WEDNESDAY MARCH 25, 2020
“A COMING SEASON OF PREPARATION”
TEXT: Matthew 25:1-13
INTRODUCTION:
Last Wednesday evening we brought you the Word of the Lord on overcoming the coronavirus giant of fear through faith in God. Our text was taken from I Samuel 17:31-54. The giant Goliath stood and spoke threatening words to the army of Israel, causing them to cower in fear! This went on day after day until David came on the scene and begin to speak words of victory over the giant! While everyone else only saw the giant, David saw Almighty God. And because of his faith in God, David killed the giant and won a great victory for Israel!
Likewise, today we are facing a Goliath called the Coronavirus of fear. And every day from all of the major news outlets the giant is speaking threatening words of sickness, death, and destruction of our country. And so many people, like the army of Israel, are cowering in fear. The answer to defeating this giant is faith in God! Like David, the Church must rise up and lead the way. And we do that by doing what David did: First, by faith, get your eyes off of the threats of the giant and onto God who is bigger than any giant that the devil may produce, now or in the future. Secondly, by faith, stop speaking words of death and defeat and begin speaking words of life and victory in the Lord! And third, by faith, know that this giant will be defeated and God will bring something great out of it!
God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. It’s time to walk in this truth! (II Tim. 1:7)
Now with that said, I want to talk to you tonight about what we can learn from what is happening and why? What do we need to learn about ourselves? What is God saying through this unprecedented time that we are going through? Is there anything we need to change as the Church?
My goal tonight is to try and answer these questions. What God needs from us is honesty and transparency. As I said last week, we should view what is happening as an opportunity. I personally believe that this is, among other things, a wake-up call to the Church to prepare. I don’t see it as a negative but rather as a positive.
God prepared David to defeat the giant Goliath by first delivering him from the paw of the lion and the bear. So let’s not miss our season of preparation. Much, much good can come from it, for us, and for those following us.
Let’s pray.
I. What is the spiritual significance behind this virus and the reaction to it?
A well-known pastor was asked the question if God was the one who sent the Coronavirus? His response was no, God did not send it, but He would use it for His purposes. I agree.
A. Where then did this virus come from? Obviously viruses are a part of a cursed world because of man’s sin and rebellion against God. “The wages of sin is death,” and viruses are part of that “death.” The Good news is that the other part of that verse says, “. . . but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ the Lord.” And when Jesus returns to the earth the second time, death—including all viruses, will be no more! For the curse of sin and death will be forever removed! So the coronavirus, then, did not come from God but rather has come as result of man’s sin and rebellion against God.
B. But what about the spread of the virus? The coronavirus that began in Wuhan China, likely from people eating snakes and bats that were carrying the virus, has become a worldwide pandemic because of the unbelieving and atheistic Chinese Communists government who concealed it from their own country and the rest of the world! Consequently, people who were infected in China were spreading it in China and to the different countries where they travelled! So here, we see that man’s sin—via the atheistic Chinese Communist Government—escalated this virus to a worldwide problem causing both death and destruction in numerous countries—including our own!
C. Now along with this virus being spread because of the sinfulness of man, I also believe that there is demonic activity behind it as well. The devil has used the spread of this virus to create a pandemic of fear around the world and also here in our country. And our news media has certainly been his willing spokesman for spreading this fear—a fear that is really hurting the people of this country by essentially shutting down our economy!
I personally believe that Satan’s greatest desire through spreading this fear is to collapse the US economy. Why? The United States is the biggest obstacle to his plan of a one world government, with the eventual one world economic system and one world religion. This will be the Harlot Babylon in the Book of the Revelation. His goal is to use this harlot to eventually bring the world to the place where it will worship him through the Antichrist. But that is a subject for another time. Please consider watching us on Sunday mornings on Facebook Live as I am teaching the Book of the Revelation. I will add one further comment here before we move on. God is definitely using the United States, and President Trump as “a restraining force” to keep Satan from implementing his diabolical plan. One day that restraining force, “he who holds it back” (2 Thess. 2:7) will be removed and the Antichrist will be revealed, but not yet! I am convinced that the time of this virus is coming to an end. And the United States economy will recover and make a speedy comeback. We will have a time of grace. The question is what should and what will we do with it?
