God's Sanctifying Work through COVID-19?

Almost every country in the world has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and Christians that know God's sovereignty are not surprised. After all, nations and even empires were wiped out by the Almighty God in the Old Testament and in more recent parts of World history. God is always working in multi-faceted ways and it is good for us to reflect on what God is using this pandemic for.

1. Salvation - Billions of people are sitting at home and the brevity of life is becoming ever apparent. The struggling souls in ICU gasping for air without friends and family around them remind us all that when we all die, we leave everyone else behind and we can't bring anyone with us. So many people are open to the Gospel like never before. 
2. "Barriers of Entry" to Church collapse - With every church forced to go online and livestreaming services, the walls of the church have collapsed. Any curious soul, made curious of course by the Almighty, can easily click on a livestream link sent to them by a believing friend, family member or posted on social media or Whatsapp. Already we've heard of colleagues who were sent the livestream links and clicked into the service out of sheer boredom. Some churches that have had livestreams privately available are now opening them up to the public. Even nosy neighbours who would never walk into the church can now login and see what has been going on next door all these years. 
3. Impact of Church Livestreams - With Church being spread into every believer's household, there could be people who are reached by hearing someone's Church service emanating from the walls of their house. Livestreams have forced families that are not used to singing together, to worship over the coffee table with the rest of their church. God is bringing back family worship whether families are ready for it or not. Christians can no longer compartmentalise their life with Church in one corner and their home in another. People joining in on Zoom, Skype or Teams may no longer be able to hide their home life! 
4.  Sunday school - the pandemic has also caused many Sunday Schools to be discontinued. This has forced fathers to teach their children Sunday School. This is obviously a great side effect of the pandemic as the primary units within the church are families. When you have strong families, you have a strong church as a result. Children are also now worshiping together with their parents, which may not have been the case in their churches with the continuing emergence of children's church. 
5. Discipline - Anyone with young children in church know the difficulty of controlling children in church with the constant gaze of ignorant non-parents and the self-righteous parents who clearly scored an easier lot in life than you. Now when you have church at home, it is the perfect opportunity to round off some rough edges in your children's character without the pressure of others. On the other side of the pandemic, going to church may even be a joy! 
6. Church-hopping - We always used to laugh at the arm chair Christian sitting at home channel surfing TBN or Christian channels. With every church in a pandemic having to go online, it is open season for the church hopper. This can be a good thing when someone is stuck in a church that lost its way. God perhaps could use this to move some onto still waters, from churches where the pastors have scattered the sheep (Jeremiah 23:1). Run, little lamb, to higher ground! 
7. Can't use licensed worship music - Some churches have hit a snag going online because they were using contemporary Christian music like Hillsong which is owned by record companies and individuals. Of course, God never intended the Church to become a marketplace (Matthew 21:13), but now some churches can't worship because they don't have the rights to livestream the worship music. This could force some to go back to hymns but most would rather cancel the worship part and skip to the sermon. Which brings us to the final gamechanger instituted by the pandemic by God...
8. More Focus on The Word - When you have mood music , comfy seats, lights, camera, and onstage action, you can get away with a sloppy message. However, now with social distancing, and limited use of licensed worship music, the pandemic has revealed to some that their church hasn't been feeding them! Now the 10 minute exhortation doesn't seem to cut it and God's people are seeking for sincere milk which is the word of God. The preachers that labour in the word and in doctrine (1 Timothy 5:17) are going to draw God's sheep because "my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27). When the lockdown is over, some churches will disappear and rightly so. While others will join a true gathering of the sheep, leaving the goats. 
9. Tithing when no one's looking - Well with electronic banking someone is looking but without a physical gathering of God's people, the true conviction in the hearts of believers is rightly revealed. Only the serious will continue with tithing. And this means many false churches won't survive. And once again, you can see how God continues to work through this pandemic, as with all things, for His Glory. 

5 Things a Church Must Remember in a Pandemic (probably more)

This is the question that every Church in the world is currently asking and many are looking to each other for guidance on how to navigate the responsibility of being a light during this COVID-19 pandemic. It is crucial that the Church that God established continues to operate during these times. People are hurting, jobs are lost, fear reigns and despair is setting in for some. God established the church of the best of times and the worst of times. Until Jesus returns, it is on us to be used by Him to minister in this world. This post will probably be added to as we go along and we would love to hear your thoughts as well in the comments, but here are some current thoughts.

1. Continuing the church is non-negotiable. The pandemic is starting to sort out the pretenders from the contenders. 
2. Church websites are now the gathering place. You may have your zooms, hangouts, whatsapps and group calls but to the world, your Church website must be current and the place to organise online meetings, disseminate updates, keep people connected to the church. 
3. Pastors need to work the phones. Suddenly the pastor no longer sees people's faces in church, it is very hard to read what is happening in people's lives. There is never a greater need to call people to see how they are going, whether they joined the livestream etc. 
4. Don't neglect the assembling. While we can't gather physically, the church needs to find ways for the people to gather. Some technologies can be used such as Teams, Zoom and Hangouts. If you have gone through the comparisons let us know. 
5. Look for the opportunities. This may be the best time to reach out to some people. It may be a good time to direct people to useful resources that can help with their quiet time. 

5 Things we learn from a Coronavirus Pandemic

While the world has been through pandemics before, we have had quite a good run over the last 50 years. Now, the world is taking in turns to admit the fact that we are facing a worldwide emergency with COVID-19. Some are still in denial, mainly because no one is able to test for COVID-19 sufficiently to show just now rampant the spread already is. We are only looking at testing people who show symptoms while millions may already be infected and infecting without even a fever. But there are things I have learnt from this so far. 

Ecclesiastes 1:2-3 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?

 

1. What really matters? It takes a pandemic to bring everyone back down Maslow's heirarchy of needs. We see a world fighting over the basic necessities because it doesn't matter any more how esteemed one is. 

Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: 

 

2. How busy are we normally? The Bible speaks about being still and knowing that God is God. There is no greater truth than that during these times. We are so busy that sometimes we forget that God rules over all things. Having much of our busy-ness taken away from us, we are suddenly forced to reckon with God's sovereignty. Could busy-ness be an idol that we have been worshipping without realising? 

Proverbs 6:6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

 

3. Diligence pays off. Readiness is a virtue that the lazy shuns. Who would think that there would ever be a pandemic? And yet we see now as the world wrestles with the unknown, those that are most prepared have been able to meet the moment without flinching while others flounder in panic. As governments shut down the opportunity for believers to meet as we always do to worship God, those that had already set up livestreaming have been able to meet the need of their congregation. Those that have always kepy a good inventory of their food haven't been affected by the panic buying in the supermarkets. 

Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. 

4.  We miss church and fellowship We haven't yet had our first online livestreaming of church or our fellowship meeting, but if we used to drag our feet to church, maybe this experience will help us to appreciate the assembling of ourselves together. God knew what he was doing when he instituted the church to care and nurture believers in a world of hurt, struggle and pain. 

Amos 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it? 

5. God will be magnified How much has the world become so confident? SO self-assured? With a tiny virus that the microscope struggles to see, the world has been brought to its knees. Great big cities of commerce have been shut down like the cities in the Old Testament at a moment's notice. And it wasn't even terrorism! It is a great opportunity that us believers have to evangelise to a world that may now be ready to acknowledge their desperate need of a Saviour.