it. But before He did, He told Abraham, His servant. And Abraham responded,

“Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place? And not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be it that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just? And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”[1]

So the reason why God has not poured fire and brimstone upon the earth is because of the righteous people in the world. The church has this preserving effect upon the earth.

Why is it that He does not remove those that He saves from this wicked world as soon as He saves them? These are some of the reasons that show that the church is an essential service provider, in the eyes of God, and so it should be seen as such by all and sundry.

1.      The Church is the Embassy of God

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2Corinthians 5:20). There is no government or kingdom that has withdrawn their ambassadors and consular officials because of the pandemic. As far as I know, Mrs Sarah Serem is still in China even though the virus began there. Even with the hundreds of thousands of infections and deaths in the US, Mr. Robinson Njeru Githae is still in his office in Washington DC.

Every human authority has been appointed by God (Romans 13:1). He who appointed emperors and kings, presidents and prime ministers, requires them to submit to Him. But they tend to be drunk with power and to abuse their authority. The church is the conscience of the society to remind them that they are accountable to God who appointed them. The church represents the interests of the owner of the universe. God desires all men to be saved to come to the knowledge of truth (1Timothy 2:4). Therefore the church prays for kings and all those in positions of authority so that there is peace and dignity on earth (1Timothy 2:2-3). The church also instructs all to obey authorities.

It should also be remembered that this world has been held hostage by the devil. And the only deliverer is Christ. The way by which salvation and deliverance is possible for the world is through faith in Christ. It is the church that upholds the manifesto of heaven by which there is the hope for the world as the embassy of God.

The message of the gospel we bear is the will of the King of kings. In this message of the gospel, God is making his appeal to the world through us. This is the only way by which the wicked world and sinful men can be reconciled to the infinitely holy God.

When Felix Carey, one of the sons of William Carey, was appointed ambassador in Calcutta, his father sought to dissuade him and he wrote, “Felix is shriveled from a missionary into an ambassador”. It is this understanding of the church’s exalted place before God that informed Carey’s position.

2.      The Church is the Hospital for the Undying Souls and Hearts of Men

While people are now in panic because they fear contracting the Covid_19 caused by a virus, they forget that there is a greater and worse fatal sickness called sin. All are sick of sin (Romans 3:23) and this leads to death (Romans 6:23). And all need the Physician (Matthew 9:12; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:31). Christ is the Great Physician who heals the sick. It is Christ who is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). It is Christ who is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). The church exists to proclaim this good news to the world.

One of the great problems with this sin-sick world is that the general unwillingness to admit the sickness of sin, or even to have it diagnosed. While the church diagnoses and treats this disease through the gospel, the world prefers anything else but what the church offers. It is this disdain for medication that makes the world consider the church so disdainful. It is this same reason that causes the civil leaders to usurp authority and lord it over the church by pronouncing the closure of churches even when they do not have the authority to do so. The church is not under the civil authority, it is an ecclesiastical authority under the rule of Christ and any leader purporting to legislate how the church is to conduct herself is simply mistaken.

The church treats the invisible part of the human being – the soul. There are surgeons who can operate human hearts and brains. But no human doctor can heal a broken heart, or a hopeless soul or a twisted or seared conscience. There is no medical doctor, even the most learned or experienced who can offer any medication to deal with these human problems. Yet, pastors are physicians of the souls of men. I know a celebrated doctor in the last century, Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who served as the assistant physician to the Queen of England’s doctor. Knowing this truth, he decided to become a physician of souls and for 30 years served as the pastor of Westminster Chapel in London. Dr. Lloyd-Jones rested from all his labours on 1 March 1981.

Christ has sent the Great Surgeon of the hearts of men – the Holy Spirit. The human problem is in the heart. We need the wonderful operation of the Spirit who removes the heart of stone and replaces it with the heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26). This service is only to be found in the church of Christ.

The church is concerned in human beings welfare now, and in the life to come. We bear the message of resurrection – life after death. We show people that though they may die, yet they shall live again, whether they are well or not.

3.      The Church is the Only Custodian of the Truth

The media houses and journalists are at large. Journalists are allowed to go to different locations even during curfew hours, even to the areas that have been locked down. And why? Because they should be reporting to us what is going on, in real time. The right to information and freedom of expression is one of the fundamental human rights. And whatever became of the right of worship which is also on the Bill of Human Rights?

