Covind-19, What God Is Saying？ (Amos 4)

I did want to bring a message of encouragement this morning and spent a long time looking to the Lord and worked out probably 20 different messages and in the end felt that I needed to bring a different word, and in fact this word only came to me during the night. I do believe it is God's message for us, so if you don't want a strong word, you can tune out. That's the easy thing to do. If we, if you are present here, it's obviously a little bit more difficult to walk out, but it's so, so much easier just to click away if you don't like the message, but I trust that you will stay with us and hear the word of the Lord. So I'm going to read then from Amos chapter 4 from verse 6 through verse 13. Amos chapter 4 verses 6 through 13. And obviously the messages to Israel, and I don't believe that the church replaces Israel, but the messages to Israel are still the messages to the church also. Amos 4, 6, Also I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places. Yet you have not returned to me, says the Lord. I also withheld rain from you when there were still three months to the harvest. I made it rain in one city, I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon, and where it did not rain, the part withered. So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water, but they were not satisfied. Yet you have not returned to me, says the Lord. I blasted you with blight and mulled you when your gardens increased, your vineyards, your fig trees, and your olive trees. The locusts devoured them. Yet you have not returned to me, says the Lord. I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt. Your young men I killed with a sword, along with your captive horses. I made the stench of your camps come into your nostrils. Yet you have not returned to me, says the Lord. I overthrew some of you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning. Yet you have not returned to me, says the Lord. Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel, because I will do this to you. Prepare to meet your God, O Israel. For behold, he who forms mountains and creates the wind, who declares to man what his thought is, and makes the morning darkness, who treads the high places of the earth, the Lord God of hosts, is his name. There are many ideas and many thoughts going around at the moment as to what our response should be to the virus and to the plague that has come to the whole world, and including to our country and to our city. And there are many, many different ideas from preachers as to the importance of it and the significance of it. There are lots of all sorts of conspiracy theories and theories as to where it came from and whether it ultimately came from the devil or came from God. And I just believe that all of those things are speculation and they are of no value whatsoever. The question that we must ask simply is that we find ourselves now in a situation and how do we respond and how is God using this? Even if it came from the devil, even if it was a conspiracy by the Chinese or by somebody else, that doesn't matter. The fact is that God uses all things to work for the good of them that love him and other called according to his purpose. And so God is using this and God has a purpose to use even this situation to get the attention of Christians and of churches. And we need to hear what God is saying. I am concerned that there are there are preachers out there that are saying, well, this is really no big deal. This will pass and we'll get over this and we'll just move on as though nothing happened. In fact, I listened to a preacher during the night speaking and the title of his message is, this is not the end. This is the end. It's maybe not the end of the world. I believe it could very well be the end of the world. But it is the end for the 31,000 people who have died up to now. And it will be the end for the hundreds of thousands that will die before this thing is over. Yes, it may not be the end of the world, but it could be the end for you. It could be the end for me. I was horrified last night as I watched the news and I saw a Roman church with 80 coffins inside of the church and the priest going down sprinkling holy water on these coffins as though that's going to make any difference. But there's 80 people who died without Christ and without hope in this world. 80 people who had put their trust and their confidence in a false system and in a false religion that could not save them. 80 people who by their church's definition are damned because they could not receive the last rites because priests are not allowed into the intensive care as much as family are not allowed there. So these 80 people died without the last rites and by the definition of the Roman church, they died without God, without hope. What about the 31,000 that have died so far in the world? How many of those were saved? I don't know the number. I don't know the percentage, but I'm pretty sure that 90% of them died without Christ and find themselves in hell today. It's the end for them. There is no way out. There is no change. Once you die as the tree falls, so it lies. The way you die, if you die without Christ, that's the end of the road. Folks, we here in LA and maybe in other parts of the world where you're watching may say, well, everything seems to be pretty normal. We don't know anyone who has died. We don't know anyone who has been afflicted by this disease. And so everything seems to be going on as though nothing happened. We don't begin to understand that in fact we have only come to the