How to Deal with a Pandemic

The title of the message I want to speak to you today is how to deal with a pandemic.

This has been declared. Now, finally, a pandemic by the World Health Organization and CDC, and as Christians who know the Lord. How do we deal with something like this dear seems to be rampant, uncertainty is rampant.

So what what are we as God's people do well.

I have four suggestions for you and then were going to answer the most important question, but will get there in a minute.

Here are my four suggestions number one in a situation like we are in number one, we need to first be certain that we have eternal life. We need to be certain that whether it's here on earth or after we leave earth that we have eternal life that Jesus dispenses and they were going to be with him in heaven because my friends is so true were not afraid to die then for the first time were not afraid to live and fear comes from uncertainty and God wants there to be no uncertainty whatsoever about our eternal destiny. Once we've given our heart and life to Jesus Christ. God says, first John chapter 5 verse 11 and this is the record that God has given us his son and that he has given us eternal life in his son. He who has the son has eternal life, and he who does not have the son of God does not have eternal life, and I save it be simpler than that. Then the next verse up to verse John 513 says these things I have written to you who believe on the name of the son of God and ask us if we believe in Christ as our Lord and Savior. Now watch these things I've written to you so that you may KNOW so that you may know for certain that you have eternal life. The regard to choose to refer pay NOW is the word only God which in the Greek language means to know something empirically as true and as certain there's another word translated no channel W reported no scope which means that we know something more because of an experiential situation we've experienced that. So we know it but but that's not the word to choose here.

Our experience has nothing to do with knowing that we have eternal life. We know it intrinsically and we know it. Without a doubt, because the word of God says it, and when God says it, we can take it to the back and I think of the many people around the world right now who don't know for certain what's going to happen to them after they leave this life and I appreciate the fact that they're scared. I appreciate the fact that they are in terror. Thinking about facing death. With this, a pandemic and I was at that place. As a young college student not having the slightest idea was was going to happen to me. On the other side of the great and listening to all the theories about being blown out like a candle or just sleeping going back to sleep forever or whatever those they were, but man when I came to Jesus Christ. He made me free from the fear of death. Jesus said in John chapter 8 youth youth.

The Son of Man makes you free use shall be free in D and he meant yes, free from the power of sin over us of free from those self-destructive passions that will destroy our life absolutely means that, but he also means free from the fear of death in Hebrews chapter 2 comments on this when it says that God in the form of Jesus came to the earth and one of his purposes was to free those of us who had been subject to fear, the fear of death all our life because of Satan. And so a child of God. It's part of our birthright, my friend. It is part of our inheritance as children of God through Jesus Christ that eternal life is ours. Jesus said, he who believes in me has present tense eternal life.

You and I are not going to get anymore eternal life.

When we die as followers of Christ than we have right this moment we have all the eternal life that God is ever going to give us when we die here on this earth.

All that happens is that people who already have eternal life.

Go to the place where people with eternal life, spend eternity and that is heaven so having the confidence having that assurance is central to facing any crisis in life, not just a pandemic. Anything in life can serve an automobile accident, whatever it may be a financial crisis, we need to know what what our eternal destiny is beyond any shadow of the doubt and that kind of certainty is only found in the Lord Jesus Christ and I know that we all run into people that we tell them we know we have eternal life.

They become very put out and they say what an arrogant statement. You know you have eternal life. How arrogant can you be to say something like that while friends of the women being arrogant. We're just reflecting the truth of the word of God and when we will have eternal life because we did anything special or because we're good we have it because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross because he shed his blood to cover us from the holiness of God and to cover our sin from the judgment of God.

So there is no arrogance in. It's a simple fact and we need to know that and may I say before we move on to the next point. This is a wonderful time to tell other people about how they can know they have eternal life. People right now are thinking about eternity there thinking about their mortality.

There there thinking about the mortality of their loved ones.

What a wonderful open door for us to tell people how they can settle this issue with no for certain they're going to heaven.

We need to be bold with the gospel with our relatives bold with the gospel with our friends and our coworkers at this time and right now there's an open door because of the coronavirus that normally we don't get with people because they're not normally worried about their mortality like they are now.

So, may I encourage you to step up step out and be bold in sharing the gospel as Paul said, I am not ashamed of the gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. And this is needs to be our attitude.

Lord, help me not to be ashamed of the gospel proud of the gospel instead and willing to share it with everyone from the door – guy would delivers your food to the cashier in the supermarket to our coworkers at the next desk with the gospel now number two how do we deal with a pandemic first. We have to be certain that we have eternal life. But the second thing that I would say is that we need to be bold in prayer against this pandemic.

