Pandemic Proof Positives (Part 1) - 08/08/2021

August 8, 2021 Pandemic Proof Positives START HERE: As your pastor, I have a responsibility to watch for your souls. All pastors carry this responsibility. Some take it more seriously than others. I thank you and I thank God for entrusting such a grave privilege to me. [SLIDE] The Bible in Hebrews 13:17 NLT Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit. This morning’s message is about reminding you of my responsibility to watch for your souls – to protect you from hurt, harm, danger, and deception. I’ve entitled this message: Pandemic Proof Positives As the watchman for your souls, the things I must do and say are not always popular. But for the most part, at GP they most often are adhered to and embraced with gladness. However, I’m not too naïve to recognize that at times my preaching and teaching, like every preacher, are pushed back on and resisted when members lean to their own understanding. 1 Today, I feel compelled to share with you a “Watch for your souls” kind of message. We are currently moving through a season of time that has caused a great divide and brought much confusion due to bad politics, an overdose of mis-information, and a lack of restraint and accountability on behalf of leaders – world leaders and church leaders. Unfortunately, the church, the Body of Christ, has been impacted by its share of confusing signals and mixed messages. As we enter the 17th month of this public pandemic, I feel compelled to pause and share a critical note on what I sense the Spirit is saying to the churches. The resurgence of the pandemic through the Delta Variant is cause for concern, but not panic. It would behoove the church to stand still and draw nearer to God (and not bow to any kind of pressure – from without or within). The Church has nothing to prove regarding how much faith it has or how powerful God is. Keeping church doors closed or opened proves nothing. But 17 months is a long enough time for each one of us to examine what lessons we’ve learned through this time of testing. The church shouldn’t be split or splintered in a time like this. But because it is, it’s time to turn down the noise and hear God. In the Book of Jeremiah, Chapter 14 is a case like what we’re experiencing in our country regarding the pandemic pundits who refuse to hear God and play to their own reality. Worse, they have drawn the people of God in on their stubborn delusional self-denial refusal to respect what God has declared will be. Before, I open up the Scripture, I want to show you a modern day clip of what I’m about to share. Take a look: 2 Now, let’s look at Jeremiah 14: 1-6 NLT. In Chapter 14, the Prophet Jeremiah is giving a prophecy regarding severe droughts that the Lord has unleashed upon Judah for their wayward behavior. Coupled with the terrible droughts is the destruction of life by sword, famine, pestilence. The first six verses of Chapter 14 describe the conditions of the drought. There’s no doubt that the droughts prophesied by Jeremiah are real. Listen to his description from the New Living Translation: 14:1 This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord, explaining why he was holding back the rain: “Judah wilts; commerce at the city gates grinds to a halt. All the people sit on the ground in mourning, and a great cry rises from Jerusalem. 2 3 The nobles send servants to get water, but all the wells are dry. The servants return with empty pitchers, confused and desperate, covering their heads in grief. 4 The ground is parched and cracked for lack of rain. The farmers are deeply troubled; they, too, cover their heads. 5 Even the doe abandons her newborn fawn because there is no grass in the field. 6 The wild donkeys stand on the bare hills 3 panting like thirsty jackals. They strain their eyes looking for grass, but there is none to be found.” The people say, “Our wickedness has caught up with us, Lord, but help us for the sake of your own reputation. We have turned away from you and sinned against you again and again. 7 Is there any reason to deny that this drought was real? [Can you believe Judah wasn’t totally convinced, but just a little confused?]. Is there any reason to doubt that the virus of the past 17 months is real? Is the Delta Variant real? Is the pandemic a hoax? Could it be that no matter what the world is saying or doing, the Church has a higher Authority to answer to? Is it time that all the church respects the virus and thereby respect, GOD? Regardless of Judah’s opinion of whether a drought existed or not, the proof was in the conditions. Now, let’s see where Judah’s real confusion came from. [SLIDE] Look at Jeremiah 14: 11-16 Then the Lord said to me [Jeremiah], “Do not pray for these people anymore. 11 12 When they fast, I will pay no attention. When they present their burnt offerings and grain offerings to me, I will not accept them. Instead, I will devour them with war, famine, and disease.” 