How sure are we that these media houses are not simply shaping the public opinion and telling people what they want to hear? After all that is what the fourth estate is all about – to inform the public and shape public opinion. Yet the house that does not simply bear the news but the good news, the house of God, has been deemed as non-essential service provider. We read from the Scriptures from 1Timothy 3:15 that the church is the church of the Living God which is the pillar and buttress of truth. The church proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ who is the Way, the TRUTH and the Life – NO one come to the Father except through Him (John 14:6)

The Bible bears the message of God that sets the standard of morality and foundation for ethics. The church not only preaches the truth, but remains as the only custodian of morality. We live at a time when the moral fabric of the society is breaking. This is because both the church and her message have been rejected.

We preach love for the neighbour as for oneself. We bear the golden rule – whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets (Matthew :12). We bear the message of peace because we are peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). After all our King is the Prince of Peace and the King of righteousness. We do this work of peace-making better than the police and all prisons combined.

4.      The Church is the Minister of Love and Mercy to the World

While there are many philanthropic and charitable organizations, most of which were began by Christians, yet the church is the one that offers the love of God in Christ to the world in word and deed. The church itself is the great evidence of God’s love to hell-deserving sinners, whereby His rich grace and mercy has rescued us from the punishment we deserve. When the Lord Jesus did his ministry on earth, he healed the sick and fed the hungry. He sought the lost and the destitute and gave them hope and destiny.

The Christian church has faithfully served, and through the various world crisis helped. In the 1^st Century pandemics, the church came through to offer relief and mercy to the suffering. History is littered with signs of such men and women of Christian faith like Dorcas Tabitha of Acts 9:36-42), Martin Luther (during the Bubonic Plague), William Carey in India, Florence Nightngale among others.

There is no doubt that Christianity is a religion of love. Charitable work is given without any strings attached. True believers would simply give, without letting the left hand know what the right is giving. We see politicians giving help and they have the audacity to print their pictures on facemasks, sanitizers, etc. because for them it is to score political mileage. We give to show God’s love to a suffering world.

Any self-respecting church has their mercy ministry busy at a time like this. When we distribute food, we don’t tell the world. We simply serve the needy.

5.      The Church is the Only Beacon of Hope

This sin-sick and sin-ridden world is steeped in misery and hopelessness. People are not just dealing with one sickness of the Coronavirus but also many other illnesses some even terminal like cancer. All the misery as a result of sin is still with us today. Family conflicts have been heightened by this pandemic. Financial pressure has been greatly exacerbated by the lockdown. The labelling of some job as essential service so that businesses have been shut down. As I write, the Kenyan government estimates that more than half a million people have lost jobs. The Central Bank of Kenya claims that most small scale business will shut down. In simple terms people are suffering spiritually, emotionally, economically and physically. They need help. They need not just a few thousand shillings, or food packs, but solid joy and lasting hope, which is only found in Jesus Christ.

Distress and depression cannot be dealt by the superficial methods that the state tends to gravitate towards. Psychological counselling or psychiatric therapy, are not able to bring healing to the human heart. The heart is the wellspring of life (Prov. 4:23). And for it to flow with this life, it has to be connected to Christ who is the Fountain of life (John 4:14). Show me a single institution that can successfully offer this wellspring of life to human beings?

Men have undying souls. There is no hospital that treats these souls except the true church of Christ that administers the true gospel. There is healing only by the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Only the church gives an indefinite expiry date to the souls of men. Hope beyond the grave cannot be done by the doctors who only treat the body.

Conclusion

Now show me any other institution on earth that discharges these duties? Neither the president nor the police can effectively take the responsibilities that God has assigned to the church. Neither the magistrates nor the judges of the Supreme Court can fulfil the righteousness that God demands of us. Neither parastatal corporate entities nor private companies are able to faithfully represent God on earth. It is the church which is the body of Christ.

To fix our confidence or our hope on this world is the height of human folly. It is like bird that builds its nest upon a tree that is being cut down, or decorating a cabin of a sinking ship. This virus demonstrates that the axe is at the root of all our earthly comforts. We all are banking on the hope that the virus is going away perhaps next week, maybe next month, maybe next year... but who knows? The curfew and inter-county lockdown has been extended again and again yet the numbers continue to rise.