beginning of this process, particularly here in America. This is far from the end. We haven't even begun to get near the peak even in New York, let alone the other cities like Los Angeles that are soon to follow. We are still weeks away from the worst of this whole thing, and it could affect you, and it could affect me. It could affect our families, and we may lose loved ones. And the question simply is, are they ready to meet the Lord? Are they prepared to meet God? Are you ready to meet God? Ten days ago, Inna and I were in Canberra, and we stayed with one of the elders in the church there. He took us to the airport on Wednesday, and then on Thursday he went to fetch someone from the railway station. The person that he had fetched from the railway station, unknown to either of them, was infected. Now this brother is infected. He didn't know he was infected, went to church on Sunday, the last service that churches in Australia were able to have this last Sunday. And now a large number of the members of that congregation, probably more than half of that small church, have all tested positive. Folk, this is real. This is something that affects every one of us, and we say, well, you know, many people recover. Don't bring us a message of doom and gloom. Well, how do you know that you're not the one out of the five or whatever the percentage is? That's not going to make it. We have no way of knowing. We have no way of knowing whether in addition to the 30,000 that have died up to now in this plague, that we're not one of the hundreds of thousands of others who are dying for other causes. There are two very real possibilities, and I do believe that Jesus is coming soon. He may come today. I do believe that this is one of the signs of the end time, and this may be the final warning. It may well be the final wake-up call to the church in the world, the church in America, saying, here's a final shaking before Jesus returns. And I know that there are again those who say, no, he can't come today because certain prophecies still have to be fulfilled. No, there are no prophecies that need to be fulfilled. Jesus can come today. We don't believe in his soon return simply because of the signs that have been fulfilled. We believe he is coming at a time that we don't expect because he has warned us that he's coming when we least expect it. He's coming as a thief in the night, and Jesus may come today. It is more likely that he would come today than ever before, and that is a statistical fact, but it's also a fact based on the signs that we're seeing around us. Are you ready to meet your God? The other possibility is that we may, that some of us may die. Death is sure, and in fact Hebrews chapter 9 verse 27 says it is appointed for men to die. It is appointed for men to die. It's a fact, just like taxes is a fact, and so it is appointed for men to die. Are you ready? We have spent too much time in the church in the West preaching nice, comfortable messages, affirming messages, trying to make people feel comfortable, trying to not chase people away from the church because we don't want to be too direct, and we don't want to shake people, and at the same time we don't want to scare people into the kingdom, and yet the scripture speaks about plucking some by fear. There is a responsibility upon me as a preacher, and I'll come to that scripture in a few moments in Ezekiel, where there is a responsibility upon me to sound the warning, and upon every other preacher to sound the warning, that judgment is coming. It is appointed to men once to die, and after this the judgment. Those two things are guaranteed, and we understand that the judgment really relates to two things, either the judgment of the great white throne for those who are unbelievers, or the judgment seat of rewards for those who are believers, but judgment is sure. Don't say this can't happen to you. Don't say that you will still be alive in three months' time, in six months' time. When we began this year, we made our plans. I had made arrangements to visit England and Scotland in June, and had bought the ticket. I'd also begun to make arrangements to go to Zimbabwe in August, and they had begun to make arrangements for those visits, and within a few weeks the whole of the whole world has turned upside down. Everything has changed overnight, and because we've lived through it, we accept that it's just developed, but in fact just think back a month. Just think where you were a month ago. Just think how this was really just not an issue a month ago, that we said we would gather again next Sunday, and in fact we printed the readings, and we printed the bulletins for the next few months, as though nothing was going to happen, and now suddenly I'm preaching to an empty church. Churches can't gather, and the whole world has changed literally overnight. And I believe that this is a warning to us, that we need to pay attention, that we need to take heed that Jesus is coming. We need to take heed that we are sure of nothing. We have no assurance of tomorrow, and I was thinking about those various scriptures that say, don't say tomorrow we will go here and there, and do this and do that, but say if the Lord wills. More than ever we can only use that word, if the Lord wills. If the Lord, if Lord willing, we will be alive tomorrow. Lord willing, we will meet tonight at 7 o'clock to test Zoom. Lord willing, we will meet for fellowship on the internet on Thursday evening. Lord willing, we will preach here again next week. And as I wrestled with what to preach this morning, I thought, well let