Message by: Pastor G Khankham
Scripture passage: 1 Corinthians 16: 13,14 “Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be men of courage, be strong. Do everything in love. “
We are indeed thankful to God for another day. As we all are aware, we are in a situation where getting together in one place has been prohibited from the authorities for our safety. Although unusual, we are grateful to be able to put across the message of comfort and consolidation from God to his people through media’s team effort. We do hope and pray God’s comfort be with you through this message and His glory be revealed in this time.
1 Corinth 16:13,14 “Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be men of courage, be strong. Do everything in love.” This has not been the first time a plague occurs on earth. During olden days, our forefathers too went through plagues, and had dealt with in their own way. As scripture says “Be on your guard”, the Church has taken these measures of not gathering here as a way of guarding ourselves from further probable spread of the disease in obedience to the rules laid out by the governing bodies of our country. At the same time, we are encouraged to “Stand firm in the faith.” In a time of distress, faithlessness can creep into our lives, yet we should not give in nor give up. Let the challenges be the test of your faith and stand grounded no matter what. In addition, we should “Be men of courage.” Courage is even more needed in such a time as these than ever within our families, friends and community. Next, we are told to “Be strong.” With a pandemic seeping across borders around the world, it can be discouraging yet we should put on a brave face in resilience to face this situation with confidence in our Lord.
Let see instances of plagues in the past.
- In Exodus 32:35 “And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.” We know from the Scripture that the Israelites sinned against God by worshipping a golden calf while Moses was away to get the commandments, and God punished their sins with a plague.
- Also, in Genesis 12:17 “But the Lord inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai” When Pharoah took Abram’s wife to be his wife, God’s anger burnt on Pharoah and his household, and God sends a plague to communicate to Pharoah of his wrongdoings. We never know our current plague can also be a way of God communicating to us.
- We will discuss few more encounters from the Scripture where God uses a plague. “The hand of the Lord will bring a terrible plague on your livestock, in the field – on your horses and donkeys and camels and on your cattle and sheep and goats. [Exodus 9:3]. This shows that our sins can be the cause of suffering of livestock, land & sea animals, environment and the biosphere we live in. So, let us seek and find out why and how all these sufferings come together.
- In the book of [Numbers 11:33] “But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague.” God’s anger burnt on the people who nagged and complained about the food God provided in the wilderness. Even after God’s providence they still have ungrateful hearts causing God to punish them via a plague. We should learn that God is not restricted to only our ways of destructions, like atomic bomb during II world war, and currently with our nuclear warfare. He can use plants, animals and environment to communicate his purpose and will to the world and its people.
- In the book of Joshua 22:17,18 “Was not the sin of Peor enough for us? Up to this very day we have not cleansed ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the community of the Lord! And are you now turning away from the Lord? ‘If you rebel against the Lord today, tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community of Israel.’” The community of Israel sinned against God by taking Moabites women as their wives and building altars and worshipping idols. The Lord was angry at their faithlessness and punish them with a plague. Similarly, see for yourselves the adultery, idolism, greed, materialism or hoarding that is prevalent in our today’s society. Who would have doubted this could be a warning and a wake-up call to search within our hearts and repent?
- As the Philistines knew about God as the one who plagued and destroyed as found in the book of Samuel, let us remember that He is a God who can punish when he ought to. 1 Samuel 4:8 “We’re doomed! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.”
- Another example is King Jehoram, prophet Elijah delivers a message from God to the king. It writes, “…..So now the Lord is about to strike your people, your sons, your wives and everything that is yours, with a heavy blow. You yourself will be very ill with a lingering disease of the bowels, until the disease causes your bowels to come out.’” [II Chronicles 21: 14,15 ] God punished the King of Judah because he has forsaken the Lord, and led God’s people astray. Not just him, but his household suffers due to his disobedience.
- “This is the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.” [Zechariah 14:12]. We live in a world where God’s people are persecuted daily. Let retrospect and see if we have fallen into the sin of sickening God’s people with hatred or mistreatment. Let’s stand firm in faith and take courage to confess.
Even if God plagued his people in his anger, He also provides healing and re-conciliation through it all. In Exodus 30:11,12 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them.” God already provided his Laws and standards to His people that if they obeyed, they would not go through any plague. There’s always a rule in place for God’s people to follow. So, our sufferings, distress, and plagues could be avoided and we as God’s people has a role to play, i.e., obedience to God and His ways.
Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord; the plague has started.” So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah. Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped. Number 16: 45-50. The only way to stop the plague is to intercede and make an atonement to the Lord. In His service only can we atone for any misdeeds that has plagued our lives. King David was given 3 options to choose from due to his sin of taking census among God’s people. Left with no option, he said, “Let us fall into the hands of God, because He is merciful.”
Likewise, we may be left with no options to choose from what will become of our future. However, remember we should always fall into the hands of God, and response with hope for His deliverance from the condition we are in. He is the God who stopped the plague and can heal us. When King David went up to the threshing floor of Araunah to atone for his people against the plague, he said, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” as found in 2 Samuel 24: 21-25. What cost have we paid to atone for the plague that surrounds us? Perhaps we spend our time, effort, energy, or resources. So, who can stand in the gap just like Aron did for the people of Israel? What can we do, pray overnight or Fast and pray?
“BE ON YOUR GUARD” means to be insightful of the things around us, in the past or present or for the future. For obtaining spiritual insights, let the Scripture guide you. In such a time when in the darkest moments of your life, the only comfort left for you is a word from God. We should seek comfort in the Scriptures, and learn from the past what God had done, notwithstanding the fact that we also have sinned and fall short before God from the time of our forefathers, and we should re-evaluate our lives, our families and look for ways to improve.
“STAND FIRM IN THE FAITH” like Noah. He was told to build an ark, and with faith in God he started the work faithfully for many years, believing in the word of the Lord. And when God’s word came to pass, he and his family were saved. To stand firm we must know and trust God completely so that we can proceed with confidence because the Scriptures reassured us that God is in control over our situation.
To “BE MEN OF COURAGE AND BE STRONG” we must be equipped with the armour of God, fearlessly make known His power with confidence, and to trust in the mighty power of God. We are dealing with an enemy. So just as God told Joshua, “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go” let us not be discouraged, for the Lord our God is with us.
Last but not the Least, “DO EVERYTHING IN LOVE” We are often tempted to do things out of compulsion, passion, and courtesy. Nonetheless, we are commanded to do everything out of love. When we pray, talk, work in love and out of love, it makes things easier and lighter to bear. When love is not the reason, often pride, rudeness, and boastfulness can take us over. Let LOVE be the stirrer of our actions when in Church or at other places. How we spend the Lord’s day at our respective homes is ours to decide. Do not let precious moments slip away in drunkenness and immoral activities, but rather utilize the time you have to seek God’s face with families and fall into the hands of the Lord with a repentant heart. Turn to Scriptures and allow them to re-orient you to God and His activity. Ask God what he wanted to communicate to you and your family and spend a sweet time of prayer.
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