If you were wise you would not try to put up your nest upon a dying tree, nor put your comforts upon a sinking ship, nor build your house upon the sands, but that you would anchor your soul upon Christ, who is the Rock of Ages. Then you would belong to a biblical church, where Christ is enthroned, and the truth of his gospel is espoused and lived. Then you would belong to the community of believers for whom Christ bought, and for whom he gave his Spirit, and for whom He is interceding, and for whom He soon shall come to take to be his royal bride.

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[1] Genesis 18:23-26.

Please read the rest of the verses Genesis 18: 27-33 and see that God said that it is within the realm of his holy justice not to destroy the righteous with the wicked and so for the sake of even 10 He was would have relented from destroying Sodom and Gomorrah.

#Covid_19 Epidemic: It is the Finger of God

Can anyone give a better account of the Coronavirus? If he can, let him speak out like a man, and tell us who caused it and why it has come now. To say that it originated in China; or it is lab-generated; or that it is not a new but a strain of an old virus known us corona; or to go into a diatribe of its damage and to give accurate daily death tolls globally or to venture into scientific projections of infections or deaths; — all this is evading the question. I repeat the question, who caused it? What possible causes can be assigned for it that have not existed for hundreds of years? I believe these question cannot be answered by an atheist. For atheists deny the existence of the one who designed them, how can they possibly think that there is one who sovereignly rules his universe? It is beyond their mental capacity. 
Who has afflicted the world like this? Is it A. Man B. Satan C. God? 
If you say man you assign man a hat too big for him. If you say Satan, you expose the underbelly of your theology. For Satan to do anything, he has to be permitted or allowed by God. Satan is God's unwilling servant. He could not touch Job unless after God let him. The answer is C - it is God who has afflicted us. God in his sovereignty, is the only with the power to afflict the globe like this. Just as the Lord sent a global flood in the days of Noah, so only God can send global epidemic like Covid_19 in 2020.

 

WHY? I ask to be told why it has come upon us now? How and in what way can the outbreak be accounted for at this particular period? The reason is in Genesis 3 – it is one of the effects of the curse upon Adam & Eve and their posterity. Adam’s sin brought God’s curse to us. It brought pests and diseases; thorns and thistles; enmity and hatred; battles and wars; and it brought physical and spiritual death. Human sin is the reason for Covid_19 outbreak.

I believe that the only cause that we must come to as last is, the finger of God! It is God's just retribution for the sins of men. But... you say, God is loving and merciful. Yes indeed - God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. God keeps steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. That is one side of the coin of God's attributes. The other side is also true. God is also holy, just and righteous and he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children, and the children’s children to the third and fourth generation (Ex. 34:6-7) of those who hate him. God hates idolatry of our day. God detests sexual perversion – homosexuality and gender fluidity of our day. God has nothing to do with the LGBTQ agenda. God abhors murderers – millions of babies are killed by their mothers in collusion with wicked doctors every day in the name of choice. God’s prerogative to punish the evil doer is justified and while I cannot say with absolute certainty that Coronavirus has been sent by God because of all these unrighteousness of men, yet I am sure that the wages of sin is death. Since God will send to hell those who remain in sin and unbelief, it is only fair to say that God has given up the earth to be mauled by a tiny virus. And Covid_19 is nothing compared to hell for unbelievers and hypocrites.

You may argue that I am overemphasizing the holiness and justice of God. Well, I am not.  But let me emphasize the love of God. How has God displayed his love and his mercy and grace to the world? John 3:16. He loved the world and sent his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  He came to save his people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). He lived a perfectly sinless life and obtained righteousness. Christ took the place of sinners and died the sinners' death on the cross to pay the penalty due for our sins. Christ is the only remedy for sins of men. So... yes, God is merciful and he has provided the way of escape from the present corruption and debauchery in the world. He has sent his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. 
How do you appropriate this blessing of Christ? Believe in Jesus Christ and you will be saved (Acts 16:31). Repent of your sins and call for his mercy (Luke 18:13). And having believed in Him for your eternal salvation, even if you were to contract the virus today, it is not death to die, for Christ killed death for all who are in Him. I do not believe that being in Christ insures us from contracting the virus or any other disease for that matter. Those who teach that Christ came into the world that we may be healthy and wealthy are greatly mistaken. Some faithful God’s children have already contracted and others will contract the virus. But we know that for those who love God, all things (joy & sorrow; good health & sickness; poverty & riches, etc.) work together for their good (Rom. 8:28).