4 [Let me pause here to say this verse speaks to Believers and churches that when something catastrophic happens they want to invoke Scripture and spirituality. Yet, the whole time they’ve never shown faith in going next door or to the next cubicle to share their faith. I believe when God strikes, it’s too late to invoke Scripture and make confessions. It was too late for the 10 spies to show faith and reverse course after God had closed the door to the Promised Land. Never in all my days have I heard Psalms 91 and 2 Chronicles 7:14 quoted so regularly than when the pandemic hit. Too Late! [SLIDE] Psalms 91:5-7 5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, 6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. 2 Chronicles 7:14 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 will forgive their sin and heal their land. [SLIDE] Now let’s resume, Jeremiah 14: 13-16 5 Then I [Jeremiah] said, “O Sovereign Lord, their prophets are telling them, ‘All is well—no war or famine will come. The Lord will surely send you peace.’” 13 [Here the false prophets (preachers) deluded the people with lying assurances of peace. This is so like what leaders in government and leaders in the church are doing to the people. Putting words in God’s mouth and lies in people’s heads]. Verse 14 14 Then the Lord said, “These prophets are telling lies in my name. I did not send them or tell them to speak. I did not give them any messages. They prophesy of visions and revelations they have never seen or heard. They speak foolishness made up in their own lying hearts. 15 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I will punish these lying prophets, for they have spoken in my name even though I never sent them. They say that no war or famine will come, but they themselves will die by war and famine! 16 As for the people to whom they prophesy—their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and war. There will be no one left to bury them. Husbands, wives, sons, and daughters—all will be gone. For I will pour out their own wickedness on them. No one is excused from respecting what God has and is allowing. And now it seems, the more people resist and concoct their own narrative the more intensified things get. It’s time to respect the virus and therefore show some respect for sovereign God. Don’t be cavalier or flippant about what were going through. Acknowledge the virus as real, then apply all the preventive 6 measures available to you. Don’t buy into the false narratives or conspiracies propagated from the pits of hell. Do you know that people believed Hitler was right and the Holocaust was faked? Likewise, can you believe people believe that slavery in America never happened and others believed that Blacks who were enslaved were treated royally and lived well? Wake up church!!! God’s work is bigger than this virus and much broader than the four walls of the church. The measure of this pandemic is not about wood, clay, metal, brick and mortar – the stuff of idols – the stuff of what church buildings are made of – the stuff of what church has become for far too many Christians. But rather, this season of virus crisis is about the matter of the heart and finding your place of true worship. [SLIDE] John 4: 19- 24 reminds us through Jesus’ conversation with the woman at the well where true worship begins: The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” 19 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 21 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking 7 such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” No man, especially God’s people, ever outwitted God by managing around any plague, pestilence, or famine He allowed. No one must feel guilty because of our absence from church, but you should be concerned if a void exist in your prayer life, family life, virtual church life, and time with God life. Our best move remains that of giving God our attention, respecting the virus, and to stop politicizing and spiritualizing what the church ought to do in accordance to the worldly voices and spiritual wickedness in high places. [SLIDE] I want to close with a Rapid-Fire Realities to some critical themes I must remind you of. Here they are: • The church doesn’t answer to the world. We respect government if government doesn’t contradict God. But the church’s message comes from God, not man. • The church must be Berean not Laodicean. “These Berean Believers were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11). The Laodiceans were operating on the world’s principles; even though their church economy was flourishing, Christ’s economy in their lives was lukewarm and bankrupt. Revelation 3:14-22. 8 • 17 months later, we the Saints of God ought to be more sober and more clear about what is going on than ever. If not, then we are not hearing God, but believing another gospel. “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. First Corinthians 14:33 • Be careful that getting back means more than curing loneliness, or fulfilling a social thirst. 