Hope is greater than fear today, brothers and sisters! Hope, and not fear. I don’t know about you, but I’ve felt the anxiety lately. Just being locked up at home, can’t go to the gym, can’t go to fosters or books and beans, or go out to eat, or get my nails done, well maybe not the last one. But its kind of suffocating to just sit at home wondering what’s going to happen next.
I want to share this scripture for you today, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”
From Jeremiah 17:7-8
7 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.
8 They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
Anxiety is not a proper response to this situation. Concern and compassion is the proper response. Don’t be afraid. But have trust in God. Have faith in God. Decide that your God is with you. Complete that in your mind.
And honestly I don’t feel anxious really, but I almost feel like I can feel the anxiety of the community around me. And I kinda feel like its just a climate of anxiety right now.
A lot of people in the world today rely on their own abilities and talents, fundamentally. It’s about them, their ability to hold on, and their ability to control and manipulate events to their advantage. That is the way of the world. And that is the way a lot of people live. Me vs. everything else.
And if that is your approach to life, you will be anxious and afraid,because it’s all up to you to not get sick.
As believers that is not how we approach life. It’s not up to me and how I can force events go my way. Ultimately my world is run by God.
Did God send the covid-19 virus? I don’t believe that. God allowed it to happen. He doesn’t jump in and prevent these things from happening. But He does help and guide and protect his church through these kind of storms. And we can have faith in the struggle.
And maybe this time of quarantine and isolation is a time God is calling us back to himself. Maybe He is saying, America, Michigan, Owosso, you’ve relied on your own strength and your own wealth and your own morality too long. And look how useless your own strength and wealth and morality is in the face of even something as simple as a virus like covid-19? Look how all your power is useless against it. “
We’ve lived for so long in the united states, in Michigan, relying not on God but on money, and psychology, and medical science, and modern technology. But life is about much more than those things. None of those things are bad. But when we rely on those things above God, we’ve gone down a road that leads nowhere good. And many have a faith in that, that those things will get them through the storms of life. But they won’t.
Only God is enough to get us through these dark times. And in quarantine and isolation I think we all start to realize that. No amount of scrolling through social media, or videogames, or frantically reading news articles or watching tv satisfies us. We just kind of quietly sit there as emptiness takes over in our souls. And we feel the meaninglessness of these things, and the fear that these things can’t really save us or help us.
So that’s why we have to use this time right now to turn back to God. Pick up that Bible and read it for a while. Get down on the floor and cry out to Jesus Christ for help during this struggle. Visit Youtube or sermon index and listen to some sermon messages. Go on biblegateway.com or the you version app and read or listen to an audio Bible. View some Christian movies on Netflix or Hulu. Take some time to explore faith in Christ.
Because we all need a savior. Believe me, this corona virus is not the worst thing that could happen in this world. And indeed in the end times, in the future at some time, much worse things will happen. And when those times come, we will want to make sure that our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus.
So I want to tell you a bit about that right now. So let me just ask you some questions:
1. Have you ever put something first in your life ahead of God? That’s what the Bible calls a sin. And you will be held accountable to that standard by God on judgment day.
2. Have you ever used God’s name as a cuss word? Or shouted it when you were angry? Again, that’s a sin.
3. Have you ever failed to treat your mom and dad with respect and love?
4. Have you ever committed adultery?
5. Have you ever hated someone, which is murder in the heart?
6. Ever stolen something?
7. Were you ever jealous of someone who had something you didn’t have?
These are God’s eternal laws. And if you’ve broken any of them, you are under judgment. Which means, if you were to die today, you would be brought before God, he would judge you as having sinned against heaven and your fellow humans, and you would be sent to a place of darkness, fire, and sorrow forever!
I know, this is amazing and scary news. Maybe we didn’t even realize that we were considered accountable to these laws. But now that you know, and you’ve seen your guilt, let me tell you about what God did to remedy this situation.
God came as Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ is Lord, so God came, 2000 years ago, and he lived a perfect life. And then he allowed himself to be sent to the cross by evil people. And on the cross he was perfect, yet he took your sin, and paid the penalty for you. So that if you believe in Jesus Christ and follow Him your whole life, then you’ll be born again, and you’ll become a whole new person.
You will essentially become the person you were always meant to be. That’s what happened for me.
Once we realize and believe in Jesus, our sins are paid for, by what Jesus did on the cross. That is God’s arrangement for you, to deal with your sins. They are removed and put on Jesus on the cross. And Jesus said yes to that arrangement. Jesus died once for all for sin, and then he reclaimed His life.
Jesus is alive right now. Which is why I talk to Him and pray to Him and how he continues to help me and deliver me.
So if you will choose to believe in Jesus, then your sins are washed away, and you are born again. Of course you must also repent, which means turn away, from your old sins of the past, and live differently. Sometimes that’s the hard part for people, they don’t want to give up their sins they do right now.
But believe me it’s worth it. And remember, all of us will stand before God on judgment day, and have to answer for how we lived. Do you want tobe judged n that day by the ten commandments? Or be judged on Jesus Christ being your savior.
On that day I want to be able to say, Lord, I did sin, but I have a savior, Jesus Christ, who came into the court room, and said, I’ll take the penalty for those sins instead of Justin! And on that day God will say very well,that is the arrangement I set up, therefore come into paradise, into the news heaven, and new earth, a perfect earth, in a new city called “The New Jerusalem” or “the new city of God.” That is our destiny everybody. That is the meaning of life. To enter into the gates of new Jerusalem. Where there will be no more sickness, no more covid virus, no more social isolation, or sin, or temptation. You are destined to go there, and to live there forever, and never die. But if you refuse God, and reject Jesus, there is another place, of darkness, sorrow, and pain where you will be sent. So choose life today, choose jesus, so that you and your family may live. Live forever.
Blessings during this Corona virus lockdown. Please pray and pray and fast and pray, and read the word, and stand firm, and DO NOT BE AFRAID! Amen!