Though Corona virus may not kill you but sin will most certainly kill your body and cast your soul to hell apart from Christ. Corona can only kill the body - not the soul. Oh, that the world would fear sin more than the virus and love Christ more than any vaccine or medicine! Oh that the Great Physician, the Lord Jesus Christ, may be all the more loved by the world of sinful men out of this epidemic! I desire that praises may ring all over the world from this present distress.

Let God’s children call for help from on high. The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials. He will not punish the righteous with the wicked (Gen. 18:25-26) and so, soon Coronavirus will be averted and the Finger of God will be withdrawn from the world, but soon a greater calamity will be revealed will Christ will judge the world with equity, justice and righteousness... and where will you be? The storm will soon be over, but the world will have been shaken by the Almighty God. 

May his name be praised for ever!

A Godly Response to Coronavirus Pandemic - Part 3

What should we be thinking about at this time of global pandemic? Should you spend all the time checking the new figures or the high rate of infection? How do you invest your mind? What do you think and meditate on? GOD! 

We should think, and meditate on God – his sovereignty, his goodness and his grace, his love and mercy, his holiness and justice …all his attributes, communicable and incommunicable. Let us seek the Lord today. Let us know that God reigns and superintends over all the affairs of his creatures.

Anyone who thought that God after creation took leave of his creation is mistaken. He is at work and, believe it or not, God has brought the Covid_19 upon the world! Listen to what God says through his prophet, Isaiah:

I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things. (Isa 45:5-7)

Here is the last consideration on a godly response to this global pandemic:

REMEMBER THAT GOD IS OUR PORTION FOREVER

The Psalmist in Psalm 73:26 simply states, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

The verse that we have been meditating on, is both grim (for it actually envisages death, when Asaph says, “My flesh and my heart may fail…”) and also full of life and hope. The conviction arrived at is that even in that last and bitterest extremity ‘God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.’ Therefore God remains and should remain the best and the greatest treasure that death cannot rob us of, and even in the very experience of dying, God supports his own and is more than ever their best possession. A fullness of faith and conviction speaks in these utterances that scarcely ever mounts to higher levels in the whole of the Old Testament.[1]

So what does it mean that God is my portion? Using the Principle of interpretation of Scripture called Analogy of Scripture (or simply put, scripture interprets scripture), we look at other passages of Scripture that use this language:

David in Psalm 16:5 – The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.

Psalm 119: 57 – The LORD is my portion; I promise to keep your words.

Psalm 142:5 – I cry to you, O LORD; I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living."

Jeremiah, engulfed by trouble in Lamentation simply says in 3:24, "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."

Portion could also be rendered inheritance – that which lawfully falls to one’s share at is used in Psalm 16:5 and Psalm 17:14. And so W.S. Plumer – whose commentary is regarded as the loftiest in Christendom, says of this verse, “A child of God though he suffer long and severely, fares well; for he has God for his portion. It is far otherwise with the wicked.”[2]

 In this term, Asaph is saying that whatever the Lord has sent his way is His will, but he is comforted by the fact that the Lord will always be his. God will not forsake him, and therefore in all circumstances, especially of trouble, he looks to God and He waits upon God both to deliver him and to take him where He is. Hengstenberg commenting on this verse says, “It is clear as day that this passage contains the germ of the doctrine of the resurrection.”[3]

Spurgeon on the other hand commenting on it says,

“His God would not fail him, either as a protection or a joy. His heart would be kept up by divine love, and filled eternally with divine joy. After having been driven far out to sea, Asaph casts anchor in the old port. We shall do well to follow his example. There is nothing desirable save God: let us, then, desire only him. All other things must pass away; let our hearts abide in him, who alone abideth for ever.”[4]

1)      Pursue Godliness by making good use of the times and the means

God is our portion forever. His presence is our portion even in the valley of the shadow of death is enough. For God is not only my shield to defend and protect me from those enemies of my body and soul but He is also my portion to supply all my needs. His love, his grace, his mercy and his peace shall always be enough and sufficient and more than sufficient.