II. What then is God saying to the Church through this? Where are we spiritually? What do we need to change to be prepared?
A. What is God saying to the Church through this?
1.) This is not the last or the biggest giant you will face. There are more giants coming and they will be bigger and more difficult to deal with than this one. The good news is that God is bigger than them all! But you have to know that—really know that if you are going to be victorious—and the only way that you can know that is by knowing Him! And that leads to the second question.
B. Where are you spiritually?
1.) This is the time for raw and transparent honesty. Have you reacted to this current crisis in fear or have you responded in faith? No one knows the answer to that question but you. So be honest with yourself. Being prepared for what’s coming in the future begins here. If you have been seized by fear, then you are not where you need to be spiritually. It’s one thing to have a fearful thought, but it’s quite another to be controlled by fear. People who live by faith in God are not controlled by fear. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but power, love and a sound mind. “Faith is the victory that overcomes the world!”
We are soon to enter into a season of grace—the giant of the coronavirus of fear will be dead and things will return to normal. But don’t allow yourself to sleep during this time. Be wise and get prepared. Be as the five wise virgins and get the extra oil and be prepared (Matthew 25:1-13).
C. What do we need to do to be prepared? How do we get the extra oil?
1.) I’m going to give you the 101 or the basics of how to get the extra oil that will prepare you for what’s coming. I can give you the basics, but only you can move in faith and actually gather the oil.
1. Find a good Bible believing Church where the Word of God is preached and not just “feel good” sermons to keep you “happy and in the pew.” Feel good sermons are no good against Satanic giants. But the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit that will kill any giant that comes along! (The time will soon come when the Church will be meeting again)
2. Read the Word of God. Get into the Word of God until it gets into you. A life built on the Word of God can and will withstand any storm!
3. Pray. Pray with the mind and pray with the Spirit. Learn to talk to God about everything. And learn to pray anywhere—church, home, work, school, driving, etc. Develop a relationship with God through prayer.
4. Repent of sin. Confess it to God and turn from it. Ask God to show you any area where you may be opening a door to sin—television, music, friends, what you read and watch on the internet, etc. Ask Him and He will show you any place of sin that you need to recognize and turn from! This is not an attempt in being “religious,” but rather it is being wise; it is getting prepared; it is gathering the extra oil. “Unwise virgins” always find excuses not to gather the extra oil. “It’s too hard; it’s not politically correct; I don’t have the time; I’ve always done it; it’s no big deal; God understands me. If you’re making excuses, you ain’t fooling nobody but yourself. And you won’t be prepared for what’s coming. You are acting like one of the five foolish virgins who were not prepared when the time came.
5. This goes along with number one. Don’t only find a good Bible believing Church that preaches the Word of God, also find one where they do all of the above! Find and be faithful to a church that preaches the Word of God; that allows the Holy Spirit to move and speak freely; where prayer is not just something you do but is a lifestyle; where sin is confessed and repented of; and where compromise with the world is not accepted.
If you do these things, you will be as one of the “wise virgins” who gathered the extra oil, and you will be prepared for whatever giant comes next.
CONCLUSION
Church, we are soon to move into a season of grace. The coronavirus giant of fear will be no more and things will return to “normal.” But be wise in this next season; don’t slumber and sleep as the five “unwise virgins” did. They were not prepared for what was coming! And they also missed what God had for them! Hear now the Word of the Lord: be awake and alert. Use this season to get prepared for what is coming. It is the time to gather the extra oil as one of the “wise virgins” and in so doing be prepared for what is coming and for all that God has for you!