2020 presented us a time to discover gaps and shortcomings and grow. 2020 was a test, 2021 is a time to apply lessons learned. Let’s step up Saints. Be careful: Exodus 32:5-7 New Living Translation 5 Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the Lord!” 6 The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry. NKJV says: 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. The Lord told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 7 • Finally, The pandemic is not a sign from God that He is not going to bless us or that we are cursed and being punished. On the contrary; God is showing us and the world and the devil that anything can be thrown at the church in attempts to overthrow it, 9 but God will raise His Bride up and us stronger. The gates of hell will not prevail. Many people thought and still think that the pandemic is the churches undoing, but it had made churches stronger than ever before. Most churches have gone from a single platform with the capacity to reach only a limited number of people to where the pandemic has created opportunity and need to diversify and become more media savvy. No longer are most churches relegated to one place, but that their reach – including GP – is world wide to potentially thousands of people. The devil may have meant it for evil but God meant it for good. [SLIDE] My final, final close: Jeremiah 14:21 & 22 21 For the sake of your reputation, Lord, do not abandon us. Do not disgrace your own glorious throne. Please remember us, and do not break your covenant with us. 22 Can any of the worthless foreign gods send us rain? Does it fall from the sky by itself? No, you are the one, O Lord our God! Only you can do such things. So we will wait for you to help us. Pandemic Proof Positives %%%%%%%%%%%%%END%%%%%%%%%%%%%% 10 14 This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord, explaining why he was holding back the rain: 2 “Judah wilts; commerce at the city gates grinds to a halt. All the people sit on the ground in mourning, and a great cry rises from Jerusalem. 3 The nobles send servants to get water, but all the wells are dry. The servants return with empty pitchers, confused and desperate, covering their heads in grief. 4 The ground is parched and cracked for lack of rain. The farmers are deeply troubled; they, too, cover their heads. 5 Even the doe abandons her newborn fawn because there is no grass in the field. 6 The wild donkeys stand on the bare hills panting like thirsty jackals. They strain their eyes looking for grass, but there is none to be found.” The people say, “Our wickedness has caught up with us, Lord, but help us for the sake of your own reputation. We have turned away from you and sinned against you again and again. 8 O Hope of Israel, our Savior in times of trouble, why are you like a stranger to us? Why are you like a traveler passing through the land, stopping only for the night? 9 Are you also confused? Is our champion helpless to save us? You are right here among us, Lord. We are known as your people. Please don’t abandon us now!” 7 11 10 So this is what the Lord says to his people: “You love to wander far from me and do not restrain yourselves. Therefore, I will no longer accept you as my people. Now I will remember all your wickedness and will punish you for your sins.” The Lord Forbids Jeremiah to Intercede 11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for these people anymore. 12 When they fast, I will pay no attention. When they present their burnt offerings and grain offerings to me, I will not accept them. Instead, I will devour them with war, famine, and disease.” Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, their prophets are telling them, ‘All is well—no war or famine will come. The Lord will surely send you peace.’” 13 Then the Lord said, “These prophets are telling lies in my name. I did not send them or tell them to speak. I did not give them any messages. They prophesy of visions and revelations they have never seen or heard. They speak foolishness made up in their own lying hearts. 14 15 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I will punish these lying prophets, for they have spoken in my name even though I never sent them. They say that no war or famine will come, but they themselves will die by war and famine! 16 As for the people to whom they prophesy—their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and war. There will be no one left to bury them. Husbands, wives, sons, and daughters—all will be gone. For I will pour out their own wickedness on them. 12 17 Now, Jeremiah, say this to them: “Night and day my eyes overflow with tears. I cannot stop weeping, for my virgin daughter—my precious people— has been struck down and lies mortally wounded. 18 If I go out into the fields, I see the bodies of people slaughtered by the enemy. If I walk the city streets, I see people who have died of starvation. The prophets and priests continue with their work, but they don’t know what they’re doing.” A Prayer for Healing 19 Lord, have you completely rejected Judah? Do you really hate Jerusalem?[a] Why have you wounded us past all hope of healing? We hoped for peace, but no peace came. We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror. 20 Lord, we confess our wickedness and that of our ancestors, too. We all have sinned against you. 21 For the sake of your reputation, Lord, do not abandon us. Do not disgrace your own glorious throne. Please remember us, and do not break your covenant with us. 22 Can any of the worthless foreign gods send us rain? Does it fall from the sky by itself? No, you are the one, O Lord our God! Only you can do such things. So we will wait for you to help us. 13