Because God is our portion, his word is our portion as well. This is what we sing in the song Amazing grace – The Lord has promised good to me, His Word my hope secures, He will my shield and portion be, as long as life endures. Therefore, let us read, and study the Scriptures, daily and regularly. Let us meditate on his Word day and night. Let us resolve, that since we are either locked in, or under compulsory quarantine, we shall spend much of our time in the Word of God, personally and with our families. If you need materials to use in instructing your children in the things of God, then contact us. We have many resources that can enrich your soul. Just call us on +728431067 or email Murungi@trinity.or.ke

His people, the church is our portion as well. The Lord God, in his sovereignty and wisdom, has used it to straighten our ecclessiology: The lockdown effectively demonstrates that church is not about buildings - it is about being united with Christ and his body (the church), not just when we assemble, but always, wherever we are! Therefore, let us deliberately seek to build close ties with our spiritual family – the church, after all we are members, one of another. We should call them and chat with them more regularly. Pastors need to be deliberate in providing spiritual nourishment to the church members so that even though for a while we part, this thought will soothe our hearts, that we shall soon be joined together either here on earth or in heaven, with the Lord. Make use of the WhatsApp (and other social media) to connect with the brethren. Yet we must not be so sucked into the social media as to neglect other vital disciplines.

The time he has given us to live is our portion. The present distress is a divinely instituted decree – it is our portion. We shall not take one and reject the other – we shall not receive good from the Lord and not evil. Now we are to learn to make good use of the providence he has given us. Now that you have to be at home, then be at home and use the time for the profit of your soul.
I know some men are complaining about the curfew, hindering them from going to the pub and catching up with friends. But I ask you, when did catching up with your drinking buddies become more important than your wife and children? Spend the time with children. Be the headmaster or the principal of your children's education.

You had thought or said that you do not pray so much because you lack time. Pray using the weekly Prayer List and the monthly Prayer Diary. Pray for your relatives who are unbelievers and neighbours as well. You had claimed that you lagged behind because of the lack of time read the Bible – now you have the time – read it.

Again you have your relatives – they are your portion. Call your parents and your sisters and brothers and give them God’s portion and calm them for most people are in panic. Seek to intentionally build closer ties with people that you were hindered by your busy schedule from being of ministry to them.

IN CONCLUSION

In every storm you would seek a tree to shelter; in every danger, you would seek a city of refuge to secure you; and in every difficulty you would be wise to look for a solution; in every darkness you would want to have a light to guide you; and in every peril, you need a shield to defend you; and in every distress, a cordial to strengthen you; and in every trouble, a staff to support you; in every sickness, you would seek a doctor to treat you – why would you not seek the Lord Jesus Christ while He may be found? Is he not the Great Physician to the sick, the Good Shepherd for the flock, the Bread of life to the hungry, the resurrection and the life to the dying? Why would you delay and postpone coming to the only hope for your soul? Turn to Christ and live!

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[1] H.C. Leupold, D.D. The Exposition of the Psalms, Columbus, OH, Baker Book House, P.531

[2] W.S. Plumer, Psalms, Banner of Truth, Edinburgh, p.715

[3] The Works of Hengstenberg, Vol 6 The Psalms, p. 414

[4] C.H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, vol.2. Hendricksen p.

A Godly Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic - Part 2

Before we consider another godly way of responding to this global pandemic, let us consider the reason behind the outbreak of Covid_19.

Why Coronaviruses?

Why are we faced by this situation?  ‘Why’ may be a lingering question you may have… why did God who is eternally good allow this terrible sickness on earth? It is very easy to conclude that Covid_19 is a lab-made pandemic – and it may as well be. But you do not know, neither do I.  It is not necessary to swim to the conspiracy theories that are doing their rounds. 

Therefore we need to forget these speculations and conspiracy theories for they only contribute to more panic. We are instead to honour God as holy and Him alone we are to fear for he alone can kill both the body and cast the soul into hell (Matt 10:28).

Who does not know that the world has been swimming in sin? God sounded this Coronaviruses as a thunderbolt to stop this sinful madness. The world has been calling evil good and good evil. The world has lost any appetite for the things of God – even in the church! Who reads the Bible consistently? Who prays earnestly? 

