6/6/2021 [Thematic Message 126]                                                                                                                                                                      www.lifechurchmissions.com

What is God Doing in this New Wave of Infections? <Ex 32:1-6, 27-29, 35; 2 Ch 7:13-14>

Prelude: When a new variant of the coronavirus once again infects many countries, the hearts of people get all anxious.  At this time when many countries are entering a state of lockdown, or some stage of heightened restriction, we know clearly that this is something which God ordained in His sovereignty. Sometimes, when we just see how a new wave of infections is coming upon many countries, we can easily lose our judgment and fall into the most natural judgment – scientific judgment. Of course, we Christians do not oppose scientific judgment, and we also support the country's view, advocating people not to go out unnecessarily. But we Christians must definitely have a deeper insight, that is, behind the natural principles of science, is the work of God's hands. Which country the virus goes to, how serious is the spread of the infection, how many people are infected, behind all these are what God has ordained. Therefore, in addition to reiterating the scientific point of view, we all the more want to acquire a spiritual point of view. First of all, we must know that our God is a God of love and righteousness. Therefore, when some viruses or plagues become highly contagious, many people are thus infected and died. This is the righteous God executing His judgment. But at the same time, this loving God will also extend His mercy at such times and save those whom He has mercy on. Therefore, when we encounter something like the spread of the coronavirus, we must have two views. First of all, God is of course judging the sins of the people of this world. This is the most direct judgment. But on the other hand, we should not only be discouraged and fearful because we remember that God is also merciful at the same time. Some people ask, “How long will such a virus infection (plague) last?” The answer is, “Until God judges those He wants to judge and at the same time has mercy on those He wants to have mercy on”. No one will know how long, but God's work of judgment and salvation will surely be accomplished. The government and analysts can only continue to speculate, “This virus should become endemic... People of the world may have to adapt to this new normal... We may have to take booster shots every year... Tourism may not return to normal until 2024.” From a certain perspective, these analyses are meant to bring the world some assurance and hope. But we should not get answers or hope from these analyses. We must all the more understand through God's word, what our righteous and loving God wants to do in this entire period when this virus hits the world. Hence, what should we, who understand the will of God, do? If God is judging, we have to warn people, to turn from their sin to God. If God is also showing mercy, we must also comfort people, encourage them and preach the gospel that saves people. In this matter, we must speed up our pace.

1. When new wave of infections comes…

1）The judgment of idolatry

After Israelites worshipped idols, they sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. This was extremely detestable in God’s eyes. After that, three thousand of them were killed, and the Lord also sent a plague on the people <Ex 32:1-6,27-29, 35>. This was the consequence of worshipping the golden calf. Indeed, idolatry surely brings disasters. We are aware that the highly infective variant B1617 coronavirus originated from India. Just about a month ago, about 400,000 people were infected daily in India, more than 4000 people died from the infection; and this virus also spread to about 50 countries. From the perspective of infectious disease, this could be because of the pitcher festival in India about 2 months ago, when hundreds of thousands of pilgrims went to the Ganges River to observe the festival. In huge crowds, the devotees dipped into the waters and drank from the river. They believed that this Ganges River is Holy River, which has the power to deliver them from various sicknesses and viruses. But who knows, since then, the number of people infected with coronavirus greatly increased; and the nation was in horrendous state after a month. The hospitals no longer have the capacity to take in infected patients, the healthcare workers left their positions; whether it is in the hospitals, on the streets, or by the river, there were people dying from infections. Almost every household has people infected or killed by the virus. On the streets, bodies that were being burned piled up like mountains, even lighting up the entire city. If this is not God’s judgment, what is it? Not only so, the variants B1617 and B16172 which originated from India have now spread to the entire world, causing panic in many countries. How harmful is idolatry! But why does God allow the judgment of a country to spread to other countries? This is so that people all over the world remember how such a terrifying thing came about from man’s idolatry. Although out of respect the WHO has renamed these variants as Kappa and Delta, spiritually discerning people know that this calamity arises from man’s idolatry, which greatly offended God. Perhaps some may say, what America had once experienced was by far the worst, as compared to India. Indeed, God had another emphasis in America back then. At that time, America lost great number of people to infections, because God was judging the nation for their arrogance and casualness; but the judgment on India this time is rapid and of big scale, to crush the beliefs that put trust in idols.

2) To whom does this coronavirus have the greatest impact?

Coronavirus is a very strange virus. Till now, we generally know that it is highly infectious, but those infected are mostly asymptomatic. In view of this, the best preventive measure is social distancing. Therefore, if we ask objectively, “What are the activities most affected by this virus? That will be activities involving large crowds, such as concerts, festivals, sports day, parties, religious gatherings, activities involving big gathering of crowds will especially be restricted. The kinds of activities in the world revolving around “sitting down to eat and drink and rising up to play” are all stopped. In a very obvious way, God is stopping these activities that let loose the flesh. We may also ask, “How about church gathering? Is it not pleasing to God?” When we ask such questions, we need to first ask if God is getting sick of His people worshipping Him with such a “playing” manner? Indeed, through the virus, God has stopped the church from their singing, screaming, programs, and all yelling, etc, just as God was sick of the vain offerings from the Israelites, and He detested their new moons, Sabbath, and appointed feasts <Isa 1:13-14>. It has come to a point whereby God wants people to know and rely on Him in their hearts, and wants their sincere worship of Him during gatherings. God wants His people to open their ears to listen to His Word properly and ponder His work in spirit and truth, rather than immersing in the atmosphere and influence from the crowds. If the church remains unrepentant and continues to preach messages that instigate and stir people’s hearts, or attempts to attract people through power of the masses or programs, or create various methods similar to “idolatry” to worship God, God will surely prolong His discipline.

