Your Family. Your God. Your Church.
It is all about the family, moving forward!
“When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”—Deuteronomy 20:1
Today, it is obvious how industries like pharmaceuticals, healthcare, governmental bodies, human resource departments, and grocery store supply chains are experiencing many permanent changes—but what about the local churches?
How will the Coronavirus change how Christians assemble? And of these changes, which of them will be shocking, disruptive, and long lasting?
Permanent change is oftentimes an overreaction to pandemonium. Historically, this sentiment has held some truth. Unlike the Bubonic Plague of the 14th century, as well as the Great Plague of London in the 17th century, which were both localized to certain cities and countries, the Coronavirus is a global concern.
International travel and the frequency of human movement has raised the stakes. This pandemic is not only about a disease, but also about societal fear and pandemonium expressed through social media, and is media driven with complex sociopolitical manipulations.
The Church must prepare for a new era!
God did not cause the Coronavirus, but He is using it to reveal the source of many deep issues in society where we are not trusting Him. In the Church, He is cleansing His Bride to carry His glory. He is healing her from all of her Hellenized influence, religious institutions, and distorted Church culture.
How will a church function when the people distrust crowds, handshakes, and hugs? These are very valuable human touch points in healthy Church culture.
Mark Dever cuttingly affirms this need for a physical attendance by arguing that, “nonattendance, in the early years of the Church, was considered one of the most sinister of sins, because it usually veiled the other sins. When someone began to be in sin you would expect them to stop attending.”
Just as Uber or Lyft has disrupted the taxi business, online sermons and teachings have disrupted the physical church locations. Online church is here, but can virtual church sustain long-term spiritual health?
Let’s start the dialogue:
COVID 19 and the Future of the Church…
How will the Coronavirus change how Christians assemble?
There are moments that accelerate and magnify change such as… a cancer diagnoses, declaration of war, death of loved one, or a global pandemic. The Coronavirus is clearly one of those moments. It is a time that will forever change the way the modern world operates.
This season may not look like the most effective path towards a Christian spiritual awakening, but history confirms that the most fertile soil for Church revival is found in the beds of suffering and uncertainty.
Political forces are attempting to raise the misery index through suffering, anxiety, and disgust—it is a formula to derail the current ruling political party.
Let’s fact-check God’s sovereignty:
I believe that God is sovereign over the Coronavirus. He did not cause it, but He did allow it.
“If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?”—Amos 3:6
“I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.”—Isaiah 45:7
“In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will…”—Ephesians 1:11
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”— Romans 8:28
Prophetically speaking I believe that God will be glorified through COVID-19. This pandemic is not only about the spread of a disease, but also about the spread of societal fear and pandemonium.
This is not just a matter of physical health, but a complex sociopolitical whirlwind fueled by our modern access to social media and the news.
Ultimately, the Coronavirus is transforming human culture, and when human culture shifts… things change.
You need to be awake and aware that Coronavirus is going to change your local church. Our innocent hope for things to remain as they are is often a dangerous front, rooted in protection of the status quo.
In fact, if our livelihood, security, or safety is dependent upon the consistency of something other than God, any change in it will be violently opposed.
I believe that God is purifying His Church. He is birthing a new Church culture and initiating a new cultural era in preparation for the end times.
Seeker sensitive Christianity has led many to the cross… but not through the cross.
By failing to address sin, we have Christians in name only, who have no supernatural power to influence, protect, or turn our culture back to God. Quite simply, they do not preach the Gospel Paul taught because addressing sin often does not feel good.
The Narrow Way
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”—Matthew 7:13-15
You Will Know Them by Their Fruits
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”—Matthew 7:15
When Coronavirus first became news in January 2020, I asked the Lord, “What is this?”
The Lord spoke to me Haggai 1:1-5:
“In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, ‘Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying: “This people says, ‘The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.’”’
“Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, ‘Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?’ Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Consider your ways!’”
“For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle?”—1 Corinthians 14:8
“But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.
“So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.”—Ezekiel 33:6-7
The Church Must Make a Shift
Ultimately, the scriptures are a convincing example that God’s will is disruptive to human plans. 80 in Hebrew, is the letter pey, representing the mouth or prayer. I believe that God is judging the words of our mouth.
“For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now ‘If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?’ Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.”—1 Peter 4:17-19
The Church needs to repent and turn from their evil, watered down, fake Gospel. The entertainment and seeker sensitive culture has robbed the Church of its power and influence. I feel like a voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight” (Isaiah 40:3).
The world is changing fast and the Church as we know it will have to change as well.
In Matthew 16:18 Jesus says, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
The Lord is preparing His Bride and we rest in that reality. In 1 Corinthians 12:18 Paul tells us, “But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.”
A word to all of His true shepherds: We need to stop worrying about how to draw the lost into the church, and how to keep the congregation entertained with gimmicks and programs.
Preach the true Gospel. Teach and make disciples. Lead His people to observe all things that Jesus has commanded us. Baptize with water and with the fire of the Holy Spirit’s power! Amen!
Family Focused
Have you ever asked yourself why the family records—the genealogies—exist in the Bible?
- First, the Bible’s genealogies help confirm the historical reliability of the Bible.
- Second, the Bible’s genealogies reveal the importance of family to God, our Heavenly Father, and to those whose writings make up the Bible.
The family and the home are important to God and serve as the foundation of human society.
Many of us observed Passover 5780/2020 from our homes and not in church buildings, synagogues, or hotels. For many, this was the first time to celebrate Passover at home.
“For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”—1 Corinthians 5:7
During this last Passover, Father God caused us to sanctify our families and our physical homes.
The Coronavirus might change the local church forever, but the foundation of the Church is people, and people’s foundations start with God and with family.
The Lord is healing the nations and is bringing His children and homes to rebuild and restore effective practical paths toward a global awakening.
Family First—Home is the Reset Button for His Glory!
God the Father absolutely loves His people. He loves you! “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts…”—1 Corinthians 14:1
Let love be your highest goal. Faith works through love. For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son for us all (see John 3:16).
As Paul told Timothy, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
Therefore, let’s be prepared for our future. Keep our lamps filled with oil. Maintain rational thinking. Pray—binding and loosing evil. Guard our hearts from the pathological narcissism of social media.
Mental media manipulation is attacking our minds and emotions. A meta-analysis of the dark triad and work behavior. A social exchange experiment of control is sinisterly hidden in this Coronavirus attack.
So, don’t isolate. Stay connected. Meditate daily on God’s Word. Pray God’s Word.
The best and biggest harvest of souls is yet to come… Get Ready!