Easter and covid-19
(A Message to the Multitudes)
(Preached on Easter Sunday Morning, April 12, 2020)
“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
(Revelation 1:18)
Good happy Easter to you!
You are in the Easter Morning Service at the S.A.L.T. (The Saviour’s Ambassadors Laboring Together), on April 12, 2020, in the midst of the fourth month of (pardon me for mentioning the fact) a worldwide “pandemic” from a “virus” that the “experts” have labeled “COVID-19.”
As we begin this Easter morning, please listen with utmost attention to the introduction of this message, which was prepared ahead of time, and which I will read to you now.
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever.
Amen.
Now, perhaps some of you feel that what I have just said is a bit too harsh; that maybe in such a celebratory service as most Easter morning services are usually meant to be, I have been too negative. Well, then your controversy is with God himself, and not me; for this introduction… was his.
That is what we are here for, is it not? To hear from God, and not just some man? Yes, that is how it must be both today and always. And so…
This morning, we will quickly speak to three different groups, while asking them only one simple question: Are you ready to meet God?
I. Are you ready to meet God, all you members of the Church?
“And he [Peter, before later, that same night, denying Christ three times] said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.” (Luke 22:33)
- No, if you are part of the self-help movement.
“And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.” (Luke 22:33)
- No, if you are religious but lost.
“And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.” (Luke 22:33)
- No, if you are terrified of COVID-19.
““And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.” (Luke 22:33)
II. Are You Ready to Meet God All You Ministers of the Church?
“So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.” (Romans 1:15)
“I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:14-16)
- No, if you are not a “debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.”
“I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.” (Romans 1:14)
- No, if you are not “ready to preach the gospel.”
“So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.” (Romans 1:15)
- No, if you are “ashamed of the gospel of Christ.”
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)
III. Are You Ready to Meet God, All Ye Multitudes in the Midst of COVID-19?
“Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. (Amos 4:12)
- No, if in the midst of COVID-19 you “yet have ye not returned unto me’, saith the Lord.”
“I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.” (Amos 4:11)
- No, if in the midst of COVID-19 you do not “prepare to meet thy God.”
“Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.” (Amos 4:12)
- No, if in the midst of COVID-19 you continue to ignore, not acknowledge, not prepare yourself for your now-more-than-ever imminent meeting with… Who? “The Lord, The God of hosts, is his name.”
“For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The Lord, The God of hosts, is his name.” (Amos 4:13)
Conclusion:
In the midst of an oh-so-very-obviously God-sent (or at the least, you must admit, God-allowed) pestilence that has, in the estimation of history and time, instantly shut down the entire planet: every nation, every city, every home, every society.. In the midst of this Biblically prophesied end-of-the-world lookalike.. In the midst of this, “Yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.”
Please. Please, do not look down at your Bible, right now. Please allow me to attempt to have God speak into your ear and then into the very depths of your soul. Please listen, as I conclude this not with my words but rather with exactly what he has to say to you this morning, and during this time, and (oh may the voice of God resound forever), may this message which you have heard this morning, and its conclusion, which you will hear now, stay with you throughout the remaining days of your life to come!
Listen now to exactly, word for word, what God has to say to you:
“And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
“And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered. So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
“I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
“I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
“I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God.
(Amos 6:6-12)
This is Easter Sunday morning, 2020. If you are hearing or reading this message then there is still hope!
Easter is the day that we celebrate the resurrection (the rising from the dead) of Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Savior of the World. Here him speaking, years after his resurrection:
“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” (Revelation 1:18)
Yes, he is risen!
Ye, he is no longer being whipped and tortured and savagely, cruelly executed for the judgement of your sins upon a gnarled splintery wooden cross.
Yes, he is alive!
Yes, he is sitting at the right hand of the throne of God, doing whatever he chooses to do (such as when he appeared to Paul the Apostle on the road to Damascus).
Yes, he is alive!
Yes, he has “all power!”
Yes, he is coming again “soon”; and
Yes, right now, his arms are still open to you.
Come to Jesus! Come to the living Savior! Look to him to save you from the dread of your sinfulness before a holy God.
“Prepare to meet thy God!”
OUTLINE:
Easter and COVID-19
- Are you ready to meet God, all you members of the Church?
- Are you ready to meet God, all you ministers of the Church?
- Are you ready to meet God, all ye multitudes in the midst of COVID-19?