me bring a word of comfort first, because I'm going to drive away many people who want to hear a comforting word, and maybe they won't come back next week. And then I realized I have no guarantee that they will be here next week. I have no guarantee that I will be able to preach next week, or that you will be here to hear the word next week. And so today is the only day that we have. So I want to address very briefly three groups of people. The first group I want to address are those who are unbelievers, those who have not come to Christ, and particularly those who attend this church, and have never made a commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, and there are a number. Today is the day of salvation. In 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 2 it says, for he says, in an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Now, not tomorrow, not next week. You have no guarantee of next week. And if you've been putting off committing your life to Jesus Christ, you need to make that decision today. You have no guarantee of tomorrow. I'm begging you, please, make right with God. Turn to Him. Surrender your life to Him. Accept what He has done for you at the cross of Calvary, and accept the salvation that He's offering to you so freely. You have no guarantees of being able to respond next week, or being able to respond even tonight. Today is the day. The book of Hebrews says today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your heart. You've been hardening your heart for a long time. Today, hear His voice. Respond to Him. And yes, I know, I know that there may be those who are watching and saying, well, this is just scaring people into the kingdom, and what we're going to have is what we call jailhouse conversions, people who suddenly get saved because they find themselves with their back to the wall and in trouble. I'm not asking you to come to Jesus just because you're afraid of tomorrow. I'm asking you to come to Him because you know you need Him as your Lord and as your Savior. And yes, I know that there will be people in the next few weeks and months who will make decisions for Christ, who will not see it through, and that when this thing passes, and when things get easy again, will forget their commitment to Him, and will walk away from Him. I understand that there is the different kinds of seed. I understand that there are those who make an emotional response. But that doesn't stop me from calling you to make a response today, to give your life to Him, to surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't put it off. Make a decision for Christ today. Behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Tomorrow is not today. Just now, later, is not now. You only have now, and I'm pleading with you before I finish this message, that you bow your head, you bow your knee before the Lord Jesus, and ask Him to forgive you, and to come into your life, and to change you. Surrender your will to Him. Surrender your plans and your purposes to Him. Make Him the Master and the Lord of your life. And I know that there may be those in this church who have not accepted Christ because I've not told you that He's going to bless you and keep you from trouble and problems. I can't make those promises. That's not the reason why we come to Christ. We come to Him because we realize that we are wretched, miserable sinners, and that without Him we are without God, and without hope in this world. While you have today, call me after the meeting. Email me. You have my details. And I'll be glad to pray with you before it is too late. I want to address believers this morning. I've been preaching for at least six months now that we find ourselves in desperate times, that the church is in a terrible, terrible way, that believers in churches everywhere find themselves compromised, lukewarm as the church in Laodicea is described, not hot nor cold. Jesus says, I will spit you out of my mouth. And the church in America is a lukewarm church because we're rich and increased with goods, and we have need of nothing. And we don't know that we are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Jesus counsels us to buy from Him gold and raiment that we might be rich and that we might be clothed. In 2 Timothy chapter 3, and I'm going to read that passage. We spoke about this a few times a couple of years ago, and yet this is more true than ever. Paul says to Timothy, know this, that in the last days perilous times will come. Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money. And remember, these are not unbelievers. These are Christians, so-called Christians, who love themselves, who love money, who are boasters, who are proud, who are blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Having a form of godliness but denying its power, from such people turn away. That describes the church in the West today. That describes the church in Europe and in the United Kingdom and here in America and Australia. A form of godliness. We go to church, we profess to be Christians, we speak Christianese, we are able to quote various Christian Bibles, we watch Christian television, but there's no substance, there's no reality. We are not, maybe not even truly born again, and if we are, we're lukewarm. We love ourselves more than we love God. Remember in that passage, the passage begins with this concept that they are lovers of themselves and it ends with a phrase that they do not love God. And unfortunately the vast majority of Christians that I come across love themselves more than they love God. Are they