PESTILENCE

CORONAVIRUS is more than a medical or environmental problem.  It is a pestilence. It’s a spiritual matter and as such requires a spiritual response. The word pestilence also means plague in the scriptures. CORONAVIRUS IS A PESTILENCE.

Pestilence is an epidemic disease that is highly contagious, infectious and devastating.  It also spreads quickly killing large numbers of people. The word plague showed up first in Genesis but the word pestilence showed up first in Ex 5:1- 3, “… And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword”. In other words, they were saying if they do not go to serve God the way they ought, God could send pestilence among them. We have to ask ourselves if we are to infer from the above scripture if we have been serving God the way we ought.  

WE MUST SERVE GOD ACCORDING TO HIS EXPECTED STANDARD, ACCEPTABLY WITH REVERENCE AND GODLY FEAR (Heb.12:28- 30).

This call to serve God is not a call of convenience but one of sacrifice. Pharaoh kept negotiating with them but they held their stand in God lest pestilence fell on them. Num. 14:11 says, “And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will these people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them…” Unbelief and lack of faith in God can attract pestilence. In Ex. 9:14-15, here, God says He would strike the Egyptians with pestilence.

Please know assuredly that God sends plagues and pestilences. God can get angry, He can discipline and punish. A lot of people still have the mindset that a plague or pestilence, or anything unpleasant and bad can never come from God. In 2 Chron. 7:13, God says, “If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people”. This scripture and others we have seen clearly show God sends pestilence. 

It is important to note, that pestilence is also a sign of the end times. The truth is COVID-19 is not the end. Pestilences are part of what God said would be part of the signs of the end times, and when we see these signs showing up on the earth, we should be glad because our redemption is near. Our question however, should be, how should we respond, how can we close up the gap?

In Matthew 24:3-6, Jesus’ disciples came up to Him and asked Him a threefold question, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”

Interestingly, His first response was, “take heed that no man deceive you”. We are in the days of high-level deception. Most of the deception will not come from native doctors, unbelievers, magicians etc, but supposed believers and ministers of the gospel.  A lot will come in the form of false and erroneous doctrines and teachings. There are all kinds of doctrines going about right now. This deception will not come from outside the confines of the church but from within. There will be wars and rumours of wars but we are not to be troubled.

 We are called to reveal Christ, not partner with the antichrist to prepare for his coming.  Let us stop trying to decode who the antichrist is.

The present happenings give us a clue that the end is near. It tells us that it is a fulfillment of prophecies. COVID-19 will end, but it is tied to the rate at which we learn our lesson. How fast or slow God will be given room to do His will.

WHAT SHOULD BE OUR RESPONSE?

- REPENTANCE  

2 Chron. 7:13-14-when there’s pestilence in the land, the solution is not the government nor the medical world but God alone. This is not the time to shift blame or responsibility but a time of total surrender to seek God. It is time to humble ourselves, to inquire from God where we are missing it.  It is time to offer prayers of genuine repentance and turn to the Lord. Every pestilence has a message.  As long as we do not know why we cannot solve it.

 It takes God to show us. Wickedness, good and bad is not defined by our own standards, but by God's standard.

In Ezekiel 14: 19-20, God was saying that if He sends pestilence, these righteousness men  - Noah, Daniel, or Job can only deliver their own souls and not the people. The people will need to repent and cry out to God themselves. This is the season where we must not take advantage of anyone. What we need to be asking for now is mercy.

- WE SHOULD PRAY- In Num. 14:12-21- Moses’ response to God’s thought of wanting to send pestilence among His people, was prayers, prayers for mercy and God changed His mind from carrying out His plan. In Matthew 24:7-8, the word sorrow in verse 8 of this scripture means birth pangs. In other words, when we begin to see these signs of the end, it should result in a burden in the life of those who understand the season and have given themselves to God-Men and women whom the Holy Spirit will impregnate, causing them to give birth in the place of high-level intercession. They will birth the will of God on the earth.

 This dimension of prayer will not be the conventional one. Only those totally sold out to God can labour in these kinds of intercessory prayers to give birth to God's will on the earth. Romans 8:18-28. These are not to times to be moving about aimlessly. We must have direction and guidance before we do anything- The Holy Ghost does all these and more for us when we partner with Him and enquire from Him to know the mind of the Father. Our praying must be by the Spirit and of the Spirit. As we give ourselves to the Holy Ghost, He will strengthen us and enable us to pray as we ought (See also Phil 1:19). Times like these should bring an awakening to every genuine believer. It should not be business as usual. IT IS A WAKE-UP CALL. This season should not leave us the same. 

If we don’t respond correctly in these times, we will become victims. The issue is not just surviving COVID -19 but what are the lessons we have learnt? 

Let’s see some lessons from;

Psalm 91:1-16 - Prayer is an expression of faith, what you believe in, you run to.  In times like these, your trust in God must be absolute because He alone can deliver. This pestilence thrives in an arena of fear. Fear draws it closer and magnifies it.  In order to deal with fear, your trust must be in God totally. Trust comes through knowing, staying with God and obeying Him.

REDEEM THE TIME- Ephesians 5:14-20. This is not the time to be unconcerned, lukewarm, indifferent, unrepentant or complacent.

For you not to be a victim in these evil days, you must redeem the time. What you are doing with your time matters in these times. You must know the spiritual meaning of these times. Don’t be full of the information all around but be full of the Spirit. In times like these, we should give ourselves to the Holy Ghost and as He begins to groan through us, we will be receiving instructions on how to give birth to the burdens in God’s heart.

Our priestly role of offering spiritual sacrifices such as obedience, praise, thanksgiving, worship, intercession, acts of mercy etc. must be fully functional to create the right atmosphere for the prophetic to be activated to receive direction and instruction. We are in the times of prompt response to God’s instructions and dealings.