I'm reminded in the book of first Chronicles and you can also find it in second Samuel, where, because of the of something David did a God sent a horrible plague upon the nation of Israel, and people were dying by the tens of thousands in this play, and because people were praying, including David God suspended the plate. He told the angel of the destroying angel become read about it. Stop that skip that's enough for Nico over Don and the angel stopped right then and there, and so did the play, my friends, I believe that God has the power and I hope you do also to shut this plague down simply with a thought. He doesn't even need the state he so powerful to stuff talk God can shut this thing right down and I think as followers of Jesus we need to be bold in praying that God indeed will do that now I know that the president referred to this in a number of weeks ago about a miracle happening and he's taken some tremendous criticism for that from people saying this is filing and set and selling well yeah I'm not justifying the present one where the other under saying miracles happen. God still injects himself into this natural world and does things that are Ephesians 320 that are exceedingly abundantly greater than we could ask or even imagine Jesus said, John Jeremiah 33 three call on to me and I will answer saith the Lord, and I will show you great and mighty things that you know not.

This is our God, the one who (this is our God, the one who made the sun standstill for Gideon.

This is our God, who brought the plagues upon Egypt. This is our God who triumphed over death at the cross and then rose from the dead to prove it. This is our God, who is made the world with the word Hebrews chapter 1 says this virus is no problem for our God. If he wants to.

Now I don't know if he wants to or not.

I'm not God I don't know his plan, but I know enough to pray and ask him to do a supernatural intervention in our world and simply tell this plague to halt and I believe God's people who understand the power of God and understand the power of prayer, then we should be doing this. I don't care who thinks it's silly. Let them think whatever they want.

We know God. We know what he can do and he says praying I will answer and we need to be bold in our personal prayer life and bold. If we meet with the group for prayer that we are praying to this end, number three how to deal with a pandemic will number three I would say is don't over spiritualize say what is that mean well I had a friend of mine who had terrible galloped in his feet and in his legs, and I don't I don't know too much about galloped will, but I know it is an inflammation and that it makes it it's like on a scale of 1 to 10 pain 10 being the top like it can be on 11 and you can't walk and it's horrible, and so when I would talk with him. I would say you know there's medicine for this volunteer recidivism. Good medicine for this and you take it and it will want to get out is reduced without a shot a steroid shot or cortisone shot. Then it will control down and I kept saying to him, you should go. You should go see a doctor than this, he can make this better and my friend kept saying no no I'm trusting God to heal me and I kissing him to come to understand a God uses medicine and the natural laws of what we discovered about diseases he can use that to heal you, doesn't have to be a completely supernatural healing out of nowhere and my friend would not do it and he lived the last few years of his life in incredible pain. He's passed away now and is with the Lord because he over spiritualize this. You remember the old joke about where the man's caught on his roof with the with the flooding and the two boats and a helicopter come by and he refuses to get him because he says no I'm waiting for God to save me and then he gets to heaven and since God wanted to save me and God says well I sent you two boats and a helicopter. I mean sometimes we over spiritualize this and we try to tell God how he's gonna take care of us instead of letting God tell us I was going to take care of this.

What I mean by this my friends is in the middle of something like this, you know, we can say well I'm trusting God I'm not going to get this yeah okay I'm trusting God to but you know what, I'm also washing my hands a lot. I'm also saying 6 feet away from people doing social distancing, also being careful not to get around sick people.

I'm also coughing into my elbow. If I have to cough or sneeze. I'm doing all these things were mom wiping down all the handles in my house once a day. Like they recommend, with Clorox wipes why my doing all that because this is just common sense and and and if it I'm over spiritualize this and say God will protect me and I'll have to do anything. Yes, God will protect me. But he also expects me to use common sense in modern medicine and and and to follow their guidelines just like me, saying, trust God not to give me polio saw Michael get the polio vaccine. This is not smart I'm not going to get measles so I'm not just going to take the measles job.

This is not smart. My mom didn't give me the measles shot when I was a child and I didn't get measles recently but a few years ago I got the monsters you know it's the measles, mumps, rubella shot and I was sick as a dog I was in the hospital hundred five fever for days. They were packing me and ice. I was so sick is because my mom didn't give me a simple shot and settle.

God will take care of friend stone over spiritualize this. Listen to these people who were trying to tell us how to reduce our chances of getting it and the trust God. The book of Proverbs says a wise man sees trouble coming and gets out of the way but a full keeps right on going and pays the price for the we need to be wise men and women and do what were being told to reduce our chance of getting this not a full just keeps on going over spiritualizing everything and walks right into the middle of it. Number four.

Not only do we need to be sure of our eternal life not only do we need to be praying for God to intervene and miraculously stop this virus not only number three. Do we need to be careful we don't over spiritualize what doctors and health professionals are telling us, but number four and finally, we need to be comfortable.