Shalom
“A COMING SEASON OF PREPARATION”
TEXT: Matthew 25:1-13
INTRODUCTION:
Last Wednesday evening we brought you the Word of the Lord on overcoming the coronavirus giant of fear through faith in God. Our text was taken from I Samuel 17:31-54. The giant Goliath stood and spoke threatening words to the army of Israel, causing them to cower in fear! This went on day after day until David came on the scene and begin to speak words of victory over the giant! While everyone else only saw the giant, David saw Almighty God. And because of his faith in God, David killed the giant and won a great victory for Israel!
Likewise, today we are facing a Goliath called the Coronavirus of fear. And every day from all of the major news outlets the giant is speaking threatening words of sickness, death, and destruction of our country. And so many people, like the army of Israel, are cowering in fear. The answer to defeating this giant is faith in God! Like David, the Church must rise up and lead the way. And we do that by doing what David did: First, by faith, get your eyes off of the threats of the giant and onto God who is bigger than any giant that the devil may produce, now or in the future. Secondly, by faith, stop speaking words of death and defeat and begin speaking words of life and victory in the Lord! And third, by faith, know that this giant will be defeated and God will bring something great out of it!
God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind. It’s time to walk in this truth! (II Tim. 1:7)
Now with that said, I want to talk to you tonight about what we can learn from what is happening and why? What do we need to learn about ourselves? What is God saying through this unprecedented time that we are going through? Is there anything we need to change as the Church?
My goal tonight is to try and answer these questions. What God needs from us is honesty and transparency. As I said last week, we should view what is happening as an opportunity. I personally believe that this is, among other things, a wake-up call to the Church to prepare. I don’t see it as a negative but rather as a positive.
God prepared David to defeat the giant Goliath by first delivering him from the paw of the lion and the bear. So let’s not miss our season of preparation. Much, much good can come from it, for us, and for those following us.
Let’s pray.
I. What is the spiritual significance behind this virus and the reaction to it?
A well-known pastor was asked the question if God was the one who sent the Coronavirus? His response was no, God did not send it, but He would use it for His purposes. I agree.
A. Where then did this virus come from? Obviously viruses are a part of a cursed world because of man’s sin and rebellion against God. “The wages of sin is death,” and viruses are part of that “death.” The Good news is that the other part of that verse says, “. . . but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ the Lord.” And when Jesus returns to the earth the second time, death—including all viruses, will be no more! For the curse of sin and death will be forever removed! So the coronavirus, then, did not come from God but rather has come as result of man’s sin and rebellion against God.
B. But what about the spread of the virus? The coronavirus that began in Wuhan China, likely from people eating snakes and bats that were carrying the virus, has become a worldwide pandemic because of the unbelieving and atheistic Chinese Communists government who concealed it from their own country and the rest of the world! Consequently, people who were infected in China were spreading it in China and to the different countries where they travelled! So here, we see that man’s sin—via the atheistic Chinese Communist Government—escalated this virus to a worldwide problem causing both death and destruction in numerous countries—including our own!
C. Now along with this virus being spread because of the sinfulness of man, I also believe that there is demonic activity behind it as well. The devil has used the spread of this virus to create a pandemic of fear around the world and also here in our country. And our news media has certainly been his willing spokesman for spreading this fear—a fear that is really hurting the people of this country by essentially shutting down our economy!
I personally believe that Satan’s greatest desire through spreading this fear is to collapse the US economy. Why? The United States is the biggest obstacle to his plan of a one world government, with the eventual one world economic system and one world religion. This will be the Harlot Babylon in the Book of the Revelation. His goal is to use this harlot to eventually bring the world to the place where it will worship him through the Antichrist. But that is a subject for another time. Please consider watching us on Sunday mornings on Facebook Live as I am teaching the Book of the Revelation. I will add one further comment here before we move on. God is definitely using the United States, and President Trump as “a restraining force” to keep Satan from implementing his diabolical plan. One day that restraining force, “he who holds it back” (2 Thess. 2:7) will be removed and the Antichrist will be revealed, but not yet! I am convinced that the time of this virus is coming to an end. And the United States economy will recover and make a speedy comeback. We will have a time of grace. The question is what should and what will we do with it?