Truth has been ridiculed and evil and error celebrated. The perversion of sexual immorality, homosexuality, LGBTQ agenda was endorsed as alternative lifestyle - yet these are abominations. Abortion, which is the indiscriminate murder of the innocent babies in the womb by their own mothers has been celebrated as choice - yet God says it is murder. The whole world has been gasping under the pollution of pornography and some called it freedom of expression - yet it is perversion and defilement. Sex slavery is being paraded in the form of porn! Chronic corruption in the governments has been hailed as politics and integrity and good governance are only words used by NGOs to get  external funding. 

But now the Lord, the God Almighty has roared. He has cracked his whip and roared – who shall not be afraid? Remember that when prophet Habbakkuk thought that God was sitting idly not doing anything to the wickedness of his day? God responded that he will do something that no one would believe – what he has done is in so many ways unbelievable. Who would have thought that the world, as developed as it is today could be sent into panic by a virus? Did you think economies like China, Italy and the US could be so paralyzed by a virus?

What is the purpose of trials and afflictions in God’s scheme of things? So that the afflicted and distressed Christians may have a proper salve for every sore from the Great Physician who heals the sick – the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the proper remedy against every disease, at hand. 

Afflictions become a mirror by which we see the true human nature. Here you may see your face, your head, your hand, your heart, your ways, your works, and know how you have failed to glorify him. But we also see the inconsistencies of pagans and atheists as they also try to offer some help. Thank God they are offering humanitarian aid (not as much as Christians of course) but their help to the suffering condemns their convictions. For it shows that they do bear the image of God - for this we as thankful that God's common grace cannot be obliterated even in the unbelief of men. 

In good health one may be unable to see all his spiritual diseases. It is while in affliction that proper remedies are proposed and applied. Here you may find all your arguments silenced.

How do we respond in a godly way to this pandemic?

1.     REMEMBER THAT GOD IS OUR STRENGTH

My flesh and my heart may fail… BUT GOD is my strength. God is the strength of my heart. God is my strength and he should be your strength too. It does matter what you may be going through right now – it may not necessarily be Corona viruses. It may be that you have physical sickness you are dealing with, or emotional issues, or serious social challenges – let God be your strength. You may be frustrated with your husband or feel tired with your wife; it could be that you are very annoyed by your children; it is possible that you feel emotionally drained, lonely and under serious stress and possible depression – let the Lord be your strength. I suppose you may have financial pressures – with no job, or perhaps your business has collapsed and you have debts or loan to pay and bills demanding your attention. May we all find the Lord our help, our strength and our Deliverer. He is the keeper of his people Israel and he will not let our feet be moved – remember he does not sleep or slumber.

If you are going to win the race set before you or win the battle marked out for you – then you should not look up to the hills, but to the Lord from where your help comes. Your help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. So the sun shall not strike you by day nor moon by night – the Lord will keep you from all evil, he will keep your life. He will keep your going and your coming in from this time forth and evermore (Psalm 121).

1)      Be orthodox in your understanding of God – he is sovereign

God knows who is and who will be infected. God knows where each of the Corona Viruses are located now and he will direct them to where and to whom he wants infected when he wants. He is the Sovereign God who governs, preserves, and directs them all to do his will and to accomplish his purposes. He is in heaven and he does whatsoever he pleases (Psalm 115:3). Whatever the Lord pleases he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps – it is he who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightenings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses. He it was who struck down the firstborns of Egypt, both man and of beast (Psalm 135:6-10). God does all things – and so with Job we ask, “Shall we receive good from God and shall we not receive evil? (Job 2:10). Let the whole world know that the LORD our God is but one living and true God; whose subsistence is in an of himself. God is infinite in being and perfection, whose essence cannot be comprehended by any but himself. He is the most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, who only has immortality, dwelling in inapproachable light. God is immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, every way infinite, most holy, most wise, most free, most absolute. He is working all things according to the counsel of his own immutable and most righteous will for His own glory. He is most loving, gracious, merciful, long suffering, abundant in goodness and truth. He is constantly forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, the rewarder of them that diligently seek him, withal most just and terrible in his judgments, hating all sin, and who will by no means clear the guilty.