We need to take joy. We need to relax in the sovereignty of God. You know the sovereignty of God simply means that God is sovereign is a log that that's brilliant no no no that's what it means and to say God is sovereign, means that God can do whatever he wants whenever we he wants wherever he wants. However, he wants and for what ever reason he wants. Now I know why Everett is not a word but was fit with when I was saying this is the sovereignty of God, whatever, whenever, however, to whoever for why reason and I don't know why God has allowed this virus to break out of.

Neither do you. But I know God is sovereign. I know Isaiah 55 where were God says for my ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts, for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts. God is gonna plan here.

I don't know what it is I may never know what it is on this side of all of the great and you may not either but believe me, God has a purpose. Believe me this is not an accident because there are no accidents because God never says whoops no no, everything God doesn't everything he allows to happen is because he hasn't already fitted in to his sovereign plan for the universe and somehow the coronavirus fits into his sovereign plan for the universe and I would love for God to step in and just stop it like that and that's what I'm praying for, but if he doesn't, I have to take comfort in knowing that my sovereign God is allowing this to go on for his sovereign purposes, which I may never fully understand and that my job is not to question him or to judge him or to argue with him or to impugn him. My job is to trust whether I understand were not, you know lots of people who are in the Bible had to do this very same thing. In fact, that's how they got into the Bible. These people in the Bible were not made out of different protoplasm that you and me on talking Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, no one, Joseph a Naomi, Ruth, Esther, Diane, on and all in all we could go there, not in the Bible. David, because they were made of different genetic material than you or me there in the Bible because they love Hebrews 11 says they were men and women of faith. Men and women who trusted a sovereign God even though they didn't understand what a sovereign God was doing.

Joseph didn't understand why God had him thrown into prison by Potter for his wife. Noah didn't fully understand why God told him at first to build the ark.

Abraham didn't understand why God said leave your people leave your land and follow me. Moses didn't understand why God would trap him at the Red Sea with Pharaoh, sweeping down on him and his chariots Naomi and Ruth didn't understand why God would take their husbands and send them back in poverty at the Bethlehem David you know when out to face Goliath. He brought rocks to a sword fight, but he knew God had directed him to do that even though he didn't understand exactly how it was going to work out my friends, God put these people in the Bible to show us what faith really is what saving faith is what faith that honors God is. It is trusting God to do what he said.

Even when we don't understand how he's doing it or what he's doing. Abraham didn't understand where he was going.

Hebrews 11 says that he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Joseph spent 13 years from age 17 to age 30 in prison for trying to be a godly man. He didn't understand that but he trusted God anyway. Abraham trusted God anyway, that's what we have to do we have to be able to say well I mean I like this coronavirus and frankly it may have made some people I love, really sick and I don't know why God is letting this happen, but I take great comfort and alignment total peace in my spirit that my sovereign God is running the show and at this coronavirus is happening right on schedule now. I hope this all helps.

Let's review number one we need to be certain we have eternal life. Number two. We need to be in prayer for God to do the miraculous wouldn't stop this virus.

Number three. We need to be careful we don't over spiritualize, but that we trust God and we follow good medical advice and number four. We need to take deep comfort in the sovereignty of our God. Now that leads us to the very end of this message and it's time for us to ask our most important quest so if you're watching wherever you are of you don't know what question is it so what. So are you ready and you scream it right there into your screen ready. Here we go why Joe and I all baby. How sweet it is.

Yeah anyway you Ceylon. This is all great so what friends and so was very simple. We as followers of Jesus ought to be able to face this crisis with a different level of fear and trembling, and people around us who don't know Jesus. I'm not saying there's not reason to be careful. I'm not saying there's not reason to be cautious of course there is but if we know were going to heaven. And we know our sovereign God is in charge of this and we know we've done everything we can humanly to protect ourselves and we know that we're praying for God to do a miracle and he's chosen not to. Up to this point friends if we know all that we ought to be able to rest in our spirit. It should be well with our soul, not they were not concerned but in our soul. We know our God has everything right on schedule. That is part of the birthright that we have as children of God not only to know were going to heaven for sure, but also to be able to face crisis with a different kind of response and a different kind of peace in our hearts than the rest of the world. Jesus said my piece, I give you. He said this to be to the apostles of the gospel.

John, my peace I give you not like the world gives do I give you, but I give you my peace friends. The world can't give us the peace that passes all understanding. Philippians 4 only the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit in our heart can do that but it's based on knowing we have eternal life.

Knowing we have a sovereign God and knowing that that sovereign God is in charge and that we done everything we can humanly and now our sovereign God is in charge of our life, and every other life that we love and care about in this world will little pleasure to be back sharing with you and Lord willing and the creek don't rise. Will be back next Sunday with another lie from long message and will all get this out.

So what again and I hope you have a wonderful week.

Remember the peace of God, the peace of God, the Bible assures us that God's will will never take you where God's grace will sustain you. God's will will never take you where God's grace insisting hey love you guys.

God bless and we look forward to seeing you next