II. What then is God saying to the Church through this? Where are we spiritually? What do we need to change to be prepared?
A. What is God saying to the Church through this?
1.) This is not the last or the biggest giant you will face. There are more giants coming and they will be bigger and more difficult to deal with than this one. The good news is that God is bigger than them all! But you have to know that—really know that if you are going to be victorious—and the only way that you can know that is by knowing Him! And that leads to the second question.
B. Where are you spiritually?
1.) This is the time for raw and transparent honesty. Have you reacted to this current crisis in fear or have you responded in faith? No one knows the answer to that question but you. So be honest with yourself. Being prepared for what’s coming in the future begins here. If you have been seized by fear, then you are not where you need to be spiritually. It’s one thing to have a fearful thought, but it’s quite another to be controlled by fear. People who live by faith in God are not controlled by fear. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but power, love and a sound mind. “Faith is the victory that overcomes the world!”
We are soon to enter into a season of grace—the giant of the coronavirus of fear will be dead and things will return to normal. But don’t allow yourself to sleep during this time. Be wise and get prepared. Be as the five wise virgins and get the extra oil and be prepared (Matthew 25:1-13).
C. What do we need to do to be prepared? How do we get the extra oil?
1.) I’m going to give you the 101 or the basics of how to get the extra oil that will prepare you for what’s coming. I can give you the basics, but only you can move in faith and actually gather the oil.
1. Find a good Bible believing Church where the Word of God is preached and not just “feel good” sermons to keep you “happy and in the pew.” Feel good sermons are no good against Satanic giants. But the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit that will kill any giant that comes along! (The time will soon come when the Church will be meeting again)
2. Read the Word of God. Get into the Word of God until it gets into you. A life built on the Word of God can and will withstand any storm!
3. Pray. Pray with the mind and pray with the Spirit. Learn to talk to God about everything. And learn to pray anywhere—church, home, work, school, driving, etc. Develop a relationship with God through prayer.
4. Repent of sin. Confess it to God and turn from it. Ask God to show you any area where you may be opening a door to sin—television, music, friends, what you read and watch on the internet, etc. Ask Him and He will show you any place of sin that you need to recognize and turn from! This is not an attempt in being “religious,” but rather it is being wise; it is getting prepared; it is gathering the extra oil. “Unwise virgins” always find excuses not to gather the extra oil. “It’s too hard; it’s not politically correct; I don’t have the time; I’ve always done it; it’s no big deal; God understands me. If you’re making excuses, you ain’t fooling nobody but yourself. And you won’t be prepared for what’s coming. You are acting like one of the five foolish virgins who were not prepared when the time came.
5. This goes along with number one. Don’t only find a good Bible believing Church that preaches the Word of God, also find one where they do all of the above! Find and be faithful to a church that preaches the Word of God; that allows the Holy Spirit to move and speak freely; where prayer is not just something you do but is a lifestyle; where sin is confessed and repented of; and where compromise with the world is not accepted.
If you do these things, you will be as one of the “wise virgins” who gathered the extra oil, and you will be prepared for whatever giant comes next.
CONCLUSION
Church, we are soon to move into a season of grace. The coronavirus giant of fear will be no more and things will return to “normal.” But be wise in this next season; don’t slumber and sleep as the five “unwise virgins” did. They were not prepared for what was coming! And they also missed what God had for them! Hear now the Word of the Lord: be awake and alert. Use this season to get prepared for what is coming. It is the time to gather the extra oil as one of the “wise virgins” and in so doing be prepared for what is coming and for all that God has for you!
Shalom
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