We must realize that God has decreed in Himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably, all things whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin nor has fellowship with any therein. God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass, upon all supposed conditions, yet has he not decreed anything because He foresaw it as future, or as that which would come to pass upon such conditions (Rom. 9:11, 13, 16, 18).

2)      Be Balanced and Sober in your actions

It is true that God will shower with love to his children always. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28). But we also know that what seem good to us may not be so good before the all seeing eye of God. We need to appreciate that what our Father wills is the best – so if he wills Coronaviruses, then Coronaviruses pandemic is better than global health. When he wills weakness, then weakness is better than strength. When he wills poverty, then poverty is better than riches. When he wills shame and dishonour, then shame and dishonour is better than honour and high esteem. If our heavenly Father wills that we should be dead, then death is better than life. Whatever the Father wills is the best for his children even though they may not know why it is better, it is because they are convinced of his everlasting love.

We therefore need must do what God has instructed us to do for our own good and the welfare of our neighbours. We must not be fatalists abdicating our responsibility to do what is right when it is within our power to do it.

3)      Keep away from the sin of presumption

To presume on the promises of God is sinful. To conclude that just because you are a Christian therefore you cannot be infected or die, is presumption. Has God indeed said that his children will not suffer any sickness or lack? Is God's will that his children will not suffer? Before you quote Jeremiah 29:11 for me, remember that the context of the verse is a letter that Jeremiah had written to the exiles telling them that God will deliver them after 70 years. The good plan was to remain in the Babylonian exile for that long.

The Bible is clear that rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry (1 Sam. 15:23) and it is this very sin that led to the rejection of Saul as king of Israel. Therefore, it is sinful to take God’s promise of care, protection and act irresponsibly. We must not put the Lord our God to the test – it is true God cannot be tempted by evil. It is also true that God has given us promises in his word, some of the promises are universal like, ‘believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you would be saved.’ That was true of the Philippian Jailor in Acts 16:31 and it is true of you today because this is what the rest of the Scriptures teach.

However, for false prophet like TB Joshua to claim that the Coronavirus will be cleared by rain and such like careless statements and for anyone to believe those pronouncements, shows a serious failure to use one’s own mental capacity, ignorant of the Scriptures and the power of God. It is irresponsible to fail to use medication, or to refuse to sanitize your hands, or to continue with your life as usual without using the physical means that God has appointed.

If you neglect your responsibility, then you need to be prepared to face the consequences of your actions. Don’t listen to those false prophets and preachers who proclaim peace when there is no peace or give OT promises without paying attention to the context. Paul had been unjustly arrested in Jerusalem and had to appeal to Caesar in order that he would save his life from the evil Jews who wanted to kill him. Enroute to Rome, they were shipwrecked but the Lord assured him, “Do not be afraid, Paul you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.” A few hours later, these men in the ship with him wanted to escape and so Paul had to give the warning, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 27:24,31). It is clear that with the promise there was divine means by which God had intended to preserve these people. 

We must not presume upon God’s promises if we have no use for God-appointed means. We believe that God is sovereign and we believe that we are responsible. We believe God is sovereign and we believe that the sovereign God has appointed the means of accomplishing his purposes.

A Godly Response to Covid_19 Pandemic - Part 1

This is the first of three messages on how to respond in a godly way to the global outbreak of Coronavirus.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psa 73:26)

How do we respond to a global pandemic as believers?

1.     REMEMBER THAT OUR FLESH AND OUR HEART MAY FAIL

Since the fall of man into sin in Genesis 3, we are susceptible to all the effects of curse because of sin – thorns and thistles, pests and diseases, sicknesses and ailments; Immuno-deficiency and cancer; SARS or whatever causes Covid_19. All these may not only infect me and you, these diseases including the current pandemic may kill, yes could kill me and you. Therefore, we need to know this – our flesh and our heart may fail. The flesh may collapse and die. The heart may stop pumping blood. But this phrase, flesh and heart encompasses the whole being – the body and soul. Human frailty is being demonstrated by the tiny virus. Brevity of life is constantly shown whenever we hear of deaths of one kind or another. By 25^th March Italy had lost almost 7,000 persons to Coronaviruses complications and there was about 500,000 people infected globally.