2.  When the new wave of infections comes, what promises did God give His people?

1）Do not panic, do not interpret the situation like typical people, but must know God’s promises

When a large-scale judgment comes, our natural instinct is to panic (if the situation is near us), otherwise we will explain the situation by our natural mind (if we are observing the situation from a bystander point of view). Thus, many people only read the news, shake head, then sigh because of the current situation. In fact, we people of God cannot remain in our natural mindset. We must know that God does not hide what He does on earth from the spiritual person, just as God did not hide from Abraham His plan of destroying Sodom and Gomorrah <Gen 18:17>. First, we must know God’s promises. <Prov 3:25-26> say: “Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.” During such wave of virus infections, we must not hand our hearts over to fear and helplessness. What we should ask is: “Are we someone who relies on the Lord? When we come to the house of the Lord, do we bring a careful and godly heart to meet Him?” Such a person certainly need not keep having insinuations from hearing news of people around him getting infected. In some examples in western countries, some people had a false faith and thought that they would certainly not be infected, so they met with people, sang hymns, made contact, did not wear masks, in the end they not only got infected, but also disgraced the name of God. But if we know how to be cautious and rely on the Lord, worshipping Him in permitted meetings, then we certainly do not need to live in panic, because we are people who received mercy in judgment.

2）In the promises given by God, He also instructed us how we should respond to Him

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land <2 Ch 7:13-14>. In the one to two years when this pandemic drags, we often hear people cite these verses. In these verses, the most critical phrase is “people who are called by my name”. <1 Pe 4:17> tells us judgment will begin with God’s household. Thus, when we see the virus keep spreading, churches are unable to open, saints cannot gather, economy is badly hit, etc, we are not to blame those in the world who are worshipping idols, but we must humble ourselves, pray, seek God’s face, and turn from our wicked ways. In fact, the problem with God’s people is none other than self-arrogance, not seeking God, but doing evil (loving the world, gratifying the flesh). Thus, beginning with God’s household, if the church’s altar is still not restored, but still preaches the message that satisfies human flesh but not turn people to God, then God will continue to extend the time of church closure. In the midst of this, if Christians keep believing in science but do not seek the face of God, trusting Him wholeheartedly, then new waves of infections will keep coming, until humans know how to be humble, and believe in the God who is above science. Finally, especially we who live in such an affluent and prosperous country, what we must be most careful of is not to love the ways of this world and gratify our flesh. When the entire society and people around us look to materialism, believers’ living should be simpler and simpler, do not get embroiled in the vicious cycle of “buy, invest, earn, accumulate”. Some people ask why Trump lost the election last year. In fact, one simplest reason is he looked to money. For the sake of economy, he neglected pandemic preventive measures. Thus, last year in United States, many people died from the coronavirus. Until now, the number of infected persons there is still highest in the whole world. Whether it is a nation which worships idols, or one which looks to money, or one which only cares about enjoyment of the flesh, God severely judges them all, so that those who see all these will be careful not to commit the same sin, especially if we are people of God.

3. What is our mission in this new wave of infections?

1）Hasten the pace of the gospel, spread it to all parts of the world

Our God is a loving God. Therefore, in this great judgment, God is continuing to show mercy. God’s mercy is not limited to the curbing of the spread of the virus, having good government implement preventive measures, or using science to develop vaccines to save the lives of many. At this time, God is especially focused on saving the souls of people. Therefore, besides persuading people around us to go for the vaccine, and maintain good hygiene habits, our more important duty is to spread the gospel of the Lord. Of course, we humans are short-sighted. Therefore, as the infections become widespread, we will naturally focus on pandemic preventive measures. Our direct focus is to protect the physical lives of people. This is not wrong. However, as the pandemic becomes protracted, we must think about the souls of people. If we know that the time people have on earth is limited, and the opportunities they can come to church to worship God are limited, we cannot wait for the pandemic to be over before we evangelise. Now is the time the Lord wants us to preach the Word, in season and out of season, and advance the whole ministry of the gospel. Just when many churches stop preaching the Word, we must preach and share the Word more. Especially, in Singapore, when this latest wave of infections comes upon us, we were thankfully preserved by God and the community infections are still under control. This is God’s mercy for our land, and in this, God has specially revealed His mission for our church. Our church produces Every Emmanuel, Weekend Devotions, online Sunday School videos and conducts five services in English and Mandarin. We produce and share at least 10 different messages each week, shepherd local and overseas brethren, to edify many who are living in lockdown or semi-lockdown situation. We continue to distribute our gospel tracts to other countries. Therefore, we call for all those who are receiving our pulpit messages to have the same heart as us, and spread these messages to more people.  

2）Pray to God to raise up more workers who are set apart to the Lord

When the Israelites built and worshipped the golden calf in the wilderness, God’s anger burned against them, and He wanted to judge and destroy the Israelites. In this matter, those who rallied to Moses, and killed their brother, friend and neighbour were the Levites <Ex 32:27-29>. These Levites did not seek man’s approval, but cared about God’s holiness more than man’s relationship. In order to remove the sin of Israel, they killed their own brothers. Such people cared about the holiness of God, therefore they were established as Levites who were set apart to the Lord, and this tribe would be designated to serve in the Holy Temple in the future. You must recognize if you have the life of the Levite, that is a life that hates sin because of God’s holiness. Only such a person can step forward to serve the Lord in the spread of the pandemic and preach the Word with greater urgency. Only such people will boldly preach about God’s judgment and salvation at a time when everyone is focused on the pandemic. May God raise up more of such people who are set apart to the Lord.