saved? I don't know, but Paul says that we may not have fellowship with them. And what I certainly know is that they cannot be ready to meet God. How will you face him, who died for you and gave his life on the cross of Calvary, when you're not even willing to make the smallest sacrifice for him? When your whole life revolves around yourself, your own pleasures, your own desires, your own wants and needs, and you have no care for him, for his word, and for his people. You have no care for the unbelievers around you, friends and family that you know, who are going to a Christless eternity and may be dying very, very soon. Christians live in disobedience, knowing the Word of God, knowing what God requires of them to turn away from sin, to turn away from the things that bind them. And yet they continue in those things as though tomorrow will never come. I'm deeply concerned about the Christians in every church who are addicted to opioids, who live in some kind of high and cover it up by the fact that these things are prescribed for them. But they're addicted just as much as those who are addicted to street drugs. I understand that some have pain. I understand that there is sickness and that there are these things. But there's a difference between pain management and living in some kind of altered state of consciousness. I'm concerned about the Christians who involve in pornography, and particularly in this time in which we have a lot of free time, and we don't have access to all sorts of other things, but we have access to the Internet, and we have access to these things. I'm concerned about the brothers and even sisters in our church who will find extra time on their hands to surf the Internet and to look at things they ought not to be looking. Brethren, we need to have our eyes on Jesus. We need to fill our hearts and our minds with Him and with His Word. We need to be ready to meet Him because He can come, or we can go to Him at any possible moment. I'm concerned, and my concern goes on and on. I can talk about all sorts of things, but I don't want to stretch this out this morning. You know the issues that God has been speaking to you about. You know the things that you need to change in your life, and you have just put them off. You have not done what God has asked you to do. But the final specific that I want to just touch on this morning is I'm concerned about those who cause division in the body of Christ. In churches everywhere there are those who will think nothing of splitting the church. There are even elders and leaders in churches who are willing to split the church over some pet theory or some errant doctrine. Brethren, repent. Turn to God. How will you face Him who died for the body of Christ when you are willing to sacrifice the body of Christ for your own agenda, for your own pride, for your own arrogance? Pastors who are willing to split the body of Christ, whether locally or universally, are not true pastors. They're not true elders. You remember when the woman, two women, had two children, and one turned over and lay on her baby, and the baby died. She took the baby of the other woman and said it was hers, put the dead baby in the other woman's bed. And they came to Solomon, and we all know the story, how that Solomon looked and said, give me the living baby. And they said, let's cut the baby in half and give each one one half. And you remember the outcome of the story was that it was only the true mother who said, well, then rather give the baby to someone else. But there was the fake mother who was willing to sacrifice the baby. It is fake, brethren, it's fake pastors, it's fake elders who are willing to split the body of Christ. True ones will walk away rather than split the church. And I know that there are churches, and I know there are people who are watching today who are sitting in churches, not just one or two, but many churches where there is division bubbling under the surface. Brethren, I appeal to you, get your heart right. Jesus is coming. He is the shepherd of the church. He has given himself for the church, and he is going to require the church at your hand. If we defile his body, he will destroy us. And finally, I'm concerned about Christians who live as though God doesn't know and God doesn't see, that God doesn't know the thoughts of their hearts and their minds, that God doesn't see the secrets of their hearts and doesn't know what they do, how they treat one another, how they treat husbands treating wives and wives treating husbands. God knows and sees, and he will call us to give an account. Brethren, let's get our hearts right, let's get our lives ready, because Jesus is coming and death is certain. We don't have time to play and to mess around. Finally, I want to address pastors and leaders, and there may be some who are watching or will watch this recording, and I want to go to Ezekiel 3, verse 17. This is my last scripture this morning. Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. If you are an elder or in any form of leadership, God has made you a watchman for the house of God, for the church. Therefore, hear a word from my mouth, from the mouth of God, and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, you shall surely die, and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way. To save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hands. Brethren, the church is in our hand. The souls are in our hand, and those who will go to hell, because we have not sounded the warning, because we're preaching peace, peace, when there is no peace. When we're saying to people, don't worry too much, everything will be fine, we'll get through this. When in fact there is a warning sounding from heaven, and God is shaking, and God is saying, get your hearts ready, get your hearts right. When preachers are preaching a nationalistic message, when preachers are preaching a party politics message, when preachers are preaching a positive thinking message, when they should be preaching Christ and the gospel, God will require those souls at your hand. I'm horrified when I see how the preachers spend more time talking about abortion, and homosexuality, and gun rights, when people are going to hell. Yes, those things are real. Pornography, homosexuality, and abortion is a terrible thing, but we've not been sent to preach against those things. We've been sent to preach the gospel, and for lives to be changed through the gospel, and those lives that have truly been changed through the gospel won't continue doing those things. Brethren, if you're preaching anything but Christ, your own pet theories, your own pet dogmas, trying to entertain people, trying to get hits, I'm disgusted at pastors who are more concerned about getting views to their YouTubes, and hits to their to their blogs, than they are about the truth, and will water down and change the message, and preach a message that is popular. And yes, it is popular in America today to preach a nationalistic America first message, but that is not our message. Our message is Jesus Christ and him crucified. Brethren, we need to get back to the word. We need to get back to warning people, because people are dying, and if we don't give them warning, they will die in their sins, but their blood will be required at our hand. That is why I'm so serious about this this morning. That's why I've not brought you a message of comfort, because I'm aware that there may be people who are watching today who may die this coming week, whether from the virus or from anything else, and if I've not given warning, and you've not made right, I am responsible. And so I'm begging you, get your life in order. Let's get back to Amos as we close. Therefore, thus will I do to you, O Israel, because I will do this to you. Prepare to meet your God. Are you ready to face God? The problem is we don't believe. We say, well it's just, it's fine. We have time. We don't have time. Are you ready to meet him? Are there things that need to be fixed? Then fix them now, today. Don't put it off tomorrow. Are there relationships that need to be repaired? Repair them today. Are there apologies that need to be made to your husband, or to your wife, or to your children, or to a friend, or to a brother, or a sister? Then make those apologies now. As soon as I've finished here, pick up the phone and make right what needs to be made right. If there are things in your life you need to get rid of, then put them out of your life today. Time for playing with sin is over. It's time to get serious with God, because God is getting serious with us. He is sending us a warning. Unlike China, we have warning that this thing is coming. We have warning that this thing is at the door, and it's slowly beginning to develop amongst us. I believe that that's the grace of God, that we have warning to get things right. Get your affairs in order today. Do what you need to do in order to be clear with God. We don't have tomorrow. We have no control over the future. Today is the day of salvation. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you, Lord, for your grace towards us, and that you send warnings that we need to get ready, that we need to get our lives right. Lord, I pray for those who may be watching who have not made the commitment to Christ that they need to, who are yet unsaved or unbelievers, whatever language they choose to use. I pray, Lord, that today, now, they will bow the knee before Jesus and accept him as their Savior and as their Lord. I pray, Lord, for the believers who find themselves living in disobedience and lukewarmness, having a form of godliness, but there's no reality, there's no substance, there's no power to their faith. It's simply empty motions, no different to the Romanists. I pray, Lord, that we may make right with you today. I pray, Lord, for pastors and leaders who may watch this. I pray, Lord, for those who are speaking the truth, give them courage and boldness, Lord, to speak the truth and to give heed and to give warning that Jesus is coming and that death is certain, to get back to the gospel. I pray, Lord, for the many who are preaching a false message, whatever that message may be, a message of Calvinism or a message of American nationalism or a message of morality, but I'm not preaching Jesus Christ and him crucified. Lord, I pray that you would bring them to repentance. I pray, Lord, for the countless preachers who are preaching for money and preaching for their ego's sake and more concerned about the number of hits and views they get to their stuff. I pray, Lord, that you would break them and humble them and bring them back to the cross, that they may understand that they are but unprofitable servants. Save your people, Lord. Save your church, we pray, and help us to be ready for your return. I pray, Lord, that you would go with each one. I pray, Lord, for your protection as much as we can't claim that. I pray, Lord, that you will protect every member of this church and everyone who is watching and listening. Lord, that we might be right with you. Lord, that we may be saved from the pestilence that flies by night. But, Lord, above all, that our hearts might be right