1)      Do not Panic or Fear the Pandemic

Let us first appreciate that it is normal to fear… even to fear death because death is our enemy. But it is wrong to fear what is not to be feared. God constantly warns his people not to live in fear of anything or anyone other than himself. It is God himself who is to be feared – not death. And yes… I have no fear of contradiction in saying that God has sent Coronavirus pandemic so that he may be feared. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (Prov. 9:10). At almost every place where God says do not fear, he also promises to be with us. I will take one such example. The Lord told Isaiah,

"Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honour as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.  (Isa 8:12-13)

How do we fear the Lord? We are to fear the Lord by calling upon him when he is near. The way to stop fear is to believe God. The Lord Jesus Christ taught – “Do not fear only believe” (Mark 5:36; Luke 8:50). Faith in God is the antidote to fear, and only those who are in Christ are immune to this servile fear.

Secondly, let us not panic... it is one thing to fear, it is another to be gripped by fear to the extent that you panic. Right now the world is hysterical because people are afraid of contracting the disease, lest they die. It is seems to me that the media is basically sending the whole world into panic mode. The mainstream media and social media are contributing to the panic mode that we are dealing with right now. To panic is to allow the pandemic to paralyze you so that you are unable to do what you ought to be doing. There is no need to panic because you may not contract it... and even if you do you are unlikely to die. And if you were to die, you would never die again - there is only one death per person. In any case you will not die a day early or a day later than when God has appointed for you! Therefore do not panic - God is on the throne.

2)      Death is bound to come at one time or another

The Psalmist says as a matter of fact – my flesh and my heart may fail – “I am frail.” He is not fretting, he is not afraid of his physical circumstances. He simply acknowledges the fact that these eventualities may befall him. What if you contracted this sickness? What if you died? Let us remember that it is appointed for man to die – just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned (Rom. 5:12). And again, just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment (Heb. 9:27)

Therefore, death of one cause or another will come, it is not a matter of if but of when. Sometime in the near future or sometime in the far future, death will come upon us. We may be fearful or be afraid – but that will not stop death from coming. The sure way to be prepared for death is to be found in Christ who conquered death. It is Christ to whom we should go who alone is the way the truth and the life. It is to Christ alone we should go, in whom alone immortality dwells. It is to Christ alone we should turn for this life and for the one to come.

This problem affects everyone and this is pandemic is not the only one that has ever struck the globe. Let us realize that whether we like it or not, we are in a pandemic-stricken earth. This is a fact. People are infected and those infected are infecting others usually unawares and sometimes out of negligence. Thousands upon thousands are sick and others are dying. Not long from now many more will be infected and it is possible that it will be in the Millions very soon.  It is written,

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond what your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Cor. 10:13)

It is possible that some of us will be infected and die. The Lord says do not fear for I am with you. God says that we are not to be dismayed because the Lord will give us aid. He will strengthen us and cause us to stand, upheld by his righteous omnipotent hand.

It is not possible for non-believers not to fear or panic. They are on their own. They are not saved by Christ, nor are they indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. They do not have the promises of God. They are bound to not only fear but to panic. You who is not saved from your sins; you who have not believed in the Lord Jesus Christ – you need to fear, now than ever before. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth (Rom. 1:18). The Lord will deal with the world of ungodliness as he dealt with those who lived in the days of Noah. Therefore, fear the Lord and believe in his Son and live. This is the sure way to be delivered from fear. It is the only way in which you will receive a new heart, a heart that cannot fail at any cost.

If your flesh and heart fails today. If all your support gave way today. If you contracted a terminal illness today. If Coronavirus was to come upon you today – where would you turn? Would you turn to self-pity and die? Would you weep your eyes sore in self-pity… and what could that accomplish for you? – Nothing! If you called all the people you know, and used all the money you have – would that help you? Unless you turned to the Giver of life, the healer of souls and heart, the Lord Jesus Christ, there would be no eternal hope for you. If you died in unbelief and rebellion, God will certainly send you to hell. If you die without Christ, there will be hell for you.

TURN TO Christ and live!

This was initially a message preached at Trinity Baptist Church on the 22nd March 2020.
Here is the link

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[1] 1689 LBCF, Chapter 22.1,